Plant propagation part XVII based on my own experience

Jnette ~ I could not possibly sleep with the lights on...not at all. I do not recall seeing any of your pictures...please take some, OK? I would love to see them. I really do love petunias. I can hardly wait until they all bloom. Maybe I will (try and..) take a page out of joannabannana's playbook and just put one in each color bowl instead of squishing them all in as i had done in the past. It really take a lot of patience to grow petunias...they are SO tiny and take SO long to grow....I wasn't sure if they would be up to size by summer but just since I transferred them to gallon cans they perked right up and took on growth as well as starting to bloom. Well actually I just would put 6 as in a six-pack into a color bowl...they did well, but I am aiming higher now...

Dawn ~ My mulch of choice is organic compost. If I put in bark nuggets it is nearly impossible to get the pine needles out, but still I will put some in the bed near the road as it gets the least amount of water, I put them over the organic compost, just to keep it looking nice. Also I don't like to weed that bed twice in a season, just once.

This is a typical planting near the road and the driveway...I do not have a recent one, I just noticed...

Good Morning. You were all pretty busy last night. I am still praying for rain. I would be really upset if I had a field of flowers to care for. Wow, this is terrible. I irrigated the black pussy willows this morning early. Their leaves are browning and curling up. The red maple are gone for the year. I think they went dorment because their leaves are all dried up. The white dogwood has some sort of mold or some darn thing and is loosing alll its leaves. It is calling for some rain maybe tomorrow. Who knows. I do know the temp. is now in the high 80s and it is not as humid.

I feel crappy. I am tired. did not sleep well last night and I am waiting for the bird groomer to come and do the birds. Get that over with then I think I will rest for a few hours. Went to the chiropractor and he put me back together again. Pickles are taking their toll on me. LOL. My arthritis in my back from standing for hours and all that jazz.

I have two flats of pumpkin on a stick and ornamental eggplants in 3" pots and I am about to throw them away. I can not put them up on eBay or DG because I am afraid they will die in shipping and I will have to refund the money. Then you pay the fees and get nothing in return. Dave, you shipping at this time is wonderful. I envy you, but I am glad for you. I can not plant them outside because of the severe heat. What else is there to do with them?

My chiropractor has one of my jasmine 2 yr. old plants and he ask me this morning if the leaves should be brown. I almost died ......NO, I said, why? He showed me the plant.
It looks completely dead. Not a green leaf on it. It is one sad mess. I told him to cut it back and sit it outside and see what happens. Also told him to give it lots of water.
I can not believe anyone with a brain could not see that is not how the plant is to look.
He is such a sweetheart but now I am wondering about his gardening ability with tropicals. LOL I doubt I will give him another one.

Jen, I know what you mean. I was raised in the Newspaper business and desperately believe in Freedom of Speech (not vulgarity) and today the words I was censored for are heard daily on Cable and Direct TV stations. Not that it makes is o.k. and I do think those words offend some people, but those people are offended at most everything in this world today. If we are going to be censored and our gmails removed for it, we should have a list. I am just so sick of the people who say one thing and do another.
I guess I am just too up front and outspoken for the rest of the world. LOL. This is only the second time in my life I have ever been told about using the word "b****". The first time I was on the phone discussing a female dog and the person was listening only to my part of the conversation and had no idea I was talking about a female dog. Well, they were very embarrassed when they found out their holy attitude was not appropriate for that particular conversation. Apologies were accepted but I was very annoyed.
I would guess any of the dog forums on this list had better not use the B word or they will have a lot of missing dmail. And as for the other D word. Look out for those discussing the Hoover you know what or any other place that controls water. They had better not put a "n" on there will be more missing. I could go on and on and yes I guess I resent it but I think the monitors are doing their jobs and if so, then we comply with their wishes or get out of Dodge. I am still considering the later. I hate having to watch everything I say. It makes me tired.

Back to the plants, I could never grow morning glories, or any plant that attracts hummingbirds. I wonder why. I have seriously tried before I got into mostly tropicals.
I have tried Passiflora and I had a collection of everblooming passion flowers which I killed and I do not know why. I think I overcare for them.
I thought I wrote to you about this critter, but I do not remember, so here I go.
Did I tell you I have a groundhog as big as my dog eating the pickles off the vine and I want to shoot that sucker. (I wonder if I am allowed to say that)..but for the time being I can not do it because it is only coming out at times when there are people around or during the night, which then they take the big cat dish and carry it away. I can not believe it does come out at night, must be two different critters I am dealing with. Both must be large to be able to take a large cucumber and a big dish of cat food and eat both. If you hear a shot, you know I got him. I am rambling and you all have other things to discuss. Thanks for listening. I love you all. JB

Dave ~ I would think that you might keep your daturas in the GH this winter and maybe bring them in the house when it gets really cold. I had mine in the ground and they all died...I was very disappointed as they were not cheap. I never saw their flowers, at least they could have bloomed. Should I ever get tempted again, that will be the course I pursue.
Do you sell or plant all of those when you do 50 cuttings of everything? You must have a nice full garden. I am just learning to do cuttings. Is this a good time to do them? Probably since I need to trim all the shrubs...spirea, barberry and boxwood in particular. I read that you just did 'Goldflame'..I have that as well as 'Lime Mound' and S. douglassii, a CA native.

