Sally, do you have one of the Goal Zero Solar panels? Please share details on whatever wonderful device you used to make coffee!
Yardening 8 April 2014 "Better late than never"
Haha...thanks Sally...in the foreground there is that burned out patch of grass where I was spraying roundup and didn't know it when I bent down to pull a weed where I couldn't spray...
Sequoia, what are those plants with the yellow flowers? That's a very attractive bed.
Also, where are your Shepherdia canadensis? I was confused as to whether your photos showed the hollies or the Shepherdia.
Muddy, our solar panels came from Harbor Freight, DH handy home project last year. Not for the faint of heart, dealing with electricity and big battteries.
Muddy, I say put something green in those bbq pits in the forest fast before someone gets any ideas about using them to build a fire!! :-)
Uh oh. I was just thinking that the woodland poppies were late in blooming this year. Then I realized I might have "weeded" them just as they were coming up.
Oops.
Oh no ssg! you're having a rough week. Both kinds of woodland poppies that I have are well up, very furry plants with lobes leaves. Middle picture shows one of each. On the left is Chelidonium the european one, has skinny pods like a Corydalis, and mine is double flowered. . On right is Staphylophorum (?) whatever, the American native with fat furry pods and larger single flowers.
Blue Troll has come to his new summer home to survey the new landscaping. This winter he lived in my potted plants. (Am I going nuts? ) You can just barely see pips of the small hosta, in the larger area of round stones. The striped crocus foliage will go away late spring of course. I think he'll need some Anemone blanda put in too, that would be blooming right now.
This message was edited Apr 13, 2014 12:03 PM
What a cool touch with the blue troll. Perfect summer abode.
Once we clear the beds of the oak leaves, we're thinking of subletting at least one stump to a troll. So much to do, but at least we're over half way now, and enjoying seeing fern fronds and other goodies emerging.
Sally what a lovely landscape for Mr Blue Troll who is by the way just as cute as he can be! Some anemone sounds good. Also some miniature campanula aka fairy's thimble?
The half of the front yard that I have turned into a bed. Weeded it yesterday, I think only three plants didn't make it through the winter.
Well, I hope it's true, that it's better late than never, 'cause I finally JUST got the massive weeding done today. Pheeww!! :) Weeded, seeded, mulched.. and ran out of mulch, LOL!! Found a nice spot for the Wintersweet, the seeds of which I have Gita to thank for! She will be at the opposite end of The Big Bed, directly opposite Ms. Paeony.... assuming, of course, that she doesn't mind being direct-sown. < =/ I had tons of little packets and bunches of collections of "I have no idea anymore what these are" seeds from deadheading at work, so I just used the "Sprinkle and Pray" method of sowing... the whole bed is sown with grazillions of seeds, thanks you you guys!! Also, I discovered that:
None of my Hellebores made it. :(
I found a Heuchera that I forgot I planted.
Brunera is very happy where she is.
Ms. Paeony has a BUNCH of eyes and is just smothered in growth!
None of my Dahlias made it.. guess it was just too darned cold.
One of my Irises has a bud!! < =D
Pics.... I don't dare show any "before", that's just too embarrassing.
1- Iris budding. I don't remember for the life of me which one she is, but I don't care! =)
2- Happy little Brunera
3- Busy little Paeony
4- Close-up of all the growing going on on Ms. P. (by the way, she is "Pink Blush")
5- Irises also on the other side of the porch going nuts.. and that blank spot to the left, right up against the porch... Newly planted Crocosmias "Montbretia Mixture". Can't wait 'til they come up! =)
Also showing... (heeheeheee)
Hostas out back are now going Hog Wild!
1- Gita, remember giving this one to me in a big trash bag, at Sally's plant swap? This is what she's up to today! =)
2- This one was a gift from Pippi (Betty) on that same day at Sally's
3- This one sits right outside my back slider door... it's REALLY taken off!
4 and 5- Seems that, even if the intended potted babies don't come back, the self-seeding Columbines will keep me company! :)
(edited for a typo) =/
This message was edited Apr 13, 2014 4:24 PM
Speedie, I'm *always* running out of mulch!
