Neck of the WoodsChat Count down to Spring 2013

Oh so heart breaking. I have White Dawn growing on my fence with clematis.

It is beautiful out there today and pretty warm as well. We had a nice light wet snow last night and left everything looking so pretty this morning. It is all pretty much gone now. Only a bit in the shady areas.

Ah pretty

I have the same feeling about that snow scenery pic as I did in my childhood. Always awesome.

I love to watch the snow fall sitting by the fireplace with some friends and sip on some hot buttered rum. The only time that I really enjoy it never touch it otherwise.... Since we seldom have snow well I do enjoy the fireplace on but no hot buttered rum LOL . I got up with a cold and I am so upset I cant go to the seeds swap because i would be swapping more than seeds. That i do not want to do.... snifff sniff

oh darn!!!

Oh Orchidfancy, I was so looking forward to seeing you again. Take care of your self.

I sure hope you get better SOON, Orchid!! Maybe a Hot Toddy would be in order for you?

I wasn't able to make it today either, been working HARD on this Topsy-turvy house, and quite frankly, I'M POOPED!!!

There was some talk at the Seed Swap about a possible group trip to Mt. Cuba this spring. So I started a new thread for us to discuss the possibly.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1298702/

President's Holiday, so I am off. Having a great time potting up more seeds, figuring out a timer for my plant shelf lights, and potting up dried up things that I found when cleaning out the garden "stuff" pile in the basement. I found a paper bag of 3 begonia picotee bridesmaid and a paper bag of 15 oxalis brigit. I got them from a coop a few years back, and never planted them. It didn't take much effort to pot them up, and it is kind of a fun experiment to see if anything grows. There are a few other orphan bags of things to try planting out next fall. The 10 amaryllis bulbs that I found and potted up two weeks ago are not doing anything other than sprouting morning glory seeds that must have been in the soil I reused from last years' seed starting effort LOL. Jill told me to try a heat mat under them, so I just finished setting that up. Hope that does the trick. I love these days off - time for a nap...

I used some of the gritty mix to make up 3 little succulent nurseries. They are Burros tail and Jade plant babies. At least the cats don't eat these.

My cat eats everything, so i have to keep overwintering tropicals in the room over the garage. But the few plants I keep in the kitchen the cat considers as fair game. That being said, I bought a lemon grass and a cat grass when Jill took us to Dutch Farms (or whatever it is called) following the swap. The cat grass was advertised as something good for cats that would help with hairballs, and we thought it might deter the cat from the few remaining indoor plants. The cat headed straight for the lemon grass before we could hide it, ate a lot, and threw up. We put the lemon grass in the room over the garage. The cat steadfastly ignores the cat grass.

Happy--et al with cats---(PS--I done have any at the time)

If you sprayed the cat(s) with water every time they went to eat your plants,
would he/she not, eventually, learn to leave that plant alone???
Thinking along the lines of Behavior Modification. Cats hate water....

What is that show on TV where the man comes into your home and teaches you
how to change the wild behaviors of the client's cats and dogs???

...Just wondering.....G.

Gita -- might work, provided one were paying sufficient attention to notice when cat attacked the plants. But often we don't.

we're trying the water spray trick- our cat is learning to "be wary while disobeying freely!!"

Cats can be so frustrating - what a downer, happy!

Maybe the lemon grass was to prevent hairballs, as an emetic. :-} LOL Ric

Random cat observations here. I have no indoor house plants aand haven't for many years.

In the Spring, my mostly indoor cats can't wait to get outside...like some primal force is driving them (Yes, they are 'fixed') they make a beeline for early clumps of grass or chives, long green and tender or, they chew on liriope leaves but don't eat them. My theory is that the grass/chive munchies are a spring tonic kind of intestinal cleanse (few hair balls) The chewing of the liriope leaves, biting them over and over, I think may have to do with dental cleansing or flossing with plant fibers. Cats are carnivores after all so I have found mine to be quite selective when it comes to plants ie, not just any plant will do.

Ric -- you are so right!

Coleup -- how can you not have house plants? You have such splendid tropicals -- all those Mona Lavenders. What do you do with them in the winter?

Happy, there is not a window in my house that will support the kinds of house plants I love and have grown before. Instead of keeping my tropicals, etc limping through the winter, we all mercifully go into semi-dormancy and my plants all stay on my unheated enclosed porch until it is safe to go outside again. Only one room to clean up dropped leaves from! Most winters I don't even go in to check on them.

I know it sounds weird, but remember that by my having worked for various greenhouse growers and years as a plant merchandizer, etc, I have more growing plant exposure than most people over a life time. I suppose this camels' hump of greeness and blooms helps me span the desert of winter blahs or cabin fever. And winter here really is so so short. More like a nap than a long sleep.

Do love those years I can get an early start on the Monas...that blue is just so special.

Just to let you know that Santa Rosa Gardens is selling what's left of their Echinaceas for under $4.00. I bought a bunch.

Roses -- I didn't see that sale. Maybe it was a one-day deal?

http://www.santarosagardens.com/Now-On-Sale-s/6383.htm

Thanks! I went to the main web site and didn't see it. Not that I need any more plants, of course....

