Jill--I never saw a "June" variety in these at our store...I guess not all HD's get 100% identical stuff..
I think they are running the sales longer because, as this time of year, not much is
selling really fast. Garden mania is, basically, over...
I bought so many of the 6" pots of annuals--especially the Vincas. Four plants per pot--
pulled them apart and planted them in different beds...Many of them died, though.
This is NOT the first time that flowers purchased at HD have not made it.
I have always felt that, Bell pushes all their annuals into bloom for quick sales--at the price of
sturdy root systems. They are not as hardened off as the ones I buy at my Fave. GH.
That is why I don't buy too many of my garden plants at the HD.
Tomorrow is my last Sunday stint in garden. Just as well--my feet will thank me royally...
I will miss the exercise i got, though and the "freedom" to interact with customers in a capacity
I am 100% comfortable with. I will miss that....
This morning--I have to get out there and mow my lawn--then go to a crazy Luau get-together...
Food galore--beer on endless tap....;o/
G.
Yardening Summer 2013
A couple of pictures of the beds that Ric mulched not too colorful right now the iris are done blooming and most of the Lilies are close but not blooming yet.
nice Holly. When that coleus fills in, wow. What's the tall red thing= bee balm?
Sy
tupid spell check is too aggressive- can't say the latin for bee balm...
Yes it is a very pretty BeeBalm I got at a swap maybe 2 years ago, from RRR I think.
Gita, do you want a 'June' hosta if I'm back out that way in time?
Thanks for the offer--but--no thanks, Jill.
I bought 3 of the "Cupcaks ones" for myself and have to find a home for them.
Put 2 in front of the Cammelia. The 3rd one still waiting....
G.
I have been in and out all day hopping from one little job to another. HGTV is has hours of Yard make over shows so I am taping all of them and coming inside to cool off and watch a little then head back out. Ric has been busy all day outside as well. Right now he is doing some repair work on the raised brick patio. Awfully hot heavy work for today. I just came inside from loading a brick pile that I am moving to the secret garden where I will eventually use them for edging. I still have to unload them.
I overdid it yesterday at the new gym, trying to get the feel of the "resistive cardio" equipment, so earlier today I took it easy, concentrating on getting the "nursery corner" sorted out. You can actually see the gravel "patio" behind its stone border again!
My friend Theresa gave me something labeled "American Wisteria" that I've been growing bigger in a pot back there... discovered several volunteers (layered or self-sowed, wasn't sure) in the gravel this spring, nice sturdy plants, very excited! Well, one of them just bloomed, and it's not a wisteria at all! From the flower & its scent, it has to be a jasmine. I'm going to compare it to my J. stephense... and ask Theresa about it, too! Whatever it is, I should have 4 or 5 nice ones to share.
Gita, your 'Endless Summer' hydrangea was up-potted last fall and has started blooming again! I think it's about big enough to plant out, maybe this fall.
In sorting out those pots, I've found I have a couple dozen hostas and astilbes now, plus a dozen assorted anemones and other part-shade plants that I've been growing along... timing is perfect, as I'll be able to plant them along with all my new azaleas and rhodi's... I'm not going to do any real planning back there, just set the rhodi's around to serve as "bones" for my "woodland" area, then add clusters of the shade plants that I have. I put in a number of heuchera and hellebores back there last fall, and I've already added a few azaleas, rhodi's, and (along the sunnier edge) little lilacs.
I'm really excited about how that area is coming along. Having banished most of the poison ivy (must spray again this week, though), I'm now gardening in both sun and shade! The regular rainfall lately has really been helpful to all of our yardening, I know... but I'm reminding myself to make time for setting out a couple of soaker hoses with quick-disconnect ends, so that I can give the new plantings a deep drink once or twice a week.
You have all been so busy. I can only say that after two weeks of being a one legged old lady, I am ready to loose it. I did get out on the golf cart today to find several things blooming that I wanted to share with someone, but no one here, so I have chosen to share them with you.
