Thanks, NAN, Sharon (my equally evil friend - all in jest), and KY. It was a great day for an old broad.
Mine was the cupcake with the Godiva truffle on top of raspberry frosting that covered chocolate ganache on a red velvet cupcake with raspberry filling, compliments of my darling daughter. She makes fabulous baked goods.
Mmmm! Wait, is that a pepper I see on the one on the bottom?
Yes, I am evil but very few people have met the evil side. And I would suggest you never do meet her. Not good.
We are cooling down into the 90s. Heading for our beautiful time of year. Suppose to get light showers all week because of tropical storms in the gulf. SW and Texas can use all they can get.
Sharon
PS: Photo is re-blooming iris and hardy hibiscus both blooming last week in 105 degree temperature.
Yes, KY. There was cayenne in the chocolate of some cupcakes. It added a nice zing.
Sharon - that's probably true for many of us - do not look for the evil side of anyone or you may find it. Lovely blossoms for the heat you had.
Yumm! Those cupcakes look "evil". . . (in calories, that is).
Sharon - your flowers are looking beautiful! You'd never know by looking at them how hot it's been.
We've been in the low 90's with very high humidity, but we've had huge thunderstorms on and off for the last week or so after being very dry, so finally everything is well-watered. Unfortunately, the weeds absolutely love it.
back40bean - How wonderful to have Heucherella growing wild!
Nuts, I've only been gardening for 5 or 6 years and I didn't know what a Heucherella was when we bought our cabin in NC 7 years ago. I have bought native plants to plant there only to then realize that they were already coming up on their own. It's all worth it, I love to learn. I was familiar already with the rhododendrons and mountain laurels but there's so much more I've found and I'm sure there's more to be found. My wife and I are so grateful.
Hey Nuts, (that made me laugh). The secret in Las Vegas is mulch. About 5 to 6 inches deep. Keeps the roots cool. I have planned muted shade and many plants are growing in very wide, shallow pots.
I replace the mulch every spring and spot replace when and where needed. And my mow and blow guys are not allowed to blow.
Mulch really is the answer. People are spending hours on end weeding while mulch could end it for them. I doubt I spend a total of an hour a week removing weeds from all of our gardens and it's due to a thick layer of pine needles. Just this year we've bought 50 bags of them and it's worth every cent. They smell wonderful and they're so soft on the feet.
Our mowing/blowing/edging brigade are strictly forbidden to blow FROM the lawn to the gardens or FROM the driveway towards the front gardens. We're quick to get outside to remind the blowing guy in case he forgets.
Pirl, when i get around to getting coffee ground from Starbucks, I also spread it around my front landscape. It bring the worms to the top and aerates the soil but it also smells so wonderful. I do no drink much coffee but I do love the smell. One guy about a year ago stopped and asked why my garden always smelled like a delicious cup of coffee. I told him. I got a strange look and he walked on.
I have been sitting on the back covered patio for over two hours watching a very slow sweet rain. I maybe here all day. Have a great day. I will photograph a wild violet, I am assuming, I discovered at the base of my mesquite tree. There was two good sized and one very small. I was afraid to leave them there because the "Gardeners" would think they were a weed. So they are in my holding garden. I will also take a photo of another thing that just showed up in the holding garden.
Have a great glorious day. Sharon
I love coffee grounds for plants and that's what I have used them for, exclusively, for about two or three years now. The radio gardening guy said to work them into the top layer of soil so as not to form a crust so I do that when I apply them to the top of the soil. Other times I mix them with potting soil-less mix for plants and a little compost is mixed into it. They still smell good, retain moisture and the plants seem to love it.
Coffee grounds are magical in soil since they really do bring the earth worms as Victor (victorgardener of the Northeast Forum) first told us about them.
I've been washing kitchen windows, Sharon, and staying cool in the house. Six done, three to go. It's too hot for me outside in the sun.
Well I did not get any photos taken because we have had a light rain all day. Hooray.
I will see you all tomorrow afternoon. Have a HOA Board of Directors meeting tomorrow morning.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHARON!! Make it a good one!!
Yes! Happy birthday, Sharon. Wish I had a worm photo for you but this will have to do.
