Flowers Galore

The flowering almond/peach/apricot (I’m not sure what it is but it produces only a few stunted fruits each year that fall off long before they’d be ripe) is starting to burst into bloom. Within a week the front yard will be a beautiful magenta. I love this tree. And I love the reliable production of flowers year after year after year after….

Less reliably are the flowers I plant as seeds. Well, actually they are pretty reliable as well, they generally refuse to sprout, much less bloom (grrr). The batch I planted back on April 19th produced nothing. That’s not fair, I did get nasturtiums. I’m not sure if it’s because of the soil pH or the season I planted or what, but it really frustrated me to have so little result from so many seeds. The pansies I planted 3 weeks ago look to be following the same path.

Today is a new day and a new attempt with new seeds. I went a bit crazy sowing flower seeds in amongst the jonquils that are starting to die off. In the front bed by the walkway I sowed Californian Poppy and Snapdragon seeds. In the bed by the green tea plant I sowed Nigella and Cosmos seeds. In the back bed I put handfuls of sunflower seeds (mainly harvested from my flower heads with a row of 10 from a packet Deb gave me). I sprinkled the front row with yellow Cosmos seeds given to me by Africanaussie in celebration of her 2nd Blogiversary. I really will feel a cad if I can’t get those to grow.

All the seeds were covered with a mix of soil, coffee grounds and cow manure and then watered in with rain water from the tank. It’s also the right lunar phase for annual flowers. How could they refuse to grow? Regardless of what happens, I’ll have my tree in full bloom to cheer me.

Update 16 September: Last week I said this tree would burst into bloom and it has – with plenty of blooms yet to open.

This is the view I get from my office window. And to think I’ve wasted money hanging art on the walls!

 

Is it any wonder that people walking down the street whip out their cell phones to take a picture of this tree? You can see it from the end of the street and as you approach, it just gets more beautiful!

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