Karen, It's great to see you back! I'm so pleased my seeds arrived safely. Really sorry to hear about your back problems and the inability to stand long car journeys- I can empathise with that. Try not to feel bad about what you can't do, just do what you can. Pacing yourself is the best way to go I find- task, rest, task, rest...it's surprising how much you can get done like this, although it's frustrating at times.
Take care,
Maggi xxxx
Scented Geranium Swap, Part 3 and counting...
I am going to call Barb as soon as I get home form meeting with Wyatt's new preschool teacher. I missed the bus to get on this thread - so I have been off for a while --
Karen no wqorries.. all my lime died -- so sad. Prince Rupurt is limping along but only the parent plant and all nutmeg cuttings bit the dust. I have a BIG and thriving nutmeg plant so I can take fresh cuttings of that one. I think I had a bad run of potting medium. All my citronellas are fine along with my varigated
"nutmeg" that smells like Rob's lemon. I also have some AVs if anyone wants a mystery (no idea what they will bloom)
Jill whatever happens I will do my darndest to help out!
Heather
Karen, forgot to say that I would love some tree peony seeds. Also, does the Jasminum grandiflora give viable seeds? If so, I want some of them too... Look at my trade list to see if there's anything we can swap- I have some new seeds on there now.
Maggi xxxx
As far as I can tell no one is working out individual trades, The thing with me and bluespiral is an individual one because she sent me other plants, was suppose to send them to barb but sent to me by mistake and i'll be sending all her plants to barb when the time comes or critter, in return for the plants she has already sent me.
And It doesn't sound like anybody here is having any luck rooting the scented geraniums but just a couple of us.
I'm sorry if I jumped the gun in reiterating the bit about this being a swap and not a trade. I glanced over Karen's post and thought, wow, this could start getting complicated. My apologies for misreading what was going on there.
No worries critter, I think Karen sent different plants besides scenteds to a couple of people, so she had to pick her plants out from us in return for hers. thanks Karen for being so patient waiting on your plants in return from us. If it does work out that the swap doesn't go over, I'll definitely send your plants your way to you.
Hope everything is ok with Barb. Heather, let us know how she's doing when you call her ok
kathy
Heather called Barb today and reported the folloing (she posted on the herb RR thread but forgot to post here):
"Just spoke with her -- the heat is doing a number on her right now but it will let up soon.
She thanks us all for thinking of her and she'll be back soon."
So, hopefully there will be no need to switch hosts. I knew I was posting earlier than need be, but I wanted people to know there was a 3 week window when I wouldn't be home, in case we needed a plan B.
I'm so glad that Heather called Barb...it helps put my mind at ease a bit. My SGs rootings did really well, and I will post a list of what I have later. I'm in the midst of trying to create/build raised beds in my yard and am in panic mode! I have some nasty surgery scheduled for the end of September, and am trying to get EVERYTHING done before then...whew! I'm working as much as I can outside...it has been 80s & 90s and I have to say that it makes for a long, tiring day. Anyway...that is where I am if you don't hear from me. It is fun to hear from everyone again...
Tracy
I would just die for 80 and 90 degree weather, your lucky tracy.
it's about 97 today with heat index of l02. but in a few weeks it will cool down somewhat.
I'm glad Barb is ok too.
Oh Im so glad that Barb is ok...I know the weather was getting to her....Judy
Sorry -- kids kept me off the puter.....
Also she wanted to know if we were willing to put off the ship date until Sept.30?
That is the day of my surgery...I could mail them a bit earlier..?
kathy_ann - okay, you caught me trying to feel sorry for myself! Why don't you come on up and enjoy some of the arctic air! You can help me with these beds! LOL!
tRACY
I would have to mail them sooner than that, as we are leaving on the 23rd of September. I won't be back until possibly as late as October 14th, but maybe Barb could ship my box to a friend if that's too long to hold them.
I don't know Tracy, I'm kind of liking the no work thing here LOL. i do hope you get all the beds done before your surgery. Better get all your plants tucked away for the winter too, just in case you can't do that afterwards.
