Practical Matters for Physically Phallanged Gardeners #2

My problem with trading lillys is i never kept track of the names. I was only intrested in "if i liked the lily or not." Last year i noticed i had more yellow DL than anything else.
The same problem with my iris. I'm trying to hire someone to come up and do some gardening work for me.

I don't know names either but if you want different colors I'll dig some while they are blooming so you will at least know they aren't yellow.

I wish I had someone too. I thought last year that I had that person but her mental illness problems lead once again to behavioural problems and she is no longer here. Someday GOD will send someone for me.

I let my DIL demolish most of my raised beds last fall. I could no longer keep up with that much yardening. I only have 3 raised beds left now. One is almost all iris and the burial place for one of our dogs who was more or less Jack's dog. It has a couple rhubarb plants at one end. Another has about 15 asparagus plants in about 2/3 of it and the rest used for various plants. The last one was my garlic bed last year. I had 126 cloves of garlic planted in it. They did fairly well but I didn't get them dug in time and they all sprouted. I went ahead and dug them but now think that was a mistake.

I need to get tomorrow's lunch packed, the kitchen cleaned up, and get myself ready for bed. I get tired pretty early anymore.

GOD bless and keep each of you.
EvaMae

I have been busy, and just now getting a chance to check in again. I am in one of my "good" periods, and when that happens, I tend to try to get all the work done. I know that is not a good approach, but I never know how long the "bad" times will be.

I have a quilting project going on right now, and i worked on that today.

I have way to much outside to tend to and every year I say that I will let some of it go, but so far have managed to limp along. We will see how the digging and dividing of the day lilies go, and that may really decide what and how much I can do.

Hope everybody is doing "fairly well" and if not, hope that you feel better soon.

Iva Mae, I'll trade you some yellow for pink. They're pretty just mostly yellow. I'd have to wait till they bloom too.They're tall,short, big ,small etc...
My old dog is buried in a flowerbed across the road. He's with blackberrys and tigerlillys and herbs.
I looked around outside today. I could'nt find any spring bulbs coming up,nor iris. I just remembered i have some crocus i need to uncover.I always injoy spring cause i have so many surprises i completely forgot about. Things are looking up for me.
My GS called me earlier. He's an assistant manager for Wendys and they are transferring him to Fort Smith. The biggest small city in the area. He wants me to go and help him find an apartment in a couple of weeks. That will be fun.

Kay, I failed to answer your question the other day about when does it get warm enough in Kentucky to use the swimming pool. We always try to open it the first Saturday in May (Derby Day) and then after we top it off, and add the chemicals, put the solar blanket on it and usually about the end of May of the first of June it is warm enough. We had some really hot days last year, and I was still using it till about the end of September.

We bought the pool for our granddaughter, but I have used it as much or more than she has. She spends the summer with us, and she has friends here, and it is easier to keep up with what she is doing if she has her friends come here. So we have many teenage "swimming parties" where she requests that we stay in the house, and not embarrass her!!

I'm going thru a 'bad' time lately. My right leg, hip, and sciatic nerve are aching badly and have been for days now. My neck also hurts so I'm hurting on both ends of my spine as well as down my leg. I did take half a Percocet after work with no side effects at all. Thank GOD. Last time I had some really bad effects. I waited until after work so that if I had bad effects I could go home as soon as I got the air time on my cell phone. Today was the last day so I had to get that done no matter how I felt.

I have some iris that don't appear to have ever died off. Of course I know those poor leaves will be badly frostbitten in the spring. I didn't get the fall dose of fertilizer down so if I don't get the spring one spread it will be a short season of blooms. I can always tell if I have fertilized. I use 6 -24- 24 or 13-13-13. The first one gets the best blooms of course.

Tomorrow I am off and will try to get some much needed rest. A dear friend who I haven't seen for about 5 years went to be with JESUS this evening and I'll be trying my best to go to her funeral. I don't know yet when it will be. I may even ride up with some of the family. I hope so anyway. I don't know if I can handle that long a drive. She lived at least a 3 hour drive from here.

