Daily Inspiration: Deadly Beauty

Yes, it's deadly...

the seed, that is.

This is a seed head from one of my Castor Bean plants. If you have an area where you need a quick growing screen, this is a great choice. Planted from seed in the late spring, it quickly grows 10-15 ft, providing great screens to cover fences, ugly buildings, or your neighbors view. Sadly, they are an annual, but when they grow this fast it almost doesn't matter!

Just make sure no one gets a hold of one of the seeds! They are deadly. Just one seed can take out a full grown man. Don't let this keep you from planting them though! Just make sure the seeds ends up in the ground, and not in someone's mouth! Easy enough!

I didn't take this picture, but it shows how huge their beautiful, glossy leaves get!

(http://printsofjapan.wordpress.com/tag/hideyoshi/)

~L

Daily Inspiration

It's almost berry planting time! 

I picked these beautiful berries sometime late last summer! I planted 'Heritage' and 'Fall Gold' ('Fall Gold' are my absolute favorite). Even though I dug the mother plants up and gave them to a close friend, their vigorous roots still produced a few canes. It's amazing how many berries just a few canes will produce!

We will have our berries toward the latter part of next month! Click HERE to see our 2012 berry & grape lists!

~L

Daily Inspiration

I took this picture in my garden in May of this past year. When you are planning out this year's garden, don't discount any open space in your flower beds! I grew lazy rows of leeks, red cabbage, giant red mustard, and swiss chard right in my flower beds! They were surrounded by Rudbeckia, Ivory Halo Dogwoods, Peonies, Campanulas, and Delphiniums, and they fit right in!

(as a sidenote...I think I need to have some more of the bright yellow Rudbeckias!)

~L

Daily Inspiration: Basil

Remember that Basil I started back in December??? 

Well, this morning I potted them into larger containers! So much fun! Yeah, I LOVE my job!

It smelled so good, and made me long for summer...

Daily Inspiration: Humor

Geeky-Beaks

Some think they are hilarious, some think they are vile...

 Me? Well, I think they are a crack-up! 

No, you probably won't find one in my yard, but they make me smile every time I walk by them! 

They seem to be a growing trend in some circles of the gardening sphere, so we get them in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes! We have fun sneaking one or two of these in to each other's displays on occasion. :)

Daily Inspiration: Spring!

If you are feeling the need for spring, you should come down and stroll around in our plant filled sunroom! We received a huge load of houseplants at the end of last week! Here is a little picture teaser...

Beautiful hybrid lily. 

Azaleas blooming like they mean it!

 Tropical bromeliad. We got them in yellow, peach, orange, and red. 

African violets!

Daily Inspiration

Isn't this a pretty Coleus? 

I don't see plants that are true pink very often- this one is pretty darn close. Coleus are extremely easy to start from seed, and now is a great time to get some started inside! 

Daily Inspiration: Bell Jar Look-a-Like

I love bell jars, but they can be so darn expensive (especially the antique sort)! These are an excellent alternative! They are made of heavy duty plastic and have a built in vent so you can control how much moisture stays inside! There will definitely be some of these in my garden this year!

I think they look quite a bit better than the classic, white, paper, hot caps!