Tag Archives: gardening

Easy Moss Crafts for a Beautiful Easter

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Easter is on April 5th this year, 2026. Although it is still 2 months away, I recently thought about some Easter creations. I made them with plants and moss a few years ago.

You can use sheet moss, Spanish moss, reindeer moss, mood moss, sphagnum moss, or faux moss. In my examples below, I used two or three types of natural live moss.

Easter Moss Wreath with Grape Vine Bunny Ears

Round Metal 12″ Wreath Frame
Natural Moss (different types)
Natural Grape Vine Twig Garland
Green florist wire
Ribbon

Making this wreath was rather easy. It does make a mess though because the moss will scatter bits here and there. I made them in my greenhouse. The moss was live natural moss I had in my stock. Moss can be kept in cardboard boxes in a cold environment, like an unheated garage. Some florists keep moss in their florist coolers. The wire wreath frame was in my stock from prior years of making holiday wreaths. I also had some florist wire from before. And the grape vine twig as well. At first, I didn’t know how to make the bunny ears, and the grape vine came to mind. Attaching the moss with the florist wire by just repeat wrapping is simple. The grape vine was bendable to I attached it to the wire frame as well.

I attempted to make bunny ears by using coat wire hangers and bending them into the bunny ear shapes. It worked too but was more time consuming. I preferred the grape vine ears instead.

I also like the look of just a simple natural moss wreath. There are actually several different types of mosses used in the wreath made shown above. Moss gives me a feeling of just enjoying nature. It is earthy, has an almost like soil smell, and pliable. If the moss needed a little moisture, just lightly spray it with a water bottle sprayer. Outdoors it lasts for months if not indefinitely. The moss on the one in the photo above was a combination. It included mood moss, which is wavy looking, and sheet moss. Sheet moss pulls apart in pieces. It works well to wrap a piece or section of it around the metal wreath frame. Then using florist wire, I just wrapped the florist wire around the tops. The florist wire, which was green, disappears as it gets pushed into the moss somewhat.

Square Wreath with Bunny in the Center

Square Double Rail Metal Frame
Natural Moss (different types)
Faux flowers
Green florist wire
Raffia ribbon
Cardboard (used either an empty cereal or beer box)

This one was made on a square wreath frame. In the center, I made a bunny. I cut a bunny shape using cardboard and used glue gun glue to glue moss over the bunny shape. It was rather easy and then I attached it in the center. The yellow flowers are faux material. It came out rather cute. The bow was made with natural raffia ribbon.

Next, is a bunny cut out project fun and simple to do with kids.

Bunny Sticks with Moss

Sheet moss
Glue gun with glue sticks (or other type of glue)
Raffia ribbon
Cardboard (used either an empty cereal or beer box)
Popsicle sticks
Green spray paint

Another crafty bunny idea was these moss bunny cutouts. I thought how this is an easy and fun project to do with kids. First, I cut the bunny shapes out using cardboard. I found that beer cases, like Budweiser beer boxes really worked well. It was easy to cut shapes with that type of cardboard. Or you can use empty cereal boxes. Wooden Popsicle sticks were used as the stick part. Then these can be inserted into things like potted plants or whatever. Again, I had natural raffia ribbon on hand to make the bow for the bunny’s neck area.

That year I decided to make kits with all the components to sell. I had spray painted the bunny cutouts with green spray paint. This helped to hide the print of the cereal box. I left the other side bare. It was a very easy and fun craft to do with kids. Use your imagination. Add eyes or a bunny tail!

The next project is hanging glass globes.

Hanging Glass Globes with Succulents and Bunny Figurines

Natural moss (recommend any type except Spanish or Faux Mosses)
Hanging Glass Globe
Decorative small bunny figurines
Faux decorative Easter eggs
Live plants (hens and chicks, jades, donkey tails, echeveria, or other succulents)
Potting soil (small amount recommended)
Activated horticulture charcoal (optional)
Glue gun with glue sticks (optional)
Round wooden craft like disk (size of a quarter, optional)

Before you start, be sure your decorative bunny figurine fits into the hole of the glass globe. Succulents can live in natural moss. The roots will naturally grow into the moss and the bit of potting soil below it. The activated horticulture charcoal, which is infused with oxygen, helps absorb odors. It is an optional item. If you don’t have any, don’t worry too much about it. But if you decide to use the charcoal, place a little bit of it over the well-draining potting mix before the moss layer.

The round wooden disks I mentioned in the items list are the size of a quarter coin. I used them to glue my bunnies onto. This helps stabilize them. I used some glue gun glue to attach it to a disk. Then I inserted it into the hanging glass globe. I do not recommend dry mosses that tend to rot which is what I feel Spanish moss does. Spanish moss may be green or light tan brown and it looks stringy. When it gets wet, it tends to stay too wet for the succulent plants. I prefer the other types of natural living mosses like sheet moss, mood moss, or others noted above.

The moss is the next step, tucking it around the bunny and onto the potting soil. Then comes adding the tiny succulent plants. Most of these were cuttings or really small hens and chick plants (Sempervivums). If you think the plant won’t stay in place, add a tiny dab of glue gun glue underneath. This will help secure it.

In this example next, I acquired tiny little bunny decor. So cute!

Are these little, tiny bunnies adorable or what? It made the project so cute. The nice aspect of these hanging glass globes is they function like mini terrariums. The succulent plant will grow very slowly. Once you are done with the Easter decorating season, you can remove all if you wish.

Add items you have on hand. Perhaps you have some nice stones or twigs to add. A pretty ribbon to hang it with or twine. You are only limited by your imagination. These make adorable gifts for your Easter dinner hostess. Every once in a while, add a tiny bit of moisture to the moss and let it dry between. You do not need to water it often. Only enough for the tiny root hairs of the small succulent plants. I’m talking less than a shot glass of water. Less is more with smaller hanging glass globes. I do not recommend spraying the moss with mists of water, it will only get the glass stained. The idea is minimal damp moss at times. If you wet it too much, things will rot.

Sometimes maneuvering my fingers into the globes was difficult. Tweezers or long bamboo like sticks can help. Use them to position items as needed. Once completed, hang them in indirect sunlight inside the home and away from super cold drafts. Remember, when including live plants, glass vessels are like mini environments. The open hole allows for air, and you will lightly water the moss at times. Don’t overdo the watering. If you happen to put too much water in there, carefully tip your glass globe to drain it out. Allow the moss to completely dry between watering cycles. Succulents can go for weeks without water.

The next project is making a centerpiece with live perennial plants.

In the background, you can see a terrarium fishbowl. Just like the hanging glass globes, the base components are important. Use the potting mix (well-draining types), activated horticulture charcoal, and live moss. A drainage layer, like pea gravel is beneficial as well below all of that. You can see I put a live orchard in the glass fishbowl terrarium. The pea gravel is important when using larger plants to allow for drainage in the vessel you use.

