She's about to...54

Morning , oh dear Linda< I am sorry I didn't read the three weeks up there.
Perennials need fluctuating temps to germinate, I like to scatter on snow because I can mark where I put them, but just staying in the fridge or out in the garage or trunk of my car during winter stratifies them. Winter sowing lets you start annuals sooner, the plastic insulates them.

Morning all, I got everything in but heavens it was a challenge. I didn't get up in time to see if we had frost for sure but it doesn't look like it except it was really really cold outside with wind blowing. Debra, I don't know how tropicman does it. He must start in August putting things up!

DH is trying to explain the properties of the solar room are to collect warmth thru the glass onto the tile floor for storage......think he trying to tell me the plants are taking up alot of room.....LOL I actually stuck 7 huge pots in the garage for a couple of days....rofl, he couldn't say anything cause his family came over yesterday and I didn't have time to finish....

You wouldn't believe the smell when we came home last night with these two brugs in full bloom!

another pic.

oh happ Love your room I want a four season room so so bad . & I Hope to do one but daddy just gets to upset if i try to do any changing for he is blind pretty much & Hates changes , so i will have to wait along time yet :) .

well about that time to go put on lunch back later .
Here is a dent as to what i had to bring in the rest are in my room yet :)))

Susie looks like you have a good setup for plants with good light. How is your greenhouse working out for you? That is something I really want, one of these days.

Ok I am going to do winter sowing, but I will need help from you all. My big problem is taking the lids off during the day? Do you have to do that alot? What temps if you remember did you do that?

Love the solar room but the thing problem is I don't have water out there and sunshines from up to down if it isn't cloudy all winter so watering is a chore, almost daily with the sun and no humidity. I am thinking of getting a rain barrel and put out there and keep it filled with the garden hose, that is what I am doing in the garden room. I am going to empty the dehumidifier (runs all winter because of the plants out there put off too much moisture) into the rain barrel for reuse. Talk about recycling. The solar room never gets to humid but I could fill the rain barrell every once in a while with the hose, that would beat carrying water. Altho that is about the only exercise I get....LOL

Happ when I raised my coleus inside over winter I moved in one of my rain barrels and did the same thing. It beats carrying water from the kitchen or wherever. Just be sure you sit it up on some cinder blocks or something so that you get a better flow. Since it is gravity fed it will help you to be able to drain it down lower before you have to fill it up again.

I have lots of room for smaller plants still, but I need to bring in 4 hibis and a really big weeping fig yet.
This is the end of the living room

the other side

The end of the garage. I lost most of my space out there because of needing a place to park the MTV.

Wow rvnsbrk, love your living room. Looks like great light and great plant system shelf. How do you get your plant with the red bloom to bloom? I only know them as "little boy flower"...LOL
Need some more plants? I am going to be pruning and thining like crazy...rofl. Something was sure dibbling on your brugs. Is that ginger you have? I have two gingers, one butterfly and the other for the life of me I can't think what it is. Those are two plants that I am downsizing, for sure. Taking up way too much real estate at my house. I lost the garage many years ago when
I married, haven't parked a car in one since then. I heard there was an earthquake in VA, did you rock & roll?

Actually guys I am going to be downsizing some of the plants, I will ask you all first, then just dmail me if I have anything you are interested in. Everything grew way too big and I must of purchased or got in swaps alot more than I realized...rofl.

Edited to say thank you rvnsbrk letting me know you had done the rain barrel thing, I wouldn't of thought of setting it up higher. Thank you that will save me time and trouble....

A neighbor has saved me a bunch of rose of sharon seeds. How do you start those? Would those be good for winter sowing?

This message was edited Oct 3, 2010 2:26 PM

Hey Happ the anthurium just took off like crazy while it was outside. I have a fondness for them because they remind me of the Mirage in Las Vegas. Don't laugh.. :0) Anyway I have the red one, a peach one and when Joy was here we each bought one and shared it. One is pink with a white stamen and the other is white with pink.

The ginger is new for me. An officemate of DH gave it to me last year. I didn't think it was going to bloom, but now it has 3 buds and I had to dig it up and bring it in. I hope it finishes.

Some kind of nasty cats were on the brugs. I still have one outside to get in and the rest that are in the ground to get cuttings from.

neener been wanting to order one of those lighted plant stands dose it really work well ??? I think I want to order one for this winter anyone no where i can get a great deal on one ???? If i get one or two then i will have more room for more plants maybe I better not buy any :) Just made Popcorn & Fudge Just want i need for the old waste line , but daddy said he wanted some of mom's fudge so then he wanted the popcorn to go with so here i set MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Wish I Could share :)

well off to watch a movie you all have a great evening

It's looking like Tropical Paradise, Ladies. Question, do you guys try to group plants together with similar water and light requirements? Right now you're probably saying 'yeah right' since you've just broke your backs bringing in all those pots. I'm serious though since the majority of mine will overwinter upstairs where my kitchen is and will need to carry water from the sink. What I'd really like to figure out is how to hook up one of those slinky type hoses to the tub faucet. Has anybody tried those inside? Light bulb moment on the barrel since I could use one on the upstairs deck. We have a weird pitch where two sections of the roof meet and when it rains or snow melts, watch out if you're outside unless you want a bath.

