OK GITA! Thats the acronym for Generous Interesting True Adventurer...or something ROFL
I didn't pick up on BE either...but I let it fly
Me and Jill are going off in a corner ( anyone else welcome too) to mutter Corylopsis, and Heliopsis and NOID DLs and NCDs (not chocolate daisies, a name whch I defy ANYONE outside of DG to understand )
Qwilter- I think I've had that "bug" too, the number of seeds planted bears no relation to what you get. Choc Daisies are cute. Or was it Not chocs? Now I don't remember which one I grew, or didn't grow..LOL....I do now have Choc Daisies seeds...
"THINK SPRING!" Seed Swap Feb 11 in Frederick MD
Sally, LOL I have the (nNCD) not Not Chocolate Daisies. Can't ever remember what they are just that they are "not" the Not Chocolate Daisies that Critter said they were. LOL
Too funny!!
Oh goodie, is this a good time for me to ask y'all what "DH" means? I keep thinking it means "Darling Hubby", as that's usually the context I see it in, but... I dunno! =)
And, by the way Haighr, you got those plants at Home Despot the other day for me, you just didn't realize it at the time. < =P heehee
Yes, It is Dear Husband or Darling Husband and I guess it could be used for D%@#% Husband but I don't think I have seen it used that way. LOL
Laugh Out Loud.
Using D instead of spelling it out, leaves us to use context and imagine when it is DEAR and when it is "DANG", but I will say the same applies to D WIfe or D Son etc...LOL
If you venture onto the seed trading forum here, you'll also need to know "SASE" (self addressed stamped envelope) and "SASBE" (bubble envelope version).
:-)
And yes, there's a story behind not-chocolate-daisies! See "Searching for Chocolate Daisy": http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2190/
Critter, what a great article (and some great giggles), thank you for pointing me there! Those not-chocolate-daisies are really lovely, but I think I really really prefer the real chocolate ones. And, following links from your article, I see now that I'm also going to *HAVE* to have chocolate Cosmos as well. < =D You know how it is.
And, thank you everyone for clarifying DH for me! =)
Oh, hey, I forgot that the Heliopsis was the Not Chocolate Daisy. I still have Heliopsis (Badly In Neeed Of A Common Name) scabra. Actually it may be Rough Sunflower
I've been calling it Yellow Ox-Eye. Not quite sure where I got that... but it works for me... LOL
Jill--
I do not believe that the Heliopsis is an "Ox-Eye Daisy,
The OX-Eye Daisy is a definite wild flower found all over the Northern European world.
I do not think it grows here all that much.
Here is the Daisy that fits that description from my tip to Latvia in 2008.
A most traditional flower for anything. Wreaths on young girl's heads and in all kinds of arrangements.
Gita
Pretty photo... like those big flower stalls that we saw in Amsterdam!
Gita, I know well what an Ox-eye daisy is. But "Yellow Ox-Eye" is a name I've seen for that heliopsis, and it's easier to say than Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra and prettier than some of its other common names like "false sunflower" or "rough heliopsis."
Ox-eye daises sure do grow here! :-) http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1261/
Here is wishing everyone a good week coming up. Love you gals.
Ruby
You too Ruby! And I got your seeds packet. THank you!
8 ^)
I got a wonderful goodie packet too! Thanks, Ruby! We are going to have zinnias galore out there this summer... more than even Joyanna & her friends can pick!! And you put in such surprises for Joyanna, just what she is getting into now... She loves "playing card games" even if she doesn't quite have the hang of game rules yet (we play "Cootie" cooperatively, taking turns throwing the die but drawing one cootie together). Add an alphabet to color and a whole envelope of stickers for the next rainy day... what a treasure trove for a 2 1/2 year old! She was just thrilled to see her name on the envelope, too... wish you could have heard her... "for me??!
