A jumbo incursive plant lie with as “ Millennium Madness ” sprouted worldwide last yr . It was particularly bad in the United States and positively egregious in the New York metropolitan field . And , as if Millennium Madness was not defective enough all by itself , there were rumors that it was infested on a grand scurf with the dreaded Y2 K Bug . While professionals in a master of ceremonies of countries drop months trying to reckon of way of life to eradicate the Y2 K Bug , ordinary hoi polloi were rumor to be aiding the rapid growth and cattle farm of Millennium Madness by watering local specimens with vast quantities of bottled piss that they had stash away in their basements .
Fortunately , Millennium Madness show to be a tender works , and from Fiji to Brooklyn , it get to wither on the stroking of midnight , December 31 , 1999 . Most of the Y2 K Bugs perish without get offspring — mutant or otherwise . All the people with remnant bottled water system will have to lay aside it fornext summer ’s drought .
Nowthat we no longer have to worry about the spreadhead of Millennium Madness , we gardeners can focus on the beginning of the Modern gardening year . The catalogs have been arriving since before Christmas , and it is high time to think about seed get down . Orders should be going in now for works that need to be originate indoors . If you want former pansies , commence them as soon as potential . For other efflorescence plant , vegetables , and herb , it ’s still a good idea to order now and then assort out the planting dates when the seed mailboat get .
Ilove seed starting because it force me to get organized . I am not lucky enough to have a glasshouse , so all my seed embark on under lights in the cellar or on top of my microwave oven in the pantry . And since the wine cellar is the least well - kept part of my house , there is lots of piece of work to do before my seed come . I am in the cognitive process of fitting an old turn over medical provision pushcart with lighting to maximise the space I have for seed flat . But before that can happen , there has to be elbow room for the rolling cart , which means moving the stacks of pots that are all over the place , bringing the dormant amaryllis plants upstairs andsorting out all the seedsand supplies impart over from last bound .
Rightnow , I am scouting the catalog for annuals and the few perennial that can be started too soon from germ to bloom the first twelvemonth . I will think about other perennial , shrubs , blush wine , and little trees later — there ’s still lots of time .
Someof the choices are obvious . ‘ Sonata White ’ cosmos worked so well for me last year that I will probably order multiple packets this year . They will be joined by something newfangled — a loan-blend , Cosmosulphureous ‘ Cosmic Yellow’ . I hope that the yellow does not scream and that the double or semi - three-fold blooms describe in the catalog will raise my yellow-bellied and white border . ‘ French Vanilla ’ marigolds worked hard in my garden until hoarfrost last year . Now I have the option of choose between them and another newcomer , ‘ Snowball Hybrid ’ , which is supposed to be an even whiter shade of pale . seed are relatively cheap , so I will probably order one packet of each , and then see which fares well .
Ilove snapdragon , but the choices are daunting . Should I dictate the ordinary white , yellow , and atomic number 79 1 that worked last twelvemonth , or should I be dare and get the “ classic Swedish heirloom ” variety ‘ Helen Weibull ” ? There are also some repeated snapdragons in one of the high - end perennial catalogs . As I look out at my frozengarden I see that many of last year ’s plantsare actually still live . Perhaps I will go in advance and assume that they will make it through the winter . Then I can dictate ‘ Helen Weibull ’ and experience careful at the same clock time .
Flyingin the face of past failures , I will tell some sweet peas . The ‘ Matucana ’ variety is supposed to be at least reasonably heat tolerant and exceptionally fragrant . If it works , the maroon and blueshades of the blossoms should animate up my daughter ’s garden .
Fragranceis important to me , so I will indulge in Nicotiana alata , which grows to be five fundament grandiloquent , flourishes in partly shaded locations , and smells like tuberose . It will be joined by Swamp Milkweed ( Asclepias incarnata ‘ Ice Ballet ’ ) , which has white flower and a wonderful scent . With circumstances I will also spring up a Datura metel ‘ Belle Blanche ’ on my gay back porch . Also experience as “ Angel ’s Trumpet ” , this plant has large droop trumpet - forge flowers . All role of it are poisonous , but my daughter is old enough so that she wo n’t sample the leaves , and the cats do not gratify .
Ilove dry heyday in the wintertime , and I may try two easily maintain varieties — Bells of Ireland ( Moluccella laevis ) and Strawflowers ( Helichrysum bracheatum ) . There are lots of howling low - grow plants to sate up empty spaces here and there . I care the paleyellow Prism Sunshine Hybrid petunias and Portulaca grandiflora ‘ Tropical FruitMix ’ , which boasts flowers in shades of mango , yellow , cream and orange tree . To complement this fruit basketful of portulacas I will also indulge in a packet of the new whiteCalifornia Poppies(Escholzia californica ‘ White Linen ’ .
A rational soul perusing the foregoing list might think that my seed starting ambitions are almost certainly larger than my available cum starting infinite . However , I choose to call up that with such space , as with time , the amount on hand seems to enlarge or squeeze miraculously according to the amount required . After all , it ’s still early in the year .
by E Ginsburg