Lee ~ Is your smoke tree the species or the purple one? They now have a 'Golden Spirit', and I did get one, but I don't see it, so either the winter or the gophers got it as it was quite small.

Iris ~ I am going to try wintersowing the delphiniums this year. If you don't want to do that I think you need to stratify the seeds.

jnette ~ I don't want petunias that are blooming with such small roots as they will never achieve their potential...I never thought of it before until I read many of the posts in the annual forum by joannabannana. She seems to be quite the expert and I have taken her advice quite a bit as I never grew petunias before this year. Not from seed, but I bought them every year from nurseries. Hers are really spectacular. She ought to write a book.

Worms ~ I know what you mean...I think that I carry on too much as my posts seem to be quite long as of late...Oh, Sharon, do you raise worms and sell them? Or do you just know how to garden well as in mulching to encourage them? I would like your thoughts on the subject since that is your screen name.

I like to see everyone's pictures...jnette, I am waiting...trying to be patient and not nagging...LOL!

This is my youngest granddaughter and me...a couple of years ago....

JB ~ You crack me up...ROFLOL!! ☺ I only use those #@** words occasionally as when they are used all the time, no on pays attention...as you say. I was raised to "be a lady", though my mother did try, I was quite a disappointment to both of my parents on many occassions.

evelyn, it is either sleep with the lights on or bats flying all around. One or the other take your pick.

JB, I feel so bad for your plants. I hope you don't lose them all. Are you serious about them going dormant in the summer? Come on. I just hope they aren't dead.

What does the bird groomer do? I imagine cut the toenails, but what else? Must be like getting a horse furrier?

No, this is the first time we have heard about the groundhog. Why don't you make a pet out of it and then maybe you can direct it's eating habits. LOL No cucumbers.

I believe in freedom of speech too. However, I do not enjoy listening to someone who cannot put a regular word in between the foul ones once in a while. As I said, i think they are ignorant. Probably cannot read either. But to use one once in a while, and as you said, they are being used more and more on TV, think that started with Bill Mahr. LOL

OK evelyn, I guess I will have to put my camera in my garden tool bag. I don't take very good pictures tho. And you will never see my picture on your computer.

I will do that when I go out. However, they have red flag warnings for the area right now. Suppose to be high winds until 11 o'clock tonight. I went out and watered all my plants so they won't get blown off the deck railing.

Well got to go put the sprinkler on before it starts blowing. I'll take the camera. lol

Well another cold day in Vegas. 108 today already and humidity 43% which is unusual.

DH fell last night while taking the male schnauzer off the couch. We were on our way to bed and I was already in my dressing room getting my night clothes on when I heard the noise. He fell backward and hit the ottoman, which is on wheels, and when it moved he hit the floor. It appears he has either pulled a muscle or banged up a rib. I have some pain pills to pick up at the pharmacy and make a bank deposit so I am going to to go out in this heat but I as not complaining because I could be shoveling oil in the gulf instead of driving around in my air conditioned car. So DH has gone back to bed. Says it feels better laying down. Of course, he will not go and see the Doctor.

I have to stop by the greenhouse to see how my vegetables are doing. The other half of the greenhouse the other day fertilized his side with 15-15-15. Burned up a bunch of things. I only use organic fertilizer. We actually have a tank on our side that feeds when it waters. It is an EZ Flow for hoses or small irrigation systems. I have a large one on the house system, and every time the plants are watered, they are fertilized. I have one for the hose now sitting on the dining room table to try out. My to do list just gets longer every day. I will post a photo of the EZ Flow for the hose. It can be turned on or off without disconnecting from the hose. I was told they are $30.

Dawn I use Organic Compost that I purchase at Plant World. It comes in very large bales. Currently I have spread 10 bales but you must remember, I have been doing this for years so I only have to replenish. The mow and blow guys just love to blow it away so I can replenish.

As for my worms, I have red worms that I am raising for worm castings and I have my compost "holes", which I move around all the time that have your normal earthworms right at home. I also get coffee grounds from Starbucks and spread it like you would seed. The worms love it and it makes my garden smell so good first thing in the morning. If I did a hole in my landscape and find no worms, I start adding something to deteriorate so it will attract the worms. The more rotten the better as long as it was green at one time. No Dawn, road kill would not be a good thing to put in your compost. Anything I cut or pull in the landscape goes into a large black garbage can, on wheels. When it gets really rotten, thank goodness it has a very tight lid, I dig a big hole somewhere and dump the mess and goo and then make sure it is covered up. But again you must understand, we have no critters except birds, rabbits and lizards. Occasionally a coyote but nothing that goes underground so there is nothing to dig it up.

I have Arabian Jasmine and it is in full bloom right now and you can smell it in the middle of the landscape next door.

Well I am signing off for now. I am going to take a shower, get dressed and hit the road.

We had a young man go berserk at Costco, just about 5 miles from here on Saturday. Throwing and breaking many things. They evacuated the premises because they spotted a gun in his waist band. He tried to sneak out with the last group of employees but was pointed out by a customer. He pulled his gun and of course, was shot dead on the spot. Thirty years old, Master's Degree from Duke and a graduate from West Point. Would love to know the other side to that story.

I love your picture......you are both very young and adorable and cute and all that sort of stuff. Great picture. Wish I had a granddaughter. I do have a grandson I spoil.

