Trial and Error: Season two of Seed Starting 101

I know it has been awhile, but you should be used to it by now. I have blogging tourettes, then I go dormant for weeks on end. Perhaps I can try to even out my blogging habbits. I know from my experience as a blog stalker that I get withdrawals when my fellow bloggers don't post every few days or so. So, moving on now that you all know that I haven't fallen off the end of the earth.

My seedlings have gotten very large, out of control, and are in desparate need of transplanting which I have been procrastinating about for weeks now. It just seems like there is always something getting in the way. Work, school and having to clean the house. There just aren't enough days in one weekend to get everything done. So here they are, seedlings...

Before...

4 1/2 Weeks Later...

And now I have a field of Alyssum. It is very fun to pet them all. :)

There is even one Alyssum plant that thinks it is already time to be making flowers. As you can see, I really need to get them into bigger pots.

This is one of many that are budding and almost ready to bloom as well.

Alyssum is such an easy care plant. It loves the sun, forgives you when you forget to water it for days, and is very very easy to grow from seed as I am sure you can see for yourself.

Now on to the Agastache. I have 'Purple Pygmy' and 'Rose Mint'. I do not know which is which, although I can tell that there are two different types of plants by the leaves. Lesson learned for the season: mark your seed pods while planting...you won't remember which ones you planted where. I can't wait until these plants bloom, unfortunately that will be a long wait. They won't make any flowers until next summer :(. I am hoping it will be worth the wait.

This picture isn't the best, but sometimes it just doesn't work out the way I want it to. I am usually taking all of these pictures at ten o'clock at night with only flourescent bulbs for lighting so I can only do so much.

Now on to my favorite seedlings. Coleus are beautiful anyway, but to see the small plants emerge with their amazing coloring from such a small size is just unreal. At least you know what they will look like when they are full size.

Get ready...

This is my favorite picture...

Are you ready...

Here it is:

It was quite suspensfull wasn't it. Here are more, they are just so adorable I wish they would last for more than just one season. Or maybe it is fun that I get to grow them every year since I find them so fascinating.

A little unclear I know, but you get the idea. A bunch of cute, colorfull little plant babies.

Another plant that doesn't need much encouragement to grow out of control is Hollyhocks.

My hollyhocks, well they are a little neglected. They, more than any of the others, need more space. They are outgrowing their pods and most are actually grown together.

Poor little guys, I know.

There have been many situations since we last conversed. I have discovered many seedlings in strange places like the one below. This would be a result of my haphazard watering habits when I am tired at night and dump water on top of my dry pods carelessly scattering small seeds.

I have had a couple of drought disasters that have resulted in many deaths. Including my whole batch of beloved Monkey Flowers (RIP). I have given up on these adorable flowers for good I think, they are just too hard to deal with. I had pods with up to seven seedlings (thanks to my amazing tweezer planting method explained in previous post). Many of them were growing from cracks and crevises not meant for plants (thanks to unbelievably miniscule seeds), it was just a disaster. I will probably try again next year because I am addicted to their cute little faces, but it just didn't work out this time. Just so you know what I am talking about this is what they would have looked like.

They were only some of many failures, but I learn new things every year. So at least I am taking something away from it if not a plant. Some of my pictures didn't turn out and I didn't feel like taking more, so no worries, there are many more seedlings that have survived than you see here.

Here are some of my Nicotiana, these are also annuals so they won't be around for long, but I am really excited about them. There are a lot of them and they are big and healthy.

Out of thirty seeds for crepe myrtle bushes I have only three healthy seedling to show from all my effort. Although the package did come with a warning about low germination rate, which I have never encountered before. The Crepe Myrtle is the little tiny one in the front.

Well you guys have been spared many plant conversations mostly due to my lazy blogging habits, but next year I will tell you about all kinds of stuff you don't care about as promised. I just didn't have the energy this time around. Feel comforted knowing that David did suffer though, since he can't escape the fact that he lives with me.

Other than all of my seedling activity I was also a dog sitter for the last few days. I just love puppy smell, puppy softness, puppy wrinkles and puppy love. I was sad to say goodbye to little Stella last night, but one thing is for sure...I am sooooooooo glad I do not have a puppy that chews on everything and has to go pee every hour and poops instantaneously after eating anything. They are cute and I love to squeeze them, but I am ever so glad that I do not own one.

Stella and Riley loved one another. They would spend hours playing together, thank goodness she was tough and could hold her own against Riley's boisterous play habits.

Yes, that is slobber crusting up her soft puppy hair on her neck and head.

I only wish that Riley would crash like this when he was done playing.