September 30 ha? I don't suppose i'd have any problems with that date.
Heather and Jill, it was good to hear from Barb. I know all our good wishes are with her.
Jill, the plants I sent to Barb were either marked "Barb" or "Juttz", the former intended either for the pool or Barb's MS fund drive, whichever works out best.
Since the lilies, Geranium maccrorhizum, etc. were best transplanted earlier in June rather than later in July or August, I went ahead and sent them to their respective homes - these were, for various reasons, plants that I didn't think would wait for the sort dates or were too huge and cumbersome for 1 flat rate box. Also, I thought it would be simpler for the sorter if the only plants I sent to the sorter were for the pool.
I really do apologize if I have complicated things - my intention was to do the opposite - have actually read the rules several times trying to stick to them. Having outcomes opposite to the purpose of my efforts might be one story of my life.
I also needed to get my plants to everyone in the group yesterday because there are some complications in my life where I can't be sure I could do that in a few weeks. I hope you'll still consider me a helpful resource and will give me a holler if I can be of any (dare I say - snort - "further"?) assistance.
Tracyrae, sending positive wishes to you regarding your upcoming surgery - hope you'll keep us posted on how you're doing and don't overdo it in the garden - we can always give you new plants.
Will try to prepare some seeds to share tomorrow and let you know what I have. Tree peony seeds take 10 years to flower from seed, and require alternating periods of wam/cold, during which a root will sprout in one period and then the top during another period. I suspect these seeds might be one of those seeds that are best sown soon after harvest rather than later on when their enzymes develop that inhibit germination.
Sorgina, Kathy, Judy and everyone, am enjoying this visit. I hope we all do this again.
Wow, those tree peony seeds sound challenging! Still, the plants are very expensive to buy,(now I see why), so I'm willing to give it a go. Just hope I live long enough to see some flowers!
Karen, I'm sorry about my response.... I didn't read carefully enough and thought that all those plants had landed on Barb's doorstep with the intention of getting specific plants in return from various people... I should've known better! I hope whatever is going on in your life gets straightened out so you have smooth sailing this fall.
And Tracy, you'll certainly be in my thoughts & prayers during your surgery, as well as during this time when you're scrambling to get all these things accomplished.... hopefully all that gardening will be a good distraction rather than just exhausting you.
Wow, I do not think I am up for the challenge of tree peony seeds. I had a hard enough time following the complicated warm-cool-cold-cool-warm routine that Territorial Seeds suggested on their Hellebore packet.... and after all that, I got not one single sprout! Their horticulturist couldn't figure out where I might have gone wrong, but they refunded my money, and I decided I'll eventually buy a plant or two and let them self-sow, which they are supposed to do pretty readily. Does your tree peony self-sow, by any chance? ;-)
Looks like a nice, cooler day for working outside here, so I'd better get things underway...
Jill, my tree peonies don't self sow, but my hellebores do. Have given away most of this year's volunteers, but I do have two potted and looking for a good home. Will root about to see if I missed any - would you like some?
Kathy - are you sure I can't tempt you with any hellebore seedlings too? If anyone else wants one, let me know and I'll get back to you.
Sorgina, I'll mail off those tree peony seeds to you tomorrow. I think the germination technique for them, according to the book Seed Germination and Practice by Norman C. Neno, 2nd ed is:
3 months at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, followed by
3 months at 40 degrees F, followed by
3 months at 70 degrees F.
I think he says the root forms during the first 3 months and the true leaf forms during the third 3 months. I like to use a refrigerator we keep in the basement for seeds needing periods of coolth at 40 degrees F. I would sow the seeds as soon as they arrive, before any more enzymes that inhibit germination form. There are about 28 seeds from a double white tree peony (Renkaku) and 15 seeds from a peony (Shimanishiki) whose petals have different patterns of red and white - some solid.
