Garden plants to get list

While my seed bank is growing, there are many seeds I want to plant and want to experiment with.

I figured it might not be a bad idea to make a list of those seeds or plants so I can share some of my plans with you all.

This blog will basically just be a list of those seeds/plants that are on my list of “to gets” for my garden.


*Warning the list is long and ever growing* I do plan to rotate crops that will not fit all at once of course.

Fruits:
Thornless raspberry
Wineberry
Salmonberry
Plum
Rainier Cherry
Golden Delicious Apple
Another apple type (Something like fuji or gala that would do well in zone 6)
Muskmelon (Like cantaloupe)
Honeydew
*Other melons I have yet to discover
More grape varieties. I have 3 now, I want a few more types possibly.
Orange
Service berries
Dew berry
Salal
Porcelain gem vine *Edibility still questionable*
Peach
Nectarine
Asian Pear
Huckleberry
Blueberry (3 varieties)
Elderberry
Honeyberry
Wonderberry aka sunberry
Jostaberry
Mouse melons aka Mexican Gherkins



Veggies:
Artichoke
Miners lettuce
Snap Peas
Brussels
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Spinach
Potatoes- Brown, red, gold, yams/sweet potatoes
Garlic (Has to come from a certified nursery here or it could cause white mold soil rot)
Cabbage
Kale
Sorrel
Celery
Banana peppers
Jalapeno
More winter squash varieties
Rhubarb
Horseradish
Sweet onions
Glass gem corn


Herbs/Plants/Flowers:
Cleavers
Pineapple weed
Lemongrass
Bee balm aka bergamot
Red clover
Aloe Vera
Burdock
Ginseng
Comfrey
Wood Betony
Goldenrod
Vervain
Tea, Camellia sinensis
Passionflower
Damiana
Gardenia
Goldenseal
Jasmine
Day lily
Watercress



That is the list so far.  I am always looking for new things to add to the list of things to try in my garden.
Now keep in mind some of these are experiments to see if they will grow in my zone and elevation. Just because they normally don’t grow here, does not mean they won’t… At least that is how I see it. Lots of people grow tropical plants in green houses. If I can get certain plants to do well enough, I can save seeds and replant. When I replant them they should be a little stronger with each season. Basically acclimating the plant to the land as much as you can. Kind of like domesticating a wolf… If you want to think of it that way.

The River and the Woods

Recently I have been able to make a few trips out to the wooded areas near the river. Each time has been quite wonderful and I see new things every time I am out.

The river was quite calm the first and second trip. It rose a lot even just a couple of days later. A lot of the places explored were now under water. The snow has been melting off of the mountains and making the water levels rise. Amazing how quickly it can happen.
There is a swirl in the middle of the river. There were a lot of mini whirlpools that would appear and then disappear as they moved down the river.
New growth. A forest within a forest. I could not help but take a picture of this. Many tiny trees beginning to grow within a small spot of this wooded area. To me it is a magical place where small elves and faeries might wander.   
 
I could not count even if I tried, all the nests that were perched in the trees. There were so many of them. Many different kinds for many types of birds and squirrels too I am sure.


Lots of white budding trees were seen. This is just one of the three or so types I had seen clustered around each other.

 
Beautiful black birds with red spots on their wings were seen. There were a lot of them and this one seemed to like to pose for my camera.

 
This was probably a home for some forest creature at some point but it was empty when I found it. I really like trees that have little pocket holes like this one.
The mushrooms were found at the side of a fallen tree. I was not sure what kind of mushroom they were and since most mushrooms you do not want to touch unless you are sure what kind, I left them be.

A beaver was spotted during the second trip and a single crow was spotted on this last trip.
Crows are known to be messengers to the gods.


During my little magical adventures I was able to wild craft some moss, fern leaves, balm of Gilead, as well as collected pine cones, a couple of feathers, and sand from the river. Once summer comes there will be more things to harvest but for now I think I have collected all I can unless I go to a new area and find something different there.
I found some really interesting branches that I gathered that could make some good staffs. I grabbed a smaller one that twists a bit that I would love to turn into a wand.
Burn some runes or oghams into it, maybe other symbols… Not sure exactly what the plans are just yet for the designs.  I am not the best at carving always nor do I have the right tools for it really, but I hope to craft something with them.

I am sure there will be more trips out to this place but now that I have explored here there are others I want to go to that sound promising.
Those are a little bit farther of a drive to get to though. Not as far as the deep woods, but still enough to take a bit more planning so to not run out of daylight too soon.
I am not a morning person which is why planning is needed *laughs*
I would also like to start going out and exploring the more desert parts of this area. I already have plans with a friend of mine to go exploring those lands at some point. No official date has been set yet, just the understanding that it will happen at some point in the future when the timing is right.

