Yardening continuation May 2014

Yeah, my favorite EE from last year didn't make it so I was very glad for these this year. My husband things Black Coral is hideous. Oh well, he's just going to have to close his eyes everytime he walks up to the front door because they're going to be front and center! ;)

Typ, I think Black Coral is gorgeous, so please post lots of pictures for us fellow EE lovers. :D

Typwc that is awesome. Speaking of finds I was at the clubs rhododendron sale in Westminster on Saturday. $3 trillium grandiflorum and a $3 bloodroot both in 3 gallon pots. They were members plants donated to the club to raise money.

I didn't take a picture of the bloodroot. The trillium and my ladys slipper.

Wow, Terp. So pretty! Can't believe they were so cheap!

thanks Holly, I'll check it out

Terp, Nacootchee Princess is about to pop open. Can hardly wait. Thank you again!

Me too!!

I haven't watered outside yet this season -- but I'm overdue and gotta get those hoses going today. Somehow it seemed as if it showered a good bit over the last week, but I just looked at the calendar on weather.com and the accumulation was really low. Maybe this will be the year when I finally get some kind of irrigation system going. I've only been talking about it for my entire lifetime, it seems.

Terp, did you take your hibiscus home? The White's lady threatened to leave them there if you didn't get there! I wanted to bring them with us but there wasn't a spare inch in my van anyway. Not a huge variety, but There were some good bargains to be had on natives , and the many beautiful rhodos etc. One booth was manned by a college age girl- I told here I'd be back after all my kids graduated and had jobs...some nice iris and hosta, tree peonies, and the hugest EE bulbs I've ever seen--at ten dollars though I think, surely not three!

Geez SSG, I'm surprised you can get away with the lawn getting that long in a residential area. Doesn't he know that a nicely manicured lawn makes your plants look prettier?

Lol. Oh no. She was not happy with me. I wonder what happened with them, I donated them so I don't really care. I bought a pot and it had three of them in there so I split them. LOL. Hmmmm.

Wow, all this at the Rhod club sale? That sounds like a lot of fun, but Westminster is a drive! That white trillium is so pretty, Terp.

Seq, it's a good thing grass doesn't grow on my front yard! It's shady, dry, and full of tree roots, so it's basically a carpet of green weeds. And dirt. The backyard is another story.

Well you've got your hands full there! I couldn't handle that, I'd have to mow it myself.

About mowing lawns: when I moved into this house almost 2 years ago the front yard was a mess of weeds. I cleared half the yard down to bare dirt and planted perennials and 3 Knockout roses. It is coming along nicely.

My landlord just does not mow the grass on the other half of the yard. I asked him to show me which mower worked and how to start it and I would mow it (the weeds and grass were about 2 ft tall). He actually mowed it yesterday! I need to rake it now but it will be turned into a perennial garden as well.

Great news Catbird! I may indeed be an enabler but you take the cake for being a Good Influence! Can't wait to see what you do with the other half of front yard...then on to the back and the fish pond!

Not having my grass mowed once a week is like not shaving my beard once a week. It drives me nuts if it goes longer.

Due to a 1/3 acre of backyard - we went with a lawn dude! He mows, weeds & trims for $40 every 2 weeks! It was a lovely green meadow until we got Sascha, now it has holes & mud pits, but the front looks awesome!

sequ, you would be nuts if you lived with us then. we haven't had a chance to mow yet!! not by choice... our mower didn't start and, make a long story short, it's now at a repair garage with hopes of fixing it.

garden's ~~~HOT~~~ today. transplanted more seedlings. And, planted our replacement rosemary, more tomatoes, a May Night Salvia, and another salvia that looks similar to May Night, but with pink vs purple blooms.

Harry has a chronic cough and congestion, but isn't sick??... I'm hoping it's just allergies, which he never had like this before. I do notice lots of falling pollen on the cars like always at this time of year

Allergies, are really tough this year. Ric has been coughing and his head running like a pump. still can't seem to did up any energy to go out and work in the flower beds today.

wind= Mark had a nagging cough last few weeks. seems like it 'goes around'

Way to go Catbird!

ssg you need to have a moss yard in front, then Holly and I will come groom it.

I got hot out there too, planted cukes, squash and okra. messed with some coleus and did a lot of non deciding about where a few other plants are going to get used. I've sort of forgotten the front- it needs more.

I did it- ripped out the sorrel plant. I don't use it, unless I spend a lot of time picking and cleaning the leaves once or twice a year, then freezing it and then remembering it for soup. It gets eaten up by leaf miners every year at this time, never ending struggle and not getting any bigger to make it something worth messing with. So...GONE.

donner, there are leaves coming up on the Anemone!!

