I have a slew of new gardening informational articles that will be posted on the site by the end of this week. These articles will include everything from legends of fire to herbal recipes and my favorite topic chocolate.
Now that 2008 is here my goal for the Exotic Gardening Website is to get more people to use the forums and make it a one stop shop for gardening information. So drop by, take a look around and let me know what you would like to see on the site.
Is there a particular plant you would like to know more about? Do you need to know how to germinate a specific seed?
Remember the more information you share with me the more I can provide you with the ultimate website for truly obsessed plant-a-holics!
Happy New Year!
Sheri
Filed under Gardening News by on Jan 1st, 2008. Comment. 
2008 is here and with it rolled in the year for garden revivals! Gardening is the new *hot* trend this year! Yes, it is true. According to the ASLA – the American Society of Landscape Architects 2008 will see a demand for great rooms and energy efficient landscapes.
If you don’t already have an outdoor kitchen, this would be the year to add one. If you do, choose another type of great room – from an outdoor bedroom to a living room!
“Homeowners are reconnecting with their outdoor space, often in creative and imaginative ways,” said Perry Howard, FASLA, President of ASLA. “It’s no surprise that people want to take elements that work so well inside their home and recreate them outside.”
Making your yard more energy efficient is the other big gardening effort you will see happening in 2008. From the installation of watering systems, which will reduce the cost as well as the excess use of water, to planting more native plants and less grass, gardeners and non-gardeners alike will be implementing energy efficient plans into their landscape.
Get on board now! Late winter and early spring is the perfect time to begin planning or updating your garden! After all, no one wants to be left out of the hot new trend that will emerge in 2008 – gardening!
Filed under Gardening News by on Jan 5th, 2008. Comment.
Today is a gorgeous day with temperatures hitting almost 60 degrees F. I decided to go out and clean the bunny cages and work on cleaning the chicken coop some more. It has been a very rainy fall and winter here. Our chicken coop sits below ground so when it floods, the coop gets flooded too. The front of the coop where the water enters had turned to mud and I am glad to finally be able to get that out. First it was too wet, then it was frozen!
The coop droppings are being used in the bird garden because that ground needs some improvement and the chickens will dig through the droppings and help spread them. I already have plenty of compost for the vegetable garden this year and will get more when the goat and horse stalls get cleaned.
I didn’t notice any buds on my trees in the bird garden yet but it is still quite early for that. I did notice the ducks are finally beginning to lay. We put the chicken coop light on a timer last night so they would get eight hours of dark. We read that helps with egg production. Tomorrow Jerry is planning to make some laying nests out of five gallon buckets. I want to get that old bathtub out of the coop that we put in last year because it is more of a hassle than a help.
Come spring I am hoping he will get a duck house built. Those little buggers are so messy with water and in my opinion food hogs! They are cute and great for bug control but they really need their own coop.
The goats went out today as did the horse, Beauty. She rolled and is now a muddy mess. Oh well, she will clean. It was so funny watching them all run as fast as they could. They are calling for rain later today so they won’t get to stay out long but at least they will get some exercise.
Tuilp, the cashmere goat, is fluffing up. I combed her yesterday and did harvest some cashmere. It is a grey/brown color and very soft. I also brushed Gizmo and Prince. I got a bit of white angora from Gizmo and some grey angora from Prince. They will need brushed again in about a week.
I don’t know if the mating between Gizmo and Snowball accomplished anything as she has not had babies yet. I keep watching and hoping.
I do still have brussels sprouts and cabbages in the garden. I plan to plant some lettuce seed and transplant the cabbages around the 16th of this month so I can get a head start on the growing season.
I don’t know about you but I am ready for spring to get here.
Filed under Homestead Happenings by on Jan 7th, 2008. Comment.
Commonly called the “Empress Of Brazil,” Worselya Rayneri boasts a flower color that is a deep blue-mauve or violet blue fading to almost white in the center and the flowers may also be soft pale lavender with lots of blue spots. Worselya Rayneri grows on the side mountains in
Filed under Exotic Gardening by on Jan 8th, 2008. Comment.
How wonderful it is when you see new seedlings popping their tiny heads above the soil. It is an exciting moment, especially when you may have waited months, or sometimes years, for that seed to break dormancy.