GOD bless and keep each of you.
EvaMae

Hi, Everyone. I’ve been out of it the last day or so. The VA sends retired service people our meds through the mail and they were a little late getting me my heart med which is an alpha blocker. When your body grows accustom to that med, if it gets low in your bloodstream, it causes some very uncomfortable sensations. I understand some people, not knowing you can’t just suddenly stop taking alpha blockers, end up going to the hospital believing they are having heart attacks. You aren’t in any real danger, but it does feel weird. I will be so glad when I’m back in shape and can get off this drug I’m told if the doctor weans you off it gradually, it isn’t so unpleasant.
Sorry to hear about your friend. Leaf. I hear what you’re saying about the drive. It is a 4-hour drive to the other in-progress Community garden in Fayette. As much as I love seeing the folks up there, I am beginning to dread the drive.
I know what you mean about the teenagers, Bonnie. Our granddaughter spends her summers here. She always insist on picking out my clothes when I take her somewhere so I’m dressed in a way that doesn’t embarrass her in front of her friends. She claims I dress like a park ranger. LOL. I’m looking forward to a pool here so I don’t have to drive to an exercise pool. The problem, when we have one on site, will be getting any work out of my wife. She will want to stay in it all the time.
Can any of you ladies tell me if this is a daylily? I grew up on a farm, but am a newbie when it comes to flowers. My wife doesn’t know much about flowers that aren’t fragrant, but she thinks it is a daylily. I just liked the color. It came in a container with the handwritten labeled "black and white lilies."
I’m not going to say a word about disorganized artsy types. That would just give them an opening to counter with comments about the state of my desk and the fact I still haven’t finished the living room remodel. It is down to the paining and detail work. I really, really, REALLY hate painting. I kept hoping a painter friend might have problems with his computer so I could just exchange services with him. Sad, isn’t it? LOL.
I think I've convinced the others to ease up on the budget constraints here so I can pay other people to do some of the work here. Amargia started with a wager Kay made that she could reclaim this land on an extremely tight budget using old techniques. But, she's won that bet. So, I think it is time to go on to other things. I have no doubt the budget wheelchair ramp they designed would work, but it requires so much hard labor and time. I would just as soon purchase a commercially available ramp and let the VI's focus on their own projects. And, I can borrow a friend's little Kubota to do the leveling and earth moving they are now doing by hand. My friend's machine is small enough it can be maneuvered even in our tight spaces. The way I see it, if I am making the money to pay people to do the things I can't anymore and I am arranging and directing what is done, “I” got the job done. I don’t feel like we have to prove anything to anyone. I just think if we hire out and find easier ways to do more of the mule work, we could focus more on the original, creative stuff that really use the talents we have. We just became accustom to doing absolutely everything from scratch because of the way we started out. The VI's, now free of the mule work, are planting seeds at a furious rate Lots more smiles. A big improvement to the local scenery. (Jim)

Jim, beautiful and it is certainly a lily, but the foliage looks more of the oriental or asiatic lily rather than a daylily. No matter what it's name, it is still a lovely sight.

I am thinking that you are doing volunteer work with an organization to plant gardens. Please enlighten me, as I think that is so neat.

I have my big old rambling farm, with way too much acreage to tend it all. DH just mows the pastures, and turns the horses on the parts that need to be eaten down.

Jim, That looks like an asiatic lily and one to kill for!!!What a beautiful color. i'll trade you some daylilly fans for a start of that if you have any extra. I wont know any colors till they bloom. If you don't have any named daylillies you might not care,anyway LMK.
It's always good to trade labor i think.We all have different talents.
Defoecat, Your farm sounds peaceful and beautiful in it's own right. I have to ask..Is your barn red? In Arkansas barns are not painted. I drove thru a little part of KY and loved the red barns i saw.



This message was edited Jan 22, 2010 4:45 AM

No red barns here!! One is just weathered lumber, and the other is a new structure made of metal, and it is a beige color. The horses don't mind what color they are, they know they offer protection from the weather!!

We have a zoo here. We have 4 horses, and DH is a hunter, and keeps beagles, present count is 7. Well 5 are his, and we have a rat terrier, who is DH's pet, and I have a Jack Russell, who is master of the house, and my protector.

Amargia is a community garden geared especially to people who have physical or sensory challenges. Visually impaired and mobility impaired for the most part. Kay owns a couple of acres which was the original property. A neighbor put about 4 more adjacent acres at our disposal for the project.
T.J., who lived here for a time when she was going through a rough period in her life, is trying to establish a community garden on land she just inherited in Fayette, AL (in the middle western part of the state. Amargia is located in the SE corner. Almost on the Florida line.) We didn’t really set out to create a community garden for challenged people. It just sort of happened. The original property had been badly misused when Kay bought it. The land itself was only $500 an acre and people still told Kay she had paid too much. So, you can imagine the state it was in. She consulted with her friends about land reclamation techniques they knew. I was one of those. We weren’t married then and I wasn’t physically challenged. Kay and I have been friends since childhood and I just happened to be stationed at Tyndal AF Base in nearby Panama City (FL) at the time. She contacted me to pick my brain about how some things were done by the Amish in the part of PA where I grew up. The main work right now is making Amargia easier for wheelchair users.
Jack Russels must be good pets. We found one by the road. When we took it to the animal shelter, the woman who was working the desk took it as her own pet immediately.
Cando, you should visit the Pennsylvania heartland, if you like the look of classic red barns. Although, some of the traditional Amish paint their barns white with the old symbols painted above the doors. I always liked the look of those. That part of the country is changing rapidly, however. Many of the Amish are moving to the relative quiet of rural Ohio. Things are just getting too developed for their taste near Harrisburg. BTW, when you finish sorting out your irises, you can come do ours. LOL. I will be happy to make a trade, if the "black) lily has multiplied this spring. Don't see why it shouldn't have mltiplied. Kay's fragrant lilies certainly do.
If that is a true lily, I think the only daylilies we have are the orange ditch lilies and a pink and white one with a yellow center. I like what I’ve seen of daylilies. A lot of bang for a little effort. Do daylilies come in the dark, rich colors like the lily above? Is it daylilies that come in every shade but true red, or is that irises? (Jim)

