Vera, I finally found a pic of my backyard in July:

Remember that I have a tiny yard in the city. :-)
But I like to stuff it to the hilt.

Those are Bee Balm (Monarda). Piti sure knows how to grow them. Gorgeous!!!

Nikki, the "pinks" in the first picture are monarda.

PV

Blessings,
Dea

About half of them in the backyard were winter sown.
Here are some at closer look. They were WS:

Penny Black. I have not been able to find any more seeds since:

Feverfew. I love these plants. I have at least 5 different forms in my garden. I am too lazy to look up the botanical name right now. Tiff and others will supply it; I am sure:

Shirley Poppy:

California Poppy and Petunia:

More petunia. These were grown from seeds collected from Dolcisimo Flambe

Coreopsis tinctoria:

Rudbeckia hirta burpeeii from Donn:

Sunflower ‘Baby Bear’ from Debbie in Columbus:

In the 2nd pic in my first post, the drumstick-like lavender flower in the foreground is Liatris spicata 'Kobold'. I grew them from plants, but the seeds will WSow or self sow readily and will bloom the second year. The blue balloon flower also in the foreground will bloom the first year too.

Pit, I have some commercial penny black seeds - about 3 years old. If you're interested, I'd be happy to share. Drop me an email ...

PV

Another angle in the backyard:

Bunny Tail Grass, Lagurus ovatus, annual:

California poppy with Convulvulus Ensign series:

These are perennials:
Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum from Wsowing. I had drooled over this flower for ages. Mine blooms the second year. I bought a new baby last winter..a baby that produced these gorgeous photos. That's why I hardly posted on the forum last year. :-)

The angle from the alley. The Clematis is on the side of the garage. It’s Niobe right next to Etoile Violette:

Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’. This clematis has rather small flowers, but blooms profusely:

Stepping closer into the backyard:
Clematis Venusa violacea. A favorite:

Forest girl,
The red Monarda is growing rampant for me. I have to keep pulling it out. But the pink one does not spread like the red one. If you like, I can mail some to you in spring for postage. PLMK.

Clematis Venusa Vilacea:

Clematis ‘Madame Julia Corevon’:

I love these small flowered clematis. They bloom all season long unlike the larger flowered ones that bloom profusely in the season and then only sporadically the rest of summer..like this one just by the garage door. Clematis jackmanii:

This clematis grows next to a Viburnum next to C. jackmanii above. C. durandii. It’s a pain because this clematis does not cling to anything. I have to keep tying it to the viburnum:

These clamatis are on the narrow strip along the fence:
C. huldine. This one is relatively new. Only two years old:

C. ‘Prince Charles’..also new:

Another new one, C. viola:

This is the back of viola:

Another new one, C. ‘General Sirkosky’…spelling?:

C. ..ah…I forgot which this one is:

C. ‘Marie Biosselot’. I initially grew this on the fence and added a couple stakes so tall that I could not see the blossoms. One summer I kept wondering why she was not blooming. And there she was a couple feet over my head. I have since lowered the entenders:

C. ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’ or ‘Bouchard’ I am not sure which is the correct name:

These grow at the base of the fence at the feet of the Clematis and between the Clematis.
Lily ‘King Pete’ – a very short Asiatic lily…might be in the pixie series:

Geranium lancastriense and Campanula Poscharskyana from Bluestone:

A no-name Lilium longiflorum…very fragrant and very tall….must be at least 7 ft tall. My neighbor gave me a couple bulbs many years ago.

Lilium ‘Silk Road’:

Rose ‘Tiffany’ and Allium cristophpii between C. Huldine and ‘Prince Charles’.
I love Allium cristophii next to Lamb’s Ear. I truly love this combination:

This Iris ensata can grow from seeds too. This one is in the corner in the backyard:

These are in the front yard. Lamb’s Ear (grow easily from seeds), Allium cristophii, Barberis ‘Bonanza Gold’:

Lilium ‘Regale Album’:

Hydrangea arborscens ‘Annabelle’(native of Illinois-very easy going and easily grown from cuttings), Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ & Variegated Solomon’s Seal:

Hope you will fill your gardens as full as I do. :-)

I grow this annual forget me not everywhere. It reseeds very well too:

Another reason I love Allium cristophii:

Your garden is spectacular! Love the red bee balm and the Allium. I am also going to grow a few varieties of the feverfew and some Penny blacks. I also have some Penny Black seeds I would gladly send to you,if you would like them.