Oh gosh, so glad that she enjoyed the things I sent. I went on my monthly grand child shopping trip on Sunday afternoon. I keep those sorts of things on hand, but I sent your package when the stash was low on goodies. Oh my gosh, I was thinking she was a year older than she is. Duh, I suppose because she is so tall for her age, or either my grand daughter is so short. DUH!!
One of Emily's favorite games to play is "store." She gets coins out of my coin jar and things finds things around the room that she wants to buy, and I have to ring her out. When I tell her that she is paying with a credit card, I give her an index card to sign her name. On Sunday I found a little cash drawer toy with bills and coins and I think she will like having that, only it require more time for me to be cashier, as it takes two to play this game. She is big time in to "let's pretend." She is always giving herself a new name, her brother a new name and most often I am the waitress in a restaurant and she gives me another name too. So fun!!! She really loves the names Tina and Lena and that is usually what she calls herself. Not exactly sure why she always wants her brother's name to be Paco. hahaha
Anyway, thanks for allowing me the opportunity to bring a smile to my face while sitting here. I am usually pulling my hair out after they have been here for a few hours some days, but it is fun to recall the fun parts of their being here. I guess you gotta take the bad with the good.
Ruby
We had lunch on the back deck this noon... mac & cheese with a can of mexicorn (her pick) and adobo seasoning (also her pick). I don't know why, but first she decided we were goats, and then we were mice, and when we ate the last few bites we were bunnies. Whichever animal we were, though, we still ate with spoons.
We planted more seeds today, too!
little kiddle fun!! (smile)
Don't you wonder how they come up with these ideas. Such imagination. It was beautiful outside here today as well but I was busy inside all day.
I had to smile Jill. I am often designated at the farmer feeding my horses whenever we have apples. On occasion Emily will be a kitty eating the apple, but usually it is a horse, which makes more sense. I love the pretend games too.
I had so much fun at the dollar store today buying goodies for Easter baskets. I have always loved the colors associated with Easter, and really get in to Easter even more than I do Christmas. This year I will be dyeing eggs the first time in ages and ages. That was such a fun time from my childhood.
I was also able to pick up several different types of planters today to fill and sell at the Farmers Market this coming summer. I also purchased some plastic bucket types of things that I plan to start several kinds of seeds in. I am hankering to get outdoors and do some real clean up soon. In the past month or so I will get an hour here and there, but haven't yet sat aside a day to devote to outside and get something accomplished.
Holly, I was so delighted upon checking on the Peace Plant you gave me last year. It has a bloom. Yippie!!!! I have had these plants for years but can't remember the last time any of them bloomed. I guess it is a good thing that I haven't yet repotted it. It might take the lack of space in the container in order to bloom. I know that one I have is in a too large pot and want to go down a size or two sometime soon.
A couple of weeks ago I took pictures of The Hibiscus that Sally gave me and also the some sort of cane plant that Sally and I took pieces of from Jill last fall. They have really done great this winter. I put pieces of it in two different pots and both are really going to town.
I haven't yet downloaded the pics from the camera, but will try to do so this weekend and post them somewhere that you all will see them.
Anyway.....almost the weekend. Hope that everyone has a great one.
Ruby
Ruby, So glad that it has bloomed for you and is still doing well.
Ruby---
One must always download pictures while you are thinking of it--or they will fade into oblivion...
I am sure you have the time--just need a nudge to the motivation.....Make it a "must" one day--and it will be done!
We all love to see pictures of everyone's plants and gardens.....SO!!!! It is YOUR turn!!!!
Just DO IT!!!!!
Humbly smiling---...:o).....Gita
Heya, Ruby! The "some sort of cane plant" is probably the Galangal (a ginger type) that I got from Wellspring in FL. I'm sure John remembers using mighty force to cut a chunk out of that tightly rooted pot! My newly-smaller plant is doing fine this winter, and I gave a nice division to my brother as well. I love the smell of the stems when crushed... haven't made use of the root, but I've chopped a stem into my teacup from time to time!
