Seed

Seed

Today is our first rain, downpour, thunder, lightening, dark clouds loom as the pool reaches infinity level and the water laps on to the deck.  Big Deal you say?  Yeah, this is Palm Desert….you know, Palm Springs and it’s only the second week of September.

Yesterday’s temperature was 96*F  and it’s 79*F  today…what a difference a day makes. 

Grandparents Garden the way I remember it

I am happy to see the rain , enjoy the cool breeze as it swirls through the house from one window into the next. Our home is H shaped with a courtyard in front and another in back , so the breeze has the freedom of visiting every room without interruption.

My thoughts turn to my garden. After being cooped up in the house, cleaning, organizing, accounting, sorting, purging, reading, blogging, photo-shopping, etc etc, etc ….I’m ready to go outside. Even in the rain! 

 

I have started my garden twice before and it did very well until July. Once we went on that first vacation, we came home to lots of little crispy bits in the garden, irrigation failure and temps soaring above 110*. Who wants to be in the garden now?...not me.  So I have a plan.

I have a cabana tent stored in the garage, equiped with zipper panels and a sturdy metal frame. I want to use it to erect a green house of sorts that would function year round. This time I will have irrigation and electric timer and fans.

Just for fun, see if you can identify any of these seeds:

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I know a few things about seed by now, but I still have a lot to learn. How many seeds did you identify in the photos ? (Answers below)  .  My grandparents were extreme gardeners, they had a retail nursery and their home had a 1 ½ acre back yard full of fruit trees, roses, herbs, vegetables and hanging hydroponics. As a child I was always fascinated to visit my grandparents garden. Grammy (we called her) and Daddy Bill (grandpa) even grew avocado trees from the seed ! Now, if you are at all familiar with the technology that goes along with that, you know it’s not easy to grow a fruit bearing  avocado tree. The minute we arrived at Grammy’s house I always’s  made a mad dash to the garden. Those are fond memories. I guess that is how I began my fascination and learning about....  what it takes to care for a garden, what it takes to be successful using seeds, irrigation, keeping the bugs at bay and more.

Gardening  is experiencing a revival today. The popularity of gardening today has exploded. Yes, it's still a hobby for most but there are so many other benefits:  Pure , chemical free, gratification in knowing you grew it yourself, the best taste over store bought and best value for the dollar!  I’m sure you could think of more reasons.  The stock market has reported an upward increase of almost 400% in the last 7 years.  What’s that all about ?

Now here are the answers to the seed quiz:

1)pomegranite 2)pumpkin variety3)soy bean4)corn5)hawaiianwoodrose6)papaya7)sesame(white)8)anise(licorice)9)corriander10)poppy 11) sunflower 12) sunflower peruvian 13)dandelion 14)mustard

I would love to hear from you, please leave a constructive comment if you please.