The latest round of success here at Exotic Gardening Farms has been King Protea. Mind you, this is not the first time I have attempted to grow these beauties. I have had some protea germinate only to lose them a short time later. This time I am getting a nice rate of germination and so far, so good. The young seedlings seem to be getting stronger with each passing day.
I have had these seeds sitting around for at least two years. Everytime I decided to germinate them, something would happen that would halt the plan. So, right before Christmas I decided nothing was going to stop me this time and I prepared the smoke water with Jerry’s help. I soaked the seeds for 24 hours, then planted them in a mixture of gypsum, peat, perlite and vermiculite. I used cardboard egg cartons for the containers! Then I put the egg carton in a sealed plastic tub and waited. Over the past two weeks there have been three seeds germinate and grow. As they germinate I am cutting the individual cell off the egg carton and planting it in a small peat pot making sure that the roots of the protea are not disturbed and then moving them into the living room under a grow light.
Protea has been on my wish list for a number of years. I simply cannot tell you how thrilled I am to finally be able to get tiny plants. I know it will be a long wait until they bloom and keeping them alive may be a bit tricky but I am up for the challenge.
Filed under Exotic Gardening by on Jan 9th, 2008. Comment.
Have you been wanting to get your hands on my chocolate e-book titled The Allure Of Chocolate? If so, now is your chance to get it as an e-book from my website at http://www.exoticgardening.com
It is full of culinary recipes, beauty recipes, household recipes and even a recipe that will satisy Fido’s chocolate cravings safely!
If you love chocolate, don’t miss this e-book. For those of you on a diet, there are low carb chocolate recipes too! There is sure to be something to satisfy every choc-o-holic! It would make a great Valentine’s Day gift for someone too!
Stop by, check out the interactive chocolate channel filled with lots of fun chocolate quizzes and games and get your copy of The Allure Of Chocolate today!
Filed under Chocolate - Theobroma, Exotic Gardening, Gardening News by on Jan 14th, 2008. Comment.
It is so nice having blooms in the middle of winter. Nothing quite compares to stepping into a warm, humid greenhouse and being greeted by colorful flowers – especially when a new one opens! Today I had an orchid in bloom. The lemonly smell of the flowers is simply heavenly. I had another calla – Green Goddess, blooming. The asarina had two gorgeous pink flowers on it and the antherium was loaded with pink flowers.
Here are the photos.
With a host of blooms like this, who could have winter depression? A greenhouse filled with lush foliage and bright, fragrant blooms is sure theraphy enough for me. What about you?
Filed under In The Greenhouse by on Jan 16th, 2008. 4 Comments.
Gardening in the shade can sometimes be challenging. Many of the plants that are available require at least some sun. So, what bulbs can one grow that will thrive in shade?
Lycoris is one bulb that can easily be grown even in a woodland environment. These bulbs are not only beautiful, they come in a wide range of colors. You can get various shades of yellow, pink, red, white and even orange. Planted in a mass these lilies can really brighten up what might otherwise be a rather dull area.
Other bulbs that can thrive in shade include daylilies, especially those wild orange ones. I like the doubles better than the singles of this variety but either way they are hardy and will make a nice mass under a large tree.
Caladium also likes shade and does very well planted under a tree. I like these plants for their combination of colors. Anything that isn’t one solid color I find makes a wonderful addition to the garden.
For spring blooms, lily-of-the-valley makes a wonderful flower for a shaded area as do cyclamen, which prefer to be grown under shady conditions.
Here is a listing of other bulbs that you can plant with success in the shade.
Begonia
Erythronium
Fritillaria
Galanthus
Hyacinthoides
Leucojum
Muscari
Narcissus
Scilla
Of course, you will want to plan your garden so that you have blooms throughout each season. Let’s take a look at a sample garden that can achieve just that.
For spring blooms I would suggest planting some Narcissus, Cyclamen and Fritillaira. There is a black Fritillaria that is simply beautiful. With some bright yellow Narcissus and white or pink Cyclamen this would certainly be a site to behold.
Then as these blooms fade you might want to try some Begonias, Lilium and Caladium. Not only would this give you additional color but the new blooms would help to hide the fading blooms and foliage of the spring plants.
For fall color I would try the following bulbs. Some varieties of cyclamen bloom as fall approaches. A vivid red would be especially nice with the colorful leaves that should be beginning to fall. Lycoris is also a fall bloomer and would make an excellent final show to a spectacular display.
