Come aboard the good ship May Dreams as we sail off to a desert island which will soon be populated with garden bloggers and their plants from all around, thanks to Shirl and her Desert Island Plant Challenge.We each get to take just three flowering plants to the island.Did you know that botanists estimate there are between 250,000 and 400,000 species of flowering plants? That’s a lot of plants to choose from to take to the island, so I think I’ll limit my choices by choosing only plants I … [Read more...] about Set Sail With Me On The Good Ship May Dreams
indoor gardening
Hyacinths “On Vase”
Another ritual of winter gardening has been completed here at May Dreams Gardens. This morning, I got out the hyacinth vases, filled them with water and placed a chilled hyacinth bulb on top of each one.Then I placed them on the window sill where they will soon develop roots and shoots. Then just about the time we are despairing that spring will ever get here, they’ll be in bloom. I have ten lined up all in a row, guaranteed to provide enough scent to give me a good-sized headache.I can hardly … [Read more...] about Hyacinths “On Vase”
Norfolk Island Pine Inspires Poetry
I recently won a Norfolk Island Pine tree, and it inspired me to write poetry!Oh Norfolk Island PineOh Norfolk Island PineYour beauty is so fine. Would you like to be my treeAnd celebrate Christmas with me?Oh Norfolk Island PineYour beauty is so fine.If I load you down with lightsWill you be able to stay upright?Oh Norfolk Island PineYour beauty is so fine.After all the holidaysWill you continue to amaze?Oh Norfolk Island PineYour beauty is so fine.You’ve inspired this bad poetryHow did you get … [Read more...] about Norfolk Island Pine Inspires Poetry
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day December 2008
The dark days of December seem even darker with no snow cover on the ground and day after day of cloudy skies. I went out to the garden in search of blooms for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day and found mostly the ghosts of summer past.There are some dried up seed heads from hydrangeas, sedums, and coneflowers and a row of zinnias that I havn’t pulled out yet.Several trees still have seed pods hanging from them, reminding us that months ago in a memory called spring, these were blooming, too.Now you … [Read more...] about Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day December 2008
Cut Flowers, Potted Plants or Forced Bulbs
Snow flurries fly outside, but inside, there are new sprouts coming up from the Oxalis bulbs that I planted up on November 25th.These first little leaves showed up while I was gone for a few days, proving once again that a watched plant rarely sprouts. Ignore it for a few days and something will happen.So far, just two of ten Oxalis bulbs have sprouted, but I think I see a third one breaking through.I'm confident all ten will sprout.The Bouvardia that I bought on impulse on November 25th is … [Read more...] about Cut Flowers, Potted Plants or Forced Bulbs
WInter Gardening: Phase Two
Now that it is December, I have begun, in earnest, Phase Two of Winter Gardening.To the casual observer, this phase, which I call “Settling In”, looks a lot like a bear hibernating, as far as gardening goes. Sometimes it’s hard to see any activity at all.But there are actually several activities that a gardener must attend to in Phase Two.First, I make sure that my gardens are tastefully decorated for Christmas. This includes a few strands of light, a wreath or two, perhaps some swags of … [Read more...] about WInter Gardening: Phase Two
