I got the rest of my apple tree pruned and picked-up yesterday. It was pretty nice here yesterday considering the weathermen were calling for a wintry mix.
Yardening mid March 2015
yay, Ric!
I 'should' prune my peaches, but at this point I feel heartless cutting off the lovely flowers for the early bees to enjoy.
I heard on the radio that DC's cherry trees have started up their bloom. Lucky all you down there in the warmth :-(
Yesterday--as I was watering a table full of potted Pansies--when I saw a big bee
(BB?) trying to crawl inside a yellow pansy bloom. It made it, and was inside this
bloom for a while.. Wonser what it found there???
I, carefully, watered all around that pot and let it be. First bee I have seen.
I don't think it was a honey bee....
OMG!!!!! Would you believe I've been trying to get dressed since 6 a.m.. I've been on the phone with docs, patients and everyone else.Getting paper work done. Trying to get out the door to work and get the house ready for Passover (starts tomorrow night). In the middle of all this suddenly I hear a truck outside, "what the h...!!!!". Can you believe its UPS with my order from Plant Delights Nursery that I ordered back last fall. Now what am I going to do with baby plants now? Well Passover went on hold, they're unpacked and in a sheltered spot on the deck. Back to Passover preparations. I'll get my patients done eventually today. Gotta keep our priorities straight.
Yehudith
That's for sure, Yehudith!
Gita, it probably was after pollen.
Yeah--I figured...just that these pansies are barely coming out of freezing weather--
not sure they have any pollen.....they look a bit worse for the cold temps.
feels pretty mild out there this morning, and I am OFF today. I'm going to put in some lettuce seed (or should I grab the newly emerged seedlings under the lights and put them out there, with rain coming in?) look for my mustard seedlings that I planted last week, and maybe get spinach seed. Mark is home to wait for the furnace checkup guy.
I have an azalea to move, the rain later will be nice for it.
If the rain starts I have some seedlings to up-pot. A couple of little plumeria tips that I potted are now hosting some sort of brassica seedlings; if only I could remember where I got the soil, what might they be that didn't emerge before...
I have a bunch of tatsoi plants that survived all that cold outside but are very tattered tatsois, and about to bloom. I'll probably leave them for the bees.
Running through the house screaming at the kids. (Passover was so much easier when they were babies, can't believe I'm dealing with a 20 year old and a 15 year old who both have been to religious school and taught the rules of the holiday since they were 2. Anyway soup's boiling over, I'm screaming, the dog's yelping 'cause her tail just got trod on (told her to move out the way) and here comes a package from Select Seeds that I don't even remember ordering! It has 6 geraniums and 2 heliatropes. Box is open and they're on the deck under the grill. Now if I wanted them to come today they wouldn't be here til next month.
Have a great Easter everyone!!!
cracking me up Yehudith! I think all of us feel your pain from having been there!
I got another bed laid out and got spinach seeds at Home Depot. Spending a whole day to maybe grow two meals worth of fresh organic spinach.. cross fingers. last time I grew enough for a meal it was so delicious.
I'll tell you Sally gives me more appreciation of what my poor mother went through. I'll never forget the Thanksgiving we had two litters of puppies born while my mother was making Thanksgiving dinner. Between kids and puppies and turkey a couple of the puppies went missing along with the turkey. Found one puppy stuffed into the turkey tucked up in bed with a mother that wasn't his. The other was in the oven on a bed of stuffing. Thank G-d my mother had forgotten to turn on the oven. That was it! She gave me my favorite, a huge can of black olives and threw me with my brother and cousin and the neighborhood kids out the back door. Ahh for the pre-video days when kids learned to entertain themselves.
Wow, yehudith, that's quite a story! I take it that one of the adult dogs grabbed the turkey and took it to its bed?!
Yikes! A stuffing made with puppies!
Sounds like a busy day Sally. I'm glad all you grow veggies so I don't have to :) It does sound like a lot of work for a little return. I guess there's the satisfaction that you grew it though, which makes it worth it.
