New Garden Projects This Year #5

Dahlia, you do not have to cut DL foliage down. Your DL will be fine! ^_^

Cousin Nut, Celeste is right, you don't have to cut them down, but I always do. It's going to die back soon anyhow.

Karen

It looks neater too.^_^
I didn't do mine this year and won't now, to late as it's already cold here...figure they could use the extra insulation too.

Yeah, the extra insulation helps, and the worms love the decaying plant matter. I hope to mulch this bed, but I have very little mulch left. Might have to do it in the spring. Mulch would help keep them from heaving due to freezing and thawing, though I don't usually have that problem in this bed. Other beds in the back are subject to this, though.

Karen

YIPPEE! Thanks everso Pixie and Cousin Nut. I never cut foliage if I can help it as it's not been very snowful here for many years and the foliage helps to retain much needed moisture through the winter. I am BIG into 'messy' gardening. It's saved many a perennial for me during the drought. Doing a dance of joy while I type ^_^

This message was edited Oct 19, 2009 7:02 PM

Back from jumper 2's house, where I walked up steps to porch (project completed) & admired compost box & arbor repars & painting. Good to have a project tour.

nice work on the day lilly bed karen - how big is it?

looks great

spent two hours on my hands and knees planting the last of the daff bulbs - mail man came and made me stand up to collect a package after one hour - that took some time :)

To stand up? I would have rolled over on my back for him to drop it on my belly!

well i did not know how stiff my legs were until i tried to get up - was moving around on my knees pretty well - getting older can be a drag

You're still a kid, Bill, albeit a stiff one.

The mail service is filled with ideots.
They leave a package at the house but I have to walk to the mailbox (100 feet away) to get letters and junk.
Bill yahooooooo for you, discovering the disadvantages of old age.
It doesnt get better.
Other parts in other places will start to fail. I keep waiting for aches and pains to go away so I can return to normal, but its been 15 years and it hasnt happened.
Just grumbling this AM
Picasa is backfireing on me.

thanks joann :) gives me something to look forward to - my hand is stiff too from digging all the holes with my new garden accessory - although that i normal after digging 150 6" holes in dirt loaded with rocks i hope!

here is my new favorite tool

http://www.gardenersedge.com/item.cgi?item=4750com&cat=Gardening&subcat=Hand%20Tools

did not get the leather holder - will have to get something though this is sharp.

I have a arthritic carpltunnel affect fron digging with anything.
Just planted some tulips and swear (again) I wont do this anymore.
Bbrookrd's spring display of yellows and oranges just tipped me over, so I went for it.

We should have standup cheering next springBill

Whoa Wha that things like a weapon! I would have been scared to approach you if I was your mail person. Lol
If we are going to start complaining about the mail people... well my mail lady apparently does not like to have to get out of her car. I typically see her every day before I leave for work, except... She seems to conveniently miss me three days in a row when she has anything that has to be signed for.

btw, Bbrookrd's displays are enough to make me want to place orders for all kinds of things.

And last but not least .. keep up the great work Karen! : )

meredith i was not really complaining - although last year i did call the PO to complain about this guy, we missed mail on some days, received other neighbors mail all the time - he is a nice guy but my wife had had with him - i thought he just needed glasses

for the last 6 months or so we had a new young mail/women - pretty one too - have received the mail at noon everyday with no problems. she told me he was out for medical reasons. last week we received the mail very late in the day and i knew then he was back:(

saw him the next day and jokingly busted him about not being here at noon - he says the other carrier is super women and does not know how she did it:)

and now back to the gardening projects...............

Well I am complaining lol, it's not a huge deal, I just think it stinks that if I have to sign for something there is no chance that I won't have to go to the PO for it. My mail person also gives me other peoples mail.. I found it funny that I got a box on top of my mailbox that wasn't even mine. I swear it was because she didn't want to get out of the car and she knew I'd walk it over to them! She doesn't have a Postal truck she uses her car and has one of those thhings so she can sit on the wrong side while driving.

i'd talk to her about getting others mail.

Thanks, Bill, Meredith and Jo Anne! Bill, I don't really know how big it is. Never measured it, and I'm not good at figuring out measurements by eyeballing something. Will just have to try and pace it out sometime, just to get a ball park figure.

Bill, sounds like you got a lot done planting those bulbs. I can't do the kneeling down things. Too hard on my knees and back. I have to stand and bend over. Not hard on my knees, a little hard on the back, especially the shoulders. If I lost a lot of weight it would not be so bad. Now that knife is a great one I could use for dividing my hostas and DL's. Some of the DL clumps are impossible to divide without cutting into them. I just use a sharp steak knife. Does a good job, actually.

