New bees chit chat - come on in!! 05/17/2010

I don't know about anyone else's area but here where I live, black eyed susans, wild daisies, and purple cone flower have to re-seed themselves every year or they do not come up the following year. Dead heading is fine as long as you don't dead head all of them.....at least that is what I am finding here....now someone else I know has them come up every year, no problem but that person does not collect the seeds and so they probably get to reseed each year.......I guess what I'm saying is that if they don't come up the year after you plant them, wait until the following year before giving up hope.

happy gardening all love and hugs im going to bed goodnight nettie

Chelle,
The pic you posted up above there ,is that a calla lily? If so I have one coming up and it actually was in the ground over the winter and I didn't think they were hardy to my area.

Nettie, What all you got in that Bog Garden? You got a lot of blooms going on. s. alata, I see Iris too, I think.

Hi flower, yes, that's a calla lily. I can't remember what color the flower is supposed to be. I will have to ask RRM when she pops in. Oh, just looked above and saw her post! Ha ha Morning Charleen

We also get the yucca flaccida that grows everywhere out here. At least they seem to be in a whole bunch of yards. Funny how I notice everyone's yard and what they have growing in it now, lol

Time to go out and see what my hare-y friends have done to my garden today. Rabbits.. >:-( bbl

rrm that bog has la. iris horse tail honeyxuckle, that pink is coral not native to arkansas. last year i also had elephant ear but had to take them for winter they are still in the pots l put them in last fall they are the short up right tipe i like them because they don,t lay down just keep going straightr up i wqndering about cala lili they like water don.t know how much wet they would take. may have to try some and see, the la. iris love it down there. they will take the whole bed if i let them. nettie oh i almost for got also have cape honeysuckle and some re blooming clemattis very pretty.

that snake bit the hound dog lady her neck is all swolen she looks bad but she is syill eating everything we give her and playing wiyh yhe oyher dogs bill says she will be fine. i hope so poor thing.

Sorry I haven't been around everyone. With two gardens of irises it keeps me busy. I see a few request for help with their iris seedpods. I'll find a link for you guys to checkout. It should help answer your questions.

I see skellog is still here and so is Jan. The goth girl visited while I was gone also. I have to stop by more often I guess. I'm enjoying Courtney's songs Mechelle. She is blessed with a awesome voice. RRM I'll be digging irises soon for you.

Today was our 4th day over 90 and tomorrow will be the same until the cold front moves thru in the afternoon. I tried to get some work done in the garden today but it was just too hot and humid.

Mit

Sorry Nettie, hope the dog stays well. Those snakes are bad on the pets. Poor baby.
I have one ground orchid that blooms white. What kind do you have Nettie? I may have enough to share a piece of mine with you if yours is different. I'll have to go look and see if I can find the name of mine somewhere. It's name got washed off the pot it is in, but it shoots up a spike and blooms white blooms all the way up it.

Sorry Mitt, we over posted. It's in the 90's here too. Suppose to be 92 tomorrow. Too hot to go outside at all. You try to drink lots of fluid and stay hydrated if you work outside. Take care.

Hope your doggie is OK Nettie! I don't like snakes...

Hi Mit - long time no see. It was 108° today and supposed to be 110° tomorrow and I think 112° Monday. I'm so ready for summer to be over - geez. I love Phoenix, except in the summer. I have to keep reminding myself how nice it is to live here 9 months out of the year - lol.

Hi Kelly, how does mom like all that heat?

We get the heat but usually in August. In June we should be in the 70s. When the heat comes so does the humidity. It's just so muggy and uncomfortable sometimes. This morning at 7, I was staying outside talking with a neighbor and my clothes were sticking to me. yuck

This is unusual for this time of year. I can't get out to play in the dirt

Us too Mitt. But it goes from 80-90 and back to 75 then back to 85 to 90 again and 92 tomorrow. 100 percent humidity. Rain every day for the last couple weeks. I can't breathe outside these days.

Hi Mitt- thanks for watching Courtney's videos. We really enjoy her singing and it's good family time for us to go watch her. I have a couple of new videos to upload from last night. She was singing and a string popped on her guitar in the middle of a song! She tried to play through it but stopped. It was funny but that happens to musicians all the time.

