DO YOU HAVE SOME SIGNS OF SPRING 2013? #3

We came from here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1304668/#new

We started this thread on February 22, 2013 and have been enjoying the signs of Spring as they arrived here in our area. It has been such fun to share our pictures and posts these past months that we have decided to keep it going and who knows, one day Summer might arrive.

Feel free to visit with us, all posts and pictures are welcome. Enjoy our journey from Winter to Spring.

This message was edited Apr 25, 2013 9:51 AM

This message was edited Apr 25, 2013 9:54 AM

Thanks ever so much for Part three!! I used to tell people that one of the reasons I like living here is the
l o n g Springs I'm seriously hoping this is one of them and don't mind a bit if the cool stays around well in to June , or we have a 'compressed' summer instead of a compressed spring.

Yep, I too noticed that the forsythia held back their blooming and weren't fooled like they are so many years by a warm spell. I swear my daffodil stems were longer this year, too.

Some days I should just stay in the Greenhouse. I just could not get those darn links from the old thread to the new thread to work this morning. Hope you all find this new spot and keep those great pictures coming. Off to be a bit more productive.

Off topic a second. This has been a very expensive and frustrating two weeks for this old (84) lady. My central Air Condition Unit died last week, this Monday my refrigerator died...I am not thousands of dollars more in debt than I was last month, but I get on this thread and a few other Mid Atlantic forum threads and I forget all about all that crap here on the farm that is so annoying. I want to thank you all for helping me forget to be cranky these past two weeks. There was a time when a few Martinis would have been the answer, but as I get older I get smarter when it comes to the hard stuff. LOL. Thanks again. Hugs and Prayers for all of you. JB

Have a great day.

just as a FYI, JB, we do own our own hvac company, you can d-mail me if you need work done


I'm surprised I'm ahead of you since your a bit south of me, then 3mins north of me, they have things blooming ahead of me! so figure

small leaf rhody

Jen your berm is looking great!
Thanks for the new thread JB and the lovely Intro post to it.

First iris Buds around here and very few at that.
Spiderworts have shot up in the week and hostas made lots of progress too. Very last of daff opened. Many buds on my peonies!!!! From moms yard my childhood home.
Many things have surprised me by how much they secretly grew underground and are now much bigger on top of the ground.

See JB, Sallyg is about 15 min. north and west of me and my iris and lilac are 'ahead' of hers, just like you and FlowAjen. For me, major factor is closeness to moderating effects of the Bay.

If you measured a straight line from the Ocean, I would say we are 20 miles from the shore. So we are inland pretty far, yet, when it says cooler at the ocean, we are always cooler. Figure that out. We also have very few shade trees and are mostly all full sun exposure. I don't know.

My peonies are up about 9 inches, tulips are just beginning to bloom, iris is up about a foot and
the old lilac has buds.

May actually get a handful or two of blueberries this year as one bush out of four has plenty of blossoms!

Another sign of spring is the number of convertibles on the road with these warmer days! Ran in to Catbird/Robin this week at the HD where she used to work. She says she loves having a convertible because she can fir in all the plants she wants, even tall trees! Go Robin. I myself am getting pretty used to traveling with plants in my car.

Hava a great day all. coleup/Judy

OK!
The problem with erroneously posting on the previous Thread is that it pops up under
"watched Threads"--and then one forgets that it was moved on.

SO! I will post that potted plant for ID again on here....
maybe I should post it on the Plant ID Forum.

Thanks, Gita

I do not think it is a jasmine. I would try and ID thread. Have a good day.

I do regard my convertible as a truck sometimes, put the top down, load up the backseat, then put the top back up. Works for me!

Guess what Judy (Coleup) was carrying when I saw her at HD? A tray of impatiens! Yes, after she warned us about them! Don't know if she decided to get them or not. I was just browsing and did not purchase anything.

Cat, I bet she is doing research????????

Ha Ha Ha You all know me too well! I was googling "moveable landscapres" which is what I do with almost my entire yard! Seems since Gita posted the term this am on another thread where she asked if there was a particular reason I grew my Japanese painted ferns in containers that I am very excited to learn that I am not the only one who gardens this way!

I did not purchase those gorgeous healthy looking Impatiens at Home Depot because this weather ( warm day/cool nite) is the perfect weather for downey mildew to appear. Two other nurseries have large banners about Impatiens Downey Mildew to alert their customers. In effect, these banners say that any Impatiens plants they have are 'healthy' upon arrival, but that since DM spores are air borne and disease is rampant in the area that the plants purchased will likely die. Both banners I saw had large pictures of "sick stick impatiens"

I shall if there is time rant away on 'irresponsible' growing, marketing and retail over on the bad news for Impatiens Lovers thread
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1298071/

Please post over there if you see Impatiens for sale anywhere and any banners or signs you may see about the disease. Thanks Judy/coleup

Posted my plant on "Plant ID" Forum. Got the answer today!

My memory was half-correct--that I got this little start from someone 2 years ago.
I was thinking of a jasmine---but it was ID'd as a "Philadelphus"--which is a Mock Orange.

