Eww, petunias

Eww, petunias

I have never liked petunias. They're exactly what I think flowers shouldn't be... worthless in bouquets, disgusting to the touch, and even more disgusting to smell. But after seeing baskets of wave petunias priced at twenty to thirty dollars in nurseries and at the supermarket, I figured I'd give a sale packet of 'cascading' petunia seeds a shot.

When I opened up the packet and found tiny, pelleted seeds inside, I grew even more skeptical. With such small seeds, I doubted the germination rate would be very high, and pelletized seed is often even less likely to sprout properly. But I went ahead and planted them in a nine-cell seed-starting tray, measuring out three seeds per cell in order to calculate germination ratios.

Boy, was I in for a surprise. Germination was a respectable seventy percent, which left me with a lot of seedlings! Instead of thinning, I repotted the extra seedlings into their own containers, and miraculously failed to kill a single one. The plants in the photo are ready to be stuffed into baskets along with some pansies and Calibrachoa (million bells). I'm really happy with the variety of colors that popped up. That, and the "easy to grow" factor, almost makes me not completely hate petunias anymore.

(They still stink, though!)

Bainbridge inspiration

Bloedel Reserve Visitor Center

My sister came to visit last week, which is why I haven't posted in a while-- we had a lot of fun running around Western Washington, eating good food and shopping up a storm. Of course, with both of us being cameraholics, we had to go on some kind of photo expedition... which took us to Bainbridge Island and the Bloedel Reserve.

The Reserve is different from botanical gardens that we've visited in the past in that it was largely designed to mimic nature rather than display plants or flowers. Much of the Reserve's woodland was covered in plants that I recognized from woodlands in my home area; at times, the only thing that revealed the hands of the landscape's careful maintainers was the conspicuous absence of fallen branches and other clutter. At the end of the day, I came away with a greater appreciation for native plants-- and an aspiration to compile a personal library as impressive as the one at the Reserve's visitor center.

Visiting the Reserve requires a reservation; it may seem like an extra hassle, but once you get there, it's easy to understand why the number of visitors is limited. The sights are best appreciated without the distraction of crowds.

For more photos, check out my Vox-based Bloedel Reserve photo collection. Sadly, I forgot my own camera, so if the photos seem better than usual, it's all on account of that. (Thanks for the loaner, Sis). Maybe it's time for an upgrade... seven megapixels and a foliage setting spoiled me!

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Cross-posted to Vox.