First Flowers of Spring

I noticed today the first spring blooms in my garden. The Crocus, Hellebores, and some of the Daffodils are in bloom. This is a sure sign that spring is on it's way, makes me so happy I can soon be in the garden more as the warm weather kicks in and the days get longer.

Rooting Rosemary Cuttings in Water

I have a potted rosemary plant that I brought inside to overwinter, I decided to take some cuttings and place them in a sunny warm window ceil in a clear plastic cup of water. I had never grown rosemary from cuttings before, so I wasn't sure how easily they would root. After a few days roots started to develop, and now several weeks later, its a tangled mess of roots. I will replant these soon in individual pots with potting mix.

UPDATE: Sabal minor Seedlings

I have noticed that my Sabal minor seedlings are starting to fan out and there are a total of 9 seedlings now. They are looking very nice and healthy.

UPDATE: Chinese Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei

So I uncovered my Trachy a few days ago and the winter this year was really mild, the coldest temp this winter was 14 F. My Trachy did very well this winter, it managed not to defoliate. I protected it again this year with a tomato cage wrapped in bubble wrap stuffed with straw, and a trash bag over the top of it to keep the moisture out. This method iv used for 2 years in a row. I am just so happy it didn't loose it's leaves. Hopefully this year it will really take off.

Sabal Minor Palm Seedlings

So the last few years I have been pretty obsessed with hardy palms. I bought some Sabal minor palm seeds from Gayland Penny at Penny's Palms http://www.pennyspalms.com/. He is a good supplier, the seeds took a while( about 3 months) but they germinated. I had to file them though with a nail file and soak them for about a week before I planted them. Sabal minors have a tough hard seed casing. Sabal minors are a cold hardy palm that can be grown in northern climates with protection, hardy to zone 7b without protection. They are native to the southeastern United States. I am kinda excited because iv never grown palms from seed before. I will update there progress, wish me luck.

UPDATE on Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant seedlings

It's been out five weeks now since I planted my tomatoes, eggplants, and Peppers. They have grown a lot and are getting pretty big. They look pretty healthy but I think some of the plants in the back weren't getting enough light so I moved them closer to the light, they were looking a bit pewney. I will probably have to repot them next week.

Seed Starting Time

It's February, it's chilly, but it's time to start thinking about planting seeds. I planted some Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, and a few Genovese Basil seeds because I love it so much. I usually direct sow some of my Basil directly into the garden but I like to start a few plants earlier so I can harvest sooner. Among the Tomatoes I am planting this year are my favorite tomato of all time the Cherokee purple, They are an heirloom variety said to have originated with the Cherokee Indians in Tennessee, they taste amazing. This year I decided also to try my hand at Sungold cherry tomatoes, I have read that they are one of the best cherry tomatoes. I also planted some chocolate cherries, SuperSweet 100 cherries, as well as Mortgage lifter, I love the heirloom tomatoes. For my peppers I am growing a mixture of several varieties of Bell peppers, california wonder, I got the mix from Burpee, as well as early Jalapenos to spice things up a bit. I am only going to grow one variety of eggplant this year, the Italian heirloom Rosa Bianca, it has nice mauve and white colored fruits that are round they taste great and the plants are quite prolific, I have grown this variety for the last several years. If you need advice starting some seeds of your own refer to my previous post seed starting 101. For an easy way to start hardy perennials check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGQbn6tcvk&context=C37834a1ADOEgsToPDskIbjsC6BIiebaMKtYWSS_8N