Category: Flowers

Hens and Chicks

The past few years, in the spring I’ve bought pretty inexpensive pre-made containers of Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum) at the grocery store of all places.  They don’t require much care, love sun, and are so interesting to watch grow, shoot off chicks and grow flowers if you’re lucky.  In fact, I’ve found the less attention the better.  No fertilizer and not much water seems to be the key.

It’s really such a welcome surprise when a flower stalk starts to appear, but a little sad also, because that’s the beginning of the end for that “mother hen”.  These plants belong to a family of plants that flower once, and then die leaving all its little chicks behind (and an ugly dead spot in the pot, but that’s what the chicks are useful for).  Flower stalk are one of the more bizarre looking things on an already interesting plant.  They can be only a few inches tall, or can grow a foot or more.  The one that I have blooming right now is the biggest I’ve ever seen.  It’s been growing for over a month now and just started blooming last week.
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(Photos by Peggy)

Peonies

I have three peonies in my garden that have thrived in dappled partial shade under a River Birch tree.  Some years the flowers look great, others, they get wiped out in one the frequent thunderstorms that rumble through here in the Midwest.  I used to try to put the little peony “fences” around them to help them stand straighter, but I found that first, you need to get them fenced in before the plant gets very big, and secondly, it really crowds a full grown plant.  Now I just let them grow and they look natural and beautiful.

I’ve never had much luck having blooms last very long in the house.  I usually cut a pretty bloom and within a day, the petals have dropped.  But, I learned a couple of tricks this year.  First, I cut the stem with a bud almost ready to burst into flower, put it into a vase, and by the next morning I had beautiful blooms that last days.  The second trick I learned was from a Fine Gardening Quick Tip on how to save peonies to bloom later on.  I was skeptical, but it actually worked.

Cut your flower bud and wrap them immediately and place in refrigerator.

When you want to have them bloom, take them out of the refrigerator.  I let mine stay in for four days.  It looked pretty wilted and I had my doubts, but I unwrapped it and put it in the vase.

Within a few hours, the leaves started to perk up and by the next morning I had an absolutely stunning flower that went on to bloom for days!

The refrigerated bud is the bright pink bud in the center of the arrangement.

The stunning flower the next day was no worse for the wear!

Finally Something’s Blooming

Finally it seems like spring has arrived, but much later than last year.

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Using Spring Break as my date marker, it’s usually still pretty drab for another week, so this is pretty normal. The daffodils are about 2 inches high, the daylilys and hostas are poking their leaves out and the chives are greening up. Actually, the daylilys and hostas poked up back during a warm spell in December, only to get shocked by the cold weather that followed. They seem to do that every year and I used to worry, but it always seems to turn out just fine.

Just for fun and cheeriness, when it is this drab time of year, I visit Michaels and find something bright to add some color.

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