Dreams and Inspirations

The seed catalogs for spring 2010. The garden was still frozen when they arrived. Decision, decision, decision. Too many varieties, too little time.



This year I have decided to grow seven varieties of cherry/grape tomatoes. My favorite is Sungold, but can't resist Cabernet, Merlot, and Tami G. These are new super sweet varieties that maybe great for snacking straight from the vine.


I'm big when it comes to recycling, and reusing plastic containers. These are Costco's throw- away roast chicken containers. It's like a mini greenhouse. No need to punch holes. I just lined it with three layers of newspaper. The grooves on the bottom prevent over watering and also act as a reservoir.


Seedling growing under the light. These are tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in March. About eight weeks before the last average frost in our area.


Tomato plants in the green house. Almost ready for the The Inland Empire Gardeners (TIEG) 2010 Garden Expo on May 8, from 9am to 5pm at the Spokane Community College. I've been a club member for three years, and this is also LoLa's Garden's third year as a vendor. It's basically just a hobby that gone wild. I enjoy experimenting and growing different varieties of vegetables, especially tomatoes. Only to end up with too many seedlings to share with friends and family. Having a greenhouse makes it easy to get carried away.



This is from last year's kitchen garden. I'm dreaming of a salsa and a ratatouille that is as good or better than last year's produce. How about you? What is new in your garden this year?

My Favorite Annual Flower # 2 is a Zinnia

My favorite annual flower # 2 post is a Zinnia. Zinnias are one of Lola's Garden's favorite annual because they are heat tolerant, low maintenance and are very reliable bloomer all summer long. They also come in so many different colors, shapes and sizes. The Benary Giant series are the largest and most vigorous with fully double dahlia-like bloom that are 4-6 inches in diameter. They have excellent vase life and the bees love them.


An Orange Benary Giant next to a Nicotiana.


Three Zinnia varieties showing its range of colors, shapes and sizes.


Top left is a white carefree Zinnia from the Profusion series for ground cover and containers. It's an All-America Selection (AAS) Gold Medal and FleuroSelect winners. The bicolor one is Zowie Yellow Flame, another AAS winner. It's taller than the Profusion and a foot or two shorter than the Golden Yellow Benary Giant. These are the varieties available at Lola's Garden at the TIEG Garden Expo in Spokane, Washington.

My Radio Flyer Wagon

The Radio Flyer above is my favorite garden toy but I couldn't bribe Ham and Fancy, Lola's garden stroller and dirt digger to sit in the wagon for a photo op. A picture of a little old lady taking her schnauzer and pug for a ride in a bright red Radio Flyer wagon might just look hilarious enough for Digg. Maybe my humorless dogs have more sense still I don't think Antonio Pasin, the Italian immigrant and cabinet maker who created the first wooden wagon in 1917 would have mind. According to the company's web site, he created the Radio Flyer for children and named the first steel wagon after "his fascination with the invention of the radio by a fellow Italian Guliermo Marconi and flyer which reflected his wonderment of flight".

Apparently, he was also a master in keeping his inner child alive. Wonderment in my opinion is the perfect antidote for boredom. Childlike curiosity is fun and exiting. And intellectual curiosity about something really amazing is more than a power walk outside the proverbial box. Because curiosity when fully active, simultaneously creates another time and energy consuming creature called imagination which as we all know begets creativity. So instead of being bored and calling a pro to pave my driveway and patio, I decided to pave it with cement pavers.


I am simply impressed and fascinated by the simplicity and the durability of my Radio Flyer wagon. I bought it because the wheelbarrow is difficult for me to balance and push when it's loaded and heavy. The wagon doesn't put too much stress on my back and is much easier to pull with just one hand. I've used it to haul hundreds of cement pavers, retainers and bricks. It has been three years and still no problem whatsoever. No loose or lost screws. No flat tire. Not even a squeak. And it is light and portable enough to take to the TIEG Garden Expo and the Friends of Manito Botanical Garden plant sale in Spokane Washington; or anywhere a cart is not available. Having a Radio Flyer wagon is like having a friend who is much stronger than me. It is always ready and willing to help with the heavy work around the garden. It's almost a dream come true.


This is the Radio Flyer that inspired me to buy one. It is one of the many outdoor sculptures scattered throughout Spokane, Washington's Riverfront Park. It is made of steel reinforced concrete and was created in 1990 by Ken Spiering for the Centennial Celebration of Children. Funded by the Junior League of Spokane, the sculpture is 12 feet high, 12 feet wide and 27 feet long. It's big enough to carry 300 people. And the handle? You guess it. It's a slide.

Sunflowers

Helianthus - two Greek words, helios for sun and anthus for flower is the scientific name for sunflower. Under normal conditions sunflowers range in height from 2 to 8 feet. The "Moulin Rouge" (above) from Lola's 2008 garden was 8 feet and 7 inches tall, but the tallest according to the National Sunflower Association is 25 feet and 5.4 inches. The largest head is 32 inches and Melvin Hemker in Michigan grew a branching variety with 837 sunflower heads. The country that grew the tallest is Netherlands and British Columbia is the record holder for the biggest sunflower head. Their source is the 2004 Guinness Book of World records. I have seen pictures of sunflowers that are taller than a two story house but I just can't imagine a sunflower plant with 837 heads. I thought it was a typo but to my amazement, these are indeed the current records. However, there is a contest every year to try to beat it.

Sunflowers that are grown commercially for food and oil are single-stem. The blooms are traditional golden-yellow. Blooms with yellow rays and dark center is known as the classic or the original color of sunflower. Those that are breed especially for the cut flower industry are also single-stem or non-branching varieties in classic yellow to orange colors. Usually these varieties have low pollen or pollen-free which makes them desirable as cut flowers for indoor decorations. But for home gardeners, the ornamental sunflowers' range of size, shape, and color is enormous.

Lola's Garden had a little fund raiser for a local crises nursery during the 2008 TIEG Garden Expo. Besides being a Leo I choose sunflower because of its universal appeal and popularity with children. It's a fast growing ornamental plant with magnificent blooms that produce the delicious seeds for birds and humans. It was the right plant for the job.

The varieties I started from seeds were Ring of Fire, Moulin Rouge Hybrid, Cherry Rose Hybrid, Soraya, Pro Cut Orange, Sundance Kid, Ruby Moon Hybrid Mix and Citrus Twist Hybrid. I ordered the seeds from Jung, and Johnny's.

The seedlings were transplanted in 4" peat pots and were about 6-10 inches tall when sold at the expo. My hope was to sell most of the 200 plus plants but only a hundred sold. Each plant was worth one dollar to the nursery. I suppose raising enough for a few boxes of diapers is better
than nothing but the result was less than satisfactory.

I ended up planting a lot of sunflowers even after begging families and friends to please take some. My son-in-law planted more than a dozen for the birds but the squirrels made salad out of the plants including those that were heavily seasoned with garlic and hot peppers.

Lucky me I had so many sunflowers the squirrels in my neighborhood had more than enough and left a lot of them for me and the birds to enjoy. And like good stewards the birds left some to reseed.

The second and third pictures are volunteers from last year. There were a lot of them around the greenhouse and in the garden. I thinned those that were growing too thick but the solitary ones look too healthy to kill. So once again without trying, Lola's garden is full of sunflowers. The second picture looks like one of the "Ruby Moon" mix. The third is definitely a "Ring of Fire". I am still hoping to see some variation in blooms. Maybe some hybrids and parents of the hybrids. I will update the post if I get lucky.