11/14/21 Flowers GAL

[lynnee]

Jan 9, 2022 10:52:19 GMT -5 campingcorgis said:

That's a beautiful flower garden!  You should be very pleased!  

You bet! It's from a nearly outdated AG Flower Lover's Kit. (The lavender is still growing slowly in another garden.)

My Gazania opens in the morning, then closes up again. Others did this outdoors, too. Does your Gazania do that?

[Shawn]

The ones I grew from a different vendor closed at night too

[campingcorgis]

Jan 9, 2022 12:57:25 GMT -5 lynnee said:

Jan 9, 2022 10:52:19 GMT -5 campingcorgis said:

That's a beautiful flower garden!  You should be very pleased!  

You bet! It's from a nearly outdated AG Flower Lover's Kit. (The lavender is still growing slowly in another garden.)

My Gazania opens in the morning, then closes up again. Others did this outdoors, too. Does your Gazania do that?

Mine does that too.  I've not figured out when it opens, but it closes well before sunset, sometime around 3-ish, I think.  

[lynnee]

Day 63. The Gazania blooms were finished, so I removed them. The Dianthus has taken over for them. Another Snapdragon has appeared on the far right.

[campingcorgis]

It is beautiful!!  

[lynnee]

The dianthus is putting on a display now.



The whole garden still looks good. The calendulas don't last long, and really fall apart, making a mess, so they're gone. A new one is about to bloom in the middle, though. Zinnias and marigolds can't be beat for long-lasting color.

[campingcorgis]

They are truly beautiful, lynnee!  Where do you have that unit with the flowers?  I hope that they are in an area that you get to see them many times during the day!

[lynnee]

You bet! They're in the living room.

[maskedsonnet]

I love all the colors you’ve got!! They’re so pretty!

[Shawn]

I keep saying this but so pretty and bright for some cold and or gloomy days we have in the winter.

[lynnee]

Day 75, and the flower garden is still going strong!  New Gazania (left center) and lots of new Dianthus and snapdragons.

[campingcorgis]

Beautiful!  

[waterphoenix]

This is lovely. How long do you find the snapdragons bloom?

[lynnee]

Jan 30, 2022 17:05:55 GMT -5 waterphoenix said:

This is lovely. How long do you find the snapdragons bloom?

Outdoors, they last for 3-4 weeks in full afternoon sun, if memory serves. That's when they're transplanted at the time they first start to bloom. They don't last as long as zinnias or petunias, but they're hardy.

I'm actually rather surprised by how well the flowers are doing in this particular garden. I haven't done anything other than feed AG nutrients every two weeks, and do a rinse & refill every two weeks after the first month.

[lynnee]

This has probably been my most successful flower garden ever! I'm still removing deadheads, and the plants are just beginning to show signs of winding down. The snapdragons were late to the party, but are keeping the whole thing looking fresh now.

[Sher]

lynnee, the combination of colors and flowers is eye-popping! Gorgeous!

[lynnee]

Today was the end--sort of--for the colorful flower garden. I took one last photo, and transplanted everything outdoors. The Marigolds didn't like it much, but the others seemed okay with the move. As usual, I didn't bother with hardening off.

The zinnias look tired, but have unopened buds, as do the marigolds, calendulas, Gazanias, and snapdragons. The last photo shows my potting bench!

[Sher]

Those colors!!!!

My potting benches were always pretty utilitarian, too. I used to look at the ads for real potting benches and drool.

[lynnee]

I really wish that I had space for a real potting bench and garden setup!

The transplants look fine today. I watered them thoroughly, and will continue to do so for a few more days to help them transition to soil.

In a week or two, I'll post a pic to update the project. Usually the zinnias get tall and somewhat leggy after moving outdoors. I don't know what the rest of them will do.

[lynnee]

After 10 days, the transplants are doing fine. The gazania (top row, center) will open in the afternoon, and it has a new bud coming. The dianthus bud opened, as did the ones on the zinnias, calendulas, and marigolds. (The zinnias had blossoms that were close to deadheading when they were transplanted, and I ought to do that soon.) The snapdragons have gotten larger--snapdragons are still a bit of a mystery to me.

In transplanting, I just stick the pods into pots of potting soil with fertilizer. Then I keep them wet for about 3 days, water normally after that.

The flowers add unexpected color at our front gate. It's been very warm, which the flowers love, but I have to water them. No rain in Northern California for February, it looks like.