The last project shown is a big silver bowl with two plants. One is a Helleborus perennial. You start to see these at nurseries and stores during Easter time. Also commonly available are tulips. I just tucked each of these live plants into the silver bowl in their original growing nursery pots. Then, I used moss to cover that up. Then the fun part is just adding your own Easter decoration. By the way, the perennial (common name is lenten rose) takes partial to full shade and flowers March thru April. The leaves are evergreen and will stay green outdoors. They are one of the earliest perennials to bloom. They are also deer resistant.

Hopefully this post inspired you for the Easter season to come. Go get your supplies now so you can enjoy making them before the season arrives.

Cathy Testa
Date of this post: 2/10/2026

Cathy had a small business focused on container gardening. Today she and her husband are retired. They like to go camping so camping topics are being added to this blog site. Also, Cathy likes making holiday decor and is sharing some of her creations here as well. Some with plants and some without! Thank you for visiting.

Memorable Container Garden Designs to Revisit

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Here’s ten container gardens which I fell in love with and why from my past creations. I plan to show 10 at a time over the next months. Why? Because I will be deleting the photos from my database soon and it is a way to savor the memories!

Hanging Baskets with a Mix of Houseplants

One year, I created many hanging baskets with various houseplants for sale. The reason was the houseplants were gorgeous. Additionally, the hanging baskets had a drain hole with a removable plug. It is so important to have drainage for your plants so these hanging baskets would work well. The plants were also extremely healthy and I thought, “Why not?” I sold quite a few of them. Each had a different mix of houseplants. Houseplants have their own unique sets of challenges. To help reduce them, start with healthy plants, which these were. Look the leaves over and make sure there are no discolorations or signs of insect damage. Houseplants like warm temperatures during the day and cool at night. They would be fine hung outdoors in the summer in these hangers in the right spot. Most houseplants enjoy bright indirect light and do not take direct sun too well. Having them in hanging baskets allowed placement in the home or outdoors in summer. In the summer outdoors, use caution so it is not in full sun where it would burn the leaves. It is imperative to allow water to drain out of the pot, and in this case, a hanging basket. These had a removable plug. This allowed proper drainage. Otherwise, I would not have used hangers for these plants. Hopefully the plants continued to thrive for the customers who purchased them.

Balcony Spiller Plant on a High-Rise

This plant impressed me immensely. First, it tolerated the full sun conditions of a high-rise balcony, and it grew so fast and full. It would make my plant-based mind mouth water! I started with a small plant and it grew very long, spilling over the edge of square planters. This is why I refer to them as “spillers.” I wrote all about this plant in a prior post. It really had other amazing features like it is easy to take a cutting to root for more plants. The red blooms appeared all summer. The plant did not get any insect damage and was drought tolerant. Read the post below if you wish to learn more. The post has some more photos too. Click below for more detailed information.

Trailing Red Small Daisy Flowers that can Take it Rough

Blue Planter Box with Blue Wall and Canna Lily

One year a lady in my town was building and selling wooden garden planters. I had to have one and situated it on my deck. I stained the planter box and attached trellis wall with an aqua-blue colored stain. Then started to plant it with a mix of sun lovers. The tall canna lilies were stunning and grew to the top of the wall. Below in the base wooden square planter were succulents, flowering summer annuals, and lots of color. I blogged about this planter too. Here’s the post. It shows the progression of growth of the plants from start to later in the summer season. It also identifies all the plants. Click below for more.

My Aqua Blue Planter

Wedding Pots with Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’

I remember Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ being super popular one year. It has delicate white flowers. They are suitable for a wedding theme. These were used in wedding pots I rented to a customer one year. The client asked for blue pots and abundant flowers. I worked hard on these tending to them all summer and delivering them for the outdoor wedding. I wrote a blog post about them below. The nice thing about the white blooming plant is it can stand alone. It can also be used in combinations. Either way, it still looks lovely. Click the prior post link below for details about Euphorbia and the accompanying plants in these blue planters and pots.

Wasabi Coleus with Vivid Lime Green Coloring is a Top Performer

A Tapestry of Succulents and Hens-n-Chicks

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite creations. It was a square cement like colored planter on a high-rise balcony. I was thrilled to fill it with various small hen-n-chick plants (Sempervivums). I also used other unique succulents and dripping down spillers. I felt it was “magazine worthy” to be honest. I know I took a boat load of photos of this planter and the accompanying ones. I’m surprised I don’t have a post about them on this website, but I’ll research that more later. You can see I used small gravel to top dress the soil around the plants. This offered a more finished look. I placed Donkey’s Tail (Sedum morganianum) in two of the corners. This way, it would drip down over the edges of the square planter. By mid-summer, these plants were double in size! Some larger Echeveria plants were included (they look like rosettes). In the center is a stunning Aeonium (plum colored). All of these succulents were in top-notch condition upon planting them. The planter was seen from inside too. This offered a nice touch for admiring the plants all summer long. After the season was over, I removed many of them to continue propagating them.

Barrels with Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)

For years I planted two barrels in front of a package store in my town. One year, I used Rubber Trees. Why not I thought, they are an easy-care plant and have huge leaves and they should not be over-watered. Being watered infrequently is beneficial. The store owners sometimes found it challenging to find time for watering. But what really surprised me was how large they grew in one season! I stuffed some small houseplant ferns around the corners. The rubber plants were showstoppers. They grew wide and full. This particular Ficus had darker leaves and red tips which made it more striking. I was able to remove these plants and keep them a few more years longer inside my greenhouse.

Round galvanized pots

This one is more about the pots than the plants. I just loved these pots and had to have them. I placed some Agave babies in the three small pots. I also put a few succulents (Echeverias and a Hen-n-Chick) in the larger round pot. Each had a simple pre-drilled single drain hole in the bottom (a must). I took this particular photo on the deck next to my greenhouse one day. These ended up being moved to my large deck against my house. I didn’t sell them and still own those pots today. The agave plants outgrew them of course and were moved into larger pots later.

Round Urban Pot with More Succulents

This was one of the accompanying planters on the high-rise. I filled them that year with succulents, agave, and other heat lovers. As with the square planter noted above, I topped dress them with gravel or stone. It gave a nice, finished look plus it helps reduce splashing of water when watering or during rain falls. These plants thrived in a rough environment of heat and strong sun outdoors. Granted some succulents actually like less sun but these performed very well. Succulents like well-draining soil. They need good air circulation, and it would get breezy or very windy here. Some prefer bright indirect light, while others thrive in full sun. A moderate temperature is also ideal. They can handle extreme heat, which they did handle in these urban cement styled planters. Also, the outdoor location provided sun for half the day and shade for half. It was perfect because the shade gave them rest from the intense heat. The plant in the background with rounded shaped leaves is a Silver Dollar Jade (Crassula arborescens).

Thank you for visiting. Stay tuned for more features!

Cathy Testa
Date of this post: 2/7/2026

Cathy had a small business focused on container gardening. Today she and her husband are retired. They like to go camping now thus camping locations have been added to this blog in addition to plant stories.

