Garden Projects - 2010

heehee Bill, needed the laugh!

They actually are very cool!

Okay Bill ( she said in a deep voice) these are really outstanding awesome gnome arousing fabby shrooms! ^_^ How's that, better?

Bill those came out really neat.. go sell em on ebay!!

Reminds me of this, Bill, only much more manly.

that is it!! i am out of here!!!!

::::laughing::::

I might dream of pink rock shrooms tonight

please tell me you are kidding Bill... I can't take anymore bad vibes today

I'm loving 'em, Bill!

I just caught up w/this thread, Bill your mushrooms are amazing !!! ^_^

Cool shrooms Bill, your right though, trying to get the stems to last will be difficult. Ric

Would love them in my shade garden! You're very talented, Bill!

C'mon Bill, you know we're just playing! ^_^

I wish I had that kind of talent.

thx all

ric good thing about the using tree branches is there are more of them:)

Bill,See if ya' can find some dead locust branches, they might last a couple of years longer. I've actually thought of trying to split some brown stone fence post either by drilling and letting ice do it or using slim wedges (both old ways), but brown stone is unpredictable and some times hard to read. It would be frustrating to split a slab you cut for post and get a lateral break when you section 2-3 post from it. Josh picked up a Stihl concrete saw which Jamie is rebuilding (both sons), it works fine on bricks, pavers, and flag stone. I considered using it to try and cut a post using water, it will take a trial to see if it would be cost effective, and the surface finish would be a sawed finish. Ric

Those are fabulous, manly hunks, Bill! I really love them. LOVE 'em!! Hank thinks they're cool too!

louise im sure i can find a couple likely shroom stones for you and hank walking around your walls - probably some nice stone stems too

ric i do hope to find (louise and hank don't come home for a while) some granite i can use for stems - just kidding louise ----------------------------maybe ------------ no kidding -------------------------maybe not:)

A M A Z I N G !!!!! I like the look of the bark stem, too.

Bill, while you're at our house, please check on the house.....there have been some break-ins in our area. Also, Hank said to tell you that we also need a nice little 4' high stone fence for our dogs in the back pit area. No problem, huh? LOL

Hank also said that he has 3 great things to show you in the woods the next time you come for a visit. All 3 are impressive stone "secrets of our woods", known to very few.

Wha, Those are wonderful.

I now have a perfect pole for you to top. DH and our BFF just took down a big dead pine. Before they take the trunk to the ground, I should see if you just happen to have a cap for it laying around.

Here is the downed tree. We have another slightly smaller one on the project list to be taken down this week and burned. I am going to take the pine ash to Boston to give to a potter friend who is going to make a great glaze from the ash. Love to recycle. I will use some of it on my pottery too. Patti

louise i will need more information on the wall before i can begin:) looking forward to seeing those three great stone things!

thx patti - that stump may require heavy equipment to place a stone cap on it - the other one sounds doable - i'm sure there is a cap up at your VT retreat that could do the job - wish i had trees like that cappable.

Wha, you could lift anything!

We will take that stump down to the ground. The other pine tree that needs to come down is too far away to see from the gardens and just needs to come down before it falls across the bike path an kills someone. It is not actually on our property(the towns right of way), but I want it gone. They might drop it and leave it to rot, but I would rather haul it to the burn pile.

We will plant a new tree where the one pictured was lost. Now I need to figure out what kind. It don't think I would plant another pine or cedar, just not sure what I want there. I will get to our local nursery as soon as it is warmer to see what they have that excites me. Here is a picture of the site last May that shows the dead tree which is the one leaning in the middle to the right of the bench. It would have to be something that looks normal with the pitch pines. There is a fair amount of afternoon sun in that spot. Any ideas? Birch? There is a Japanese maple next to the bench. Patti

Birch would be lovely there---my son's inlaws have a white birch with purple leaves that is stunning.

Smoke tree?

birch would like the sandy soil - what about a dawn redwood or bald cypress peve yellow - what color is the jm?

I thought a rhododendron would look pretty there as a backdrop for the bench.

