What's Next, Part I

Snow on the ground and nights in the 30s means winter is coming or in some locales, has arrived. Rejoice or lament, there are plenty of things to do inside to get your green fix (not that kind of green fix).  I'm talking about easy and mostly low-cost foliage futzing about, just take your pick - plant amaryllis or paperwhite bulbs, or force spring bulbs now for late winter enjoyment. How about planting some unique glass terrariums or decorating with the easiest of care air plants, aka - tillandsias or beyond gorgeous orchids?  For your homegrown fix consider growing micro-greens, sprouts or planting garlic in a pretty container to use as chives.  And if you're creative and love DIY projects for the holidays or anytime, I've linked some websites that will expand your selection and possibly require a second glue gun (aren't they just about the best invention ever)?  This is Part I, check back soon for Part II.

Holiday Bulbs: 

Start amaryllis bulbs indoors in November for late December/early January bloom and stagger planting into the New Year.  Have fun choosing colors and sizes.  They range in shades of red, salmon, pink, green, yellow, white or dramatic bicolored or striped colors. You get what you pay for, smaller bulbs found in discount or box stores may not have the robust flowering that says "wow!"   

Use new potting soil in 6-inch pots (or a container that is just an inch larger than the bulb) with a third of the bulb showing above the pot rim. Water well and place in a cool area. Hold off on watering until growth appears, then water more frequently and move to a sunny location.  Quality bulbs should produce two flower stalks with four flowers on each stem.  For more information click here - amaryllis

Paperwhite narcissus bulbs are quick and super easy to grow in either water or soil. Garden centers stock paperwhites all through the winter season so plant them now and often. For family fun ask your kids or grandkids to help. Use a glass container filled with a 2-inch or more layer of pebbles or decorative rock, place the bulbs on top and fill in around them with more pebbles to keep them in place. Add water until it touches the bottom of the bulbs and maintain that level. If planting in fresh potting soil, sink the bulbs slightly in a soil filled container.  Use a container with drainage holes, if not then start with a 1/2 inch layer of small rock pebbles below the potting soil.

Paperwhites just about to bloom

Place the container in a bright room, not too warm (70 is just fine). They start blooming as early as three weeks.  Use decorative or seasonal twigs, or stakes to support the stems.  If you want to keep the stems shorter, try mixing in a very small amount of vodka, gin or rubbing alcohol in the water filled container (don't use with soil planted bulbs).  More - Pickling your Paperwhites.

After they are finished blooming (flowers turn brownish and you'll know they are gone), toss in the compost pile. Clean the container and start another set! 

  

I found this giant glass vase on the sale rack at a furniture store.  It's become my favorite way to grow and seasonally display paperwhites.  I use artificial berry branches after Thanksgiving through the holidays.  If using fresh branches of any kind, you'll have to set them in their own tiny vase within the vase because live branches will break down in the water causing discoloration (of the water).  

Some of my favorite DIY garden links (some sites require registration): 

Hometalk 

Gardening on Pinterest 

Apartment Therapy Fall Wreaths 

DIY Centerpieces 


 








 

October Polar Plunge is Over ... for Now

"Where's my long underwear ... now!" I replied in the middle of the night and early this morning. We made Colorado weather history the past forty-eight hours. I won't recite the number extremes - all I know is that I was wearing shorts and full spectrum sunscreen until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, October 9 and this morning, October 11 I couldn't get out of bed because the room was too cold. Okay, the weather guy said it was 9 degrees outside. "Wow," says everyone.

How will our landscape plants fair after this weather event? Your answer is as good as mine. For the most part we'll have to wait and see - especially for recent fall planted trees and shrubs. To lose fall planted perennials isn't pleasant, but if they were on the garden center sale rack, then consider the loss minimal based on the weather cards we were just dealt.

The obvious spring-summer planted annuals are dried, dead toast and ready for the compost pile. Same for seasonal warm-season vegetables like tomatoes and peppers (if diseased or buggy, toss in the garbage). Hardy, well established cool-season crops may have come through fine with heavy mulch or use of cold frames. If you covered iffy plants well and they made it through the cold - way to go. 