I hate bats. snakes and spiders and YOU CAN ALL POST THEM ON HERE I DO NOT FREAK OUT AT PICTURES. I do however not appreciate the live ones in or around my house. I have had my share of all sorts of critters and bugs, but those really BIG spiders that they sell in the pet shops really make my hair on my arms curl. I never dream about them I just don't want to be near them. I was in my yard one day and went to pick up a stick and the stick turned out to be a snake. Needless to say, the snake died suddenly and I went inside and had a drink of gin. LOL....My Grandfather raised me not to be afraid of anything that is smaller than me, but sometimes I get the shivers when I come face to face and I do not have a gun. The snake met his demise with a shovel....he suddenly came apart. I thought he was a copperhead or I would not have killed him, but it turned out he was not but it was too late. Oh well, I only have one eye so how would I know.
Just a few weeks ago a baby bat got in the doggie door of my daughters house. Such a riot that was. Poor bat lived thru it but he was exhausted. It took my daughter days to get over that one. I remember as a kid my father used a tennis racket to chase them out of our house. We had more bats in the house than we had people at times. We never found how they got in, it was a large three story house and they found every tiny nitch to get in. They are so ugly, but cute in a way.
Actually my son in law said he hoped the maple will go dormant, no they are not dead. Parts of them perked up after irrigation, but they are not happy. The dead leaves are blowing off in the winds.
Because my birds are allowed out of their cages, they have their wings clipped so they can only fly DOWN, NOT UP AND OUT A DOOR. They end up on the floor instead. They have their beaks and toe nails trimmed too if needed. The wing thing will not help if you take them outside and a good breeze is blowing, they can still fly but not high. They would be killed if they got outside and could not get up into a tree. I never take mine outside. The bird groomer is cheaper than the farrier, but not by much. LOL Did you ever see a little bird shoe? Gottcha!

Here is a photo of DH and Myself.

You guys have such cool pictures. Both of you. Should say all of you. granddaughter and DH too.

How is your husband today Sharon? Don't let it go too long if he doesn't improve soon. Make sure he gets to a dr. The older we get the longer it takes to heal so if there is something really wrong he needs to take care of it.

I have a whole bowl full of garbage I ran thru the cuisinart to pour into the compost pile. I didn't want to put whole or pieces of things to attract raccoons.

That is terrible about the young man getting shot. People are just wound to tight today.

JB, I'm with you. I don't mind all of those things as long as they stay outside. I do not want them flying overhead when I am in bed. Or any other place.

JB, you are such a smart a- -. Whoops, almost did it again. Donkey. LOL, I just don't know who named these animals that we can't call them for what they are.

evelyn, I took some pictures but the sun wasn't out so they are kind of washed out, and also, remember they haven't been planted very long. I will send a few since you can only do one at a time. They should fix that. It's a problem.

Another:

Ok one last one.

BTW Sharon, do you have a shady spot where you have heleborus and hostas?

Jeanette ~ OH...very nice petunias...oh, I love petunias...their colors, their fragrance. Very mild as I am allergic to strong fragrances like gardenia, jasmine and honeysuckle. They give me instant migraines and I get very ill. Fortunately, most women don't wear the strong perfumes as they used to do. Remember getting on elevators with someone's fragrance and no escape?
However, I cannot go through a summer without petunias. I keep them in color bowls and hanging baskets mainly as if I plant them in the ground, the deer will eat them and they don't like to be sprayed with deer repellant. I think I will put some in my new border as the soil is so wonderful now. (That one is in the enclosed garden area.) Everything was planted in summer! I plant in summer, and they are all still alive! I can hardly wait for cooler days though as I have been working in slo-mo....I do a bit in the morning and then in the evening. Sometimes I can do some things during the day, but not lately....

When it cools down later this afternoon/early evening, I will move the rest of the petunias into gallon cans as I used the gallon can when I got the Bluestone order months ago when it was too wet/cold to plant. I just moved them up and since I did not have enough I put some of the smaller plants 3 to a pot. At least they would stay watered better that way than just leaving them in their liner size containers. I have other items as well needing attention. I am not sure which tomatoes I will be putting into my large plastic pots that look like clay, well, sort of...you those at Rite Aid that were half price?

So I never run out of work to do, and it seems as though I continue to create more to do. Why is that? Well, I guess I love my life and I am happy to be planting and seed-starting and all of that sharing with all of you as well. Isn't it fun? Yes, we all have our challenges, but who does not? And we get to type things on our keyboard and "talk" to all sorts of people all over the country, and some in other countries as well, that share the same passion for growing all sorts of different plants and share seeds, plants and experiences and to learn from one another...oh yes, it seems now that I must be on drugs, but I swear to all of you (swear???), that I am not taking any of them any more. I don't even drink anymore since DH quit when I stopped the drugs...now that makes me do the happy dance!! ☺♫♪♫ And yes, I am happy that Jeanette has posted her petunia picture...

