Wednesday, October 31, 2012

In, Now Out

I have a small stash of plants that hover by the back door of the loft hallway.  Last year many of them lived inside the loft but I am thinking they may have to make it out in the greenhouse this winter. The weatherman says it is supposed to be a normal winter - he wouldn't be wrong would he?

My sweetie has graciously helped me carry these beauties in and out and in again the last few weeks the temperatures threatened frost.  Now, it's back to the 50's and high 80's daily, so they will be outside again. Must make up my mind soon about their winter location before my sweetie's humor wears thin.

I am currently working on this year's update of the loft garden's progress in photos.  I need one more shot from the roof since I weeded all the bermuda out of the east side bed.

 In the mean time, a photo of crinum erubescens (aka a swamp lily).  This is my favorite from my former employer.  Just planted this guy recently and am pleasantly surprised at its bloom this soon.

My caster bean did not die down last year, so this year it is huge.  I got some seeds for some "blue" ones from Karen at Quarry Garden Stained Glass but they did not sprout. I have a tough time keeping seeds happy enough to sprout sometimes. Hopefully, I can get some started next spring. Another winter project, get a proper seed starting area in place.

So, tell me... are you working on projects for winter or spring?

7 comments:

Cat said...

Not working on any projects just yet. Just enjoying the nice weather and touring gardens. There are a couple things that need to be done this winter but need my husband's assistance. That's not always easy to wrangle! That crinum is gorgeous!

Casa Mariposa said...

I have a plan to revise one of my summer ideas that needs tweaking. Plus, I want to start scouring the local Home Goods stores in Jan/Feb for cool garden art. Is your roof garden hot and dry? I bet belladonna lilies would grow well there.

Karen said...

Well, my blue ones turned out red, so don't feel bad! I'm going to have to talk to Brenda (my greenhouse friend) and see if she has any. Apparently I didn't save the right ones.....I'm so bummed about that. My red ones only got two feet tall---but look at yours! Wowza.

I love the swamp lily, what a bloom. And the hauling the stuff in and out and back in again; oh, I know how old that routine gets. Those pots look Heavy. You're in the 80's there yet, oh I could use some of that warmth, we're below normal for the past week, supposed to be seeing 50's, but struggling to stay above 40 and down in the 20's at night.

The Sage Butterfly said...

I used to bring in my pelargoniums each year and overwinter them in the basement. A couple of years ago, we just decided it was too much for us. This year has been so busy, I may just wait until late winter to start projects.

HolleyGarden said...

I've been covering my veggies, then uncovering them every morning. It is a pain to have to baby plants! I am CERTAIN the weatherman is wrong! :) Even though it seems like a more-normal year temperature-wise, we are very low in rainfall. :(

Marguerite said...

How great that the castor bean lives year round for you. They're just annuals here and even then the size can be pretty huge by end of summer.

Anonymous said...

Your crinum is a beautiful plant. Like Sage Butterfly, I too used to over winter the pelargoniums, but tired of keeping them alive. A shame too because the ones I had for three years got over five feet tall. My neighbors were amazed these plants get shrub-like.