Hi Ruby, always nice to hear from you, Farmer Ruby tee hee. So glad that Hibiscus is doing well, in fact sounds like a lot of your plants are doing well!
I saw galangal root in the store (Asian market) onc. I just ran across a mention somewhere that said its a ginger relative. Mine's looking happy too.
My plants have had a happy winter. All except the African Violets that have all decided to take a nose dive and are dieing off slowly. Thankfully, last fall I started several from leaves of the plants, so will have some to replace what I am losing. I have never done very well with African Violets.
Let me do the picture thing now and I will try to return shortly with some pictures.
Ruby
Alrighty, that wasn't too hard. Thanks for giving me a tip on how to try and remember the name of the Galangal Jill, I will smush a leaf and see what it smells like and hopefully recall ginger galangal.
Gonna try downloading several pictures in this new addition to the program we have. Haven't yet tried doing five at a time.
Ruby
Ruby---
What is the plant in your first picture????
To me it looks like Northern Sea Oats.......
Howdy from central Florida. I found this thread because we are wanting to explore the Washington DC area in the last week in March. That should be cherry blossum time on the national mall! My daughter is at Andrews AFB so we are planning a week-long visit in a couple weeks. Plan to drive up. Google maps say DC to Orlando is 14 hours, but we normally can drive it in 11 hours. We have visited the National museums and monuments already, but would like to venture-out into suburban DC and western Maryland or eastern Virginia.
Please suggest to us what you know of any interesting parks, historical sites, and public or private gardens
that we can tour ? Maybe there is a DG thread already that you can direct us to read ?
Has anyone visited the river farm at the American Horticultural Society north of Mt. Vernon ?
This is a pic from the playground at
the National Harbor on the Potomac.
Have you been to the National Arboretum?
Brookside Gardens is also lovely. http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/ And if antiques are your thing, it's fun to poke around the stores in Kensington's Antique Row: http://www.kensingtonantiquerow.com/
Hi John!
Annapolis MD is about a half hour- 45 min drive east of the DC beltway via route 50. Its a small historic city (and the state capitol) gone upscale. You can park in a garage downtown and easily walk around several blocks of homes, businesses, and the small harbor full of yachts. A historic garden behind one of the historic houses (I forget the name). Or go into the Naval Academy, there's a visitor center. That, and National Arboretum, would be fairly convenient to Andrews side of DC.
National Arboretum, I would say, is sort of more casual and self directed than some others- spread out and loose. No real food on site, only fast food in immediate vicinity, but you could easily visit it and then head back towards andrews where your daughter can recommend a meal.
We tried to do the cherry blossoms a few years ago but did not plan our day well. It can be very busy but must be stunning! We drove to New Carrollton Metro station and were lucky to get a spot to park.
If you want some ''mountain''(like) experience, consider Catoctin National Forest/ Cunningham Falls, north of DC in Thurmont MD. I think you could get there in an hour or so from the Andrews area. It aint the Rockies, mind you.
Oh and a stop at Ft McHenry is a must. This is the 200th Anniversary of the Star Spangled banner & activities have already started.
Like wine???? MD/VA has quite a few wineries and you drive through some beautiful country getting to them.
I make the drive fm Fleming Island to Severn (hour north of Andrews) in 11 hours!!!!!
You can always come by and "admire" my gardens.
And the BIG news is we have a CONTRACT on the MD house. Paperwork was signed over the weekend. If all goes as planned, I'll be living in FL on 20 April!!!!!
Congrats Qwilter!
thanks for the great ideas. will see some of that for sure.
On our last year side trip in southern maryland, I found a fossil scallop shell
http://web.wm.edu/geology/virginia/vafossils/coastal_plain/cjeffersonius/index.php
wow that's huge!
John, I agree with Sally, that scallop fossil is huge! What a treasure - where did you find it?