The white tree peony cost $3.99 at a local hardware store and it took a few years before it made a show, but what a show. The other one came from Van Bourgondien for $9.99. Prices certainly have risen, but these are still two relatively inexpensive ways to acquire tree peonies. In the past, I have lain branches on the ground, made a slight incision underneath where the branch laid on the ground and anchored it with a rock. The branches rooted in a year and were then potted and given to some friends. Next year, I will harvest these seeds by waiting for each pod to open rather than forcing them. I didn't know what I was going to find, and the seeds obtained from pods opening on their own look riper than those from forced pods. They were very sticky and I'm afraid pieces of dead leaves are stuck to them. But, I hope you plant them all anyway and let us know how they do.
Would anyone be interested in the following seeds collected this year from my garden? --
Aquilegia 'Black Barlow'
Sweet William - tall, mixed
Lunaria - purple - seed pods are papery discs
Allium 'Purple Sensation'
Salvia forskaohlii - unusually shade tolerant
I haven't had the sage that long, but the others seem to be short lived in my garden. Aquilegia, Sweet William and Lunaria self sow for me.
May we all have time to commune with our gardens this weekend.
Karen
I do have 4 or 5 hellebore plants outside, and a small one still in the greenhouse in a pot. I'm good on those, thanks so much though. I'll try to get a list together today for you to pick your other scented from since you didn't want that grey lady plymoth. I'll send you a private message later on today.
OK Karen, I'd like to try with the peony seeds, if there is something you want in return. Please LMK. I wish I had a separate fridge for seeds - mine have to fight for space in the one for everything - lol.
Sorgina, someday you'll meet someone who feels about tree peonies the way I feel about brugs, and you'll have an extra one... So this one's on me.
One thing about trading on Dave's Garden, we all have the opportunity of sharing freshly harvested seed, which I think optimizes success for germination. Who knows how long the seed we buy has been sitting around, even if it's a vault with hi-tech cooling, etc?
I think it's a great idea that when you plant something that will produce results in the short-term, that you plant something else at the same time that will take a while. And plant something different, unusual with something tried and true.
I have a huge crop of seed pods burgeoning right now of lily crosses between 'Black Beauty', 'Casablanca' and 'Silver Realm' that I hope you all will let me share with you. The fact that we have trapped 1 rabbit, 2 woodchucks and 4 racoons is no insurance that those seeds will actually mature to harvest, but let's hope the traps keep working.
As an alternative to la (or would it be el in Spanish?) refrigerator, I don't know if there's any merit to this idea, but since I have so many lily seeds, I'm going to try to bury some of them in a container of moist (not too moist) peat moss deep in our compost pile about 2 weeks before the ground freezes, which can be early to mid December for us. We have lots of voles, moles and mice, so I'll probably encase that whole business in a cage of wire mesh about 1/4" gauge.
If I don't have time, I'll give the bulk of them to someone else to trade or give away elsewhere on DG. I'm being manipulative, not "sweet and generous" as Jill opined - it annoys me hugely that there are so few gardens around here. Things have changed for the better somewhat, but not near enough to make me happy.
Karen, I hope you're right and I actually get so many tree peonies that I'll be prpared to give some away! Meanwhile, I'll try to clear them a space in 'el frigorífico'! Thank you for your generosity.
Maggi xxxx
{{{{Ohhhh!}}}} Thanks for all your kind words of encouragment! I won't even try to act brave about the surgery - I'm dreading it! It isn't life theatening (thank goodness) but it is pretty messy. I had my left ankle collapse, and the tendons are completely useless. The surgery is to transplant harvested tendon from one place to the other, and ...this is the part I hate....they have to re-align my heel....ARGHHHH!!! Recovery is supposed to take about 4-6 months...I'm not good at sitting on the sidelines of anything; I have to stay busy. So, I figure, I'll get a whole lot plant catalogs read, and a whole lot of sewing done!
Speaking of getting things ready for fall, how are you all going to winter over all your lovely SGs? I have fallen in love with mine, and have come up with quite a collection (if you only knew...)! I don't have a greenhouse, and I will only have enough space in the house for a few. I read somewhere that you can take geraniums out of their soil, place them in a paper bag, and keep them in a dark, dry location over the winter. Will this work for the SGs, too? Any other ideas?