I want a separate driveway just to store yards of mulch and compost. I'm sure my neighbors would love that. :) I don't see how it's any worse than the one neighbor who's constantly fixing up 3-4 junk cars on his front lawn.
I'm sorry to hear about your hellebores! Are these the sick babies you rescued at the end of last year?
Ooooh, a mile-high pile of mulch ... as a fence-line!! I LOVE that idea!!!! (could be a good sound barrier between our living room and the idiot next door who goes out to turn the car stereo on in his car, which is RIGHT next to our living room wall.. then goes back into the house with the stereo blaring out the open car doors.) DUH. Can we go halvesies on that mulch and compost pile?? < =D
Yes, all the losses are the "rescues" from the end of last summer, so I'm not too terribly heart broken. Just glad the Brunera and Heuchera (And Paeony!!!) made it through the Winter! =)
We had a great yardening weekend. We accomplished lots of winter leaf and debris cleanup and freshening up of the mulch in the flower beds closest to the house. My energy level is still an issue after my recent health issues, but it is getting better each day.
A lot of plants are showing signs of life, so it is really starting to feel like spring. I am grimy, sweaty, and itchy but it feels great to get so much done! I love this time of year. Going to clean up and head in to town for fajitas at the Mexican restaurant and then home to bed for heading back to work tomorrow.
Nice daffs, Catbird!
Speedie, sounds like you had a super productive day! Lots of growth on some of your plants. Can't believe you have an iris budding already!
Aspen, glad to hear you are feeling stronger.
Speedie-----
WHY are your peony roots above ground???????
Like--totally exposed! How long have they been that way? Seems like forever...
Could you put some soil over them? maybe mulch after that?
Your Hostas look great--and you will NOT run out of Columbines.
What color are they?
Happy almost Spring!!! Look out middle of next week! Nights near freezing....
Muddy, the yellow flower in my pic is a yellow delosperma. I think I've lost them all this winter. The sheperdia are too small to see in the pictures I took of the redone bed. They are little sticks right now, I'd have to take a close up for you to be able to see them. The hollies are gone though.
Thanks, Sequoia. I had never heard of Sheperdia; it looks like a nice shrub.
Too bad about your delosperma.
Catmint, on another thread, Greenthumb graciously corrected me on the Iris.. we now believe it is a Tulip, which is a MIRACLE all by itself because the last time I planted those (the ONLY time, really), was when we first moved in here, in 1998. Squirrels demolished them, and the only time I ever saw them come up after that, they were spindly and weak, lying all over the ground as if they were napping. This is the first time one has come UP, strong leaves actually STANDING, and a real-live bud!! I'm sure Greenthumb is correct, it's gotta be a Tulip. I can't tell you how excited I am, I've sure waited long enough! ;)
Gita, Ms. Paeony has had her roots just like that since the first day I installed her. I thought the roots were supposed to be slightly exposed like that.. I was wrong!?!? < =/ There's MILES of roots below-ground, honest!! (ok, well, maybe not "miles") ;) She has been just like this since the middle of August last year, and yes, she over-wintered with NO special treatment to her. If I should have done something differently, I hope it's not too late now! < =0 I do NOT plan to move her... is it too late to add mulch or something now? She seems happy, so I did not want to "mess with" her. HELP!
yes, tulip makes total sense, Speedie! So glad this one survived and did not end up as Squirrel Snack! I wonder what color it will be? You'll have to post a photo of it when it blooms!
Speedie, I think peonies don't bloom if their roots are exposed. I think the roots are supposed to be covered with 2 inches of soil.
The japanese maples are now leafing out but we're supposed to go down to 34 (or lower) later this week. :( I'm really glad the tender annuals haven't been planted out yet.
Personally, I would cover the peony roots, but it certainly seems happy enough this way, I learned last year that peonies NEED cold to bloom, and planting them 2 inches under the surface around here might stop them from getting enough cold.
I finally have some buds on my white lilac! Just two little clusters, which makes me wonder if it's only now getting 'happy' enough to bloom. I think it is six years since I got it as a sucker from hart, and five feet tall.
Yeah Muddy, it's a native to Canada and the intermountain west. I got it because it should be able to tolerate a more limited water situation. I wanted to get its cousin the argentia but I had concerns about whether it would be able to deal with our humidity and it was a much larger plant.
