I ordered seeds yesterday. Not a big order just things that I had grown before with one exception. I don't know what made me do it but I ordered geranium seeds. I think that I just fell in love with the pictures. Sitting here, knee deep in snow, dreaming of spring and all that it brings. I had seen a blog with tiny geraniums starting...I forget now whose blog it was...it made me think that I could grow my own this year. Now in reading http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2003/2-7-2003/growgeraniums.html I'm not so sure. They sound very difficult and fussy to grow. What is it about geraniums that I love so much? I guess it would be that they are an old fashioned flower...they bring back memories of years ago, when my mother-in-law would have them, in crusty clay pots, in her little family room with the big glass door. She had the best luck with them...I don't think that she did anything special to them. In the fall, she would bring in so many plants to over winter. Coleus, asparagus vines, begonias, and those beautiful geraniums. She loved plants and had the greenest thumb I had ever seen. I don't think that she ever grew them from seed, however. My basement is sort of chilly and that is where I would have to plant them. I had good luck last year with zinnias, marigolds, herbs etc....and they didn't mind the cooler temps. Oh, well, I ordered them and I will give it a try. Maybe I will show the results later. Here is a poem in memory of my Mom-in-law.
Red Geraniums
by Martha Haskell Clark
Life did not bring me silken gowns, Nor jewels for my hair,
Nor signs of gabled foreign towns In distant countries fair,
But I can glimpse, beyond my pane, a green and friendly hill,
And red geraniums aflame upon my window sill
The brambled cares of everyday, The tiny humdrum things,
May bind my feet when they would stray, But still my heart had wings
While red geraniums are bloomed against my window glass,
And low above my green-sweet hill the gypsy wind-clouds pass.
And if my dreamings n'er come true, The brightest and the best,
But leave me lone my journey through, I'll set my heart at rest,
And thank God for home-sweet things, a green and friendly hill,
And red geraniums aflame upon my window sill.
Balisha
6 comments:
Geraniums are so easy Balisha that you will not have a problem with them. I love the old fashioned flower my Grandmother always had. You can bring them indoors in the winter and take them back out when it warms up. They are a tough flower.
Have a wonderful Weekend.
Lona
My mother always had geraniums and she always brought them in for the winter. We had a little sun porch on one side of the house and she would have it full of flowers during winter. She had her windows full of african violets and they were always so pretty. I have never been able to keep them alive. We had about 4 inches of snow this morning. Some places here got 10! I keep looking at your calendar hoping for spring.
Hello Balisha,
I have never grown Geraniums from seed before. I have always bought them in small pots from our local garden center. I am looking forward to seeing yours growing from seed. Maybe I will need to try that in the future.
How cool, temperature wise, is your cellar and how much light does it get?
Balisha--I love Andrew Wyeth. That is a wonderful painting of his. I have grown geraniums from seed, but it was in a greenhouse under mist with bottom heat. They did well but it is amazing how tiny they are compared to cuttings or the little potted ones. Good luck with yours. I miss working in the greenhouse.
Thanks for your encouraging words. Good grief,if it doesn't work...I can get in my car and go buy some plants. I just checked the temp down there...with the heating vents opened it is about 67 degrees. Not really all that cold and I have a big window with a N. exposure. I am getting ready and yesterday I cleared some plants from my shelving unit (with lights) to make room for two trays for seedlings. So now to figure out what date I will plant them.
Balisha
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