Hello everyone, it's been a looong while since my first and last post and I'm sorry for that. But I felt like not many people really cared much for it. But it actually doesn't matter, as long as just one person reads my blog I should be happy. Therefor I'm picking up my writing again and TRY to post regularly.
So "alot" has happened in the mean time. My old home has been sold, we've contacted an architect to draw the new house (which is ready since today!! so the plans can be sent to city hall for approval) and we've moved to a rental house for the mean time.
Here are some pictures of what it will look like hopefully in a year:
Gardening wise not alot has happened. I've been moving most of my plants to the new lot/house and tending to them with a few acquisitions (I got hooked on ferns a while back and I've been trying to propagate them, but more of that later)
Last summer I also harvested some seeds from my Camassia, Eremurus, siberian irises and the wild tulips. I sowed them outdoors in some baskets dug in the ground, coverd with some sand and ignored them since. All except the irises have come up this spring, the camassia especially are looking healthy. A bit of frosted tips on the others, but otherwise still going.
Last fall I ordered some extra spring bulbs: more tulips, snowdrops (G. woronowii and G. nivalis), Eranthis, Erythronium 'Pagoda' and 'White Beauty' and Leucojum vernum.
Here you see G. woronowii. I like it more than the others because of the broader, greener and glossier leaves. For that reason I've decided to donate the nivalis to a colleague of mine; she's always wanted some.
The snowflakes are a bit behind and not as showy (in fact a bit tattered becuse of slugs) which I kind of expected. I hoped to have var. karpaticum, the one witht the yellow tips and it seems I do have a few
The aconites have also started coming up, though alot less than the amount of bulbs I ordered. Also it seems I've received quite a few wrong bulbs. As you can see some of the leaves underneath the flowers are thinner (more tooth-like) I suspect these are E. cilicica instead of the hyemalis I wanted. Or is it just genetic diversity?
The calla lilies have completely blackened as you can see. I've put cloches over them aswell as the Agapanthus and my Eremurus which has begun sprouting already.
A few acquisitions: a new orchid: Cypripedium calceolus. My C. henryi has survived its second winter too, even after me rough handling him during repotting. Bought myself an early Christmas gift last November (I REALLY needed some good prunig shears and these are supposed to be the best); they're Felco. Expensive yes, but got them with a nice discount price at my SO's work
Following some gardening groups on FB I came across 'winter sowing' seeds, so I ordered myself some seeds: more iris, Angelica, Digitalis and another umbellifer which I can't remind the name of atm. I got off to a good start, but then the puppies got into them and ruined it all. Damn I was pissed that day
and I mean like toddler tantrum raging; on the verge of crying (I think I did....) Both Digitalis lost, trashed them, could save the iris and the umbellifers, but so far nothing has come up yet.
Oh and yes we got two new puppies
They're making me lose my hair, really. Destroying everything, most notably MY things; or the dry walling, furniture, kitchen cabinets...By Januari he lawn at the old house was a lawn no more
Regarding ferns...As I said I got hooked and ordered some from a Dutch nursery of which I am VERY happy with, excellent quality.
There's some Asplenium, Dryopteris, Polystichum.... For full list ask me. Meanwhile I began researching to propagate these from spores. It's not that easy - you have to be very careful to sterilise as much as possible - and it takes a long while. But I'm a patient one (somethimes) and went for it. Because it was already late in the season and most sporangia had already sprung (or most were too young) I didn't get much spore. I went ahead with what I got, making sure to be as sanitary as possible and not to cross contaminate the different species.
I sowed October 10th and placed them indoors on the windowsill. November 8th I noticed a green sheen on the soil containing P. aculeatum. I wasn't sure if this were algae or moss though...No sign of life in the other dishes. From then on nothing happend for weeks and as you know me I panicked. Not giving up on it yet I left it 'till finally Februari 2nd!! the other two containing A. scolopendrium also began greening up. Mind you the puppies got a hold of them way before that and they landed upside down on the floor (I almost lost it again hahaha). Anyway after months of keeping them cosy and moist the prothallia are growing:
This is as far as they are now. I mist them once or twice a week to try to get them to fertellize each other. Then it'll be another while (months) 'till the sporophytes grow. I guess it'll be another year at least before they can go outside. Fingers crossed.
Well, that's roughly what happened since the first post. I'm sure there were alot more things that happened, but I can't possibly list it all here
If you have any questions just ask. Happy reading!
