gosh we got 6-8 inches of snow today and more to come !!! love the pics of flowers makes me feel better ;0)
Happy Valentine's Day and chat
Not sure what the weather is in for us here, showing rain and cooler temps. I sure hope we do not get any snow now. Roses are putting out new shoots and the clems are also showing a great deal of growth.
Rain all day but the low for tonight is supposed to be 37, then 28 for Saturday and 26 for Sunday. Brrr!
At around 1pm we had a bigest storm, wind hail and rain for about a hour and no power from 1-8pm. Lots of trees are down, mine is still there but it was kind of touch and go. I wonder what is out there in the neighborhood, the newsman said do not go anywhere, lots of down trees. I hope people in the mountain of Ga are ok, it was sopouse to got worse then here. Thank God we survived. Etelka
Thank God you're okay Etelka. Please stay safe.
Ditto! They don't want people out when there are downed wires so stay home and stay safe, Etelka.
I am glad I had some old time telephone and was able to call the power co. Had a radio on batteries and lots of candles. It was kind of fun, but not to romantic alone. Stay well in the cold Pirl. PS My Christmas cactus are blooming and my Orchid that last year had only one flower , have 3 this time ready to open. so live is good.
Snuggle up, like my birds are building their nest in the garden. Have a good night, and a safe one everyone. ^_^
Etelka, I'm glad you made it through the storm safely. Hope your area didn't get too much damage. I saw the weather radar at lunchtime today, it was quite ugly. I'm thankful that we didn't receive any of the severe storms. There was a tornado in north GA last night, and there were school closings today. This warm weather early is contributing to the severity of our storms. At least we're getting cooler weather coming in tonight.
Lots of wind here last night, but I dont see anything down. The sun is out now, but not as warm as I would like. But then again I cant do much outside now, getting over Gallbladder surgery from this past Tuesday. I hope I can do more next week besides just looking at it. I want to get the wire down around the stumps for the Clems before they really take off.
Glad everyone is O. K.
Marie been there done that on the gall bladder surgery.. It's no fun.
We had temperatures low enough last night to freeze the water in the bird bath. Tomorrow is a predicted 26. I planted out 3 annual poppies 2 days ago so I am interested in seeing how they took the frost. If they did well I will plant ou the remaining 50.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that the new shoots on the clems are doing well.
John
John, How long after your surgery did you get back to doing what you normally did?
John, we occasionally get that mid 20'ish temp. Burrrrrr. Hope the weather soon will be warm enough for spring planting. Hoping each and everyone get a beautiful spring this year ... soon.
Get well soon, Marie!
Good luck with the poppies, John.
"Soon" is right!
Marie...my stomach stopped hurting about a week after the surgery. I thinmy stomach knew what a balloon felt like after it was deflated..
ok, I got a few more days to go to be a week. This laying around is not easy to do. For 2 days I kept thinking, I need to get better I have to go back to work, I had forgotten that I had just gotten it done...lol Well I can walk out side and look, and dream about what I want to do. No moving dirt or mulch or plants for a few more weeks...lol
Wishing you a speedy recovery marie_kap. Here's a basket of flowers for you :~) Keep on dreaming of spring, it will be here before you know it. Annette
Awe, gee Thanks Annette. They are lovely. I was dreaming real good until this cold snap came through..lol
You're so welcome marie. I'm trying this post for the 3rd time after making the pictures smaller. There has been more growth on my clemies from leaves to pips. Here's DoA, Madame Cholmdeley, Josephine, and M. Maylene.
Marie
Feel better, soon.
As promised yesterday, here are some pictures of the daffodils, helebores, and I found some tulip blooms today. Here's Narcissus Soverign, tulip humilis Persian Pearl, Ice King and Tete-a-Tete, a parrot tulip, and the helebores.
That is what my Clems are looking like.
I have maybe 2 daffodils blooming, more on the way. It seems the ones that I planted in the foundation beds are growing much faster than the ones I planted farther out in the open. So I guess the ones more out in the open are more of the real test of spring coming.
