Catmint, you're right, this tree gets HUGE, and grows very quickly. I don't think it fits with the rest of your garden, and definitely not in that tight spot. Imho, the straight species of J. virginiana isn't suitable for a small suburban lot, especially if you want a full-sun flower garden for pollinators!
Yardening June 2014
I've already filled up the place where I would have put it, so dig away unless Sequoia or someone else wants it!
You move fast!
G. great that you're keeping the tree with birds in mind. you'll know if and when the time comes to take it down. I don't know anything about Starling's nesting habits.
Jan, your planned adventures sound interesting
Thank yiou, Cat and Muddy. Mint and beer for flea beetles :o)
There were quite a few of that same type of cedar trees in my old neighborhood when I lived in VA. They grew fast, and started to look tatty in no time. Terrible. I wouldn't keep it, Cat.
Catmint: I hate to see a good plant go to waste like that. But I promised my wife no more trees :(
I'll have a baby Juniperus virginiana anytime you stop by here, but out of respect for Darcy,, you can't have it! They self sow.
Why yes, we wimmin ARE in collusion, ya know.
Sams Club planted a row of them behind the store, I'm delighted for all the berries they have there, and the big as yet empty field for the birds, and they hopefully will grow old there too. Since they were planted, they probably were selected and especially likely to have good berries (blue berry like cones?) But my back neighbor had a row of them in his yard and they were NOT pretty for a yard tree. She'd really hate it, for ,oh, about the first fifty years.
Hehehe. I have some, too. Yep, common as dirt,!!
Lol...thanks for keeping me in line Sally!
OK down it comes--time to get the loppers out! :-)
Pond mucking and pump fixing today. I'm 3 for 4 up and running so far, and need to break to mow the front lawn since it's overcast and 60% chance of showers.
I already had the 'LITTLE OLD RAIN CLOUD--HOVERING OVER MY.... MAPLE TREES"....
It hasn't quite decided if it wants to rain--or just sprinkle.
So--I am sitting in here--munching on Pistachios.
Gotta get back outside! Can't waste a free day! Can't work in rain either....
G.
Love pistachios. Sprinkling a little now.
Wide shots of two beds.
Why are they sometimes whopperjawed? Sorry
Whopperjawed? LOL
Nice yard Jan :)
Is it easier to turn your head sideways or the computer 90 degrees? I tried both LOL. Where is that wonderful honeysuckle that was in full bloom when we were there last year?
It's beautiful, Jan. Would love to be able to relax in a lawnchair and just enjoy the view! :-)
Bec so nice to hear and see what goes on in those much warmer zones. LOL
Jan, I remember how relaxing your yard is. That's when a lap top comes in handy.
Oh yes, I was hoping that this would be pond week, Ric turned it into pond day, he has 3 of the ponds up and running. I got quite a bit of weeding done today myself.
I am going to break this "up" talk and tell you all how frustrated I am that my caladiums
have yet to show life!
I am trying to get my beds planted--so I can relax a bit...but there are too many "pieces" missing...
mainly the "centerpieces" of fabulousness....the Caladiums.
They take up room--right?
They are pretty tall...right?
They come in many colors--right?
They HAVE TO fit in! OR--everything else has to fit around THEM!
SO_-I am trying to space out plants I have but leave room for something nebulous.
All I can do is put a stick in places where the caladiums will go. DAH!
But...But....The beds have to be finished!!! I struggle--looking at the plants I have left and
wondering where they will go and still look great. As I stick a 3" seedling of something
in a big, empty bed--I visualize that it will grow tall and beautiful.
Trying to coordinate colors a bit--but all I have to look at are small plants with green leaves...
Impatiens are OUT! What will I plant for a nice border? OH! I have ALL those
"Dwarf red Coreopsis" that I thought (this year) were my yellow Rudbeckia Hirtas.
They will look nice--and produce more seeds to mess with my mind.
What a blow to my plans!!!!!!!! AND--my appologies to any of you that took seed
packets at the seed Swap for Angelonias--or my R. Hirtas. You know what you're getting...
I have piles of Coleus sitting around--will they all find a home--now that the beds are
filling up a bit? I have the Stump bed left to go....Always put a lot of Coleus in there.
I am still hoarding some plants that will fit into spaces here and there--BUT---
he darn bulb foliage has everything covered! Piles and piles of green leaves!
BEGONE!!!!!!!! DIE!!!!
Where, oh where will I put 3 more bags of Glads? I leer at my Raised Bed which
does not, really, have anything much in it. Maybe I should just stuff them in there???
It better be useful in SOME way!
Cannas are planted all along the back of it. Nothing has come up--yet....
Hard to plan on something that is not there. It is full of "emptiness"...
That's IT! Building a bed around emptiness just does not work......
I visualize everything in my mind--and think what i am planting--and where--will work out.
It always does-------but this year is a challenge.
In July I will be posting OHHH--and AHHH pictures--and everyone will think---
"That is just the way Gita planned it!" Look how color-coordinated it all is!
NOT really!!!! That will be just the way it------------happened to be.
What are YOUR frustrations this spring?
Thanks for listening---I feel better............. Gita
Can't take any pictures--as I have--either--lost my camera--or--it is in my HD apron.
It ain't at home! I go to work tomorrow--wil see....I HOPE that is where it is!
I had it with me at work on Sunday--????????????????
Oh I wanted to show you a few pics of the monstrous pond plant it is paying for it's keep.
