Here is an update to my "I must be crazy" thread, all the seedlings you will see are between 3' - 5' tall, most with buds...
Updated brug garden pix
Another shot:
And another:
Another:
Underplanting Sunray with Purple Coneflower:
My little shade garden:
One last brug pic:
Oops, forgot my front walk:
Gretchen:
Everything is beautiful! You can be very proud of the work you've done and the best is yet to come! I can't wait to see photographs of everything in bloom.
Oh My!! It's beautiful! I wish I could wiggle my nose and have a yard like yours!! It will be heaven when it blooms!
Bonnie
Everything looks great. How in the world do you find time to do anything inside the house. With everything you have, I'm surprised you can even stand up straight anymore. Another month will make everything look so much different. It's good to see all the standing water gone.
Gretchen, your garden always makes me smile. I can imagine the hard work, but it's so worth it when they all start blooming. It looks great! Glad the rains are over (for now).
Linda
Sit my Tea by the rocker on the porch! I'll be down to watch the show,and it is going to be one heck of a show!!
Glad to see you above water,everything looks Fantastic!
My word Gretchen! You have done wonders! Looks great!
It really is amazing what you have accomplished. It looks like you have spent years getting those plants established.
Like the others, I can't wait to see pictures of everything as it progresses over the summer.
I hope you take some time to sit on the porch and take it all in.
Looking good girl!!
I'm speechless! LOVE everything.... You've really worked hard. Did I mention I LOVE your house. What type of brick is it made of? Tell me you don't have to bring those all in this winter? Keep taking pictures. I don't think I could ever get enough of it.
Wow! Thank you all!
Delecie: I'll keep them coming as long as the deer and bugs leave me something to photograph!
Bonnie: Nothing but lots of blood, sweat and tears, LOL! Only kidding, thank you!
Shirley: yes it is very good to see the standing water gone! We're fixing to have another wave come through in a few minutes though. Hope its not as bad as last week's. I am on a schedule. That's the only way I can get it all done. This week was switched -- usually Thursday is housecleaning and Friday is mowing, fertilizing, etc. but the grass was so high, I had to do it today...deadheading and other yard work is as I can get it done each day.
MG: Thank you!
Root: Just come on over! Thank you!
Shelly: Thank you!
TC: I'm headed there when I finish this post :) Thank you!
Plantnutz: Thank you!
Datdog: After seeing your place, I take your compliments as supreme -- thank you! The house is native Texas limestone. Very common construction material here. I've mentioned in other posts, it needs to be painted (the wood), really badly. Next summer...
Well, I'm headed to the porch to watch the latest storm blow in. Y'all have a great evening!!! Gretchen :)
Gretchen my word! Thanks for your update, we are all so thrilled for you, you've done such a wonderful job!
Can y'all imagine the traffic jams she will have there?
It looks great Gretchen! I can't believe how much they've grown. It seems like you just planted them ;o) Your driveway will make quite the "Alley" when all those babies start to bloom!
Gretchen, I bet you will find my daughter on your doorstep when all those brugs are blooming. She is getting the fever, and since they are building right across the road, if you miss some of them one of these days, you better walk across and check her place. LOL
How in the world do you keep the deer from eating everything you have? My son-in-law said their place is crawling with deer. Also, your leaves look so healthy. Mine are all full of holes. Your whole yard is looking just beautiful, and my son-in-law said that the man that works for your husband said you were the hardest working woman he had ever seen. LOL
Gretchen, your whole place looks so very neat and attractive. Will surely be wonderful when they bloom. Hope this storm is not as long or bad as the other one. Love your photos especially the brug trees. Donna
Thank you Vi -- no traffic jams here. I live on a dead end road with only local and occasional construction traffic. I think there are only eight houses out here and they're all on big lots ranging from 5 - 60 acres each.
Thank you Sue -- I know. I had to look up the planting date, which was April 15th. Time flies, but they have more than quadrupled in height in the last two months.
Sylvia -- that's too cool! So she's going to grow brugs? I'll tell you, knock on wood...they are the only plant I have growing that the deer haven't touched. They desecrated my area behind the greenhouse while we were gone this week. Ate every cosmos, dat and morning glory. I was so bummed, but thank goodness, no brugs. Mine are so holy too, you just can't tell from these pics. Mostly from the grasshoppers, I think. I put out Nolo Bait, but it'll take about a month before they're all gone, if it works. Who told your son-in-law that??? Too funny!!! Anyway, send her over for cuttings this fall!!!
Donna -- it passed us by this time! Thank you!!!
Gretchen, that is so beautiful, you have a real touch that seems to be evident in everything you plant, wow, it's so impressive!!! I could move right in there and be happy for the rest of my life, I love your house, as well as your gardens. There is so much talent on this forum, I'm amazed!!! Shoot, I wouldn't fret about the honeysuckle, I cannot imagine were you would put it, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One question, do you use a drip system to water, assuming you 'might' need it, much later, the next decade, whew, considering how much we've had this spring.....