Now--I think it was Chantelle that gave it to me--as she likes the fragrant shrubs.
maybe it was someone else? Fess up, please!!!!!

I checked PF--and there were so many varieties. need to know which one i have.

Thanks--Gita

OOPS--Hit send too soon. The picture had not fully loaded....

Said it bloomed late spring--early summer....can't wait.

Gita, You may have gotten that from my friend Jane. She brought Mock Orange to the last swap.

Holly--

I remember someone handing me a tiny 'twig" in, maybe, a 4" pot and convincing me
how fragrant it was....to take it. Could it be Jill? She's good at convincing people to take plants....;o)
I did not sign up for this--but i do think there was talk by Chantelle of some shrub she was promoting...

Chantelle did give me 2 cuttings of a shrub, which never made it--as it had no "eyes" near the end
to have roots grow our from. We talked about it...Maybe that is what is "muddling" my mind?

Well--no matter. Now I know what it is. Says in PF it only grows about 3" tall--in a nice mounding form.
I think I will try to plant it in the corner of my "YUK" bed where now is one of my Butterfly Bushes,
In this corner (where the bed turns) the Butterfly bush is totally split at ground level, the stem
is all pulpy and disintegrating. Only one section of it has leaves on it. SO--no harm getting rid of it.

Digging up a planting hole there will be hard--but i will plug away. PF said this Shrub was care-free....
Would have wanted something a bit taller there, but--this will do for now. Have no other place for it.

Gita....

Mockoragne can range from a few feet to much taller. I say yes, chop pout the Butterfly bush. try the mock orange.
It does havea wonderful white flower and scent in May. I love that. I will have it again this year as my cutting took and grew.

Problem free tough shrub. Mostly kind of upright, but we still don't know what CV you have or even species.

But mocorange out of bloom is generally kind of boring.

...Wandering if any of the new growth now on the B-Bush could be rooted????

There i go gain--wanting to propagate everything....

Are we still on for may 2nd here? I just wrote Donner that you may be coming too....
G.

Forget the Butterfly Bush, not worth it. Rooting from something half rotten and dying? How healthy will it ever be?
Or try it as an experiment. I have never heard of it being done. Doesn't mean it won't work.

I have to pick up kid at 3 and can leave my house about 3:30 so can meet you somewhere around 4. 4:15.

Hey gang, where can I get some Lady Slippers. Need just one or two for a bed I am working on.

OK, Sally--just come to my house.... I have not heard a definite time from Donner yet..
Just going by past visits...She just comes from downtown.

BTW--the "MD Flower and Foliage" Plant place--NO credit cards. Just cash or check.
"Chapel Hills" (Pine Fines place)--credit accepted

You may hit some early rush hour on 95???.... G.

JB--Sorry this is off topic...Gita..........:o]

Hey All.

Gita: I agree with others to let go of the BB. We had one that I kept trying to restore (it was a gift from my son), but it was just a miserable eyesore. Mock orange is wonderful in bloom; ours is quite tall - I would guess about 8 feet - and fairly upright.

Judy/Coleup: I have never encountered mildew on impatiens; is it possibly because I live north of you in eastern PA? In fact, I could not consider planting them up here at this point; we usually put them in at the end of May.

Sissy---
It is not a visible mildew--such as on Phlox or Lilacs--no powdery substance visible--

If you google it--you will be able to read all kinds of things about it.
Colup may have something to post on this...It is scary to read about this....

Here is what mine looked like after it was attacked.....I had seen this for 2 years--
but thought some insect was chewing off all the leaves.

Gita

Never worry about off topic on this thread unless of course you get carried away for a few days then maybe. LOL. ♥

Gita, that is not your plant is it? RO FL I would never guess you would ever have a plant that looked that messed up. Not my Gita Girl.....me maybe, but not you. LOL

That makes me think of a new topic for a thread. WHEN IT IT TIME TO THROW IT AWAY?

I have kept some plants that looked like someone ran over them, never watered them , chewed them, whatever, I kept them until I was ashamed to have anyone see them in my house. I have a terrible time throwing away live things.

JB--You make me blush----"I would NEVER have a plant that is messed up????"
Of course I can--I just would never post it or photograph it.....

YES! That is my Imps. Hanging basket from October of last year. Sad--no?
I think by then I had already heard about this disease and realized i have seen it for
TWO years already on my Impatiens,,,,
SO--I took a picture to show the DG world what this disease will do to your flowers.

sadly--I will have to think of something else to border a couple beds with.
Will, probably, go with petunias....as these beds get a lot of AM sun. Begonias too--maybe...

These are from July, 2010. Same area--different shots.....E. side of my house.
The little bed with the pot on it is where i used to have a Birch Tree--which died--and was cut down.
Now the stump is almost gone--rotted out--the pot on it is held up by stacked bricks...
See the last picture--taken a couple of weeks ago....It will be planted again--just don't know with what.
This was always my Coleus/Impatiens bed.....Full of Downy Mildew Fungus spores--i am sure!!!!

I just LOVE how Impatiens "meld" into the spaces they have--to complete the picture......
So do all the Coleus--together--they form a colorful mass of beauty/.

