This isn't a seed, jeribelle, but I highly reccomend a cassia shrub if you have the room. It's an interesting plant whose leaves close up at night and open up in the morning, but he best part is that it literally explodes with hundreds of yellow flowers from late summer til the first hard freeze. Then yiou cut it down to about 2 feet, and it grows back next spring ( it won't start until around May). You'll be surprised at how fast this grows every year.

Stock or Matthiola; Wallflowers (Cheiranthus Allionii). Both Stock and wallflower flower in cool weather and are very fragrant. Candytuft (Iberia?), Clarkia (Godetia), Silene (Viscaria), Nigella. Calendula.
African Daisies (Osteospermum - perennial; best and easiest to root cuttings, seeds are expensive) and Arctotis - annual African Daisy; Mimulus (needs moist soil).

Root some Nemesia and Diascia or get some plants (they are on sale where available). Most of the South African flowers do pretty well in winter in Zone 8 or 9. Veronica Georgia blue, perennial, also flowers in winter. ).
Larkspur (but it will not germinate in warm soil in my experience)

Hey Wilmington Islander, I was hoping I'd hear from you, as you would know what will work for me here. Hoping to cultivate some of the harder-to-get plants down the road so I have a bit to trade for some of those real show-stoppers I've seen since moving here.

Wow, Micimacko, thanks for taking the time to make so many suggestions for me. I'll check in the seeds I've traded for to see what I have that can be started now, from those you've suggested. I'm looking up some photos, so I can figure out the ones I've never seen before.

I DO have some osteopermum seeds from a generous GWer, so I'll definitely plant some of them. Just planted a flat of small violas and a flat of snapdragons; I sometimes don't do too well with seeds, but I'm going to keep trying. Germination is iffy for me, it seems.

Keep those suggestions coming! I was so lucky, someone on GW has some white crinum lilies to trade, and I've got a gorgeous old pink hybrid, so we're both getting something beautiful out of that one.

And...I just got another dumpster rescue petunia last night - it's beautiful, and most of all, for students like myself, suits the budget!
{{gwi:1246451}}

jeribelle

The cassia is a good idea. You may be able to get some seeds later about when we have the first frost. I have one, it dies back with a frost but it comes back. Brilliant YELLOW so be careful where you put it. You would be looking at maybe 8-10 feet of growth.

Wilmington Islander........have you had any luck with rooting one ? I was thinking I would give it a try. I'm going to try in water, in sand, new growth, old hardened wood......everything! I just want another one!
PB

Which of those I mentioned you are not familiar with? Be careful with the violas - it is almost impossible to contain them, they selfseed and come up everywhere

Peabee, I haven't tried to root one, but I wish you luck. Let me know how it comes out, as I'll try whatever is successful :). I have some passiflora edulis var. "purple possum" and "black knight" seedlings that just sprouted. I plan on seeing how big and how many survive between now and about Thanksgiving, then I am going to dig them up as I already have 2, two year old vines ( their parents) and am rooting another edulis cultivar and a "byrons Beauty". Alas, i am running out of room. Point of this is that there may be a few nice, beautiful, tasty passionfruit vines for trade ( or for free...as I said, I am getting low on space!) this fall. I protected my vines this past winter with pinestraw and sheets and they survived with not even a leaf dropping, and I harvested 29 fruits off them for daiquris and passionade. Delicious! Jerribelle, good luck!

Ohhhhh Passionflower sounds so lovely! I've never had the daiquiris or passionade with these fruits...sounds like a Savannah plant swap beverage, lol.

Micimacko, I will keep the violas in pots, then, as I don't want to make unnecessary work for myself.

I found a little Sago Palm under my mature clump of 3 recently. I can't dig it right now, but in 3 months, I'm allowed a bit more activitiy. Perhaps it will be a trade or swap item sometime, lol. I just don't have alot of stuff for swapping yet, and I know once school starts, there goes my gardening time again.

I started some passiflora awhile back, and have some very tiny plants that aren't doing anything right now. Will they perhaps grow once the weather moderates a bit in September? I must have not gotten it right when I planted those, but hey, gotta start somewhere.

Thanks ladies for all your help and suggestions. I'm really trying to learn from you and have fun at the same time. I had thought about maybe trying to find a garden club in the area, but as a country bumpkin transplant from Amish country in Ohio, I suspect I don't have the right 'mama' for lots of the local organizations, sad to say. Tried one businesswomans' group on Hilton Head, and they didn't seem to want to include this outsider...

I'll let you guys steer me where it's worthwhile to go, lol.
jeribelle

How about starting your own GardenClub? I don't know what part of town you are in, but there probably is one there already, but full of , I'm sure, "blue hairs". No offense to bluehairs as my Granny is one; but they do have a tendency to keep to themselves and do things only their own way! What school are you in jerribelle? You teach? I don't know what kind of passies you have that aren't doing to well, but most of them love heat and long days. I hope my little seedlings get a little size on them before frost....and you are welcome to the healthiest specimen. Stay in touch.

There are Garden Clubs and then there are THE GARDEN CLUBS. I joined one once. There main obgective was Flower Arrangements. I don't think any of the members had ever pulled a weed in her lifetime. Big disappointment. Then there are those Gardeners whose gardening consists of telling the hired help that she would like a bank of what-evers over there and some yellow things by the porch and some of those blue daisies by the driveway.......and then she goes to the Garden Club meeting and tells the other members about "her" garden while someone else gets it all together for her.

Have you been out to the Bamboo Farm? Check them out, I think you could probably find some kindred souls in your area.

And, by the way, the Golden Cassia also goes by the name of Golden Senna.

