Feeling besieged by winter?

[mollyringle]

Try what I'm doing: growing flowers indoors from seed!



They're still teeny, as you see, but considering I only planted them twelve days ago, they're doing great! (The alyssums started sprouting after just four days.)

I deliberately chose seed packets that said "easy to grow" or "sturdy" or something similar, and leaned toward flowers that will smell good. My chosen plants are nasturtium, alyssum, and dwarf carnation. It's an easy project, and it gives you something to look forward to each day: have they sprouted? How big are they getting? Any flowerbuds yet?

All you need is little pots of some kind, the seeds (very cheap; check a garden center or nursery), room in a relatively sunny window (south-facing is best in winter), and potting soil. And in the case of nasturtiums, they flower best in "poor soil," so you don't even need the latter. Whatever you have in the yard should work.

Try it! Improve your mood and your indoor air quality, just that little smidgen.

Comments

[astroman-rich.livejournal.com]

I see no snow outside that window. You cannot possibly be feeling besieged by Winter. ;-)

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

I know someone else who does this to deal with being seasonal affective and going all depressed during winter. I keep meaning to try it and never do, for some reason.

Nasturtiums are some of my favorite flowers since they're beautiful, bright, and you can put the petals in salad where they will make the salad beautiful and bright! Also, Tolkien was famously pedantic about how their proper name is "nasturtian" not "nasturtium" which makes for an anecdote which will either amuse people or give them an indication of how weird you are, depending on who you're talking to.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hey, we had snow for two straight weeks, long after your fancy upstate-New-York snow had melted into the 50s, if I recall. :P

And most of this week it's been about 35-40 with low dark fog, which, while better than the icy conditions, is still under the definition of "gloom."

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hee! Very Tolkienian. Well, the seed packet says "nasturtium," so I'm not going to fight that battle for him. But yes, I love the flowers, and being edible is a big plus. I even love their slightly odd smell. But then, I like the smell of marigolds, for which some people think I'm nuts.

[polygonia.livejournal.com]

Hmm.
I do have some parsley seeds and a dirt thing. They were super cheap.
I'll plant it soon, but it makes me think of how much I miss my rabbit because he loved parsley.

I also want to grow a water melon on my deck because I love watermelon and I wish I could grow some wild yellow raspberries because they are delicious.

[astroman-rich.livejournal.com]

But then, I like the smell of marigolds, for which some people think I'm nuts.

Hmmmm, I like them too. My mother always claimed that the odor keeps mosquitoes away, and so she planted large beds of them all around our house. I never noticed them being particularly effective in that regard, though.

[modmerseygirl.livejournal.com]

Awww! How lovely. Please keep us updated on how they're doing! :-)

[naill-renfro.livejournal.com]

80 degrees here! ;-)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I've heard they repel many a garden pest, but again, have seen no evidence of that.

My mom thinks they stink. I think they smell fine, but am I the only one who's noticed that daisies actually do stink? "Fresh as a daisy," indeed.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Sorry about your rabbit!

But yes, herbs work great in window pots. Basil, cilantro (coriander), oregano, mint...lots of options.

I haven't seen yellow raspberries in particular, but we have regular raspberry canes outside, and they seem to do fine despite our often-dreary weather. May be worth a try if you can make space on the deck.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Will do! Hopefully I'll have actual flowers to show off soon. :)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Oh gracious, much too hot. I only want it to be 65 and lightly overcast. ;)

[naill-renfro.livejournal.com]

Hm. Are you altogether certain that *you're* not a vampire?

[polygonia.livejournal.com]

Yellow and black raspberries are extremely delicious.
I discovered them growing all over my neighbourhood and town and even outside of town by the train tracks.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I had a phase kind of like that in college. But since I like a *little* sun, I think I'm really just a fern.