Hardy Annual Update – Blog-tober Day 6

Hi Lovelies,

After finishing last night’s post about anemones, I’ve got to slow my roll a little bit. Besides – with tulip planting, hoophouse building, and new Youtube videos on the way (subscribe! whoop!); I need just a little bit of time to gather and collect my thoughts.

Around the September 20; I pulled up the entire backyard, tilled it, added compost and literally just threw my hardy annual seeds onto the ground. Fast forward to the present, and I’m happy to say that my little darling seedlings are growing along quite smoothly.

In the past, I’ve never been good about labeling things. It’s just a part of my personality that I can’t help. Some people like to organize, and others like to just wing it. In fact, the few times in my life that I actually tried to label varieties out in the garden, the rain washed away the marker – and it was pointless. Eventually, I did settle into my current method in which I layout the entire garden as a grid into my big notebook. I like this for many reasons, mainly because it’s a physical object filled with growing notes that can be passed to someone else one day (or just recycled, who knows.) With that being said, I’m pretty proud of the fact that I was able to keep my hardy annuals organized.

For me, hardy annuals were kind of like unicorns. The idea that things could over winter in my garden seemed magical – definitely a lot different than growing tomatoes. More often that not, instructions for growing were fuzzy or suited to a completely different climate zone – so I’m extremely eager to learn to try to master the skill with whichever seeds will cooperate with me.

What’s overwintering outdoors, you ask? Bachelor’s Buttons, Agrostemma, Love-in-a-Mist, Shirley Poppies, Godetia, Scabiosa, Calendula, Larkspur, and Mignonette. Are some of these more of a trial? Yes, we’ll see how it goes. I finally was able to plant my German Chamomile today, also. I’d tell you the backstory to that one – but it would most likely end in some mild expletives, so I’ll leave it out.

What’s overwintering in the unheated hoophouse? Sweet peas, Icelandic Poppies, Bells of Ireland, Ammi Majus, and Ornamental Kale. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed!

The biennials that I planted at the end of July are also going strong, more updates on those in the future!

Tell me about your garden? Are you trying anything new this year? I’d love to hear about it! Have a great day, much love!