Amy

The pics make me think to myself, "I want one of those and one of those and one of those..." as I do when going through catalogues!

What amazing displays...all your work sure has paid off really big time. I love the packed gardens. They're like a feast for all the senses.

A huge thank you for sharing your GORGEOUS garden world, piti.

The Allium cristophii, I'm assuming those are the puffy balls? I've never seen those before. Do they grow from seeds or bulbs?

Karen

~Wendy

Wow. I've never in my life seen the 'Prairie Smoke', but I just wrote it on my Wish List. Thanks for the show!

I love the front yard too, mayblooms. Unfortunately we lost the tree from the street. Now the hostas would fry by July.
This is the front yard from another angle. The hostas are now way bigger than in the photo:

I am sowing only some annuals these days. Lol. You are right; I have no more room to add much any more. I have sown only Fritillaria meleagris…just to see if it will germinate or not. I want to sow Petunia, Lobelia, Marigold, and veggies this year.
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Those Prairie Smoke were winter sown a couple years ago, Carol. Didn’t I send you any seeds in the newbie pack? I can send you some. Send me your address again. I was very disorganized this year and did not record any one’s address. You’ll have to ask very nicely, lol. I don’t normally send Prairie Smoke seeds to anyone without asking. Lol.

Token, yes, the puffy one is Allium cristohpii or albopilosum. I love that Allium. I keep the seed heads all season long and let the wind blow them away in the fall. A. cristophii does reseed but I am too impatient to wait for them to grow. I usually added new bulbs every year until the year before last. I’ll see how many I have left this year.
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I do like to stuff my gardens. Yours will be full too if you plant things my way. Every single inch in my garden is literally planted 2-3 times. For instance, I space perennials and shrubs very carefully. But then in between, I would plant bulbs, a large bulb, a medium bulb then a mini bulbs all in the same hole. After that I plant a ground cover such as Lamium between those perennials then scatter leftover annual seeds everywhere. I absolutely cannot stand bare soil in my garden. :-)

The garden looks very happy because I pile in shredded leaves every fall. A few times a year, from spring on whenever I have a chance, I will go haul horse manure and spread it all over. I also make compost in plastic garbage cans. I have tons of big fat worms in my garden.
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If you start from scratch or nearly from scratch or still have room, think of planting shrubs for structure and height. Then fill the rest with annuals and perennials. Do not clean up your garden in the fall. Leave some seed heads for winter interest. I also have several miniature evergreens and some shrubs with beautiful stems/twigs to look at in winter. My garden is never boring and I love it that way.

Happy Winter Sowing, folks.

No newbie pack from you or any one else,do you mean the trade from Patty?No seed there either,could be a different Carol?
cAROL

Thompson and Morgan has the penny black seeds for you. 280 seeds for $2.95

http://www.tmseeds.com/product/2880.html

Fran

ForestGirl, I love your jugs. You are way ahead of me. I have just moved my rack to the patio this eveing. I plan to place my containers on the rack, so I don't have to bend down to check my sprouts. :-)
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To everyone who has sown a gazillion seeds, you MUST prepare your beds now. If you wait, you won’t have them ready by the time those seedlings are ready for transplanting. And make sure make the beds 3 times larger than you think you’ll need.
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Tosser, email me for Prairie Smoke seeds.
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Fran, thanks for the info re Penny Black on TM. I hate that company. The seeds don’t germinate well. I am also too cheap to order anymore. :-P
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This is a favorite WS combination of mine – Lobelia ‘Blue Cascade’ and Marigold ‘Lemmon Gem’:

The green and white plants are native annuals – Snow on the Mountain – Euphorbia marginata:

People seem to hate Yucca, but I love mine. I find the color, form and texture very striking. It is evergreen too, so it gives a nice touch to the garden in winter as well. I grow mine right where my front walk way meets the side walk…..a prominent display year round. It can be winter sown:

Love that Snow on the Mountain - got seeds around here somewhere.

PV

Ack! Pitim - just now saw your kind offer for the Prairie Smoke (came back to see if you'd posted more pix). I ordered some from Prairie Moon less than an hour ago! I haven't been able to get those beauties out of my head. Thank you so much for the offer!

I love yucca, too, and don't have any at this house, so I ordered some of them, as well. I miss my gnarly yucca - they were always so reliable and polite. "...ugly brown sticks"!?! ttthhhpppptt!

