2019 Highlight!

A Big Thank You!!

A few weeks ago our furnace decided to just blow cool air
and no heat.  We call Miller's Heating and Air!!   The tech
had some news that we were expecting.  The furnace when in
when the house was built in the early 1970s.   A furnace that
was designed for a home in AZ and he was surprised it lasted
as long as it did.   We opted to have a more efficient unit be put in
instead of fixing the dinosaur!!   We remembered my Dad saying
if it ever goes out a heat pump is the route to go.

After several meeting with the field supervisor, we decided to
take the plunge.  Thank you Mr. Bizzell for all help in getting
the ball rolling.  We highly recommend this company for Heating
and Air conditioning needs!!  The teams that have come out
were very professional and efficient!  They answered all our
questions, helped set it up and helped us also to understand.

They did many inspections to make sure the units were working
properly and walked us thought the process.  The office gals made
sure we had the proper inspections and what great communication on
their parts to let us know what was next in the process!

  Our old furnace!

The new inside unit before the
wires, pipes, tubing and pump.
Yes, it was a tight squeeze to get
it in place.

Amazing to watch these team of
guys work their magic!

All installed, now to pass the
County inspections.

The outside unit!


















It has been so nice to have a warm home again!!

A big thank you to Miller's Heating and Air!!

We highly recommend them!!   Let them know that we sent you
their direction.

1/28/2020, we had our County's mechanical inspection!!  I sure thank the
gentleman for coming out to check it out.   Then later in the day the WA
State Labor and Industry  gentleman came out to inspect the electrical.
I really want to thank him and we got out sticker!!

We are so glad we had our electrical box upgraded when we put in the
newest greenhouse!!   Absolute Electric Inc did that work and we call
them for our electrical needs!!  We just had them out when the electrical
went out, who knew that sugar ant could take out the gis in the one box.
They were looking for heat and I just hadn't treated the greenhouse for ants
since last fall so I'll be doing so monthly!!  Sugar ants love decaying wood so
if you have just wood chips spread out, one will have sugar ants.  Bark is treated
so watch for those sugar ants!! 

Clematis Crispa

A friend in Canada posted a couple of
photos of our crosses from 2018!  He encouraged me to start all the crosses from 2018 and 2019.
Oh I can't wait to see what we have.

Time to start Seeds.

Now is a great time to start seeds which
allows them 2 months of growing time
before the last date of frost, which is
April 15.

We spent the day getting all our
Brugmansia and Datura seeds soaking.
They need to soak from 24 to 48 hours before
being planted.

1/26/2020, All are planted and now we wait for them
to pop out of the dirt!!

 Starting to pop upward! 2/12/2020

 Not the albino seedlings from our cross.  A majority of these are from B. Shorty's cross and they will not make it.  I have been advises to pull them.

Information For Those New To Brugmansias

I have been asked to help a few new folks get started with Brugmansia.


Cuttings:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/683843524653941990/?lp=true

We have found this is the best way to start cuttings as you can watch them grow
and monitor the watering.  You don't want to keep the cutting to wet or dry out
to much.  Yes, you can start them in water.  But word to the w ise, when the nubs
start, it's best to get them into soil for a better plant.  We have found the smaller
plastic bottles work best as a cutting is small and will take off easier if not a lot
of soil.    When one doesn't have space one will find ways to grow what one wants.
Each gardener is different so find the path that works for you.


Starting Seeds:

Brugmansia seeds need a 24 to 48 hours soaking period in warm water, unless they
are fresh seeds.  Fresh seeds have a thinner coat and you can damage the seed inside.
The outside seed coat will turn harder when not fresh so soaking helps to remove the
outer coat.   I tell folks to soak their seeds (karma's cocktail is on teaspoon of rubbing
alcohol per 12 ounce of warm water)  which really helps this process.  We place the
containers of water up on the refrigerator where it's warmer.  If you soak over 24 hours
you may want to change the water if it gets cloudy. 
If you plant fresh seeds direct you will risk damage to the plant if the outer coat get stuck on the
plant and you have to cut it away.   Plant the seeds in small starter pots to start or
small starter cells if starting in flats.  You don't want large pots where they are lost in
the dirt.  Once you get the hang of planting seeds and they grow them, you can try
different methods.  I know some folks will put seeds on damp paper towels in plastic
bags to start but the sooner you can get them into soil, the better off the plant will be.
We here plant the seeds about 1/4 inch deep into the soil.  Lightly water and set in a
warm sunny spot.
You can also use the bottle method above to start your seeds in.
We have a post on what was harvested last year in the lines of seeds, November 18, 2019.
I do have several Brugmansia seeds from 2018 that are mixed in what we grow.