Later...
Tracy
Tracy, with less than 800 sq ft to live in, we have a space problem, too. Half the kitchen (16 x 16 was partitioned off, half of which became an 8 x 8 bathroom and an 8 x 8 utility/storage/litter box/recyclables/pantry/washing machine/back of refrigerator room.
Over the litter box, against the back exterior wall, which has a window, we have two levels of shelves with 4' grow lights suspended over each one (the lower grow light is attached to the underside of the shelf above). Each shelf can hold two 21" flats for spring seed starting, but over winter is full of cuttings rooting for the summer garden and pots of hyacinths I start in el basement frigorifico in October and take out one a week starting in January. It is literally a wall of green with occasional flowers (fibrous begonia and impatiens in dry house air) livening it up and helps cabin fever tremendously in January and February (during which I also cut branches of forsythia, Hamamellis mollis 'Pallida', tap bottom 2" with hammer to facilitate water uptake, put in water where they flower - could do it with quince and possibly Viburnum bodnantse 'Dawn', some Prunus species like P. mume or P. glandulosum, etc.)
Back in the kitchen, on the other side of that exterior wall, is a "breakfast nook" with both windows and seating following an L. The short end of the L bumps up against the kitchen sink. It ain't purty, but I commandeered that little side of the L for a two-sided box with two shelves for more plants, and there Moodene's gingers are going to burgeon over Jill's african violets (unlike scented geraniums, those rooted wonderfully - maybe we should all change our focus...?) and volunteers that self-sowed over last winter from coleus 'Pallida' etc. Most sages detest my winter indoor house air, but cuttings of Salvia 'Purple Majesty' put up with all the attendent insults of dryness, white flies, etc. and come through okay - that's one for the "pantry".
From the time I broke one of my legs tripping over a step invisible to my trifocals in a hallway at Johns Hopking U chasing after a phone (they fixed step and offered to pay any costs over what insurance would not do - did not take them up on it), let me say that a shelf arrangement like this next to a water faucet is a nice thing to do. If not, have you seen those indoor houseplant hoses that hook up to the sink faucet and revert to a tidy coil when not being stretched?
Tracy, may I make one more suggestion? That period of being a "one-hoof lady" aggravated my other joint issues through inactivity, so if I ever forget my age and current state of decrepitude again, I will do whatever yoga exercises (slowly and gently) that may be possible with one hoof so that I would come out of a cast better able to move in general. Let your doctor know you'd like to do this in case there would be any positions/stretches bad for the healing process.
Dan Hinckley's Heronswood catalog makes great reading - will put together a list for you.
As a Big Baby not improved by age, I can understand your nervousness. I hope everything goes well and that you make them give you followup of physical therapy - that would make such a difference. Keep us posted.
Karen
Another great catalogue to read is the Chiltern Seeds one. NO pics., just lots of wonderful descriptions, wacky comments, corny humour and unlikely anecdotes. You can order one from their website. Good luck with the surgery,
Maggi xxxx
I have some bad news ladies. I don't know how to say this, well, I'll just tell you the whole story
Our gas prices went up to 3.00 last night and the gas attendant said they were going up to 3.50 today. and will go up to 4.00 maybe past, this is what the gas attendant said to my husband, and he came home and told me that we have got to stop spending money everything stops but the absolute necessity. It costs him over $100.00 a week to put gas in his van now and it's going to get worse, he has told me that I have to stop all trades if I had any going on, the only one is this one, and the expense for me sending these plants will be great since I have alot to send. So , I am going to have to resign from being in this swap, I don't see things changing here in the next few weeks to warrent me coming back int o the swap either. We live far from town and our gas expense is the most expensive expense we have unfortunately. I hope everybody understands.
I feel bad, but I do have no choice in this matter any longer.