I have all my brugs on the brug room and all the hibs n the main room, your places look better than mine so I am not showing a picture LOL

I love the anthurium, Neener. Save me a pup of it if it makes one would ya?
Joyce, your place is gorgeous. Do you remember this? it hasn't come in yet. It is getting down to 36 tommorrow night. It will be dark and I still have tons of stuff to bring in.

DeeJay I have 4 of the plant stands and yes they do work. They are expensive but worth every penny. I have the lights on timers. Since we are in the woods here I don't get a lot of natural light. When the leaves fall off the trees it gets a little better, but nothing like you all that are out in the open.

Fruity years ago I had an indoor watering hose. Not sure I would go that route. It leaked and made more of a mess than was worth it. I'd go the barrel route if I was you. I need to figure out what I am doing since I don't have room inside for my barrel this year. May sit it outside the back door and put a birdbath heater in it. Haven't worked that out yet.

Debra that red anthurium is going to need to be divided in the Spring I think. I'll save some for you. Making a note right now. Now as long as I don't lose the note.....:0}

rvnsbrk, LOL I know what I read about lifting the water barrell, but I will admit it didn't click until Sunday driving down the road. I will have the end of the hose up high and the tap is way down low....ohhhhhh lift the barrel up higher.....light bulb moment. I have had my anthurium for a couple of years, my Moms bloomed but mine is being a pain in the....non blooming section. Love the plant stands. I just have metal shelving from Cosco, I am thinking I can attach shop lights to them with a little thought.

Debra, I do remember that! rofl. It is the same thing every year. This year was wayyyy to earlyt tho...Guess I will have to start in Sept....rofl.

One of the mg's in zone 5 said be careful that the water barrel doesn't freeze cause the bottom will push out like a frozen can of pop or will crack even if it is plastic, she knows from experience....

In the garden room it would be smart to group plants by needs, I just never thought of it. I usually group according to height or light. EE's (small ones) are stuck in the back under shelves cause they need less light sitting in a kids swimming pool for easy watering and not too messy. Tall plants on the back shelves so not to shade the short plants. Big pots where ever I can stick them that I can walk around and they don't block the windows. Well after thinking about it maybe I do a little....

I have so many brugs blooming in the house it about makes you sick...rofl, it is so sweet. The basset hounds are probably hating this, since they are hounds and love stinky bad smelling stuff...rofl. Glad no one has any allergys cause they would have to move.

Y'all are helping me get there. Never thought about taller plants blocking the light and reversing them with shorter ones in the back. Great tip, happ! One of my favorite carts is made of heavy-duty metal that sorta looks like chrome. It's about 3' wide, 7' tall, has 5 shelves and locking casters. Now that was a head-scratching day when I uncrated that sucker and put it together, so determined to do it by myself. Thought about adding shop lights and don't think they'd be too hard to rig up using adjustable chains. Problem is the cart's loaded with collectibles right now, and I'm not talking about plants...lol The spy in me saw another cart similar to mine today behind our neighborhood store, a little weather worn but still in decent enough shape to use, plus I won't have to unload it...lol

My dear Miss Maggie May, look for your box of houseplants either Wednesday or Thursday. Nothing exotic in there, just a few starts for that beautiful Sunroom of yours.

my blooms are all gone & the leaves from the plants are slowly dropping off I Know it is way to wram in here for them right . daddy has the furnace on already up to 75 * I have to remind margaret to turn it back down .
I have my vent shut off & My Windows Open . but the leaves are still dropping will this make a diff to just let them die back for winter. ????

well i really need to lay back all that lifting today those gourds were heavy & My chest can tell it tonight
you all have a great evening .
susie

Awww thank you so much! I put a few stands in that empty room today. I better get my butt to the store for some planters! :)

Susie, they will drop leaves when you bring them inside, they just need time to adjust to the new invironment. Keep them moist, but n ot soaked, and watch them, if they lok like they are going to die back, just water them every so often. Make sure you take cuttings if they look like they are going to die back.

ok thank you Lk you all have a great evening .
susie

I'm soaking up your advice, LK.
Those of you taking cuttings for me later on, please D-mail me when you're ready and how much postage I owe you.

