“A seed, after all, is an embryo, a potential plant waiting for its moment to grow. It has what it needs to begin. But it can also put itself on pause. It can wait.”
– Robert Krulwich
7/31/17:
On Saturday, Steve and I went to the garden store and bought a tall metal trellis, a magenta-pink bougainvillea, and red and white dipladenia (Mandevilla) plants. We are making good progress at filling in the empty space at the corner of the yard! I’ve never had dipladenia before, but have seen them around town in a variety of landscapes and light conditions. The bush with rich red velvety-petaled flowers is especially striking. I hope they’ll thrive in our soil and have a long bloom season.
Another new addition to the yard is a set of six solar lights. Our neighbor Karl-Heinz bought them for a camping party. Once he returned from the event, he offered them for use at our home. So on Sunday afternoon I placed them around the edges of the lawn and in potted plants along the pathway to Karl’s house. It was neat to step outside after dark and see how they illuminated the landscape.
Another new addition to the yard is a set of six solar lights. Our neighbor Karl-Heinz bought them for a camping party. Once he returned from the event, he offered them for use at our home. So on Sunday afternoon I placed them around the edges of the lawn and in potted plants along the pathway to Karl’s house. It was neat to step outside after dark and see how they illuminated the landscape.
Clicking on the small images below will bring up a larger version.
Trellis and new flowers.
Solar light.
Snappy dragons.
There’s still a lot in bloom around here at the moment. As flowers fade and I deadhead them, I’m also collecting the seeds. This time I’m being conscientious: writing the name and date collected on the bag of each seed variety, and storing them all in one place. This weekend I gathered handfuls of big, knobbly nasturtium seeds, and lots of the itty-bitty snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus) seeds. It is fascinating to me how each one of these black specks has the potential to become a foot-tall plant.
We signed up to receive a bi-weekly box of fresh organic produce a few months ago. Each shipment is different; it’s been interesting to try vegetables I don’t eat often, such as bok choy, or unfamiliar varieties of favorite foods, such as a pale yellow bell pepper. Last week while making salad, I decided to save seeds from the peppers and a particularly tasty tomato. I’d also like to grow some of the crisp red lettuces and purple carrots we’ve enjoyed from these shipments, so will buy seed packets of those eventually.
We signed up to receive a bi-weekly box of fresh organic produce a few months ago. Each shipment is different; it’s been interesting to try vegetables I don’t eat often, such as bok choy, or unfamiliar varieties of favorite foods, such as a pale yellow bell pepper. Last week while making salad, I decided to save seeds from the peppers and a particularly tasty tomato. I’d also like to grow some of the crisp red lettuces and purple carrots we’ve enjoyed from these shipments, so will buy seed packets of those eventually.