any gardeners?

“After surveying the scene last evening, we're keeping the bugleweed under the cedars, but moving the shade garden to the NW corner of the back yard under a big pine where we have our pet burial ground. It really has the best conditions throughout the day for a shade garden -- picked up lily of the valley, lungwort, jacob's ladder, some yellow trilliums, and some smaller ferns. Dang, but some of these more native perennials get pricey. Fortunately, I only got a few since all are going to spread.

And the day lilies are starting their show -- a beautiful golden yellow. The first iris bud is cracking and revealing a rich purple, too.”

“I've got an update on my webshots album. Little outta order, but ya can make it through.


http://community.webshots.com/album/144674025KlJezU”

“I just planted a delphinium I bought at the store for $6. Little less that 3 feet tall and about to bloom blue and white. I got it because its a perennial. As a perennial it should grow back again next year, but any tips how to reproduce lots of them?”

“Delphiniums usually reseed pretty well. When we grew them in Michigan they spread by seed and root, and we had a good sized patch in a few years.”

“Excellent!”

“You may want to pick up a second plant for cross pollenization, too.”

“Doh!”

“Well, just cleaned up after a day in the yard. Got the shade garden in at the back corner under a big pine (in our yard) and trees and bushes that handle things from the neighbors' yards. Got the lilacs on the south side trimmed back -- the blossoms are already fading.

The big chore was just after noon when the Menards truck finally showed up with my retaining wall bricks for my raised bed in the front yard. I actually got help from the driver carrying the stones from the pallet in the right of way to the assembly site ... because his big flatbed truck broke down at the curb! It wouldn't start and it has a hydraulic brake that won't release until it starts. Menards couldn't find anyone who could handle the problem on a Sunday afternoon. It's still there, partially blocking the neighbor's driveway, but, ha ha, not blocking mine.”

“My peony is blooming! This is the most specacular year so far. Clematis is over the top also. Moonflowers planted at the fence also blossomed for the first time over the weekend. It's going to be a great show this year!”

“dhutch, isn't it great when the peonies start opening? We have lots of swelling buds that have the ants occupied, but not quite there for blooms yet. Today's heat and humidity should continue moving things along.”

“Yes Pekka! Mine are a pink apricot color, just lovely. I make sure to cut some for neighbors and my dining room table. With about 50 buds, there are plenty to go around.

What color is your peony pekka? Are they bushes or the kind that dye back avery year? Mine dies back. I'm thinking about relocating it this fall????”

“Ours die back each year. The ones on the south side of the house are a pale pink, I believe, and the ones in the front yard are a deep purplish red -- sort of a garnet?

Can't wait to have the iris buds open -- first year for the plantings to send up stalks, and even sirpete's contributions this spring have produced a couple flower stalks. Will be great to compare two iris varieties in the same planting bed.”

“dhutch, all the rain ruined my peony blossoms. I was so mad!!!


But I have the first hot peppers in the mid west I bet!!! :)

Red hot cheery peppers and Tabasco peppers are almost ripe!!!”

“Spinach has bolted. Do you just pull 'em up once that happens?

Hasta and lilies are about to bloom. Lots of roses blooming now.

I see Breck's Bulbs is advertising on this site ----->
man those bulbs I bought from them didn't do much.”

“The first yellow iris blossom opened overnight. Thanks, sirpete, for the gorgeous addition to my garden. Hope the hostas and day lilies I sent your way are doing as well.

Recent additions to the perennial parade here -- bloody cranesbill, speedwell, and mahogony bugleweed. Hope they all "establish" well.

Need to thin the hollyhocks which have overrun the backyard perennial garden. Likely move some to the south face of the north side fenceline. Considering the competition in that bed, our poppies have come in great this spring, as has the digitalis.”

“My major chores this weekend will be:

rid the yard of all maple tree seedlings. The recent storms and heavy rains caused them all to drop at once, AND SPROUT!

Install edging for two last borders.

My moonflowers, peonies, clematis, balloon flowers and one other purple flower (can't recall the name until I have more coffee) are blooming now. Daylillies have popped a blossom or two.

