Coffee break 99

OK I'm not proud. What am I missing, VV? I do know lots of crabapples are rather broad, but that can't be the only form. Patti's shots of the crabapples are quite lovely.

Oooh, such pretty trees, Patti. Robins, Marilyn? Wow! Seems early for them...how strange is this winter?! Rosemary, i too am looking forward to seeing your photos of your new project. It sounds great!

RosemaryK wrote:

Got it. So the fruit are the giveaway this time of the year since the leaves are gone. Now I know so I won't be fooled in warm seasons either. The little fruity trees in the median strips in Auburndale MA are crabapples, since they have bright red fruits. Now I have to go see whether the Sieboldii viburnums in the Lexington HS quad even have berries at all.

There likely won't be any fruit on a Siebold Viburnum this time of year. Birds tend to strip them pretty well once they ripen fully.

Other species that are possible include Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.), which can have quite persistent winter fruit. Crataegus viridis 'Winter King' is an excellent selection for our part of the country. I'm not as familiar with what might be commonly planted in your neck of the woods.

Send us some images: whole plant, trunk, branches, stems/buds, and these bright red fruits.

It may be difficult to photograph, but I will give it a try next time I'm in that area. I thought Hawthornes tended to have thorns and I don't see that. The fruit are a very bright red, and I do recall white blossoms in the spring that I thought looked somewhat like they were in clusters, though this is a drive-by. They have a globe shape which suggests they are well tended. It always impresses me when a street tree is different from all the rest.

I miss my crabapple trees that were destroyed by the Halloween snow storm several years ago.....I'm definitely planting another one this year, although I'm not sure what variety I want....I'm leaning toward a white flowered one....this is the last photo of one of them just as the snow began.....

Thanks VV for the botany lesson. Had to do more research to totally get what a cyme was, but I think I have it now. Patti

Robindog, what a sad tale. That one was a beauty. My heart would be broken if our M.sargentii was destroyed. Patti

That was a beautiful tree. Perchance it doesn't take too many years to get like that?

NPR had a story about central Mass and the Asian beetle invasion. Apparently red maples are a host for them but sugar maples and Norway maples not so much. Gives me pause if I'm planting a maple in spring. At least the one I'm considering is not a red maple hybrid. Note to self: call the UMass extension service before I buy.

We're going ahead with a bold plan to remove four trees starting next week. Three are rather elderly mulberries, one is at risk to fall down entirely. After I read the book Bringing Nature Home, I felt better about replacing them now, because they may not contribute much to the ecology and their days of arching beautifully over the yard are over. The fourth is the last Norway Maple on our property. It is healthy but almost touching the house since we put an addition close to it, and limbing it up still hasn't kept the branches off our roof, so DH is loosening his grip on it (tree hugger).

I'm glad VV has been educating us, too. Thanks.

Norway maples aren't native anyway.

Patti, the crab in the photo was 30 years old....had no idea of the variety, because it was from our town's Tree Fund...which sadly is not funded anymore.......That was the tree the bear climbed & feasted on the crabapples for 20 or so minutes......the birds & I miss it......Rosemary, good luck with the tree cutting....I still have one maple left, shading the back porch...my son wants to cut it down, but I am also hugging it for the time being....I know I'll never see another large tree grow to maturity while living here........

Why cut it down? Or is it a Norway maple? One must have some shade. We are quite wooded 7 a big branch off a pine came down this winter in a wind storm. Too far away from the house to hit anything except another tree.

It's always a difficult decision to cut any mature tree. Even though I feel my reasons for cutting mine are sound--if for no other reason than to feel safe from branches falling on the house or on me when I garden--it is still a hard decision. We had little children romping around these trees, so cutting them means letting go of the past. They aren't as young and healthy now as they were then.

My neighbor invited a Chinese feng shui master over for dinner recently. He told her to cut five large trees because they were bad feng shui, so she did. I do think it came out well. We're probably one of very few streets in Lexington where there are too many large trees.

Robindog, I too know taking down a tree is painful, but if it is dangerously close to a house in our New England climate with all the wind and ice damage, it is a good idea. We had to take down a big tree in Vt next to the house , but we decided to leave its mate across the road for a bit longer. Mother Nature was kind and dropped that one in a big storm, but not on our house which would have flatten it. We were very very lucky and really dumb not to spend the couple of thousand dollars more to have it taken down with the other one in the first place.

DH and worked in the garden for about 5 hours today. Mostly planting bulbs that we were suppose to have planted by Dec 15, but with the cold it has been difficult to find a good day to do them. We have about the same amount to plant tomorrow and then we will be done with the spring bulbs. Better late than never. It was damp, but kind of pleasant out and the ground was totally thawed so the planting was easy. After DH went off to play hockey, I spent more time starting the winter pruning which I love doing. Patti

Lucy,the tree is a Norway maple & was damaged in that freak storm.....I know Garret is right to want to remove it, it could fall on the roof......It is, however, the only tree that shades my porch, the family room, & my bedroom......Glad you got the bulbs planted, Patti....now you can have fun pruning....can't do that here for a few more months......Rosemary, that sounds like an interesting way to cut down trees if feng shui works!