Jim, Daylillies do come in dark red. I've got a couple of bright red ones and a lavender one.
Iris come in reddish colors too.and blackish.

We drove thru Penn before and saw the beautiful farms.

$500 is not too much to pay for any land comparing it to prices here. A rock pile will go for more than that here in the mountains.

Did you guys know that Dave has sold DG to a big company.
Surely it wont effect us much.

I have been reading the thread over on Dave's Garden, and it has about 5500 replies and views. Everybody is chiming in telling an officer of the company about how dear to all of us that Dave's Garden is. No real threats, but veiled threats that imply a mass exodus if things aren't left about the same as now. Sure hope that fellow is smart and listens to the best critics of this site that there is.

Jim, I have about 200 different daylilies. That is the job I will be doing this spring, diggind and dividing. I am getting a garden ready to start selling my daylilies. They are great increasers, and I started some with 1 fan only 3 years ago, and some have multipliled to the point that I have plants that have 12 or more fans. If your garden needs some extra color, remind me in the spring, and I would be happy to share some with you. They are forgiving plants, can go through drought or flood and still be happy. Don't require a lot of care, and perform by giving blooms (at least here in Ky.) from Late May to the end of September. Of course you have to have purchased the early, mid season and late varieties for that to happen. It has become an addiction, and I try to restrain myself in the spring from buying us into bankruptcy with more daylily purchases. We have 26 acres and only about 2 of it is yard and gardens. I have plenty of room, if only my money holds out.

I hear you about DL becoming an addiction. If I had the money and capabibility, I'd start cutting down trees to make room for more DL,s They're also good to hide the old dieing leaves of spring flowers.

Thanks, Bonnie. I will do that. That is a LOT of daylilies! Hope your back holds up. Aside from the plants and seeds on Amargia’s trade list, we are offering the books in Kay’s gardening library as trade items. The list can be found on my DG blog site. I don’t see why DG would have a problem with that. (After all, you can be certain books are viable and they don’t die in shipping.) If the new DG does have some issue with it, I’m sure they’ll let me know. Kay can’t read print anymore so they are no use to her. And, it might save my wallet a little when it comes to plant and seed acquisition.
I guess in the days of gene guns and gene splicing no one can say anymore that specific flowers aren’t available in certain colors. I told Kay fragrant sweet peas did not come in orange, and had to eat my words. It seems sweet pea breeders were busy while I wasn’t looking.
Horses! I miss having horses, even though I couldn’t think of riding anymore. Whenever our two big, mongrel dogs do something Kay doesn’t like, she threatens to replace them with miniature ponies. LOL. She tells me mini-ponies have actually been trained to work as guide animals, and ponies don’t dig or decide to use a plant marker as a chew toy. Besides, what they leave behind can be put in the compost bins. LOL.
Harvested some sunroots (Jerusalem artichokes) yesterday along with a couple of horseradish root. Kay created a dish using the two. Said she didn’t make it up out of thin air. It is an Old Russian dish. Just replaced the potatoes in the recipe with sunroots. I had my doubts, but it was actually good. I would never have thought of roasting potatoes or sunroots with horseradish sauce. The two horseradish plants I harvested made two jelly jars full of prepared horseradish. I think I overplanted for our needs. But, DW suggests I wait to pull them up. Young horseradish leaves can be used in salads. I think those might pack too much of a punch for my taste, but I’m willing to try it once. I’ve been proved wrong a time or two. (Jim)

I have read articles about miniature horses being trained as guide animals. I find that very interesting. I guess one would have to have a moderate size house to allow a miniature horse to reside there.

3 of the horses we have are Tennessee Walking horses, and one is a hackney pony. The pony is gentle and tolerates children well. Well, to a point. He can be contrary, and when he feels he has been ridden enough, will let you know!!

We don't have any of the TW in training, as it has become so expensive, but all are of champion bloodlines. Not much market for selling them though, so they continue to graze the acres we have, and only require a minimum of hay in the winter time.

