This is a woodland bluebell

// May 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, PlantSwap

…or so I’m told. I’m just tagging the image now so I don’t forget. Need to add infor later.

First Rose of 2010

// May 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Ohio, PlantSwap, Tiny House Projects, china, life, life the universe and everything, personal

From one of the $3 bare root cutting plants I purchased from Big Lots. You know, of the seven ghetto plants I got, only one turned out to be a dud! Yeay for gardening on the cheap!

First Rose of 2010

// May 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Ohio, PlantSwap, Tiny House Projects, china, life, life the universe and everything, personal

From one of the $3 bare root cutting plants I purchased from Big Lots. You know, of the seven ghetto plants I got, only one turned out to be a dud! Yeay for gardening on the cheap!

This is a woodland bluebell

// May 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, PlantSwap

…or so I’m told. I’m just tagging the image now so I don’t forget. Need to add infor later.

Primula ( Lismore Yellow Primrose )

// April 24th, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Ohio, PlantSwap, Tiny House Projects, china

My PlantSwap group is so awesome.  The members contract using a Yahoo!Group for seed-for-seed trades or seed-for-postage trades.  This allows us all to dramatically expand the diversity of our gardens with FREE seed exchanges.  I have also learned so much about gardening and collecting seeds and taking care of my garden from the group.  I can’t say enough good about our members.

On March 23, 2010 I received two PlantSwap trades; one from Barb Nice from PA and the other from Kelly Robinson from TX.  Barb sent me our contacted trade of primrose (which I swapped her some fountain grass), but she also sent me a RAK (Random-Act-of-Kindness) by also including some rose of sharon and rudebeckia maxima.

Primula "Lismore Yellow Primrose"

Primula ( Lismore Yellow Primrose )

How to Grow this Plant:

(more…)

Poppy (Oriental Red)

// March 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects, family

Poppies Rock!

I have always loved the beauty and stamina of the oriental poppy.  They are hardy, don’t need much water and produce a beautiful single bloom on top of a delicate stem.  I’ve been attempting to grow some poppies from seed this year and started them in peat pellets on March 12, 2010.  Here’s a great article on how to grow and propagate those fine flowers:

Growing and Propagating Oriental Poppies

There are a wide variety of both traditional and new species of poppies. It seems that each year, we see new species that are lovelier than the year before. It may be because more people are including poppies in their gardens. Another reason may be that gardeners are learning the secret of these delicate, silk-like flowers. Red Oriental poppies against a backdrop of evergreens or shrubs are absolutely stunning, and believe it or not, Oriental poppies are easy to grow. (more…)

Delphinium – Pacific Giants (Delphinium Elatum)

// March 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects, china, personal

Beautiful flower stalks in blue, purple and white appear in spring on tall perennial. Perfect in beds and borders as a background plant. Soil should be kept constantly moist. Fertilize monthly during growing season. Prune old stalks to the ground after new shoots appear. All delphiniums are easy to grow from seed, sown in pots or flats in late July or August. Transplants should be set out in October for late spring to early summer bloom. In colder areas, sow seeds from March to April or set out transplants from June to July for September bloom. Rich, well-drained soil is a must for delphiniums and they love regular fertilizings. Delphiniums will not do well in strongly acid soils, so add lime to make soil more neutral. A little superphosphate worked into hole when planting will result in a stronger plant. Do not cover root crown and beware: Snails and Slugs LOVE this plant, so keep area clean and free of debris. In spring, remove all shoots, except for 2 or 3, and side dress plants with a complete fertilizer. Stake plants early and remove old flower spikes immediately after bloom, leaving only foliage. Once new shoots are several inches tall, cut old stalks back hard. If plants have been well fertilized, you should get a second flush of flowers for fall.

Important Info :

Full sun produces best growth and flowering results. Soil should be kept constantly moist.

(more…)

HOC: Garden – Gardenia

// November 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects, spirit

I love gardenia’s!  I love the smell.  I love that they are “finickey” plants that need a lot of specific needs.  I think that’s awesome.  I’ve killed previous gardenias (Harry gardenia, may you rest-in-peace) but I was able to tend to some of my family’s flowers while they wintered in Florida and received one for Mother’s day this year.

I learned they like to:

1. drink coffee
2. receive regular misting with distilled water
3. and have an evening or two a week by a humidifier.

In return they gave me a steady stream of these:

Gardenia

Wasn’t that sweet?

Tiny House Project: Fall Bulb Planting

// August 11th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // House-of-Chaos

This is the first fall in the House-of-Chaos, and we’ve installed new doors, painted and redecorated the kid’s bedroom, fixed a toilet, sanded windows, cut the tree back, planted a bit of a garden and painted a bathroom.

The gardens have been minimal.  Mostly making some basic beds and working with the soil, which was mostly clay when we started.

I’ve had the ambition to get a few bulbs into the ground this fall so that come spring, I’ll already have some work done.  This is my plan:

My front yard has a wonderful mature maple tree which covers most of the yard and house in shade.  So I need to get some ground covering, hostas and day-lilies in this area.

In the back I have full sun almost all day, so I’m planting another two roses, some asiatic lilys, and peonies.  I love these “Black Out” Asiatic Lilys.