Mid Summer Update

Finding the right plant for the right plant is harder than I thought. There’s a dark wet section behind my grandma’s home that I’ve been trying to add native plants to. I’ve added phlox divaricata, hay scented fern, columbine, geranium maculatum and anemone. So far only the columbine and geranium are alive. The geranium is at least 2 years old now. According to Prairie Nursery’s website, both like plants like loam/sand soil types and dry/medium moisture which totally contradicts with my observations. I always thought this was clay soil type!

Other Updates:

The 3 year old hydrangea is flourishing this year! Gotta shape it one day when the time is right.

Full Bloom at Grandma’s Garden

Last fall, my father and I planted pansies, daffodils and muscari underneath the front magnolia tree after I got rid of most of the japanese forest grass and black eyed susan that was originally there. I personally didn’t mind those plants, but my grandma prefers flowers over grass.

My grandma and my aunt tend to like colorful and feminine clothing and items so I chose dainty and soft looking colors for them. I also tend to like pastel colors so it was fun coming up with the color palette.

Magnolia Circle: April Week 1 to Week 3

Didn’t know the pansies would come back after winter!

Tulips: April Week 1 and 2

Discounted bulbs from Lowe’s. Still in bloom!

More Flowers 🙂

Violas look like little postage stamps to me

Grow Lights for My Indoor Plants

I finally gave in and bought a grow light for my indoor plants. It is a Vogek LED Grow Light. I don’t know much about grow lights in general, so I set the lights at half the max brightness for the first week to see how my orchids would react. After that, I slowly went up the max brightness. If anyone is interested, here’s the article I was reading about LED Grow Lights for Orchids!

My orchids are now growing new roots after a month of being under the grow light. The only orchid who is not doing well is the Odontonia ‘Lulu’. When I bought it, the pseudobulbs looked wrinkly and it never improved, even after I repotted it. Even the basal keikis have little root nubs!

Next week I’ll try a slow release fertilizer and see how they do. They haven’t bloomed in almost two years so I thought maybe they need some more nutrients.

Wildlife at QBG

The highlight of my day is finding cool insects and other critters. Lately there’s been an explosion of caterpillars and I’ve been getting quite distracted by them. The way they eat is so organized and I love watching the way they move.

Here are some random facts for my own future reference:

Host plants for Monarch Caterpillar : Milkweeds

Host plants for Black Swallowtail Caterpillar: Plants in the Carrot Family.

I want to try using Zizia aurea someday since it is a native plant in the carrot family and feeds short tongued insects in the spring. Plus, I don’t see it often! I’ve only seen it in Prairie Moon and Prairie Nursery.

Sometimes I wish I could show all the visitors the insects and animals I see every week! Luckily I was able show a girl and her mom a bunch of caterpillars chowing down. Another happy moment was when another girl came up to me and proudly said, “This is not just a botanical garden, it’s a butterfly garden!”. It made me feel extra motivated to garden design with ecology and community in mind.

Tree Pit Progress – Week 4 to Week 9

I can’t believe the zinnias and sunflowers are still blooming. Even my hollyhock bloomed! I’m really surprised by how successful they have been. I think it is because all three plants happen to be hardy and can handle poor soils (please correct me if I am wrong).

I have been deadheading the zinnias and sunflowers every few weeks so that is another reason why they are still blooming.

The zinnia variety is Oklahoma Salmon and the sunflower variety is Cherry Rose. The germination rate was pretty good even though the seeds were a year old.

It’s been really satisfying for me to see the weekly changes and that the neighbors are able to enjoy them too! I even saw a couple take a picture next to them. Next year I’ll have to plan something just as good or even better now that my neighbors have this expectation (or maybe I’m just giving myself expectations).

What’s Blooming at Queens Botanical Garden!

