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Ranunculus Seeds from Buds and Bloom, and a new Gardening Tool

Hello friends,

I was scrolling on Instagram recently, and came across a New Zealand flower seed business called Buds and Blooms Flower Farm. They were currently selling French and Italian ranunculus seeds in the most gorgeous colours. Before you could even say "shut up and take my money", I'd filled up my online cart and bought a bunch of ranunculus seeds for me to grow this March, for flowering next spring.

I bought the following ranunculus varieties:

* Bianco Sfumato, an Italian variety, "Shades of white, ivory and cream with a flush of pink. A fully double, luxuriant flower."
* Pastello 1, an Italian variety, "The perfect pastel mix of dreamy blush, pink, salmon and peach."
* Pastello 2, an Italian variety, "The perfect pastel mix of dreamy blush, pink, salmon and peach! This blend is heavier on the darker blush and salmon/peachy tones."
* Amandine Purple Jean, a French variety, "Gorgeous Mauve and purple blooms with a slight soft scent."
* Rosa, an Italian variety, "Rosa is one heck of a producer! Long, strong stems with the most perfect double pink bloom."
* Rosa Chiaro, an Italian variety, "Rosa Chiaro is a gorgeous, delicate Italian Ranunculus with it's pretty and delicate coloring. Long stems producing flowers in the most
 perfect range of soft pinks."

I am very excited to start all these ranunculus varieties from seed this coming autumn, and then overwinter them in the glasshouse this winter, before planting them out in spring.

And as a bonus I get to use my newly purchased Potting Bench Tidy Tray for potting them out this autumn. I've wanted one for ages, but no one in New Zealand makes them. Occasionally, they're imported into the country from England, but they tend to get sold out very fast. Last month I managed to buy two at Nichol's Garden Center, and I gave one to my sister for her birthday, and kept one for me. No more messy seed sowing and potting mix everywhere!

Summer is coming to an end pretty quick, with the nights getting darker now earlier, and some of the deciduous tress in our neighbourhood are already starting slowly to change colour. It's sad to think that summer will be gone soon, but I'm now excited to be sowing seeds in March for the coming spring in September.

Have a wonderful day

Julie-Ann

Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.

Herb Garden and Patio Tidy Up

Hello friends,

Our herb garden and patio were looking a little weary over the summer, and the plants in the herb garden bed had well and truly bolted and gone to seed, so it was time to give the herb garden and patio a tidy up.

After pulling out all the weary looking plants from the herb garden bed, it was time to head off to the local garden centre. I bought a couple of replacement bags of potting mix, and a range of herb plants that we regularly use.

After topping up the potting mix, and watering it in, it was time to place out all the new herb plants.

I bought coriander, chives, oregano, sage and a parcel plant. I thought the parcel plant was Italian parsley when I bought it, but when I got home I realised I'd bought a new to me herb plant. According to research I had to do "Parcel tastes like a combination of parsley and celery. It is sometimes known as Chinese celery, wild celery or leaf celery. It is often used in salads but can be used in just about any dish."

Luckily the parcel plant will work with our cooking style, so it's a welcome addition to our herb garden.

I then weeded the rest of the patio as well. While I was tidying things up in the herb and patio area, I also fertilised our citrus bushes.

Once all that was done, I gave the patio and herb garden a decent watering after the hot and sunny weather we've been having recently.

It was really good to tidy up that area of the garden, and it'll be fine now until late autumn. It's now a great place to sit in the sun and enjoy on hot sunny summer days.

Have a wonderful day

Julie-Ann

Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.

Dahlia Profile - Keith Hammett Beeline II Flowers

Hello friends,

Today's dahlia profile is for the dahlias grown from Keith Hammett's Beeline II dahila seed mix.

