Question of the Day, Sunday the 22nd of March, 2020

[Mia6]

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!!

With spring upon us, I was pondering about something to plant that I never have before.
I was thinking about growing Trumpet Vine because they attract Hummingbird. How about
you? What will you plant, something new? something grown every year? Do you have a pic of something you've grown?

 

[di and bob]

I have Trumpet vine right now! They are a little hard to get started, they seem to do nothing for a couple of years, then they explode. I have yellow, red, and orange. The weirdest things I have grown, just to grow them, is cotton and peanuts, here in Nebraska, They did well, even though our season is shorter. I have also found over the years, is to not try flowers not common in your area. I have gone back to many favorites, like marigolds, moss rose, and coneflowers, all of which do well here and have many varieties and colors. With that said, I have just ordered a hardy Crape Myrtle, I hope it is hardy enough! I also love all kinds of shorter butterfly bushes, and big asters.

 

[maggiedemi]

Dad is planting tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, squash and some leafy greens like maybe swiss chard and lettuce. I want to grow some hot peppers, but I think it's too late. You have to plan ahead for those I think.

 

[di and bob]

It depends where you are, here in Nebraska, I don't plant hot peppers until the middle of May, they need lots of heat, Or you could plant a couple early and cover them with plastic milk jugs. I plant the seeds indoors about now until the end of March, about 6 weeks before planting, Otherwise, they get too leggy.

 

[verna davies]

I have just brought lots of day lilies from my mothers garden and planted them on the bank. The cats cant get access to that area so it's the best place for them. Lovely colours, red, yellow, brick and orange. It should be a nice show when they flower.

 

[glittercat]

Sadly I'm really not good with plants but I wish I was!!!

 

[Jem]

The only new thing I want to plant are Black Eyed Susan. And I need to re-seed some forget me not. I'm actually going to be getting rid of a few of my flower beds as I just can't keep up with the amounts.

 

[Lari]

I kill everything I plant, but my husband is good with it, so I told him I want an herb garden when we move into our house.

 

[glittercat]

I kill everything I plant, but my husband is good with it, so I told him I want an herb garden when we move into our house.

I know that feeling!!!! Though I have a couple of potted japonica things that still look alright....

 

[NY cat man]

Probably not much new this year, as most of the available space is occupied with perennials already. Most of the ones we chose were selected because they attracted butterflies or hummingbirds. We have clematis, various coneflowers, anemones, black-eyed Susans and butterfly weed, to name a few. For pictures, there are scads of them on the 2019 gardening thread.

 

[Winchester]

Well, I found Encore Azaleas, a dwarf azalea and some of them bloom in the fall. I sent for a catalog and there are some beautiful plants. I want to buy some in different shades of purple to use as foundation plantings around the shed.

We've tried butterfly bushes several times and they don't do well for us. I don't know why.

 

[Micaela227]

Hi! Here in Argentina it's autumn now. But in the spring, my mom planted "Gomphocarpus physocarpus" (I use the scientific name, because I don't know what it's called locally in the United States). It's now the prettiest of plants, but butterflies are born and feed on it. During summer we had butterflies all over the courtyard, It's awesome.

 

[cassiopea]

I'm not much of a gardener (Tried it many times, not very good at it! with more practice and study in due time no doubt. Prior to this worldly event I didn't have too much time to garden anyway, just enough to keep my property tidy and pretty) but I admire it and love flowers.

My mom is a big gardener though! and excellent at it. Tomatoes, beans, chives, Peonies, Lilly of the valley, Hydrangea, Hollyhocks, Geraniums, Iris etc

I'm too much of a dumb dumb to know about what is seasonal for spring or what to plant for spring, but she would know in a heartbeat

 

[gilmargl]

After a very hot dry summer 2 years ago when trees and perennials died, followed by a year of inactivity on my part (hospitalisation and recuperation) my plot is now overgrown and totally unmanageable. The gales last month brought down two more trees which haven't yet been completely removed.

But, at the moment things don't look too bad - at least at the front of the house the daffodils are still looking very pretty. One of the containers which I failed to empty last year is showing signs of tulips coming through so there should be some colour later in the year.

Hopefully, I will soon start digging out wild cherry trees, wild rose bushes, brambles, stinging nettles ang grass. I will not plant anything special until the tree roots have all been removed - I've been promised some help and equipment for that task. Unfortunately, the garden centres are all closed (Corona!) but I have packets of seeds from previous years so I will sow these and hope that something grows.

To answer the question: I have some seeds for everlasting sweet peas! Now they should be something to look forward to!

 

[glittercat]

I love sweet peas, they're so pretty

 

[gilmargl]

Gomphocarpus physocarpus

From Wikipedia:
"Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as hairy balls, balloonplant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, nailhead, or swan plant, is a species of milkweed. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized. It is often used as an ornamental plant. The name "hairy balls" is an allusion to the swelling testicle-like follicles which are full of seeds."

 

[Mia6]

From Wikipedia:
"Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as hairy balls, balloonplant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, nailhead, or swan plant, is a species of milkweed. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized. It is often used as an ornamental plant. The name "hairy balls" is an allusion to the swelling testicle-like follicles which are full of seeds."

hee, hee

 

[glittercat]

That's hilarious!!!!

 

[neely]

I've always wanted to plant a hydrangea bush. Thanks for the reminder, maybe this year I will.

 

[susanm9006]

This will be my third year of attempting to grow a hazelnut Bush. It hasn’t died but it sure hasn’t grown either and I have to keep it fenced to keep the rabbits from eating it. If it were to survive it would provide a winter food for the squirrels.