I love coffee grounds! I put them everywhere . . . on the garden, in holes, mixed into my compost bin, around trees. . .I never have enough grounds for all the places I like to put them, no matter how much I get.
Congrats on the rain Sharon! I'm sure you can really use it.
We had a massive thunderstorm on Tuesday evening. I heard a huge crack about 8:30 pm, but couldn't see anything in the dark. Then when there was a flash of lightning I was able to see that one of our neighbor's trees had broken nearly in half and about half of it landed on and around our shed!!
During a lull my husband went out to access the damage. These are very large old trees around here. We lost a couple of branches about 3 years ago on an Ash tree about 70-80' tall. The branches were bigger around than most trees!
My husband suggested I give them a call in case they didn't know about it...they didn't. We assured them we weren't concerned about it and my husband could repair any damage if there was any since he does all the remodeling, repairs, and building on our property.
Even so, the wife of the couple called me first thing Wednesday morning to find out how we wanted to deal with the insurance companies. I reassured her again and told her we had no plans to get insurance involved. She was extremely relieved.
It's a big mess, but no major damage (amazing!). Somehow the way it hit their fence allowed the fence to break the fall somewhat. Anyway, our husbands worked on it till about 9:00 last night, but it will probably take a few more days.
One of my garden beds is badly damaged...it looks pretty sad to see a whole bed-full of Hosta, Brunnera, Lobelia, Ferns, Astilbe, Lamium, Ajuga, Heuchera and more kind of mangled...but they'll grow back by next near. Maybe I can dress it up with some pots of flowers or fast-growing annuals?
Anyway, since no one was hurt, I considered it a good day!!
In the end, isn't that all that really matters?
Very true! Sounds like you have a great relationship with your neighbors, and that's wonderful.
KyWoods - Thanks, we're not good friends or anything...just neighbors...but we have nice neighbors on both sides and neighbors shouldn't just be "neighborly" when things are going well. When part of our big tree fell, it was all on our own property. I can only imagine the stress in having a tree fall on someone elses property. Like I said to the wife, "It was a storm. It's not like you cut it down and shoved it as hard as you could towards our property".
Pirl - I love the planter in the picture you took for Sharon's Birthday! The colors and balance are very attractive. You have a great eye for composition!
back40bean - It sounds like whoever owned that cabin before you bought it planted some wonderful perennials. They also saved you a ton of money. You can use all the plants that are already there to make more plants...that's so great!
Nuts - so sorry about the damage. You and the neighbor have that wonderful type of relationship to work things out and not run to insurance companies. I applaud you for it.
Let us know the casualties and maybe we can all get together and send you replacement plants. I did that with a hosta thread last year and now that person has a garden of great DG people memories.
Thanks! That's the best it's ever looked.
Wow, pirl. . . That's so incredibly thoughtful of you . . .it put a tear in my eye!! You don't have to do that, though. I think they'll all be okay.
The roots should be fine and if I trim away the damaged leaves, some of the plants might not look too bad. The others, I might be able to disguise with temporary plants. As soon as it cools just a little, I might even move plants from other areas or divide some. But I want you to know, I really, really appreciate your kindness. Just that you offerred makes me feel good!
The really strange part is with that huge part of their tree gone, I just noticed today that my long thin raised bed along their fence is suddenly Sunny at one end that was always in bright Shade. This bed was not right near where the branches came down and the plants are fine, but I'll have to keep an eye on that area and decide how much Sun it's actually getting. Who knows...I may even be able to add some plants that require more Sun??
Deer have ravaged my gardens often enough and I do know the feelings you must have had seeing the destruction. If you want a deer eaten hosta I will send it to you. The name is Stained Glass but the deer call it Midnight Snack.
Odd how just one tree can make such a big difference but I can feel it in this guest room since we lost the big maple that kept this window shaded in the afternoon. Now the hot sun pours in so I close the blinds before the sun gets to the window.
If you're not tempted to say, "Yes", it's okay. If you'd like it then it's yours (send me your address) but this is what it looks like now (and you thought you had it bad!). Oh, stop laughing!
Pirl i never pass up free plants!!! ;) Lol that looks like celery. Poor hosta.
