flora_uk, I can still see ungerminated seeds delightedinco, I tried the Scotts EZ Seed too - it sometimes worked, and it's very convenient to use (I like the built-in spreader on the smaller containers - the gardening newbies this product is aimed at are not going to own seed spreaders or roto-tillers, don't know what kind of soil or fertilizer to use, and have no idea what 5 lbs. per 400 feet looks like when spread. But it is so expensive for what you get). I bought it only because Scotts used to have $5-off discounts on it. Pennington has a similar product as part of their Smart Seed line that's a bit cheaper (but not much), although I wonder why they claim much longer germination times than the Scotts product. There's also Scotts Patch Master which is cheaper and I haven't used yet. I think I'm going to try just regular seed, and watering more often (a real pain here - there's no outside garden hose faucets, so I either need to use big watering buckets or run a hose from an indoor faucet. I have a 50' coiled garden hose with a sink-faucet adapter at one end and a trigger sprayer at the other for that purpose). I have a bag of Vigoro Starter Fertilizer 20-27-5, and have applied quite a bit of new seeding soil (of several varieties depending on location) since the ground is mostly hard clay. I did my best to loosen it with a metal gardening rake before adding a new layer of topsoil. Any recommendations as to what type of grass I should use? I'm near Washington DC, which means both humid 100°F+ in the summer and subfreezing icy winters. The big-box stores around here seem to favor tall fescoe, which is also what the combination seed/mulch/fertilizer products use in this market. I like the bright green color, how fast it grows, and its tolerance for all sorts of bad weather, but not the thin straight grass blades that get matted down like cheap carpeting when walked on. The second most popular here seems to be the generically-labeled "sun and shade mix". The real nurseries have more variety to choose from but also higher prices. I don't want anything that goes dormant or turns yellow or brown in the winter. The side yard is in heavy shade due to closely-spaced houses and lots of old trees, but the backyard (which I'm more concerned about since that's the main socializing area) gets alot of sunlight. I also hear some people say I shouldn't even try to grow from seed during the hot summer. But I'd like to have a lawn by fall if possible, when I plan to have a new renter. I could plant sod - but it's inconvenient given how thirsty the stuff is when new (given the water situation I mentioned earlier) and hard to transport for someone with a small car and a bad back. Any ideas?

The A. canadensis bloomed weakly this year because May was quite droughty and I don't water where they are growing. But the did bloom. When I start columbine from seed, they sometimes don't bloom the 2nd year, if I get don't get the seedlings planted out until mid-late the first year. Have no idea why established plants that have bloomed for years would not bloom! Very odd.

I know one year I used compost from the dump in North Port and it killed everything vegetable in my garden. Seems it wasn't "composted" at all. They just chopped stuff up really fine and added sand to it. Some of my potted plants were full of white grubs. I used to make potting soil out of Black Kow, perlite and organic peat (not peat moss, just peat), but I have a hard time finding organic peat anymore. Oh, for the good old days before RoundUp took over the world.

A few years ago (2016) I planted some allium bulbs. They were allium Giganteum, allium Gladiator, allium Purple sensation, alllium Mount Everest and allium sphaerocephalon. I planted them in October. The next year all of them flowered except for a. sphaerocephalon. I thought it needed some time to establish. I let them go to seed. This year, only a few Purple sensation flowered, no signs of any white Mount Everest, no signs of Giganteum nor Gladiator. Sphaerocephalon hasn't flowered yet. I fear they are lost. Could it be they are dormant this year? Did they die off? I also bought a. moly, a. caeruleum and a. oreophilum last year and planted them in late fall (December) as the soil was workable and no freezing temperatures. This spring only a few of them flowered although I planted 10 of each. As with my alliums I always leave leaves on, never tear them off. I live in a city so no special animals. No voles nor mice. There are a lot of slugs, though. I have a sandy loam, neutral soil. Climate is something between oceanic and Mediterranean with hot (sometimes dry sometimes humid) summers and dry winters with the lowest temp. - 12 degrees C (around 11 F). (I won't post any photos because this is the third time I am posting this so something is apparently glitched.) Thanks for replies in advance