Here's a photo to show how well the wire on the stump gets covered when the clematises are in bloom:
Pruning...and chat continued
What a lively group. I have been out putting a shovel or two of compost on each of my clematis... I really want to count the number of them , but never get around to it. I don't know if mulching with compost is allright at this time of year or not.
Pirl I am going to try the blood meal . I have one rabbit that has proven uncatchable and that is creating havoc imy garden . The oriental poppies and Johhny Jump ups are chewed right down to the nubs. The fence around the garden has proven no deterrant. I think he/she may be fenced in instead of fenced out.
The temperature here has been in the 50's and everything is popping out. My daffodils are over 4 inches tall.
We are expecting lows Sunday morning ot 19.
Philjim. I wouldn"t take the advice of a master gardener unless you have actually seen their gardens . I was an advanced master gardener and found at least in the local group that most of them were not up to getting their hands dirty.
I am once again hoping to start clems from seed. I set out two pots of seeds last month . A squirrel dug the seeds out of one pot so I have put the other one under a plastic laundry basket.
Here's wishing all A Happy New Year
Good to have you back with us, John. Love your photo!
It is a good time for both compost and manure. Seeing that the temperature is now 50 leads me to get out ASAP.
Rabbits can squeeze through very small openings so unless the fence is some kind of tight mesh I am sure the rabbit (or rabbits by now!) can gain access. Blood Meal really works and is not expensive.
I agree with John about much advice from the MG's. They often aren't adequately trained in gardening (certainly not around here) and many (not all) do not do the demanding hard work. There must be good programs for MG's somewhere.
John - I have extra seeds of C. Duchess of Albany. Please drop me a Dmail with your address if you would like to try them.
Marie - I don't know what your gallbladder problems are - if you are having problems with stones, start adding a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice into a glass of water or iced tea. Lemon juice is supposed to help those that are stone formers. I always have fresh lemons on hand and add them to my tea, cooking or whatever else I seem to be concocting....
I totally agree, gardening is a passion and not a hobby. I remember one of the best gifts I ever received was when my husband bought me a pitch fork for my birthday. I was so excited - I still use it all the time to lift my dahlias or in transplanting things..
I too go to bed wondering where I will put things or what I might transplant. I also wake up thinking about it too....
John - love your Johnny Jump Ups. There is something about their little faces.
We received our first snow last night. Just a dusting, but it is there....
I wish Icould send some of these Johnny jump ups to you ..They are left overs after I planted the rest out in the garden....
Yes gardening is a passion. It is an unending riddle with moments of great joy.
As to Christmas presents. I got the ideal...a package of 6 massages.
time.. I just love your jjs, mine began reseeding and now I have many colors. I use mine in place of mulch, which would either wash away or fly away. Yesterday was a little breezy here. What's the blue flower?
Gosh not sure which is my best gift. I remember my daughter going with me to a dairy farmer for a mother's day gift to bag aged cow manure, she was 17 at the time. Lol! Or probably was my new rototiller for my birthday//mother's day present 5 years ago, from my daughter and son-in-law. It's the one I get the most use from. Those were the best gardening gifts ever!!!
12" of snow stilll melting, chinook winds are helping, (oh I'm soory, breezes!!!), along with 50 degree temps. I'm ready for spring. I wanna get my trees planted!!! This next season for sure!!!! And I sure would like to have something other than tall field grasses in the backyard, also need the shade. Kathy.
Kathy..I think some of mine have reseeded from last year. You and I seem to be thinking along the same lines. I have two little steppables , one a tiny veronica and the other unknown which seem to cover the ground fairly well in my beds and perhaps they will do a good job of reducing the weed seeds. I couldn't do that with JJ's as they are pretty well done here by June. I think you may be in a colder zone.
I have been out and about in the garden this day and Have planted some anemone coronaria that I found on a sales table. I have had hit or miss success with these in the past.
Heres to getting your trees planted. As a mere strip of a lad I worked in a nursery. During winter months we would chop the frozen ground to dig the tree and then chop another hole in the frozen ground to plant the tree for the customer.
Ya but I have snow on the ground yet!! Don't think I'm strong enough to get through the frozen soil at the moment, we've already had sub zero weather this season. And yes I am in a colder zone (z5) and also at 6900ft. How do you like the creeping veronica and do you deadhead it?. I love veronicas and have the sightseeing series (at 28"), and even got veronicastrums this fall (tall veronica relatives at 48+"). Just waiting for spring!!!!! Will they bloom all season or are they just spring bloomers?
I'm looking at a veronica groundcover as well...last year the weeds took over my beds!
This is it. It has a tiny flower that is not distinguished. It gets less than a half inch tall and seems to smother out weeds
let me restate. It seems to smother out weed seeds.
John
It felt great to be outside and working for almost five hours today. Hard to beat good December gardening weather!
