Monday, March 29, 2010
The Bare-Bottom Test
"Sow warm weather annuals when you can sit on the soil with your bare bottom comfortably." In other words, when the soil (not outdoor temperature) is warm enough. That is according to Janet Draper, Smithsonian horticulturist and solely in charge of the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden. (If you have not visited the Ripley Garden or not been there lately, you owe it to yourself to stop by a drink in this oasis between the Hirshhorn Museum and Arts & Industies Building.) Her old-fashioned annuals talk for us this past Sunday was a hoot. Janet shared her favorite self-sowing annuals and those that may need a bit of assistance from us humans to seed about the garden. That is her pictured here championing the lowly marigold, which she says she herself used to scorn as too "common," but is now back in thrall with it. Per her recommendation, today I sprinkled Alyssum 'Basket of Gold' seeds in several window boxes. One of the annuals she highlighted that I don't currently grow is larkspur. I have no idea how that one just passed me by and I'm going right out and buying a pack of seeds this week.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured Post
Holiday Gifts for Gardeners ~ Top Gardening Gifts ~ 21+ Cool Gardening Gift Ideas
The holiday season is here and I bet you have a gardener on your gift list, so we've updated our annual a Holiday Gifts for Gardener...
Most Popular Posts
-
The September 15 issue of the Washington Gardener Enews is now posted to the archives. You can view it here . To subscribe, just go to the ...
-
The holiday season is here and I bet you have a gardener on your gift list, so we've updated our annual a Holiday Gifts for Gardener...
-
The November 2024 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out. It is posted and archived online at: https://issuu.com/washing...
A farmer I knew back in the day used to call that 'planting by the moon.'
ReplyDeleteCraig, I'm going to use that line!
ReplyDelete