I've called the outdoor gardening season over ... lights out, time to move onto indoor amaryllis, paperwhites and several post season naps. There are plenty of harvested blush colored tomatoes in the basement that should provide a couple of weeks of sandwich layers and fresh taste for homemade red sauces. Hopefully you have some preserved homegrown fruits/vegetables as well.

As of this writing (Friday evening) click on the links below for pertinent after the polar plunge information. 

Frozen IV: The Aftermath of November 2014 Cold Snap Colorado State University Horticulture Agents and Specialists Blog - CO-Horts

Vegetable Growers News Michigan 2019

Denver Records Largest October Temperature Drop on Record The Denver Post 

Denver Weather: Cold Front Breaks not one but two Record Lows Overnight The Denver Post

Ornamental Container October 9, 2019 80 degrees

Ornamental Container October 10, 2019 twenty degrees and falling

Let the Gift Giving Begin!

Homemade Maple Block Vase

Who doesn't like receiving a gift?  December has to be the official gift giving month of the year and with good reason. Take your pick from the biggies - Christmas and Hanukkah to the food related ones - Fruitcake Day (12/27), National Fritters Day (12/2) and National Maple Syrup Day (12/7). And no doubt you celebrate Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day (12/8) or National Whiners Day (12/26), hope not. Thank you giftypedia.com for listing over fifty holidays to celebrate this month. I promise not to forget Day of the Ninja (12/5) next year.  
Gardeners are the easiest to find gifts for during the month of December. They are happy with just about anything that would be of help or enhancement in the landscape. From a bag of potting soil to a new shovel, they're happy with anything garden related. Below are some photos of some of my favorites (or ones I'm giving this year). If you want to view three minutes of my garden gift giving ideas, just click on the video below.

The first gift above is one of the coolest garden flower vases I've seen. A friend's husband is an expert wood worker and designed the vase to hold just a few flowers in a simple test tube. It's more of an art piece and the fact that flowers can be added is a bonus. I move it around the house because it's so attractive to view. Nothing says welcome like flowers, so place it in a guest room for visiting friends or family. It makes a pretty centerpiece too and you can see across the table to converse with your guests.

The grouping to the right represents some home grown plants including a gift basket. The upper right is a black container of garlic chives using left over from the fall planting cloves. Sink a few small cloves in to a container of potting soil - they take just a couple of weeks to emerge. Snip away to flavor any dish for a special taste of garlic. The leaves quickly grow back, so use them all winter and compost the plants and potting soil in the spring. 

Also pictured are canned tomatoes, dried basil, amaryllis (slow, late start this year, will bloom in January), and paperwhites. Have fun with an assorted basket of garden goodies (choose what you think your gardener would like). In this basket I included seeds, a garden center gift certificate, small pruners, hand soap, gloves and a soil test kit. Instead of a basket consider using a flexible plastic carry-all that doubles as a harvest tub - garden tub.

The gifts to the left require a little bit of spending. The soil test runs $35.00, a magazine subscription varies, some can be as low as $20.00 a year.  Garden books are excellent reference and idea resources, and so helpful with on the spot information (especially if the internet is down). 

A lavender wrap is a nice gesture for the gardener who likes a bit of pampering after a day in the garden (ME). The leaf scoops are for anyone who dislikes fall raking; these will make the job so much easier, almost fun, so much so that your children will want to use them too. Floating row covers are very useful for early outdoor seed starting and covering plants for late spring frosts or season extending in the fall. 

Micro green basil growing in Smart Pots

Any level of gardener or ones with ample garden space to plant will get lots of use out of Smart Pots - my go to container for basil, potatoes, herbs and broccoli. Check out their entire line of reusable, lightweight, watering fool-proof containers. Sold at local garden centers or online.

Enjoy the season!

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
― Winston Churchill