I have macular degeneration, and over the past few years have been studying the visual aids that are available now. Used to be there wasn't much available, but now I am just amazed at the number of items that are made for the visually impaired. However, at my last Dr visit the Macural Specialist told me that I would probably die before I was completely blind, with the rate the Macular is progressing. All of that can change rapidly, but I am okay with it. At least if I become blind, I have good reference points of color, size and textures. Many people aren't that lucky. My biggest fear is that my wonderful DH will let me go out dressed like a clown!! Or wearing something that has dirt or spots on it, or letting me get out of the house with a horrid hair day in progress. LOL the vanity.

Well, gonna go to bed shortly, have a rather long day tomorrow, with church, and then a visitation at the funeral home for DH's great aunt.

Jim, she is correct about the tender young leaves being useable. I know some do use them in salads. Jack and I liked them cooked with spinach, pokeweed leaves, etc. with onions and ham added.

I have been using canine feces for the compost pile for years and my dogs and cats as well as those of my DIL/son and neighbors have pottied in the veggie as well as flowers beds frequently. Unless you know the animals have parasites that can be transmitted thru the stools and urine there is no good reason to not use it. With 6 dogs and at least that many cats around here that are claimed by someone it is impossible to NOT have canine or feline stools in the beds. What did our ancestors do before someone started saying we can't do what is perfectly natural?

Bonnie, Jack's parents bred and showed TWers. We had two for several years that we only used for trail and pleaure riding. One of them had been a top show mare before the woman I got her from owned her. She bought her to stop her from being abused any longer but had no interest in showing her or the money it took to do that. Our DIL has quarter horses with a lot of TB in them. She use to show them but hasn't since one threw her and hurt her back. Then she got pregnant and didn't ride for a LONG time. Now they don't have the money for that hobby. One of her horses is a gelding and the other is a mare but she is getting too up in years to be breeding I think. Fees for good studs are cheap either.

I'll be so glad when I can yarden again without getting cold and my hands hurting from that. My yardening is sporatic with the fibro and arthritis. I may be able to work like mad for a few days, then unable to do anything for a week or more.

GOD bless and keep each of you.
EvaMae

Bonnie, there was a sales ad from one of DWs visual aid catalogs in my email a few days ago. It caught my eye because they were advertising colorful, beeping eggs for blind children to have Easter egg hunts with. LOL. VI’s certainly have more opportunities and an easier time than in the past. These days they are trying to “mainstream” VI children as much as possible into public schools. That is the work SD#2 does. She is a teacher for the blind and visually impaired. She calls here for input when she runs into difficult problems. Although, no one here was blind from birth, they always manage to come up with a solution for the child when they put their heads together. I get a kick out of that because it is like older people who have lost their sight teaching children who have never seen about the visual world. The blind successfully leading the blind. LOL.

I check Kay’s makeup and the like before we go out. I have learned a lot about such things in the last few years. But, Kay checks me out too. She is determined to teach me how to dress well and look my best. For most of my life, my closet contained jungle camouflage, desert camouflage, my dress uniform, jeans and some t-shirts and not much else. Just never had to think much about what I would wear. The sales clerks at clothing stores smile at my blind wife helping me choose clothes. But, like a lot of advantageously, blind people she has a highly visual mind. She was into art when she could still see enough. Could draw well despite always being visually impaired to some extent. Still Sculpts. I’m a paint-by-the-numbers kind of guy. Don’t have an artistic bone in my body. You can have perfect eyesight and still not be visual. In a way, I’ve learned to see, in an aesthetic sense, from a woman who can’t see. I wore a lot of blue, just because that is my favorite color. But, Kay insists that is not the best color for a brown haired, hazel-eyed man. I’ve had some favorable comments on what I wear since DW has taken charge of my wardrobe. Never got those before. So, I guess she knows her stuff. We are still debating about ties though. LOL. It helps that Kay and I have been friends so long. We can be brutally honest with one another without giving offense. The natural instinct of husbands is to tell your wife what you think she wants to hear. I mean, do women really think they will get an honest answer if they ask a question like, “Honey, do you think this dress makes me look fat?” Ladies, no man in his right mind is going to say “Yes” even if that is his honest opinion. :-
Leaf, I will see if I can find recipes for using horseradish leaves. More experienced cooks may be able to cook without recipes, but they are helpful for newbies like myself. I guess being able to cook without measuring and the like comes over time. You may be right about the composting. But, since it is a public garden, we have to follow the normal guidelines. The area of the woods where I dispose of what Tater and Fenny leave behind is certainly fertile. :-
The seed planting frenzy continues. No doubt there will be a lot of shuffling pots and flats in and out until it warms and stays that way. But, they are determined to get a jump on the season. Could not find stocks seeds locally so I’m off to hunt through cyberspace for flower seeds. (Jim)

Jim, had to chuckle about Kay helping you pick out your clothes. And you are such a dear man who will give the inspection before heading out the door. It is not that my DH doesn't care about how I look, it is because he is not a visual person. If I am dressed, and all body parts properly covered, then he thinks that is good!!