JB ~ Ahhh, you make me blush...68 yrs young...yes, now Jessica is the real star of that photo...my hair was overgrown and rather unkempt, but she still has that vibrancy that comes from youth. I hope that all of her dreams come true. Today's world is so fraught with so many complexities and seems to be getting more so every day....has anyone read any of the "Stillmeadow" books by Gladys Taber? About country life in Connecticut and some things that were left unsaid makes it as interesting as the things that were said. I have checked out some from the library and we have been reading them before bedtime. It amazes me that 100 years ago that most people still used horses and buggies and now we have sattelites in the sky and can "converse" with people we don't even know on the internet. I wonder if we haven't already ruined the planet...I sure hope not as it is rather crowded.

Oh, it is getting late now, so I will go out now and do a few things outside....I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. You all make my days special as well.

Thank you,

Evelyn ☺♫♪♫

Swallowtail loves dianthus...

I looked at Joannabanana's pictures she has posted evelyn. Very nice, but did you notice that almost every house there had a greenhouse? I see they are zone 3, so you would have to have a "heated" greenhouse to start them in March and have them in 4 inch pots in April etc. etc. as she states. She also says hers are all planted in the sun. I noticed that in their neighborhood there wasn't one large tree. The homes were pretty close together.

All of those things are taken into consideration. At least by me in my area. I am sure you would not have those issues.

Well Mr. DH is now better with the pain pills. My son will be here Friday night and look him over. Heather and the children are coming in Wednesday.

I stopped by Whole Food and got him a Vegan Pizza. They have great thin crust and an all vegetable pizza. And it is delicious. Also got him a pack of orange slices. Remember the gummy orange slices we had in the 50 and 60s. Now Whole Foods has them and he was delighted with the Pizza and slices. I know when you do not feel well that something spicy always tastes better than your old woman's home cooking.

Actually after taking care of him and the dogs all day I did not feel like cooking. Besides it is to hot to eat.

This morning I went outside to gather the papers. I heard a voice from afar. Oh, I said, a voice of an angel, Maria. I called out, "Maria". She came running across the street. She is my housekeeper but I only have her once a month. DH was to clean his area upstairs because that is where Natalie 9 and Megan 13 will be sleeping and bathing. He cannot walk so I am sure he will not make it upstairs to clean the bathroom and his "cave". I said, how is your schedule this week. She said. I just had a cancellation. It was a two hour appointment. Great, can you clean upstairs?, Yes. I danced back up the driveway, gave DH the paper and paid her out of his checking account. YES, we have separate bank accounts. We are both on each account but DH does not register checks and I only keep enough money in my checking account to pay daily expenses so over 25 years ago we, he agreed to have separate accounts. Probably saved the marriage.

Our low last night was 86 and the high tomorrow will be between 107 and 110. The neighborhood is deserted. This is the time every one leaves town. We usually go to San Diego the first two weeks of August but I do not want DH away from his Doctors.

Jnette, no I have not tried either. I just assumed they would not make it here. Maybe should give it a try. I planted moss rose in a couple of pots in the back landscape as a filler. Never had this happen but my wonderful little birds ate them down to the soil. I saw them out in the pots from the windows in the house but did not think anything about it. Well this evening when I was blowing the sumac leaves off the patio, I walked over to the pot and they were all down to nothing. Again I say I have never had this happen with a plant and birds.

Jnette, your petunias are absolutely beautiful. Obvious they enjoy the cool weather and moisture.

JB, you are just a hoot. I love you and just want to come over and give you a big hug.

Boy I am long winded today. You guys better pray for cooler weather in Vegas so I can get outside and not be on the computer all day. Love you all.

Jeanette ~ I suppose if I lived in zone 3 I would want to have a heated GH as well. My petunias always do well here even though they get half day sun...morning sun afternoon shade....They really like the heat though. I will start my next batch earlier in winter and keep them upstairs in my room this time and keep a watch over them as well as others that I lost. I seem to get not feeling well every few days or so and that is when I mess up on the seedlings...they do not do well if they dry up and I take full responsibility....I will have to figure out a better system. The petunias as well as others will, however, tolerate cooler temps in the basement while tiny, much to my surprise. Petunias take a lot longer than one month to get from seeding to 4" pots. At least they did for me. But once the warm weather happens, they start growing quickly. I did also learn another thing from Joanne as she uses coated seeds and only gets the varieties that are "free-flowering", that is none that needs pinching or dead-heading. I did not even consider these things. I will already have to cut them back so they can get fuller...maybe I should try and root the shoots I take?? Has anyone ever done that with petunias? I know, they are just annuals, but it would surely help make up for all that I lost along the way....Well, I am not going to get coated seeds and I need to use up the seeds I have, but I am sure I will get more. What varieties are you growing, Jeanette? I don't know why they call some flowers, like petunias blue, as there will never be a true blue petunia unless it is genetically engineered. Also the "blue" rose...is that the "Blue Denim" that you have in the picture there? And which petunia is that pretty red one?

Also I need to try peppers again as mine are still so tiny, even though they are planted out. I learned from nctomatoman that peppers really need sunlight even if the weather is cool. And I was so protective of them, I thought they could not bear the weather until it was warm. Has anyone seen his YouTube video about his methods of growing tomatoes? He is also on that "other " website, as well as the tomatoville website. He grows them in the larger cell packs and puts a lot of seeds in them and them transplants them into 3 or 4" pots after they get their true leaves. Also that way with peppers, but acknowledges that peppers are slower and more erratic in germination.