A no-name Aster:

Something for winter interest. My son said it looks diseased. J
Betula nigra ‘Little King’

In spring I have a lot of bulbs in bloom, because there must be a couple thousand among those perennials and shrubs:

You are such an inspiration. I look at your gardens and flowers and this this is what my passion is, growing and looking at flowers and plants.

Will you pls tell me how you layer the clematis. I have about 20 but 3 or 4 of my favorites i would love to layer.

thanks
Maureen
p.s. great camera and photography

I love Tiffany and would hate to part with it. I've grown it from a tiny small rooted cutting.

thanks

No, I don't spray my rose for black spots. Haven't done that for many years. If they get any, so be it. I just clean up the fallen leaves afterwards.

Tiffany seems very resistant to black spots, though. I would pour water that I use in rinsing milk jugs over the rose bushes whenever I remember to do so. That's as much fuss as I want to do with roses. My Tiffany was grown from cuttings too. When the humidity is right, the fragrance is intoxicating.
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I have had success layering C. jackmanii and Etoile Violette. I think all the vitticella will be easy to layer. I have not had luck with Niobe or Ramona. I have not tried others yet. Do you know that you can’t really kill Clematis that easily? I moved my Ramona a couple times. Each time I would leave something behind and it would grow!
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Layering is a very easy propagation method for a lot of plants. I just scrape off the bark and expose the cambium (The green growth layer just next to the bark.) injuring it a bit. If you are not sure where it is, just scrape off the bark to expose the woody stem. With Clematis it’s not that easy to figure out where the cambium is, so I just use a very sharp knife to cut off half of stem lengthwise without severing the stem from the mother plant. I then paint the injured part with rooting hormone. Cover that stem with soil and use a brick to hold it down to the ground. Keep the area moist. Check the stem 3 months later. Usually you should see a few roots growing already. With Clematis, I usually wait until the next season to sever it from the mother plant so I can get a good root system. This method is called ground layering.
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For stems that you cannot bend to the ground, air layering is a good way to propagate.
I do that a lot with my Red Twig Dogwoods when I run out of lower stems. All you need to do is peeling off the bark to expose the cambium/woody part, paint the exposed area with rooting hormone (actually it’s not necessary), cover it with potting soil, wrap some moss around the soil, then wrap a piece of clear plastic sheet over it….just like a big fat & chubby sausage. I use a piece of nylon to tie the top and bottom. This way I can just pull off the top and inject some water into the wrap once in a while to keep the soil moist.
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Anisten, I saw Prairie Smoke for the first time in Montana. So I am sure it must be all over the Great Plains. It really is a striking native.
Thanks for the compliments.

two years ago piti sent me a very generous envelope of lots of wonderful seeds for my first yr. of w.s.ing ~~ BUT then last spring i got REALLY lucky ~~

i live in the burbs & my daughter & i were going to a play in the city ~~ so we stopped at piti's on our way ~~ her gardens are awe-inspiring ~~ she loaded my car up with lots of great stuff (all of which survived beautifully)

piti, THANK YOU again! phyl

p.s. ~~ piti irl is just as delightful as she appears here!

Tomorrow I will be going thru my recycle bin and making flats!!!
The ice storm sent hundreds of limbs into my yard...we have been sawing and dragging them for days now. Can't wait to get the raised beds set up...
Nana4

Those in the pictures were planted right under the Monarda in the very first picture on this thread. See what I meant when I said I planted every inch 2-3 times? I love huge and fragrant tulips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With so many comments, it looks like Prairie Smoke is the winner here. :-) Hooray to a native. :-P

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Hi Phyl, Glad to see you post again. And many thanks to the very kind words. Would you like some more plants?? :-P
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This is my favorite Wsown annual. Petunia ‘Laura Bush’ and her progress through the season. I finally looked up the date to go with each picture:
June 16, ~2 ½ weeks after planting from some very tiny Wsown seedlings:

June 24:

June 27:

July 4:

This is what the bed looked like on July 4. This bed is in my next door neighbor’s backyard:

July 14:

We have had yet another wind storm and apparently I am one of the few who didn't put light weight stuff out on trash day, but everyone's crap is in my landscaping for days now. I went out to pick it up and the cutting cold wind sent me right back in. The trash is still out there....then we had a wintry mix of rain. Arugh.

Martha

I really need to start sowing my favorites today, because the snow may thaw by the end of the week.

