GREENHOUSE STUFFING

 I've been busy. It's time to stuff the greenhouse.  Greenhouse stuffing is a yearly event. Can't pass up finds. Too early to plant. So stuff the greenhouse. I've still got a ways to go . This is a typical spring for Campbell River. Cool nights.Cool days. Some warm afternoons. The sweet pea seeds love it.

 I tend to buy flats of flowers. Not individual ones , but complete flats. I get a discount sometimes. Or if I have a Canadian Tire coupon card, I get $10 off each completed card. The other day I had TWO completed cards. that was $20 of my purchases of flowers.  Woo Hoo!

The nurseries are great. But far more expensive. Even Thrifty's  and Wal Mart has cheaper plants. I buy their geraniums by the flat ($1 per seed geranium. And they get big. So don't be fooled by their appearance right now). I also  got Ivy Geraniums, which are quite tender, and should not go out with the others until it warms up. You can overwinter ivy geraniums. This year I have a purple one that has lived inside in the upstairs window . It's starting to flower.

 Spencer usually supervises. He's not much help lugging the flats into the greenhouse. But he seems to approve. This year I picked up Variegated Potatoe Vine ( Loose clusters of white flowers with yellow beaks. Green and golden yellow leaves. Very strong vine) Of course, Rhodochiton Atrosanguineus ( MY FAV), known as "Purple Bells". Pendulous purplish red flowers are followed by balloonlike fruit, It's very very cool. They like parital sun. Hang a basket of them under a tree.

 Hanging iron basket in greenhouse has been stuffed full of rhodochiton. They will cascade out of there before long. Also found a new one for  me: "Scaevola" ( Makes a large display of pink, fan-shaped flowers on a  trailing plant. Flowers forever, I have been promised. Good. We need things to flower forever.

 Of course, Penguin isn't too interested in flowers. He just wants a snack and the opportunity to sleep on the chairs on the porch.  The porch is where the fushcias will be draped, when ready.I love reading the tags on the flowers. On the Fuchsia tag it says: "Decoration only. Do not eat". I guess they ARE pretty enough to eat.......

 I was also able to pick up Tuber Begonias. They can be rather delicate. I'm hoping we don't get too many goopy, sloppy rainy days, cause the greenhouse could get too murky....Have a new  Setcreasea "Purple Heart" to try out. Wonderful, upright/semi trailing purple plant, kind of reminds me of  Aloe Vera. Only purple. And pale pink flowers in the depths. What else did I get so far......ummmmm, let's see.......Lobelia, Verbeena.Hmmmm, keep thinking there's more ( well, there will be).

 And against all that I usually do, I picked up Impatiens. Not wild about them. Messy , silly little flowers. But figured they would be good filler in the porch pots which get complete shade, most of the time.  I'll hide them under the Fuchsia.

 But it's still early. A few weeks to go till things can be planted outside. The grafted cherry tree is just flowering. A little late.  And Spencer,at the end of the day, in the twilight, after all the excitement at the greenhouse, has decided to snooze on the porch for a short while.All that supervising  of Greenhouse stuffing has been extremely taxing. Soon he will off for home, into the night......