Letting Go of Websites and Other Stuff

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I did it. Today I deleted another one of my websites called ContainerGardensCT.com. The website was primarily about my former service offerings as a plant person, such as container gardening and installing patio pots and such at people’s homes and on their balconies. It had some nice photos of plants and also a few articles, talking about what you could get for services by each season, and so forth.

As I have stated here and there, I’m technically retired, but it IS early retirement. It comes with letting go of some old passions and introducing new ones, such as our new camper adventures. I also no longer can lift heavy objects like I used to and that, with the combination of saving for travel, has reduced much of my former plant passions and work.

It is difficult to let go of my past plant writings and even more difficult to let go of my plant photos! But to maintain them at a cost online doesn’t make sense anymore, in my new early-retirement state of mind. However, like a band aid that must be torn off quickly, I deleted ContainerGardensCT.com quickly. I didn’t review the photos first or print the prior articles. I just did it quickly. Done!

Now, I will always love nature, plants, and all the wonderful surprises which comes from admiring nature and plants, like a butterfly visiting a flower to the abundance of bumblebees that recently covered the last fall blooms of my Stonecrop Sedum (Sieboldii). I had put two of these sedums in separate hangers and picked these sedums because they are very drought tolerant, thus while away camping, I wouldn’t have to worry about them not being watered often. They are also perennials, thus saves money when I would replant them somewhere in my yard in the fall after the hanger planter season is over. Saving money is also important as an early-retired individual.

What surprised me though was about 2 weeks ago, seeing all these bumblebees all over the sedums pink blooms. They were all sleeping (not sure if technical term) and not moving in the mornings. This lasted for a good week or so. During the day, they hovered and visited, and I couldn’t even attempt to water the plants there. They were not aggressive and kind of let me be as I took photos of them in the mornings.

They’d fly over and feed and then later in the day it was a scene to see them all frozen in sleep positions. That lead me to read about how all bumblebees die at the end of the season. I did not know this! Only the queen stays alive and hibernates in the ground. It was interesting to see that many, up to 20 bees on the plants, and also a bit sad knowing this was the end of their lives. Somehow it symbolizes the tragedy that we all face someday, that day we witness others face too. Anyhow, onto the sedum…

The Stonecrop Sedum Sieboldii is a full sun perennial plant and blooms in the fall, so if you like bumblebees, this is a great plant to have around in containers or hanging baskets like I did. It also has bluish-green foliage which draped over, perfect for a hanger, and prefers well-drained soils. It’s an easy-care plant for sure. I’m happy I had gotten two of them this year. They served multiple purposes.

Anyhow, the one website (blog) I still haven’t deleted is this one which you are reading on now. Container Crazy CT is still being visited by people. I noticed it recently, mostly folks looking for information on how to overwinter their canna lily rhizomes and elephant ears tubers. I’ve written about my process of taking them out of containers around early October and storing them in my basement in boxes many, many times. Just use the search bar and type in “overwintering” or canna lilies, or Ensete. You should find them. So, this blog site I still haven’t deleted yet. It still seems useful and has lots of articles I wrote for many years.

I mostly have the Alocasia elephants’ ears now. I grew only one canna lily plant from seed. Just one but it furnished a nice plant for the hummingbirds who loved the blooms in my tall patio container. And I have one big red banana plant (Ensete) which sadly it started to rot on the bottom this fall. I waited a bit too long to get it out of the soil.

We (my husband and I) went thru the process of digging that red banana plant (Ensete) out – It was on its 3rd year of growing in the summers, and it got huge! It was very heavy and when we dug it out – too wet, and it had been too cold, so it started to rot. I should have taken it out of the soil earlier, I thought to myself. Oh well, I knew I was risking it.

I told my husband to toss it in the woods after we dug it out and turned it upside down, when I saw the rot spot. He was like, “Really, this is your baby?” I had to remind him my baby Ensete was tossed 3 years ago after growing it for like 15 plus years. This one was only 3 years old, but it had grown quite a bit this season, was huge! Remember, these plants cannot stay outside over the winter here in my CT planting zone, so I always dug out my Ensete plant and stored the base (the stump so to speak) in the basement, and I did this for well over 20 years now. But this was one I just didn’t want to put away because I saw some rot and also it was soooo heavy. I don’t have the muscle power to deal with that anymore, I guess.

Anyhow, I am thinking that I may continue to use this blog site to not only write about plants, but maybe about some other things in my life and adventures. Perhaps my learnings as a new camper woman, maybe a bit about some other personal struggles, maybe I’ll write about a new craft I’ve tried, you name it. It doesn’t have to be just about plants, right?!

Speaking of crafts, if you know me, you know that I have created succulent topped pumpkins in the past. Well, no more succulent plants here really so I attempted to create a pumpkin topped with faux flowers. It came out pretty good for a prototype.

I used Loctite Tite Foam in a can (a product used to fill gaps and cracks). It comes out soft and then hardens. I sprayed it to the top of a pumpkin, let it set for about 30 minutes so it was a little harder but still somewhat soft, and then started inserting dry flowers (faux) and it was working!

My only HUGE MANDATE is do not use this foam product stuff without wearing gloves. OMG, if you get it on your hands or fingertips, that foam does not come off – TRUST ME ON THAT. I did have gloves on but later I tried to use some again to make a scary topped pumpkin and got some foam on my fingers – big mistake.

And note, the faux flowers and decor I inserted worked well if they were not heavy and had a stem to insert into the semi hardened foam. The foam ends up waterproofed too, so putting my pumpkin on a patio table outside was no problem. You may also spray paint the form once it is hard if you want to, but I didn’t need to on this faux flower version as all the pieces I used to decorate the top covered the white hardened foam very well when finished.

Oh, and I did grow those pumpkins in a container on my driveway this year. I got about 4 good pumpkins to play with. I love the Cinderella shape of these. They are fun to create with either faux flowers or succulents. You cannot use that spray foam for live plants or live succulents because it would kill them (too toxic for plants). See my prior blog posts about succulents on pumpkins on this blog, Container Crazy CT. Just search for “succulent topped pumpkins” if you wish to locate that prior blog post.

Well, that is my mix of topics for today. It is a little cloudy and a little chilly outside today. Somehow, I feel we are in for a cold snowy winter. Just a gut feeling I have. But this year, we plan to do a bit of time in a warmer state in late winter before it warms up here, hopefully! I may just blog about that later.

Have a good weekend,

Cathy T.
Zone 6b
Broad Brook CT
Container Crazy CT

Written on 10/24/2025

Topics: Blog Deletion, Bumblebees on a Sedum, Faux Topped Pumpkin, and more…

Rediscovering My Greenhouse: A Summer Cleaning Journey

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I was not in my greenhouse this spring sowing seeds or preparing other plant related things, because my husband and I retired. I tried to convince myself I could go without sowing seeds, growing things, nurturing seedlings, and propagating succulents, or whatever, I would do in my greenhouse in the spring. I decided I want to travel, so really, I won’t be here to water, coddle, care for my plant babies during the summer months. Plus, there is a cost associated with growing plants from seed such as seedling mix to nursery pots, etc. And I thought I should avoid that expense now that we are retired.

