If you planted a Zinnia seed . . .

. . . and this popped up, would you be surprised?

I was! Here I was, watering trays with Zinnia, Butterfly Weed, Ageratum and Nicotiana and when I came to this 9-cell black-plastic one and saw something move, I knew it was not a Zinnia seed that had germinated!

Not the first toad of the year to make its appearance in my garden, but this is probably the last place I would have expected one.

Catalogs

Pity the companies whose catalogs land in my mailbox the same day Renee’s Garden’s arrives; they will be lucky to get a quick glance.

What makes Renee’s Garden’s so outstanding? Well, first of all, it is pleasing to the eye. It is also well-organized. And . . ., I guess it does not hurt that a seed packet is bound to accompany it. Great marketing tactic!

From last year, one of the garden flower seeds I liked best was Cerinthe ‘Pride of Gibraltar’. Not having heard of Cerinthe before (remember, I am still a relatively new gardener . . .), I had no idea what to expect. Well, this plant made itself at home in my garden and persevered as others wilted in our hot summer of 2010.

In the vegetable category, the lettuces were my masterpieces and made welcome appearances at my table – both in Spring and in Autumn.

So, what am I ordering this year? More lettuces, of course, also an arugula, and a white lavender I have not tried before. There is an Alyssum mix I’ve got to have: ‘Summer Romance’, and I am confident that the Zinnia ‘Bling Bling’ will be an asset to my garden this year – keeping my fingers crossed that the humidity keeps itself in check! And, I am going to test Renee’s Garden’s ‘Easy to Grow Container Herb Garden’. Many of my neighbors complain of having been born without a green thumb and I hope my trial of this combination of cilantro, basil, chives, dill and parsley will set them straight; I can’t wait to take my containers to them as a welcome to our local garden club.

Baptisia

Grown from last year's seeds, these new plants, of which I have about two dozen, will be ready for the garden in the fall.

One of the many seed pods on this year's plant.

Lots of seeds to share with friends and colleagues!

This could become my favorite plant! Three years ago, Salvia was my favorite plant. Then I switched to Yarrow. Now, with the success of the seedlings, my prime attention may just switch to Baptisia. It does not bloom very long, but when it does . . ., oh, my, spectacular!

Plants from Seeds

Growing plants from seeds is a relatively new experience for me. Until this year, I have mainly purchased what I wanted in my garden - at plant sales or at local nurseries - or been generously given by relatives, friends and colleagues.

From top to bottom, the California Poppy and Cat Mint seeds came from Renee's Garden, the Butterfly Weed seeds were purchased at a garden conference last January, from a local grower, and the Cilantro's seeds were collected in my garden last year.

Catalogs, Books & Conferences

Plant and seed catalogs have been arriving in my mailbox at a pretty steady clip the past several weeks, although not nearly in the volume of earlier years. And that’s a good thing. Why fell more trees and print more stuff when everything is a quick click away on the Web?

Of course I want to order just about everything I see! But, I have a small garden and it is pretty much full (would love to dig up the front yard for a vegetable garden, but that is not likely to get HOA approval). The catalogs of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange are all enticing, especially the last, with all those tomatoes on the cover. I swear, though, that this year I’ll think at least twice before growing any tomatoes – too much work, and the local farmers’ market will have everything I need.

I’ve loved reading “Waking up in Eden”, by Lucinda Fleeson, not long ago, and just yesterday read the Fourth Edition of Karen Platt’s “Black Magic and Purple Passion” (available as an e-book directly from the author, but the Third Edition can still be found on Amazon) – more than 600 plants with very dark flowers or foliage. I’ve already decided to go looking for some Actaea (Black Cohosh) and the ‘Twilite Prairie Blues’ variety of Baptisia in the coming months. The book includes lots of Bearded Irises and Daylilies and great photographs of such specimens as Ajuga lupulina, Arisaema, and Primula ‘Elizabeth Killelay’. I love Primulas, as they are so cheerful early in the gardening season.

The Georgia Master Gardeners have their winter conference coming up on January 23, with lots of good stuff to offer its attendees, not in the least a presentation by pre-eminent Georgia gardening guru Walter Reeves.

On the heels of that is WinterGreen 2010, this region’s trade show for the horticulture industry, which I pan to attend. And then, on February 3, Northeast Georgia Writers will hold its first 2010 seminar, with Cecil Murphey as the speaker.