1. Dwarf Daylilies- I thought I ordered all red, but it looks like they are multi colors. Oh well. There were 12, but bunnies are having a good time. It is down by the end of the field in a corner no one cares about and I hated the way it looked. The big green thing above the two lilies is a weed but I am unable to get out of the golf cart to pull it. The other lilies came over from the neighbors. Sorry about that weed.
2. Golden Vicary in bloom. Was sent to me by a friend as a cutting and they are now 2 years old. Put it by the old barn because I thought it would be safe there. Three of the 6 are still alive. Storms and other weather related problems took their toll.
3. We cut down an old weeping cherry tree and I have been covering the stump with some sedum. It is coming along very well this year. I keep putting old potting soil I remove dead cuttings from on top and that is what it needed. Recycle everything I can these days.
4. Blue hydrangea near where the old stump is. This is a very old barn but it is a landmark and we hate to take it down, so we make it look as good as we can.
Will not take any more of your time. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. JB
Hah. Well, I am *still* making my way around fighting weeds/deer/slugs. I think I might be too old for all this (too many beds, too much land, arthritis, etc.)
I am very happy, however, that - despite bugs and useless rain days - the weather here remains fairly cool. Also happy that two Endless Summer hydrangeas I put in at least 4 years ago,finally have buds!
Sissystars -- Happy to hear about the hydrangeas!
JB -- You'll be back on your feet soon, I hope. Photos are lovely!
I do need help. Do you have a guess as to what the plant in the photos is? I have 4 of them. It is currently about 18" tall. It is supposed to be either a Solidago 'Dansolitlem' "Little Lemon" or an Agastache Golden Jubilee -- but of course could be something completely different. I've never grown either before. It is 18" or so tall -- I didn't measure - might be 24". Hasn't bloomed yet that I noticed. It is in a dry sunny location, and is doing just fine.
Id go Solidago for that happy.
concur...Def not agastache. Goldenrod is a fall bloomer. Little Lemon is dwarf form and if that is your plants shouldn;t get much taller except for blooms.
My common elderberry is again not setting any fruit. I just confirmed they are not self pollinating. So there 's a bush to take out. I'll just start with some pruning cuz don't want to go ripping up all the plants around it at this time of year.
The big native elderberry that has been growing in the pasture for years and years is dying. Not sure why I am going to miss it as it was a really pretty bush.
Sally and Coleup -- Does my plant look like it has Solidago foliage? I've never seen a Solidago before.
SallyG - why did you decide not to plant a pollianator for your elderberry? I want to plant some elderberries -- hence my question.
This message was edited Jun 23, 2013 9:39 AM
Looks Solidago to me and really not Agastache
This elderberry was a volunteer. Fun to grow and learn but dont want to devote more room to it at the cost of further neglecting other things i want to plant.( Already in pots and begging for a chance! ) Check into pollination needs before choosing yours.
I thought I could get an Adams and a John. It's not high on my priority list, but I do have a spot where I'd grow them if I get around to it.
I agree my plant is probably Solidago Little Lemon, based on this photo: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/301443/ . Thanks for the help!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lCPmaq960E
Slightly different take on 'spooning', from Groucho
Sally -- I loved that! Now I need to see the whole movie!
Question: I have a lot of perennial black-eyed Susan in the back yard. I had always assumed it was Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' -- http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/i780/rudbeckia-fulgida-var.-sullivantii-goldsturm.aspx -- but now I learn that Goldstrum doesn't come true from seed. But whatever -- it looks like black-eyed Susan and it is perennial.
But it reseeds a good bit. I was thinking of putting it on my awful front hill, but if it will reseed and swallow everything else out, I probably shouldn't. is your experience the same as mine - that it reseeds too aggressively to be a good garden plant in any location where its reseeding can't be contained?
happy- there must be some sort of older perennial Blackeyed susan. Mom had some from her neighobr who worked for the highway dept- seems to me me might have said he got it from the highway margin decades ago. For me and her, it did not reseeds much if at all. I have a large growing chunk of perhaps Lance leafed coreposis which looks pretty much same as a black eyed susan in bloom, but with thin leaves.grwos by runners not seeding.