Let me rummage through my seeds, I think I have some stock seeds that I could donate to your garden. They are stored out in my garden shed, and I can go out there tomorrow and check.

I got a package of flower seeds in the mail today. I want to plant as many different varieties as I can for cutting, as last year I furnished vases of flowers for our church all spring and summer long. Just gives me pleasure that something I grow can be used to adorn the church.

It has snowed here on and off all day. First blizzard like conditions, then the sun would pop out. Seemed more like a March day. But the forecast is for snow every day this week. I don't think we are in for any accumulation, but it is sure different than what we had last week.

Eva Mae, most of the horses we have were bought for our DGD. When she was younger she was really into riding, and we gave her lessons, and thought that she would have a sport that he enjoyed and would continue with. However, her interest at 13,is slowing changing to BOYS!!, and the horses are something that she expects to be here, when she has nothing else to do. Matter of fact because of her, we bred a mare, and will be having another little one come spring, or late summer. Sure hope that we can find a market for them, as they are magnificant animals and need to be in training and being shown.

You lucky people, Being able to get some planting done. We are forcast to get rain, ice,sleet and snow for thursday into fridayand then another freeze. We had the same last year and were out of electricty for a week.
There is no problem really except for boredom. I have plenty of food,water,meds,lamp oil candles,propane,things to read. It's strange to be cut off from the world and not know what's going on. Yet we've done it intentionally on camping trips. But that was different. If anything drastic happened someone would come tell us. Am not worried about it tho.
My poor puter is old and tired and complaining the last week. Sometimes it does'nt want to go where i want it to and it don't. Sometimes it will after 3 tries sometimes not. I need another MSN2 BOX But they don't make them anymore and only refurbish the old ones.I don't want a regular computer.
So if i don't post,You'll know why.and i'm working on it.
I've missed you. I'll catch up with you all later.
Vickie

Vickie and I are having similar weather. IT was trying snow this morning but now the sun is out. I filled the bird feeders again this morning. The wind chill was almost into the single digit range this morning and I knew the little birds would need all the calories they could get. I doubt we would be without electricity for a week. Our co op is wonderful about getting problems fixed in a matter of just a few hours.

Jim, I too am amazed and thrilled by what is now being done to help the VI population of this country. I commend you for being so kind to your wife and making sure she is properly made up and dressed. Not many husbands would do that. I personally don't see why you couldn't wear blue. You may have get the right shades of blue to look your best but it is a very versitile color.

I think neckties were invented(?)by women who hated men and wanted to come as close to killing them by strangluation as they could without being caught. A bow tie, mabye, but not a regular tie. Jack had several but seldome wore them except of church, etc. and finally got him to stop wearing them even then. You won't see a necktie in our church even on Sunday morning. Most of the men wear jeans and T shirts. A few wear botton front shirts but not many.

I don't think there are any recipes for horseradish leaves. I just use about equal parts of it and whatever else I am going to cook it with. I add some liquid smoke to the water, then chopped ham(you could use bacon just as well)and chopped onions.

I need to get housework and laundry done. GOD bless and keep each of you.
EvaMae

We have a good electric company too but most lines were down over most of NW Ark. We had volunteer electrical workers from Texas and Oklahoma working up here.I served them coffee but they would'nt take sandwiches.They were working thru the night. Better beleive they were heros to us.I pray we won't need them ths time. Just depends on how much ice accumilates on the trees. Our local weatherman is saying it looks like a repeat of last year but covering the valley too.Keep us Arkies in your prayers that we don't have a lot of damage. We are all going to stay warm and fed. The Sal Army and other groups are gearing up to give shelter.We all learned alot last year.
Eva Mae, I do agree about the neckties and i'll add, They look silly.LOL
I found one pathetic looking purple crocus blooming today. Also discovered i can't see as much as i thought i could. I almost missed that crocus.My spring flowers are also just peeking up.
This weather is crimping my plans to stay in town more but it will get better.
Kay, i'm so glad you and Jim look out for eachother.I'll never find anyone else to bond with like Al,my DH LOL!! i'll never find anyone to put up with me like Al did.
I washed clothes,cleaned the kitchen and pantry. I had a surprise in my pantry. My DD,s cat came a calling and got shut up somehow in there.
I want to cook something in the slow cooker tonight but can't decide what. Maybe northern beans and something.
Do all of you have egyption-walking onions?
Hope you all have a peaceful painfree night.
Vickie

How many hundred EWO starts do you want? I have had to dig them out and burn them every few years to keep them under control.

I forgot about that horrific ice storm. Our son and DIL were without electricity for almost 2 weeks a couple years ago from an ice storm. Got a new roof on most of the house as well as some new siding. They live in Springfield,MO.

Living in a rural area I think we get power back on more quickly.

GOD bless and keep each of you.

Vicki did you get the ice storm? Evidently if you did you won't be reading this right away.