No more this.......:o(( Gita

Gita, pretty colors - you sure do have a knack for getting things to grow.

I am so psyched - Anemone nemorosa 'Vestal' - one of the little woodland plants that I've attempted several times from mail order has made it and is blooming its sweet little blooms.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/122154/

I just came in from yardening. Beautiful weather, but the gnats are out in force. Covered myself multiple times during the day in bug spray. Getting dinner in the oven and then up to take a much needed bath.

Teri--

Believe me--I do not do anything special with my plants...just watering...
The soil in that round bed is average--don't add anything...seldom fertilize anything....
I always see all the beautiful pictures someone posts and am envious......like jen--awesome shots!

I am very tired too--been outside all day....little breaks here and there--but now i am bushed....
Gonna check Dg--taake a shower and then sit in the kitchen till bedtime.
Did a lot today!!!!

Had all my seedling flats out--and they will stay there....third night now. I did cover them last night...44*--hmmm
Nothing lower than mid-50's the rest of next week! Yippeee! maybe spring rely has sprung.....

I have no bugs flying around...yet, except those big, fat borer bumblebees. They buzz you and hover over you.
I have my fly swatter handy--IF you can catch them. They are like kamikaze flyers.

Work at 8AM tomorrow. early day...that means I get up at 5:45AM. I like to take my time...

Chill! Gita

@Gita: Yikes! That's hideous. And, I think I have seen that effect, but assumed it was bugs.

This is the sign of Spring on this rainy Monday. The pink dogwood is so full of flowers this year it is amazing. This must be the year for dogwood.

Anyone have Lady Slippers?

Sissy--I am not sure what you are referring to as "hideous"????

Is it those big, black, buzzing bumblebees? They WILL NOT hurt you or bite you--just annoy you.
They are just protecting the hole the female, which looks like a skinny wasp, has laid her eggs in.

Repeat boring in wooden material and structures, can--over the years, weaken or destroy those areas.
I have driven small pieces of branches, or dowels in, to close up the holes. I have sprayed "Wasp and Hornet"
spray--directly into the hole--and yes! I have tried to whack those big, fat bumblebees out of existence with
a fly swatter. They ARE hard to hit--as they are amazingly fast.

The A-Beam supports to my shed are so destroyed over the years. The last thing I did was spray that yellow
They are OK inside the shed--and are supported in the ground by serious metal brackets.

My shed--an original built by my Ex.
Different support beams showing borer bumblebee damage

Gita

Is there any way to protect against carpenter bees?

I have heard that if you paint the wood--they may not drill holes.
Unfinished wood--even pressure treated--(not sure?) does not seem to deter them much.
My heavy, round patio table had many coats of paint on it--and I have seen them drill a hole into the edge of it.
They are ALWAYS working in the woodwork underneath my sky lights in my patio roof.
Not really sure of what benefit it is to kill the big, black males????

I am not sure, but i think the macho male drills the holes and then the female moves in.
The slender wasp could never drill a hole 1/4" in diameter. That IS how big the holes are....

The tunnel goes in--and then turns up--kind of "L" shaped.
The female lays one egg, and seals that chamber off. Then lays another egg, and seals that off, etc.
I suppose, if you find the newly drilled holes (sawdust underneath is a dead giveaway) and then close off
the hole some way (dowel pieces, sections of a tree twig. etc) the chamber would be blocked
and no new wasps could exit. Google this for more info.

Be looking for a slender wasp buzzing around anything wood. Swat HER--if you can--or walk around with
a can of Wasp and Hornet killer.
Gita

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef611.asp
the female carpenter bee is not a slender wasp. Wasps also lurk about looking for nest sites.

This message was edited Apr 30, 2013 7:30 AM

I have not lost my mind, I posted a post yesterday and it never showed up on my screen and I was going to post it again, then I found it. Sorry. Must be that little person inside my puter that plays games.

The exterminator can spray for the carpenter bees. We have it done especially in the old house where they seem to like the old wood. They will not hurt you but they are annoying and can really damage wood structures.

Well--Sally---Thanks for the link.

I was wrong on only ONE count--thinking the females were the wasps hovering around
near the males. (Females?)
They were just protecting their "real estate"....

And, yes, my aging picnic table is made of redwood....or maybe it is just painted that redwood color?
G.

Morning all. JB I do think this is an excellent year for dogwoods! Here they are simply loaded with blooms.

Yesterday as I drove around delivering my newspapers in the grey drizzly afternoon I couldn't help but notice how stunning each house landscape was, even if there was only one tree or an azalea bush or two! I was visually awe struck for three hours and then arrived home to view my own place as a glorious garden, too, that Nature had painted upon with colorful abandon. This is the "long Spring" that features so prominently in why Maryland. We are doing ourselves proud here! Each home another page from H & G Beautiful. The skies may have said 'bleak' and the thermometer 'cool' but that made the blooms stand out ever so much more than a bright blue 80 degrees ever could.

gremlins JB...

yes Gita you still got an A on the test... ; ^)

ditto ditto ditto Judy

Gorgeous pictures Mother Nature did have your help there- you put them together.

The soft rain makes everything look so intense and lush.