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Friday, June 22, 2007

Bloggergarden

I plant a garden every year. Actually, I go buy plants (mostly herbs, flowers, and tomatoes) and put them in the ground. If they grow, I have a garden. If they die, I go buy new ones. Gardening is something all witches are supposed to excel at, so obviously, I'm only a pretend witch, because I have a pretend garden. However, my kids love the day that the garden is planted because the front of my house is transformed into a thing of beauty that everyone in our family helps to maintain.

Leaving Darrin at home (because he scoffs at our need for flowers, and gasps at the price we pay), we go together to the greenhouse. DJ, Adam, and Tabitha all have their own ideas of what we should buy, and I allow them to choose three annuals and one perennial each. The perennials which have survived are already blooming and making me itch to give them neighbors.

Usually, my kids are right there with me, planning what they'll choose to plant. However, when I asked them this year, Tabitha suggested I ask my readers to tell me their favorite flowers and we'd plant our garden based on the responses I receive. It's not a bad idea, but I pointed out that I didn't know how many of my visitors would have a preference, and I only get a few comments, so there might not be very much participation. Adam seconded her idea, though, so here I am, asking for input.

If you have a favorite, annual or perennial, will you let me know? Include your favorite color with the suggestion. If enough people help with this, I promise to post a picture when we're finished. I do warn everyone, though, that I don't supervise the planting. I just let the kids dig holes and put in the plants where ever they believe they'll look nice. It usually ends up looking like a jumbled mass of color--and I love it! Feel free to suggest more than one item. Variety is the spice of life.

13 comments:

  1. Bleeding hearts (only come in pink, plant in shade) and Painted Daisies (a beautiful magenta color).

    They're perennial and are great because they die back every year so you can have some beautiful spring flowers, like pansies, tulips and stuff.

    That's my votes. :)

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  2. Oh! And if you're going to be in Utah in the fall, we're going to thin out my mom's Iris beds, so you can take some of those, they're great spring flowers too. She has yellow ones and purples ones with furry "tongues".

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  3. Hirkette votes for gardenia

    I vote for black pansies and asylum for ground cover.

    Hirkette wants another vote. (she is jealous that I picked two)
    -Daisies

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  4. actually my favorite are tulips is mass amounts, but that doesn't really fit your gardening style. Perhaps you could get some help this falls and use this suggestion for next sping.

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  5. I second the bleeding hearts vote.

    I also vote for any dual-toned roses. My favorites are the orange-red variety.

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  6. For annuals:
    Pansies are always lovely, and come in every colour imaginable.
    http://www.beddingplants.com.au/new_varieties/downloads/simba_pansy_closeup_lg.jpg
    http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/pansy.jpg

    Sweet peas, a annual climbing vine,
    both of which come in many colours and for both of these, especially I like mixing either warm colours or pastel colours. http://gstuff.co.nz/shop/garden/images/sweet-pea-mamoth.jpg
    http://plants.thompson-morgan.com/pix/m/plants/5/5959.jpg

    Snap dragons are always fun with kids, and are very colourul.
    http://www.scienceu.com/library/articles/flowers/images/medium/snapdragon.jpg

    Ageratum, light purple. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/define-ageratum-floss-flower-1.jpg

    For ground cover, asylum might me nice, but I like alysum even better :) Again, in white, blue, various shades of pink and purple. http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/HomeHort/F1Column/2006%20Articles/Graphics/SweetAlysumCornell.jpg

    And who doesn't love sunflowers?
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Sunflowers.jpg/800px-Sunflowers.jpg

    For Perennials:
    I LOVE bleeding hearts! And they also come in white, though those are a little harder to find.
    http://www.thompson-morgan.com/pix/m/plants/7/7433.jpg
    http://www.forde-nursery.com/images/perennials/white_bleedingheart.jpg

    Also, Peonies. Come in every warm colour and several cool colours. I love watching the ants crawl all over them. They also die back in the winter, but are perennials.
    http://www.lancasterfarms.com/images/64817606394.gif
    http://www.plantkingdom.com/images/paeoniabluelagoon.jpg
    http://dirty.as.arizona.edu/~kgordon/gallery/d/6591-2/Peony.jpg
    http://www.dutchflowers.com/Merchant/graphics/00000001/double%20peonies.jpg
    http://www.bristol.k12.sd.us/dtl/images/peonies.jpg
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/content/images/2006/09/13/spider_mariekoenig_440x330.jpg
    Yeah, peonies are one of my favourite flowers.