I am off Monday and it'd be nice to make it outside but I'm afraid I'm still married to the stupid basement. Almost done though, I might be able to mostly finish it up this weekend and then it's off to play outside.
My yardening yesterday was moving plants from the GH to the flats cart by the garage, moving perennials from the garage to the flats bench in the driveway, and setting up my flats of 6 packs to transplant 700 plugs. Cleaning up the driveway and some of the garage were incidental to all the moving about. Now if the weather will only coop we'll be fine. If we get a freeze some of the bench plants will have to be moved in to a table prepared and waiting under the lights.
Great story Yehudith,
I got another bed cleaned yesterday and then actually moved on to do the small areas at each end of the brick patio. I have my eye on the next 2 beds to be cleaned.
I scored more free bricks from Freecycle, should have them picked up by Monday. More bricks = more projects.
SCORE!!!!!!
No, my mother put the puppy and the turkey in with the mom. Both mother's were chihuahuas so at least the turkey stood out.
Didn't work in the garden today for obvious reasons but I did get to walk around and check what's come up so far. The helebores I bought at the North Creek buy last year are so cute. They're still tiny but they got swag. I have one camellia in full bloom. Its a fuchia pink against dark green shiny leaves. The yellow one has loads of buds but they haven't opened yet. The others all lost their buds but that was my fault.
My daughter's peonies made it through again this year. I sited them wrong but they keep coming back. Two of the new peonies are up, I haven't seen the third yet and the plena but I live in hopes.
I did have one disappointment. The dogwood blooms every year for Passover, every year. This year the buds just didn't get enough heat and sun. They look like plump blueberries. They're ready to go but just can't get there. G-d willing they'll make it by next week.
It was a pretty day for strolling in the yard! The peonies should bloom well this year. Sorry about the dogwood but the season is just getting started
Sally
I know. Its just its always bloomed then and I get to sit on the livingroom couch and look out the window at a cloud of lovely pink flowers crowding around the window.
I've been out working this morning. Hubby is definetly out of the dog house. Last year I planted some "Yu Hu" hellibores. My son's Chinese name is Yu Hu depending on how you pronounce it it means Jade Emperor or Jade Tiger. Anyway, Hubby mowed them all down. Everyone including their markers and they weren't even in the lawn! I just knew they were gone and I was about to buy new ones this year. Well!! They're back up!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I don't think I'll get a flower but I'll be more than happy to settle for a leaf. Now one more thing to cage.
Native ginger. Spreads. Not glossy. Not evergreen.
Another ginger. Glossy evergreen clumping.
Dicentra Alba from coleup
native wood poppy Stylophorum
Yardening today will include transplanting 380 coleus, done and at least 300 wax begonias.
If it hasn't started raining by then I may try and plant my peas, almost a month late.
Wow Rick, you sure have your work cut out for you.
I got my first shipment of plants last night. It came from White Oak Nursery.
4 Lindera benzoin - really hoping to get a couple females in this mix
1 Corylus americana
1 Calycanthus floridus - this is a hedge in case the one Sally gave me died over the winter :)
1 Viburnum trilobum
2 Viburnum acerifolium - seed grown so they should pollinate each other
The box was 75lbs! Must have been tough for the UPS people because it was wrecked but the plants inside were fine.
That's a nice selection of natives!
I have 1 Lindera benzoin. I'm going to buy one of the opposite sex after I see which it is when it flowers. I read that one can tell by the flowers.
"The male flowers have 9 stamens (organized into 3 groups), while the female flowers have an ovary with a single style and up to 18 pseudo-stamens."
Thanks. It should be blooming soon...I might be posting photos if I can't figure out whether it's a boy or a girl ; - )
Mine is starting to bloom. I'll grab a hand lens and check it out tomorrow.
Muddy, the male flowers are showier. Also, good luck finding a sexed specimen somewhere. I searched high and low and could not find anyone selling them already sexed. Hence the roll of the dice with 4.
That's why I'm taking a crash course in Spicebush sex-ed! I'm going to examine the flowers of every shrub in every garden center until I find the opposite sex.