So glad that you all were out doing things in your yardens this past weekend. I did absolutely nothing except stare at my daffodils or "take roll call" for a little while each day. I have family in town, so I'm taking advantage of that. We went to the Cylburn Arboretum yesterday afternoon. It was glorious. The magnolias were spectacular! I'll post some pictures later.
Speedie--
Roots of a peony are (usually) underground. Deep enough that you do not see them.
It is the red "eyes", from which new stems grow, that have to be covered with
NO more than 2" of soil--or they won't bloom.
Since the 'eyes" grow from the tops of the roots--seems the roots need to be at least 3" underground.
However---if it works for you--who am I to tell you different....
Has this Peony bloomed for you in this condition?
G.
Gita, I can't find your phone number but I am leavin soon and should see you by ten !!
8^)
adding my 2 cents to say it looks like that Ms Paeony has eyes underground to judge by her shoots... it's just a big plant!
Gita, I follow MD Flower and Foliage on Facebook. They have just uploaded a bunch of pictures of this year's tropicals order that will be coming in this weekend:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.712185995469199.1073741828.110817668939371&type=1
FYI: you don't have to have a facebook account to view the photos.
I want those cordylines or draceanas or whatever they are! Didn't see any acalyphas, though.
Wow. Is that place big or what? And that is just their tropical section. Again. Wow.
I just bought a pair of puncture and cut resistant gloves so I won't get wounded when trying to trim our roses or pyracantha this year. I was trimming the dead off the roses Saturday and kept pricking my hands. Painful...LOL
And raspberries! I got quite a cut on my arm from them.
yeah, my knockout rose in front bit me while I was mulching it. ungrateful thing.
I have sprouted peas to plant, but whoooeee is it windy out there!
Karen and Paul---
I just got back from this place with Sally.
Since she was here to help me divide my big Hosta--we went to Richardsons
and to the GH's. Not many things there are already the "buying size'--
but it was fun to cruise and dream.
They have expanded--royally! There are 4 new, large GH.'s across from the
one people usually shop in.
I asked one of "The Guys" what they were going to do in there (the new GH),
and he said it was going to be their "Growing GH" as well as for tropicals.
This would explain all the plants pictured in your link above.
I looked and-they are NOT on their premises--just pictures of full sized tropicals
they will be carrying. Paul--these pics are NOT taken at their place!
They have always had their tropicals in the same GH as their market packs and annuals.
Kind of crowded...
I never went in there--don't think they were stocked yet...will check it out on
one of my future trips.
G.
Yeah I'll need to wait until I get these gloves to mulch under our William Penn Barberry!
Sometimes, it feels good to throw out a struggling plant. I'd planted a pieris in a spot that I thought would provide afternoon shade, but it ended up receiving pretty much full sun. It was looking terrible and just sickly, so it went in the yard trim can today.
I did all this in my work clothes and shoes. I'd planned on just weeding out the obvious weeds and ended up doing an hour of yard work.
At least the dying shrub is gone! A deciduous azalea is going in its spot, as soon as I get a few hours free.
Oh sweet, what deciduous Azalea are you getting SSG?
I am pretty carefree about chucking plants that aren't doing well. I just pulled out a Blue Baron Rhodi this past weekend. It looked like the winter got the best of it. To my surprise though, the under layer bark was green....I still chucked it though :)
I got a Mt. St. Helens azalea. The colors online are all over the place, but I'm hoping for a lighter pink. It's supposed to be fragrant! :)
Gita and I had such a nice visit, and trip to Richardsons (Fantastic store!! I just couldn't figure out my meal plan to take advantage of the fresh chicken)) lots of special fun food. Gita charmed the deli guy out of several slices of cheese to tide us over. Swiss cheese with caraway, sharp cheddar with blueberry?? He was very knowledgeable especially for a young guy.
Now I have three beautiful clumps of Frances Williams hosta, and a fern, and cannas, and some pots, and construction material for the gnomes.
I tend to pot up struggling plants and put them in the hospital corner.. not ones that are diseased or pest-ridden, of course, but if they've dropped their leaves and are still green, often they respond to a season of TLC. I'd probably be ahead to toss them, but... LOL