Still Wet.

Today's the first day in a long while that it's not raining or windy or cold. But, since it's just the first day in over a week without rain, it is of course too wet to plant anything. That's okay, though. I'll probably do some minor work in the backyard, then head out into the country to round up some more free flowers. Mom has miniature irises that I want. Phyllis has a stack of rocks that we picked last fall. Other than that, we'll just have to see.

This gives me more time to think. I have at least five tomato plants that need good sunny spots in my yard. There aren't a lot of full sun spots, though, so I have to carefully watch the patterns each day. It also gives me time to re-work my grow light supports and re-invent my seed-starting methods now that I know how this year went.

I know that next year, they'll go under the lights from the minute the seeds are in their little jiffy pods. I'm only going to start three of each kind. (That, at least, will make things simpler. Mom and Kevin have their own lights now.) Also, I'm going to attach a fan to the light supports to help them have healthier, stockier stems from the get-go. And I'm not going to start them quite so early, either. I think that this year I started them the third week of March (must relocate this year's garden planner), and at this point they've been too tall for the lights for close to a month. I think that if I start them the last week of March, they'll have time to be healthy and strong, and I'll be able to wait to put them in the ground for a couple of weeks after our projected last frost date (because, after all, this is Kansas).

Thankfully, though, the weather is cooperating and my dear tomatoes and peppers are living happily enough on my front porch. If they don't look too shocked by the end of today (which will be their first really sunny, warm day outside), I'll think about moving them into real full sun tomorrow. If, of course, the ground isn't dry enough to actually plant some of them. We'll see.

This week my peas are almost a foot tall. I think I have sunflowers sprouting all over the back yard, along with other seed I scattered (but cannot identify the seedlings because I've scattered so many seeds... oops). I know there is calendula sprouting in a few different spots, but other than that I'm not really sure. I've scattered a lot of seeds. Poppies, chamomile, cocks comb, touch-me-not, columbine, coleus, marigold... There are more, but I can't remember all of them.

I finally broke down and bought some annuals, too. I told myself all winter that I wasn't going to bother with any annuals that wouldn't reseed, but I couldn't stand looking at the front flowerbeds anymore.

It started with a trip to Stone Creek Nursery in El Dorado. Their flats weren't on sale anymore but I still managed to get one. In that flat were all shade- or partial shade plants: two colors of Johnny-jump-ups, a mixed colors six-pack of vinca (the upright annual, not the perennial vine), a six-pack of a tall, deep red kind of coleus, and two packs of rainbow mixed coleus. I also managed to find pot of columbine and some everbearing strawberries (three plants, Ozark Beauty). I've planted the johnny-jump-ups, a pack of coleus, and the columbine so far. The columbine and three individual plants went in the back yard, and the rest is scattered in the front beds.

But the plant binge didn't stop there. The next day I wandered through the garden center at work. I tried to contain myself but ended up finding a big healthy bleeding heart for $7.99. It's a shade perenial. It's beautiful, on top of that. How could I resist? And then there was some echinacea (I threw out some seeds and probably shouldn't waste money on buying a native plant I could dig for free, but this seemed like a more efficient way to get started). And another color of the johnny-jump-ups. And some nearly hot-pink dianthus. So far, of all that, I've only planted the bleeding heart (and it is gorgeous). I put it in a big bald spot that's on the south side of my front porch.

I thought I would post pictures but I never took before pictures. ugh. So you'll have to wait until I get around through sifting what I have here and then take pictures of everything at present.