White Lightnin' Rose

A wonderful gift from my sister arrived on
my doorstep today. She said she used to have
one in her garden and never has been able to find
another one, until now - online. Thank you to my
sister. She said it is a beautiful white and has
an absolutely heavenly scent. I'm not
sure about the story of the demise of her
first White Lightnin' - but I think it might
have been the doings of her dog.

  It's a rainy, cold day, so I
can't get out to plant it, hopefully
tomorrow.
It came as a bareroot rose. I soaked it
in a bucket of water with a capful of bleach, per
the instructions. Since
it has such a lovely fragrance, it might have
to go by the back patio.

What A Beautiful Daydream

Too Quick To Judge

Well I thought  that since I had
had a bad experience with
the daffodils being not what was
pictured on the package, I thought these
would turn out the same. A week ago
they were bright yellow and as
the week has progressed they have indeed  turned
to orange. 

Getting Some Sun

When the days are warm, today is around 60 degrees,
 these little seedlings need some
fresh air and sunshine. I will close them back up in
the evening as it still gets into the 30s and 40s. I
have to watch them closely to make sure
they don't dry out when the lids are open.

The tulip package.
The tulips below have no orange on them
at all. I'm disappointed once again. Won't
be buying anymore bulbs from the big
box store.

They are a pretty yellow. This is the second
day in bloom.

Third day in bloom.

Signs That Spring Is Coming Soon - In North Central Texas

I've never had tulips come up in February. Hopefully
they will look like the picture on the package unlike
the daffodils I purchased at the same big box store.

Tulip Daydream package. 

Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)

Daylily Golden Prize peeking through.

Below is a link to an article a friend recommended to me
 about Keyhole Gardening. You might check it
out. Some good information for those in hot Texas.

               http://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/nature-outdoors/keyhole-gardening

Carrot seedlings 

I got all excited about this one - I know it
doesn't look like much - but the Sweet Pepper Crispy Hybrid 
finally sprouted overnight as well as the tomatoes. Here is a list
of all that I have winter sown so far:
Alyssum Gold Dust (Saxatile Compactum)
 Broccoli De Cicco
Carrot Burpee's A#1 Hybrid
Hollyhock Summer Carnival Rosy Pink
 Kale Dwarf Blue
 Leek American Flag
Lettuce Little Gem and Salad Bowl
Spinach Bloomdale and Teton Hybrid
Sweet Pepper Crispy Hybrid
 Tomato Heirloom Prudens Purple

Seedlings

Leeks (variety is Leek American Flag) have
sprouted in the milk jugs
that I am trying out using
the winter sowing method as
well as the seedlings below.

Spinach (variety is Spinach Teton Hybrid)

Lettuce (variety is Lettuce Salad Bowl)

Broccoli (variety is Broccoli De Cicco)
 
I also planted some bell pepper seeds
which I don't think are going to
sprout. It has been at least 20 days
since I planted them. I didn't have
any luck with them last
spring either. I finally went and
bought  plants. Anybody
have a helpful hint for starting
bell peppers?

Kanjiro Camellia Bloomed Today

Seeds Are Sprouting

This photo was taken with camera lens looking down
into the milk jug. These are
the hollyhock seeds that sprouted today.

Winter Sowing

I am trying out winter sowing. I chose the milk jug method. I have started out

with leeks, carrots, spinach, bell peppers and hollyhocks. For more on

winter sowing this is a very helpful link:

http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/01/winter-sowing-reminders-a-hot-tip/

Tulips are peeking through. 

  

I took coleus, last fall,  from my garden to keep them
alive in the house during the winter months and then will
replant them this spring.

Daffodils in January

These are the daffodil bulbs I purchased and planted.
Below is the actual daffodil. They don't
look at all like the picture, so I am
disappointed. 

Onions

Just planted Sweet Red Onion slips today.

Daffodils are up early this year. My tulips are also starting
to pick through.