Robindog, I like the purple leafed birch idea, but it might not be as good with the red leafed Japanese maple that is planted near by as a green one. I also have a dwarf river birch planted behind the bench which is a Betula nigra Fox Valley which will get maybe 10-12 feet high. So I think if I went with a red leafed birch it would good to get the taller multi-stemmed Betula 'Crimson Frost' or one called B. Royal Frost, however maybe I should look for a weeping Birch of some sort.. Love birch.

Wha, The maple is Acer palmatum var. dissectum Inaba Shidare. On my list of wants for a long time has been a white red bud, maybe Cercis chinensis 'Shirobana' or Cercis canadensis 'texensis' BUT I failed to mention that my needed tree should be not anything loved by the deer. Dang. I think the Bald Cypress would get eaten here too. Below is a photo of the A. Inaba Shirdare with one of my favorite Narcissus called N. Sherborne.

IrisMa, I already have several smoke bushes, Cotinus, which I love in other parts of the yard so I think I will look for another genus.

Sofonisba, I had to move the rhododendron to behind the deer fence as they ate them down to nearly nothing, same with the azaleas. grrrrrrrrrrrr.

I could go with a Alberta Spruce to give the endless stream a nice vertical of green to decorate with Xmas lights during the winter. Or better still a Picea omorika ’Pendula’ (Weeping Serbian Spruce). Any one grow a weeping spruce?

Here is Rutgers list of deer damaged trees. Thanks for all the good ideas, juices are flowing. Patti

Is my bent over tree a spruce? Someone once told me but it didn't "stick."

Cousin It??

Yup!

kathy that is a weeping spruce and a very nice one too - i have two of these, one is in sick bay that i tried to train higher and broke and replaced with a new one - patti HD sells these every year for reasonable $$.

patti i have the multi-stemmed Betula 'Crimson Frost' as you enter the back yard - also from hd at reasonable $$ - it the royal frost has larger leaves i would choose that one - crimson frost is ok. although i am considering to move it and replace with a jm:) i have a weeping birch out front that is in its third year this spring and it should really take off - did well last year.

i like the idea of a conifer back there - either green or how about a dwarf blue spruce like baby blue eyes, only gets 8 - 10' tall - love the one i picked up last year - as you know there is not a blue conifer i do not dislike:)

Thanks, Bill. I guess it did stick! This is a 20+ year old specimen! Seems like it's at least 5' but I'm not planning on checking today in the snow. You know, you really need to come to my RU next summer....

Hey there boojum,
Very nice Weeping Spruce you have there. I have one that is not nearly as old that I trained up to around 12' and when I couldn't reach the top to stake it up I let it droop. Glad to see what it will look like when it puts some growth on.
Warren

As much as I love conifers, I have to say I'm not a fan of that look! Looks as tough it has self-image issues and is trying desperately to grow back into the ground. ^_^

Deer are awful---didn't know they ate so much! I don't remember the weeping spruce, Kathy, but hope to see your gardens again!

started some seeds last night and today - 100 leeks, couple basil's, a few peppers, marjoram, and parsley. also started delph's, a couple rudbeckia just in case they do not come back, foxglove, seeds from the fancy crazy daisy, amaranth, and four o'clock's - will not start tomato's for another 2-3 weeks

My neighbors wrapped their arborvitae in bird netting - no deer damage at all!

Hey Boojum, I will just bring a shovel on Monday and take that one with me. I remember it now. I love the weeping thingy what ever spruce it is.

Wha, I should look at my photo's that I took of your garden to see your different birches. I think I agree about using a conifer, but I do have another spot that needs a special tree, so I can do a birch there. I want to put a nice tree along this drive on the left side of the picture. Great help all. Patti

I would do a contrasting color, Patti - blue or gold. Try a conifer with a form / texture that contrasts with the neighbors. Bald cypress likes water, so if it's sandy there it would be a bad choice. Deer never seem to touch spruce. Dawn redwood is probably too big for there, but there is a new weeping one if you like.