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One of the projects that completes the 2011 growing season for me is to post up my balcony garden journal for the year. My records of the garden used to contain a lot more information and details, but now seem to be photos, captions and the occasional video. And 2011 is no exception.
The glass gardens are getting interesting. I did a little moss collecting in BC a couple of weeks ago. On my parent’s property there are a lot of different types. Near the wood pile, moss is growing on strips of bark. On the paths and under the fruit trees the moss is shallow-rooted in the sandy soil. I’m still trying to ID the little bunches that I have now set under glass but I think I have some little pieces of feather moss, rock cap moss and juniper haircap moss. I also collected a few small twigs that are covered with a smoky grey and bright yellow lichen.
I captured a ladybug that was camping out on the sliding glass doors in the apartment and placed her under one of the glass cloches. Other than this one insect and a few worms, the glass gardens are amazingly bug-free. I’m assuming it’s just a matter of time before I get an insect bloom of some kind. Fodder for the Venus Flytrap that is patiently waiting to be fed.
It’s true.
Watering with a alcohol mix does stunt the growth of paper whites. It also makes the foliage shift to a darker green. Flower size, number (3 each) and fragrance are not affected. Gin-based bulbs achieved a height of 30.5 cm (12 inches) before they set bloom. City water supported bulbs grew to 58.5 cm ( 23 inches) and then flowered away. I do like the fragrance.
And now for something completely different.
Alpine gardening in troughs on a balcony is all about drainage with brief moments of colour and endless texture – gardening in a sometimes harsh environment of gusty wind and freezing winter. So while that goes on outside, here’s a peek at what has been going on inside.
Glass gardening in the apartment is all about moisture, and so far also brief moments of colour and endless texture – gardening in an environment that includes sunlight, cozy warmth and attention from a gardener who now has a bit more time on her hands.
The inspiration for the glass gardens was the little pots of moss and ferns that I tended this summer. I just didn’t want to part with them and knew full well that they wouldn’t make it through the winter. So I started to poke around and set up these little growing environments under glass. The outdoor plants could then happily transition inside. Now I’m still playing around with the details, but so far so good. Weekly attention to moisture levels, regular insect checks, new plant additions as I find them and some background reading has resulted in an interesting few weeks of growing.
With another month of shorter days still to come, it will be interesting to see how the plant ‘happy-meter’ shifts. The gardens aren’t getting morning sun any more and I really do need to get some distilled water for misting the environments. But it’s a diversion that will keep me busy for the next few months. Thanks to the gardener’s helper for the pics.
It was a good growing season for the hypertufa troughs. Many of the plants are now 3-4 years old and are well established. I dare not fuss with them and am always amazed at what pops up every spring. I’ve been watering them weekly, while I wait for the winter freeze up.
We have had an amazing fall. No serious snow yet. It’s also noticeably drier. Alpines in the mountains would already be snuggled under a layer of snow and frozen up for the year. I’ve moved the troughs to a corner of the balcony where they are out of the direct sun but open to the elements, both wind and snow. It’s important to try to keep the troughs frozen up once winter settles in.
A couple of the troughs are becoming a little fragile. Corners and edges softening up a bit – I think that is because they were not quite cured properly when they were built. Putting the troughs on castors helps move them easily, but also makes it easy to play bumper cars when moving them. I could be more careful.
I’ve planted a few tiny plants into the rock this year, but am pretty sure they won’t live to greet the spring. Always worth a try though. I’m hitting the books to start making my list for next spring – as the troughs fill up, I get a bit more selective about new additions.
These photos help remind me about the textures, shapes and colours I’m working with and where the empty spots are. Still room for a few more – plants that is, not troughs.
That’s gin to water – the brew I put together in order to stunt the growth of one of the containers of paperwhites I have on the go. I’ve never tried the stunting potion before. I typically plant paperwhite bulbs in the bottom of a tall glass vase so I don’t have to stake them once they start to bloom. The vase provides the support. But this year I’m doing a side by side comparison, gin and no gin. I’ll post the results in a few weeks when the flowers are in full bloom. Cheers to that.
I almost missed bulb-buying season.
We have had a beautiful fall this year. The leaves have actually had time to change colour, as compared to recent fall seasons where leaves were frozen green.
I’ve posted before about not having any success wintering over bulbs in the alpine troughs on the balcony, much to my disappointment. But I always like to go for a little shop, have a look and at least buy some paper whites. This year I decided to force some bulbs, so was really caught be surprise when I finally went shopping and found out that all the bulbs were on sale and the selection was very limited.
I did find paper whites and picked up from the sales table some crocus and snowdrops. I bought Snow Crocus, Snowbunting, a pretty little white crocus with a yellow throat and a bag of mixed Snow Crocus – white, pale purple, dark purple and gold. Crocus will top off at about 10 cm (4 inches) high. Of similar stature are Snowdrops – I bought the last two packages of Galanthus, Perce de Neiges.
So the bulbs are now in the fridge for about 12 weeeks. I’ll check them every week or so to make sure that they aren’t drying out (or going moldy) and look forward to the new year when they will be planted.