From his website: "This series is different as it is based on 'Dark Destiny', a cultivar resulting from a cross between a dwarf hybrid garden dahlia and Dahlia sherffii, a species not previously used in Dahlia breeding...The colours are more restrained and much of their beauty lies in light being transmitted through the ray florets (petals) to give a stained glass window effect. Compact self supporting plants with finely divided foliage."

I sowed 6 seeds, and all of them grew big enough to plant out in the garden, and they all flowered.

Dahlia 1:

Dahlia 2:

Dahlia 3:

Dahlia 4:

Dahlia 5:

Dahlia 6:

As you may have noticed, Dahlia 6 really is the star out of all dahlias grown from Keith Hammett's Beeline II seed mix. The inner part of the ray florets are a deep tangerine which changes ombré style into dark pinks/purples. There is also streaks of dark pink coming out from the inside of the floret all the way to the outside. It definitely has a stained glass effect, and it really stands out in the garden.

Out of all the Beeline II dahlias I grew, only dahlia 6 stands out well enough for me to want to keep the tuber in the coming years. Dahlias 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all pretty plain looking, and don't interest me. Dahlia 1 is kind of tempting, but we'll see how it performs over the rest of the summer and autumn to gauge if it will be worth keeping it.

Have a wonderful day

Julie-Ann

Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.

Christmas Of Gnomes Cross Stitch Project Update

Hello friends,

In November 2024 I began a new Christmas Cross Stitch Project, Christmas of Gnomes, from Sodastitch Design on Etsy. The plan was to only work on the cross stitch project in the months of November and December leading up to Christmas. I love doing seasonal cross stitch projects, and this project fills the months leading up to Christmas.

I used the called for DMC threads, and bought 32 count Lugana opalescent even weave in the colour Eucalyptus from Country Stitch in New Zealand. I've been stitching the design 2 x 2.

In 2023 I finished the second row of gnomes (I started as close to the middle of the project as possible), and began the first row of gnomes. It was a lot of fun using bright Christmas colours along with the opalescent Evenweave, and began stitching the Christmas tree in the top row.

In November and December 2024 I managed to finish the entire top row, and began the third row of cross stitching featuring a gnome carrying a gingerbread cookie.

This is my first time stitching on Evenweave, and it's been a little tricky to get the stitches looking square, as the holes in between the threads are quite small. I've really enjoyed this project so far, and now look forward to working on it later on this year. I'm not sure if I'll get the project finished in 2025, but if I'm quite close to the end, I may continue to work on it in January 2026 until it is finished.

Have a wonderful day

Julie-Ann

Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.

Dahlia Profile - Floret Bee's Choice Flowers

Hello friends,

Today's dahlia profile is for my Floret Bee's Choice flowers. I bought dahlia and zinnia Floret flower seeds from Emerden in New Zealand last spring, and sowed them in October.

From Floret's Website: "Floret Bee's Choice was collected from all of our different dahlia breeding patches on the farm and includes a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors—no two plants will be the same! Most of the flowers will have open centers, which will attract lots of pollinators to your garden. If you discover a variety you love, tubers can be saved and planted out the following year." Planted in full sun, plants will reach 48 to 72 in tall.

Floret 1:

Floret 2:

Floret 3:

Floret 4:

Floret 7:

Floret 8:

Floret 10:

As you can see from the Floret Bee's Choice dahlias that have flowered so far, dahlias 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 all have yellow/orange colouring, with a range of petal numbers, with dahlias 3 and 8 having extra frills. Dahlias 7 and 10 are shades of pink, with dahlia 7 has curled inward petals, and dahlia 10 being pretty plain.

In terms of choosing which dahlias to keep at the end of the season, the only one I definitely want to keep is dahlia 3, with it's yellow/apricot colouring and pretty frills. I'm also kind of tempted by dahlia 8, but I'll see how it looks as the season goes on.

I have really enjoyed the process of dahlia growing from seed, watching the process from germination, to flowering, and I'll definitely collect seed from them in autumn.

Have a wonderful day

Julie-Ann

Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.

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