{"id":3277,"date":"2021-01-04T05:59:25","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T13:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3277"},"modified":"2021-01-04T05:59:25","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T13:59:25","slug":"hand-painted-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/hand-painted-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hand Painted Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"violas\"<\/a>This winter, my advice to gardeners, would-be gardeners and those who simply want an amusing plant or two is \u201corder early\u201d.\u00a0 Last fall, bulb and plant vendors were among the few merchants doing land office business, selling out in record time.\u00a0 With at least a couple more cold, dark, alarming months ahead of us, the same thing may happen in advance of spring planting.<\/p>\n

Normally my plant selection process works like an old engine.\u00a0 I start up fitfully in January, thumbing through online and print catalogs, up the speed in February with wish lists, and finally achieve horticultural highway speed in March when I place orders.<\/p>\n

This year I have the feeling that I am going to have to act more like a Ferrari and less like a thirty year-old Ford.\u00a0 With that in mind, I placed my first order yesterday.<\/p>\n

What did I order?\u00a0 Something colorful and frivolous, of course. \u00a0\u2018Brush Strokes\u2019 is a new \u201cold fashioned\u201d pansy that would have been completely at home in the late Victorian era.\u00a0 For those interested in nomenclature, my new pansy is actually a large, colorful viola. \u201cViola\u201d is the generic name for the plant group that includes both showy pansies and their smaller relatives, commonly called violas.\u00a0 If you find that confusing, you will be in good company.<\/p>\n

\u2018Brush Strokes\u2019 features flowers with the typical, open-faced pansy form, but each petal appears to be hand-painted with strokes and splashes of colors, including cream, yellow, and a range of purples that includes shades so dark that they seem almost black.\u00a0 Every petal is unique, and the effect reminds me of a collection of colorful watered silk fabrics.<\/p>\n

The Victorians lived in a repressed society, which is one of the reasons that gardeners of the time loved colorful plants.\u00a0 Restrictions breed rebellion, even in the garden.\u00a0 As we look forward to returning to less restrictive times, it is only natural to embrace swirls of vivid color.<\/p>\n

Feeling unleashed, I ordered another vibrant viola from the same vendor\u2014this time a true viola called \u2018Bunny Ears\u2019.\u00a0 Its name comes from the fact that the two topmost petals are a bit larger than normal, inspiring someone to liken them to bunny ears.\u00a0 The catalog copy described the flowers as \u201csweetheart pink\u201d, which would jibe with the bunny name.\u00a0 The catalog picture shows flowers that look like brighter, happier versions of old fashioned purple, white and yellow Johnny jump-ups.\u00a0 Either way, the end result will be worth the expenditure for a package of seeds.<\/p>\n

Old fashioned flowers like pansies never really go out of style.\u00a0 Paging through a second plant and seed catalog, I came upon a pansy mix called \u2018Historic Florist\u2019s Mix\u2019.\u00a0 These also had a multi-colored, \u201cpainted\u201d look, though not as striped as the \u2018Brush Strokes\u2019 variety.\u00a0 They are very tempting, but I have to remind myself that seed-grown pansies work best when you start them indoors six to eight weeks ahead of the last frost date for your area.\u00a0 This is not hard, even for a distracted and dilatory seed starter like me.\u00a0 However, I do have limited space, so moderation is generally a good idea.<\/p>\n

We will see about that this year.\u00a0 I tend to grow desperate for color and freshness around the first of February.\u00a0 After the difficulties of the past year, I expect that will be the time when I will turn in desperation to the catalogs, throw caution to the wind, and order more seeds without regard for sprouting room.<\/p>\n

Given the buying stampede that happened in the fall, that course of action may well prevent the kind of disappointment that leads people with my tendencies to bake every other day.\u00a0 A small household generally fares better with an abundance of pansies in seed starting trays than an abundance of baked goods on the premises.<\/p>\n

The same catalog that produced the \u2018Brush Strokes\u2019 order also inspired me to try a colorful new nasturtium, \u2018Purple Emperor\u2019.\u00a0 This variety is semi-trailing, which makes it perfect for containers as well as garden beds.\u00a0 More important, its colors are ravishing\u2014shades of \u201cvintage rose\u201d and rose-purple, colors not normally found in nasturtiums.\u00a0 Furthermore, like all nasturtiums, \u2019Purple Emperor\u2019 is likely to be ridiculously simple to grow.\u00a0 The seeds are very large and can be sown directly in the garden.\u00a0 Nasturtiums prefer lean soil, don\u2019t fret at inconsistent moisture, and bloom repeatedly throughout the growing season.\u00a0 That spells success, even for an inconsistently attentive gardener like me.<\/p>\n

\u2018Purple Emperor\u2019s color made me want it immediately.\u00a0 I rushed to add it to my order.\u00a0 In the midst of that frenzy, the words \u201cnot in stock\u201d came up on the screen.\u00a0 If I had not already entered my order for Viola \u2018Brush Strokes\u2019 successfully, I might have had a melt-down.\u00a0 I clicked the button that said \u201cnotify me when this product is in stock\u201d and went on to order another unusual nasturtium, \u2018Orchid Cream\u2019, with cream petals hand painted with maroon.\u00a0 It was in stock, so my inner peace was partially restored.<\/p>\n

If you are feeling desperate for color and life, it\u2019s best to embrace your desperation, at least in a legal, horticultural way that doesn\u2019t require medication or upset your family.\u00a0 For a good array of colorful seeds and plants, go to Baker Creek Seeds, 2278 Baker Creek Road Mansfield, MO 65704<\/a>; www.rareseeds.com<\/a>; free print catalog available.\u00a0 Select Seeds is another great source, especially for old-fashioned flowers.\u00a0 Find them at 180 Stickney Hill Road, Union, CT 06076: 1(800) 684-0395, www.selectseeds.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Free print catalog available.<\/p>\n

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This winter, my advice to gardeners, would-be gardeners and those who simply want an amusing plant or two is \u201corder early\u201d.\u00a0 Last fall, bulb and plant vendors were among the few merchants doing land office business, selling out in record time.\u00a0 With at least a couple more cold, dark, alarming months ahead of us, the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3,5],"tags":[2439,2438,186,847,1613,2272,673,31],"class_list":["post-3277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","category-winter","tag-catalogs","tag-hand-painted-flowers","tag-heirloom-plants","tag-nasturtiums","tag-pansies","tag-seed-starting","tag-spring-flowers","tag-violas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3279,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3277\/revisions\/3279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}