However, as the middle of summer hit, I thought this would be a good time to clean the greenhouse. What in 100-degree weather? During CT’s heat wave, you ask! Well, in the early mornings, it is a great time to hose all the dust off everything I left in the greenhouse, and it all dries very well as the heat rises to the point I can’t be in there.

This whole thing “cleaning the dust off” in the greenhouse got me daydreaming about my days in the greenhouse from years prior. Even when I close the slider door, there is a bang slam type of noise as the side of the door hits the frame, and that simple noise is something I heard repeatedly when I was in my greenhouse full time in the spring seasons. It gave me flashbacks. So did hearing the birds outside the greenhouse, seeing the trees sway outside the greenhouse, and just the simple things you experience in there when working in the quiet or sometimes with a speaker playing favorite tunes. Those moments when you are using your hands, hands in the soil, just being with the whole environment. My greenhouse was that place for me for lots of time in the spring, fall, and even winter. Usually mid-summer though, it would be just way too hot be working or playing in there.

But, I did think, well, it will be hot, I can grab the water hose, blast all, reorganize lots of stuff I had piled up here and there, and even hose down windows and doors. I started to take everything out of my antique school style lockers from spray bottles to tools, to cups, to plant labels, to bug sticky yellow traps, to scissors, magnifying glass, and anything else and hosed all the lockers down to remove dust and crime. It felt good, but it also brought lots of reminders of the projects I did in the greenhouse. For example, once, I tried stamping old spoons for a while and have a whole set of the stamp tools in the school lockers along with all my other plant related tools. It just brought back memories and made me realize the greenhouse was my true Zen woman cave. I spent lots of hours in there when sowing tomato plant seeds and it kept me busy. Then in the winters, I’d care for overwintered plants.

Anyhow, I realized I don’t think I can do without using my greenhouse. It is part of my soul. I thought about what ifs. What if I turned it into a pottery studio? But nah, I don’t want to invest in all that. What if we turned it into a place to sit and chill. Well, there is no chill in a greenhouse in the summer, way too hot. What if we covered the clear roof and made it another hang out room? Well, we don’t really need a hang out room in the summer in that heat. What if I just stored a bunch of stuff in there but then it just hit me, I truly miss it. I miss being in there working with plants. It was my thing, and it gave me a special vibe. So, I just may rethink that whole don’t use the greenhouse anymore ridiculous idea.

In the meantime, I’ll keep cleaning and sorting and removing things that I have too much of. And get it well organized so that next spring, I can sow seeds, I think. I told my husband the same, he agreed, it is my thing, and he will repair a problem in the roof for me this fall cause now he is home and can do so.

In the meantime, I just try to enjoy what I do have. I cut back on the plants in my patio pots, and went with just a few. To see empty pots or planters around my home is something I just try not to think about – and look away. LOL. I used to LOVE filling every corner of my deck with plants, but I cut back a lot. Meaning I didn’t grow as many and really tried to reduce this hobby expense.

Anyhow, the other day, changing the pace here a bit, I was sitting on a little couch near my kitchen, and I saw a big butterfly flutter by – and I thought, Oh My Gosh, is he going to my planter on the deck?! And he was – visiting the pentas annual pink flower heads and I was able to take photos of a beautiful large swallowtail butterfly. That made my day between the whole greenhouse cleaning reminiscing phase! Maybe it was a little sign. Keep going he said, don’t give up your plant greenhouse passion!

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT blog
CT location

Seed Starting Tips for Early Spring Gardening

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I have been reflecting on how I was very much into seed starting a few years ago, and wow, during COVID, it was a big time to sow seeds as well. In fact, I remember selling out on seed packets I had in my stock and some seed starter kits I had assembled, because people were having difficulty getting seeds mailed at that time. Everyone wanted to start seeds and drove over to my house to pick up their seed packets with masks on and I had a basket was sitting on my driveway that was cleaned for every pickup due to COVID. We’d wave to each other through my kitchen door window.

The COVID days pick up basket with seeds and seed kits.

Anyhow, there were some seeds I had started in seedling trays for indoor growing a good 10 weeks before our last spring frost date of mid-May. You see, I always used May 12th as my estimated last spring frost date here in my area of Connecticut, and some seed packets would indicate to start seeds 6 to 10 weeks or 8 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost date. Examples were Pica Chile Mix Peppers, Chives, Salad Savor, Oxheart Tomato, and Lemon Drop Peppers. So yes, in March, I was starting “some” seeds to get an early start on the whole process. Then continue in stages based on seed types, like some are sown much later.

That seems so early to start seeds in March, right? But these plants required that much time. You could pick any time between those 8 to 10 weeks for example, and 10 weeks was March 3rd, or is March 3rd. Anyhow, this would require getting my greenhouse ready with seed starting supplies out, and things like that.

Loved these trays. I also did one seed per cell. Some people might do seeds more per cell.

This year I am not into sowing seeds, and I probably would only do some pumpkins which isn’t required till later to start those seeds. They don’t require as many weeks before the last spring frost date. I don’t do as many now cause I’m technically retired and I don’t plan on being home all the time to monitor everything like I did before. Remember, seeds cannot be left alone for weeks at a time, even days, they must remain monitored, watered, warm, etc. You have to watch for problems too. If you are not tending to them, forget it.

Anyhow, seeds in the seed packets remain viable for 3 to 5 years in general if stored appropriately. There are some exceptions like parsley. So, I still do have some seed packets in my stock, but some are getting a little older. I gave some seed packets as Christmas gifts this year to family. I always had certified organic seeds in beautiful seed packets which were art packets really. I also selected easy to grow types too.

Happy me doing a selfie with a Fox Cherry tomato baby. Yup, I was obsessed. And there were two! I broke my rule – but basically you take one out later.

It’s important when you buy your seed packets to have information, and the seed company I used always provided detailed information in their seed packets and on their website. But I also created lots and lots of helpful seed starting charts with calendars and documentation to anyone who got seeds from me.

Some of the seeds which I sowed that were required in the 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost date were: Goldie Tomato, Cherokee Purple Tomato, and Bumble Bee Cherry Tomato – yum! Also, Mandurang Moon Tomato, Matchbox Peppers, Stone Ridge Tomato, and a big favorite was Fox Cherry Tomato! So those were sown between 3/31 to 3/17 usually.

Sowing seeds kept me busy – that is for sure. Because I worked from home, I was constantly checking on their progress, making sure the soil (seed starter mix) was at the correct moisture levels, watching the grow lights, heat mats, and greenhouse temperature. One year, I grew 400 tomato plants! Wow!

My beauties after they were in seed trays, grew larger, and then transplanted to larger pots.

I got a lot of exercise when the plants were large enough to go outside after May’s last spring frost date would occur. Hardening off plants to acclimate them by taking them outside for a few hours each day, but I also monitored them, if it got windy, I’d check if I should move them back into the greenhouse. One day I set up a time lapse camera to show me going back and forth with my tomato plants. It was comical.