My son Josh and his partner Courtney are in a Cutest Couple contest. If you can please follow this link to the contest and vote.
They are listed under Cmohn13. Thanks Holly

http://unews27.whtm.com/Contests/ContestGallery.aspx?t=30&me=399

I didn't register or sign in but it took my vote anyway. Is this the lovely young woman who helped you at your swap. She was something special that day.

I voted too! They are cute and wonderful!

Me too......

Thanks guys they are just such a nice couple, too.

Holly, I'll vote once I get home from work.

Hey Paul, with your interest in rhodies, have you ever run into a couple from Gambrills, MD who are big time into the rhodie societies at their local level and at the national level? Gambrills is near Severnal Park, Millersville, etc... Rosa was a coworker of mine for many years, and is now retired. She and her husband have the most fantastic 2 acre display garden at their home that they open to the public every year. When we worked together, I went several years but haven't made it over there since her retirement.

Aspenhill, how do I find out about these open garden events? Gambrills isn't far from me, and I'd love to visit their display garden. I've only killed 2 rhodies so far...

Aspen,

I haven't come across them. But there is more than one chapter in Maryland. Also believe it or not the Rhodo people don't consider themselves Azalea people and vice-versa. Is a square always a rectangle? The Rectangle is not always a square!

With the Mason-Dixon chapter of ARS. I have only been to one meeting to join, I do participate in work days and lend a hand at their plant sale around mothers day. With only a handful of meetings a year it is easy to miss most. It's possible they could be members of the chapter and I have not come across them, I believe M-D has over 100. Of course I could be mistaken. I'd love to see their plants as well.


If anybody is interested I can direct you to a member in Columbia who is very open to visitors. He has planted his rhodos across a few of his neighbors yards and the shared public land. He can name most of them without looking and loves giving tours. DM me if interested.

P

This message was edited Feb 21, 2013 12:26 PM

Aspen, Happy, ss, Gita, etc,

I've just Dmailed Paul to see if he'd like to start a Rhod/Azalea thread for us. Sounds like there is interest and maybe some mini trips to set up as well as propagation tips and results to be shared. Yipeeeee

Maybe even the National Arboretum!?!

coleup---

I don't think it is necessary to always start a new thread, just because someone expresses an
interest in something.
These new Threads tend to just waste away....with about 12-15 posts....
It also becomes confusing to always have to go to this thread and that--which basically covers
nothing all that different than can be discussed in a "neck of the woods" Thread.

Just my opinion. Gita

Holly, Thank you, my vote has been posted! < =) Aaawww, they're so cute!!

And Paul, yes (to answer your question), a square is always a rectangle, quadrilaterals with all 4 angles being right angles. AKA: An Azalea is always a Rhododendron is an Ericaceae... I don't care what those snobs say. =P

Thanks everyone for voting.
Yeah, I just don't understand the Azalea - Rhodie issue. But they sure are very pretty. Since we limbed up a few of the trees out front I have been able to plant a few more Azaleas, Rhodies and several other shade loving plants and shrubs.

Terp, I think the Potomac Valley chapter of ARS is actually closest to me. The president of that chapter has a beautiful garden in McLean that I'm going to try to visit as well. He has a gorgeous rhodo called Caroline that I want.

It's the top picture on this page, the huge pink one: http://www.tjhsst.edu/~dhyatt/azaleas/new/landscaping.html

I'm gonna be all over the nurseries this spring, looking for this one. I hope it does better than my camellia, or the previous rhodo in that spot... :(

My neighbor has a beautiful Rhodo. it is not uncommon--one of the more upright-growing ones.
Gorgeous purple/blue/pink blooms.
If I had room--I would root a cutting from it. She just bends down a branch, puts a brick on it--and in a
couple of years has a new bush. That was several years ago. She does not garden much any more.
She has back and hip problems. She also needs to lose about 50lbs so she can bend and move.

Here is her Rhodo.

Gorgeous!

In one of Devon's posts, she was jokingly talking about changing her DG name to shady_macomb or clay_macomb. It got me wondering about our DG names and how we came up with them.

I can figure out the ones that are based on your first name - like HollyAnnS, sallyg, Gitagal, Chantell, Jan23, flowAjen, rubyw, Bec_No_Va, JBerger

And I can guess that others came from hobbies or interests - like Roses_R_Red, orchidfancy, UMD_Terp, greenthumb99 (99 cuz the lower sequential numbers were taken and David was tired of trying to find the next available one LOL), ssgardener (ss - silver springs?), critterologist (I think cuz of her background education as a biologist? and interest in animals of all kinds)

But others, hmmmmmm...
coleup?
happy_macomb?
speediebean?
Catbird423?
VA_Wild_Rose?

Others I know, because I asked:
ecnalg - backward glance, isn't that creative?
donnerville - her family home in England

And last - mine, aspenhill - the name of my place in Lucketts. Many properties in Loudoun County are named, and I came up with Aspen Hill in memory of Aspen, an American Eskimo dog who was my constant companion during the house building years. My DG profile pic is of Aspen as a pup and is used for the "Aspen Hill" logo.