The tomatoes have doubled in size in the past few days. They are liking the warm weather and I suppose my soil mix. At least they are not bound by roots and heavy clay in the soil or any other obstacles. I did not take out all the clay but mixed it well with other items to lighten it up as well as some organic nutrients. It was a lot of work and now I think it was worth it, though painful at the time. So today I learned another fact. Tomatillos need more than one plant, preferably from a different strain in order to cross pollinate. This is the first year for my growing these as well. I had one lone survivor, well, I thought two, but even if...they should have been from a different seed lot. Some people say once they get started they are like weeds. Now, I know you knew I grew up in CA, but I was born in El Paso, and maybe that is why I like salsa so much, well CA is a border state as well. We have a lot of Mexican restaurants here, some better than others.

JB ~ I am glad that you do not freak out at pictures...one of my longtime "Internet penpals" told me to NEVER ever send her any more pictures of snakes. I was really surprised. Every year we get at least one bat in the house. We have a routine and now have learned how to get them out of the house easily. We used to try and catch them in large brown paper bags, and now don't even bother. We like them since they eat so many insects, but not in the house. As soon as it is detected, we close off all the other rooms and then get brooms and keep shooing it until downstairs and out the door. Now those stinkbugs...UGH! We had an epidemic of them during winter, why I do not know, they were awful! If I ever picked up a snake accidentally, I would have killed it first and then asked its identity later as well. That would be frightening. I just don't like surprises like that.

OK, I have rambled long enough....I hope that I have not put you all to sleep. Sharon, get your head up off your keyboard! LOL! Oh, I forgot to ask you, how is your husband doing now? You both are in my prayers.

Good night all...I'm exhausted! Sleep well.

Evelyn

I grow wave petunias from seed and love them to death. My Winters are cold and we can and do get snow some years, our temps went down to 11 and 13 about 4 years ago in the Winter. My petunias that are protected, stay with some green all winter in their pots or in the ground, but the ones that are exposed to the open air, look like they died but come back to life in late Winter.

Dave Daylilies do great here so about Sept. they should be fine to hit the mail and will do fine. They should have no problems even if I have a cold winter, coming back in early Spring. Thanks.

You guys all took such great pictures of your families and your flowers too. I hope Sharon's h is doing ok.

Another cute picture. Dawn are you saying that you are growing petunias as perennials? What are they like the next year?

To really appreciate my petunias I would need a greenhouse since our season is so short that they just get going good when it is time to clean up for the winter. But, I have toar plant a lot of them together to get a nice display since they never reach their full potential in the short season.

Even starting them in the house under lights in March they still take a while because it is not either a greenhouse or outside. However, now here is one for you to guys to think about. The people up here who have greenhouses say you still need lights in them because our light up here is so low. It does not have the right rays in it they say. We have to take vitamin D because we don't get the right UVA rays from our sun.

Once a year my dr. prescribes 50,000 units of vitamin D. People in the Northern Hemisphere need it. Lee, and JB, this would mean us especially. Now what do they mean by "Northern Hemisphere"? That would mean all of us. Have you guys ever had your vitamin D checked? The Swedes did a study and found all kinds of things that vitamin D does for you. Sharon, I think your husband especially should be checked. For one thing, low vit. D can cause depression. I just had mine checked again and I take 2K every day.

Sharon, I sent you a D mail. I have these plants in water now, but can plant them. Let me know what to do. I was not even listening to your temps you were citing when I was gathering plants to send to you. They just would not make it. Sorry. Even tho the campanulas are just roots I don't know if they would cook on the way. What do you think about them? The rest wouldn't. But I can redo them in the fall.

Well, I said send them. It is amazing, if they are taken out of the box immediately, they do survive. And my mailman brings them directly to my door. Probably because I give her plants all the time.

Dawn, great photo. You look English. Just like a friend of mine from Wales.

Petunias live here year round but get very leggy so I cut them back. I use them mostly in hanging baskets.

Just had a visit from a male and female Quail on the waterfall. The male posed for me for over 2 minutes u til I realized he was watching out for the female on the ground under the bird feeder. Of course, my camera was inside. But it was a great way to start the morning. I would assume the babies should show up soon. Last year they were adorable. Momma in front, 4 babies in a line and then Daddy behind, I think. Cannot really tell the make and female apart when they are not close together.

The young man shot at Costco was 39, in the store purchasing things for a new apartment he and his girlfriend were moving in to. Looking at Costco surveillance films to see what really was going on.



Weather this morning is actually lovely. Have a great day. I will return. JB, you be a good girl and do not get in trouble while I am gone. I did get in trouble on Cubits regarding a political statement I made about Washington DC. Guess the person in charge of the Cubit was of different political persuasion.

DH is still in much pain. Got up, took a pain pill and went back to bed. I have a service appointment at 10:30 on the SUV and then need to make a major buying trip to Costco for the kids visit. Lots of fruit.

Last comment. I have this two story bird feeder for the medium sized birds. The large birds, doves in particulars, have learned if they bump the feeder, seed will fall to the ground. What use to take two days to empty is now taking one day.

What cuties you are...I envy you gals who still have your soulmates with you. I have been alone for years and as independent as I am, I am still not used to it. Lovely couples. Take care of each other for as long as you can.

