She's about to... 65... Spring will be here soon!!!

fruity your right as rain :) TY sorry for dropping in last night but was just way to tired. much rested today but brain stilled fried from the wekend :) ya all have a great day deb a mind is a funny part of a womens body that works harder then our mens hands at time ;)
stay well you all .

susie

Sorry deejay but I don't think I sent that plant, least I don't have it in my garden, course I have been known to buy something and give it away, but I don't think that was from me. It is a beautiful plant.

I sure couldn't send someone joe pye weed because I must be the only gardener in the world who can't keep joe pye weed alive.....you would think any plant with weed in it wouldn't be a problem.

Well I am a new Mom...rofl, DH should not be let out and go shopping by himself. We have 9 chickens and 4 ducks, rofl. Here we go again. Now we are looking for chicken coop plans and the such....they are cuties. Already had to seperate two of the ducks because one big guy kept picking on one of the smaller ones....A couple of the ducks are on the work bench in a see thru container, and shortie our wire terrier can not take his eyes off of them! He just watches and watches..rofl. He was around when we had 3 geese and a duck and was always following them around.

O happ - I envy you those birds, but around here I am the one who is not allowed to go shopping alone. ;)

What fun! Good luck.

Debra, just let me know when your coming this way, I will be so happy to meet you in San Antonio, for shopping, dinner, what ever!

Well didn't he 'fowl' you...lol Bet those little peeps are cuties. Did you ever find your camera?!

Happ, can't wait to see pictures of those little cuties!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1255544/

Ladies, there is a new swap open, Red white and blue, come and check it out!

I hope I don't get in trouble or offend anyone by posting this but I heard about this the other day on NPR and then NPR did another conversation with the D. Landreth Seed company while I was at lunch. Anyway they are in financial straights and it is the oldest seed company in the US, has been around since 1784. Anyone interested in seeds or a catalog stop on by: http://www.landrethseeds.com/ This was the seed company that introduced tomatos, zinnias, and lots of other plants to the US. very interesting. I had never heard of them which the owner says is part of the problem, they can survive but they are so small and not as well known as so many other companies.

The owner was talking about a Ground Cherry A relative of, but not a, tomatillo, ground cherries are suppose to have a citrus flavor and are used in preserves, pies and fruit salads. Known as early as 1837, the yellowish-orange fruits grow in a husk. I think I am going to try these, sounds too interesting to pass up.

Have to tell you something funny, I found the camera last night finally and ran around taking pictures, took the card out and put it in my purse and now I can't find the camera again....how can that happen? I decided I wanted to bring it to work and I looked all the 'normal' places and it is missing again...I give. I did learn one thing, I have fought and fought this camera with it washing out colors, it does wonderful if the sun is setting, it is indoors, or cloudy outside, there must be another setting I am missing on it, course the whole thing is missing now, so I guess it doesn't matter... ;)

1st pic is of a couple of the chicks, DH has no idea what breed they are. The pic of the ducks didn't turn out, so I will have to do that one again.

Next are pics of some of the iris that just popped out. The last iris is tie dye iris look below it and you will see a sport of tie dye with alot more white.

Thyanks for the link, I have it saved. Love those little chicks, and those flowers are beautiful! Love that tie dye iris!

oh Joyce, how lucky you are! I grew up raising chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits, on the farm south of wichita. It was a NORMAL way of life we thought.
I have wanted to have foul ever since here, but you can't have more than one chicken.. how does one have just one chicken?

When we first moved here, before wichita moved to Derby, we used to wake up to the roosters crowing around us. then the new mayor changed the laws. bah!