Our forecast is for snow to start sometime tomorrow afternoon, and continue through the night and until mid day on Friday. The forecast is for 6-8 inches of snow.

I went to the grocery today to lay in some needed staples. If we are without electricity, we have a gas grill right outside our back door, on the deck, and I cooked out there during the ice storm last year. Today was the anniversary of that horrible event. For heat we have a fireplace and a propane gas heater. The main objective is to keep the water lines from freezing. We have a fairly new house (16 years) and have never had any problems with the water, but for an extended period of time without electricity, and only sufficient heat to keep us warm, I wonder if it would keep the pipes from freezing. Sure hope I don't have to find out any time soon.

We had the same ice storm come thru here last year as you did. This one has slowed down and not suppose to get here till tomorrow night. Our weather man says it's an identical set up. I'm all prepared. DD and i and a neighbor can go to each others houses if worse comes to worse.The good thing about being isolated like this we know to be prepared for just about anything. I worry more about the town people who don't make plans for the worse and depend on local government.
Defocat, Good luck on your part of this storm,May it be all snow. Yours too Eva Mae.
I never made the slow cooker beans last night. Maybe tonight.
Eva Mae, i was asking about walking onions cause i have some to get rid of. Have you ever eaten any? I tried some of the blades last winter. They'll do in an emergency.LOL
Tomorrow will be a good day to do house choirs. Also have 2 seed catalogs i have'nt seen. Wonder which thing i'll do.LOL
Kay,Carrie,Steph, Jim and all stay out of trouble the next few days. All have good dreams of butterflys and angels and spring flowers.
Vickie

Hi, Everyone. I’ve been setting up a new business website and it has been time consuming. Kay, has been feeling good so has been spending all day working outside. She falls asleep in the evenings, as soon as she has bathed and eaten. I think the S.A.D. has finally run its course this year.
Thanks, Bonnie. I’ll hold off ordering for the moment. Stocks are evidently a flower people in this area rarely grow. But, we are working on a little series for Amargia’s blog on cool season fragrant plants. I did find and order some ‘Cupani’ sweet peas, the “original” sweet pea. We are doing a little comparison to see which cultivars of the truly fragrant varieties do best this far south. I understand they make excellent cut flowers.
Leaf, I finally found some sites in the UK with newbie recipes for horseradish greens. Also, been slogging my way through Russian and Polish cookbooks. As well as working with your recipe so I can give measurements. Considering writing a post on all the uses for horseradish so I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen. Don’t want to post a recipe I haven’t tried out myself. When I suggested a post on GROWING horseradish, everyone doubled over laughing. They thought that would be like a post on how to grow dandelions or kudzu vines. Kay will not even let me plant it in the ground here without some sort of barrier. So, I will focus on its uses.
Vickie, we have multiplying onions, but not Egyptian onions. The foliage of the pink oxalis (wood sorrel, fairy bells) is up. It is so nice to see some fresh spring green.
It still gets cold at night, but the daytime temp is a comfortable 65 or so. Wicked winds and torrential rains have ben our concern. Hope everyone is staying warm. (Jim)

The house was cold when I got home from town yesterday but when the sun came out it warmed up nicely. I had to turn the thermostat down and now this morning it is cold again.

Once horseradish gets a good start it really multiplies. I tried for 3 years to get it started tho. I really like a 50/50 spinach/horseradish leaf mix. Add some chipped onions and ham cubes. Yummy. You can add some very young tender PokeWeed leaves to the mix too. Equal amounts.

Hello, I haven't been on THIS thread for a LONG time, but welcome, Bonnie! I have MS which comes with depression and little annoyances like pressure sores and tendinitis in my left arm. I use a wheelchair full time - or sit up in bed. I finally got my piece performed (last Sunday) which was the culmination of a big project for me. Now it's back to little projects. It was snowing like crazy here yesterday but today it's just cold.

Everyone be sure to go to Dave's Garden forum and read up on the latest development in the sale of DG to a large corporation called IB. This is really important information for everyone to know about.

