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Saturday, February 28, 2015

You Know You're a Gardening Fanatic If... February 27, 2015

First, a peek at a visitor to my deck, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Poecile rufescens-


Today I am linking with-

Wild Bird Wednesday, hosted by Stewart M.

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

I'd Rather be Birdin' hosted by Hootin' Anni

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

Next in my houseplant series is the Amazon Lily, which blooms once a year and is fragrant-

You Know You're a Gardening Fanatic If...
*your household decorations and your pursuits are mostly botanical.  Every fall the end of the gardening season is a let-down, so I compensate by starting my indoor gardening endeavors.   This can be done cheaply by using a 3 tier metal shelf, tying 4' fluorescent fixtures to the top and middle shelves, and then they accomodate 2 20"x10" trays per shelf, each holding 36 2.25" rose pots, x 4 = 144 plants per shelf unit.  I fit these shelves in where there is some wall space.  One is by my bedside in front of a glass door.  I covered it to block the light when necessary and make it warmer.
And under the curtains-

Some perennials I started early in 2013 in November did bloom last year but not all.   I started these, mostly perennials, 12/10/14, in hopes I will get flowers this year.  Last year I started some Gaillardia later and planted them out but they didn't bloom, but I hopefully they will bloom this year with an earlier start, one can always hope.

The little seedlings growing make me feel like life is bursting forth.  And earlier this month I started tomatoes and eggplants, a pot of tomato seedlings that need transplanting is on the left below, with Creeping Thyme behind-

Transplanted tomatoes, notice I put them a little deeper in the pot to develop more roots-

A painting done by my artsy sister of Hazelnut trees with embellishments and Lunaria (Silver Dollar)-

Oak leaves in a pastel orange-

Tell me why the Ivy twines-


Hoyas love moist shower air-

A twig cabinet pull is handy to hang something on-

What form does your gardening obsession take?      But I look elsewhere to meet my deepest needs. Hannah




or cameras are macro

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.   I look forward to reading your comments and visiting your blog as well. 




47 comments:

  1. Hello Hannah, I love your sweet Chickadee. Cute photo and video. Your Lily is gorgeous and the seedlings are looking great.. I like the cute twig handle.. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post.. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, with the approach of spring the bird feeding days are numbered then we won't see them so much. I love the handles but my Husband doesn't like their ability to snag loops on clothing. Thanks for hosting!

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  2. hi there. i hopped over thanks to Eileen critter party. nice to see your chickadee ... such a cutie. i love Elvis. have a nice weekend. ( :

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  3. Hannah, such lovely flowers to see. Nice to be starting some plants inside for transplanting later.

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  4. you do have gardening in your blood. love your sister's painting. :) sweet little chickadee! gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks, Theresa, my mother painted as well, I'm more of a fiber artist myself. I love your whistler ducks, so cute.

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  5. Love the little bird and all your seedling. You have been working hard. Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Margaret, the Chickadees are fun to watch. I wish I could see them in the trees too. I am trying to get 2 pots of tomatoes transplanted a day, I have to microwave the potting mix and bleach the pots, so it takes a while to get it all done.

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  6. All those tiny plants - promises for the future. How wonderful. Carolina Chickadees are beginning to nest here, also promises for the future. Your Chestnut-backed Chickadee is sweet.

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    1. Yes, when winter seems bleak I just go look at my babies, getting bigger and so promising. It's great you get to watch the Chickadees nest, I haven't tried that.

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  7. Your tomato plants look vibrant, just as young things should. It's interesting that they grow to various sizes, given that they share the same conditions. I don't think I'm obsessed about any part of the garden ..... but having one is a must have!
    And I do love looking at other people's gardens.

    Wishing you a happy weekend Hannah,
    Ruby

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    1. Thanks, they look much happier after I get them transplanted. I started more plants this year than I intended, when going through my seeds I realized some good tomatoes hadn't been grown for quite a few years and I would lose them, so I tried starting some from 2004 and on. More germinated than I expected, so here I am. I did grow this many before, but it is a lot of work, however, I'm giving some to my daughter and DIL to grow as well. I did have sweet dreams last night.

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  8. Starting the seedlings off inside must be a sure way to get them growing so well, Gayle ( The White House) up in Alaska has hers in an outside glasshouse ( maybe plastic covered) with flats on shelves and fluorescent lights, this must be the way to do it up North. Here, my glasshouse has whitewash to stop the intense heat in summer!!! Those tomato seedlings look great.

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    1. Thanks, Jean, greenhouses here would be expensive to keep heated in the winter, and seedlings do like it warm, generally, even 70ºF / 21ºC. I don't use heating mats but do have the curtains to keep some heat in. At present I have 3 shelf units set up = 432 plants. The tomatoes will come close to filling the second unit, and I am in process of starting annual seeds soon that will fill up the third. By the time the plants hit the lights they can hopefully go outside.

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  9. Love the little charmer, the chickadee!!
    And your expertise in gardening certainly shines in the post too!!!

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    1. Thanks, Anni, I've been fascinated by gardening all my life, starting with my SC grandfather's garden when I was a toddler. I've been using the shelf system for around 20 years, it has worked very well for me, main problems have been if ants bring aphids in and last year spider mites showed up and decimated some plants, so I scrubbed the shelves and trays, and am being very careful not to bring any outside plants anywhere near my shelves.

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  10. I love the little chickadee and the lily is gorgeous. You have a lot of little seedlings to plant. I hope you'll get lots of flowers and veggies too. Have a wonderful weekend, Hannah.