Got dirt? Or should I say potting mix, Maggie. Have a good time shopping for pots & find yourself a few deals. That's about the only thing the nursery at our Lowe's rarely puts on sale and am still kicking myself for not buying two larger ones a few weeks ago for $12 apiece. My neighbor gave me a huge one last month and am thinking of turning it into a container garden next year with trailing plants, Spring bulbs at first, and something spiky in the middle.

OK, time to get off the soapbox. It's not even Winter and am already thinking about Spring.....

deejay, leaves will turn yellow and fall off anything that has gone from a cool temp to a warm temp. no worries, they will grow new leaves. That is why I start bringing my stuff in when the temp outside is the same as it is inside. I get very little leaf drop that way. But later as the furnance turns on, they turn yellow and drop and we start all over. the basement seems to hold that process back a bit. Don't worry bout those brugs, they will be just fine. My hibs are going crazy and blooming so good right now down there..

WOW what a gorgeous flower. That really looks exotic. I hope to get the rest of my stuff in today. Actually had to turn on the heat last night.

It's nice to see the pretty face of someone we talk to on a daily basis!!!!! :) ....The flower is pretty too.

Oh Debra, that hibi is so pretty! It matches your blouse perfectly! What is the name please?

I won't forget the potting mix! Knowing me, I'll find it on sale and think I need 30 bags!

GM Alll thank you all for info I won't worry about lost leaves . I Have More plants to get dug out today
nice weather moving in time to Dig Bulbs & Bury OTHER BULBS :)

So I Hope everyone has a great day , back later
susie

Pretty in pink Debra! You and the hibi!

These are the metal shelves I got from cosco that you can get anywhere. They are usually stacked up high, but being short it was hard for me to water the top shelf. So I bought a couple a guy who had a greenhouse had put together like this. They have wheels on the back four legs, the front legs don't but it still moves just fine. I can put tall plants on the top 2 shelves this way, shorter plants on the bottom front, and then middle size in the back. To water I just roll the back away from the wall, or stick the hose thru the front of the shelf unit. FOTV, you got me thinking about hanging lights and I could easily hang lights from the bottom of the top shelf, as far as that goes I could probably get some pvc pipe and make a rack to hang lights from the front shelf if I needed.....hummmm. I have 4 of these in my garden room.

Ok, ladies I know we can resolve this issue about watering easily and cleanly during the winter......we need to brain storm:
No running water - rain barrel, would be nice to have a delivery system beside gravitiy.
Running water - no good delivery system
So delivery seems to be the issue.....
Tried the coil hose - didn't work, I agree with her I tried that and it would leak from the faucet and the end.
Suggestions......

I'll be curious as to suggestions on this topic as well. I hate dragging watering cans all over the house. I have wood floors and I am always spilling and dripping.

Uh.. well, I am filling up a large blue tub, my stuff is downstairs where the tile and cement is..
I am adding the mosquitoe dunk and fertilzers to the tub, and will keep my plastic jugs down there.. I have no solution for this problem, I go up and down the stairs a million times a day to get to the plants. most of them have deep trays under their pots, so I will try to water the pots and not the plants. hmm good luck to me on that one. Look at this little Charles Grimaldi in the tomato paste can.. LOL

That hib is called sweet pink, thanks for the compliments, I really love this one, too bad I have to cut the main stem off soon, I am going to try to root the pieces I cut off, someone said to do it under glass?

Sun Set at Joyce's Garden Room......

Life is good, reblooming iris and dahlias both.....

Only reblooming iris that is reblooming, wonder why the others aren't? Hummmm.

The roofers started early this morning and should wrap up tomorrow. When they finished scraping off the old shingles and started using their nail guns on new ones this afternoon, it sounded like the rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker. While they were working on the front side, I high tailed it to the back porch and got busy combining as many like plants as I could into bigger pots. That helped a bunch when I brought them in but still have so far to go. It made me sad too when I lifted Caladium bulbs today and put them to bed til next Spring.

How peaceful Sunsets are, like a quiet hush on the day.

Beautiful, both of them. ( sunsets) I have not seen any re-blooming iris around here, Joyce.

Look what is blooming in my living room. It smells divine! This is so cool.

What is that Neener? It is so pretty!

Its a ginger plant. I guess what they call a butterfly ginger since that's what the flowers look like. Smells fabulous for sure.

Oh neener isn't it wonderful. I love it when my blooms. Mine bloom for quite a long time, one bloom at a time sometimes a couple. I read or heard or have in my brain that once a stalk blooms it won't bloom again, I keep meaning to look that up to make sure. That is a keeper of a plant for sure.

Ohhh, I like the sunset over the lake better than over the dead corn....rofl.