Today is being brought to you by the letters C, D, and E. Just like Sesame Street is a perennial favorite for kids (I couldn’t help myself, pun intended), propagating is a perennial favorite for men – at least for mine.
D is for dahlias
Mike is in the basement as we speak, happily nurturing his many dahlia plants. When it comes to propagating, I don’t think its just Mike though. There is a higher percentage of men in Central States Dahlia Society than there are women. Many of the women are like me, just along for the ride. Don’t get me wrong, I love having dahlias, and Mike does ‘let’ me work in his dahlia gardens. When prime dahlia season comes in the fall, I am joyfully joyfully creating vase after vase of beautiful cut flowers.
C is for calla lily
Now he is adding calla lilies to his repertoire of basement sprouts. Last autumn, Mike could not pass up a great deal on 60 pots of calla lilies at a serious calla lily grower’s home sale. He overwintered those in the garage just like he does the dahlias. But no, that wasn’t enough. He also bought a bag of calla lilies at Costco last week. They’re in a pot too. We had them on the kitchen sink, then learned they are VERY poisonous to cats, so they’ve been moved out of Seeker’s reach.
E is for elephant ears
We aren’t growing any elephant ears in our garden this year. Thought I’d bring it up though. If you’d like to, this is a great time to buy some and get them in a pot pre-season as well. Dig them up in the fall as well. You’ll have more than you started with to pack away for next year.
S is for stupid cold weather that has me VERY cranky today!