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    1. Thanks, Gunilla, I have a lot of work ahead setting plants out. But I'm still looking for the perfect plants to fill in and reseed here, to help with weed control, so these are the new candidates. Hardy geraniums have been among the best so far. The tomatoes mean a lot of work tying up vines, and then cooking them down to make sauce, but they do well, they are all heirlooms. My favorite crop is beans which can be directly sown.

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  11. A beautiful serie, so many things to study closer!
    My post at: https://hanshb.wordpress.com/

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    1. Thanks, Hans, I enjoy the indoor gardening. I like your B&W owl.

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  12. That little Chickadee is so adorable.

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  13. Thanks, Pat, they are so light on their feet, it's like they are floating. Your woodpecker art is great!

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  14. Hannah I love your obsession....beautiful indoor decorations. I have never tried growing perennials from seed except in the meadow. But that will soon be a new obsession as I hope to start some native perennials. Many like your gaillardia do not flower the first year I am told. I hope to work with a nursery owner to learn the tricks of the trade.

    .....and I am a gardening fanatic too. I have started some seeds indoors and have my veg garden plan ready. My calendar is set for when I am starting which seeds indoors or outdoors and seeds are filed and ready too. So you think a bit of an obsession....oh and I have been growing indoor bulbs so I can continue to make weekly vases....it is a sickness I never want to be cured of.

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    1. Thanks, Donna, I know what you mean about enjoying the winter, I try, but I find that making it possible to keep working with plants helps me enjoy it, there is no snow to play in here this winter. Watching birds at the feeders is one thing I really enjoy about winter.

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  15. I used to be a fanatic..Known for moving things a lot..Getting rid of what didn't work..BUT Where I live now is horribly buggy so I don't do much anymore..I have to wear a bug suit to hand out my wash..Lovin winter....no bugs

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    1. Thanks, Missy, last summer I made a list of bad things about summer so I could look at it in winter, one item was the bugs- mosquitoes, flies in the house, fruit flies, hornets and wasps. Maybe you should look into keeping Guinea hens, they eat lots of bugs but may have lots of drawbacks. I guess Donna is right, we need to enjoy every moment we have.

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  16. I love all your decorative touches Hannah. The twig handle really appealed to me. I also loved that darling little Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Loved your flowers and thank you for being such a great supporter of Today's Flowers. Always appreciated :)

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    1. The twig pull is hard to find, I bought some but not enough then managed to chase some down on the internet but not enough, I bought some black ones and painted them silver but was unsatisfied so ended up buying a different pull that I put on all the horizontal drawer fronts. The black ones painted silver are in my laundry room. Thanks for hosting!

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  17. Sweet little chickadee. Loved seeing your abundant gardening start! Loved the home movies and hymn with Elvis.

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    1. Thanks, Marie, I keep on working away at seeding and transplanting for a few more months. I love Elvis' voice, and showmanship.

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  18. The little chickadee is such a sprightly character. And your creative ideas are delightful.

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    1. Thanks, Gemma, it has been fascinating this winter watching them. The decorative items I showed are only the tip of the iceberg....;-)

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  19. Hannah, thanks for your interesting comment ....... I've replied on my blog!

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  20. Fantastic post, wonderful pictures, so many pretty things.

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    1. Thanks, Nicola, I'm glad you like my botanical decorations. I did the ivy theme around my bathroom window and also soffit, and have matching tiles I didn't show.

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  21. BEautiful series Hannah… so exciting to see those seedlings!! Thanks as always for sharing the love up-close with I Heart Macro:-)

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    1. Thanks, Laura, I only have 2 pots of tomatoes left to transplant, now I'm starting on sowing annuals, setting myself up for a lot more work. Wheee!

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  22. There is no doubt you are a gardening fanatic, it is one of natures joys to see all things grow... people, animals and plants!!! And sometimes things don't quite grow in the way we had expected but that's fun too! That Amazon Lily is gorgeous and of course so is your little bird.
    I'm sending summer your way, I've just sent her a note could she travel without bugs hornets and mossies this year!
    Have a great week
    Wren x

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    1. Thanks, Wren, the Amazon lily is not currently in bloom so I have that to look forward to. I guess fall is headed your way. I don't know what kind of bug pests you have in the summer, perhaps some dousies! I don't mind hornets and wasps if they keep to themselves, they are great predators and eat lots of pesky bugs. But unfortunately they frequently decide to nest where they are a problem and can get quite aggressive. I was stung once last summer, the wound swelled up some and lingered, not pleasant. Papain took care of the immediate pain, I've also used fresh pineapple, figs, plums, lots of fruit has some protease inhibitors.

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  23. Yes, a fanatic indeed and somehow an addict too! Ihave that lily in my garden and it is flowering now, they are under my hoya plants and love the shade there. I also have gaillardia acclimatizing hardly in my tropical garden, but it gives me some flowers to photograph. It is a very photogenic flower.

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    1. Thanks, Kalantikan, I am so looking forward to seeing the Gaillardias bloom. I might as well admit it, I'm addicted to plants, and.... oxygen. But so is everyone else on the planet. We can't live without them and we breed them, collect their seeds, eat them, and ship them around the world.

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  24. Great catch, pretty bird! Exquisite pictures!

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    1. Thanks, Leovi, I had to set up a tripod in my house to get the shots, I wish I could figure out how to photograph them outdoors in the trees.

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  25. So pretty the Chestnut-backed Chickadee!

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  26. Love the little birdie ! I don't like gardening at all ! Too lazy, lol !

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    1. Thanks, Gattina, it is a lot of work. The nursery industry is happy to provide plants for people who don't want to grow them, I buy some every year too.

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