Flowers in Bowls

I am growing tons of annuals in containers this year but these two might be my favorites.

I bought these terracotta bowl shaped planters at Home Deopt last year.  I like them because the flowers eventually fall over the sides of the container in the summer making the flowers the focal point instead of the container.  At the begining of May, I packed them with orange pansies, white petunias, and purple petunias.  This picture was taken at the end of June.

Limelight Hydrangea

 I bought 4 Limelight Hydrangeas this spring.  Two of them were small (In 1 gallon containers) and two were larger (in 3 gallon containers) when I bought them.)  The one pictured above is one of the smaller limelights.  It is starting to bloom already and I can tell that it is going to be gorgeous.

Hydrangea Photos

hydrangeas, a photo by so_suddenly on Flickr.

I love everything about this photo - the pink and purple hydrangeas, the blue shutter in the background.  Gorgeous.

Picket Fence

I am putting up a picket fence soon.  Partly because I want a small area to contain my dog and partly because I absolutely love the way picket fences look when flowers are growing around and through them.  Here are some inspiring photos of picket fences and flowers I found around the web. 

all photo sources are listed below

1 .  http://threedogsinagarden.blogspot.com/

2.  http://threedogsinagarden.blogspot.com/

3.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/meredithbakermiller/4682625183

4.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintriter/526180511

5.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hewy/4736991746

Hydrangeas That Don't Bloom

Do you have a hydrangea that didn't bloom this year?  Here are some common reasons why hydrangeas might not bloom:

1.  Winter injury.
2.  Too much shade.
3.  Too much nitrogen fertilizer.
4.  Over pruning.  Many hydrangeas bloom on old wood so if you cut too much you might not get many blooms.

Paniculata Hydrangeas - Pinky Winky, Quick Fire, and Limelight

I am super excited about the Paniculata Hydrangeas I bought last week. I have been thinking about planting some privacy shrubs around my yard but I couldn't decide what to buy until I saw these beauties.

This is one of two Pinky Winky Hydrangeas that I bought. This hardy hydrangea can grow upwards of 8 feet tall. The first blooms are white and eventually turn pink for a two toned look. It blooms from mid-summer into the fall.

Pinky Winky photo taken May 2011

I also bought two Quick Fire Hydrangeas. These hydrangeas will bloom a month earlier than other varieties of paniculata hydrangeas. This hydrangea will initially bloom white and then turn to a deep pink as time passes. I planted one between two Limelight hydrangeas in my backyard because I think the colors will look fabulous together.

Quick Fire picture taken June 2011

Last but not least are my two Limelight Hydrangeas. I planted one on each side of my new Quick Fire Hydrangea to complete the privacy screen in my backyard. The hydrangeas are small right now, only about 2 feet each, but they will grow upwards of 8 feet in the next couple of years. The blooms on these gorgeous plants will be somewhere between a creamy white to a soft green color.

I'll be putting down some mulch around the shrubs and will post pictures soon.  

Limelight hydrangea picture taken in June 2011

Growing Dahlias from Seeds

At the end of May I realized that I bought Dahlia seeds and never planted them.  I decided to plant them in some small containers.  After a week, the seedlings began to emerge.

This is what they looked like after 2 weeks.  I started to fertilize them every couple of days with a very diluted amount of liquid fertilizer. 

I've been watering my dahlias once or twice a day.  This is what they look like after 3 weeks.  I'll keep posting pictures each week.

Above:  Week 4

We've had a ton of rain this week and I've noticed a lot of growth leading up to week 5.

Propagate Hydrangea in Water

About a week ago, I took some cuttings from my mother's hydrangea.  I'm trying to propagate them in water.  It has been about a week and I have not seen roots yet but I don't expect to for another couple of weeks.  I'll post pictures once the roots start to grow.
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Update:  It has been almost 3 weeks and I haven't seen any roots yet.  The cuttings still look good.  They aren't rotting or wilting so I'm hoping to see some roots soon.
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Update:  Three weeks to the day - one cutting has tiny roots.

How to Deadhead Flowers

Keep your flowers looking great all season by deadheading them. This simply means removing the spent flower after it has bloomed. Typically, after a flower blooms it starts to look droopy or wilted. Removing these wilted flowers keeps your plant looking neat and it also encourages new flowers to grow. If a wilted flower is not removed from the plant, the plant will begin to focus on producing seeds. When this happens, your plant will ultimately stop producing flowers.

Many annuals respond very well to deadheading.
zinnias
petunias
marigolds
dahlias
pansies
geranium
gerbera daisy

When deadheading petunias, I hold the stem of the flower between my fingers and pinch off or cut the stem below the flower. I usually pinch it down to the next stem (just below where my fingers are in the picture to the right) because it is neater but, you don't have to be exact as long as you remove the seed pod.

Petunias tend to be sticky so you may want to use garden shears if that bothers you.

When deadheading pansies, I put my fingers lower on the stem and pinch or cut (with gardening shears) a couple of inches below the flower. I usually take 2-3 inches of the stem off because it looks neater.
Don't leave the flower pieces laying around because they will rot, look ugly, and may attract bugs.

Container Garden

How to Change the Color of Hydrangeas

The blooms of certain varieties of mophead and lacecap hydrangeas can be changed from blue to pink or pink to blue depeding on the pH of your soil. 

I must have acidic soil in my yard because all of my mopheads and lacecaps always bloom blue.  In acidic soil, hydrangeas bloom blue. In alkaline soil, hydrangeas bloom pink.  

If you want your hydrangeas to turn blue, you can add sulfur to your soil. If you want your hydrangeas to turn pink, you can add lime to your soil. Products are available at most garden centers to help you adjust your soil and achieve the color hydrangea you want.

This weekend I bought a bag of garden lime. I applied some to the soil around the hydrangeas today for the first time. I'll apply a little more in a few weeks and I'll post pictures of the results once my hydrangeas bloom.

   

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Update:  The hydrangeas in my front yard are still blue even after applying lime to the soil.  I think it is because I didn't apply it early enough in the season.  However, the Hydrangea in my backyard has changed to more of light purple, which I'm really happy about.  Hopefully next year they will be pink.  See the pictures below.