28 Followers! It's Give-Away Time!

I had originally planned to do my first give-away when I reached 25 followers.  It's an important milestone for a blogger.  So, while I was  coming up with what I wanted to do, and waiting for everything to arrive, I gained another 3 followers.  So, I'm doing a give-away to celebrate 28 29 followers (29 followers as of Feb. 7, 10:30 PM).

Spring fever has hit me big time this year - and spring is still weeks away.  It really got bad when I got my catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a great little company here in Missouri a couple of hours away from the Shack.  This got me me thinking, wouldn't rare heirloom seeds make a great item for my give-away?  I know that I love to work in my yard every summer.  I look forward to it all year long.  I ordered double of everything here - one set for me and one for the lucky winner.  We can have twin flower gardens!

So, here's what you get:

5 packets of heirloom seeds and a 36 plant starter greenhouse, in case you just can't wait to sew them outside and want to get a head start on things.

First up: Mother of Pearl Poppy.  Here's what Baker Creek has to say about this variety of poppy:

"(Papaver rhoeas) A lovely mixture of misty and subtle shades. The late Sir Cedric Morris, painter and gardener, presumably years ago selected and named this mixture of pale and smoky colors as grey, lilac, mauve, pink, soft orange and white. Various flowers have flecking in the same tones and some delightful picotees. This refined mixture has a good balance of pastel colors. It is one of the most subtle poppy mixtures to grow in the garden. Easy, direct seeding on almost any soil, full sun or partial shade. Stunning!"

Up next:  Lilac Pompom Poppy:

"(Papaver somniferum) Amazing double and semi-double lanciniata-type flowers in delicate lilac color. The large, frilly blooms are truly eye-catching when they contrast to the bluegrey foliage of the plants. Just scatter the seeds of this hardy annual in early spring and wait for the colorful blooms. One of the most unique and beautiful poppies you can grow."

Bee Balm Lemon:

"(Monarda citriodora) An annual, lemon-flavored variety. Superb tea plant; striking pink-purple flowers, beautiful and tasty."

I have bee balm growing in my yard that I got from the local Master Gardener's sale a few years ago.  I didn't realize that it was an herb that could be used for making tea, but I did know that the leaves smelled great when you rubbed them between your fingers.  I've found that hummingbirds will come up to my bee balm.

Love-In-A-Mist Mixed Colors:

"A splendid mix of colors, with wispy, feathery foliage surrounding the beautiful blue, white, pink, and purplish-blue blooms. Love-in-a-mist dates back to English gardens of the 1570s. A very attractive flowering plant."

Lastly, I have a packet of seeds for Jet Black or Nigra Hollyhocks.  Here's what Baker Creek has to say about them:

"Biennial. Direct sow in spring or autumn. May behave as a perennial if cut back after bloom. This variety was mentioned in 1629, and was planted in the gardens at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson. This traditional variety is shockingly beautiful with its near black flowers and just a hint of red. Gorgeous planted out by the old white outhouse or in the back of your flower bed. A must for historical gardens. You’ll love this richly-colored variety."

I hope that the idea of adding historic plant varieties to your home excites you as much as it does me.  These are not the ordinary plants that you will run out to your local garden center and buy in flats.  These flowers will set your home apart from every other home on the block.  Of course, they have to be started from seed, but that's part of the fun of gardening!

Here's how it works:  each of my followers who leave a comment to this post will be entered for a chance at the prize.  Each entrant will be numbered in order of when they placed their comment (if you are the first to comment, you will be entrant number one, and so on).  I will then use an online random number generator to choose which entrant number is the winner, making this completely random.  The only thing is that you must be a follower of my blog to be eligible for the prize (I will double check the entrants with my followers list).  If you aren't a follower, please click the little "follow" button at the lower left of the page and then feel free to enter the give-away (I will only know if you are a follower if you choose the "Publicly Follow" option).  Entrants will be accepted until midnight, Friday, February 12.  The winner will be announced on Sunday, Valentine's Day.

Good luck to everyone, and thanks for following Cul-De-Sac Shack.  Without you, I would have no reason to blog!