Annapolis is a fun place to visit when the weather is nice (which we are certainly enjoying right now!), and the Naval Academy offers tours, and has a great museum in addition to the visitor center. I believe Sally's thinking of the Paca House & Gardens in the historic area? There is also the Hammond-Harwood House - lots of history in one small place.
There is a charter company that offers cruises departing downtown Annapolis for St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore, as well as shorter, more local, trips. We've taken the one to St. Michaels in the past and it is a nice day trip. Here's the link to their website: http://www.watermarkcruises.com/cruises.htm
If you're looking for a meal, the Middleton Tavern ( http://www.middletontavern.com/ ) is right in the historic area. Galway Bay would be good for a late St. Patrick's day atmosphere :-) ( http://galwaybaymd.com/), and a little farther afield is the Severn Inn (http://www.severninn.com/), which has a gorgeous waterfront setting just across from the Academy. Depending on your budget, they can be pricey for dinner, but lunch is just as good and less $$$. Finally, VERY casual and low key, but easy on the budget with waterfront dining, is Mike's (http://www.mikescrabhouse.com/). They have good pub fare in addition to the crabs. I can vouch for their lump crabcake - it's very good!
I have visited River Farm, the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society in Alexandria. It's nice, but I'm not sure it's worth a visit if your time is limited, and you're coming from a fair distance. Jill recommended Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, which while around the Beltway from Andrews, is a lovely and large garden which should be in full spring bloom when you're there. The National Arboretum, as Sally has said, is also a good place to go - lots of separate display areas, and spring blooming should be in full force.
The Cherry Trees are predicted to be at peak bloom around March 24, but that could change given the ridiculously high temperatures we're having right now - it was 81 today! The Washington Post has articles on their website to check on what's going on with the cherry trees; here's one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/washington-dc-cherry-blossoms-destined-for-early-bloom/2012/03/12/gIQAsSji7R_blog.html
and here's a link to the Festival website: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/
I would strongly suggest that if you want to go down to the Tidal Basin during near peak or peak bloom that you don't try to drive, but take the Metro. It's total gridlock down there during the bloom periods, but a very nice area to walk around if you've taken the train.
Hope this helps you have a good visit - have fun!
Barb
For anyone not minding a 20-year drive, Historic St. Mary's City, waaayyyy down south in Southern Maryland, is also a great place to visit. They've often got festivals and special events going on, and the funnel cake is so yummy!! http://www.stmaryscity.org/
Note: This is NOT a formal-dress type of place to visit, so wear your cruddy shoes! ;)
John, if you come to downtown DC on a weekend, you can park the car right outside the Capitol building -- you will see the parking lot on your right if you drive east on Constitution Ave. The parking lot opens to the public on weekends and it is free. If it is a busy day, you may want to get there before 10am.
Gita, I am just now reading this thread and see you asked a question about the first picture I posted. It is the Galangal Ginger that Sally and I took pieces of last fall from Jill's gigantic one. I have two pots of it and both pots are really doing well.
I have had two different plants that I own and have had some time but never bloom, and they have bloomed for me this year. Only thing is the folks who potted them up isn't me. The Peace Lily that Holly shared at a swap last year and an Angel Wing Begonia that Gita shared at a swap. Not sure what I am doing with the ones I have potted up, but healthy looking as they seem to be, they haven't bloomed for me. Waaaaaa.....
My patience paid off big when three or four years later a Clivia that I received from Darius decided that it was going to bloom and has kept me very pleased with it for over a month now.
See everyone at the next swap.
Ruby
Thanks to the above advice for the things to See in Dee Cee. We visited the national arboretum, smithsonian gardens, and US botanic garden just below the capitol building. We arrived the last week in March just-in-time before the last cherry blossum petals fell off the trees, too bad the week before the cherry blossum festival, they were gone, there were no cherry blossums, but the crab apple trees were beginning to open.
At the arboretum, my wife got excited the bonsai collection. And our grand daughter had fun shaking petals off the branches.
Glad you had a great time! Those bonsai specimens are spectacular.