It rained 2 1/2 inches in an hour and a half this morning. I am thrilled. I would love to get out and do some pulling of weeds, but I have an appointment to get my toenails cut so that takes care of that for today. It is rumbling now again, so maybe we will get some more. Flash flooding all over the place. It all came down at one time really fast and furious.

Must get my email read, see you later. I swear, if I can not sleep again tonight I will get online and talk to you all. I hate getting awake about 12:30 a.m. and then not getting back to sleep until 3 or 4. It exhausts me to do that and for the past two nights that has been what is going on. Dog is restless and it keeps me awake wondering if he is o.k.

Have a good day, love you all. JB

Our anniversary three years ago. We were living in his mother's house temporarily (she passed away the year before...), while he did some work on our house. Also that is the time when I had all those surgeries...right knee replacement, left shoulder arthroscopic, then left shoulder allograft replacement, then right shoulder arthroscopic. He took such good care of me. I used a walker for a time but when the knee healed, then I had to go to the shoulder doc. Not really completely healed, but when I could walk without the walker. Still, I did housework, but living there it was so easy. No stairs...a manufacured home.

That's a nice picture evelyn.

Sharon I got the plants sent. Hope they aren't mush when you get them. Several are shade plants. I asked if you had a shade garden but you didn't answer so I sent some anyway. Hosta, helebore, pulmonaria, and possibly lamium. Those should probably be partial. not that they can't take sun.

Evelyn, you and DH look great.

I got a really bad case of anxiety and depression and probably had it for over a year before anyone finally figured out what was wrong with me. After 8 months of treatment and being on disability and leaving my office without a leader, I decided to retire. I was not well but the worrying about my staff was one of the reasons I was not getting better. During this period of time, my DH cared for me on an hourly basis for months. That was 4 years ago and I still cannot forget all the things he did to try to get me to eat. I would not talk on the phone. I stayed in bed, in the dark, with no TV or radio. Any noise bothered me. I slowly came back to being me. When I finally came out of the clouds, due to great meds, and walked out my front door into the courtyard I was shocked to see my courtyard. Totally overgrown and a disaster. When I started pulling out plants and cutting back my DH knew I was back. So I do know how important a kind and loving DH is important.

Now I get to take care of him. I keep telling him I do not want to live in this big house by myself.

Love you all.

Thank you, JB, Jeanette and Sharon!

Sharon ~ Blessings to you and your wonderful DH. I do hope he gets well and you two can have a happy life together. Yes, stress, especially from work can take a toll, especially when we get older. I was in management for many years, but declined it in the latter part of my working life. I just wanted to do my job and go home. Each day I was getting closer to not being able to continue out the day as it was so painful to bear it. That is when I hurt my shoulder and then was on disability and eventually into retirement.
Were you able to get him to a doctor? Has he improved at all. It may take some time, but with his other issues, he might have had a stroke, causing the fall. Sometimes things go undiagnosed, though I am no expert for sure.

I think I will get some seeds of the wave petunias as everyone here, as well as joannabannana recommends them highly. Still, how many petunias can one person need? Right now there are 21 in gallon cans. Maybe tomorrow, if I am feeling better, I can mix up some potting soil and put them into some color bowls. I got some empties at Rite Aid (drug store) for 75% off, so the price was right. The warm colors that I planted a couple of weeks ago are fading and not looking so fresh. Petunias will last for the remainder of the growing season. I need to get starting on mixing up a batch of seed-starting mix anyway, as I want to start some more cool-weather veggies for fall. Is anyone here doing that yet?

Evelyn

Ev and Sharon, what beautiful woman you are. Evelyn your husband looks very handsome in that picture.

Sharon is right, I pinched my wave petunias but they still came back leggy. The first year with them, they are unbelievably bushy and spread like mad. Let me find a picture of them in my memorial garden for my beloved Mushi.

I am a dummy. I was so excited about the Angel Trumpet in the pot, but I saw it in bloom today and realized it is a Datura, which I did not think any of them survived. I found one other in the ground too today.

JB My h and I fight like heck but we do love each other. We both are sensitive, can be defensive and I have a hyper kind of anxiety, which is good and bad but I manage with meds for anxiety and he has anxiety that agitates him, so never the twain should meet, because I am not one that likes rude behavior. I don't do it and it is disrespectful. He will apologize but sometimes, too little too late, and it is worse with a history. I know The Bible says don't keep count of wrong doing, but that is hard for a woman not to do, I think. I have fun with him and we love to be together when we don't want to divorce or kill each other. lol I know I need to see it from the side of some of my friends who have lost their loves, to get that totally in perspective.

Sharon if you said what was wrong with you, when you were sick and h took good care of you, I did not catch that. Did you say??? If not, that is ok.

Not me evie. I am lucky to get my tomatoes thru our season it is so short. If I were to plant anything now, it would be with the idea of harvesting for Christmas and I don't know anything that will grow thru 4 or 5 feet of snow.

We cross posted Dawn. That is very pretty. Yes, you can cut the petunias back when they start getting leggy and they will come back and give you a second show. However, I have to add that that is up here in the cold country. Don't know about in sun country. I would cut them back and give them a good hefty shot of fertilizer.

The offending Datura. No I am kidding, I am happy about it's survival, but was hoping for a huge Angel Trumpet. I only have the one 12 in one that I planted from seed, it is 2 now.

I should cut them back and see now.

I meant the petunias. sorry.