So much has been growing and blooming here, Joe and I take a quick jaunt out back and out front to check things out on commercials, I have never watched so much TV in my life as I have this year with Joe. Sheesh! Joanna found a baby bird, Joe warned me not to bring it in, ofcourse I scooped it up and brought it in, Joanna took it back out and told me to leave it alone, she saw the momma and poppa bird trying to tend to it, it is a baby red headed finch, anyway, she spent the evening trying to get it to drink water and eat bread, silly girl, I told her to leave it alone ( coulda swoen she told me to do the same thing) anyway, we went out and couldn't find it, so here is hoping they got it tended too.
LK< I aM so looking forward to meeting you. I talked to Bonnie yesterday, she has made 200.00 on her plant store so far, she is hoping to make 800. more from her seed grown plants, so she can get her car fixed, and then we can meet up and she can come here and take some of the over grown penstamons and monardas off of my hands.
Definaltely the year for roses, all of my hybrids are showing off so nicely only to be shredded by the torrentail rains for the past three nights.
Isabella's small fat bud burst open and she has a bloom all crinkled about three times the length of the original bud. poor thing. Hope it straightens up, but look for it to fall off.
The small starts and branches of things I planted last year are all taking off, and I am so happy. I already have daturas blooming, from seed. Anyway, I am still working a lot, and so when I get a few minutes, I will upload pics from my camera ( all in April) since it is now May.
Joyce, put a long neck strap on your camera and designate a hanging spot on a chair inside. That is the only way I know where my camera is.
I am looking for a neon neck strap now. The black just blends into the darkness against my dark colored dining chair.
Love those Iris, they are breath taking!
Susie, tell Daddy i!
Hugs to you all, Fruity, FAYE , and all.
Debra

Good to hear from you Debra, no pics? I have an excuse I keep losing the camera...rofl!

DH and I are debating about where this chicken coop is going, do chicken coops smell? He wants to put it not far from my pergola I am building, to the north of it, I figured I could landscape around it, the winds should be out of the south, but when the winds aren't blowing I don't want to smell it, if they smell, and I am assuming they do..... any opinions?

Went to the iris farm last night...wowzer, acres of iris in bloom, it is amazing.

Well have a great day you all.

Yes, they smell... Unless you clean them out everyday.

You're going to have instant fertilizer there, happ. We need to figure out a way to put a GPS on your camera...lol Love the pics, especially Tie Dye, and thanks for sharing the history of Landreth seeds. I'd never heard of them either and will definitely give them an order.

Debra, when I was a wee little girl, I picked up a baby bird that had fallen out of the next, brought it to Mama cupped in my hands oh so carefully thinking she'd be proud of me, but instead she made me pull my own switch and tanned my behind with it. Don't know if it's true or not, but Mama said mother birds would abandon their babies if they detected the slightest human scent. That was during the same time one of my Aunts had died and Mama inherited her sister's Love Birds in a cage. Child of me thought we could just add the baby bird in with them and it would be accepted. Anybody remember plastic curtains? Those caged birds took turns pecking at them.

After hubby's dr appt yesterday, we stopped by Home Depot to pick up new screen doors for our back porch. Very odd for me not to venture into the garden center, knowing perennials were 4 / $10, but when he's in a mood for fixer-upper projects, I'm not about to leave his side...lol Plus it was pouring rain. We met my gardening girlfriend on the road as we were coming home, and she called this afternoon to gloat about her haul. A couple don't have tags and she wants me to help her ID them. Ha! Like I could. Told her I'd try for a ransome of a couple of divisions...lol People were carrying off hanging baskets of Boston Ferns like there's no tomorrow. They would be so pretty hanging under our front porch, but that area gets the full brunt of late afternoon Sun and they'd be crispy critters in no time.

Brings to mind a sweet memory, I found a baby bird at dusk that couldnt fly when I was a child and my mother said to put it in my playhouse until morning so cats wouldn't get it. The playhouse was a little wooden house my father built for me, with glass windows that opened and screens. We opened the glass so the screens let in fresh air. In the morning, I went in the playhouse to find the baby with perched on the screen by its claws' and its mother was outside the window in a tree calling to it.
I put my finger next to the bird and it hopped onto my finger, then I walked outside and held up my hand toward the tree to its mother and it took its first flight off my hand. Joined its mother in the tree and was safe because it could fly.
Birds apparently don't have a good sense of smell so they do not reject babies based on scent.

Linda Kay, I figured they smelled cause they do in the garage....the pen is being built somewhere else...rofl.
I am starting gardens on the west side, that is where the water garden is, the pergola will be, my garden room is, and my garden shed, along with the new potting bench....so the chics as cute as they are will be somewhere else.

Yeap I will have lots of fertilizer...rofl, so I need to start some compost bins along with everything else.

Hadn't thought about plastic curtains since I was a kid..rofl. We had those wonderful things all over the house, and one time I decided in my bedroom I was going to give them a new look...rofl, and I cut them off 1/2 way..because we didn't have air conditioning and the wind kept blowing them over my bed. So fun.

