At last, it is spring in New England. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are even out and about looking for dinner.
The plants for the MG sale are now on our driveway where I’m hoping they will start to grow with a little TLC, sunshine, and fertilizer.
Can we get them looking great and going home with new owners in 27 days? We’ll see.
So, how many pots of varying shapes and sizes do you think I got into the Yukon last week? 142. Once they starting growing, there’s no way 142 full-sized plants will be going back in so I’ll be looking for help to transport.
I’ve also finished the 15 shabby chic aprons in six different color combinations to be worn by the MGs at the plant sale. They took quite a bit more time than I envisioned, and like most projects that I do, I’m very happy with some and not thrilled with others. But, hey, that’s life right?
Have you ever tried propagating plants? I have years of experience dividing plants outdoors, and I’ve rooted my share of plants inside. The plant sale always sells out of an succulents so I decided to try propagating some.
I went to our local 
greenhouse, and purchased three tiny, but tall, ugly plants for $2.99 each. I followed this article and have reached some success (enlarge the photo). It has been fun to see how it happens, and now I just need to pot them up and see how they look on sale date. Everything doesn’t work though, and that is quite evident with my experiment in propagating Rosemary.
The Right-Size Flower Garden by Kerry Ann Mendez has kept me occupied and deciding which parts of my various garden beds I can do without. I am going to start with the area where I took out the rotten planter last week. I don’t like the way it looks so I am going to get rid of that area although that is easier said than done. I have to keep remembering these plants are not my children, and I will have 1/4 less to maintain in this bed.
If you’re looking for me, check outside. 🙂
What a valuable contributor to the MSG sale you are – hand made aprons too! Very classy! When you mentioned propagation, I thought of the majestic blanket of beauty your group will cover NE with! I wonder if NASA will pick it up from space, along with the Great Wall of China?!
LOL: “I have to keep remembering these plants are not my children!”
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Maybe I should put a sign out there, NASA could pick it up and beam it back. Now, that would be some world class advertising. 🙂
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You are busy, busy, busy! Those pansies are beautiful—even if you like some of the aprons better than others. Good luck with the plants and the sale! Wise words about scaling back in the garden.
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Here’s your chuckle for the day. I went out intending to take out about 1/4 of one bed. I started to sink the shovel in to move the first of eight boxwoods, but I couldn’t get the shovel in the ground at all – just kept hitting roots. I kept moving farther out and never could hit soil where I could dig. That bed is staying right where it is. I moved a small stone wall in a different way, and took all the soil out of that rotten planter from last week, but without a young back or a piece of machinery those boxwoods aren’t moving. 🙂
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Oh, yes!
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Oh, but think of the enriched soil from the bed that can be moved somewhere useful!
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You are right. I shoveled four wagon loads full of it and spread it around in other areas. 🙂
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I love those aprons. Watch, people are going to want to buy them. I also propagated some succulents this year using the same article. It was wonderfully informative and I had pretty good success. Just in for a quick lunch, back outside to garden!!!!
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That was a really good article, and it is quite interesting to watch some really grow while others not so much.I was out a little over five hours. Now I’m using the heating pad. 🙂
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A good soak in Epsom salt helps! I speak from experience.
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142 plants in the Yukon? Nicely done, Judy. That’s how to put the “U” in SUV! Good luck getting ready for the show.
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Not surprised by Yukon’s storage! Wonderful! I’ve propagated aloe, but no other succulents. Jealous you got a pic of a pair of cardinals. Man, mine are elusive! Happy Spring!
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What a busy bee you are! Love the Cardinal couple and the beautiful pansies.
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The cardinals are so pretty. My friend saw two here, but I haven’t been so lucky. Great job on aprons. They will be a big hit. And Brenda’s right. People will want to know where they can buy them!!
I tried propagating years ago and failed miserably! Now, if I want more, I buy another plant!
I’m impressed that you got so many plants in the Yukon. However, you will need one of those circus cars that all the clowns come out of to transport them back. Lol.
