My inspiration started with wanting to create an exterior flower garden for our large living room window. In the summer the sun beats in and heats our home to very uncomfortable temperatures, even though we have central air. I figured since I wanted to start the flowers from seed, that planting a few of our favorite veggies/fruits would be a nice adventure and healthier than the produce available at local grocers.
I started researching flowers for my "windowscape" on Pinterest, as this site contains so much useful information and you can save the links you find on your personal board to view later. I love it. The full sun plants I found and liked are: Milkweed, Morning Glories, Shasta Daisies, Black Eyed Susan's & Black Eyed Susan Vines. I wanted flowers that not only are beautiful but can take the heat, bloom most of the summer and have a dual purpose. I chose Milkweed since they are the ONLY plant butterflies will lay their eggs and they have lovely orange flowers. The Morning Glories and the vining Black Eyed Susans were ideal for hanging baskets and will take the brunt of the sun, in which I hope this will cool our house down a bit. I chose a white Morning Glory variety to brighten up our dull landscaping and I will probably get a mix of white, yellow and orange Black Eyed Susan vine seeds (once I find them). Shasta Daisies are a basic daisy and will come back year after year. Black Eyed Susans have always been a favorite of mine, I really love wild flowers. I realized I have a ton of these seeds and I will probably put together some baskets for spring to gift or sell.
As for the veggies I knew I wanted lettuce and cherry tomatoes. I will eat lettuce everyday if I can, but the store bought salads are not only somewhat pricey but sometimes they are hit or miss with quality. No one likes a salad of decomposing leaves. That's just gross. My kids and I are tomato freaks! They're so delicious! They will scarf down two bins in one sitting for a snack. I have grown cherry tomatoes in the past and they were pretty successful until I started school and then they fried. The kids would go pick a few and eat them right out of the "garden". I grew them next to basil which I have read keeps them sweet and helps deter pests. I can't argue with that statement because I didn't have any issues with pests and they were absolutely delectable, I plan to do the same this year. The hubs said he wanted bell peppers and jalapeños, no qualms there, who doesn't like a fresh salsa straight from your own garden? I also threw in a packet of cucumbers, we love to snack on those and use them in our special pasta salad which also calls for green bell pepper. Yum!
I decided to try the plastic greenhouses to start my seeds. The only complaint I have had is the ventilation or lack there of. Seeds don't really need ventilation while they germinate but once they sprout it is definitely needed. I just took an exacto knife and cut out little triangles on the two sides to create a flow of air, hoping this will keep down the white fuzzy mold and let the plants breathe.
Most of my seeds I planted have germinated and are doing well. 2 of my lettuce seedlings took a turn for the worst when I tried to transplant them into foam cups, they were so leggy and thin they just wouldn't stand up on their own and keeled over.
Stay tuned for my next posts, I will talk about how I transplanted the plants that were too tall for my little plastic greenhouses, an aha moment using something my hubs found on the side of the road, a complete list of all the seeds I plan to grow, my planting calendar and some information I have found to be quite useful and interesting!
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