Fruity, I was good like you, I got the ad about home depot and I didn't go anywhere near there, I still have lots of plants to plant from last year and I am not hopefully buying anything else....hopefully.

Funny, I don't remember the chicken coop smelling bad, I used to hang out in it all the time.. but then, I was just a kid..
I also have a memory of rescuing a baby bird when I was 9, my mom said no way birds in the house, I snuck it into my room, and kept it in a box, that night it start chirping so I picked it up and kept it on my chest, and we both fell to sleep. I woke up the next morning and felt my chest to check on the baby bird, and had a horrible feeling of a lump under my back, to my horror and sadness, I had somehow rolled on it and killed it, I was so freaked out I was bawling and then got a whipping before school and then felt like a murderess after that.
Today I found a mourning dove with a broken wing, wanted to scoop it up ( at work) but didn't. told Joe I felt bad for leaving it there..
Hi, Judy! I agree, I don't think birds care if we touch their babies.. if they know we feed them and love them like we do, most critters are forgiving.

Fruity, I am glad you can get hubby to do your fixin uppers.. Joe stayed home today and did laundry, dishes, pulled weeds from the lawn, mowed the front, edged the drive and made red beans and rice and sweet corn bread muffins with hot peppers.. yummy. Going to HD is on my list, but I am still pulling up prennials gone wild to make room for other stuff. Here are a few pics from April 2012

everyone can be happy i got my mammys mammogrammed and I am free and clear of breast cancer.. I forgot to tell my sister when she called me tonight, she has been nagging me .. I just didn't see the point, as I have implants that are over 20 yrs old, and before the first pair, I had skin and a nipple .. LOL
anyway, it is all good. My blood work is good, my BP has gone down, and other than my broke toe and foot bone ( healing) and my back ( re injured) I am pretty healthy at 60. ready to tackle the world so here we go.

LK, I think we are looking at Fall for our trip, I hope it isn't to hot. I am waiting on my last order of co-op plants , I hope they arrive before it gets to 100 here, it is in the 90's tommorrow and the rest of the week.. bleah.

hope this is enough eye candy for ya all.... see ya tommorrow!

Love that eye candy!

It is still quite warm here until about Oct. Nov.

So glad your Mammy's are in good health!

Pretty pretty flowers Debra, had to laugh at perennials gone wild, sounds like a bad reality show....oh on second thought it is a bad reality...LOL

I came home last night and he has bought more chickens, good grief! He is crazy, we have yellow ones, black ones, and these guys look older and sort of a soft yellow color......thank goodness he told me they are completely sold out of the chickens and ducks...rofl...yeah they are all at my house.... He has agreed to move the chicken coop away from my 'living' area. Our poor little wire terrier is going to just fall over from lack of sleep, all he does is watch these chicks.

It is pitch black outside, a storm is coming, but I think it is suppose to be short lived, hopefully have tomorrow off, since my weekend is going to be busy doing other things than playing in the garden.

Chickens and flowers and RAIN! Oh my! LOL... I would give anything for a drop of rain. There have been a few small storms around the area but not a drop of moisture where I live for a while. The surrounding towns and cities are making arrangements to buy water from other sources but our bright city did something really STUPID and locked themselves into some sort of contract that they would buy 100% of their water FOREVER from one source and that source is almost completely out of water! The city is building new apartment complexes as fast as it can due to the oil industry and we are constantly being told to stop using water. They are even telling us to put a bucket under the faucet when running it in the bath tub to initially get the hot water there to save the water for other uses. Not flush toilets until you have used it several times.... CRAZY!!!!! It is getting that bad here. I know the situation in the area is getting bad because the birds in the neighborhood are flocking to my little pond more and more every day. There is just no water available anywhere else for them.

I feel guilty when I do laundry, take a shower, wash dishes.. do ANYTHING that uses water.... except water my yard... I wonder why that is?

Hmmmm. Well I remember when we had drought restrictions here, and our reservoirs dried up. It's very depressing, and I feel for you.

Gots to keep those plants alive though. And I do make sure the bird baths always have fresh water. I can't feed them all, but I can make sure they get a drink when they want one. Even the honeybees are landing lately to get a drink so I've had to put rocks into the water so nobody drowns. Geez.

Have you tried to capture your "gray" water? from dishes, laundry, showers, etc? Lots of cities are looking at that as an option for water conservation, and there are often regulations that accompany. I'm sure you wouldn't drink it - but it would be okay for your plants.

