Hi Aaron, it is good to see you in the blogosphere again! We recently had several nights into the 20s, but my Camellia japonicas have come through ok. They lost those blooms that were open at the time, but now they are putting out more blooms than ever. Despite being zapped by the frost, my garden is churning onward into spring.
Your Crystal Fountain clematis is gorgeous. Nothing wrong, and everything right, about adding a plant for its esthetic value to a garden, even a wildlife garden. I do this even amongst my veggies. I love the serendipitous combination of arrowwood viburnum with the oakleaf hydrangea, and the way your white blooms compliment white railing.
I have very few house plants! It is enough to care for everything outside. Of course, in the winter we haul all our tropicals in pots outdoors into my hubby’s office fothe winter, and he gets to “enjoy” the greenhouse effect. He threatens to build me a combo garden house/greenhouse every winter but soon forgets when they go outside in spring.
Got to keep your wife happy! I love tulips, too, and sometimes indulge in a handful. They are lovely in a pot.
Best wishes,
Deb
Wow, that's a beauty! Do your tulips return and bloom each year? Unfortunately, as far south as I am, we have to treat them as annuals - expensive ones!
I love hyacinths, though we are a bit too far south for them to prosper here. I like your progression images. Have you heard the old proverb: If you have two pennies, use one to buy bread for the body and the other to buy hyacinths for the soul. (Obviously, this was before the days of inflation.)
I buy my transplants locally. I get better plants for a better price; I found this out the hard way! Though my son buys from one particular online company ( sorry, I don’t know the name but could get it if you want) and he has been pleased for the most part.
Well, I don’t do seeds; as I have had bad experience with seeds being washed away by storms. If I had a protected area to get them going, I would be happier to use seeds, but I purchase transplants and plant them in late September to October, whenever the summer heat has broken. My veggie garden is about 8 by 16 plus a few grow bags, so not very large. I would have to use seeds for a larger garden for economical reasons. Seeds would need to be sowed in late August to mid September.
Collards are definitely a fall/winter crop here, as is lettuce.
No cold frame. I’ll probably loose them if it gets into the teens, though collards may even survive that. Besides collards I have several types of lettuce, Swiss chard
( which some critter keeps nibbling down),chives and Goliath kale ( also very hardy).
Long term weather says we may have some snow again next week. Best wishes!
Deb