Got 4 hours of planting done in the garden so we managed to plant all the rest of the spring bulbs. The 2013 total was 3521.Colder than yesterday but dry and we even had some sun so it went well.

Robindog, Shade is important, but a roof is vital. Now to watch the football game. Go Pats. Patti

It's 60 in Denver for the game.
Wow Patti, I'd love to visit...

We don't want to be a bother, but I'm sure lots of us the interest in visiting--me too!

Patti's place will be the botanical gardens for Nantucket! Sad ending for the Pat's.....

Well they lost as did Bruins & Celtics. Little gremlins over Boston.

Just sticking my head in to say hello. We had the January thaw for a week.It encouraged the snowdrops.I saw one bloom and many pointy leaves.Now they are covered again with 3 inches of snow.
Witchazels look like they have some fat buds.Lets hope for a Feb show from Jellena.

Did a walkabout this morning before the next round comes in.

You all are inspirations to me.

Hi Jo....happy to hear from you....you, too, Jan! I keep saying I need to plant snowdrops, then I forget! Nice to see flowers in January......lawn is almost bare here, but another storm heading in tomorrow....3-5 predicted......

Jo Ann nice to see you posting and Jan too. Today was a rare perfect winter day to be outside all day. It was in the 40's with almost no wind and it was sunny, so we got out the chain saw and took out a bunch of branches on some Cedars and Pines. We did some major pruning on several Vaccinium , a couple of Buddleja, Betula, 3 Euonymus alata, and a old Buxus that took me two hours to clip. I did some general raking and cleaning and then cut back sage, lavender, thyme, and rue, so it was a full and satisfying winter day in the garden.

Tomorrow and the next day we get snow, so I think I am going to drag out my sewing machine and tackle a pile of fabric that has been begging me to turn it into new pillows for our bedroom window seat. I have a bag of mending that needs doing too. Of course I have some garden catalogs to peruse while the snow flies. Stay save and warm all. Sounds like we are in for a nor'easter. Patti

Cape & the islands are getting it more this time. Here on the north shore we are on the edge of 8-12" last report.

Hey there, Jo and Jan!

We got a lot done on this decent weather day too. The tree guys came. Still one tree left to cut down, but another clearly could have taken out a chunk of our roof if any part of it ever fell. It doesn't look bad without the three they took down, either. The space will be filled eventually.

And DH balanced and installed the two ceiling fans I purchased. Now when the temps drop again, we can test whether it helps warm the house.

This weekend I also ordered about a dozen baby conifers, some because of what they said on the American Conifer Society's discussion forums. They're for everywhere, front back and side of the house. Not expensive because they are small.

which conifers did you order?

Sounds like both of you, Patti & Rosemary, are staying very busy.....I've been working on a jigsaw puzzle....cover from a New Yorker from Dec. 19th, 1942......driving me crazy, but I love the painting.....looks like Maine where my Dad was doing war work in the winter of 1942.....should be knitting, as I have 4 unfinished projects!

Packing, packing, packing. Furiously packing! Everywhere i look, drawers seem to have magically re-filled themselves! Oh My! This will be the first time EVER that I haven't been digging plants to take with me. We will have 2 cars so full that Hank's golf clubs will have to sit in the front seat with him! Only I can say this.....the clubs may be better company than I would be! LOL. We are going to a farewell party given by a neighbor in a few minutes. Sniff! Hearts are light otherwise.....we will be having another of Life's adventures very soon now. I like adventures and so does Hank. Good thing! 😊

Best wishes on your move. Did you make the snow come?

Hope you are stopping before you get to the blizzard zone. Safe trip to you 5. That would be Hank & his Clubs and You and the pups. Patti

Enjoy the party, Louise!! Drive safely, dears. Adventures are fun!!!

I've been working on a little cross stitch project. I drew a 16yr old girl as my secret sister. She likes cats, so I found a cute 5x7" picture. When Jeff makes the frame for it he'll use old floor boards that actually came out of her attic. Hope she likes it.

Looking through catalogs and online plant places is another fun thing to do.

Touch of nature has a good price on some lilies. So I sent in an order today. Good thing to do on a snowy day. Patti http://www.touchofnature.com/specials/spring.htm

safe travels, Louise.

The prices on Touch of Nature do look good.

Our lilies died out & because of the red beetles, they will not be replaced.

With that in mind, I do keep my lily population pretty modest, but I added a few of the more resistant ones this year.

Have a safe & fun trip to NC, Louise......would love to see some photos when you get there! Those were good prices for the lilies.....Jan, that sounds like a fun project....I'm sure the girl will love the cat stitchery!