Plant ID please. These came up all over in my wild flower mix. I love them and there are so many colors, but I have no clue what these are?

Another plant ID, they have been growing for a couple of seasons, but there are more now. They need more water than they get in this heat, but what is this thing?

Here is a pix of my house. Hopefully the stuff will be blooming more next month and in September and not dead. I have a very xeric front yard, no lawn anymore. Rabbits ate all my grass the 3rd year here, so now we have it in a block wall area on the east side of the house.

In front of that last picture is this.

Now Dawn, what are all the shrubs? I have no idea what the 2 flowers are. Sorry maybe someone down there can help. Yup, that is a datura all right. LOL. I started a triple yellow one this spring but it must have gotten lost amongst all the petunias etc. I lost track of it anyway.

Why don't you go to a complete xeroscape can't spell it. i.e. all drought resistant plants. I know how hard it is to give up flowers, but if you are going to live in country like that, with no shade, and hard to water, I think I would just have to.

There really are some lovely landscape designs for them.

But, you will just be hitting your head against a brick wall trying to do something impossible. But then, Sharon says you can, but you would have to have unlimited funds it sounds like.

Dawn, I was suffering from acute depression and "High" anxiety. Problem I had it for over a year before they narrowed down to that. I lost 65 pounds, stopped eating, stopped gardening, stopped cooking, stopped everything. But I went to the office every day. When I had a customer call for a loan I would tell them my computer was on the fritz and could I refer them to one of my loan officers. My office staff thought I was dying from cancer so they just covered for me and protected me. The majority of my staff had been with me for over 20 years.

My Doctor apologized because she would never think that a ba** bus*** like me would ever get depressed. I was thinking about retiring and I guess my mind could not handle the thought. I had been "Sharon the Great" for over 30 years. I was ready to retire except in my mind. God works in strange ways. I got into Mortgage Banking being hired as a receptionist and ripping my way nicely (lol) up the ladder to being the first female Loan Officer for Transamerica Corporation in their total territory. Everyone male that worked for Transamerica in loan originating was either an All Star Basketball player from USC or UCLA. There was no one in the sales team anywhere that did not play some kind of sport. Then along came little old miner's daughter from Pioche, Nevada. A down to earth girl that could talk to anyone and work as hard as you needed to and that really destroyed their whole world. The male loan officers never worked on Fridays, they played golf. They did not put their home phone number on their business card and they did not work weekends,. They really did not know what hit them and started spreading rumors I had to be sleeping with my Realtors. BUT, the majority of my Realtors were women so that did not work. In the early 70s they did not know about gay women. LOL. The story is much longer but we will have to do it over warm tea with am squeeze of lemon when we all get together.

I chose Las Vegas and I will contribute my air fare into the pot to supplement every other air fare. I think Las Vegas would have the cheapest air fare and I have a large home. We may you maybe sleeping on blow up mattresses but I can guarantee we would have a great time and great weather. We have two guest bedrooms. One Queen sized bed, one with twin beds and my DH's office has a window seat for a very short person. Dee from Snowpeak Irises in Oregon. But we have a very large great room and we could lay out blow up mattress and have a great time. I know, I would have someone there to help us all get up off the floor. Just something to think about.

Dawn, this is for you. I was young once and I had my opinions and my whatever and I found out if I wanted to stay married happily, I needed to KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT. Men can give criticism but it is very hard for them to accept them. It is not their fault. Their mothers were always protecting them from their fathers and the outside world. Especially if you marry the youngest, like I did.

We have been married for 36 years and I found out fast that he did not understand criticism and could not coop with it. It took a few years but after "I kept my mouth shut", our life went very smoothly. You do not lose your power, you just learn how to make it their idea.

Check out Garden Gate because I have posted my hummingbirds adventure of the day on there. Love you all and Heather and the grandchildren get here tomorrow. I will post Photos Friday. They do not get here until late tomorrow. I understand Baby Luke have blond hair. Daddy says it is brown and Mommy says it is blond. I have seen him on Skipe and I chose Blond. Cannot wait to see them all. This is just a short lapse since they moved to Spokane. The next one will be longer. I think they are just trying to make it easier on Grandma.

I have to do my worms bin tomorrow and get them new materials to feed on. I now how a humongous amount of worm castings. My plants are really going to be very happy. Worms are the most important thing you can have in your life besides someone you love. Does not need to be a person and it can be yourself.

Sorry for the expose but I thought you should all know where I came from and where I as now. AND, I AM OK....BECAUSE OF YOU AND GARDENING.....Ask me, I was a great marketer. I am an Idea Person. I read the proformas and then told the Loan Officers how to sell it. We never sold Sub Prime Mortgages. But Chase was not smart enough to not buy them from Mortgage Brokers. I can sell you your own shoes, so watch out. See, I am cured, sure I AM, and still a nut....Just on good meds. So you do need to ask I am on Effexor XR 275 and buspar 25. Love you all and good night Chet. Just watched over my shoulder the baseball all star baseball game.