Hi Sherry -- Thank you! I think you and all the others are way too kind. Its just a country house with country gardens, but its a definite improvement over what wa s here when I got married and moved here two years ago. There was no yard, it was a horse pasture... No, I don't have a drip system, but with what I've learned in Master Gardener (final class is this Saturday, Yeah!) I will install drip irrigation when I can afforde it. Now I have soaker hoses everywhere, buried under the mulch, and they're on timers. The bad thing is that I'm watering the natives too much, just to give the brugs enough. With a drip system you can control how much water each individual plant receives. With all the rain we've had, its surprising that I'm having such a horrendous spider mite problem, but I am...
Oh it looks awesome! Very nice!
Gretchen, I've used the soaker hose and it just won't do the work the way I want it done. I'm going to the individual drip system. The only 'problem' I can see is that I will have to do several individual systems because of the size of the property and my gardens are spread out.
My son is going to install it for me and I can't wait!!!! I hope the spider mites take a hike. This rain has really been a doozie and my plants are so spoiled that if they miss a single day of drenching rain, they immediately wilt...I guess you've experienced that too. Thanks for your posts, I really do LOVE your place and your plants...
Thanks Jenks!
Sherry: Since mine have been planted in the ground, they have not wilted one time, Thank the Good Lord!, with one exception -- Sunray. She wilts from the heat every day. I just know they are much happier in the ground... Would you believe that every seedling (from seeds planted on January 28th) have buds with a few exceptions? I can't wait to see these blooms. The one I'm most excited about is Pink Beauty X Ecuador Pink. I'm hoping that it'll be a beautiful brug. Of course, I'm excited about them all... Good for you with the drip system. It'll probably take a feew days to figure out how long to run it, but set it up on a timer system and you should be "good to go". This has been the strangest weather I think I've ever seen...
Oh Gretchen, you have the touch! They must love your brug mixture. What are you doing to get rid of the mites?
This driveway is so inspired. I wish I had such a huge lot and grand driveway!
I wish I had her energy. Mine got up and left.
Oh right Brugie, it left only after you planted and planted and planted a tropical paradise in Iowa not to mention a vegetable garden big enough to feed the state.
Yes Brugie, my get up and go has got up and went also!
Gretchen everything is beautiful and all the hours of work and devotion shows. It's picture perfect and and when the brugs start blooming, it will probably be indescribable.
All I can add to the praise of your wonderful looking home and landscaping is....YOUR LOVE SHOWS !!!
Please post photos when they start to bloom!!!
Your driveway looks beautiful Gretchen. I think that Brugs are about the only plants, deer dont like. They have never touched my Brugs but DHs roses.
Thank you, Kell...its definitely trial and error. The mites are battling me! I only have two brugs that I'm having a major problem with -- Amanda's Deep Pink Suave and Insignis Coral. I am using MaVie's recipe of the Palmolive/Alcohol and Water daily on those two. Believe it or not, but not one seedling has been affected...yet.
Thank you Frannie, Margie and Monika! And, who would've guessed that such a pretty plant is deer resistant! Yeah! I've found another one... Of course if we should end up in a drought, they'll eat anything and everything...
edited to add -- Brugie: you and Brugnanny both have plenty of energy and it shows in your gorgeous gardens!
This message was edited Jun 18, 2004 5:52 PM
Monika mentioned that brugs are about the only plant that deer don't like, which is a blessing. Well, Golden Retrievers do NOT like them either, oh, happy day!!! Ya think animals know they are poisonous???
Whatever, I'm delighted my Goldens don't go after them!!!!! Gretchen, I know your Golden isn't a baby, but he doesn't got after them either, does he????
No Sherry, he doesn't, but he did dig up all the mulch around them after the blood meal fiasco. I just can't keep him out of my beds, and yet I can rarely catch him in them, I just see the destruction of where he's either dug a hole or laid down... tsk, tsk! And, yes I think they do know when something is poisonous, just like deer know how nutritious roses are!
What beautiful pictures. Your yard is to die for. I am new to the brug forum, but have definitely caught the bug. Just enjoying looking at everyone's successes and hoping my 3 little brugs will delight me with blooms soon (oh, I have 4 now cause someone gave me a small cutting in a trade the other day). I'm going out and removing a few of the bottom leaves right now. By the way you aren't the only one with holy brugs. One of mine (must be where it is planted) is constantly being chewed on but I never find any culprits. I have been using the dishsoap, alcohol or h202m and miracle grow spray twice a day but it is still going on. I'm anxious to see your next pics. Jenny
Hi Jenny. Glad to see you here. Do you have a digital camera? We love pictures, holes or not. Have to say I have my share of holes right now and very few blooms. Maybe in about a month things will start happening here. I'm sure ready.
Hi Jenny! Welcome and thank you!!! I finally gave up on my total organic approach and dosed all the brugs about a month ago with Bayer All in One Systemic for Roses and Flowers. It lasts about a month and is an insecticide, fungicide and fertilizer all in one. A little expensive, but I noticed a huge difference in my bug problem about a week after I applied it... For what its worth :) Gretchen