For a while, I had just the bare ground to put them on but a few years later, my husband built a small wooden deck floor for me so I could work better and not fall on my face as I did one year when I took a misstep carrying a tray of tomato plant seedlings. Boom on the ground I went.

Some of the seed mixes I tried. I also would buy bulk quality soil mix too. They key is the soil mix for sure. Wrong soil, lots of problems. That is a whole other topic but buy good fresh “seedling mix” for your seeds. Don’t use crap soils.

At the 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date, I sowed Paul Robeson Tomato, Honey Drop Cherry Tomato, Mikado Tomato, Sacred Basil, and Shishito Peppers. That was around April 14 to March 31 for sowing period. The Honey Drop Cherry Tomatoes were to die for. Everyone loved their sweet flavor. Those were addicting.

Anyhow, the sowing periods continued all the say till 3 weeks before the spring frost date, so the three weeks before was around April 21st. That is when I would sow some Tiny Tim Tomato and New Yorker Tomato seeds into the trays. By the way, I’m referring to showing seeds in the seed starter trays indoors to grow inside the greenhouse on heat mats until they sprouted, got a little bigger and then under grow lights.

I didn’t use grow lights initially when I started my sowing adventure and was successful but then I decided to invest in a grow light to make things grow better and stronger. It helped. As I always told everyone, remember the sun is hidden a lot during winter months by clouds, so you need that sunshine. On very sunny days, the greenhouse could get very warm, but the sun was lacking at times for sure.

A sunny happy day in my greenhouse! This must have been more towards April.

There were many more examples. It kept me busy in the winter months of March, where we do start to feel a bit better after January and February are over! This year I’m not into this cold weather. I tried to embrace it – even went to Quebec City for the Winter Carnival! We had a fun time freezing our butts off, but when I got home, I’m like I’m sick of the cold weather. That was enough fun freeze time for moi.

A nice view of a nice tomato plant getting larger.

Isn’t it funny how things change? Here I was a few years ago, full blown seed starter woman, and now I don’t do them except talk or write about it here. I’m sure once the weather improves, I’ll go thru my pile of left over seed packets and see if I should try one, get some seed starter mix, and place a seed into soil once again.

Here are a couple of photos of us trying to embrace winter before seed sowing season starts:

Us in Quebec City for Winter Carnival trying a maple shot that was delicious, cold, and sweet! I don’t know what made it milky, but it was creamy like. Steve loved the shot glasses made of ice.
I haven’t had maple syrup on snow (called tire in French) since I was a kid in Canada. I couldn’t eat all of this cause too sweet now for me, but I had to try some! Yummy. And fun!

Thanks for visiting!

Cathy Testa
Date of this post: 2/25/2025

By the way, as soon as I got home freezing in Quebec City, I caught a cold. Ugh. So that was a period of feeling awful, coughing, etc. It is really going around quite a bit here in CT. Come on better weather – we all need you!

More Tips:

Use fresh quality seedling mix
Read the directions on the seed packets
Look at the calendar now – some start in March
Count back the weeks from the last spring frost date in CT to know when to sow (based on packet instructions)
Watch and monitor your soil moisture and temp
Pray for warmer weather soon

Fall is Here; Overwinter Plants Soon

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Wow! It’s been a very long time since I’ve written a plant related blog post. Times have changed for me since entering the world of early retirement. It is difficult to have as many plants as I have had in the past because of the care involved, and my goals have changed. To travel means needing care at my home for plants while I’m away, and this is not always possible, so I cut back on having lots and lots of plants. And I also tried to focus on drought tolerant plants, so they won’t need as much watering when I’m away on travel.

I didn’t plant as much either to reduce care needs. But I still have the very serious addiction of needing plants on my deck at home. And to save money, another retirement requirement, I want to still overwinter plants as best as possible to reuse them next year in the summer again.

I have written many times how I’ve stored my red banana plant (Ensete) and Canna Lily rhizomes, and elephant ear tubers (both Alocasias and Colocasias) but it bears repeating my basic steps to remind those who ask this time of year.

Frost Expected Soon

A frost is expected later this week on Thursday, 10/10/24, this year. Tropical plants may be touched by frost if you are storing the underground parts (tubers, rhizomes, corms, etc.), but if you want to store the plant in its pot, it is best to move it before frost, so the foliage doesn’t get damaged, stressed, or destroyed from the chills. Move them in tomorrow or the next day, before the frost hits.

Agaves Disassembled

I also move in Agaves as best as possible into my home, but space is limited. I no longer heat my greenhouse (again to save money for retirement fun), so that option is out. In the past, it was no problem to store my Agaves in my low-temp greenhouse over the winter, so they just barely hung on. And then return them outdoors the next summer, but now I have to move them inside the home.

A few of my agaves got very crowded in their pots because of the side shoot babies which had been forming, so my tactic for taking care of those was to take the agave out of its pot, remove all the babies by carefully tugging them away, trying to keep roots if possible, and then placing the babies in mason jars filled with water to sit for a while. This will encourage new roots. Then for the momma agave, I pruned some roots and remove soil quite a bit to fit it into a smaller pot and then move them inside the home in a space I have by my indoor slider. Done!

The baby agave plants may look a little tattered or uneven but give it time. Soon these will have fresh roots, I’ll replant them into very small appropriately sized pots and let them grow. The shape will be normal over time, and they can grow as big as my big agaves have. This particular agave is Kissho Kan. These plants inside the home of the winter are kept on the dry side, barely watering, and in some sun by either my bedroom or kitchen slider doors. They are easy to overwinter if you have the space.

Agaves in mason jars with water above photo

Alocasia Tubers

I still have to work on my Ensete and other big pot on my deck, but I managed to take apart one of the alocasias in a smaller pot. I cut off all the foliage first, then dig out the base with roots if possible, and some will have the brown papery covering on the tuber area whereas the smaller sides shoots often do not, either way, I store the alocasia tubers in my basement in boxes with just paper wrapped around them or as a bed (like crunched up newspapers). They can go a bit on the dry side and I make sure to have some slits or air holes in the boxes used to store them. This works fine in an unheated basement that does not go below freezing. Colocasias (elephant ears) are stored a bit more on the moist side by using peat as a bed material in the box. Before moving them into boxes (either plastic or just your basic cardboard boxes), I leave the tubers to sit in the sun for a week or days for a while. I don’t put them in immediately. I may even leave them to dry some on a table in my basement if it becomes too wet outdoors due to rain etc.

These plants (the alocasias) can grow very very large, and the tuber gets bigger and bigger each year. I still have quite a few of those to do. The next two days will be sunny so that helps. The alocasia plants have the elephant ears where the tips point upwards to the sky. Regular elephant ears (Colocasia) point downwards. I didn’t do any of the regular ones this season. I’m kind of hooked on the alocasias.