Kelly- omg.. 108 is just wayyy to hot. We used to have really hot days in CA over 100 like that and it was just dry heat. We are supposed to be in the 90's this week. I have been trying to get outside in the morning and evening when it's cooler. I drink lots of iced tea with hardly any sugar all day when I am working outside. All those sugary drinks make you more dehydrated so I use 1/2 cup of sugar to a gallon of tea. Tea is also a good diuretic so you don't hold on to all that water..

Nettie- poor doggie.. I hate snakes. A friend of ours was helping out in the woods behind our house and said he saw a water mocassin. I have never seen one but I won't be going out in the woods any time soon! eek!

Miss Mekos, how are you ladybug? We need to do something fun around here.. I still want to do a little contest to help name my foal. Wanna help me plan it? Dmail me if you do.. ;-)

This is a pretty Japanese Iris that Seray sent me last year. Pretty isn't it? The bloom just opened today.. Have a good night everyone ;-)

Mit - my Mom likes the heat. I tell her it's because she doesn't have to live in it for months at a time... Maine is humid like you guys. My Dad said it's been raining almost every day for the last week and today it was only 59°. Crazy weather for them too. It's normally in the 70s about now. I'd so love to not have to water my gardens. They barely ever water and I have to water all the time. I'm trying every 3 days with the veggies - they're all in raised beds so dry out faster than stuff in the ground. Most of my pots have to be watered every day except the Irises and the shade pots. Every 3 or 4 days for them. Can't wait for fall to plant all the Irises and Daylilys that are potted in the ground. Seray sent me 3 Daylilys last year. Jungle Beauty and Joan Senior have scapes and I'm impatiently awaiting blooms. 42nd Street was a seedling and doesn't look like it will bloom this year. Oh, and I had a rain lily blooming this am - crazy since it hasn't rained - lol. They get a lot of water though and are in good soil so they are happy...

Mechelle - you get used to the heat but you don't have to like it - lol... Courtney's videos are great - keep 'em comin'! The Iris is pretty!

Hi Miss Mekos - hope you're well. While I'm melting here I will be looking to you all to keep me in blooms until fall.

Nettie, your garden is gorgeous! Sure hope you dog comes out of it okay. We had a rattler bite one of our dogs once, and boy was she sick for days! Her poor head and neck swelled some thing fierce, but she kept food down and drank tons of water. After a few days she recovered completely, except after that she sure hated snakes! She would go out and hunt them, I swear! Then she killed them and brought them to the house and left those stinking dead snakes everywhere! She was so proud of herself for killing them, lol!
Our weather has been absolutely pleasant! Not too hot, not too cold, about 65-70 during the day, but we have been getting some strong wind and a little rain at night! Perfect almost! So glad we don't have the heat and humidity that some of you are getting. No irises blooming yet here tho :-( Not much blooming of anything yet, but the lilacs are starting, and smell heavenly!

Yeah Sandi - glad you're finally getting some nice weather!

So much easier than your 100 plus temps! I don't want to work tho, just want to stay outside in the gardens working instead, lol. The down side is we need to mow the grass about every 3 days, it's growing that much!

65-70 is just perfect Sandi!

My little garden helper.. Sylvester, lol ..

OMG Mechelle! Sylvester is adorable! Your gardens look so lush! Very nice!

What a cute kitty kitty! And I agree with Sandi - very lush!!

That bed has everything in it.. It was here when we bought the house but it's been fun ID'ing it all. Here's what it has:
TB Iris
Daylies, orange and yellow
Bee Balm
Butterfly Weed
Variegated Vinca
Vinca
Dusty Miller
Peony
Ivy
Tiger Lilies
Crinum
Lily Turf grass
Daffodils
La. Iris

Probably more I can't think of right now, lol.. There are a few weeds too! I will try to get a full picture for you guys.

Look what opened this morning - a rain lily with no rain!

Here's a pic of the 'mater harvest for today... Thought I'd share.

There are Steak Sandwich, Bloody Butcher, a Phoenix (the barely blushing one, lower left), Dr. Carolyn Pink (big cherry), Sun Sugar (orange), Gartenperle and I think a Pink Brandywine. Oh, and a tiny funny looking Cold Set near the top right. This is the only plant that survived out two cold December days and is now loaded with 'maters...

