I had a perfect lunch date yesterday. It was complete with an enjoyable lunch partner that provided me with entertainment, plant and seed shopping and a new piece of garden equipment.
My littlest gardener and I didn't let snow stop us from our shopping. After reading so much about hellebores lately at Fairegarden, Teza's Garden and In the Garden I just knew I needed to go back to the ones that I left calling out to me the day before. We braved the snow for a quick look at the hellebores and picked out these two. One is a Red Lady, the other a Blue Lady.
When we went in the store we found the seeds. My littlest gardener chose these Shirley Poppies. I've never grown them before, but how could I refuse her pretty choice? I also picked up the bush zucchini I grew last year. Great for a small space and produced just the right amount of zucchini for us.
She later chose this very useful wagon for pulling plants or as she said she would use it for, her "purple kitty".
We enjoyed a piece of cheese pizza while she sang the Alphabet song loud enough for everyone to hear. I can't wait for her to help plant the seeds she chose when it warms up. That's what I call a perfect day!
It sounds perfect to me! The hellebores look like winners. I bet your "date" had as much fun as you did. Her wagon should come in handy both inside and out. In my experience Shirley poppies are really easy. Direct sow now while the ground is cool. In fact I should get out there and sow mine. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Catherine--What a fun day! I just planted 'Red Lady' last fall (an end-of-season bargain :) ) Can't wait to see if she makes it through to spring. Just bought some Shirley poppy seeds yesterday too--great minds think alike. We'll have to compare notes as the season progresses...
ReplyDeleteYes indeed! I am looking forward to seeing both of your 'ladies' in the garden and your poppies for your other 'lady'. Thanks for the link. And have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'd call a perfect lunch date too! Now I want to find some hellebores! Last time I was at the nursery, they didn't have any. I better go back and check today! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the race is on to find helleborus. I am just about to look them up to see if I can grow them here in North Florida. You did have a perfect day. I want to see the purple kitty.
ReplyDeleteI have a garden full of hellebores - they grow like weeds here, but they're ALL the same sort - with pale green flowers. I want some with COLOUR!
ReplyDeleteI also want to share pizza with you and hear your daughter sing the alphabet song - oh, how I miss that now my girlies are older!
You really made me smile - thanks!
Catherine:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the 'link'. I have a suspicion that this year I'm going to be focusing a lot of attention on Hellebores. They are so easily addictive, and with so many new and interesting ones coming into commerce..... I loved your post.... there is something magical about having a child fall under the spell of gardening. I have a nephew who is helping to open my eyes to the world of colour that is out there...'there's more than blue Uncle!'
Catherine, THIS is an idea for you and your littlest gardener! I'm working on it myself for my grandchildren when they come to visit (wish that were more often!!)
ReplyDeleteAn Alphabet Garden! Complete from creating each letter of the alphabet on a label of some sort, with a matching plant name. Some of these plants could already be in your garden, some could be plants you put in together, and some could be seeds. Great idea?
(And, later, you could write a book together!! Complete with little-gardener illustrations?)
I'll be posting when I get this all organized! Meanwhile, I'm sure all you needed was one more project! ;-)
You have such great helpers! I have been looking for hellebores myself this year- I found some nice seeds, but I'm not sure I want to try them, they can be challenging- or so I've read! The other plant that I've been looking for is Lantana- and I finally found some seeds!
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening!
What a great day for you two. My little guy does bulbs so I can't wait for him to get into plants. Love the wagon! And Hellebores are awesome. I was just thinking today that I need more beneath the front rhodie. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, I agree completely, and the entertainment sounded delightful too. Your hellebore choices and seeds and wagon make for the perfect shopping trip, great lunch and company, it just doesn't get any better. Those two hellebore ladies came to live here too, hope both of ours look like those photos on the tags.(Someday). :-) And thanks so much for the link love.
ReplyDeleteFrances
Grace - I think maybe if the weather holds we'll get those seeds in this week. She's been pulling that wagon everywhere!