This planter above is my next project. I have to say the alocasia is paired with the most beautiful Coleus Limewire. It is so huge right now; it will be sad to cut it down! It has done wonderfully has a filler plant with the tall alocasia. The burgundy foliage edged with lime green was just stunning when hit by the sun, and the plant was tiny when started, now it is huge! You can also see there is a eucalyptus plant stuck in there, first year I’ve tried one. It is super tall right now and I’ll probably give the plant to my niece. She likes the smell of those plants, but I find the smell disagreeable. However, while it is living in the pot, I haven’t smelled that scent, guess it is when it is cut down.

I took this photo this weekend so I could have a reminder of how large this Ensete (red banana plant) grew this season, which is only year 2 of it. I stored it last year, and it shot up a lot this year with growth, and I have to remind myself to plant it in the larger planter next year, because it fell over twice during windy storms here – thankfully the pot/planter did not crack! I was trying to encourage my black cat to pose with me, she wasn’t having it – she wanted to walk around the deck. Her name is Mini and she is our treasure pet! We just love her. She never bothers my plants, it is like she knows, they are important to me, just like she is.

Anyhow, tomorrow I will start to take these apart and store them and will show the steps but here’s some links from prior posts about the processes I have followed with success.

Please note: Years ago, I would put moist peat with my Alocasia tubers, but no longer. I use paper for those, and it works better. That is for the Alocasias specifically. (For Canna Lily rhizomes, I use peat, and for Colocasia regular elephant ears, I use peat).

Plant Take Downs – Alocasia and Ensete
Red Banana Plant, Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’
Overwintering my Alocasia Plants

Hope this is helpful.

Enjoy your day!

Cathy Testa
Broad Brook/East Windsor, CT
Date of this post: 10/7/2024

A New Year

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A New Year is coming up in just a few days, and what is in store for 2024? It is hard to tell. Things are changing for me. My husband has retired. It feels surreal! It is amazing, and it is an adjustment. New days are coming.

We now feel we will have time to do some gardening together for a change. While he has always been the most enthusiastic helper to my plant endeavors over the years, even learning some of the plant’s Latin names, we could not actually physically build a garden together at our home because he was always so busy with work.

I always fill our long deck along the back of our ranch style home with container gardens filled with plants of all kinds and some vegetables over the years. Tomato plants and hot pepper plants are two of our fav’s. But we have done others like Edamame and pumpkins, just to name two! And of course, many big planters filled with wonderful tropical plants like Ensete, Colocasias, and Canna Lilies.

Steve, my husband, always helped me with the heaving lifting of bringing up pots with a hand-truck to our deck, but sometimes, I was on my own and that is probably how I strained some muscles here and there. We are both getting older and need to be careful with that.

We always dreamed of having a large, raised bed type of garden system in our backyard. One where there are several raised beds in a pattern to walk through, with a fence and arbor entrance. However, one of our big dilemmas is the wild animals! There are plenty in our yard from groundhogs to squirrels. In fact, I usually allow the groundhogs to keep their home under a shed and have babies which are cute to watch scurry across the backyard when they see or hear us at the house or on the deck, but now, how will we ever keep them away if we build our dream vegetable garden in our backyard?

Wild animals have become one of the biggest challenges to gardeners. Some people will put gardens in the front yard or lawns, closer to the street, and that may help keep pests away. However, our front yard is a big hill so that wouldn’t work. Plus, there is no water access up on our front hill.

Sometimes I think we will take down our pool now. It is more costly to maintain. The bucket of chlorine tabs of supplies went up so much in price that we don’t think it will be worth it. The pool filter always breaks, and we are not home in the summers all the time, so we can’t watch the filter basket – stuff like that. Could that area be our new garden space if we did remove our pool? Not sure. Even if it was, it would have to be foolproof to protect from the pests.

That is just one of our goals. I always also grew tomato plants from seed, and it is a wonderful experience. I don’t see the hubby tending to those, but maybe we could grow the plants in our greenhouse till fruit time, but a greenhouse can get very very hot in the summer, maybe too hot to set fruit. Fans and screens need to be maintained, and I suspect insects would be a bigger problem in the greenhouse rather than outdoors where there are more natural insect predators to help. So, I’m not sure on that idea. Maybe I will test it out this year for the first time though. Maybe with smaller tomato plants, like some cherry tomatoes because inside the greenhouse, groundhogs and squirrels can’t enter.

One friend suggested just using the community garden space in our town for a garden, but I would really like to tend to a garden at my home and be able to enjoy it daily. Our backyard is totally surrounded by woods and the river runs down in the back which brings along many types of wild animals. Deer is another. And we all know here in CT how deer love to eat plants. It is like I need a fortress.

We also have lots of home improvement ideas brewing in our minds but which to do first will be the big question. I’m sure we will make a list and decide from there.

Also, I’m kind of semi-retiring myself. I am no longer offering my container garden services and have closed down my business officially via paperwork, but I will always still dabble in plant fun. The other big question is, do I keep my plant blog going?

Can you believe, I’ve written on this blog, Container Crazy CT, for over 15 years? I do have quite a few visitors per my stats, and I added ads this year only because I need helping with maintaining it. For many years, I never put ads on here. I just freely wrote articles to share.

I wonder how much I would miss my blog if I stopped it all together? I have even looked up things on my own blog before to remind me on what I did for this or that. I don’t get many “likes” on this blog on the actual posts – I think it is because people need to log in to do so, and today, clicking likes and heart is so easy for every other platform from Instagram to Facebook, so I think my blog is a bit old fashioned in comparison. It is not so easy to just click like.

When spring arrives, I will have to decide what my new adventures may be. I have often dreamed of getting a pottery wheel and doing pottery in my greenhouse as a new gig. But the expense of a kiln may be too much. Someone told me the other day you can bring pottery to be fired elsewhere – I’ll have to research that. That was always one of my dreams to make my own pottery items.

But the ultimate dream would be to just move to Hawaii. Yup, that kidding husband of mine jokes – Let’s do it – knowing full well he probably would NEVER agree to that! And yes, Hawaii is way too expensive! But dreaming is a good thing – we all should dream – one never knows.

Welp, if you feel like commenting on your thoughts – let me know. Just a week ago, my cousin’s son told me he was researching plant stuff and came across one of my articles from this plant blog. I thought, oh gosh, I hope it was a good article because he is super smart and a talented professional horticulturist himself. What was he looking up? How do deal with squirrels in the garden! Go Figure.

Happy New Year’s to You all. I hope you have some new goals in mind for 2024 too – even if they are unclear like mine.

Cheers!

Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT
Broad Brook, CT

Top Nine

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When watching talk shows the other day, I realized so much was being shown regarding the “Top Nine” app used to generate the top nine photos in a grid format from Instagram feeds and it perked my curiosity.

I caved and did it – and here it is:

Top Nine 2019 by C Testa Copywrite_0002

Apparently, this is not an “Instagram” thing but a separate app but using Instagram – and it became popular and a bit of a trend. We may all assume the reason why? Because your curiosity kills the cat – you have to know – Gee, what is my top nine (most liked or most engaged photos of the year) per some app? Well, mine are above.

