I had a great time working outside today. Weather was chilly enough so I did not over heat, I got 10 bags of tulip and daffodil bulbs planted, JM moved, a cup of hot tea and chat with the neighbor, and then my Lipone ( might be spelled wrong) planted that I got 2 months ago. It was a good day.
Pruning...and chat continued
There's such great satisfaction in getting so much done on December 4th when most people up our way consider gardening season to be over. Good job, Marie! We'll have two more good days so tomorrow I'll be up and out early.
Another great gardening day, but I went walking in the woods instead.....
It was a great day though foggy for the first five hours. I got most of one of the Japanese iris gardens done.
That has got to be the prettiest thing I've seen in awhile.
Robin, I like your idea.
Cold here, gardening is done and has been done for a while. Was trying to get a new garden started for spring, ran out of topsoil and it is no longer available in the stores. :(
So my pile of leaves will wait.~Jan
Thank you, Celia. My love for Japanese irises is why I have five gardens filled with them. I love the shades of blue/lavender/purple and violet they bring to the gardens. Some are 10" wide and they are all referred to as "Floating butterflies".
Jan - you can always bag the leaves so you'll have a head start in springtime.
When I want to make a new bed as Jan wants to do, I place the leaves where i want the bed, leave them all winter and then in the spring till them them into the soil.
I think that is what Jan wants to do, am I right Jan?
Don't they blow away?
JoAnn from Northeast Gardening puts down black plastic, then leaves ...or maybe it's the other way around!...anyway, over the winter she has a new garden made. But here in CT, there are so many rocks, it takes a long time digging and preparing.....
If you make them thick enough , maybe some do, but not all. they stay pretty damp. You can put plastic over top, but I dont have to here. In the spring I till them all under.
Pirl, I have several on my wish list. Or I should say, my 'Someday" list. My back garden is a blending of East and West.
This was a couple of weeks ago.
Our forecast calls for a dusting on Friday night but nothing like yours. It does look so pristine and beautiful - unlike New York City snow.
All that snow was gone in 2 days. It's bare and brown out there now.
I don't do the whole snow thing very well. Never did - as a kid, I was the first one to come in from playing during the winter - as an adult, I stay inside and dream of warm weather and gardens!
Hello everyone, was out of own for a few days now catching up on everoynes posts and pictures. Very nice Japanese irises pirl.
Caronyn, your picture of the iris, peony and other plants is just gorgeous. These pictures have me dreaming of spring already :-)
I was able to work in the yard or a few hours today. Got a few tulip bulbs planted, and did some more yard cleanup.
BTW, I was I bad person, Brushwood sent an email that they had clematis Liberation and I went ahead and ordered it. It was one of the clematis that I wanted after someone posted a pictur of it this year, and I couldn't wait. d*_*b
Cem
thank you. I am missing the gardens already - the look, smells and the feel of the dirt in my bare feet! It is going to be a long winter....
Good job, Annette! I love Liberation, purchased with another name on the box, long ago for a big $2.99 at a local nursery.
Today I spent a few hours in the misty rain finishing up with that Japanese iris garden I began cleaning up yesterday. Now it's mulched and I can dream of the blooms to come.
We still have roses, gaillardia, one clematis, lavender, salvia and lots of yarrow blooming. The smell of the lavender is a double delight in December.
Just one more to show the size, Annette, and to confirm your excellent choice.
That is one gorgeous clem! Not a dumb buy at all....very smart buy!
I'm doing my best to avoid looking at clem's until January and the bleak days of winter.
Oh Arlene -
good luck with that. I don't think I have that type of willpower.
Will power changed fast, Carolyn. I've been working on my photo program and had to look up the pruning class for one of them. I was teased by NEW for 2012 and started looking. This time I have to have the places before I buy the plants! (Like that will really happen!)
Annette - The Brushwood photo of Liberation is not accurate for the northeast. I hope it blooms, as pictured, for you in Georgia. http://www.gardenvines.com/shop/search/results.html?search_in_description=1&ignore_special_flag=1&keyword=liberation
You might want to look in Plant Files: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/223406/ Sue's photo comes the closest but it still doesn't match the Brushwood photo. I love the company, love their plants but that photo is not similar to any on Plant Files.
pirl, it was your photo of Liberation that tempted me to buy it. I remember the story about how inexpensively you got it from one of the previous clematis threads. I also worked in the rain that was on and off here today, got soaked twice. Now they're calling for flurries. I've got a couple more hundred bulbs to plant. Hopefully they'll get done this week.
I'm stating now, I have no will power. I'm making my list for the clematis I want for the spring. Brushwoods has some new varieties that look interesting.
BTW, in regards to making new garden beds, I made 2 huge ones this past spring. I used the Dupont biodegradable landscape fabric, with soil conditioner and composted manure, then pine straw on top. I didn't remove the grass, and when I planted my peonies, daylilies, irises, and clematis this fall, I had some really nice dirt to work with. I have GA red clay soil which is no fun to garden with, so this made planting much easier.
I hope it's as wonderful for you as it has been for me, Annette. Once it begins to grow it just leaps into action.
It went from ground level to 5' high in 34 days.
Wow pirl, that's one thing that I love about the clematis is how fast they grow. I'm looking forward to seeing Liberation bloom. Your pictures are excellent, the bloom size is unreal.
This message was edited Dec 6, 2011 9:27 PM
I can send you a flat rate box of compost if you want it!
Amazing clem!
Hi guys.
I just read Marilyns comment above about my lasagna garden tecnique. I lay down wet newspaper right on the grass, no plastic involved. Then cover with either compost or mulch. This kills the grass and weeds,well some of the weeds.
I dont turn over and entire aree for a garden just dig a hole and put in plants whereyou want them.
Jo Ann
Do you put down a layer of mulch after planting?
No .It took a year or 2 for the original mulch to decompose. I just covered that garden with compost.
I have really bad soil here , clay and stones.
When I originally put plants in the ground I added pottingsoil and compost to the dirt that was removed from the hole so the plants would have half a chance.
This was the second lasagna garden I started here. The first one was in an area that was not accessable with a lawnmower and an odd shape. I decided to make a shade garden out of the spot. That ment changing the exhisting edges
My Picasa is misbehaveing. I need to reboot,back in a few
This is where I lasagned the side of the deck.
https://picasaweb.google.com/jgentle4/FountainLasagna?authkey=Gv1sRgCP6F3IiHy7jI7wE
This is the second lasagna I made. The worst part was I didnt wait long enough for newspaper and sod to decompose. HINT start a lasagna the year before you want the garden.
https://picasaweb.google.com/jgentle4/LasagnaProgression
Sorry about changing the subject. I have posted on the lasagna issue. Check my posts for further info.
Thanks for the links, Jo Ann. They're all informative and this is not exactly prime season for clematis photos anyhow so you have helped many of us with your experiences.
no problem. I am a champion of the lasagna method. Any time I dont have to break my back turning sod is a good garden time.
You bet!
And your gardens are lovely! Pirl, congratulations on your winning photos.....
Thanks, Marilyn.