I know what you are saying and that is why I went this way, in part out front. That and I have 5/8 of an acre of desert to maintain. Not many people even try to landscape in this town, because it is hard to do here in this area, that was once a river bed in a flood zone. The shrubs are coyote bush and 2 kinds of Salt Bush, Atriplex varieties, a Mullberry tree, hh, wild flowers, Cleome, Cat Mint, other mints and herbs, a couple of roses, some wild weedy things that grow really tall and have tiny white flowers all over them and profusely seed, some Cannas and other things mixed in the 2 raised planters and the three large planters, Virginia Creeper, wall flowers, more wild flowers, some MG. Some giant Zinneas etc. All this is in there, there are other new parts of the yard that are not at all established enough to take pix of them and the Zinnea side is just like a disgusting jungle and I have to decide what I want to do with it in the fall, but for this year, it is shading some things so I will let them bloom just for fun and do something with it for next year quite different. Those things are burying all the other stuff. Though, there is not a lot of variety there yet.

You have had quite a lot of cool stuff that went on in your life Sharon.
I can drive to visit. When my friend from Colorado is in Vegas, I have driven down several times to see her over the years or meet with her at State Line.
I don't ever see me just letting my husband behave badly and me accepting that quietly, unless I am giving him the silent treatment, which he hates. I hear what you are saying but I think I don't deserve some of his crap and don't know if I would want to be married to him when I am old, if he acts this bad when he is this age. I have seen elderly people where one has lost their ability to filter anything what so ever and the other one is old and just emotionally beat down by the other. I worry that this could be me, if I accepted it. He is good and bad all rolled up in one man. I have to ponder what you are saying or talk in person, as you said.

Hi Everyone, I didn't mean to disappear again. We discovered a roof leak over our porch and in the process of pulling down all of the insulation, we have found that alot of the joists and supports need to be replace very soon. Ok actually Yesterday!. That discovery lead to yet another that has caused even more problems. Mold! I haven't been able to breath since the first panel came down. Anyway, i have missed catching up with everyone. I will go back later in the day and read everyone's posts so that I know what is going on, in the meantime, I must get started. I have some blackberry lilies that are blooming and a few things that need to be trimmed.
Hope everyone has a great day.

Linda, Mold!! No wonder you have been having so much trouble with your allergies. That is major work you have going there girl. Hope you have someone that knows how to do that work as it can get expensive.

Well, gotta get to work. Lots to do today.

Dawn, my DH used to deep sigh, I would ask, "What's wrong"? He would reply, doesn't matter because you would not change anyway, and then the battle was on. Well, the sigh is called "A Chocolate Covered Hook". They throw it and you can duck or swallow it and get reeled right in to their trap. I learned that tactic at a seminar on how to control your clients. So when DH would sigh, I stopped hearing it. One night I thought he was going to hyperventilate before he finally gave up. It only took about 2 weeks and he finally gave up the big sighs. BUT, he was never mean. Mean is usually their insecurities. Being passive is actually a strength and usually when the other side realizes it is not working, whatever they are doing, they stop doing it. Now you know why they call me Mother Winter. But you must remember I was also called the Barracuda, but only by my competition.

DH has finally decided he needs to see a Doctor. Also have to straighten up the great room and laundry room so will be busy until I go to the airport to pick up the grandchildren and Heather. Todd comes in Friday night. Have a great day.

What a busy night you all had. I slept for a change and am so glad I did. I really love hot weather but it drains me so much I have to remember to keep hydrated. When I forget, I get so tired.
I love to hear you talk about your husbands. Someday I will share my life with my husbands.
LOL Yes, there were a few. Husbands that is. Now I got your curiosity going don't I? I am not proud of my failed marriages, but I am also not one to be told what to do, or try and change me. I do not mind being controlled if it is controlled control. LOL My kids and their half brothers and sisters are very close and we all lived happily ever after.

We had 3 inches of rain yesterday. I am so happy. It is raining off and on today. Wonderful showers coming off the ocean and the humidity is very high. Temp is close to 90 inland but the rain is great. I was out cleaning bird cages in the rain. Fun and felt good.

Took Barney to the vets this morning very early for bloodwork and checkup. He lost 10 lbs but looks great with the weight off. See what diet of nothing but skinless boneless purdue chicken does for you. BLAHH! Give me Pizza. $206. later I was home and my friend who is taking Chemo and Radiation for a lung tumor called and wanted Egg McMuffins, so I quickly left and picked them up for her and we had breakfast together about 10:30 because neither of us had time to eat this morning earlier. Worked out good. Gave us a chance to talk, etc. The chemo makes her so hungry, she eats like a horse but does not gain very much because she does not like to cook and she just eats crappy stuff.
If I ever get done canning pickles I will begin planting cuttings again. I hate to drag the soil and pots outside of the greenhouse and it is much too hot in it to work there.
Have a good day and stay well. Love and Hugs to all. JB

Hiding in the background--Husbands-can't live with them cant live without them. Mine is the third, been together 40 years, married for 37 of them. Not all roses, but I wouldn't be without him for anything. Been retired for over 11 years.( due to back problems) I found the way to get along is to plant an idea seed, let it germinate, and then when it grows it becomes their idea and is a great one. lol None of them want to admit they need to see a Dr. either. I think it is a Man thing.
See--gardening works in relationships also!!!!!!!!!
JB I would volunteer to be a granddaughter, however, at 67 I think I have passed the age limit.
Got to go water, don't know why, the plants are just sitting there not growing, but maybe a little heat will help and it is forcast for the next few days, and I always believe the weatherman (not). Lee