I had given an offering to the nature spirits but a few days ago. I was happy to find that the spirits accepted my offering. My offering of nuts, seeds, and grains is being eaten up by the birds, squirrels, and probably other little creatures that eat the same. Giving food to the spirits, gods, and nature, is a way of giving thanks for all they provide for us.  Why should we take from them and give nothing back? Doing this is respectful, shows you are grateful, and adds to the balance of things.

It is supposed to storm tomorrow, I can’t say for sure if it will but I actually kind of hope it will. It says it will be nice the day after so storming for one day is most welcome to me. I do love storms. The way the air feels during and after is amazing. The smell of the wet leaves and soil. Its very calming and exciting at the same time. Contradicting I know. Sometimes I find interesting things after a good rain as well. Not to mention dancing in the rain is always fun. Especially if it is warm rain.

Gardens, the welcoming of Spring, and paintings

It has been pretty busy for me for the past little while.  Been slowly stocking up on new shop supplies like bottles, jars, wire, etc.
There was a beautiful Super Moon out Saturday night. I was able to take advantage of the full moon and blessed all the little herb and flower seed packets I got recently under the moon. I planted those seeds Sunday. This is one of the trays of herbs from my garden which I am starting indoors.
Its a horrible phone snapshot but I wanted to show you what I have going on.


It has been a long time since I have had my own garden to tend to. Too long if you ask me. I did have two pots of herbs and some potted flowers last summer but I don’t really count that as much of a real garden. Almost no harvesting was involved, though yes I still had to water them.

Last years flowers.

I loved all the bright mix of colors. It was kind of a spur of the moment garden.
This one I have planted yesterday was a bit more planned out yet still a very spur of the moment thing since I had only thought about wanting one and then one day just decided to get the stuff to do it while I was at the store. I am glad I did :)


All the thoughts about different gardens reminded me of some beautiful terrarium pictures I had come across awhile back. I had thought of trying this at some point if I ever came across the right plants to put in them.

Here are some of the lovely pictures I came across.

 


They are all so very beautiful and inspiring. Most require you to spray them with water every day… while the ones in the boxes at the top I believe have air herbs in them and only require you to spray them once a week. They are lovely and I would love to have a bunch of these scattered throughout my house.

Putting them in large apothecary jars is defiantly something I would like for obvious reasons.


One of the things I love about the Spring and Fall seasons is all the extra creativity and inspiration. My muse and I are a lot more active during these months. I get more paintings done, more things made, get to enjoy all that nature has to offer.
In saying all of that, I have been working on the painting I have been commissioned to do again. Lots of work getting done on it now rather than small little bits and pieces. I knew it might get put on the back shelf during Winter. I am just am more inspired to paint during the Spring and do not wish to force creativity to flow when there is none for that subject. I have yet to train my muse to be there on command. I am not sure I will ever be able to… but at least I know when to predict it to pop up and help inspire me in the right ways.
Not only have I been working diligently on this painting, which is turning out quite wonderfully, but I have also started working on an old unfinished painting of mine. I had put it on the back shelf for quite awhile not sure what to do with it… I decided today that the lotus needed to be repainted. I already knew the yellow was not the color I wanted but was not sure what color I DID want. I decided on two purples and letting a bit of the yellow peak through. That’s what I worked on today. I also added a little bit of dark green to the outer edges of the lily pads.
This is what resulted from it. The painting is in no way done yet.


I am a lot happier with this color than I was the last. I did not even take pictures of the yellow lotus I disliked it that much. Everything is trial and error. It turned out it was good that I painted it yellow at first since it helped with the peek-a-boo color effect I really like.
Everything on this painting was done in acrylics except for the dragonfly wings which are real and from two different species of dragonfly. Dragonfly expired naturally and was not killed for the sake of the painting. The dragonfly’s body was painted, only the wings are real.
I still have not mapped out everything that will go on this painting yet. To be honest it is just kind of coming together piece by piece. I have ideas for what I would like to add to it but nothing is carved on granite yet. Fixing the lotus really does help me to think of more things that I could incorporate into it though.

I am sure I will get back to work on my Funeral Home for the Strange and Deranged this Fall. It is a Fall themed painting and was started but unable to be finished during the season.
This is a picture of Funeral Home for the Strange and Deranged. I need to take better pictures during the day with a better quality camera at some point.

There is a lot of detail to this painting that you cannot see with this picture sadly. Like all the different colors in the bark of the tree. Even this photo does not show it well enough but still better than the one above for the tree.

I recently  got some more colors of acrylic paint which will help with blending new different colors together. I have already started using them. I also got another brush I am having fun using as well.

My A Grave Night painting is obviously done and available for purchase. Its on 11x14 canvas done in acrylics. Email me at Lotus_Moon@hotmail.com if are interested in possibly purchasing the painting and would like more information.