Clivia and more

What the!  It's 2014?  Wow, and I'm embarrassed to say, it's been over a year since my last blog.  (Head hangs in shame)  Excuses, life.  It's been a year to say the least, and we'll leave it at that.

But spring is just around the corner here in Red Deer, AB.  There are icicles dripping from the eaves, the roads are slushy, the car is FILTHY......... but one can see the new buds fattening up on the lilacs, or maybe it's just wishful 'seeing'.  The snow has melted away from the white spruce in the front yard and some of the evergreen plants are teasingly showing their green.  (I was just going to take some pictures, went to the window and it snowed last night, so much for that idea.)

Instead I'll share some pics of what's going on in the house -

This is albuca ? setosa, hmm, I could have sworn that one had a tag.   This plant is going nuts this year, bloom stalk after bloom stalk, and more.  It's been blooming since November.  Gotta like that.  I really like albuca and grow many of them.  They're tough bulbs and they bloom mid winter.  I put mine out on the back deck in the summer where they soak up all that heat and sun.  Unfortunately my self pollination attempts are not working, so no seed.  I will be offering bulbs this summer, once it warms up.

The hippeastrums are winding down, for a couple of weeks it was glorious!

This is Peacock Blossom, a new acquisition this year.  Was supposed to be scented?  I didn't detect anything at any time of day.

This one I lost the tag for years ago.  I think it's Pamela, but can't be certain.  

Picotee, Red Lion, Neon and more also bloomed but did not manage to get decent, blog worthy, photos. Maybe next year.  

This oxalis has been sitting on my computer tower forever.  It is a very happy plant, it hasn't stopped blooming in forever.  It gets droopy once in a while, when I forget to water, but a quick drink and it bounces right back.  

Anything that blooms or has interesting foliage is always welcome in our home.

Which brings me to clivia.  What is up with the sudden want of clivia?  I've received a lot of hits on the website from people looking for clivia over the past month.  Was there something on tv that has prompted this?  As well, there have been quite a few plants purchased in the past couple of weeks, and no one minds that I can't ship until it warms up.  (PS I have a lot more clivia to go)  

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm overjoyed that there is more interest in clivia.  They are a truly wondrous plant.  I saw my first in a flower store in the building I worked in, back in 2000.  I admired it for days but couldn't really justify putting out what they wanted for it.  Clivia don't come cheap in Canada!  I got back from lunch one day and there it was sitting on my desk, a co-worker had purchased it for me.  I'm very glad that this beauty is still going strong as it reminds me of the truly generous gesture that was shown to me.

I've just added 10 of the above clivia to the website.  Three of them are near blooming size, I would think that with proper care they should bloom within 2 years.  The other seven are about 3 years away from blooming.

I took a good look through some of my older clivia (started 2005 to 2009) and it appears as though four of them will bloom soon.  I'm very excited about this, 3 have no label, but the other one is grown from seed gifted to me from Connie & James Abel in S. Africa.  Very excited indeed.  

Clivia have to be one of the easiest plants to care for.  They don't like direct sun and will burn if in it, especially outside.  In their natural habitat, they grow on the forest floor, and in the trees, and out of the sides of rocks.  They are tough as nails, take neglect well, and to get them to bloom, put them in a cooler room and neglect further (don't water) until you see the flower stalk coming out.   And the blooms   

Need I say more.

Oh ya, this is what a tray of 500 seedlings looks like 

Wow, another year has passed by in the blink of an eye it seems.

So much to do, so little time available right now.   I've got loads of new seed to post on the website, but no time to do it, yet.  My partner, Kevin, is in the hospital.  All of my free time has been spent with him there.

I'm hoping that he'll be able to come home mid next week and maybe, (fingers crossed) I'll find the time over the holidays to get everything updated on the website.

I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, that is if we're still around after December 21, 2012. ;-)))

Linda & the Chickens

And the winners are. . . . .

Well, we had the draw.

Kevin Pierce (our photographer and Marketing Manager) assisted in drawing the names from a bucket.