John - The only time I tried to dig in frozen soil was when J & P sent roses too early. When the ice chips hit my face I gave up and held the roses in water for a week.
Had to chuckle over our differences in elevation, Kathy. You're at 6900' and we're at 14'.
Marilyn - weeds from my neighbor's insane weed whacking has me nuts.
You know Arlene , at one time I regretted not becoming a nurseryman, but in the last few years I look at those folks out in the hottest and coldest and wettest weather and am glad I chose not to.
I have been in and out all day today, an hour here and an hour there weeding , winter sowing and continuing cleanup.
Kathy next summer when it's nice and cool up there at 6900 feet , think of us sweltering .
That veronica looks just perfect! Yes, Pirl, the weed battle is never won, except by the weeds!
I agree, John.
Marilyn - my favorite old quote about neighbors whose mowing or weed whacking sends weeds onto your property and mine: But make no mistake: the weeds will win; nature bats last.
My Coworker MG friend lives in a condo, and keeps (very sneakily) "expanding" her gardens. I do trust what she says, but what all of you here tell me, seems to match what I am seeing here in my garden. We actually live 50 miles apart, and perhaps some of the differences is microclimates.
She just shakes her head about my seedling stories, she has no desire to do anything like that. Of course, I have 1/2 acre to dig up and mess around with, and she technically, has nothing. She does volunteer weekly at Olbrich Gardens in Madison too. She is also very opinionated, so no matter what evidence I give her, she only believes her info.
My other MG friend lives in western PA, and she truly does know what she is talking about. I trust her information over my co-workers. Also, this one has been a MG since forever I think.
But all of the advice I have gotten here, is exactly what has worked for me. When I first came here and was sad because I thought I had lost my clem, you told me to be patient and not dig it up. Sure enough, it did survive, and even gave me a dozen very pretty blossoms this past summer. And yes, my roots are continuously being "uncovered". My coworkers says hers never have. But the mounding, and the pine needles, and surrounding them with a broken pot, all helped that.
I like the way it was said that this wasn't a hobby, so much as a passion. Exactly right. I hadn't thought of it that way, but passion seems to fit better.
The temps haven't been much above freezing here, although for a period of time on Thursday, the sun was out, the temps were around 40, and I hung some sheets on the line. It's been a cold, damp & windy couple of days. I am hearing temps down to 4 degrees over the weekend. Of course, it was supposed to hit 40 today, and we barely made it above 33.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone here a wonderful 2012. My DG subscription is up today, and I have sadly made the decision not to renew it. I have been on the other gardening forum which is free, and with my son's upcoming wedding in Hawaii, and other things occurring, I needed to a make a choice.
I want to thank everyone for all of their fantastic advice over the past year, and the great friendships. Perhaps sometime in the future our paths will cross again. ~Jan
Sorry to hear that, Jan...best of luck to you.
Phill...Enjoy your passion with all your heart and mind !!!
Time...Yes I will enjoy next summer, only gets to low 90's and usually less than that (upper 80's) but the best benifit is our humidity is only 5%-10%. At 20% we can expect rain, and many times we get brief afternoon rains during summer til late Aug. Truely, I do love my weather, but would still like more rain, I hate dragging the sprinklers about,lol. Especially when I know I want to work in a certain area and its wet because I had to water. But atleast I know when its going to be wet by my choice, lol.
Bit breezy again today (50-80mph), hope todays the last of it and realllllly glad it's not snowing. Gotta get some trees planted!!! Kathy.
Wishing you loads of clematis blooms and joy in the garden always, Jan. We'll miss you. Have a fantastic time at your son's Hawaiian wedding.
Kathy - you get the low humidity and we get it high for periods of time yet very little mildew ever.
Happy New year to my good clem friends and a special hug to PIrl.
Jan we will miss you. Here's to many many flowers in your garden and in your life.
50 to 80 mph is a bit Breezy? Several years ago we had 50 plus mph here after Hurricane Ike and the electricity was off for a week. Good luck Kathy.
Jan - best of luck to you. Have wonderful time at your sons' wedding. Hopefully we will see you again soon.
Happy New Year to everyone - here's to wonderful gardens and many clematis blossoms in 2012!
Love those color echoes, Carolyn.
I'll ditto Carolyn's wish and hope we all enjoy a happy, healty 2012 filled with bountiful blooms of all kinds.
Happy New Year to all of my clematis loving friends. My wish is that everyone is Blessed with health, strength, and many beautiful clematis blooms in 2012.
Jan, I wish you the best, I'll miss your posts in the different forums here, but I will definitely see you on the "other site". Best of luck with your son's wedding. Annette
You have all said it so well! Here's to a happy, healthy and blooming 2012 to all my clem friends.
Anna
We'll continue our chat over here... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1235428/