I think the rain is killing my new lavendar. 2 plants are now sticks and the others are not showing much promise.”

“Hey D - I've got a HUGE nursery of Maple seedlings in me gutters!

I gotta get up there before they pull the tings down.

USA - I have no idea, re spinich. What happens when stuff "bolts"?”

“Oh, Q, thanks! I didn't even look at the gutters. (not tall enough. lol”

“With all that rain, you guys still have stuff in your gutters? We just got new gutters last week. After thunder storms the other night, I checked how the new downspouts were working -- at the mouth of each was a little pile of maple seeds and pine needles.”

“Pekka - In my case, the rain brought down all of the "helicopters" donw in one shot. Clear for a couple of days, then blasted with rain again. Perfect for getting those damn little things to sprout!

It's been raining so much over here that I can' even get out to clean to darn things, for the third time this year!”

“Exactly Q, they all came down in one day!”

“I'm trying to figure out a way that they could be put to use. Maybe re-plant them in certain areas of Waterloo?”

“That's a lot of maple seeds when they fill the gutters in one go. Our big maple hasn't really released its crop quite yet , just getting a comparitively few. The sprouts I'm fighting in the flower beds and around the shrubs are the hideouts from last season. It's another windy day here, with storms expected tonight, so we may see the helicopter assault any time now.

Just came in from trimming trees in the backyard, hauling branches to the curb, cutting up the limbs and filling the back of my truck. I should finish the job and make the run to the landfill, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow morning.”

“We just started on the backyard, although I'm still not completely satisfied with the front. I picked up a Eugenia topiary for the living room last night, as well as some tri-color St. John's Wort and a "Confetti Spreading Lantana", which I know nothing about.”

“I know what you mean. Before I finished all my front yard plans, I couldn't help myself and began a couple backyard projects. Someday it will all come together -- hopefully before it's too late to enjoy the results.

But the bugs and birds sure enjoy the plantings I've done so far.”

“I've been thinking about taking up bonsai. I went to an art fair and saw lots of good looking examples at one guy's booth. I don't know the first thing about it, but it's piqued my interest.”

“laqtis, having gutter problems.....seems fitting.....heh heh”

“The first lily bloomed today.

Bought a red coreopsis over the weekend and planted it. Will be interesting to see just how red it will be when it blooms which still appears to be some time away.

Strawberries have been plentiful this year. After last year, I learned to pick them a day before the critters get 'em.”

“I have for a long time, enjoyed finding wildflowers and other plants -- and transferred from their native location back to my property.

I did not find any fault in this until recently, when I was chastised for 'modifying' the status of a current location; e.g. butterflies, birds, etc.

Although I see their point, albeit quite conservative and somewhat narrow minded, I can't say I agree completely. Although a butterfly supposedly can change the weather halfway around the world, I still think it's nice to transfer a plant occasionally from one location to my own property.

Should I re-think this philosophy?”

“Transfer = steal?”

“You can buy most wildflowers in seed or plant form.

I guess it matters where you're digging them up from. Is it private property or state land/parks?

In the long run it probably won't make too much difference unless everyone decides to do what you do. Then no more lovely wildflowers, except in your yard.”

“Doesn't this go against LNT?”

“Unless it's private property and you have explicit permission from the owner, in most states it is illegal. There are, in fact, professional plant thieves who do search out rare indigenous plants and will wipe out native populations for profit. Thus the need for such protections.

As sass noted, not such a big deal if you were the only one doing it, but rest assured, you are not.

Trillium abound in the woods around me. Not legal to transplant -- which is probably why they still abound. Yet I was able to go to a local nursery and purchase some specimens for my shade garden. Safe for both sides.

Another path to follow is to get involved with a local conservation group that helps construction companies "rescue" wildflowers and other indigenous plants from development sites.”

“Thanks Pekka. I see you point, and I concur.

I will stop 'robbing' plants from their original home, and find alternative means, more acceptable means.”

