Thoughts on a Winter garden...
With the summer coming to a close, it's time to start thinking of winter things to plant. We had (and are still having) a very successful run with our tomatoes, we got several cukes and a few squash with more of both still coming. We even have one medium sized pumpkin, the prize of our garden! which is all orangey and I'm guessing about ready to harvest from the all but dead vine - I couldn't be more pleased!
The sunflowers reached the highest of heights and the mini roses are so happy! the little citrus tree we planted is aggressively growing and the callas are multiplying prolifically! The four o'clock is flourishing and so is the shade/sun seed mix I planted, an old leftover freebie from Burpee that I put in a pot, so we'll see what's in it!
I took a classic medium sized strawberry pot and put petunias and snap dragons in the top opening with royal carpet (purple) sweet alyssum seeds in the cups - that did very nicely too, especially with a shiny pinwheel as an ornament!
The failures? My very small hydrangea that I had nursed back to health and was doing so well (I gave it as a bday gift to my boss and she let it all but die in her office instead of planting it in the ground) is now badly limping after I've been away at Burning Man...the dwarf bird of paradise I'd saved from my last place of residence fell as a casualty to HexaYurt building in the yard...the bird house gourds and some other things I'd sewn as seeds in the ground got all eaten up by garden predators. The oh so beautiful ginger lilies that I also saved from my last home are still alive but likely won't produce this year. We planted peas and also sweet peas that were overshadowed respectively by the tomatoes and the sunflowers, they never got enough light to produce - try again next year in a better spot.
The jury is still out though on the watermelon plant...it's growing and growing, but I'm afraid it's too late in the year to get enough to produce...I say this knowing little to nothing about watermelon growing!
Overall I'm quite happy with the experiment - some things in the ground and some things in amended soil in half barrels - and plan to grow continuously for always! (grow in the garden and grow as a person, both lead you down the same path...especially with a good cup of tea and daily hose watering, which is the way I like it!) My almost four year old, Nico - it was with him and for him we started this garden in the Montessori spirit back in April, is thrilled with everything and he likes to water too...he says, "Gotta make it grow!" So now, as stated, we're turning our thoughts towards winter!
I've read a few articles online and the local (San Jose, CA) info I've found says that for winter we can plant peas, onions, and radishes among some of the choices. Those are the things that interest me as well as winter squash. I wonder if there are any flowering plants we could put in the ground or in pots as well? Cyclamen is a winter flower, no?
If anyone would like to share their thoughts with me on what to plant in winter in sunny California, I'd be so grateful! I feel lucky to live in a climate that doesn't need much garden winterizing. I'm in fact very humbly grateful.
Thank you in advance for any planting discussion. I need help branching out from my zoo of houseplants inside and into the coming winter outside!
:)
The sunflowers reached the highest of heights and the mini roses are so happy! the little citrus tree we planted is aggressively growing and the callas are multiplying prolifically! The four o'clock is flourishing and so is the shade/sun seed mix I planted, an old leftover freebie from Burpee that I put in a pot, so we'll see what's in it!
I took a classic medium sized strawberry pot and put petunias and snap dragons in the top opening with royal carpet (purple) sweet alyssum seeds in the cups - that did very nicely too, especially with a shiny pinwheel as an ornament!
The failures? My very small hydrangea that I had nursed back to health and was doing so well (I gave it as a bday gift to my boss and she let it all but die in her office instead of planting it in the ground) is now badly limping after I've been away at Burning Man...the dwarf bird of paradise I'd saved from my last place of residence fell as a casualty to HexaYurt building in the yard...the bird house gourds and some other things I'd sewn as seeds in the ground got all eaten up by garden predators. The oh so beautiful ginger lilies that I also saved from my last home are still alive but likely won't produce this year. We planted peas and also sweet peas that were overshadowed respectively by the tomatoes and the sunflowers, they never got enough light to produce - try again next year in a better spot.
The jury is still out though on the watermelon plant...it's growing and growing, but I'm afraid it's too late in the year to get enough to produce...I say this knowing little to nothing about watermelon growing!
Overall I'm quite happy with the experiment - some things in the ground and some things in amended soil in half barrels - and plan to grow continuously for always! (grow in the garden and grow as a person, both lead you down the same path...especially with a good cup of tea and daily hose watering, which is the way I like it!) My almost four year old, Nico - it was with him and for him we started this garden in the Montessori spirit back in April, is thrilled with everything and he likes to water too...he says, "Gotta make it grow!" So now, as stated, we're turning our thoughts towards winter!
I've read a few articles online and the local (San Jose, CA) info I've found says that for winter we can plant peas, onions, and radishes among some of the choices. Those are the things that interest me as well as winter squash. I wonder if there are any flowering plants we could put in the ground or in pots as well? Cyclamen is a winter flower, no?
If anyone would like to share their thoughts with me on what to plant in winter in sunny California, I'd be so grateful! I feel lucky to live in a climate that doesn't need much garden winterizing. I'm in fact very humbly grateful.
Thank you in advance for any planting discussion. I need help branching out from my zoo of houseplants inside and into the coming winter outside!
:)