Peace.
A.

I really do feel for you, Tammie. We have a well and try to do my part conserving water by filling up jugs when the kitchen faucet is running from cold to hot, same in the shower. We passed by a place Tuesday that sells 55 gallon barrels and would really like to have a few to catch the rainwater.

One of my emails today was from a long-time friend in rural NC who's renting a house and hasn't had running water going on 3 weeks now. The only neighbor in sight has been kind enough to let her take showers and carry gallon jugs of fresh water back home to perk coffee, brush her teeth, and take a whore bath between real showers. It's a good thing she lives near a city and is able to eat out. After a frack test yesterday, the well is officially dry and she's scrambling to find a place to move to by the 1st of June.

Beautiful shots, Debra. What is the purple blooming plant in your 3rd photo (next to the pink & yellow Rose) and also your last pic with the White "daisy" with purple centers that almost look black?

Tammy, I fill botttles, jugs, jars, anything with a lid and no holes with laundry water. I do not let the washer drain until I get as much stored as I can. It makes the tomatoes and plants go crazy.. the rinse water, the sink water, and we are not in restrictions, but we do use the toilet wet wise three times before flushing.. it seems to keep my water bill down , the plants in and out watered , ( especially when I don't want to undo the hose) and I am going to hook a coupler up to the drain hose on the washer to run outside later this summer. It kills bugs, and the phosphates seem to make things green. I know earth worms survive it, because when I transplanted stuff outside ( I watered all winter with laundry water) they were still there and multiplied.

I think ALL CITIES should use gray water. it is stupid to waste it. that is my soapbox for the day.


the purple bloom is dames rocket, a bi ennial. the small daisey is very tiny and is a creeper called creeping daiseys. I am sure accidentally sent out some with other plants last year, I apologize if any of you go this very aggresive, but good space filling creeper. the butterflys love it and it is pretty.
my mock orange finally bloomed this year, it came to me as a cutting three years ago..
the white with dark center is something called osteropurnum.. it comes in many colors, I like this one the best, I don't buy annuals much anymore, but these I buy at least four of and pot them in one pot.
my baptisia finally bloomed again, it makes cool pods..it is a native in white here, but the blue is not..
I also have winecups blooming now.. they are so pretty, have to take pics of them, i sent seeds of those with the seed bags i sent out also.
look at poor isabellas first bloom, she was all stuffed in a two inch bud.. this bloom even folded and crinkled was almost 8 inches long..

You know what's amazing is having 3 garbage cans/drums attached to downspouts that each collect 55 gallons and how fast each of those 55 gallon drums is drained when I need to water.

People don't realize how much water comes out of that showerhead or sink faucet. Water is a finite resource - a blessing and a curse - water (and religion!) is something wars are waged over and we need to find ways to conserve what we've got better much better than we do.

We are a wasteful society. We can each only do our part. I agree with Debra obviously, and will remain high atop my soap box. :P

xox
A.

I am setting up our pipes to only drain the toilet into the septic tank every thing else will be diverted to the garden...

That is my 2
Cents for today!!!!!




Huggs

That's awesome. :)

I so far only have the a/c draining into the garden. I'm not really knowledgeable about the plumbing in this old house. I suppose I could make it my business, though Court is a read dud and sometimes crabby when I try to put this kind of bug in his ear.

Wish me luck!!!

Glad you are making progress Kris.

Is there anything you need for your little house I might have that I could send? Don't have much but it'll be easy enough to ship it to Domino's. :D

Kris, where are you located? Are you on the way to Florida?
lordy it is almost 90 plus here today.. eeps!

I have a rain barrel already... problem is, you have to have rain for it to be effective. LOL We were looking at a way to divert the water from the washer into the front yard a few days ago since the washer is in the garage. I do collect the water from my A/C and have done that for years. I have a heat circulator pump on my plumbing so don't waste any water waiting for the hot water to arrive at any faucets. It used to take FOREVER to get hot water to the kitchen so we put that on for that reason. BIG difference.