To be honest, it surprised me which were selected. How do they determine which photos are selected? I guess it is based on likes, shares, and engagement? Not sure, and I don’t have the right mind after the holiday hoop-la to research that aspect right now, but I did find it interesting and a bit of fun to use the app to find out.

My Photo Grid Explanation:

From left to right (starting from the top row), I thought it would be entertaining to say what I think of each of these photos which were generated by the Top Nine app.

The Jade Plant (Crassulas) – Ah, this is one plant I became involved with in 2019. Meaning, I propagated it (made cuttings and grew new plants) from it quite a bit. It is rather easy actually. I also used this plant in some of my install jobs in various containers. And offered them in my succulents workshops. But what would make it a top photo is the fact that I feel I can grow them myself and they are healthy and happy! Maybe people enjoyed the photo due to the Indigo Blue Background which is a popular color right now I heard.

The Beach Shot – That was a vacation my husband and I took last year in Naples, Florida. I wanted to make sure we’d go see the sunset which I had read about being wonderful on this beach, and we joined many other people that day doing the same. I guess that is a good photo, right? And it WAS a great afternoon waiting for the sun to set.

The Yellow Peppers – Grown from seed, hot and tasty. I love these yellow long banana shaped peppers, which I wrote about in my seedlings topics on this blog and for the workshop which I offered on seed starting last year too. So, yes, I agree on this photo. The peppers were easy to grow, abundant, and we ground them up after drying them in the oven to make hot pepper flakes of the yellow variety. They did not go wasted. My husband loves hot peppers and he shook those flakes on his various meals many times. We went thru two jars of the hot pepper flakes. Great for chili recipes too.

The Blue Pots – Ah, yes. I was on the hunt for a client, trying to find pots. I kind of knew these weren’t the right ones. I had put them on the floor and took a photo. You will see my hiking boots there as I looked down in the photo. But for some reason, this photo was popular with people on Instagram. However, it was not quite the right fit and I later found a better style and color for my clients’ needs. But that was a journey on a day of hunting for just the right patio pots. Pinch me – I love that type of work.

The Flyer in the Window – My workshop flyer was posted in a local package store’s window. I always appreciate when they share my flyers about my workshops. I guess that day, it was noticed quite a bit and thus, another top nine. I would say these clients are tops too. They have hired me for years to install their store-front pots. I do think the flyers look great in their store’s windows. Thank you!

The Cacti Cans – I pounded small drain holes in the bottom of soup cans with a hammer and nail last year and inserted a cactus in each. No drill required which I loved. And I even hand-stamped the sides of some of the cans with words and added chains to some to hang the cans. They are adorable. However, in the rain, one thing I forgot about is the cans start to rust. I did’t like the rusty look. That day a flower was blooming on one, as you can see, and it was adorable, so I snapped a photo.

The Burro Tail Sedum – I obtained a stock of these from a grower to provide in my succulent related workshops last year. Everyone loves these plants, which drip down into long tails as they grow over time. They work well in hanging baskets – which was a topic I offered last year too. These plants are great fillers in arrangements and easy to grow, drought tolerant and long living.  I still have some growing in my hanging baskets in the greenhouse now. I can see why a popular photo – and those who got them in my workshops surely loved them. Thanks to my amazing grower, I obtained a nice stock of them last year.

A Photo of Me – From many years ago. What I like about this photo is that my red head planter, the little red table with red chairs, and the red blooms of the Canna Lily plants in the background were all happening. I spray painted that little round table and the chairs red. It was a freebie find on the side of the road one day. My sister was annoyed cause it was on her street when I found it as I was leaving her house. She joked that was supposed to be her free find. 

The Cherry Tomato Leaf – This is all about my obsession with plants. I love taking close up shots of plants and their structures. It was also probably popular cause we all dream of eating fresh tomatoes. The photo was taken in March or early April, and the handwriting on the label is not mine – it is of an attendee’s who came to my workshop on seed starting last year. That will be my first project, setting up the Seed Starting Workshop for 2020. I can’t resist doing it – it was very rewarding. Seats will be limited because the plants are kept in my greenhouse until they are ready to be planted outdoors. Unless, of course, I got a bigger greenhouse.

By the way, this is what CNN has to say about the Top Nine app and trend. You may want to read their article before you try it!

Have a good start to your first week in 2020.

Best regards,

Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com

Other Cathy T sites:

www.WORKSHOPSCT.com
www.ContainerGardensCT.com

 

 

 

 

Planning Ahead is required if you Want to Start Plants from Seeds

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Before going into why growing plants from seed is extremely rewarding, fun, and even spiritual, let’s discuss why planning ahead is so important.

Planning Steps

First – You need to consider our climate and planting zone because you can’t move new, tender seedlings outdoors until it is safe for them to grow. In order to plan for this appropriately, you really need to prepare a plan of when to start your seeds. Your very first step is finding out what your last spring frost date is for your planting area and then work (count) backwards on your calendar. How many weeks you need to count back from the last frost date depends on the type of seeds you are planning to sow.

Second – You need to make a calendar or chart to plan out each variety of seed you plan to sow. Making a calendar is important because if you start seeds too early, the seedlings or starter plants will be ready before it is safe to move and grow them outdoors. Starter plants (seedlings) waiting inside will start to grow too large and this will cause growing issues which may result in unsuccessful plants when planted outdoors. And the opposite will happen if you start seeds too late, you will end up not having them ready in time for the outdoor growing phase and the plant’s fruits will mature too late to harvest them.

Third – Seeds sown need to be transitioned from cell trays to larger pots, and then transitioned during a hardening off stage – all before they are transplanted into your gardens or container gardens outdoors. If all three of these steps above are not thought out in regards to timing, you could waste some valuable and enjoyable growing time of your treasured starter plants, and not to mention waste soil, water, and other resources.

While it is not as complicated as it may seem, it is a bit of a process to plan these steps out if you want to increase your chances of success. It requires some pre-planning and organizing.

The good news is, after some seasons of practice, trial and error, and success, you start to master the process and develop some of your own successful methods and routines which you acquire along the way. Truly rewarding, and a bit addicting.

So where do you begin if you are a beginner?

There are many seed planning charts out there, websites, planting apps, and helpful resources to determine all of this planning and calendaring information, but in my opinion, it is not as easy as a “click” and marking the date on your calendars.

You want to plan ahead AND make a schedule. And now (late-Feb) is about the time to do this planning effort, if not sooner. It takes a bit of thinking, organizing, and considerations.

Even thinking about how many plants you are able to grow based on your layout of containers or patio pots and/or garden space at your home is necessary. And thinking about what types of vegetables you want to grow and why – do you enjoy them for cooking, slicing, snacking, sauteing, or even grinding for flakes to use in recipes? All of these aspects should at least be pondered upon during your planning process in order to avoid some pitfalls or disappointments.

Thankfully, my upcoming “Seed Starting Sessions” are here to guide you.

