My unbounded enthusiasm for native plant restoration saw me purchasing a bunch of packets of seeds earlier this year. I tried chilling some and not chilling some and to be honest, I haven’t been all that successful so far. I did get many Mimulus guttatus seedlings and a few Polemonium pulcherrimum, about four Asclepias speciosa and a few tiny Chamaenerion angustifolium. I potted the seedlings on and they are slowly growing. Mimulus seedlings are in the top photo and one Polemonium is in the front pot in the photo below.
Some seedlings not shown here are those of Allium cernuum which are germinating in a pot outdoors. My goal is to build up some real numbers of the simpler native perennials, so I will plant a bunch more seeds this weekend to see if I can get more to germinate and grow on. I’m usually pretty good at this seed game, but the natives are proving trickier. It is possible the seeds aren’t the best, too, since it is tough to find many of the local species. The Trillium ovatum seeds I ordered through Amazon.com arrived and they were rice hulls–not Trillium seeds!
I ordered six yards of a medium bark mulch that is made up of fir and hemlock to be delivered tomorrow from Pacific Topsoil. My intention is to spread it this weekend in between rain showers. We’ll see if I get it done!