Pretty Kelly!

Thanks Chelle... Excuse the weeds though. They make a great groundcover/mulch - lol...

Nice tomatoes too! I can't wait til mine are ready .. There is nothing better than fresh garden tomatoes

Just finished eating supper, but Wow! sure would love to have some of those maters for dessert, lol! They look great! Sure hope mine are that prolific! Love home grown maters! They look delicious!

I will not eat a store tomato anymore. If I don't have them in the garden I'll but them at the Farmer's Market... No comparison on taste. You can tell the hybrid 'mater in the bunch - the Phoenix in the lower left corner. Smooth as a baby's bottom and not a crack or blemish on it - lol. I love Heirlooms for their quirky looks and yummy taste.

I agree with you on that Kelly. You can just taste the difference straight away. We have a nice little Farmers Market down here that I went to the other day and got some tomatoes, zucchini and a cantaloupe. The cantaloupe was one I had never seen before. The skin on the outside looked different and the flesh was a lighter peach color than most. I was going to save the seeds but I didn't really care for the taste of it. It just wasn't real sweet. It tasted good and you could tell it was a cantaloupe but it was just kinda plain, lol..

Was it a small canteloupe? Sounds like it may be a Minnesota Midget. They are really good - I grow them. With melons it is best to not water them the last couple weeks as they ripen for the sweetest flavor. That's easy to do in the desert because we never get rain - lol. Harder where it rains like Tennessee.

No, actully it was a little bigger than usual. I didn't ask him what kind it was. Next time I go back I'm going to ask him.

hi guys, nice to see you all.. Been busy here..Tod Gordon from the Dahlia forum had a lil contest and I won a box of dahlia tubers so of course I spent last few of days making a bed for them.. Actually I added onto the ends of a bed I already had in progress.. It has black and blue salvia in the center of the bed (which is a pretty light green foliage) mixed gladiolus in with the salvia.Tall Purple phlox in the back(still small) marigolds at the front of the bed and I had one yellow dahlia already blooming on the end..

I scraped out all the grass off each end and added, 4 dahlias, 5 amaryllis. and loads of baby wave petunias that I started from seeds to each end.. Right now it sorta looks naked and plain out there..I need to go get a load of pecan hulls to put in there around them but the truck is in the shop again grrr... Hope the petunias fill in before the grass does lol..Trish

heres a great link explaining hybridizing and growing iris seeds for those of you who were asking

http://leticia.smugmug.com/Flowers/Iris-Hybridizing/1222403_uHtX8#57316497_jMUXY

One Way to Plant Bearded Iris Seeds By Paul Black
http://home.flash.net/~mindpath/ssis/oneway.htm



Thread @ DG
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1053553/?hl=iris seeds

Good morning Everyone
Here is that link I had mentioned last night for the iris seedpods.

Dan (zacattack) has put this together a few year ago and it's been a great help for everyone. Thanks Dan !!!
http://leticia.smugmug.com/Flowers/Iris-Hybridizing/1222403

I saw something else someone posted when I was reading yesterday. If I can find it I'll post that also for you.

Mit

Good morning all! Not quite 50 degrees outside yet this morning, and everything is covered with dew, but going out to play in the dirt anyway! It will warm up soon enough. Where do you all find petunia seeds, especially the wave ones? And calibracoa seeds, too, as far as that goes? Sure wish I could find some, I'd start tons of them and save buying them by the dozens every year.
Thanks Mit! Makes things much easier, and now I know there are things I should have done different! Seems I always do something wrong, teehee!

Thanks Mitt those links were very interesting and informative. I'm going to let Mother Nature do the watering LOL when I try starting from seeds. I have plenty of time to make a seeding area.

I see Trish posted at the same time I did. Sorry Trish

I think it takes about 2 months for the pods to ripen. You'll notice they'll go from green to a tan or brown color and they'll start to split open. At the first sign of splitting remove the seedpods so you don't lose any seeds

I have found that most of the bee polinated don't have any seeds or very few seeds. I must have over a hundred pods this year from the bees. The ones I crossed have the white tags on them ;-)

Mitt and Huney, thanks for posting that amazing link on hybridizing Iris. That was interesting from start to finish. Makes me want to try it .

Look what I found outside on La. Iris