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.

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.

Non-Bloomers 2013 (Proxy Images)

These seeds I bought never made it to bloom but I'll try again soon!

Bloom 2013 - Dwarf Tomato Plant (Proxy Images)

Proxy image of a fully grown dwarf tomato plant. Mine wasn't nearly as plentiful and I soon discovered that growing tomatoes require that you give them enough room to grow and lots of sun & water)

Me and my girlfriend both picked up a tomato kit for sale at K-Mart last year complete that came with a few seeds and ceramic pot. After adding the soil to the pot, I planted several  of the seeds although the instructions stated to plant only one. My girl Ironellys on the other hand planted a tomato forest and sprinkled more seeds in the pot than I can count. I soon learned found out that tomatoes need their root space to grow well and so to promote growth, I ended up cutting down a few of the extra tomato plants. My mini tomato plant started to bear green tomatoes and it took about a week for them to redden. I successfully mustered up the courage and ate some of my harvest without any ill effects which I'm still proud of. Its pretty amazing how I basically grew my own food which is why I'm looking to grow some more veggies this winter.

Yellow Tomato Flower

Tomato seedlings. At this stage they already smell like tomatoes, which I found intriguing. 

My First Bloom 2013 - California Red Poppy (Proxy Images)

It was close to three months tending my plants before my first bloom, a Red California Poppy. The seeds I bought were California orange but I wasn't complaining, my bloom was a lovely and welcome sight nonetheless. I remember watering it in my balcony early morning and it hadn't quite bloomed yet but a few hours later I find it fully bloomed with those eye-catching red petals fanned out towards the sun. The thing about Poppies are that they start looking pretty miserable and wilted just after a few days and soon after the petals start falling off. The next time I grow these I might group a few different varities in different pots and stagger the time I seed them so I can watch them bloom several times instead of once.

Full grown Red California Poppy

Macro shot of a Poppy  flower about to bloom

Poppy seedling