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spacecoast freaky tiki

2/22/2015

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"Spacecoast Freaky Tiki" is one of my stippled daylilies. This unusual plant has an orange base with red speckles all over it in a random fashion. No two blooms are exactly alike. This vigorous little oddity (3.25" bloom; 20" tall) looks just as beautiful in the late afternoon as it does early in the morning. The flower substance is somewhat waxy. Hybridized by the Kinnebrew family in Florida and introduced in 2006, this daylily has acclimated and grows very well for me in Wisconsin.

What is stippling? The term stippling or stippled describes the dot-like patterns produced in nature on the flower.
Stippling dots can be so profuse that they produce a pattern on the petal bases and sepals. (It's the same concept as stippling in the art world -- kind of like the technique Monet used in his paintings.)

As far as stippling goes, many daylily growers are either lovers or haters --  I'm in the love group!
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zinnia swirls

2/15/2015

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In Wisconsin the temperature this morning registers 0 degrees. Looking outside I can see steady wind gusts blowing the trees, bushes, and snow around. Even though it's only February, our local stores already have large displays of annual and perennial seeds. This assures me that spring WILL be coming soon.

The seed displays got me thinking about annuals. In my perennial gardens, I always leave large empty spaces to grow my very favorite annual - Zinnia Swirls. Back in the late 90's, I bought one tiny packet of 'Assorted Zinnia Swirls' at a Madison garden center. I've been saving the seeds ever since. I keep the dried seeds over the winter, then in spring I sow them directly in the garden (no starter pots) around Memorial Day. No special care needed. They bloom
reliably from July until frost. The assortment of colors is amazing -- whites, reds, purples, pinks, electric oranges and magentas with single, bi- and tri-color blooms. I don't make much of an effort to separate the seeds by color so I usually have clumps of several colors. And no two flowers look exactly alike. Love, love love my Zinnia Swirls!
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garden resolutions

2/8/2015

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I've been thinking about spring a lot lately, especially after the balmy 40 degree day we just had. These are my goals for the upcoming growing season:

Experiment - Purchase some new late-model daylilies - this goal will be a breeze!
Expedite - 2015 is the year for my new patio. Yes, it WILL happen!
Expand the flower beds? No, no, and NO! Standing firm on this one and will keep repeating.
Erase and Re-Do - I plan to complete those darn garden maps I started three years ago.
Evaluate - What works and what doesn't? -- Embrace it or fix it.
Edit - If a flower isn't happy in my garden, I will find it a new home and not look back.
 
And finally... ENJOY! I need to spend way more time doing this.

(Pictured is an Asiatic Lily purchased for $1 at a garage sale a few years back)
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quinn's gerbera daisy

2/1/2015

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This pretty yellow daisy bloomed in my flower garden all summer long. It arrived with a story.

At my office we all stay quite busy. Everyone has such varied, specialized jobs. Consequently we are always going in different directions, many times quite literally. In March we try to beat the Wisconsin winter doldrums by playing "Secret Leprechaun." Lacie came up with this great idea and she organizes the activity every year. It takes place for two work weeks prior to St. Patrick's Day and culminates in a potluck lunch/leprechaun reveal at lunch hour on St. Pat's Day. Those that want to participate put their name in a hat and everyone draws a name. You play tricks, leave treats, and do nice things for the person whose name you have drawn. All secretly. So for two weeks we have leprechauns lurking around the office. The creativity is amazing. Someone even got leprechaun poop! (Green marshmallows)

My secret leprechaun played some great pranks on me -- my office was ballooned --seriously ballooned; I could barely walk in it!  I also got shamrocked. Dozens of shamrocks with Irish sayings on the back were strewn all over my cubie.  I also received some really nice gifts, one of which was this beautiful Gerbera Daisy. Turns out my leprechaun was Quinn. I was clueless!  She played the game flawlessly - could be because she's Irish.
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