Hey, Bonnie. Are you okay up there? Hope this weather isn’t giving you too much grief.
Carrie, did the program at church go off as well as you hoped?
Leaf, I spent a little time over on the thread discussing the changes. I’m holding off on judgments. Businesses are becoming a lot smarter than they once were about the human element in business management, especially computer based businesses. If IB can provide DG with more tech resources, but keep the people oriented operation Dave has set up, DG could become the undisputed #1 garden website. You would probably have to be a technoGeek to notice it yet, but the tech end of DG was beginning to lag behind some of the other garden sites. Like, it had become easier to go through the Google search engine when researching a plant, than to go into PlantFiles on site. That is something the average non-tech user would have began to notice soon. Technology moves and changes so quickly, keeping current on the tech is difficult for any individual or small group of individuals. If IB just brings their superior tech resources in, but has enough sense to leave other things as Dave established them. Things will go well. What sets DG apart is its heart and passion. A passion for nurturing and caring for other plants people as much as a passion for nurturing and caring for the plants themselves. If IB messes that up. DG will falter. Fewer tech problems or flashy techie toys will not compensate for losing the human touch.
As for Dave not having more say in day-to-day operation, I think there is a lot of truth in what Kay says about Amargia and herself. It is hard to think of Amargia without Kay. But, Kay herself says the sure mark that she succeeded with Amargia will be how well it does when she is gone or in a more minor role. Kay is not a young woman. She is trying to ease everyone into the idea of Amargia without her. Don’t know how DG will fare if there isn’t a slow adjustment period. If they put Dave too far out on the fringes of the operation too quickly, before he has imparted a deep understanding of what makes DG better than other garden websites, I think many DGers will flounder and walk away. However, I myself am letting a company manage one of my business sites so that I have more time to deal with my customers one-on-one. Answering their questions about the products I carry and just listening to their health concerns. (That site sells natural health care products.) To me. That is more important than controlling the technical end of my site. Not to mention, more enjoyable!
If IB keeps the realities of the people they serve in mind, there should not be many changes. Rural folks aren’t impressed by flash or new things just for the sake of newness. Techie types and computer based business people sometimes are. That is one of the things I will watch for.
Cando, Fenny was bad today. (Snuffled in some newly planted pots on the porch and snitched a dryer warmed blanket from the laundry basket. Not her doggie blanket.) Kay threatened to mail her to AR to you to keep you warm. So, if you receive a very large package…. LOL.
Rains have been unreal. The hole that will eventually be the pool is completely full and overflowing. And, it is over 6’ deep. The driveway has washed badly. We should be able to get to church tomorrow, but it will be a bumpy ride. Prayers for all. (Jim)

Jim, thanks for asking. We did have 5-6 inches of snow, and the roads were very bad this morning. DH went out to go help some widowed ladies shovel walks and he said that it was pretty bad. Me, I haven't been out in a car today, but did go out and shovel the snow from the sidewalk to the garage, and cleaned my deck off, so that I could get to the grill to cook some steaks for supper.

I think I went out just to relieve some boredom with being shut inside. The snow is light and fluffy, and wasn't too hard using the shovel. The sidewalk to the garage is quite long, but took my time and really enjoyed being out.

I have birds feeders up, and I am seeing some of the prettiest birds. I have a pair of cardinals who come several times a day. Just love to watch them. I really want to learn to identify more of them, we do have mockingbirds, and they can be quite contrary to the resident animals. The first year they were here, my cat couldn't go out without being dived upon, they even chased her up on the porch. She was terrified of them for a few weeks, but then I guess got mad, as the cat began to chase the birds.

I am hoping that DG will remain the same for us as users. I don't care what kind of technical things they do, but just leave the forums alone. It would make me very sad to lose contact with all the generous, kind, caring and knowledgeable folks here. I come because of the garden information, but I also come here for the interaction with the people too.

Hey, Carrie. You still around? I have a flower gardening in New England sort of question. I want to send my sister in Vermont a live plant for Valentine’s Day. I want it to be something she can put in the ground outside when it is finished flowering in the container. I was thinking spring flowering bulbs or a showy perennial. In personality, she is dramatic. A little over-the-top, but also very feminine in her taste. I know the winters up there are truly wicked and I want something that will survive for her from year to year. She loves flowers, but she isn’t the greatest gardener in the world. She is a hospital administrator so she doesn’t have much time to spend in her garden. She doesn’t have a very large yard and it is in a historic neighborhood. If you think of any plant that might fit the criteria, I would appreciate any suggestions.
Sorry to hear about your puter problems, Vickie. Hope you can get back to us soon. Don’t know what I would do without a techno-geek in the house Although, sometimes I think there are way too many things around here that blink and beep.
You are so lucky, Bonnie. I would love to have horses again. My neighbor even offered to let me pasture them with his if I bought one, but, so far, I haven’t come up with a way to justify the expense. Someday I will come up with something. Tennessee Walkers have such elegant lines they make me think of thoroughbreds. LOL. We raised black angus so I guess I am more accustomed to the compact look of quarter horses. There is a field guide to identifying birds among the gardening books and cookbooks I'm trying to find new homes for. Can I mail it to you? Do your visual problems still allow you to read print and see pictures?
EvaMae, Jim is still experimenting in the kitchen with horseradish. He read a few horseradish leaves in pickles helps keep them crisp. That is what he is testing now. I'm getting a little burnt out on horseradish. LOL. *Kay*

Kay, how sweet of you to offer one of your treasured books. I can still read, and see pictures, but the type needs to be large. I do have a very good magnifying glass that allows me to read the daily paper, magazines. The books I check out at the library are the large print versions, and still have to use the "glass" to read.

