When Sedum Attacks....

Dragons Blood Sedum

While I was gone on my trip to Portugal to see my parents, something grew on my balcony. I had waited months for my Dragons Blood Sedum to spread in the little corner of the weeping dwarf crape myrtle sacramento. It did grow but it took me a few days to even notice because...


Variegated Carpet Sedum

When I came back it was not the Dragons Blood Sedum that I initially noticed but the Variegated Sedum. When I had left this sedum had spread but it was about 6 pieces standing 3 inches tall. Now it's spread everywhere and looks gorgeous. These started out as 3 cuttings that I "stole" from my last employer after they did cuttings of pots before sending them to the stores. Those 3 turned into six which turned into this! 3 of them died because i put them indoors and they just didn't make it. 3 of them went to a lucky raffle winner at the school hort club. Now I have all these.


Containers with Ivy, Sedums and Jovibarba

Not only did I notice the Sedums but the IVY!!! I got this ivy as a little plantlet when I volunteered at the botanical gardens. We were ripping out some ivy that they no longer wanted under the palms. I took a tiny little one home with me. It hardly grew for a whole year. Yet when I come back this thing is taking over. It has now branched out behind the planter and infront of the planter. The initial leader is not about 4 feet long. I could not take an accurate photo but the leader in on the ground wrapped around some pots.

Isn't it crazy how you wait for so long to see your plants grow and think you are doing something wrong. When really they just want to grow out of your sight.

It's Seed Time!

Seeds sown 1-23-09

Finally I sowed some of my seeds. There are tons of seeds I bought for this year. What I planted is such a small portion of what I have. I'm regretting planting the different types that I did because I don't have the space to grow substantial amounts of all of them. Each type has 3 pots or less. Some pots will probably be too small in a short time. I'll see how it goes but it's fun to plant seeds anyways and I'll be happy if I get some nice basic plants to plant for my home when we start moving in April.




Really I have no idea if most of these seeds will do well here. I'm so used to container gardening and being able to manipulate the soil and light to my liking. The balcony provides some shade so none of my plants get the full blazing hot killing sun that SA offers. Live and learn, I just can't resist buying seeds that might make it.

There are 63 pots and 23 different plants:
Castor Oil Bean Zanzibarrensis Mix
Black-eyed Susan Vine 'Spanish Eyes'
Verbena Adonis Mango
Cosmos Daydream
Zinnia Red Spider
Profusion Apricot Zinnia
Nicotiana Domino Salmon Pink
Nicotiana Tinkerbell
Wizard Velvet Red Coleus
Palisandra Coleus
Bronze Fennel Smokey
Salvia viridis Blue Denim
Love Lies Bleeding
Cigar Plant Matchless
Osteospermum African Moon
Hyssop
Lavender English Dwarf Hidcote
Petunia Easy Wave Beachcombers Mix
Achillea Summer Pastels
Basil Dark Opal Purple
Coreopsis Sunray
Alternanthera Purple Knight
Nasturtium Scarlet Gleam

Made it to Portugal

I'm here in Portugal visiting my parents. I thought I would never make it. This was the work traveling I have ever done but it was my own fault. I missed my first flight because I could have sworn it had said 8pm and not 8am. Anyways I noticed at 9am my mistake and was able to connect to my flight that left from boston to azores. Sadly my hubby had to pay 117 to get me there since Northwest cancelled all my flights because I missed that one. Everyone I landed I had problems. It was just never ending pain. I still have to figure out how to get home and if I'll be refunded at all. I still have my flight to boston but after that all my flights were cancelled. My first plane was delayed so it got there about 15 mins before my next one was scheduled to take off. It took forever for the plane to stop and when it did it was nowhere near a gate and we had to take a shuttle to get inside. I got inside and my next flight was delayed a bit an extra 10 mins but I was at gate E and my next one was at gate A. They said I wouldn't make it so they changed my flight to a later time (2 hours away). I thought I would try anyways. I made it only because it was delayed another 10 more minutes! Then when I got to boston my bags did not show because they had gone on the plane that was scheduled 2 hours later. This became a problem because I needed to check in and check in my bags and only had a 30 min time in between. I had to run from terminal A to terminal E to go check in and check what to do, then to go back and try to get my bags or tell them to send it to terminal a, they were there so i checked them in and made it in time. But i couldn't fix anything in texas because the airlines could not be contacted. When I got to boston they couldn't do anything so said for me to fix when i got to azores. I am pooped and have not gotten it fixed yet.

My husband has been dealing with the house while I have been here doing all the bidding and paperwork. So I am excited so far everything has been going good. The inspector is scheduled for monday. I hope all goes okay and there isn't much of anything at all wrong.

My coworkers had asked me to take photos of plants here and maybe bring some seeds of interesting things. Well I had told them I'm pretty sure they have basically all the same plants. I never notice before what plants were here but I was right. Practically all the same plants just way bigger because it does't get as cold here. Pampas grass, hibiscus, bougainvillea, hydrangeas, vincas, geraniums. But there is one plant everywhere that I have no idea what it is. I'm going to go search for it now but I don't think it sets seed. I'm pretty sure I can't take a plant on my trip back and it would probably die by the time I got back. My mother has a lot of house plants. Her ferns here are huge. The house is humid and it makes them grow like beasts. She has always been really good at growing ferns. Not myself. When I went to college and they moved here she gave me 2 ferns. Well they died soon but I think I neglected them too much. I'll be trying again when I get home since I only have a plumosa fern outside but no ferns inside just ivy, begonias, and succulents.