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Thanks, docmom. The dark red flower in the middle of the perunia bed is Dahlia ‘Karma Naomi’. She is really a beauty in the garden, but exceptionally dark in a bouquet. Would you like a tuber? I think I have several in storage. Email me in March when I check them and start potting them up. Here’s K. Naomi up close. The digital photo made her much redder than in real life. She is a great bloomer too, long stem. Great for cutting:

This is my one of ‘Bishop’s Children’ dahlias from WSowing. Too bad the saved tubers didn’t make it. The bees absolutely adore them:

Linda

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Thanks, lblack & oceanna. Gardening is a hands-on experience...and all trials & errors. Mother nature plays the biggest part, actually. The same plants will yield different results if planted in different climates.

lblack, would you like a camera like this one? :-)

I am still learning to use it. lol. And this thing is much too heavy for me. I really bit off more than I can chew.
Most of the pictures above were taken with my old point & shoot, though. Only a few come from this camera.

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v1rtu0s1ty, you make sure to make several flower beds before March/April, you hear? :-D

So other than being heavy, how do you like it?

Linda

ML

Thanks, ML.

I have been lurking here but have not wintersowed yet.

Karen

I also love the Birch. I think the ones I planted
Heritage, are cousins.

Thank you for the wonderful pictures on such a
windy dreary day.

Mary

jessew,
Most of the pictures were taken with an old model of Panasonic Lumix.
The mean looking ones were shot with a Canon 40D.
Think carefully before you buy one. I love mine, but it is very heavy. I cannot handle it without a tripod, if I want decent pictures. Also, the lenses will put you in a poor house....if you become addicted. :-)

I think I've come back to this thread 10 times in the last few days. Each time I learn something new.

And I -love- my digital Rebel camera. Anyone that is thinking of going for a serious camera purchase, check out slickdeals.com and check it frequently, there is a photo forum. I bought my camera with a lens for around $250. Yes, $250. I'm serious about my bargains, been on a tight budget for a -looong- time.

:)

I'm glad to see this thread back, I love looking at your pictures!

I have some commercial penny black seeds if you need some more.

Lisa

Anyway, I can use more penny black seeds, ishareflowers, thanks. I'll send you seeds for trade later when I am well.

Tammy, a lot of those plants were Winter Sown.
Re: Composting in situ: if the weeds that I pull or flower clippings are not very large, I just bury them next to the plants or in any empty spot in the garden. lol

When I plant bulbs, I dig a hole, put a handful of dry leaves at the bottom, add soil, bulb, soil, another handful of dry leaves and soil. lol.

I have been doing this for many years. My garden beds are very loamy and rich with nutrients and earthworms. :-)

My garden beds are

drop me a line with your addy and I'll send out all that I have of the penny black seeds. I'm not so worried about a trade! I hope you feel better soon.

Lisa

I mailed your penny black seeds today. I also threw in some 5 spot and blue pimpernel because they are really cute too. Enjoy!

Lisa

Cheers.

PV

There's just too much to comment on right now, lucky you people, but it is an inspiration to all winter sower's. It's especially inspirational to me because I discovered Prairie Smoke out of it and WS'ed some and also what can be done with a small lot.

It doesn't looked planned or crammed. Just is. Beautiful!!!

I wish piti would or could repost all her photos from the linked thread or somehow incorporate both threads into one.

You all have such a wide variety of plants and set the bar so high.

What’s a newbie to do ? Sigh…..

I never get tired of these pics they are so nice!!

Karen

Odd I also have a Baptisia called Prairie Smoke. Gotta watch those names.

No, I need to keep looking at those photos for inspiration. Always see something new and different in them. Many I'm familiar with, but there are so many I never knew about.

Folks, did you notice that Piti doesn't have any lawn to mow? There's not an inch bare for grass to grow. Have you ever submitted any of your pictures of your gardens to any gardening magazines like BH&G or Fine Gardening or GardenGate or Birds&Blooms? You really should consider it. they are worth it!

This is what I'd like mine to look like..how do you manage to plant things so they kind of run into each other but look so beautiful. Weeds wouldn't have the nerve to grow there in your garden. Absolutely breaktaking! Thanks for sharing with us. Love that pink monarda too! That Convulvulus ensign series..which is a mini morning glory, right? Can that be grown in a outdoor container? Guess it needs something to climb on? Got to have Kobold liatris. Somebody sent me Blazing Star liatris and I planted that. That Prairie Smoke..oh my, is she a beauty! Hard to grow?

When you try layering clematis..how do you go about separating the new rooted one from the original clematis? Suppose when you layer it and it takes roots, can those new roots/plant be transplanted somewhere else?

