Garden Projects 2011 #3

We got rain pretty much most of the day here. I guess we had a few hours in the evening with no rain. It's nice out there now. Getting out shortly.

Karen

Are you sure Casey isn't part terrier, Weeze? Going up to the farm to celebrate Easter....no working outside. I did get 2 pots of tulips and a heather for Easter, will be planting them somewhere.....

I've always thought she had some terrier in her, Marilyn. Some of her habits and the shape of her eyes made me think terrier.

Happy Easter!!

ROBINDOG & venu209, we found a huge crater this afternoon in the middle of a nice (or was) patch of Hyacinthus and thought of you both. Not sure which dog dug it, but it was a whopper.

Wha, I am still avoiding conifers, though we did plant a few last fall, but dying to see your new bed.

We had no rain today, so it was a great day outside. I made the new pathways to the new stone stairs and edged those beds, plus a couple others. I had to move a zillion bulbs coming up where I was putting in the pathways. Sad to jerk them out of the ground when they were all about to bloom. Next year they should recover and bloom.

DH built the stone stairs to nowhere. I love them. We moved the bench to where irisMA kindly suggested, and it will work out OK so we can see the new area as well as the stream. DH is not wild about it, but the new bed is not planted yet, so I think it will be a good solution and look great once the bed is planted. I had to move a bunch of stuff to move the bench, but all should be fine. Tomorrow I will plant the new area, if the rest of my orders come. Fingers crossed.

I will post pictures later tonight. Took a bunch. Patti

planted out of few things today - three jm's rugose, kashima, and crimson carol - also planted our komanchi hime from the pot - it really took a hit with the sun after being in the garage - should recover fine. planted a couple clems and had to move a josephine - had no clue how a large the roots where and basically cut them in half. it will recover - potted up the other section of roots - who knows - can't have too many josephine's. also planted a blur baron rody and a show off forsythia from hd. then i took a break and dug up an old oak stump where i will plant an eskimo sunset jm:) it was pretty soft wood and came out pretty easy.

still have not taken any pictures out there yet. katsura is close to leafing out.

Looking forward to seeing your pics, Patti. Will have to wait for tomorrow, as I have my overnight tonight.

Sounds like you got a lot done today, too, Bill. Guess I wasn't the only one working the gardens on Easter Sunday.

I got a lot done today. I dug a bunch of daylilies for selling and moved others to fill in the holes they made. These were moved from areas where they were getting too much shade, so hopefully they will do better there. I potted up those daylilies I dug using my compost. I also brought out my 2 brugmansias and a clivia from the cellar where they were spending the winter. Poor things were neglected, but they don't look too bad, considering. The clivia had put out a lot of new growth that needs to green up. Looking rather pale right now. I gave them all a good drink and put them in the shade on the north side of the house for now. All this took about 6 hours. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it was pretty time-consuming, and I'm beat!

Karen

Sounds like a lot to me, Karen. I dug up more grass. I'm down to about 400 square ft left to pull.

Did nothing today but unbox my Bloom River order.

A lot of work done by many today...not me....spent the afternoon at the farm with family....then, this evening, my stepson & his wife visited. Hope to be out in the gardens tomorrow....I noticed one bed was full of grass & dandelions...ugh. Weeze, there probably is terrier lurking....and Patti, I didn't realize border collies were such diggers....guess they are helping to weed?

This message was edited Apr 24, 2011 7:39 PM

Robindog, ours dig like mad. They go after moles/voles like crazy and get a few, but they are big nesters, so I find craters daily. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Here is a collage of the new stairs and pathway. Tomorrow it will get planted, I hope. Patti

This message was edited Apr 24, 2011 10:09 PM

I guess direct sowing of annual poppies is out for you in that area. I have places against the house where I sowed poppies in december. Cats have dug in there doing you know what.
Plants need to be hardy to survive here.

Great patti - can't wait to see it finished (planted).

Looks great....nice tush on the hubby, too!

nice patti - looks like the stairs are tilted a bit to the right in the photo:) did not see a level with the other tools:) just kidding looks great.

Wha, It does look tilted as the hill falls off so steeply on the right side, but I am going to fix that ASAP. Like tomorrow, by digging up a huge old mound of dirt that is in the woods. I hope it isn't an Indian grave. But only if I get everything planted first. Still waiting on some orders, but I did start planting today.

Frank, I will post them when it is done, or at least this phase. A garden is never done.

Robindog, I agree. Patti

patti i was just kidding - the way it is looks like it has been there a while

Wha, I know, but it needs to be level or relatively so, though we are using up the stones that were not good enough to use by the professionals that did our walks, so not easy to find ones that are flat. Amateur hour, but I love what DH did. I cut rough steps out of the hillside with a shovel, but I let him do the real work. Still lots of tweaking to do. And hoping that the deer don't destroy all my new plants. Patti

Looking good Patti

Does anyone have a rain garden???

Patti, that looks great! Wish I could see it in person. LOL! over hubbey's tush.

Today I got more work done. My sister and I were burning. I cut some brush, wild rose and raspberry canes that come up all over. Raked out one of my beds and pulled out some poison ivy (with gloves on, of course, and washed up good with cold water and soap afterwards). I knew it was in there, but it had to come out. The plants are coming along really well.

Karen

I'm tired just reading about your day Allison.

Karen, none of the precautions I took helped....have patches of poison ivy everywhere! I was pulling vines again yesterday....since I already have the PI, who cares at this point! I must edge a garden...using bricks I have left over.....and have an area of brush to dig out....What's a rain garden, Jen? This year, they are all rain soaked!

A rain garden is when you create a garden around the downspout off your house, usually switching out the downspout for a rain chain and then planting stuff that likes moist or wet soil..

I wanted to put some water loving plants where our sump pump drains out, it gets very wet in the spring, but DH didn't like the idea as it is usually only wet in the spring. I still might put some in. DH has also been saying he will make a rain barrel, but hasn't yet.
He worries about water near the foundation of the house.

Two important points, Deb. It will dry out when there is no rain and it's not good having water against the foundation.

I know, sometimes he's actually right!

You can have my rain barrel - I never use it! Too much of a pain. Keep saying I will connect a pump to it but never do.

My rain barrel is on the patio.....full to the brim right now!

If Deb doesn't take it I will, Victor

How far out does the bottom of your downspout go?
If you look at the eave where the end of the gutter is, it is actually sometimes out farther than the end of the drainspout so the rain chain will be leading the water to where it would drain anyway...know what I mean???

You then build a rock basin, so it drains right into the ground.

This is my friend's house that she is currently deciding on how she wants to do the landscaping and I was going to suggest to do a rain chain where the gutter is on this corner...I think it would look great

Mine go out way further. They have an extra section that brings out about another five feet away from the house. Of course, not the ones with a rain barrel!

Jen, that would look great. Tell her to do that.

Marilyn, I found some poison ivy patches on my arm. Will be going to the store tomorrow to get some ivy dry.

Karen

Our rain barrel is at the corner of the deck. We use it all the time. Unhook it in the fall.

Sounds nice Jen, and I'm not close enough to Victor to get the rain barrel, but now wonder
how many of you have them and do you like them or not?

I've been eyeing them this year, I need one for the garden down back. Last year we ran 800 ft. of hose!

I have a 150 year old shallow well (spring fed) so I don't need a rain barrel. Just use it for yard and gardens.

Here is ours we use it all the time

We will turn it so the spigit is free. Different ,not new hot tub.
We use the barrel to water the many containers on the deck.

A cistern is what I want.

I have just a plain plastic barrel....I leave it out all year.....the rain garden sounds interesting...Karen, sorry about the PI!