Black-eyed Susan

Thunbergia is a genus of flowering plants in the Family Acanthaceae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia. Its members are known by various names, including thunbergias; clockvine on its own usually refers to Thunbergia grandiflora, while Thunbergia alata is often known as Black-eyed Susan vine or just Black-eyed Susan (not to be confused with other flowers called Black-eyed Susan). Orange clock vine is the name of Thunbergia gregorii.

Thunbergia was named for Carl Peter Thunberg.

Thunbergias are vigorous annual or perennial vines and shrubs growing to 2-8 m tall.

I want to give black-eyed Susan vine a try. It proms to grow quickly and easily in full sun,
and full sun we have plenty here in Italy.... all summer long. Reaching 10 to 12 feet will help to cover some walls with it petite but colourful flowers with dark brown 'eyes' .

I was so enthusiast that I bought some seeds on- line from the species " Thunbergia alata Blushing Susie ".

Another beautiful species is called:

• Thunbergia fragans
  

Anyway this annual is available in whites, creams, yellows and gold, and is usually started from seed.

If you are also interested follow the steps bellow.

Step 1:
Look for black-eyed Susan vine seeds on-line. It's an increasingly popular plant. Black-eyed Susan is very easy to start from seed.

Step 2:
Sow seeds indoors six to eight weeks before your region’s last frost date. In mild-winter areas, plant seeds directly in the garden in early spring.

Step 3:
Plant established seedlings directly in soil after your region's last frost date.

Step 4:
Provide support for your vine unless you want it to sprawl over a pot or along the ground as a groundcover. Black-eyed Susan vine climbs by twining, so any trellis or arbour will help it clamber skyward.

Step 5:
Keep well watered.

Step 6:
Fertilize every four to six weeks after planting, if desired, to assure a more vigorous vine and more flowers.

Step 7:
Pull plant out after the first frost.

Suzanne

Sowing:


* Lupinus Nanus
* Chaenorium organifolium
* Thunbergia alata
* Gilia capitata
* Nepetax faassenii " Alba "
* Codonopsis clematidea
* Anemone virginiana

Photo: Gerd Hintermaier- Erhard

Gardening?

Spring Garden Clean-up time!!!

Look, we take it seriously....
hi!

It's time again - the time when confusion reigns and it doesn't look as if everything will possibly get sorted out in time for the real garden season.

There is work to be done. So much work that it doesn't seem possible to even contemplate it all.

I try to break things down into manageable tasks. Instead of saying that I need to clean up and out all in one day, with is as you can see impossibel, I only allow myself to contemplate one part of the garden at a time - and one goal at a time.

Suzanne

Delpinium charms

Delphinium

The tall spires of delphiniums charms colour and drama into the summer garden. The ancient Greeks thought the flower bud resembled a dolphin, hence the name Delphinium.Modern delphiniums are hybrids.
Delphinium is a genus of about 250 species of annual, biennial or perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout theNorthern Hemisphere Africa. The common name, shared with the closely related genus Consolida, is Lakspur.

The leaves are deeply lobed with 3-7 toothed, pointed lobes. The main flowering stem is erect, and varies greatly in size between the species, from 10 cm in some alpine species, up to 2 m tall in the larger meadowland species; it is topped by many flowers, varying between purple, blue, red, yellow or white. The flower has five petals which grow together to form a hollow flower with a spur at the end, which gives the plant its name. The seeds are small and shiny black. The plants flower from late spring to late summer, and are pollinated by butterflies and bumble bees.All parts of the plant are poisonous if eaten, and foliage may cause skin irritation.Plants tend to lose their flowering potential after about three years, so take cuttings.

Sowing:

* Valeriana Officinalis
* Tagetes " Jolly Jester "
* Pseudofumaria lutea
* Calamintha nepeta " blue Cloud "
* Delphinium menziesii
* Delphinium cashmerianum








photo: Catma Dogma

Drifts of colours!

I have visions of drifts of colours, wild flower fields, bushels of tomatoes and much more but.....
I'm wondering,
how do I start the new garden?

A mixed garden, between wild flowering and planted olive trees.
Maybe I need to make a planting scheme what would be like a garden recipe. You need the correct balance of ingredients — trees, shrubs, perennials and ground cover — to make it work.
I would like to make borders as wide as I can.

I Started sowing seeds indoors one month ago. Our bedroom seems to be a greenhouse now. I love to sow because it's a big surprise all summer long seeing growing and blooming from a little teeny seed a beautiful flower. It allows you to grow plant varieties in your garden that are special and unusual. It's easy, so it takes just a little bit of your patient.
My method is the most easy and economical one. I sow seeds into reusable or recycled containers. These containers have drainage, and are able to be moved easily. I make sure the growing medium is moist, and place the seeds at the depth recommended by the packet, then I place a plastic dome on. After a while you will see moisture condense inside the dome. This is great for starting out, as the heat and moisture is trapped in. However, once seedlings start to appear, you MUST remove the dome to prevent "damping off" a fungal disease that will kill the seedlings. Add water as necessary to keep the soil moist, but not wet. Once the seedlings are up, they must have very bright, though not direct light. I'm using the windowsill and from outdoor it looks quit funny.
My little seedlings are looking happy and they are growing day after day.
The problem is I have still a lots of seeds to sow. On internet I found the most beautiful and interesting seeds. That made that I couldn't resist the temptation to buy.
Could you?

Suzanne.







Sowing:

* Margherita Gigante Bianca
* Nasturtium Black Velvet
* Nasturtium Majus " Jewel of Africa "
* Sweet Pea Fragrantissima
* Physalis Peruviana Edulis
* Sanguisorba Minor
* Aster " Starlight Mixed "
* Lobelia Siphilitica
* Veronica Spicata
* Cephalaphora aromatica


photo: Becca James

Seeds

" Emotions Are The " Creative Seed "
That Determine Your Experience
In Day To Day Life "
( Chuck Danes )














Sowing:
* Tomato Gartenperle
* Tomato Tigerella
* Cosmos bipinnatus " Antiquity "
* Poached Egg Plant



photo, Ben Visbeek

Garden dreams!

This morning even between cold air and some rain drops, you could feel that spring is in the air.

At the house I started to look around trying to imagine a dream garden.

Right now we are far away from a beautiful country garden.

There is almost no form at the 6000 meter garden.

Oepssssssssss even the word garden is out of contest.

Stones everywhere and thrash from the restoration to clean up.

From tomorrow we will start to clean up the whole aria.

Also our 8 Olive trees are looking sad and maybe they need some attention.

They need a cut back and tomorrow with my garden scissors I will make that they look a bit better.

Some where we need to start even if…… truly I don’t know to much where to start!

Suzanne.

Greenhouse and flower girl diary!

Flower, flower grow for me,
Become a flower from a seed,
Grow your roots and a stem,
Let the water come right in

Flower, flower you are true,
You make me happy when I am blue,
You became a flower from a seed,
You did all that just for me

Greenhouse and flower girl:

life amongst the garden of our Tuscan country house.

Online diary of a fresh born flower girl who, while trying to create a country garden in Tuscany, hopes to organize her gardening activities.

What I’m going to “ TRY “ is to keep an online journal on how I proceed through the sowing, growing season by chronicling a year's worth of gardening activities.

I wish my self good luck.....

and plenty of time ( with I don’t have …hi ) to be faithful to the plenty actions to follow.

Suzanne.