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A Cuppa Joe And Renee’s Sweet Peas

February 6, 2013 by

How can you not love a cup of coffee that smiles back at you?

I ordered a cuppa while on a press trip to Rosemary Beach, Florida, and look at how they served it! It’s the little things, like a grin on top of the golden-brown foam (called creama, if you’re drinking espresso) in your breakfast brew that starts the day off right.

You can start this year’s garden off right, too, if you know a few tips. I’m going to try sweet peas again this spring, although I seldom have much luck with them, as our weather heats up so fast. (Okay–I’ll admit that I usually sow the seeds too late. This year, I’m resolving to do better, so they’ll have a fighting chance before our temperatures climb here in the Deep South.)

This year, I’m planting ‘Color Palette Cupid’ sweet peas, which are available from Renee’s Garden and seed sellers who carry her brand. These are said to be great for containers, as the little vines only grow 8-10″ long. The pastel flowers have a soft, sweet scent, and bloom in shades of pink, lavender, purple, and rose. I’ll keep you posted on how my sweet peas perform this year. Meanwhile, I’m headed back for another cup of joe. I’m not at the beach anymore, but I can make my own smiley face with a little chocolate syrup (as if I need an excuse for chocolate).

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Free Seeds from Plant Talk and Renee’s Garden

January 20, 2012 by

Talk about good timing! Just the other day, I blogged about Renee’s Garden, a wonderful mail order seed company based in California. Then today, I came across an offer for free seeds from Renee’s company.

Seattle gardening author and speaker Val Easton, who writes a blog called Plant Talk, is teaming up with Renee to give away seeds to readers who leave a comment on Val’s blog. Your comment should include a short list of “dream plants” you’d like to grow this year. Val will forward your list to Renee, who will then send you one or two packets of her choice. Pretty cool!

Alpine strawberries are on my list of 2012 “dream plants” to grow. I’ll either put them in hanging baskets or the strawberry jar that a neighbor gave me.

Do you know the trick for planting in strawberry jars, which can be difficult to water?

First, find a piece of PVC or plastic pipe with holes in it. Cut it long enough to fit all the way down inside your strawberry jar, with about an inch sticking up above the rim.

Ask someone to help you, or hold the pipe in the middle of the jar as you add potting soil all around it. Add your plants, putting some in the jar pockets, and some at the top, to add the inch of pipe that you left exposed. When you add water, pour it down the middle of the pipe. The holes will carry the water to the planting pockets up and down the sides.

Moonflowers are also on my list “dream plants” this year. If you’ve never grown them, they are beautiful flowers that open at night, and they’re especially attractive to those gorgeous, pale green Luna moths. The blossoms start out looking like tightly furled parasols, and remind me of morning glories when they’re fully open. They’re vining plants, so they need a trellis, fence, or other support to cling to. They’re not demanding or hard to grow, but germination can be tricky. I’ve had good results by either nicking the hard seed coats with a sharp knife, or by soaking them overnight in a glass of water, before I plant them.

I don’t know how long the free seed offer will go on, but I’m headed to Val’s Plant Talk blog right now to post a comment. See you there!

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Sweet Peas for Your Sweetheart

January 15, 2012 by

'Heirloom Cupid' Windowbox Sweet Peas, from Renee's Garden.

Gardening friends, my first order of seeds for 2012 just arrived in the mail. These are from Renee’s Garden, a California-based company.

Renee Shepherd, the gardener behind the company, sells heirloom and gourmet vegetables, aromatic herbs, and cottage garden-style flowers. I’ve never been disappointed in any of her seeds, which you can find at some retail stores, or order online (she doesn’t offer a mail-order catalog).

Unfortunately, Renee’s site doesn’t list which retailers carry her seeds. That’s probably because it’s too hard to keep that kind of information updated. But you can email her, at customerservice@reneesgarden.com, to try to locate a nearby source. Or simply order online, which is what I do.

Renee’s site is packed with great info, like recipes, gardening tips, info on making herbal teas and vinegars, and much more. There are also links to magazines and newspapers that have interviewed Renee about gardening. After reading this New York Times piece on growing alpine strawberries, in which the writer describes picking the tiny, fresh berries and eating them with cereal and milk, I can hardly wait to try them.

Most of the seeds I ordered should be planted in April or later, because they’re frost-tender. But I did buy a variety of sweet peas called ‘Heirloom Cupid.’ I’m going to try growing them, even though our weather usually warms up fast in the spring, and sweet peas prefer cool temps (they can even handle light frost).

The picture on the sweet peas packet charmed me into buying it. All of Renee’s packets started out as commissioned, original watercolors, and I love these flowers, which look heart-shaped and have a sweet perfume. This variety is also small enough to grow in window boxes or containers. Can’t you see giving a bouquet to your sweetie for Valentine’s Day?

Of course, I have to be realistic, even though beautiful flowers get me carried away. Sweet peas can be started in the fall, but I missed that planting season. They can also be sown starting in February, but that means mine won’t be in bloom by Feb. 14.

That’s okay. I’ll enjoy growing them and giving them to someone special anyway. I’ll let you know how they grow for me!

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