ReplyDeleteDonna - Will you plant your poppies soon? I hope your Red Lady performs well for you this year!
Tina - I'm going to try and get them in this week in our pathway area. I enjoyed your hellebore post yesterday!
Kathleen - They've just started putting the hellebores out here, hope you can find some. I just love them!
Darla - I'm not sure if they grow in Florida, but I hope they do. They are great year round. I'm sure purple kitty will make an appearance. He's very important around here :)
Nutty Gnome - Wouldn't be fun if us garden bloggers could get together for lunch someday and talk plants? I'd vote to come out your way! These days of singing loudly for all to hear don't last long and I just love that she doesn't care who hears her.
Teza - After reading you hellebore post is when I saw the Blue Lady at the store. I knew she needed a friend so we couldn't leave Red Lady behind. Kids really do give you a whole new perspective don't they and they aren't afraid to tell you either!
Shady Gardener - I do LOVE your idea. That would be so fun. She's starting to recognize letters now and my older daughter knows quite a few plant names. They would both have fun doing this. I think I will work on it. I want to see how your turns out too. I know your grandchildren will love it. I have so many memories of my grandparents garden.
Tessa - I have some of my hellebores self sow. They are fairly expensive, but for the year round interest I think they are worth it.
Lantana is really pretty. Does it grow well from seed? I also think you should get your waterfall set up!! :)
Melanthia - Has your little guy pulled up a flower yet with the bulb hanging off? Isn't it fun having them out there helping. I can't believe I found these at a Top foods of all places!
Frances - I hope you will share photos of when your ladies bloom. I can't wait to see the color in person. It can be hard to tell. By the way the day after your post I gave my hellebores a hair cut and they look so nice now!
I enjoyed your post the other day about the pond and now this is another good one. I like to see what other people are planting and doing. I see you are going to have some poppies. I really had a lot of good luck with mine last summer and enjoyed them and I know the bees and other bugs that I cherish so much enjoyed them as well. So I will have to plant them again and hope that some will come up form seed.
ReplyDeleteI have been working on my birds blog today and hope to have some more big hawk photos on there sometime on Thursday.
We have got some terrific winds tonight here in Brookville and tornadoes are in the area. I suppose this means the cold weather is going to return. We just got the last snow melted today and I saw some plants heaved up badly. So I am guessing they won't survive till spring.
What a fun day! I just know I will find some helebores when the time is right. That's even the flower on my calendar right now!
ReplyDeleteYour youngest gardener picked out some great goodies, too!
Abe Lincoln - Thanks for visiting again. I'm looking forward to seeing poppies in my yard anything that's easy and pretty is a definite plus. I will look for your hawk posts this week. I've only ever had one in my yard and unfortunately it was swooping down on a poor chickadee at a feeder.
ReplyDeleteHope the weather isn't too bad there, and I definitely hope the tornadoes pass by and there is no more damage.
Sue - It was very fun. You will love the hellebores when you find them :)
Well, your lil' gardener is already picking up, Catherine! I love Poppies too!
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ReplyDeleteHow nice to share your gardening with your daughter. My sons, teenagers now, have an aamazing wealth of plant knowledge for their age which they have picked up from me over the years. Their interest has waned but I hope and suspect it will come back when they have their own gardens in the future
ReplyDeleteChandramouli - She is ready play outside just like me. We just need it to warm up a bit :)
ReplyDeletePatientgardener - I bet you sons will be interested when they have their own gardens. I don't think I appreciated all the work that went into one until I was a homeowner. When I was a teenager it felt like a chore to me, edging beds, raking, etc. Now the work part is just as rewarding as seeing the flowers bloom
fengyebingxyueer - this is just a gardening blog. My guess is you found this blog instead of your targeted WOW audience. Your comment came across as some sort of sales pitch for WOW which I'm really not into. That is why your comment was deleted. Good luck with your business elsewhere.
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