Butterfly Bush – Mixed Colors (Buddleia)
// March 18th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, PlantSwap, Tiny House Projects, china, personal
The House-of-Chaos started some Peat Pellets with Butterfly Bush seeds on March 12, 2010. The seeds for Butterfly Bush are tiny, tiny, tiny and really hard to plant properly. I’m hoping I got enough seed into each pellet so that some will germinate and sprout. I’m told that pre-chilling the seed before sowing should happen by mixing the seed in with some damp compost and sealing it in plastic zip bag and placing it into the fridge (not the freezer) for about 4 weeks can assist to speed germination.
After the seeds have germinated so that they are large enough to handle, plant them into 3″ pots and then plant them out about 6′ apart into any reasonable soil that is in full sun. It’s supposed to be sown from late winter to early summer in some rich compost which should just cover the seed. Make sure that the compost is moist, but not wet.
If you want to keep the Butterfly Bush a manageable size, make sure to prune it back each spring to about 2-3″ of old wood.
This excellent article about Butterfly Bush is from: http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/mvv2-94.htm (more…)
I purchased two red hibiscus plants at the end of the summer for the front patio of the Tiny House-of-Chaos. They were about $10 bucks a plant and I wasn’t sure if I would get much in the way of foliage from them, but they have produced literally hundreds of flowers that I’ve enjoyed. 
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.
Use only pressed tofu, a product that is not water-packed, because it is very firm and dry, otherwise, the filling will be too wet. Pressed tofu should be so firm that you can easily dice it or cut into thin strips. I have found pressed tofu in natural food stores and Asian markets, but if you cannot find it, use tempeh instead. You can make the pot stickers ahead and flash- freeze them for several weeks, or dust with cornstarch, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for several hours. Frozen pot stickers can be cooked after partial thawing.
Homemade ravioli are always a special treat. And, if you use wonton wrappers rather than homemade pasta, they require very little preparation. Here, ravioli are filled with tangy goat cheese that is seasoned with a generous quantity of fresh herbs and enhanced with your choice of either a fragrant broth or a light tomato sauce.
