Striped Squill
From humble beginnings great things can happen. We have all seen pictures of vast expanses in lawns or beds, under trees and in gardens of carpets of color from spring bulbs that have burst into bloom. Today I planted a small sack of small bulbs, the Striped Squill. It is a petite thing with striped ice blue flowers and has been called a naturalizer or even invasive by others. If these Squill should like it here, will I perhaps live long enough to see this small sack turn into a carpet of cool ice blue?
One of the generous gifts from Hank of A Lake County Point Of View, there is still a treasure trove of seeds to go through, I planted these bulbs on the opposite side of the garden path from where I planted the other blue flowering Scilla bulbs from Elizabeth at Garden Rant. Both of these blue bulbs are touted as vigorous naturalizers and self seeders. One day perhaps each will cross the path and they might mingle with each other in harmony.
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9 comments:
Did Hank send you some of the Digitalis purpurea 'Apricot Beauty' I gave (traded) w/ him? That would be cool.
Love that squill! Awesome!
Why yes indeed Hank did send me some Digitalis 'Apricot Beauty' via Chuck B. among many other great seeds. I am a bit perplexed about seed germination at the moment, not having a space or all the acoutremonts for cold climate germination. I'm thinking once my basement patio is done a section of it will become a temporary growing area.
You guys... no more credit is needed. Christopher, this stuff is part of YOUR story now, not mine.
Yes, Chuck shared the beautiful Digitalis with BOTH of us. Truly exclellent behavior on his part in my opinion.
Layanee at Ledge and Garden shared some beautyberry with both of us as well. That's a bush. I'm messing about withe some of those seeds now to see what is is what. I'll know more soon.
As for propogation, start the Digitalis inside first when it is still cold(long germination) . It takes a full year to get to flower. And almost every single seed will germinate... so be aware of that. Then, after the Digitalis is up and going, start a few of this and that. The Hollyhocks will do fine if you start them relatively late. The Datura is quick germintor too... but you'll want flowers THAT SEASON so don't wait too long.
I appreciate the the credit, but the truth is that I envious of the land and trying to participate vicariously a little. Your place is going to be great!
At this moment I have a geranium maderense going CRAZY inside. That came to be from a tip from Chuck.
And yes... the striped squill is WONDERFUL stuff. One of my faves. What's not to like, right!
Christopher, thanks again but it is all good.
- Accoutrements? Do you need some seed trays or small little pots? I have some. Also, I use dixie cups where I've drilled holes in the bottoms of them... tubes at a time. The benefit of THEM is they allow for deep rooted seedling to get a better start. Roots can do DOWN. And you can sharpie info on the cup itself. It just looks strange is all.
I have tons and tons of pots and trays. The resident gardeners have a decades old stash. Typical gardeners, they can't throw them away, they come in handy when you need them and I of course have been saving mine from purchases. Sterile potting mix is easy to purchase.
Space, light and warmth are the things I lack. It wouldn't be prudent to turn my borrowed home into a greenhouse. Maybe just one small shelf by the west window. Hmmm?
Nice to get passalongs even via the mail. I look forward to seeing how your bulbs do in NC.
Pam I can already see how the anticipation of bulb flowers in the spring can get folks through a winter. I don't know why I find it so odd that a round bulb planted now takes three to five months to appear from the ground and then bloom. That time frame really isn't that different from planting small starts of shrubs or gingers and heliconia in the tropics to reach a blooming size.
Christopher, I don't know about the datura, but I know you can winter sow the digitalis and hollyhocks outside. I use milk cartons and such for winter sowing, and an out-of-the-way corner of the patio should be fine (although you would want to put them up on a table or something if you get too much interest in the seeds from small rodents)...
Thanks Kim. Winter Sowing!
You would think I would remember such a thing after getting into a major tussle with the self appointed high priestess of Winter Sowing, the one and only Trudzilla from GardenWeb.
Oh goody! I planted squill too, now I can cheer for and observe both! Hank and Chuck are very generous and cool dudes...that digitalis is going to be taking over the continent! (That's not a bad thing, of course.)
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