I have already done much of the “planning and calendaring” legwork for my upcoming seed starting sessions in March and April. In these sessions, we will go over how to do the planning so you will be prepared when you go do this on your own next season, and we will plant various tomato and pepper seeds in large trays to grow in my greenhouse.

You will learn about the how to’s of sowing, about various soil mixes, appropriate tools and how to maintain them, and potential problems you may encounter. You will learn all of this while attending these sessions in my greenhouse, so we will go over some information on what to consider in a hobby greenhouse growing environment as well – which is a bonus.

In April, you will revisit your seedlings, see your progress, and make any necessary adjustments. Or if you wish, you may take your trays home to watch the germination and growing process while you maintain all steps there. It is up to you!

Seed selection is always key in regards to timing.

Even before the planning and calendar phases, the fun phase of selecting seeds is another important step. Starting plants from seed gives you the wonderful option of growing unique and favorable varieties based on your style and tastes. Often these unique varieties are not found in local garden centers.

If you want to sow something out of the ordinary, selecting seed ahead is important and should be planned ahead, which I have done for my upcoming seed starting sessions.

I use a trusted, reputable, and well-orchestrated seed company. We will be sowing cherry tomato seeds as well as seeds of various large tomato varieties. We have hot peppers and sweet peppers on the list. Each I hand-picked due to various traits – such as, they are reliable, easy, produce a large harvest, and yummy.

Some varieties chosen are ideal for snacking and others perfect for enhancing flavors of sauces. Some are large slicers for sandwiches and others are decorative in pots when they flower too – after all – container gardening is always key on my list.

Other varieties selected grow well in hanging baskets and some in large pots. One really special seed variety I have chosen produces 3 lb. fruit – imagine that?! And most importantly, all the seeds are certified organic, heirlooms, and/or open pollinated.

Lastly, there will be other seed types to mix into the planting trays for herbs, salads, or flowers. You will have some flexibility of choices in your large seed tray to sow and grow.

Dates of the Seed Sessions are March 23 (Part I) and April 13 (Part II):

In regards to planning ahead, now is also the time to sign up and get on the sessions list. Seeds are so fun to grow – you learn the process and are able to grow many varieties and many plants.

Some of your new seedlings you could pass along to your children or grandchildren to grow in their kid’s garden, and some you may want to give away as gifts, but I bet your bottom dollar, many you won’t be able to part with after you learn about the great aspects of growing plants from seed and value that you grew them yourself, not to mention the taste! Fresh is best – we all know homegrown tomatoes are out of this world compared to store bought – you would be nuts not to agree!

Growing plants from seeds takes some time and considerations on where you will grow them, and as started above, proper planning – but it also saves you money because you can grow so many more for the price of one transplant from a garden center. And because most of the legwork, materials, and tools are being prepared right now for my upcoming seed starting sessions, it will save you time and the need to go get materials, seeds, and tools on your own. And the materials are reusable.

And not to mention, by attending, you are gaining valuable space to put out your seed trays with heating mats to warm the soils, and natural sunlight of a greenhouse for their growing environment. If you rather take your trays home to keep them going, that is an option. We hope you will consider joining us and plan ahead.

To learn more, visit www.WORKSHOPSCT.com, and feel free to ask any questions in advance.

Cathy Testa
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/containercrazyct/
Location: Broad Brook, CT

April is Warming Up Slowly

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Good Morning Friends,

As you know, if you live in Connecticut, it is taking a bit longer for April to warm up this season, but that hasn’t stopped me from potting up my canna rhizomes and getting my precious seeds in seedling trays.

I thought now is a good time to provide some quick updates on happenings with Cathy T as we kick off the spring season and look forward to summer.

April 2018 Cathy Testa CCC Copywrite_0003

Visit Container Crazy CT’s Page to View

First up, this week is a free Facebook Live on Wednesday, April 11th, 10:30 am Eastern to show my micro-greens growing process in a 20-30 minute demonstration. Following the demo, if you are interested in a starter kit to give this a try, please contact me (form below) or just text my telephone noted below as well.

Note: This will be the only free showing this year – don’t miss it if you like to eat healthy and nutritious micro-greens which are delicious – all year, and very nice in summer too, when we have fresh tomatoes to go with your homegrown and fresh micro-greens.

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Seeds for sale and Starting seeds

I’ve been planting up seeds like crazy this month – cherry tomatoes and big tomatoes (shown above) as well as basil, moon flowers, edamame, peppers, lettuce, etc. Some will be for me for my container gardens at home to enjoy, and others are for friends requesting I grow some for them. If you are in need of some seeds, and are local, hurry up to contact me – I have plenty of wonderful varieties above. And remember, some seeds grow well in patio pots (radish, kale, lettuces, herbs). I have some growing right now – wonderful to have at your finger tips.

Note: Seed packets make amazing gifts – put a mini succulent with it – and voila.

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Canna in a 5″ Square Pot

My winter stored rhizomes, tubers, and corms are starting to wake up from hibernation. I am planting up Canna lily, Elephant Ears, and getting my prized big red banana plants out into pots to give them an early start. I’ve offered to “hold” the canna and elephant ears for anyone interested. They should be ready by end of May or a bit earlier for your container gardens.

Note: Limited supply and based on success – or not – I hope all will go well, and will keep those who have asked to “reserve” one posted on the progress. They will start in the 5″ pots shown above and potted up as needed. Prices are based on pot and plant sizes. Details will be emailed to you if you wish to have one held for you.

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Cacti are Blooming

It is so nice to see this vivid yellow in the greenhouse – my cacti are blooming. This was a cacti garden made last Halloween for fun and I’m enjoying the colors.

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With Succulents

Heads Up — If Interested! I’m holding my first terrariums workshop at the Granby Senior Center on May 9th. It will be with succulents and cacti. It is a daytime session at 1 pm on a Wednesday. Please contact the center to sign up. See their newsletter (last page) to see the complete details and price.

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Note: We need a minimum of 8 attendees to hold the terrariums session at the Granby Senior Center, and the sign-up cut off date is April 20th. Please signup soon if want in.

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Succulent Hanging Basket (Birds Not Included)

This succulent hanging basket is on reserve for a client. I would be happy to make more now and keep them growing so they are ready for you by end of May to put outdoors when it is warm enough. Holler if you want in.

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Canna Cleopatra

This canna rocked my world last year. The foliage is mixed dark tones and green plus the flowers bloom both red and orange blooms on the same flower bud. I am growing some of these too. Again, supplies are limited, so if you think you want me to reserve you one, contact me below.

Note: Must pick up your Canna by May 25th in Broad Brook, CT. Supplies limited.

Lastly, hopefully my regulars saw that I will not be offering a May Container Workshop this season. However, I will have beautiful succulents in stock starting in early May – and I also will be offering Terrarium Kits with 10″ bubble bowls, all the interior components, and the plants. Just ask if you have any interest and hope to see you soon.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Thank you,

Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com
www.WORKSHOPSCT.com
http://www.CONTAINERCRAZYCT.com
Location: Broad Brook, CT