Datura seeds also should be soaked in the same manner but there is no hard coat to peal off.

Current seed listing on these was posted Oct.4, 2018.  Datura seeds have a 30 year shelf life
plus some need to have a cool chill before starting.  They require at least temps in the 70s and
full sunshine!  Min fertilizing if planted in the ground with good soil.   Added to the list  3 seedpods of  D. metal var fastuosa from last year's single plant.  3/1/2020 all our Brugmansia seeds are not planted and coming up!   If you would like a seedling let me know.

You can go back to some of our older posts also to read about this method.  June 19, 2019

Stepping Out Of The Darkness!

I lost my beloved B. Culebra that I got from

Mark many moons ago  and it was time to 

find him to see if he had one I could get to 

replace mine.  That has got to be the most 

exciting Brugmansia that we grew beside

 the 'Tissue Culture' ones.   These take 

special care to get them to grow and bloom!

I found Mark on FB and that open up to

joining the group he and Mike were on.  

So back online I went.  I'm not a FB 

person so some of you will be surprised.   

Yep after going underground for 5 years

I took a leap!  For how long, one never 

knows.  I have now stepped back into 

the dark away from the FB group.   

The goal is to grow and maintain 

healthy Brugmansia not to use chemicals.  

I went underground due to health issues 

and after the 5th doctor said to give up 

my gardening I decided to cut back.  

My passion is our gardens and I complain 

about the neighboring issues, I wouldn't trade 

my garden in for all the gold in China!  I deal 

with a lot of messes here but my neighbor
don't care about what they do to our property.   

So please forgive my bitching.  We try to live 

with the mess but there is a cost to this 

mess......our health!

If you read the back issues of the blog you 

will know just how in deep we were into the 

Brugmansia world.  Whom in the earth tears 

out their back yard to plant these trees? There

are a lot of folks!!  Believe me!!  Once you 

smell the fragrance you will not want to go 

without.  But growing them takes talent!  

Lots of time and commitment to getting 

them to do what they do best.  Ladies of 

the night!!  Fragrance that take your

breath away!

I got hooked on Tissue cultures when I 

visited Terra Nova Nursery and Dan shared 

one of his babies with me.  I had also gotten 

a D. Missouri Marble from them and that

is what started the best adventure I took.  

I knew of the studies of the crossing of 

Daturas and Brugmansia done in the 1940s.   

I thought heck, Tissue Cultures are the best 

of the genes one can get, so why not try it!!  

Hence the 'Datmansia' were created.  But 

with that came the naysayers and being 

told I couldn't do this was hard to take.   

Just makes one say try it and see what 

you can come up with.   I had folks test 

the seeds across the world and low and 

behold they came back year after year 

until I dug the last one up a year ago.  I

did ask that they be destroyed due to the 

back lash from the naysayers.   I have

 been sitting on the seeds that we did 

save, so all isn't loss.  When playing 

with Daturas and Brugmansia, one needs

to know what they are doing and what 

will self pollinate.    Timing is the key here!!

Word of advise to those that are just

 starting out.  Find common Brugmansias 

to start with and find someone that is willing 

to teach you.  I know there are a lot of 

growers out there that will not help but

 I feel the more you educate folks that

 more you are wanting this species to continue.

I offer seeds, cuttings and plants on my terms.   

Seeds, we do for postage as these are new 

hybrids and ask that folks test these and report
back to what they become.   Many of these

 are open pollinated as we do keep the crosses
that we make and plant these by mid January. 

 If we do have space, we then start on the open
pollinated seeds.

Cuttings, we ask that you make a request.  

We start shipping after April 15th until 

June 1 for spring cuttings.  Then in the 

fall in Sept before we move the Brugmansia

to their winter home.  If you want us to 

root any cuttings please ask and we will 

let you know when they are ready to ship.  

We use the bottle method in soil for all 

our cuttings.  On some we do tip cuttings 

and these can take up to a year before 

they are ready.

Plants, we deal mainly in new hybrids that 

we start from seeds.  As we are a test garden 

and will have to make a request from the 

hybridizer if they can be released.  If they 

are our seeds than, we request that you 

report back to us. 

Our nursery is not a retail nursery, but a 

test garden.  We do sales for our area and

do open the gardens by appointment only.  

We made the mistake several years ago 

of opening the gardens one weekend and 

had over 450 folks tour the gardens.  

Have decided to step back into the darkness 

and just do my thing here.   

Happy New Year!!

Want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  Hope that your yards are full of
bloomers and you enjoy what you grow!!