A Little Backstory - Part 2

2012 was the year I was going to get it right.  I did a lot of research about easy to grow plants, how to start seeds, how to harden off plants so they didn't die immediately, all that good stuff.  I was going to have something in my garden this year, darn it!

I went on Ebay and bought a ton of seeds from different sellers.  Then I ordered more from the Sample Seed Shop. More came from hardware stores.  My plan was to try a little bit of everything and see what worked (and what didn't).  I started the seeds in Jiffy greenhouses with the little peat pellets.  When the plants sprouted and grew larger, I trasnplanted them into little plastic cups with holes poked in the bottom, which I then placed into small plastic trays.  When the plants got bigger, I would put them outside to acclimate them to wind and sun.  I dug out a garden space in front of our kitchen window (in the back of the house). 

Because of our bird feeder, we also had a bunch of sunflowers come up on their own - and they were much larger and healthier than the ones I'd tried the year before.

The seeds that did the best for me were cosmos (sensation mix), zinnias (lilliput and cactus flower), morning glories (heavenly blue, blue star, Grandpa Ott, and those crimson ramblers I'd successfully grown the year before).  The balsaminas (a childhood favorite, as my mom always grew them at home) did okay, but they didn't care for the heat.  Once the cosmos grew too tall, they blocked out the second wave of balsaminas and they didn't return.  I was able to save seeds, though.

I dug out another garden, visible from the kitchen window.  There, I tried some wildflowers.  I'd bought a Texas wildflower mix the year before, so I picked out the seeds (a lot of the mix was filler material) and started them individually in the Jiffy greenhouse too.  Some of them did okay, but a few did very well.  Texas bluebonnets produced flowers (although out of season), and the firewheels (Indian blankets) did well enough for me to save seeds.

The morning glories went crazy, and completely covered the kitchen windows.

A dove made a nest in my vines, and two baby birds were born.

I tried some heirloom tomatoes, which did really well as plants, but stopped producing tomatoes when it warmed up.  Since Texas is warm most of the year, I didn't get much out of them (and probably won't grow them again).  By the time it cooled down enough for them to start up again, it was time for frost (and they died on the vine).  But the marigolds I grew near the tomatoes loved life and went crazy. The sweet basil I planted did very well also.

I started researching plants that were doing well around my yard. These are Mexican Petunias that are growing wild.  They're pretty, and they're no maintenance, so they can stay.

Overall, I would call 2012 a huge success for my plants and garden.  I've learned some things that work (starting seeds indoors), and some that don't (like ordering live plants from American Meadows - almost all of them died immediately and I only have two survivors for 2013).

In 2013, I will be trying some of the plants that did well, and experimenting with a few new ones as well.  I'm also planning to start plants for the front of the house instead of just the back, and finally get our front garden looking nice.