Oh, Wilmingtonislander, you are so supportive! Thanks for your offer to put my name on a Passiflora! I don't know what kind I have (seeds came from someone on GW), but since the plants haven't died, just haven't grown, I'm not inclined to pull them up quite yet. Maybe they're just waiting til something changes, lol. Ever hear of the building maintenance man who was supposed to fix the heat/a/c system - he couldn't heat it up and then he couldn't cool it down! Sometimes I am mystified by gardening here, and think the plants are too - do they want sun, cool, rain, dry, sand, or what, ha. But, I'll get onto it eventually.

I'm a student at Armstrong right now, as my assoc degree isn't getting me anywhere here. Going for the bachelors degree. I have the credentials, just not the college degree on paper that they want. Hoping that once I'm done, I will be able to get a job! I go full-time (scholarships and such), so not much time for personal stuff when I'm studying, as I have to keep my GPA up.

Once I'm done with school and hopefully have a good job, then maybe I can do the garden club thing, lol. And, though I'm getting close in age to the 'blue hairs', as you so aptly refer to, I shall never get old! I am young at heart, and refuse to ever change. Perish the thought I should ever get caught up in the lifestyle of 'cultured' table and board games, and gossip. I'm a hands-on doer, and not one bit embarrassed by it. I'm already having to make major adaptations to do things due to arthritis and artificial joints. But nobody can tell me I have to have an 'old' attitude! I would definitely not fit in with the crowd that hires everything done, nor with the ones that do floral arranging. Not my cup of tea. Let me just go dig in the dirt, lol.

For whoever asked, I'm on Wilmington Island myself. Love the islands too. Very quiet neighborhood, very nice people here. And, no, I didn't know there was a bamboo farm here. Do you know what the name of it is or can you tell me more? Sounds like a good adventure for me! Maybe take that one in before school starts (and it's coming fast!)

Ok, I'm going through my seeds here to see what else I can get into today . I just spray-painted 3 baskets from Walmart that had badly neglected Mothers' Day plants in them, and they finally marked them down to half price, with the Mothers' Day tags still on them! Lordy, I just about cracked up. Is it any wonder the little plants weren't doing very well - the baskets had plastic liners, and the pots were sitting in baskets half full with water! But, the kalanchoes were none the worse for the wear. I am getting the soil dried out to what is more normal, cleaned up the baskets with bleach to kill the mold, and they are freshly spray painted.

Sorry to drone on, gals, I'm just trying to learn and do things on a student's budget! Have a great rest of the weekend and thank you for being so nice and generous!
jeribelle

Some day when we don't have anything else to do, the bunch from Wilmington Island, Isle of Hope and Tybee Island are going to have to get together and have lunch or something.

Do you have any Confederate Rose? (or Cotton Rose if you don't feel like a Rebel) It's too late to worry about seeds but they will soon be ready to take cuttings to root. They root like crazy and you would have bloom from about the middle of August to the end of September, maybe later. They are bad about white flies, but I think they are worth it.

Don't worry, you'll learn about growing things here. I mostly just let them grow on their own. I hibernate in the Summer.
PB

I forgot to mention other two of my winter/early spring favorites: Nemophila "baby blue eyes and nemophila penny black - they are very 'winter hardy' here but germinate in warm soil. they are great as roundcovers or in hanging baskets or planters. They do not transplant well, so best to plant them in situ.

I think a get-together sounds wonderful! In our leasure, ha.

On the Confederate rose, I don't have any, but would be game to try one someday. I never grew roses before, and got 3 starts of roses from another GW person, which are all still alive! I wasn't sure I could grow roses, but I haven't killed them so far.

PB, on that summer hibernation - I sure wish I could sometimes. The heat is beastly here. But alas, summer is my only real gardening time these days, so I have to do what I can when it's hot. Things get ahead of me during the school year, but I can't be losing my scholarship over plants, now...hmmm, or can I?!

Thanks Micimacko, on the other suggestions. I'm looking through seeds right now to see if I have either, tho I don't remember seeing any in my goodies received, thus far.

Ladies, if I am successful (my disclaimer!), I MAY have some seedlings of some beautiful Calla lilies this fall. Cross your fingers for me, that they germinate and grow.

jeribelle

Excuse me! It is too early to start Nempohilas. They cannot stand hot weather and we have minimum 2 months of that ahead of us. So start them in late September...

The Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens are not far from your school, jerribele. It is on Coastal Hwy 17 before you get to Richmond Hill. Check it out, really cool bamboo ( lots of types) lots of different palms and experimental citrus. They hold a fall festival and have some plants on sale....also, the Confederate Rose is really more like a deciduous hibiscus like Rose of Sharon than a true rose. As to this weather....let's remember that we are havinga much cooler than normal summer, and that btruly bloody hot days will come again. We Islanders also have that sweet ocean breeze, which keeps us cooler in the summer, and warmer in the winter, than our mainland brethren. But yes, God, it is still hot. Just trying to keep seeing my glass "half full"!

Yes, Jeribelle, when you leave Armstrong (that is where you are going, right?) go on out Abercorn Ext. (Rt. 204) until you reach the exit to Hwy 17 south. Go south and The Bamboo Farms will be on your right. It is not well marked. You will come to a lot of bamboo behind fencing before you get to the gate which is sort of on a curve off of Hwy 17. If you make it all the way to the Richmond Hill exit, you missed it!

I haven't been out there in years! But I do try to keep up with what they have. The pick-your-own strawberry fields are quite popular.

do a search on www.floridata.com for Hibiscus Mutabilis to see what the double Confederate Rose looks like.
PB