Because I took a day and a half off at the end of last week to visit my parents I had to do some (LOADS) work on Sunday, and I decided to just do it from home, rather than go into the office. And this is what my work space looked like; forsythia in bloom and dogwood just on the cusp of showing its leaves…
There is a bunch of forsythia and dogwood in each of the windows in the sitting and dining room, and though some fortsythia branches are blooming more than others (I really need to get those pruning secateurs out this year!) they make a wonderful display of spring. Even if the branches on the dining table might be slightly over-sized… It looks like I’ve stuck a small tree in the middle of the table!
My mother wants to buy my husband a rose for his birthday (and he knows this), and I’m considering L.D. Braithwaite. Does anybody have any experience with this Austin rose? It looks stunning, and it seems easy to take care of, but of course sellers might be deceptive…
Also, my Mum and I have hatched a plan to attempt growing dahlias from seed. I will order the seeds, split up the packages and send her half – along with copies of the seed packets – and then we shall see what happens. We both want bold, exuberant flowers for little money, so we will be ordering some seed mixes for large dahlias. I do realise this will mean I have to have a windowsill or two of compost in the apartment, but if that’s what it takes…
I never dried dahlia from seed, always purchased the tubers. It would seem it will take quite a while until flowering. Also, never had that rose either, so no help for you.
According to several unreliable internet sources seeds should bloom within the first year… And since some people here in Denmark grow dahlias as annuals I guess there must be some modicum of truth to it!
(And according to the same Danish braggarts it seems the plants should form viable tubers after the first year so they can be lifted and re-planted the next year,)
That is interesting, and good to know.
I do like your work space enormously, very simple and light. The forsythia on the table is a lovely touch.
Dahlias from seed? I would have thought that they would take a long time to form viable tubers… but what would I know. We need an update on this experiment from time to time!
It’s just the dining table; there’s no work space in our home, since neither of us really ever work from home except under special circumstances.
(Mind you, dining alone under the forsythia is still nicer than dining alone with no flowers.)
And apparently dahlias from seed will develop tubers within the first year. I shall definitely keep you updated on this project!
I’ve only grown Dahlia from bulbs. I’d be interested to see how the seed growing goes. Good luck with it
I’ve grown a few from tubers – and successfully overwintered a few, even! But let’s face it, seeds ARE cheaper than tubers…
I can’t wait to sow them, but I had better, since I won’t be able to safely plant them out until late April/early May.
I had never considered growing dahlias from seed…love to know how it goes…love the beautiful forsythia blooms…I need to get out too and cut a bit to force maybe…
I will definitely post about the seeds – at least as long as it looks promising. If I suddenly stop mentioning dahlias on this blog, you will know my seeds failed miserably…
And the forsythias are lovely. It’s perhaps a bit much to have five bouquets in the sitting and dining rooms, but I don’t care. It’s SPRING in my apartment!
Dahlias grow well from seeds
I tried it many times before. Few years ago there was only single-blooming dahlias but now more forms are available on the market. Do not forget to pinch young plants and you will get beautiful plants. Unfortunatelly, many of lifted tubers do not survive.. but next year try again to grow from seed and sometimes selfseeded dahlias appears.
English roses are beautiful but all red blooming are a little bit shapeless so my advice would be to plat 3 roses of same variety close to each other.
Good luck!
I’m glad to hear from somebody who has had positive experiences with growing dahlias from seed; the only thing that daunts me is that I will be starting them off in the apartment and then I will later have to move the seedlings up to my garden, which is nearly two hours by public transport…
As for the rose, I actually planned to get three of the same, precisely so it will have some bulk and not just look like a small pitiful plant at the back of the border.
I love the forsythia branches! Good luck with your dahlias – I’ve never grown dahlias at all, so I can be of no help. I haven’t ever grown LD Braithwaite, but it should be gorgeous. I like Vilmantas’ idea of planting several together. It will make a bigger impact.
I had already planned to plant 3 roses together, because roses just seem to love company. They can look rather forlorn on their own unless they’re very vigorous.
The forsythia is a daily pleasure, and I love how the tall windows of the apartment end themselves perfectly to large and airy bunches of branches that add to the view, rather than obscure it.
You have just given me the incentive to go out into the cold wind and cut some forsythia branches to force. They are such a welcome breath of spring when winter is getting hard to bear. Can’t help with your choice of rose … that’s not one of the Austins that I grow.
Hehe… I considered writing you to get your opinion! Still it seems to get good reviews, so I’m hoping it will fulfil my husband’s expectations to a red rose.
As for the forsythias I’m sure they’re worth a short venture out into the cold…
Oooh you are making me antsy for spring, always worried that I shall not arrive back in time, and it will have missed me. Love forsythia in big vases, not as much in the garden. Mine gets hacked back every year, almost to the ground to keep me supplied.
Forsythia can seem rather brash in the garden, that’s true. Mind you, when the bloom is passed I think it can make a nice background shrub for the other flowers in the garden.
Ours, though, is performing the admirable task of concealing the compost bin, so it’s a bit out of the way and I only really go there to top up the compost bin or when the forsythia is in bloom and I want a shot of colour!
(It needs to be pruned in a rather heavy-handed manner, and I didn’t get around to it last spring. This year, though, I plan to remove between a third and a half!)
I grew Dahlia “Bishop’s Children” from seed last year, and a type of frilly pom pom type the year before – both were really easy and flowered prolifically, and I will be growing from seed again this year. Well worth a couple of windowsill’s full of compost. And I like your tree on the table – much better than working in an office!
“Bishop’s Children” is actually one of the varieties I ordered. (The other packets are mix packages of cactus, giants, pompoms and coccinea.) I do hope my mother and I will have as much luck with them as you did!
(And the forsythia has now started dropping its flowers, but the leaves are coming out which is almost as pretty a sight! And the dogwood branches are sporting budding leaves and flowers, ready to take over in a less showy display…)
Soren, Your home office looks like a very pleasant place to be working. I’m afraid that if I had flowers blooming on my desk, I’d spend all my time gazing at them and never get any work done. I don’t think it’s possible to have too many forsythia branches stuffed in a vase at this time of year. Mine have faded, too, and I just went outside this morning and cut a second set to force indoors. (They’re so far along that I think they’ll probably bloom within the week.)
It’s actually our dining room, but when I do have to work from home (once in a blue moon) it works very nicely. (It does feel a bit strange when you’re in a video conference from your dining room, though. Brave new world, eh?)
And I’ve deliberately mixed the forsythia with dogwood, so now that the forsythia flowers are fading they are both sporting fresh new leaves and the dogwood will bloom – albeit more discretely than the forsythia – within the next week.
(And some of the branches are showing signs of wanting to set roots, so they might return to the garden to bulk up the hedge towards the road!)