Flowers for the Soul

Rainy day. The Busy Lizzy Carousel F1 plant has given me another flower. The last few flower buds that were developing pink flowers dropped off before opening. I am quite taken with these flowers now, double blooms. I will try in the new house (Fingers crossed) to grow these again.

Autumn is a reflective time, to remember what worked and what did not. When its pouring with rain the previous blog photos can inspire your memory.

The Daylight hours here are shorter, with the Sun rising later, and setting earlier. The two photos were taken about three hours apart. I sprung from bed at 6am like a switch had been turned on. All that sleep yesterday has repaired my tired body!

Sleep for the body, flowers for the Soul and mind. I am proud of my one plant that survived from the 12 seeds I planted :)

If one flowers then it eases the pain of so many plants keeling over. There is always next year..

I like the Rain splattered windowsill.Its hard to describe rain in photos!

Busy Lizzie F1 Carousel

After five months of growing, and me checking today what it was called the Busy Lizzy F1 carousel mix is in flower. Peach coloured double bloom, just the one at the moment with a bud behind it.

Gardeners need patience dont they?Having waited five months, and seen all the other plants keel over this is the survivor.

The F2's were much easier to grow, these F1's are beautifully flowered, but a nightmare to grow from seed.

Expect a few more photos as I enjoy the flowers after waiting all that time :)

Busy lizzies...

A tale of two busy lizzies

Just out of shot is the white stick with Busy lizzie F1 on the label. I found out its called Carousel mixed, a double blooming flower (BL carousel). I had to trawl through my own blog to find the seedpacket which i photographed.My memory had forgotton what i'd planted weeks ago lol.
I got them from Suttons seeds at the end of march, weeks later only three seedlings have grown. Another three are in the soil and may finally germinate.They have taken as long as the 90 day Datura to germinate!
I bought some F2 Glowing embers busy lizzies and have about fourty germinated seedlings.The BL Carousels's have had 6 out of 16 seeds.
The F2's are what i buy every year, they are my busy lizzie work horse who are easy to germinate and grow on into respectable plants.
The BL carousel mix better be spectacular after all the time passed waiting for them to germinate. I think its funny they have been modified to exhibit new characteristics (Double or twin blooms i think it said on the packet). The seeds are still unstable, with slow germination rate and erratic growth.
I grew more because I said I would for someone at work. Hers are growing now, ten healthy seedlings!
Was it too cool for them to germinate? Did the garden spirits not smile on my carousel busy lizzies as much as the F2's?? The F2's have gone in later but germinated in better numbers percentage wise, and lots quicker.
Another gardeners mystery why certain seeds germinate quickly and easily. Whereas others (like the devils seed Parsley) takes forever..
If one double flower blooms I will be happy despite the poor strike rate!
Pictured is the healthiest Carousel busy lizzie, its first picture on the blog :)

I have added this below... googled images of the flowers of the Carousel, and Glowing Embers plants. Its cool to remember what I am growing, the flowering outcome of all the germination, plant care, and nurturing. This is what you garden for the explosion of colours in your garden or in your pots, or in my case on the windowsill.

The Thompson and morgan seed dealer photograph of the Busy Lizzie F1 Carousel mix with the double, and semi double blooms.

The Other busy lizzies Glowing Embers, these are a dwarf variety with the colours as pictured.There were not many images om google though of this variety!