    Also, Hydrangeas, blue, pink, white, green. If you want, you could do an american themed Hydrandea garden - Pink(red) white and blue? :)
    http://greenwoodnursery.com/Images/HydCardinalRedBloommain.jpg
    http://www.hort.cornell.edu/4hplants/Ornamentals/Images/Hydrangea3.jpg
    http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/images/hydrangea/hydrangea_typical_blue_mine.jpg
    http://ohric.ucdavis.edu/photos/fullsize/Hydrangea1.jpg
    http://www.floralimages.co.uk/images/hydrangea_macrophylla_18d.jpg
    http://static.flickr.com/25/35660378_5830dbe46c_m.jpg

    Also, I think clematis vines are divine. Royal blue or purple are my favourite.
    http://www.phy.duke.edu/~fortney/flowers/clematis/image-index.html

    Also, I love blubs, daffodils, crocuses, tulips, IRISES, lilies, etc.
    http://www.mobot.org/hort/images/tours/sam1.jpg
    http://image42.webshots.com/43/9/80/79/343398079ldKUYB_ph.jpg
    http://www.hcp.bc.ca/images/lilies.JPG
    http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/images/daffodils.jpg
    http://hflp.sdstate.edu/ho311/outdoor_images/Crocus%20mixed.jpg

    Also, Lilacs, pink,white, purple, blue. The smell is heavenly.
    http://wihort.uwex.edu/Phenology/images/Lilac.jpg
    http://www.paghat.com/images/lilac_blue_ap.jpg
    http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/pics/lilac10.jpg

    And ROSES!!! Especially climbing roses. My mum has a large arbour gate in front of the entrance to the garden, and it is covered with two climbing roses, and is just spectacular.
    http://www.douglashoerr.com/images/manor1_l.jpg
    That's not my mum's garden, just so you know.
    http://www.hotgardens.net/Garden_seat_arbor_pink_roses.JPG

    Ok, so I got way carried away.
    Well these are just some of my favourite flowers. I hope it's helpful!

    You must post pictures ASAP!

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  7. RUDE!!!

    The links did not work. I guess you have have to go to my page:

    http://athornyway.blogspot.com/

    and see the wonderful pics of flowers I found for your garden!

    For me, I guess this is gardening my proxy. I really miss gardening. Have fun! I'm really jealous!

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  8. I vote for Pansies - the dark purple with the cute little yellow faces

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  9. can't say I have favorites because I love so many, but I'll second iwonder's ground cover suggestion of Alyssum (I especially like the purple/white variety). A couple perennials I have planted that are in their third year and I seem to enjoy more each year are threadleaf coreopsis- "Moonbeam" and Cinquefoil - "Gold Star". Both have smaller yellow flowers. Moonbeam requires full sun and grows grass-like with blooms just about ready to appear (another week maybe). Gold Star grows in sun and part shade. it's actually a dwarf shrub and the stem/branches are wood like, but it has full little green leaves and shiny, deep yellow flowers that have just started blooming.

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  10. I love fuschias. I don't know how well they would grow where you live, but they are just cool looking flowers. As far as the color goes, though, I think it depends on the other colors you have, but I think the ones that are dark purple and pink are the coolest looking.

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  11. Yeah, like I said, I got carried away. I absolutely love gardening and I love flowers, especially ones I grow myself.

    I am really jealous that all of you get to garden and play in the dirt. Honestly, one of the things I most look forward to about owning a house is being able to garden to my heart's content, and being able to create whatever makes me happy.

    To me, there is just something so wonderfully satisfying about gardening.

    And Samantha, don't worry, the fact that you do the gardening with your kids and that you have fun together is the most important thing. Part of the reason I love gardening so much is because of the time I spent with my parents gardening while I was growing up. I think that it is great that you can share something with you kids that you love, and that they are learning to love it as well. That's a thousand times better than any professional landscaping.

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  12. A long time ago I knew a girl name Alyssum. She was super impressed that I knew it was a flower. Apparently my generation is known for not knowing anything.

    I was going to comment, but I think everything I would have suggested has already been said. Also, I'm way late to this party.

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  13. Yay! I love these kinds of posts! :D

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