Lol...sorry to hear that Wind. My co-worker has the same issue right now. The weekend before this past one I had forgone mowing and gardened instead. This weekend it was really long but I feel better now that it's cut.

LOL Grooming moss is very relaxing.

Happy, you haven't had to water at all? I've only needed to water recent transplants and containers. These little seedlings get so thirsty outside! I love that shrubs and trees don't need any water after the first year. But I keep making extra work for myself by playing musical chairs with the perennials.

Seq, I wish I could mow the lawn myself, but I have a connective tissue disorder and can't even start the darn thing. I picked up a reel mower, but it's not very good at mowing the weeds, which makes it pretty useless in my yard. :)

Sally, I'd love an all-moss yard! How fun it would be come home from work to find you and Holly grooming the moss. :D Unfortunately it's way too dry in the front yard.

I have a yardening question!

How far apart do I need to plant 2 different types of peppers to prevent cross pollination? I want to save the seeds from both peppers this year.

Ssg: I didn't say I hadn't HAD to water -- I just haven't watered. I get lulled by the little sprinkles of rain we've gotten into thinking we have received more water than we actually have. I do try to avoid especially thirsty plants... I'm sure my plants are parched and cursing me.

LOL...nice :)

I have a question about mulch: Can you put too mulch around your plants/beds? My landlord thinks more is better (like 6 inches), I feel if it is more than 2 inches or so it will absorb the rain/watering and the plants can die due to lack of water.

SSG, what about a mower with an electric start? Mine has the pull cord and an electric start, but I never remember to charge it so I use the pull cord. Or, see if a neighbor's kid will mow it, and cut something from your grocery list that is equivalent in value and something only your husband wants : )

Speaking of mowing the lawn, I'm so glad I did it tonight before it started to rain. It grows so quickly this time of year!

Confirmed.

6 inches is bad bad bad.

1 - 2 inches is all you need any more and you will smother plants not mention spend a lot more money than you need to.

Wow, half a foot of mulch is so deep!

Muddy, when the gas mower dies, we're getting an electric one!

Oh my goodness. Electric mowers the worst, I have one now and NEVER EVER again will I have one. I'm trying to break it.

Two things to consider when you go to buy one make sure the cutting diameter is at least 20 inches and the mower deck is adjustable up and down.

Catbird, you're right about the mulch. Two inches is best for a regular mulching. Last year I mulched over grass and kept that to 4" and nothing died. That was only because it was to kill the grass around the shrubs I planted.

speaking of mulch, I have used the oak catkins all over right now like tumbleweeds as a lite and airy mulch for strawberries, lettuce and hen and chicks or any plant that needs its leaves kept dry, I also use it like spanish moss to finish off containers and hanging baskets. It is easy to work with and tuck around plants and lasts about a season.

"Catkins"... so that's what they're called! Thank you Judy; they're everywhere around my place and I didn't know what they were called. :) Good idea for uses, too.

Oh goodness yes, 6" of mulch is waayyy too much. At work we recommend about 3 inches, however, when in a bed adjacent to the house, we suggest it be tapered down to about 1" or less right next to the house. And, when using it around trees, keep it AWAY FROM the crown. Basically, when practical, it should not be smothering the crowns of plants anyhow... but 6 inches deep is far too deep. I wonder why your landlord thinks a 6" depth is good, Catbird.. did he say?

The landlord's theory is that way no weeds can come up with that much. I need to remove a lot of it on the side of the yard I have already planted, I am amazed I only lost two plants over the winter. I certainly don't want to lose any this summer from lack of water.

Catbird, I've found that a layer of cardboard and a couple of inches of mulch is good enough to kill the weeds.

Whew, I can't even look at that picture of oak catkins without sneezing!

We have an electric mower and love it. But we have a little yard and we mow every week so the grass doesn't get too high. I guess I should qualify that by "we" I mean, my husband. ;)

If you let the grass get too high, then the 'lectric mower won't have enough power to get through the tall grass. Staying with electric because we don't have a shed to store gas in, and we actually store our mower in the basement.

This message was edited May 13, 2014 8:48 AM

I think an electric mower is great for a small yard but not for something like a 1/4 acre. My FIL has a neighbor who just got an battery powered mower and he said the guy has to walk at a snail's pace in order to get it to mow right.

I prefer to use newspaper under mulch to kill the weeds because I think that cardboard takes too long to decomp. As it is 4 sheets of news paper takes about a year.

Newspaper here too. Did it last summer and decomposed just in time for me to plant in this spring. Much easier to work with!