Karen

You GO GIRL Meredith. We had psycho mailman when we first bought the house. He kept leaving nasty notes in the mailbox and cutting off our mail over an icy spot on the drive caused by a leaky eave which we couldn't fix til spring which I explained. I finally called PO mission control to find out where to pick up the mail so I could pay the bills and they freaked and delivered our mail pronto by truck and psycho mailman was never seen again. Probably transfered to a route populated with polar bears. I couldn't believe how supportive PO mission control was!

wha you need to dance while you plant. Keeps the muscles stretchy and warm so you won't get stiff. Owie ge! That's painful! But the spring show will be some consulation. I STILL haven't got all my bulbous things in yet.

enjoy your youthfull vigor.

I often wish I had a larger piece of property. There are several tree varieties that I would love, but just don't have the room.

I like nothing better than watching a couple of cute burly guys roaring around my back yard with chain saws.

Whoa Dnut I thought I had it bad... man I'm glad you got that resolved! : )

Anita I always wish I had a larger property! Our pool ate up what seems like a quarter acre. Be nice to have a nother acre.

Hope that your other tree stays healthy

I luv when they hang out of the trees like that. Reminds me I need to book the arborist. Thanks ge.

Tree cutting makes me nervous.. We had a neighbor lose his life cutting trees down at our old place. It was shared property, and we were sitting on our deck about 25 ft away when it happened. Then recently a man in town lost his life when he fell off a ladder while trimming branches over his driveway and landed on a crow bar! My dh has cut trees for us in the past and I made him promise he won't any more. It's great you had a service come in!

This message was edited Oct 22, 2009 6:19 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4ppflolWAo

idiot - drop the saw and run!

i have taken some chances cutting down trees - never with myself though - and i always use ropes to help that they fall in the right direction.

my neighbor has a very tall oak that leans towards his house that he is trying to cut down - he has ropes with a come-along trying to keep it going in the opposite direction - i've told him it is leaning to far and to give it up - he continues to try - this tree will hit the middle of his small home - i left him last time with the advice that his wife and baby not be at home when he tries again - i'll post pics of the nuts home because he will try to cut this tree down.

We cut down a crab apple, not huge but plenty big enough and scary enough. I thought I'd help and cut a few branches with the saw on the long pole thing, before DH got home. Each one came swinging down harder than I expected. The branches were only about 2-3 inches in diameter, but they fell pretty good.

Jo Anne, I'm with you on the cute, burly guys cutting down trees! Or doing any kind of work, for that matter!

Wow, that tree falling could have been worse! Glad he got away from it quick enough.

Deb, those crab apple branches can be lethal, too, what with all the spiny branches they got sticking out of them.

Karen

It has been fun reading through this thread to try to catch up some on all that I've missed lately. Jo Ann - you are so funny! You keep a smile on my face! Bill - you are also funny with your talk about being aged....come on! Aren't those roosters doing their thing for your knees yet? Sad stories about men dying while cutting trees. We had 2 neighbors in NH fall off of ladders and get seriously injured. No more ladders for Hank! I have spoken....LOL....and he didn't sound very upset at the concept. Debilu - I was cringing reading about you cutting those limbs....eek! Be careful!! BTW, Bill - those are lovely shots of your gardens/redbuds. I love those trees!

Meredith - your bulb garden will be beautiful! Please post a shot of it in bloom in the spring!

Karen - you sure have been busy this summer and fall! Your new beds will look fabulous!

Celeste - have you recovered from the wedding yet? How are the newlyweds?

Hello Iris, NuttyD, Kathy, Anita and Victor! Enjoyed all of your posts!
Goodnight for now......morning comes bright and early here, and the weeds are screaming at me!! Keep those projects coming.....and don't let the snow stop any of you! LOL

Welcome back, Louise! No new projects here but can you believe I'm planting?-any excuse to be in this warm weather. I bought 4 more maidenhair ferns on sale today and planted them under the weeping cherry with others. Pollyk is sending me more irises to plant tomorrow. Most of my garden is cut down now. I do an hour or two every day after work.
Lots of orchids are in bloom or spike inside. Here's a vanda opening.

The med were from a tree service and knew what they were doing. They arrived at 11:38 and pulled out of the driveway at 12:13.
2 men, worked well together, focused and concentrating on the task.
About amature tree fellers.
WHY with Google at hand, does anyone try to do the job themselves.
STUPID . As with many jobs in life it looks simple and easy. NOT

sorry they left so soon joann

Believe me I sinjoyed wvwer minure

i can tell - you still can't type!

eghaaaad
I sinjoyed every minute of it.
I like to coin words