Week 2 Field Notes

January’s potting shed lineup!

This week I focused on starting a couple more successions of late spring/early summer flowers. We have a beautiful wedding coming up in June that I want to have all of the twinkly bits ready for, so making sure we have a good supply of larkspur and pretty dancing filler flowers was a priority. Our weather has been interesting - lots of rain bookended by near freezing temps at night. The ranunculus, anemones, and other cool flowers are handling it like champs, but the sweet peas and didiscus are struggling with being nibbled by critters still.

I direct sowed on 1/12:

• Larkspurs “Splish Splash”, “White Cloud”, and “Smokey Eyes”

• Calendula “Zeo Lights

• More poppies and mountain clarkia in the natives/wildflower patch

• Phlox “creme brulee” (interplanted with the echinacea)

• Bachelor Buttons “Snowman”

Seed Trays in Potting Shed:

• Omphalodes seed from the wonderful Eleanor at Borrowed Garden

• Schizanthus “Poor Man’s Orchid Mix”

• Silene “Sculpit” Stridolo

• Greek Oregano

• Scabiosa “Fata Morgana”

• A backup round of sweet peas…fingers crossed. King’s Ransom is supposed to be the exciting sweet pea of the season from Ardelia Farm - can’t wait to see it bloom!

• Lavatera Trimestris “Mont Blanc” - a must for our June wedding!

Favorite seed starting trays. Direct sowing most of my crops has allowed me to have enough room in the potting shed for seeds that really like to be started indoors.

Ranunculus & Anemone rows so green after the rain.

Butterfly Ranunculus “Ariadne” looking great!

The first row is all direct seeded larkspur. Foxglove and delphinium neighbors looking great!