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I like Ness's idea on the Mother's Day present for some flowers
that she plants in her yard, but I'd like to take it a step
further. ANY summer event is good for sending flowers like this.
My brother's girlfriend is having a house warming, so I have
started a couple of hanging baskets of nasturtium and canary
vines that I am taking to her place BEFORE the party. Nasturtium
like poor soil and thrive with a weekly (or so) watering. Don't
water on a schedule-- water when the plants need it which can be
more often than once a week. Water provides turgidity to the
plants. So, whenever they seem a little limp and the soil feels
dry, water them.
I also a have a few baskets started for some of my husband's
coworkers who are going to the hospital for planned operations,
having babies and getting married. He just lets them know what I
am doing and they either let me drop the plants off at their
houses or I stop by work at the end of the day. Or (for those who
commute in the OTHER direction) I drive to town at the end of the
day with my baskets. Be careful, what you tell people, though --
my husband told some friends that I passed my master gardener
class a few years ago, so I often stop by people's houses and I
find that they have lots of questions for me!
Other plants that are good for hanging baskets are strawberries--
a few alpine plants are great for laying supine in a hammock and
eating like grapes as you spend the day reading! Lobelia can be
trained over the edges and made to look like a waterfall and also
looks great on rocky slopes.
Don't forget that cuttings of your own plants can be used to
start new plants! Take a "pinch" off something like say, mint or
basil, pluck off the lower leaves and soak in water -- I like to
use the rose stem water reservoirs that come with the roses (that
I used to get before I got married,) but you can use a Dixie cup
or small glass. Just be sure to keep it in the darkness for a few
days, otherwise the plant will go into shock and die. I bought a
chocolate mint plant and several friends wanted to try it so I
did pinches and planted them in 2" plastic pots when their root
systems established! To get a bushier plant from this one little
start, when it is four inches high, pinch it back to 2 and it
will branch from there-- and you can do a new start with the
little pinch!
I also had some snap dragons start successfully from this-- since
a big garden costs a lot of money, and I am cutting back flowers
until I can plant them outside, this is working well for me. The
root systems get established and I plant them in plastic pots
until June first. Just be certain that after you are done with
your pots and tools that you wash them out -- diseases can spread
if you don't.
If you plan a few weeks in advance, you can start plants like
lavender with root start hormone (bought in the gardening
section -- it is severely poisonous so keep it away from your
toddlers.) You prepare the starting shoot, dip it in the hormone
powder and then CAREFULLY plant the dirt around the plant, being
careful to not disturb the hormone powder. Again, put them in a
dark area, only for a bit longer like a few weeks. MAKE SURE
THEY ARE WATERED! I don't advocate using peat pots as they mildew
and mold too easily-- go for plastic pots.
Alouette of Wasilla, Alaska
About The Author: Alouette is a long time Clipper reader and contributor
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