C’mon, sit a spell

That's about the only thing pantyhose are good for, in my opinion, lol!

dmj, thanks for the stock, what color is it?

I can lisp when I buy them and it will be alright.
I think it will be Ok after looking, it seems to be positioned so the weight will be supported. We will see.

Did you hear thunder ealier? Even if it doesn't rain, it's nice to hear it off in the distance.

When I was a kid we used to love to lay on the lawn and look up in the sky - day or night - and just wonder at what we were seeing. Summer evenings it seemed like there was always a light show going on, "heat lightening."

A rare thunder free day here.

DID IT RAIN YESTERDAY? I WENT OUTSIDE TO WATER MY POTS AFTER WORK AND ALL OF THEM WERE DRAINING? HOW DID I MISS THAT?
THANKS CALILILY FOR THE MOJITO EXPLANATION FOR MAGGIE. IT SEEMS I AM AT CHURCH THREE DAYS A WEEK HERE LATELY. I GOT TO CATCH UP.

SYLVIA@WORK

It didn't rain here but there was talk of thunder showers around.
I missed joining you all in this perfect place yesterday. I brought along some Mai Tai today to sit and sip in the shade - there an infinite supply is anyone would like to share?
Carol

Hi, Maggie and visitors. I am leaving you some figs for you and your guests to share. I actually had some that were riipe that the critters had not eaten before I could gather them. The figs have ripened very late this year. Also, I am leaving some strawberries from the plants I received at the Central Texas roundup from Mary Lee. I planted them in a hanging basket and it is in front of my garage, The birds have left the fruit alone and I have been enjoying the strawberries very much. I hope there are enough to go around. I think that my runner beans received too much water after the rains finally came and the dirt I bought in which I planted them was composted, but I think it was still "hot". Some of my plants that I planted in it look as though they have received too much fertilizer. They are growing, but the leaves look a bit shabby.

Veronica, I have a huge 22 year old oleander planted in the ground. It will freeze back if the temperature falls into the 20s, but returns from the roots growing back very quickly time that it does freeze back. It did not freeze back last year or the year before due to the mild winters. I had a dwarf salmon colored oleander growing in a container. It did well for a few years and I repotted it. It started looking raggedy again as the roots were outgrowing the size of the pot and I had to give it away because I had no place to put it into the ground where it would receive enough sunlight. You are in the same zone that I am in. You might want to plant it in the ground and mulch it really good over the winter until its roots become established. It came back from the roots when we had a very cold winter and my hybrid crepe myrtles actually froze back to the roots too. I think it was 10 or 11 degrees for quite some time when this occurred. There are quite a few oleanders (standard size and dwarf) both along the highways and in home and business landscapes here. Of course, your 8b zone may not be exactly the same as my 8b zone.

Hazel, I'm a bit farther north than you. I compare my temperatures to La Grange, the nearest town and during the winter we are up 5ºF cooler sometimes. Maybe I can plant them on the southern side of the house.

One problem I have been wrestling with is that this is not my permanent home. This was supposed to a few months stay until we built our dream house closer to the center of the ranch in a more protected area. If I put things in the ground, here is where they stay.

I'm really excited, though. I hope there are no architects here cause I don't want to offend anyone, but my husband wanted to save money. So... Over the Internet, we found an architectural firm in Oklahoma with a plan we fell in love with. It will take 2 -3 weeks to modify the plans. Getting this far took what seems like years and years. This was a major hurdle.

The next biggest hurdle will be getting rid of the Bermuda grass from the new house site. I would love to put a plant in the ground without Bermuda sprouting next to it by the next day. Has anyone had any success in getting rid, not controlling, but actually getting rid of the stuff?

I bought a bunch of sweet oranges just yesterday. Somewhere in the cupboard, I have a large bottle of Galliano I bought in January to make a Harvey Wallbanger cake, but my mixer went south so I haven't used it. We can add Harvey Wallbangers to the Mai Tais.

With everyone's great imagination, maybe I can get help planning a new garden. I'll have 2 good sized live oaks, 1 large pecan, some mesquite and 10 - 15 Bluejack oaks about 15-30 feet tall to start with.

Get rid of Bermuda - I asked and not much luck. You can plant St Aug grass and it will kill it out over time - that is what I am doing to get rid of mine! Mitch

It kills it fast here. The curse of the ranchers. Nothing will eat the St. Augustine grass.

Keep it watered and cut to not less than 4 inches and the Bermuda is gone in a month. I keep a small patch of Bermuda for the rabbits to eat, which keeps most of them away from the flowers.

I have killed bermuda with Round-Up, but it has taken up to three applications. The best thing I have found is Ornamec. It can be sprayed on bermuda right over most other plants. It may take a couple of applications, but it does kill the bermuda. I buy it at Wildseed Farms near Fredericksburg. It is also good on grassburrs and crabgrass in the early stages.

By the way I have common old red oleanders that are thriving on the line between zones 7b and 8a. We had temps in the very low teens a couple of times last winter and there was little leaf burn. I wonder if different varieties have different degrees of frost tolerance?

Good night to sit back and relax. It's finally thundering and raining here and has been for an hour and a half. I don't dare peek at the rain gauge yet though as that will make it stop for sure. Carol, so glad you brought the Mai Tais. And pass me some of those strawberries and figs. They look delicious! My favorite fruits.