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We see very few Cardinals here compared to the Midwest so when I see one it is pretty exciting. I actually took that photo from my second floor bedroom window. I don’t see them very often down on the grass either. 🙂 Yes, I’m definitely going to need some kind of magic to get them all transported to the sale itself. 🙂
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Succulents are very easy to propagate (at least where I live) so hopefully you’ll have great success. Those look like jade plant leaves – a plant that can grow very slowly. If you lived here, I’d be happy to give you lots of cuttings from my succulents.
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I knew you’d get a lot of plants in the Yukon…at least when they’re this size. 🙂 Sounds as though you’re managing to keep rather busy. Good luck with the propagating and I like the line about remembering they’re not your children.
janet
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I see you’ve hit the ground running this spring. The plant sale will be impressive with your contributions.
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Yeah for Spring finally arriving in your neck of the woods. 🙂 How wonderful to have Cardinals visiting your yard!! I’d love to see one someday. They aren’t here in Calif.
Your aprons look pretty great to me.
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I love your aprons & your talent for making them. My mother could propagate many plants but succulents are my limit … Good luck with your plant sale … Our best plants come from local plant sales.
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PS I’m keeping in mind that plants are not my children!
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There you go! I can never throw a plant on a compost pile, but I can walk it to the property border and put it in the ground there. I still get to see it and don’t have to weed, deadhead, or mulch it. My neighbor likes flowers but doesn’t want to take care of them so she told me I could use her border as well. 🙂
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The aprons look wonderful. I admire your energy!
It’s been great working outside these past few days, hasn’t it?
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We had an absolutely beautiful day yesterday, and I was out there working away for about five hours. Now, we have rain for the next few days so I can rest up and do a little DIY painting. 🙂 Enjoy your outside weather.
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That is a LOT of pots…hope you post photos of them as things progress…also, would like to see the aprons. Hint, hint…LOL
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I can post a photo of the pots as they grow. 🙂 The second photo of the pansies on the black material are the aprons. Easy to miss because I didn’t show the entire apron. Hope you like them. 🙂
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I’m planning a trip to the nursery Wednesday, but for potted plants I can grow on the deck. The garden has enough stuff in it and if I leave it alone, it will fill itself up.
I love the cardinal in the grass. I’ve never seen one on the ground. We always seem to have one around, but always on a branch, in a tree.
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Thanks for this excellent link to succulent propagation. Exactly what I need at the moment when planning a succulent/cactus garden!
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Enjoy because it is pretty fun to watch those leaves suddenly turn into beautiful little rosettes. 🙂
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What a great shot of those cardinals! That’s the state bird here in Indiana, but you sure wouldn’t know it by watching my yard. I love the occasional sighting. Your handiwork is, as always, amazing to me; you and flowers sure go together! I think the plants in your driveway will absorb your gardener’s springtime joy and grow like mad. You’ll need trucks to transport them.
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When we lived in KS, we saw quite a few of them. Here we may see them a couple of times per season so I was pretty excited when I saw them walking around in the grass. 🙂
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Can you even imagine not being a gardener when spring arrives? Every day a new discovery, a new welcome….enjoy, Judy!!
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That is so true. I even go out when it rains because I don’t want to miss all those little green shoots poking out of the ground. 🙂
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Oh, I don’t think I could bare to give up any of my beds or borders.
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🙂 Now, that made me chuckle because I can almost hear you saying that.
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Nice aprons–what a great idea! It’s as if you’re a gardening midwife, birthing all these new baby plants. My only experience with propagating is cutting a piece off a houseplant and sticking it in water and hoping new roots grow. I should just throw those pieces in the compost but . . . plants are my children, right?? 😉
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Happy gardening!
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Aprons as well as plants….you are on a roll! And so many of each….you are one productive lady.
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You might find my story on propagation of succulents interesting: http://wp.me/p8wGFJ-c2
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Nice results.
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I missed this post somehow. I like how you are showing how to propagate succulents.
I absolutely love your Master Gardeners’ shabby chic aprons! I liked the peachy-colored and lavender violet aprons! You are an amazing example of how to use every moment frugally. (Getting the “most” out of your time!) 🙂
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