I started working as a Seasonal Gardener a few weeks ago and I love being able to see the daily changes in the gardens. There are so many weeds right now, but after one section is done, it is very satisfying to uncover the design layout. Here is one of my favorite gardens, the Unity Garden, designed by W. Gary Smith and Harriet Grimm. There are two sides of this garden; one part is shaded and the other part is full sun. I’ve noticed that the plant palette is mostly made up of native plants and both sides have quite different plants, but are linked by the Oakleaf Hydrangea.

Right now the sunny part of the garden is full bloom. Last week I actually thought one of the flowers was a weed until my coworker told me it was Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra). Good thing I didn’t yank it out! I’ve always wanted to use it, but at my old job, most of the sites had low sun conditions. It’s so beautiful in person, like cotton candy on a stick!

Another garden I enjoy working in is the Perennial Garden. I like how the layout is made of 3 – 4 triangles. It’s going to be a lot of work getting it back to its former state…you can see the patch of weed seedlings underneath the Blue Fescue (?). Once it has been weeded some more, I’ll post more pictures.

Tree Pit Progress – Week 1 to Week 3

I finally got the chance to plant the zinnia and hollyhock seedlings outside during the last week of May when night time temperatures were looking pretty consistent. I was worried that people will steal the annuals and neighbors will pluck out the seedlings, thinking that they are weeds. So far none of that has happened!

I also snuck in some Cherry Rose Sunflower seeds (purchased from Seed Needs a year ago). I didn’t expect them to sprout in the second week! I though the squirrels might get them. Overall, I’m really happy to see the zinnias looking so strong and healthy! I thought that because they didn’t get much sunshine for two months, they would struggle outside.

The alyssum and dianthus are also starting to grow larger and spread. I’m hoping the alyssum will cover up the bare spots once the zinnias are ready to bloom. The small blue flowers (lobelia) may fade in the middle of summer and I may have to replace them with another annual, unless the alyssum spreads quickly.

Batch #1 Seedlings – Pansies growing fast!

It’s been cooler than expected here in New York. I was planning on keeping the seedlings outdoors at least 4 days a week so they will grow faster. It’s been about two months since I’ve started these seeds. Maybe in two more months I’ll see blooms.

Hollyhocks have been a bit weak looking. Perhaps they need more sun.

Some are on their 9th leaf! I’ll stop counting leaves once they are bushier. They probably get the most sunlight in this east facing window.

These are the tulips I’ve planted last November at my grandma’s! I was worried I wouldn’t see them bloom since I was staying at home as much as I could. They were on sale at Lowe’s! It seems like the Angelique tulips didn’t come back this year. I’m glad the peony that I transplanted away from under the arborvitae (?) has come back just fine.

The limelight hydrangea seems to be doing well! I hope it blooms this year!

Batch #1 Seedlings – Surprise Hollyhocks

Two hollyhocks have popped out just a day apart from each other! They must’ve needed more than a month to germinate. I’m excited that there are now 5 hollyhocks in total (5 out of 9 germinated)! I’ll ask my apartment board if I can plant them in the sunny tree pit once the weather warms up.

Here’s an update on the zinnias and pansies.

Look at those leaves! Still not as big as when I seeded them outside last spring. But I’m happy with their progress. I’m surprised all the seeds germinated! I had the seed packet for almost a year.

I finally transplanted them since they were getting tall and leggy. Now they are working on their fifth leaf!

Since I posted a random arts and crafts project last post, here’s an embroidery project I’ve been working on. It’s an embroidery necklace kit I bought from yesstyle. This is the first time I’ve ever embroidered something and so far this kit is not as intimidating as I thought!

Batch #1 Seedlings – Slow Growth

Once it’s April, I would like to leave them outside everyday, especially since the seedlings aren’t growing as fast as before.

I’m so tempted to order soil online and start more seeds, but I know I shouldn’t until it’s warm enough to move Batch #1 outside. I have sunflower, milkweed, basil, amaranth, strawflower and more zinnia seeds!

Originally I was planning to plant them at my Grandma’s sunny backyard, but everything is uncertain with the current situation. For now the backup garden will be the small empty tree pit outside my apartment.

Sonia's Garden Observations

Adding more native plants to NYC!