Happy Monday GPODers!
While one growing season begins to wind down, the seasoned gardener knows that the time to prep for next year will be here before we know it. This is particularly true for those of us who grow plants from seed, like Doug Davis in Cazenovia, New York. Doug is sharing is flower-filled garden for the first time and the colorful containers that he planted up this year—much of which he started from seed in April. While winter can be long, the joys of flipping through seed catalogs and planning for next year’s garden can help make the cold days fly by.
My name is Doug Davis and I live in Cazenovia, New York, near Syracuse (zone 5b). I have always loved growing flowers and I grow many of them from seed which I start in April. I grow mostly in containers, but there are a few things in the yard, including the jasmine tobacco (Nicotiana alata, Zones 10–11 or as annual), the cleome, and calendula. I like to try something new every year, such as the Frosted Explosion ornamental grass (Panicum elegans ‘Frosted Explosion’, annual) and the Cherry Falls hanging basket tomato. I’ve had a very successful flower season so far. I am retired from working, but not from gardening!
Heirloom calendula—so prolific. Grown from seed 3 years ago. This is the 3rd year for this. I do nothing and it self seeds.
Cherry Falls tomato—Especially for hanging baskets. Started from seed.
Frosted Explosion ornamental grass—From seed. I love this, so different! Botanical name: Panicum elegans. Container also has lobelia, and a cascading-type plant with small white flowers and I don’t know the name.
Dragon Wing® red Begonia (Begonia ‘Bepared’, Zones 9–11 or as annual)
Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria, annual) does very well in a container! I love prairie wildflowers. Grown from seed.
Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, Zones 9–10 or as annual) is so showy, does great in a large container. I love grasses of all kinds.
French marigolds (Tagetes patula, annual) and hot pink geranium (Pelargonium zonale, Zones 9–11 or as annual).
Spider plant (Cleome houtteana, Zones 10–11 or as annual) and jasmine tobacco. The nicotiana is wonderfully fragrant in the evening. I grew both of these from seed.
Thank you so much for sharing your incredible plants with us, Doug! I’ve only recently gotten into starting vegetables and a few companion plants from seed, but you’re inspiring me to expand my plant palette next year.
Are you a seed starter like Doug? Do you cultivate a bountiful kitchen garden or are you fanatic about flowers and other ornamentals? Let us know in the comments, or consider sharing your 2025 garden with Garden Photo of the Day! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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To submit, send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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