Lisa, I forgot to send you seeds........:-(

We had snow on the ground until last Wednesday. And guess what I found hidden under that snow all along?
This:

I also have Snowsdrops in bloom too. I meant to get out there and take more photos but it's been raining and windy and cold...bummer

Prairie Smoke - Geum triflorum - is the most sought after plant, it seems. It is the most striking flower I have come across.
True to its nature, it truly is an easy plant to grow. I guess being a native to the prairie, it has to withstand all kinds of harsh and extreme swing of weather. I first time I saw them they were growing wild in the expanse of Montana.

Molly, that you see today is the result of a 22 year experiment. It has evolved over the years - through a lot of change, a lot of trial and error.

I never really have a plan, just some nebulous picture in my mind. I started out with an almost empty lot like almost everybody else, planting whatever struck my fancy, things for nostalgia first off. Then things to bridge the gaps in the garden, then fragrance, then colors, textures, height & form.

As new gardeners, I would like to suggest that you plant some shrubs as backbone/structure then fill in the gaps with perennials and annuals.

Keep in mind that mixed structures and forms looks better than a sentinel. Don't always put plant of the same height together, because they won't stand out. Vary the heights. Put something tall in front, in the middle and in the back. Look at garden pictures. Visit gardens, then visualize what you like and use it as your guide.

It is great that we have the internet nowadays. You got a lot of people as a springboard.

sjc48, put the saran wrap or plastic sheet back on. You don't remove the covering completely until the seedlings have grown enough. What you should do is widening the venting holes little by little to ease the seedlings to the elements and to gradually release the condensation and heat. We may still have heavy rain or snow or frost.

Yes, Convulvulus is a Morning glory. It does not need anything to climb on, because it is not a vine. It's barely a foot tall and grows well in containers.

I layer Clematis about a foot away from the mother plant, so it is not a problem to dig it out to replant elsewhere. It definitely can be planted somewhere else.

pitimpinai, I do love the pics. What is the yellow flower you just posted that was under the snow? It is so neat!

I plan to add Prairie Smoke - Geum triflorum next season. It is such a neat plant. You have gotten me interested in so many different flowers!

Karen

Re the covers of your containers - I also do like Pipi and gradually enlarge the holes to give them more air and get them used to unprotected environment.
If they are hardy to the cold tho, I just remove the top after a few days and let them go.

What have you sown?

ellen

Pitimpinai, wonderful pictures, absolutely wonderful, I did have to jot down a few names of these flowers to add to my want list, cause they are just beautiful!!

I am with buturfliis mom, no one ever named the feverfew types. That first fever few is wonderful!! Though all of them are gorgeous. I have some seeds over here of some feverfew and I wasn't planning on wsing it yet, but after seeing these pictures I was ready at midnight to so a container full. LOL

I am squeeing like crazy over here looking at all these photos! I totally forgot about beebalm. I didn't collect seeds from my last plants, but I'll have to find some in the store. It's one of my favorites!

Christy

Your garden is beautiful! It is not small! I love the combinations of each flower. Truly Inspiring!

Your right I'm going to have to have some soil hauled in.

Thank You for the beautiful pictures!

Thanks for the compliments. I miss my garden too. Right now it is under 5 - 6 ft. of snow. Those of you who live nearby may come by this spring. March - April is a good time. I will dig up as many plants as I can for you. I need to thin practically every thing out. It has overgrown because I was too ill to take care of it.
I also want to clear a patch to make room for vegetables.

I may mail plants for whoever asks me nicely too... for postage. I have done that for years, but I'm kinda tired right now. I am not a spring chick anymore and I have not been at top form in recent years.

I only have a name for the 5th feverfew. The rest were just grown, reseeded & cross-pollinated in the garden.

Your photos were a nice diversion for all of us, but - Please take care of yourself in all the snow. 'Phil' says spring may be early. I don't know how people manage just daily life with snow to that depth.

My mother said on the second which was a rare sunny day for us - Sigh, 'the groundhog would have a shadow to see', clearly very disappointed. I pointed out we don't have groundhogs here and the one that counts did not see a shadow :)

i'm so excited to be winter sowing this year!

Pitimpinai, your garden is absolutely beautiful. I grew up in Chicago, near Division/Milwaukee in the West Town area - near the Blue Line! I'll definitely have to try some of the plants you've mentioned including 'Penny black' and sunflower, "baby bear" - so cute.

Happy wintersowing!

Evelyn