If nutsaboutnature doesn't want it then it's yours, Kelly.
Oh, my! Hey, at least he left the one next to it...
I would rather have some celery sticks with bleu cheese now... But i just ate chocolate chip cookies and ice cream!
Oh my gosh, pirl...you're hysterical!! I'm so sorry...I really didn't mean to laugh...it's just the way you said it. I couldn't help myself.
I really do feel for you. We have deer too (and we love having them around, which is why I have to use Liquid Fence). I've had plants look like that, too. Kelly, you took the words right out of my mouth! I thought "celery" as well.
I don't think you should send it anywhere. It'll look beautiful again next year and then you can spray it before the deer go "refrigerator raiding".
Ky is right. The one next to it looks fine...maybe the wrong flavor?
Yes, KY, they left the other one. Amazing but true - they love plantaginea best, then Stained Glass. I don't have the time or the inclination to spray so if you want it, Nuts, just send me your address. There are many they won't touch but they do love to eat the roses. I'm glad they're not moose.
I can sympathize re: Hosta-loving deer. They definitely prefer the softer-leaved varieties and stay away from the heavy, corrugated leaves unless they're really desperate.
Pirl - what did you think of 'Stained Glass'? With the leaves, of course. :) I spent about $40 for a cloned version several years ago and it hasn't impressed me all that much. Mine's in full shade and maybe it needs a little sun to bring out more variation in the leaves?
Stained Glass is just too big for me: I didn't buy them, someone sent them to me. I prefer smaller ones and mini hostas. I did think it was very pretty in the shade (with leaves -ha ha) but the deer found them so now I have potted caladiums there.
I'd like to find something similar but small.
This was the area before the deer paid a call.
Awww, it was beautiful. Such a shame! Good info about the deer preferring the smooth-leaved ones, Cindy, thanks for telling us--I may just try again here...
Oooh, I didn't realize that the ones pirl's deer ate were the heavier veined leaves. I guess if they're hungry, they don't care which type it is. And being in the middle of the woods, we have lots of deer, and other woodland critters.
Here they devour the smooth leaves and leave the tough ones alone. I bought five new ones in May and they haven't touched any of them. Maybe I should start covering them with sheets at night, too.
Yes! The odd part is they will devour Frances Williams and she has mighty tough leaves so maybe they can pick up a scent that makes it more desirable to them. I'm just tired of providing deer food for them.
Here they've eaten the young Frances Williams but left the mother plant alone.
Pirl - I was almost ready to jump on your offer for the celery...oops, sorry...I mean Hosta 'Stained Glass. I looked it up in PF and it is beautiful. But just like you with you, it's too big for any of my beds. It was a super nice offer and I really appreciate it. It didn't bother me at all that the leaves had been eaten since I know it would come back next year.
Question for any of you that have shipped plants - Just out of curiosity, since I've never done any plant trading or sent plants, how do you package plants so they travel okay, both large ones & small ones? Also, what shipping method do you use. I'd really like to know for the future since I may eventually have plants to send or trade.
Because I spray, I haven't had too many deer problems unless I get lazy, but I have one Hosta...I think it's 'So Sweet'...that somebody or somthing keeps biting off a whole leaf at the base, but doesn' eat it. They just leave it lying on the ground right where they bit it off! It's usually only one at a time and not every night.
Just about the time I think it's stopped, I go out in the morning to find another one laying there. I've wondered if it's cutworms, but if it is, they haven't bothered anything else. I've thought about going out with a flashlight, but it happens sporatically so I'm not sure I'd have much luck. Gardening sure is fun!
Too big is always a problem unless we're talking about lobster rolls!
I use the post office and always get a confirmation receipt. I wrap moist roots in paper towels and enclose the root ball in a plastic bag. You do not want bags that will leak into the box or the post office can refuse to ship it. You can use newspaper to cushion the plant and to avoid having the plant shift too much with the "gentle" handling it will receive on the trip to its new home.
Both UPS and Fed Ex are 30+ miles away so I don't use either of them.
Cutworms generally go for tender growth and cut the stem off at the soil line. I don't know what is getting to your hosta.
Indulge!
