Sowing Poppies in the Snow

No doubt, we're in the middle of winter here in New England. We're getting hit with snow storm after snow storm. Our surroundings are frosty white and beautiful. I'm enjoying it, and so are our children. They can't wait to get home from school to build caves, sled down the hill, and harvest new icicles.

I was reading a gardening magazine the other day when I learned something else that is fun that you can do in winter. You can sow seeds. On the snow.

Poppy seeds

I know it sounds crazy, at least I thought so, but as I read on and googled a little bit about it, I think it all makes sense.

• Poppy seeds thrive in the cold and moist spring weather.
• Poppy seeds need cold weather to germinate.
• The seeds don't need to be covered with dirt, uncovered seeds sprout best.
• Poppies are happiest if they can grow where planted.

And if you think about it, every spring you find plants in your garden that have self seeded. Many plants seem to reproduce just fine, without any pampering what so ever from us.

So here is what I will do. I will take the seeds that I have purchased, go outside (I might wait a month) and scatter them on the snow where I want them to grow, and... Done!

This kind of sowing is gonna suit me just fine. I have little patience for the lilliputian care that seedlings require, and further, I don't have much space in my house to engage in indoor seed starting.

Here are the poppies that I decided to go for.

Shirley Double Mix (Papaver Rhoeas)

Watermelon Heaven (Amapola Californiana)

Brilliant Red (Amapola Oriental)

Venus (Amapola Venus).

I guess the California Poppy actually belongs to a different botanical family than the rest of the poppies, but I decided to try it with the same method just for fun. At $2 an envelope I have little to loose and much to win if it works. To be honest, if even one flower shows up, it will make my day. Poppies are one of the few flowers (especially red ones) that make my heart beat a little extra fast.

If you want to read a little bit more on this topic, I found a blogger, Mr Brown Thumb in Chicago, that have successfully tried this.

Picture This!

Picture This Photo Contest is going on at the blog Gardening Gone Wild until Januari 24th, and the theme is Macro in a Mason Jar. I found this out a few days ago when reading Lona's blog post "How not to take photography in a mason Jar" at A Hocking Hill's Garden.

I got started right away.

Here are some star anise at the bottom of the jar, sitting on top of a farm sign.

Kind of fun and unexpected, but the seeds made the bottom of the jar

dirty-looking and there is too much going on outside the jar besides the sign.

I had just had a dinner party on Saturday, so the house was filled with tulips.

Had to try them out, put them on top of water and the jar sits on

top of tulip greens.

Kind of nice, but nothing to write home about.

This was harder than I thought.

The contest asks for pictures of

"seeds, feathers, plants, flowers, insects or textures in ways that are

fresh and unexpected"

and I can't say that any of the above was either.

I looked around for other flowers or seeds and found my dried wheat.

In the first picture, the jar sits on top of a loaf of bread.

I found it extremely difficult to get the focus right.

In the second, I put the jar on top of a plate of oats.

And in the third wheat picture I tried placing the jar in a pair of hands.

Still not completely happy with any of my pictures

(and there is about a hundred of pictures that I decided not show you).

Today, the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining,

and the garden had a coating of fresh snow.

I was outside with my boys when I decided to try tulips again,

but outside, in the snow, with natural light.

Aaahhhh....

Good light sure makes a difference.

I like how the light falls on the top leaf and makes it dance.

The last shot was taken of the side of the jar as the sun started to set.

I like this one too, but I think the contest asks to take

the picture in to the jar from above.

So, I think I'm done taking pictures and I will enter the second from the bottom.

Good Luck to self!

And, Good Luck to all of you who also decide to enter the competition.

I do encourage you, it was fun and mind opening.

But, hurry up.

There's only four days left.

Natural treasures

Here's a couple of treasures I found along the walk in the woods today.

A piece of birch bark with moss growing on it...

...and a Milkweed seed pod.

The acorns and leaves that my children gave me

are still in the pocket of my jacket.

Do you ever stick your hands in jacket pockets to find

an old leaf in crumbles, that your child once gave you?

Happens to me quite a bit.

I don't have the heart to throw away something

pretty that they found for me.

I also worry that I will get caught having thrown it away.

Have a great week!

Bigger isn't always better

Every year in August, we pick a nice sunny day on the weekend to go pumpkin shopping as a family. And every year the man in the family takes his time to very selectively look for the biggest and most perfect pumpkin he can bring home.

(The boys and I pick out just normal size pumpkins, that's good enough for us.)

The 70 pound pumpkin has been adorning the entrance to our house for just over 2 months.

And today, on October 31st, it was time to carve it.

The normal carving tools you get at the store in the carving kit were of no help. Real carpenter's tools were needed to get through the thick walls. As the kids pulled out the flesh, we saw the seeds.

They were HUGE!!!

But also beautiful, look at their gorgeous caramel color.

They looked yummy as they came right out of our giant pumpkin.

Above they are pictured next to normal size pumpkin seeds.

Well, I toasted them right away, eager to compare.

The small ones came out yummy as expected, but the big seeds - BIG disappointment.

It was like eating unshelled sunflower seeds where you have to spit out the shell, but the inside wasn't quite worth the effort.

I have googled recipes for the giant seeds, but unsuccessful. If someone knows how to most enjoy the big seeds, please let me know. I'm pretty sure my husband will continue his yearly tradition of finding the perfect pumpkin.

P.S. I put a few seeds aside to dry and plant next year.