I have something that Jim asked for earlier, so I will send you a dmail, asking for an address for you guys, and I would be most appreciative of that book, even on a borrowed basis.

I recieved a dmail from Sheri(BirdieBlue)the other day telling me she had been in a nasty accident a couple weeks ago. She will appreciate any encouraging dmails and prayers.

Vickie, I pray you get things straightened out soon. We miss you when you aren't posting.

GOD bless and keep each of you.
EvaMae

Kay, yes, I am here. It depends on how much you want to spend (and if there's still time). Crocuses and daffodils do well up here; if you can find a florist to send her a pot of forced crocuses or tete-a-tete daffodils then she can plant them when the ground warms up - the trick is remembering to do so! Er, I think Garden Crossings (?) was selling BIG BASKETS with little bulbs and primroses and other hardy flowers I can't remember just now - maybe creeping phlox? They were expensive - like $60 but if you added up all the separate plants I think it wasn't such a bad deal. But maybe that was later in say, March. I can find out if you like.... Also I think oxalis will bloom in a pot and then can be planted.

I have never had any Oxalis. Also I had a huge very full port of Aloe that died in the cold this year. I was very dissapointed in myself for losing that plant.
I really love to have one handy in the kitchen. .....oh well....
^_^

Oxalis, i heard someone say oxalis. I've not found any for sale(the ones with little pink flowers.) Someone has planted some in front of our post office. But i kinda hate being caught stealing from the Fed. Gov.tHEY WOULD'NT GIVE ME ANY. I'll trade for daylillys,hostas,spring bulbs,iris,my grandson.LMK

My computer is back on track. Everyone keep your fingers crossed.

I'll if Powell Gardens has any this year. I may go back at least for the spring plant sale. I know a volunteer up there too.

Vickie, remember you have oxalis coming in March. The pink type called ‘Fairy Bells.’ It makes a wonderful cool season ground cover. Once established, it will save you a lot of weeding. Heat seems to be the only thing it doesn’t like. It disappears in summer, and then blooms again in fall.
That is also what we will send my SIL in Vermont for Valentine's Day. Thanks very much, Carrie. We didn’t know oxalis would survive up there. I don’t remember seeing them until I came here. Of course, until I came here I never paid much attention to flowers of any kind. We will send her some of the bulbs you mentioned a little later for her birthday.
Birdie, so glad you are okay. It seems like so many people are having accidents and serious health problems lately. Maybe, Mars is in opposition to Saturn in the sign of Scorpio or something like that. LOL. I can send you some replacement Aloe vera. We gave over 70 plants to a local nurseryman last year because we just didn’t have room to overwinter them. He gave them away as Christmas gifts to his routine customers. (I’ve always heard aloes can’t handle temps below 45 degrees. Although, my MIL overwintered them successfully here outside on the south side of her brick house.). I can also tuck in some oxalis, if you would like to try it there. We have tons of it growing here. Anyone else want oxalis? LOL. I can put some in with your cannas, Leaf.
Thanks, Bonnie, I received the stock seeds today. The selection of the different kinds was perfect for our purposes. You will probably see their photo on Amargia's blog when they bloom. Because of the weight of the books, I sent them media rate. (What they called book rate or manuscript rate in the past.) It may take a little longer than usual, but they are on their way to you.
It has been crazy around here lately. It feels like I've been living in doctor's waiting rooms. Got thru an entire Robert Jordan novel! And, those aren’t short. I had to take Kay to the ER, a delayed complication from her fall on the ice. Her left eye just wasn't healing right. She has been completely blind in that eye for 40 years so we were not immediately concerned. But, one morning the left eye was fully dilated and the right eye would not dilate at all. The optic pressure in the left eye was 0 and 20 in the right. Pressure in the left was up to 5 yesterday so she is improving. The ophthalmologist thinks it is just a matter of trauma and swelling. What is happening in the right eye is just a "sympathetic reaction."
In addition, Crystal, one of the children who lived here for a while is going thru cancer treatment. She is only in her 20’s now and is a single mother to a one-year old boy. She has no family she is willing to claim. She calls Amargia home and Kay "Mom." I’ve been busy child-proofing the house. I had forgotten what kids that age were like. Our biological GC’s are a little older. I’ve learned the blind parents trick of tying little bells on toddlers shoe laces comes in handy for sighted caregivers, as well. Gremlin bells, in this case. LOL. Man! They get into everything at this age! (Jim)
!

Thanks Jim My 30 yr. old GS will be in the next package out.He's a good babysitter.LOL
Kay, sure sorry about your eye.Is the rest of you healing up ok? You take that eye patch and dye it pink and add lace around it and start a new fad.
I had a bunch of aloe vera and gave it all away. Now i just have one.
The new snowstorm is here. But haha i've sent off for new seeds and just don't care.
Vickie