Bloom 2017 - Forget-me-not

2017 Line Up!

I've done a pretty terrible job keeping track of what I planted this year as usual, but here is the complete collection of seeds I purchased this year. Some have bloomed already and I will upload images and have them posted soon.

Here we have Clover seeds, Daisy silver princess seeds, tomato beefsteak seeds, california giant zinnia seeds, lavender seeds, and california poppy seeds. The burgandy flowers all the way on the left are possibly primrose seeds but I chopped off the seed name from opening the packet and don't remember what it is now. Like always I'll have to wait and see and hope for the best

I THINK these are sweet pea seeds. I really need keep track of this from the start and avoid all this confusion...

Bloom 2016 - Final Year Dump Post

Being that it's 2017, this post is pretty overdue but I'm doing it to keep things as sequential and complete as possible. I rounded up all the photo's I could find from 2016 that I never got a chance to upload on here.

 Last year I had a chance to replant some moon-flowers and take photos. The first time I planted them back in 2014, I lost the pictures I took unfortunately. It was disappointing being that they were some of my favorite blooms but here they are again in all its glory. 

In addition to the moonflowers there are some orange and yellow marigolds too. These last practically through the fall which is nice

I also grew pink and blue cornflowers I think I had leftover from the previous year

 I grew some cilantro too making it the second edible plant I've harvested next to tomatoes. Oh man fresh home-grown cilantro was some of the best I've ever eaten. I had it in my soups and omelets daily. I plucked stems, gave it a quick rinse, and just ate it just to taste it too.There was a point I had to slow down since the poor plant was basically being munched on faster than it could grow. So good though... 

Pink and Yellow Zinnia's. These are early bloom photo's, the petals haven't unrolled completely yet

Bloom 2016 - Heavenly Blue Morning Glory

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Borders, Cut Flowers

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Slightly Acidic or Alkaline

Water: Moderately

Spread: 72- 96 Inches

Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks

Height: 8 - 12 Feet

This year, I'm growing both blue morning glory and moon-flower vines. I'm growing both in the same container in order to have day long blooms. Unfortunately, I accidentally nipped one of the vines near the bottom while I was pruning and didn't think to propagate some of the cuttings. The moonflower looked great, but now I need to regrow Heavenly blue MG's all over again which is not a problem being that MG's are one of my faves

Proxy Image of Heavenly Blue Morning Glory

My first bloom 2016 - Red and Yellow Zinnias

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Borders, Cut Flowers

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Acidic

Water: Moderately

Height: 6-10 Inches

Spread: 12-14 Inches

Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks

Spring has come and gone, but the blooms are just starting to appear on my springtime windowsill. This year I've planted an assortment of Zinnias and the first to bloom are the red and yellow varieties. I'm using plastic cups in order to save space  on the windowsill and plant more variety this year. There are five zinnia plants inside this one small plastic cup and the growth of other three seem to be stunted because they're so crowded. I plan to snip any color duplicates overtime to make the most out of the container space.

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 12 - White Campion/Bladder Campion/Grave Flower/Flower of the Dead (Silene latifolia)

I spotted this white 5 petal flower during my daily walk in the park. I noticed the inflated calyx which quickly helped me identify it afterwards. Apparently in England these flowers are often seen at grave sites hence its other name Grave Flower.

Check out this Wiki link to learn more about the Bladder Campion

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 11 - Asiatic Dayflower/Mouse Ears/Dew Herb (Commelina communis)

This one was a great find. A very different flower find I'd have to say due to this plants characteristics. It has two large blue mouse shaped petals hence mouse ears and some bright yellow anthers that look like sun rays in a blue sky. 

Check out this Wiki link to learn more about the Asiatic Dayflower

Bloom 2015 - Blue Bachelors Button/Cornflower (Centaurea Montana)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Ornamental, Borders, Cut Flowers

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Neutral-Alkaline

Water: Lightly

Spread: 10-12 Inches

Bloom Duration: 8 Weeks

Height: 30 Inches

This vibrant blue really broke up the fiery color theme I had with my golden Marigolds, yellow Zinnia, and Crimson Rambler. 

Photo of some wild mixed white and purple cornflowers I came across

I saw a wild mixed white and pink cornflower variation while strolling through my local park the other day. Leaf shape does looks a bit different compared to the one I'm growing so it might a different plant altogether. Very similar characteristics so I'll call it a bachelor's button find. 

Bloom 2015 - Morning Glory : Crimson Rambler (Ipomoea purpurea)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Borders, Cut Flowers

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Slightly Acidic or Alkaline

Water: Moderately

Spread: 10 - 12 Inches

Bloom Duration: 12 Weeks

Height: 10 - 13 Feet

Bloom 2015 - Pansy (Viola tricolor)

Life Cycle: Annual 

Uses: Beds, Container 

Sun: Full Sun, Part Sun 

Height: 6  inches

Spread: 8-10  inches

Sowing Method: Indoor Sow 

Bloom Duration: 12  weeks

These pansies were really a break from all the yellow/orange colors from my sunflower, zinnia, and marigolds. These small flowers reminded me of my impatiens which I have the urge to grow again. I noticed theres a black Pansy variety and I think I'll try growing some of those soon.