Drum roll please . . . and the winners are: For a $100 gift certificate - Debra K. of Edmonton, AB; Cathy K. of Calgary, AB; and Janet W. of Bowmanville, On. For a $50 gift certificate - Erwin K. of High River, AB; Sara P. of Sudbury, On; Tonyia R. of Hillsborough, NJ; Vince Q. of Calgary, AB; Julia V. of Delta, BC; and Nancy Y. of Medicine Hat, AB. For a $25 gift certificate - Bibi A. of Mississauga, ON; Alan B. of Sundridge, ON; Andrea F. of Yellowknife, AB; Anne G, of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC; Pat G. of Port Hope, ON, Almas K. of Almaty, Kazakhstan; Bruce M. of Toronto, ON; Satie N. of Calgary, AB; Jessie N. of Vaudreuil-Dorian, QC; Addie O, of Red Deer, AB; Jodi P. of Vancouver, BC; Rick P. of Peterborough, ON, Julie R. of Sydney, NS; Denise R. of Hinton, AB; Rhonda S. of Clarsholm, AB, and Jenna W. of Whitehorse, YK.

I will be contacting all of the winners by email.

An a-ha moment

I've been thinking about what to do since January! And then yesterday it came upon me. We'll have a draw! Yes, a draw would be a grand idea.

Beautiful Blooms will be 10 years old this September 29, 2010. To celebrate, we'll be giving away $1000 is gift certificates. What do you think about that?

Everyone who places an order this year, from January 1, 2011 to September 28, 2011, will be entered in the draw. If you place more than one order, then you will get more than one entry.
Prize breakdown will be - 3 x $100, 6 x $50, and 16 x $25 in gift certificates.

Doesn't matter how big or small your order is, you will be entered.

Spring is finally upon us. It is so exciting to see the new growth coming up out of the garden. I'm knee deep in sunflower seeds at the moment but soon I shall get some pictures posted.
Very exciting is that I see two green nubs of Eremurus poking up from the dirt. Started from seed back in 2008 - maybe they'll bloom this year.

Looking forward to Spring

Do you know what I love the most about gardening? It's universal, no matter where you go, there are gardeners, people who love plants and gardening as much as I do.
I have had the pleasure over the last couple of weeks to place orders to gardeners from other parts of the world. I'm always curious to see what they order, what is common to me is not so much to them. It's fascinating.

I'm planning a seed planting weekend, what better way to celebrate spring. I'm late on some seeds, I know, but hopefully if I get them outside in the cold frame NOW, it won't make too much of a difference. We're still experiencing winter here in Red Deer, Alberta and the road report this morning warned of ice fog on the QE2 north.
Speaking of cold frames, I took a peak this past week inside of mine, and yes there is signs of green. How exciting.

And as I sit here writing this, two Canada Geese flew by my office window! Now if that doesn't say SPRING is here, I just don't know.
I did get a bit of a glimpse of spring in the yard this past week. We have had plus temps and the snow is melting fast. Dianthus and Heuchera (which are evergreen under the snow) are the first to show. I can't wait to see what bulbs have survived another winter.

Come on spring!

Trip to Ram Falls

Now that's a chicken! Not sure what he is, so incredibly beautiful though. He just sat and watched while Kevin took pictures, crazy humans.




One of the wildlife preserves along the way to Ram Falls. There are signs posted stating 'Stock at Large' and indeed a couple of times we've gone through there have been 'wild cows' everywhere.



One of the reasons we had come up here again was to collect more seed. The area below had been full of geum, delphinium, grasses, asters, raspberries, and so much more. This is what we found on this last trip of the season. I was absolutely stunned! The loggers waved as we passed by.



We did find this patch of ?. I'm not sure what it was, but it was brilliant in the destruction around it. I had found Streptopus almost directly behind it and was hoping to find more, it was gone. I no longer feel in the slightest bit guilty about harvesting the seed that I did, especially after seeing the forest stripped.



Arriving at Ram Falls we found Kinnikinnick - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi growing everywhere. Cool name, neat plant.




The path down to the lookout. If you're scared of heights, like I am, hang on to the rail, or just stay on the top. I did brave the trip down once, it is worth it, especially if it's warm. But on a chill fall day that wind cuts right through you. It is an incredible view. And yes, that white stuff is snow.





And as we made our way home Kevin spotted this grouse. Funny little chickens they are.

Rimbey Ditch

I went back to this ditch so many times over the summer. It was full of such delightful flora, every time I went back I found something new. I wish I could have camped there for about a month, so I could capture images of all that I found, identify it and then be there for when the seed was ripe. The last time I went back was late September and almost cried upon finding that it had been mowed.
Next year I will make my visits more often.