At least yours are planted Gita, I still have mine in the bags other than a few that went into the window boxes and they aren't showing yet either.
Holly, what a beautiful bright yellow! yes, it is definitely paying its keep! :-)
Gita, I hear you on the frustration over the caladium bulbs. I think it's really cool the way you can visualize how things will look and plan accordingly. I have to have the actual plants and then try them in different combos till I hit on something that I like...
My major frustration with my garden this year is the way the back neighbors' trees and the property fences create an odd sun combo for me where a good percentage of my beds get shade in the morning and then hot direct sunlight all afternoon. Makes it a challenge for a lot of plants. Trying to figure out how to work with it all creatively, but it's hard when I'm just learning about everything. Maybe someday it will all come together for me...
Gita, I hear you! I'm having the exact issue! I got so frustrated while waiting for the caladiums to show up that I planted around the bulbs anyway. My cannas are so late in blooming that I haven't seen one hummingbird yet. :(
Can anyone but a gardener have something "full of emptiness?
My caladiums are in pots and I guess the pots will sit under some trees in front, or back, as portable color.
I wonder if i should plant the bulbs/corms in the ground and NOT have them
sitting in the pots???
Seems they would warm up quicker in black pots......
Does anyone think that having these pots in the open may make them too wet.....
all the rains and all that??
Wonder if they do better if they are drier???
Where is JILL? She got a bunch too---and we all got them from her Group Buy.
Yoooohooo, Jilll! Care to chime in here? How are YOUR caladiums doing?
Any wisdom you can impart on this?
G.
Some googled quotes on Caladiums
"Planting caladium bulbs, though, must wait until soil temperatures are above sixty five degrees and preferably above seventy degrees. The bulbs are true tropicals. They are damaged by cool soil temperatures, possibly refusing to sprout at all if you put them out too soon."
"1- When to Plant your Caladium Bulbs
If you wish to give your Caladium bulbs a head start, you may plant them indoors 6 weeks before the last frost date. If you start outdoors, make sure the soil is warm before planting your Caladiums bulbs –the night temperature must reach the high 60’s or warmer on a consistent basis. "
I know right now we all have empty pots but once they start they will just pop up and be so very beautiful all summer long.
the majority of our caladium pots have nothing... I still have them outside on the porch waiting, but seems like they're not going to make it. A few I knew weren't going to make it because they were left out all winter. But, all the rest, the majority, were taken in as I usually do. Jill's speckled one, and one that I had, are the only two of ours that sprouted right up indoors under lights.
SS your cannas are blooming already and you're saying they're late!! wow. ours are just showing first leaves up from the soil, which is about normal. Never would expect blooms this early. lucky you!
Oh my Gita - your rant on gardening frustrations actually made me smile. The written words are so you that it is like you are sitting right here in person telling the story :) As you say, it will all work out and when the plants mature and flower it will be spectacular.
My gardening frustration - why oh why do my feet and back hurt so much after spending hours yardening - and why can't my body act like it did when I was 20 LOL...
Haha, no, that was bad phrasing on my part. My cannas are not blooming yet. Just green growth.
But no hummers on the honeysuckle, either!
Aspen--I have the same 'aging body' frustrations!!
No hummers for me yet either, SSG! :-(
Holly took 2 flats(24) of almost 1' tall caladiums to her mom and dads to plant Monday, of coarse I potted them in 4" square pots and put them on a heat mat 3-4 weeks ago. I'm getting another heat mat, so next year I can start ours as well.LOL If we had to wait for the beds on the north side of their house to warm up, it would be August before we had color.
My frustration this year is that I won't be around to enjoy it and that I didn't plant anything except teeny, tiny sedum and some glad bulbs. However, I am thankful for the REASON that I won't be around.
I'll post a pic of the honeysuckle on the bloom picture thread.
Yet how special that the birds have moved in to enjoy and tend to in your absence! And since it is a cardinal family I rather think your mom is watching too! Each step in the journey is another exercise in trust. I'm so glad you will be an ambassador for all the life you have touched from coast to coast and across the ocean. What you plant this season will be rooted in the joy and goodness in your heart!
We have plenty of Hummers, we put out feeders and it is surprising the number of flowers they go to. I was so surprised the first year I planted canna what a Hummer magnate they were. Our Cannas don't bloom till pretty late.
Oh yes the 'aging body' frustrations have really hit me hard this year.
Terri and Holly.......wait til you reach my age!!
Yes, That is just one of the reasons why I think you are so amazing
Ooohhh, coleup, you remembered that my mom LOVED cardinals. Thank you, sweetie, she said tearfully.
Agreed, Holly, RRR is amazing
RRR, and Gita too, you are amazing for what you still do gardening wise. I always see you as inspiration and hope and pray I am still as active as you are when I reach that age! I dunno though, cuz my body moans and groans already :) RRR, every time I'm bent over working away in the garden, I think of you and what your new neighbors said when they met you - "so THIS is what you look like, until now we only knew you from the bums up view" LOL - cracks me up every time I think of it.
I don't have any cannas blooming either - it must be because I don't have any HA HA HA...
Jan, I just remember how spectacular that honeysuckle was. Can't wait to see a picture to remind me!
Agreed, Aspenhill, I get inspiration from everybody. What's that line from Finding Nemo? Just keep moving I think it is.
Holly, do you have any special hummingbird nectar you use? Maybe I need to make a change in that regard...