I Have Some Catching Up To Do

Wow, it has really been a long time since I last blogged. I apologize for the lapse in time. That does not, however, mean that I was not gardening. Quite the contrary. In the last few months, I have started many plants as well as lost many plants. Firstly, I started several Amarylis bulbs and paperwhites for the holiday season. All but one bloomed and came out great, I even gave one Red Lion as a gift to my grammy for Christmas. I'm still hoping on the other bulb that didn't bloom.
The picture is of my Apple Blossom Amarylis, which came out the prettiest I think.

The bad news in the last few months was the deep freeze that came a few weeks ago. I knew it was coming, I covered everything really well, etc, but it just couldn't be stopped. All of my vegetables that had held on so long finally kicked the bucket. All my tomatoes, pumpkins, peppers, eggplants, etc. All gone, and dearly missed. Oh well, I'll get 'em going again this spring (this time a lot earlier) so they have time to grow and give me results :)

Back to good news! I was pleasantly surprised about a week ago when my bulbs I planted in the fall began to sprout. I won't lie, I was beginning to get worried that I had done something wrong, but low and behold, they are sprouting now: daffodils, muscari hyacinths, freesias, ranunculus and spring star flowers. I've decided that grape hyacinth is the coolest looking sprout. I can't pass by without stopping to look at them.

Also, about two weeks ago, I was visiting New Smyrna Beach and I came across a very neat little nursery in the middle of the downtown area. I was pleasantly surprised by the fucshia he was growing, being that I had thought it was too hot here for it. So, I had to take some home with me. Now I have a big bushy plant with fucshia and royal purple flowers as well as a small plant with fucshia and white flowers. I love this plant, they are so exotic looking.

Also, right after Christmas, I was going grocery shopping and I found a really nice Shooting Star Hydrangea they had on sale to get rid of, which has now been adding color to my yard.

Well, I promise that I will be better at keeping my blog updated (New Year's Resolutions) :) So, check back for more gardening news later on.

Wedding Flowers!

Yay! Today I started planting my Ranunculus bulbs for my wedding.

For those who my not be familiar with this lovely flower, it is very similar to a rose that has 5 times the amount of petals . Also, Martha Stewart Weddings (the magazine) seems to be very fond of them, as that is where I was first introduced to them.

I have 3 varieties:
Flamenco Ranunculus, Gold Ranunculus, and White Ranunculus. The Flamenco colored ones are actually just because I thought they were pretty, they will not be used in my wedding. My colors are yellow, green, white and black. So, to add a bit of variety I also ordered White Freesias (which I planted today as well) and Minnow Daffodils as well as Tête-à-Tête Daffodils (which I will be planting on Saturday).

I was looking up information about growing ranunculus on google and I found I highly informative site: How To Grow Ranunculuses

This was incredibly helpful, especially with giving a time table. I have found that getting a more solid estimate of how long a certain plant will take to grow fully is near impossible, so this site is an absolute gem! I was starting to think there was no hope for me growing my own flowers, worrying that my flowers would bloom too early or too late. Now I feel much more confident.

I can't wait to show the results!

Les Tete-a-Tetes

Yay! I got my daffodil bulbs in the mail yesterday! I ordered them about a month ago from Gurney's and they just now came in. I ordered two different types: Tete-a-Tetes (which are yellow with a golden yellow center) and Minnows (which are white with a yellow center).

Hopefully they do well (I've never done bulbs before now and I'm deathly afraid they will rot with all the Florida humidity).

Stay tuned for results!