For late fall or early spring blooms I would suggest you try a few Hellebores. These are obviously not bulbs but would grow nicely in with them and are one of the best winter blooming plants I know of.
So you see, even in shade it is possible to have an outstanding bulb garden full of color year round!
Filed under Exotic Gardening, Flower Gardening by on Jan 21st, 2008. 2 Comments.
I just love starting seeds, especially those that are a little more unusual. Hard to find seeds and plants are simply the best. I love spices and fruiting plants too. Anything with fragrance is great, espeically if it is also useful in some way.
Over the past few days I have been starting seeds indoors. Some of these need cold to germinate and will be moved to my coldframe, while others will remain inside under a grow light for two to three more months before being moved to the greenhouse.
Some of the seeds I have started follow.
Euphorbia schoenlandii. I got this seed from JL Hudson seeds, http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/ It was on their reserved access list. The catalog describes the plant as having wierd eight inch thich stems with spiny tubercles which sometimes resemble pineapples. It is a CITES Appendix II endangered species native to South Africa. This plant can reach four feet tall and needs warm temperatures to germinate.
Magnolia X Loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’, also came from JL Hudson. These seeds were planted immediately and sent to the coldframe where germination should occur by spring. This hybrid shrub can reach twelve feet tall. I was drawn to this specific Magnolia because it is supposed to bloom in three to five years from seed.
Mandragora turcomanica was on the reserved access list from JL Hudson. This seed was pre-treated with GA-3 and good germination results are expected. According to the catalog this is an extremely rare species that is thought to be extinct in the wild. They are supposed to have highly aromatic leaves with purple and cream flowers.
Illicium verum – Chinese Star Anise. This came from The Banana Tree, http://www.banana-tree.com/ I soaked these seeds for several days until I began to see swelling than planted them. They like bright light, high humidity and warmth so they will remain in the house until spring arrives.
Pimenta dioica – Allspice. This also came from The Banana Tree. One of my favorite plants that I lost a year or so back. I have been wanting to get more seeds and have finally got around to getting them. I soaked them for several days until they began to swell and now have them planted. They like bright light, warm and dampness. This one requires high humidity and will remain in the house until spring arrives.
Microcitrus australasica – Australian Finger Lime. This came from Trade Winds Fruit, http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/ another one of my favorite seed sites to order from. It is another one that needs warmth and will remain indoors until spring. After I ordered the seeds I found a plant at Logee’s, http://www.logees.com/ According to the Logee’s catalog this plant has a bushy habit. They say the fruit is seedless – hmm, there must be seeds somewhere. They also say the inside of the fruit is filled with tiny lime beads or juice vesicles which are easily seperated. They also say this is an excellent choice for bonsai culture. Now that would make a real conversation piece!
Filed under Exotic Gardening, In The Greenhouse by on Jan 21st, 2008. Comment.
Yesterday found me playing in the dirt again. Seeds are arriving and nothing to me is more exciting than watching those tiny seeds germinate, grow into a large plant and eventually flower.
I started out planting several varieties of seed that went out to the cold frame for stratification. I began with Dictamnus albus v. rubra which I acquired from JL Hudson Seeds, http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/ This is the famous gas plant known for their reputation of giving a flash of light when a match is held under a flower cluster. The foliage is said to be lemon scented and it is supposed to be an excellent cut flower. This plant is also rabbit and deer proof!
Next on the list was seeds of the elusive Spicebush, Lindera benzoin. I obtained these seeds from The Banana Tree, http://www.banana-tree.com/ These seeds can take up to four months to germinate and prefer moist soil, bright light and acidic conditions.
From my own yard, I planted seeds that came off my Green Lotus Peony. I do not know what these are crossed with and have no idea what I might end up with but I figured I might as well plant the seeds since I had them.
In the house, I planted another find from JL Hudson, Berlandiera lyrata also known as chocolate daisy. This has been on my wish list for years. I had one seed germinate several years ago and when Jerry was weeding, it got pulled never to be found again. Then I had a plant sent to me and it did not survive the winter. I hope I have success this time around! The flowers are said to be chocolate scented.
The last seed I planted was Yucca baccata or the banana yucca. I obtained these seeds from Trade Winds Fruit, http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/ The flower is supposed to be something else and I figured, if it will live here, the winter foliage is well worth the wait!
What seeds are you starting now?
Filed under Exotic Gardening, In The Greenhouse by on Jan 24th, 2008. Comment.