It is killing me to watch the trees around here die.. no excuse for it.. people are allowed to water them once a week but they are too lazy to get out and do it. The big tree in the yard behind me is about 1/3 gone right now .. this tree is about 18 years old. I want go give them a piece of my mind. What do they think is going to happen once it is weak and a good wind storm comes up???? Insane! It is like this all over the neighborhood/city. They do tell people to water their trees and shrubs... just let the grass die... people are so stupid. My shrubs are moderately green and happy. My orleanders are blooming even after being absolutely butchered back to almost nothing in early spring. They were so huge and overgrown. It was way past time for that huge haircut. My lavender is beginning to bloom.. just a few sprigs are showing the first blooms opening.. I love it when it blooms.

I must be missing out on something, my A/C doesn't drain or drip....
wish it would.. LOL

this is the bloom from the borken stem off the moonlight from fruity
this bird pecks all day and night
this is the newest member of the squirrel family.. she is a she
lastly, the bean patch and potatoe patch.. doing much better this year..

Great pictures Debra, nice you got a bloom off the broken stem!

Debra,,it would depend which way you go to Florida,, I am just about 1 hour south of Birmingham,Al. And about 40 minutes north east of Montgomery, Al. What way are you going when you drive down???

I cannot wait for Ralph to go get my tiller! I want to till a very long bed just at the edge of the woods to put all my plants in the ground, I just cannot dig over 100 holes by hand. The kids will be out of school soon and they are putting in the garden for me.

I have no idea as to what we need at this point,,,, well other than internet, whaaaa..... Lol

Ok. Typed enough..hands going numb again...
Night all....

debra i read in a book or someone had told me that laundry water would kill the plantsn do to the laundry soap now you say it is very good for them this maybe a dumb question but could it depend on the laundry soap used ??? always looking for ways to conserve here also .
gotta go help daddy back later

Sue, we drain our washing machine in the back yard, and it is very good for the grass! Sometimes of the year, that is the only are that is green! We have been doing this for years!

isn't it funny how there is so many different opinions there are I heard or read this way back when i 1st started to garden & it stuck not to use it . so now I will begin to use it & see Just how it dose :) ty for sharing .

Hi all, behind again..Puter was sick and I couldn't get online. Beautiful blooms as usual Debra, keepum coming. I have had 1 Angel Trumpet to bloom. Had 3 blooms and is budding again. Had a plant/yard sale yesterday and today. Did really well. Sold Angel Trumpets, Confederate Rose, Briarless Blackberries and vintage Sarah Coventry Jewelry (60's, 70's & 80's) I have lots of it. I once (another lifetime) was a Sarah Coventry Fashion Show Director.. I have 6 of the yearly Limited Edition Crosses if anyone is interested. Also have something else that I don't know how to sell. I have 1942 & 1943 Post Cards,1 postmarked 1911, I don't need them and would love selling them as soon as I can do the pricing. Will try to scan and post.
Love you all lots, talk soon
Faye
P.S Blooming Angel

Well, Scan & post didn't work. Back to the drawing board..

Hey Faye, glad to hear you had a good sale!

Oh the Angel in bloom is beautiful, does it smell wonderful?

Kris, you and Ralph have so much going on right now, I am amazed you know which end is up... ;)

Gosh, being limited on water is really really tuff and scary when you think about it, because we are not the only place having this problem.

All of our grey water dumps out on the far side of the yard (course when I say yard the house sits on 3 acres), I have hardy hibiscus growing there, along with water iris, that is also where I am planting my monster dinasour plant, our grey water includes washer, sinks, and bathtub, all the plants are thriving beyond belief and we have done this for 20 years or so.....the grass is so thick you can't imagine and all the plants are sooo happy. So far as what we use in the washer, it depends on who is buying it so I don't think the soap matters, or bleach as far as that goes. I just wanted to make sure my animals and the wild animals can't get in it, which they don't, the water comes out a pipe on the far side of property and DH put grating over the top where if it pools nothing can get to it, then it seeps out to the plants, pooling hasn't been an issue. I guess basically I have a rain garden without the rain. Oh yeah we have a tree there also. My biggest problem is to keep the grass from over taking the plants I want there and even tho we don't have standing water, I do believe you would sink to China if you tried to walk to far into one area. That is where the water iris planted in the mud or soo very happy. I have thought about getting some cat tails, altho I am afraid they might take over.....so I have kind of waited on that. Anyone have any other ideas on mud plants....rofl?

Water problems have to be the pits. I hope I will be smart to save and use gray water this Summer..starting washday.(Monday)
Hugs to you all.