A - ABC Wednesday - A

This is the first ABC Wednesday post in round #12.  Click on THIS LINK to view the blog posts by others.  Enjoy!
  You could also click on the logo in the right side bar.
 
A is for 

Anticipation!

I recently created several milk jug greenhouses, see photo below.

Each jug houses approximately 2" of potting soil and several seeds that need stratification prior to germinating next Spring.

These greenhouse are each cradling 10 -14 Jack-in-the-Pulpit seeds.

(Arisaema triphyllum)

Two greenhouses have been planted with seeds we found on our land.

The other seeds were a Christmas present from Mr. Shady.  

He purchased them.

We'll see which seeds have a better germination rate.  

:-)

Don't know how to do this?

1.  Rinse an empty milk jug and create several drainage holes in the bottom.

2.  With a sharp knife or scissors, cut a line from one side of the bottom of the handle, clear around to the other side of the bottom of the handle.  The point at which the jug halves are connected becomes your "hinge."

3.  Put approximately two inches or so of potting soil in the bottom of each jug.

4.  Plant your seeds.  At this point, you can make a plant marker indicating the type of seeds planted.

5.  Close the greenhouse with duct tape.

6.  You can also mark the outside of the greenhouse with permanent marker.  Oftentimes, however, the marker will fade by Spring.  Not always.  However, having label inside AND outside is a great idea!

7.  Throw away the milk jug lid.   Precipitation (winter snow) will enter through the opening.

8.  Place outdoors in a sheltered spot, such as near a raised bed, near the house foundation (as long as the jugs receive precipitation!), where they cannot be blown away by the wind!

 (These are from two years ago)

 

Of course, we're creating 

ANTICIPATION!

This coming spring, you should see something like this!

 

All photos shown (except for the first one) were taken in previous years ... some during a session I led in a fourth grade classroom January 20, 2011. 

This is Definitely NOT a shady subject!  

 Just presented by Shady Gardener (yours truly). 

Aha! Mini-Greenhouses have gone to school!

Duct tape!

The class was attentive. The three "Words of the Day: Perennial, Stratification, and Cultivar." They each created a mini-greenhouse complete with potting soil, seeds and duct tape. A fun time was had by all!

Now all that must be done is to let the snowfall and cold Winter temps work their "magic." Perhaps we'll find seedlings by mid-April. The plan is to take them home on Mother's Day.

Good going, class!

Mish Mash Monday

Following suit with Monica's suggestion (Garden Faerie's Musings),
today's post covers a few different subjects.


Have you visited Randy and Meg Emmitt's site
Randy & Meg's Garden Paradise?

If not, you really should. Randy and Meg live in North Carolina. Randy is an avid and consummate photographer of a variety of garden flora (lots of subjects) and fauna (usually butterflies, dragon- and damselflies as well as birds) and a great provider of information about his subjects, as well! Can you tell I enjoy visiting their site?

At any rate, in January they received unusual Winter weather (as much of the country seems to be experiencing), including ice on the ponds that was even deep enough for a curling match!) See the January 10 post here. It's a riot! On January 12, Randy posted about a contest he was having. You MUST visit this post, so click here!

I entered his contest - after all, he was giving away his own creation -
Butterflies of the Carolinas & Virginias - Interactive CD!

And guess who won??
ME!
(I'm so happy!)
This is what it looks like...

I'm having a lot of fun with it, and maybe I'll even learn something!

On February 4, I took the following photos outdoors.

Since then, we've received a good covering of snow - with a forecast of 2 - 4" tomorrow (that being the forecast from the more conservative weather report). We'll see!

Below: Arum Italicum - still green... next to a small hypertufa planter. (Looks like the squirrels remain active!)

Helleborus Orientallis Spotted - planted LATE last Fall.

Another Helleborus (I forget which variety...)

Helleborus 'Brushstrokes'

The last subject of the day deals with the addition of a few more Mini-Greenhouses! An earlier post, January 10, 2010, dealt with creating and setting out the first batch of greenhouses. At the end of January, I set out six more... and here they are. :-)

Credit goes to Gail of Clay and Limestone for sending me seeds LAST Winter. I used most of them at that time, but there were a few more Tennessee Coneflower seeds that I just set out... hopefully they'll germinate. Jim Groble of illic est haud equus quoque mortuus barrou was SO kind as to have mailed me ligularia seeds recently! So... thanks so much to the two of you! I'm hoping not only that your seeds germinate and grow - but that mine will do the same! ha.
Can you see how the snowfall enters the jugs? This worked Very Well last year, so I'm excited to see how they work again this year. :-) Happy Looking Forward To Spring to YOU, too!

Mini Greenhouses for the Winter-time

Milk jugs? Check!
Awl? Check!
Sharp Knife? Check!
Duct tape? Check!
Permanent Marker? Check!
Potting soil and seeds? Check!

Mini Greenhouses are being planted and set out!

Full credit goes to Kylee of Our Little Acre, whose post inspired me to try this a couple of years ago. It works!! :-) Here is her post for this year... complete with all the instructions you'll need!

Click on the link below:

Kylee's Winter Sowing 101


I picked seeds of several of my own plants this Fall.
My efforts, so far this year, are recorded, through photographs, below.






Believe it or not, this photo was taken Feb. 8, 2009. Here are the jugs I set out last Winter.

Below are photos of Tennessee Coneflower seedlings that were started two of the milk jugs. Gail, of Clay and Limestone, sent me seeds last Winter. I was so excited to see how they would do! These little fellows were planted where the tree in the front yard was removed in August 2008. Conditions here are not optimal for coneflowers, but it's a "nursery."

This photo was taken at the end of June 2009.

And this photo was taken Sept. 1, 2009.

I have high hopes for 2010! :-)