Fortunately, there's no shortage of garden centers around here, including many that sell only native plants.
That's nice. I don't think I've ever seen a Spicebush in a nursery. Good luck! I don't think the ones I got will flower. They look like first years. I'm told it takes a couple years for them to flower.
The spicebush I bought at the Loudoun Wildlife Native Plant Sale last year for $20 is blooming now.
I hope mine's not far behind! I think I saw a bud on it yesterday.
When I got these plants I was elated to see a catkin on the Corylus Americana (American Hazelnut). Hopefully it will get a female flower and I'll have a hazelnut later this season.
I hope so too, Jeff. I love hazelnuts--and it is my favorite coffee creamer flavor.
There was an Estonian family here that had one growing in front
of their house. It was an unruly-shaped big shrub.
Lots of links-here's one;
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/growing-hazelnuts-ze0z1303zgar.aspx
it is soooooooooooooooo nice out today
I picked up a Rosemary, a flat-leafed parsley and three dill at Home Depot yesterday. Got them planted this afternoon.
Also picked up my bifocals. Am trying to get used to them. I did this after helping a friend deliver a cake for a fiftieth anniversary party. We drove about 30 miles with the cake sitting on my lap. 3 tiers high. Enough to serve 250. It was heavy. I was a little concerned that I might have to sneeze. My fingers were cramped in my left hand. I guess I was gripping it too tightly. It was lovely.
I spent most of today (so far) getting my bed-by-the-shed ready to be planted.
This is where my tomatoes and cukes will grow. The sunny side of my shed.
Dug it up--put a layer of composted leaves over all--dug it up again.
Put a layer of MY compost over all, then a layer of Humus/Manure (from HD
in the yellow bags--$2.47). You can smell it when you get close....AHHH....
Then some Lobster Compost--from last year.
All ready to plant...so tempting...my Tomato plants are, sort of, ready.
I know I cannot do it yet....but i can plant the Dill and the parsleys along the edge.
There is a small clump of the Curly Parsley coming up on it's own from last year.
Will scatter some Dill seed along the edges too. The harvest is so small from Dill.
Unless we get BS Caterpillars again this year. Last year I saw exactly 3.
Refilled all the bird feeders--and am calling it a day...
I SHOULD get my Mower ready--clean it up....maybe new oil filter and Air filter?
My back-yard neighbor will sharpen my blade.
The grass sure has greened up in the last week or so.
G.
did general yard cleanup and burning of twigs and dry stuff.
Had the boys cut down a three inch diameter oak sapling. I liked it but there was a lot of weird stuff going on with the upper trunk and I felt sure, and confirmed, it was somehow diseased or infested. It would never have been a nice tree, a little sad since it came up by itself in a good place. But I do need room for another more special tree.
I yanked on some rotting Canna leaves and pulled a piece of live root. Those survived all that cold under a pile of pine needles.
I potted a Montauk daisy (anybody want?) and in its place put a creeping aster that coleup left in my care. (I owe you $6 now lol)
Lots of weeding.....dog to the park,....and just general being outside in the beautiful wonderful sun and air..
Lol Sally, I was 'looking' for that aster just before coming in! 'Snow Flurry', stays low and blooms white. I think its brothers and sisters made it thru winter as did most of my potted menagerie. Hopefully all of the late to emerger like milkweed and Joe Pyes will be fine, too, Have kissed a lot of the tiny tiny oh so new leaves on my Japanese Maples today...just that kind of day here, too.
Greenthumb and Jeff, Adkins Srboretum Native Plant Nursery has Spicebush in 2 gal pots 5' tall for $20.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1390705/
They are offering a Native Plant landscape design service that sounds pretty coolcalled Conservation Landscaping.
http://adkinsarb.fatcow.com/store/page31.html
Sally, what 'special tree' might you be considering? And how do you get by with burning or did all those twigs fit in your fire pit? !
I have to find a place for the Bigleaf Magnolia baby that Mr M liberated from the woods in Catonsville..and we are trying to burn the Maple stump. I would have enjoyed the stump awhile but somebody started hacking at it and it got ugly...