I will send yours to you karen will ship it out this monday priority mail. I'll get your address from the exchange, and contact you by private message with a few other scenteds for you to pick from as I know I haven't done that yet. and I still owe you a diff one other than the grey lady plymoth.
again, I appologize for backing out like this.
kathy
Kathy Ann, I understand completely and I think with Barb not feeling well and the fact that we didnt think that shipping this late in the season is kind of defeating if some dont have a greenhouse to keep them growing all winter...Im asking everybodies opinion but my thoughts are to cancel this until next spring early....Karen, since you sent me all the lovely plants I will ship yours soon..I havent forgotten, just life getting in the way...please let me nkow what everybody feels...Judy
Personally, I don't need any more plants. Since I joined this swap, I have not once put my "Free to Good Home" sign out on the street with extra plants from my garden. I just like to share plants - it gives me an excuse to meet great people whom I would not otherwise meet. So Jutz and Kathy and Barb and anyone else in this swap I have plied with plants, just concentrate on taking care of yourselves and know that you've already "accomplished your missions" with me - sharing your friendships and lives and passions for plants.
You've helped me cope with my own issues in the chronic illness, financial disaster, rehabbing an old house with your own paws departments, etc. with your courage and creativity in meeting these challenges in all your individual ways.
So, I wish the best for us all and hope we can keep in touch. If we don't, I'll miss you.
((((((hugs)))))) Karen
Our gas price didn't go up, husband was wrong apparently, But the attendant told him it was going to go up to 3.00 by morning, and it's now 2.82 and is going up still. I just thought i'd rephrase that part from above.
Thank you Karen, You are too kind. I know there are lots of folks out there from Daves that are suffering tremendously from the hurricane.
I have a brother in Bay St. Louis, Miss. I've not been able to contact now for 3 days to see if he's ok. I know he is they don't stick around for hurricanes.
Our gas this morning is 3.48 and they are estimating the price to be over 4.00 by the labor day weekend..2 of our gas stations have closed because of no more gas to pump....Im starting to panic....Karen, you brug will be in the mail this week...I am doing meetings and getting my kitchen open for Tuesday but will get it in the mail by Friday...Judy
Judy, I was a perfect toad about that brug - I did mean it when I said I didn't need any more plants. The only people I want sending me plants are wearing white floaty dresses and floating serenely around on Cloud 9s and, for them, going to the post office with a brug for me is the most fun they can possibly imagine.
Well, LOL. Boy that was fun to write. Besides, Dravencat already gave me a brug, so I'm not brug-less.
Would it help to talk and share ideas on how to adapt/cope with the gas situation? At least give emotional support to each other? I'm not the wisest person around by a longshot, but maybe talk will help.
Labor Day weekend is usually when most people are out on the roads traveling, after which volumes of traffic normally die back down and demand for gas relaxes. It might be too soon to panic, but not too soon to think.
Kathy, suppose Critter and I were to send you postage, if we prepaid postage, would sending any SGs to Critter's house pose any difficulties? If so, forget I brought it up again. Critter has a better grasp on what's going on with the group as a whole than I do. Maybe you and she can talk about that.
Well, I can't spend too much time on Cloud 9, morning glories insist on growing in dirt!
I am always ok to whatever everybody else wants to do. I am sorry for the hardships everyone is having to endure right now some of you more so than others. If you all want to postpone this one that's ok but if some of you still want to go ahead with it I'm ok there too. Just let me know. Some of these posts are awfully long to get thru though. We might want to start a new one if we continue. Anybody hear from Barb/Bassettmom lately? Is she ok? Hope you are doing good Jill.
-Juli
I just deleted this post - will re-post it when we start a new thread. I'm flexible, too, Judy. Hope I haven't been too silly. Hope your brother is allright, Kathy.
This message was edited Sep 1, 2005 11:47 AM
Heather talked to Barb on the 25th, but I don't think she's been online at DG yet. I hope she is getting a boost from this somewhat cooler weather.
I'm doing fine, just trying to get caught up on things in the house and in the garden!
I'm going to go ahead and start a new thread. Please rejoin us at http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/541790/
If we haven't heard from you yet on the new thread, please check in... we are trying to figure out if this swap is still a "go" at this time.