Some of the Marx bros is brilliant, and some drags by todays standards. Most have a few brilliant parts.
Oh here's one for you happy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u8AgUXPpLM
Chico's piano playing was amazing- here's another cute song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACkCVvBnr1U
Hmm... learned from where? Goldstrum is the variety I bought when we first moved in, and it has seeded happily all over the place. Maybe it's one that comes almost true from seed?
Thanks to a heads-up from my dad, we recently recorded "Lassie Come Home" plus a number of the TV episodes. Last night, we watched "The Well" and tried to imagine seeing it "fresh," wihtout remembering all of the cliched take-offs from the dialogue? (Lassie actually delivered a note to Grandpa from Jeff, who was stuck in the well.)
Critterologist -- to your question -- Mobot (with the link above) is where I learned (just this morning) that Goldstrum doesn't come true from seed.
Everyone: I have two weeds I can't identify -- they each create huge impenetrable patches, choking anything in their way. I'd love to know what they are.
The first (photos 1 and 2) is only about 2-3" tall; it is almost a mini-shrub.
The second (photos 3 and 4) is 5-6" tall.
Among other things, I'd love to know if they are annual or perennial weeds,,,.
I think I saw everything Lassie at one point or another, "Lassie come home", "Lassie goes to War", Sunday nights with Jeff and later Timmy. I was so disheartened to learn many of the Lassies were "boy dogs" and "she" was not always the Heroine. You might say it was my first in reality TV.
This message was edited Jun 24, 2013 10:36 AM
Happy. One is a legume but dont know further.
Two i forget the name but have it also. Constant pulling or pre emerg or mulch...Seen in plant id forum in the past.
Ah, the accumulated wisdom of our elders and the past.! Accessing that wisdom (leaves of three, let them be and so on) is the key to our gardens, food , and survival.
Jill, I saw all of those Lassie episodes fresh. I even petted Lassie when my parents took us to the airport to see her/him! The thing about most of the Lassie shows is that the adventures were not far fetched from what us living in the country kids had all the time! We were free range kids that figured our way out of many a jam. And our dogs weren't poor substitutes for Lassie or Rin Tin Tin, they all had impressive records of help and aide and rescue (Of course "Pepper" didn't keep a mountain lion at bay: there weren't any where I lived, but we had no doubt that she would try or at least go for help!
Don't you just love that 'country kitchen'? Mom is actually doing many of the things so many young people today (like many of my daughter's friends) are rediscovering
Jeff/Timmy and his friends had a special call they would use that my brother and I started using and I have taught to my Grandsons...Eeeee Ahhhhh Keyyyyy. You keep repeating it until you find each other! Like here with MAF!
Sally -- thanks -- I know I should post on Plant ID, but I figure these are likely to be most common in our neck of the woods. I made a faint effort to put together a Word file of the weeds we commonly get, but it is far from up-to-date. I need to work on it some more.
Coleup -- I used to love Lassie -- I think it was because I was an only child -- I imagined Lassie as a sibling....
I tried to do some gardening today--but it was just too hot...
I was sweating like a pig....Planted a couple things--then watered my whole garden and that was that....
Hey! I found a very nicely colored Toad snuckered in the corner of the top step of my basement entrance.
Nice brown one--with some darker spots or something... He looked fat...but don't they all when they are resting?
I found a Slug--and put it in front of the Toad,,,he woke up and started "smelling" it with some flicks
of his tongue--then gobbled it up in one second...
Later while planting--I found a fat earthworm--and offered it to Mr. Toad as well...
He snagged it--and, as he was swallowing it--he was cleaning all the dirt off of it with his front legs.