“There is a local private school in our area that finds sites that are to be cleared for construction and volunteers come in and remove all the wildflowers which are the sold and the proceeds go to fund the school (in part anyway), neat idea...

Sorry about the run on sentence Pekka. Prolly made your skin crawl LOL!

BTW we have radishes bigger thena squash ball. Fricking huge!”

“Birch, on this thread we'll just call it verbal "creeping charlie." :-)

Have a half dozen peony buds just starting to crack open. The iris keep unfolding. The ones sirpete sent are a really nice yellow with burgundy/brown beards. A nice contrast to the varigated type I already had, which have very soft, nearly pastel purple/lavender blossoms.

Relocated sirpete's day lilies to the right-of-way lawn out front, as they were already outgrowing the original site. Those are putting up flower spikes now too.

Tonight when I got home from school, I reloaded the string on the weed whacker and got all the edges trimmed in the front and back. I hate mowing, but a little gas weed whacker is almost fun. Everything is neat and tidy now, gol darnit.”

“Any idea how they did this?



Think they used half wine barrels or something else? It looks like the begonias are coming out the side.

I'd love to work them into my new garden.”

“Violin,
Would love to see the picture. Can you try again please.

Daylillies are really popping right now. Even the newly planted ones. Daisies look like any minute. I love this time of year for gardening.

But the lawn! I won't have a chance to cut it til Mon and it's like a 5" meadow!”

“Violin,
Would love to see the picture. Can you try again please.

Daylillies are really popping right now. Even the newly planted ones. Daisies look like any minute. I love this time of year for gardening.

But the lawn! I won't have a chance to cut it til Mon and it's like a 5" meadow!”

“dhutch, the pic came through for me. But then yesterday, the pics of Abby came up the first few times I opened the Get Up thread, then stopped. So it may just be a browser or server or filter thing.

There are ceramic or terracotta planters I've seen that have little cupped openings cast in the sides to allow planting all around the vessel. Come in a variety of sizes. Certainly could do the same with a wine or whiskey barrel by just cutting openings in the sides. I know our Menards has whiskey barrels -- whole and half.

Had to go get some Shot-Gun anti deer/rabbit spray to protect my new coneflower before it lost any more leaves. Also stretched netting over the shade garden -- some bird, grackle most likely, or other evildoer had been drilling holes through the mulch, which was okay, but then the other morning one of my trilliums had been pulled up and its actual root/bulb had been dug out and pecked. Hope the netting worked. Have to finish coffee first before making an inspection.”

“Looks like I'm getting little chunks taken out of some of my plants.

Any suggestions?”

“dhutch, cut & paste:

http://img4.photobucket.com/albums/1103/rjenkie/unilock.jpg

You mean like those strawberry planters, pekka? I haven't seen them that large but I'll have to ask my nursery dude.”

“prolly some kind of beetle, cterpillar or slug, laqtis.”

“There's a typr of ant that takes circuler chunks out of leaves and flowers, just like half a million other critters. A company called "Gardens Alive!" makes some great gardening stuff, especially for those organic-minded. They've got some really good anti-critter products. I've only had one problem with any of their products, and that was opening a box with their organic (read: chicken #&%!$) veggie fertilizer, after the box had been sitting in the FLorida sun all afternoon. Peee-yewie!”

“I'm growing some basil. I need it for my cooking. It looks nice when you grow it in bunches amongst flowers, and it smells so good.”

“I gonna try and see if I can post a pic of my garden, taken just minutes ago, here.


”

“Let's see if this works.


We went from this:





To this:

”

“Looks nice, Laqtis.”

“Your grden looks great Laqtis.

I spent some time out in ours today. Weeded 2 outta 5 beds. Gonna pick the sugar snap peas tommorrow I bet we have 2-3 lbs out there. My broccoli is really happy too. My spinach bolted, which is a bummer. It hasnt been hot or anything either. I must not have read the package well. The weeds are way bad now. I put them in 5gal buckets as I go and fill 1.5 today. I need more grass clippings for mulch I geuss. Our raspberries are doing amazing. The little one picked some for her pancakes today. The squirrels are actually eating hem too, never seen that.”