I suspect so marie. My daffs that are further away in the yard are also blooming at the same rate as the ones close to the house. However, the clematis that are further away are not as far along as the ones closer to the house.
Same here. Many I just planted in December against the side of the garage are about 6" tall but not the ones in other gardens.
Yep. It must be that they dont get the full force of the weather all around like the ones farther away..
Guess we all have microclimates in our gardens?
I planted some Helbrose this past fall. So far I am not impressed. No flowers, no new growth. Maybe I have them planted in the wrong place. I thought they were a woodsy plant. They are in the wooded garden.
My helebores are in the shade garden with hostas, and I added some foxglove last year. They get very little sun, are mulched by pine straw, and the area stays moist, even during our crazy, hot summers. I had no clue about the care of these plants when I got them except that they needed shade LOL. I don't think that mine bloomed the first year. I do like that they are evergreen and when little else is blooming they are. I've had to move a few that wind up under the lorapetalum and the anise tree as these grow larger.
Mine are also in the shade with hostas and heucheras, etc. I seldom water the area but I also use the pine needle mulch. They're content but I wish I could see their faces. You're right, Annette, in that they remain green and perky during winter.
Got several rose and clems planted this week, two days of high 70's so it was perfect for shorts and tank tops! Weird though, for Feb.
I had a few helebores that came with the house, a pretty white double that starts out a mint green. I bought several more different kinds and planted them all under the redwoods out front.
My big pop of color currently are the daffodils from a bag from Costco. 11 months in this garden, I can hardly wait until all the bare dirt is covered by lush plants. I still have hundreds of potted plants to get in the ground, slow and steady, it will eventually get done!
Beautiful, Sue. Slow and steady is the easiest on the mind and body.
marie...here's to you.
Lily_love, I forgot to say a big HEY yesterday. Yes we're in the same zone, but you tend to be ahead of me for growth and blooms. The new map shows I'm in 7b, but my garden grows like it's in 7a ;~) The birds here have been active for weeks, and they've been well fed and given water here all winter. I can't seem to fill the feeder fast enough.
Sue, those blooms are gorgeous, what lovely colors. I only have the single blooming hellebores, now I want the doubles, thanks to your post. As pirl said, I wish the blooms were more upright for us to enjoy.
wwk, nice flowers, I like the combination. Annette
Thanks all of you, for posting those beautiful flowers....Need that after the snow!
Ok, call me a liar, I went out this afternoon moved some leaves and what did I see, but the Helebores putting out bloom shoots. Ye Haw!!!
LOL, you have gotten me cracked up, Marie. Those Helebores are great. I've visited a local avid gardener. He and his wife did a wonderful job with this flowers, and many others. I'll be sure to take some pics. to share if they will open the garden for a Spring tour this year.
What wonderful pictures. I spent the day in the garden. I'm just waiting for everything to pop. The good news is that my NIobe has put up a shoot. I thought it was dead.
Cem I love your garden. I am thinking maybe mine needs a little more acid...the pine needles really look good.
Marie keep on keeping on. You didn't need that old gall bladder any how.
Sue all I have to say is wow.
Thanks John. I used to use bark in the past at my previous home, however I found it got moldy and harbored a lot of bugs. The pest control folks also say that the bark can lead to termite infestations. The pine needles break down pretty quickly, and helps amend the clay soil, so I tend to replace it twice per year.
It was a gorgeous day here in GA, and I spent hours in the yard removing leaves that were covering the irises, checking on the clematis which continue to show growth except Comtesse de Bouchard, I think I've lost her :-( and uncovering the peonies, many of which are growing stems. Now time for Aleve, and bed, the aches have set in, LOL.
If I did not prune any clems last fall and they are putting out shoots far up the vine, should I prune it down to a lower node than the first one down?
I think this one is a Montana since I placed it close to the deck.
This message was edited Feb 28, 2012 10:14 AM
Marie
Montanas are pruning group 1. I would just cut off what vines may have died and perhaps any necessary shaping.
I would cut back your type 3's though.