Anyone know what kind of a Toad it is? What is he/she likely to do next?
I tried to build him a "home" by putting an old clay pot on a small pile of mulch in the lower corner
of the landing--IF he chooses to go there--I hope he likes it. dark...cool...protected...
but he would have to go up 4 steps to get to my garden.
So much for the excitement in my life for the day......;o) G.
happy- found this but I don't think I saw weed 2 on the list!
http://plantdiagnostics.umd.edu/level2.cfm?categoryID=21
Gita, feeding a toad sounds "fine" to me. I think we only have one or two species around here.
Sally -- that looks like a terrific resource -- but I am squinting at the photos. Did you figure out #1?
#1 doesn't seem familiar
Here's Va Tech
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/weedindex.htm
Click on A to open a list. Then you'd have to guess by Latin genus, look for Fabaceae (legumes) type things and open to see more. Birdsfoot Trefoil could be one to look into- but I see that this site only has two pics and no further details on that plant.
Oh- number 2 is annual with inconspicuous flowers, little knobby clumps, so be really maniacal about pulling them asap to prevent seed.
Black Medic is another legume weed to 'try' for #1
I am afraid I am on the wrong thread here. Not only do I not have all these pretty things you people grow, I do not have toads to feed. We have tiny little ones that the cats play with and sometimes the dog does too, but nothing that looks like Gita's pet. lol Have a good day all of you nature lovers.
Good pics of weeds
http://www.iasoybeans.com/productionresearch/publications/WeedGuide/broadleafweeds.pdf
but I zipped down them all and don't think I saw that darn #2 or even #1
Gita, I wish I had a slug-eating toad! That's quite a picture!
Sally: I'm going to post them on plant ID.
The Toad wass till there this AM...just on the second step.
I googled Toads--and agter traipsing around some links--I found a picture that looks
just like "my" Toad. If it is--and it would be hard not to have a match b/c of the color--
this toad is called "Cane Toad"--because it used to control the cane Beetles.
It mentioned that it is native to Central and South America--and is an old species.
A "fossil Tod"...
Also that it has a voraceous appetite, and has poison glands in its skin
It is also considered a PEST and an INVASIVE Species...as they multiply rapidly.
Don't know ifthis one is a male or a female...??
SO? How did it get on my steps???? Wonder if someone had it as a pet
and it escaped???
If you just google "toads"--in the first screen that comes up--there will be a bunch of pictures of Toads.
and--there it is--in the upper right corner.
Brownish-orange, speckled, big and fat with a very large mouth. ..the better to chomp on worms with....;-)
Will see if it still is there when I get home....then look for some more slugs to feed it.....
He/she/it should hop up the steps and get oput in the garden.
As I said earlier--it could ive under my AC pad--nice and cool and all kinds of debri there to hide in.
Gita
I don't think a toad would make it at my house there are too many snakes. I would rather the snakes eat chipmunks and moles (hopefully they eat moles) than toads anyways.
Now a Trycritis yes. Toad Lily vs. Toad.
I decided not to put up a picture of a snake eating a toad...
paul--
if your snake ate "my" toad--it will die, as it said that any predator would not live long
afterwards if it ate this toad. they are very poisonous....
typing this one-handed (no capitals) as i am eating gooey chicken wings with the
other hand..sweet baby ray's bq sauce dripping all over..
went by the greenhouses in hopes of finding more of the red phlox. yippie!!!
they still had them1 bough 4 more.
i have never seen red phlox. so pizzaz to the eye....
OK--Done with wings....
When did it happen that a "wing" became ONE section of the wing????
Used to be a "wing" was the WHOLE wing--not just one little section! 65 cents for one of these?
Bah--Humbug!!!
Gonna go see if my Toad is still hanging around in this heat.....
YEP! Now it is on the bottom of the landing--by the drain hole--cooling off on some wet concrete..
Will have to dig up some worms for it..slugs may be hard to find in this hot weather...
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/canetoad.shtml