What a wonderful repast from everyone's garden! I'm only just recently growing something that will fruit, a dwarf pomegranate. We can have some around Christmas. :-)

I hope to get a Meyer lemon next Spring.

Does it already feel just ever so cooler?

It's a lot cooler. It's only 69.4 degrees on the front porch. That's rather significant for early August in Central Texas. Of course, the very light rain is still coming down. And there's a good chance for more rain tomorrow. Bring it on! More Mai Tai, please!

That's what I've been thinking. Usually when it rains, it just ends up hot and muggy. But now it actually feels a little cooler.

I have a whole row of oleander... I wondered the same thing maybe diff types?

Hello all, I would love to sit a spell with you and let my memory go back to those childhood days when I picked tomatoes and cucumbers and went to pine tree grove and sat listening to the birds and eating my fill. After picking wildflowers on my way back. Then going to the edge of the garden and climbed up in the Mulberry tree and eating all I could reach. It was a Granny that first introduced me to the world of gardening to feed the body and the senses. She always had something in bloom in the yard, cut them and brought them to the table. Later in life I had an Aunt that refueled that love of flowers in me. But sometimes we let life get in the way of living and don't take time to enjoy God's gift of plants and nice evenings with friends and lightening bugs.....ahaaa...............thanks Maggie for the chance to stop and rest in this wonderful garden.
Sheila

Veronica, I havae used Ortho Grass B Gone to kill bermuda grass. It has worked like a charm. Another product that works equally as well is Fertilome's Over-The-Top, Both of these products contain Fluazifop-p-butyl. This herbicide is great for controlling bermuda grass in flower beds. It will kill the grass and not harm most ornamentals. But, the supplied brochure should be read to fully understand what it will kill and what it will not harm. The Fertilome product which can be purchased in a concentrate form is much cheaper if you have a lot of bermuda to kill. It does not kill St. Ausgustine.

I hope nobody minds if I jump in here...

As far as tomatoes go I have a list of varieties that do well in heat if anyone needs it.

I had to giggle when I saw the posting about the oleanders. Ya'll are trying to get yours to grow etc and I'm chopping mine down. Shame I can't send it to someone who would enjoy it.

Saint

Sheila and Saint, glad you joined us!

Seems I've really been reminiscing a lot lately, it makes it easier to get through this heat I think. I was thinking about Mitch's mini-orchard and remembered when we lived in Colo. I was in the 2nd & 3rd grades there, we lived on Fitzsimmons Army Post outside of Denver. They had a small orchard with cherry and crab-apple trees, it was heaven to walk under those trees and pull off some fruit to eat. I love crab-apples!

Before Colo we lived in the Panama Canal Zone. We walked along jungle trails to get from the housing areas to the hospital where my father worked. Mangoes!! Yum!!

Here, I brought some ripe mangoes with me, everyone enjoy!

Ah Mangos - that is another of my chidhood memories, along with having to have a bath after eating one!! My Dad was in the RAF and I celebrated my 5th Birthday in the Suez Canal Zone eating Mango for Christmas dinner. Dad was from New Zealand, came over to England to help with the war and never got back to live. Though we did visit for a while, right after Eygpt we went over to NZ for a year, Mum wasn't happy away from her family though so we went back. Guess my Dads family had a nomad gene somewhere as both DS and I have migrated across the pond, and they all went to NZ in the 1800s, some of them were on the first boat to leave the UK in 1840. Maybe we are just moving back nearer to NZ :>)
I too have been reminising a lot lately - sign of old age d'ya think? Probably just because I've been working on restoring some very old photos I inherited when Dad died 4 years ago. It takes ages to do each one properly and I didn't have the time before I retired.
I found one that is of my great grandmothers brother and family (Mums side) - 15 children!!, taken in Canada to celebrate the turn of the year 1900. I'm now trying to trace there decendants - they might just like that photo.
Htop, where do you get those Bermuda Killers? I tried Lowes with no joy for either, and I need to lose a lot of Bermuda that has come up through the weed suppressing membrane around my Azaleas.
I can hear thunder here today, it looks and feels like rain, but will it? Hope so, the garden needs a proper soak.

Hazel,

Have you had personal experience with Over-the-Top? I checked the aggie-horticulture Plant Answer website and it says anything that kills Bermuda will also kill St. Augustine.

I haven't been successful in finding a place (over the Internet) that sells Over-the-Top. Many describe the product. I don't have St. Augustine right now, but would like to in the future, if I can get rid of the Bermuda.

Does it work better than Ornamec in the flower beds? Ornamec has to be applied once or twice a year to control Bermuda.

Carol, are you restoring the photos yourself? Sounds complicated.

Mangos are one of my favorite fruit. Sorry I don't have a story to share. No one in my family has wandering genes. I like to put down roots. I'm like my cat, Winston. Once I get settled in, I don't like to be moved. Vacations, yes, but it's nice to have a place called home. I haven't had that these past 4 years. We're living on the ranch, but this is not my permanent home. Most of my things are still stored in the barn. Soon though.

How about a tall glass of iced water to cool down? I've been out spraying the fence line.
Veronica

We eat Mangos several times a week. Alternate with Papayas.
Yummy.

Hi Veronica - the restoration is done by scanning in the original and using professioal software to remove all the blemishes and cracks and then reprinting on the appropriate paper. It isn't really complicated but its slow. Some of the photos have foxing on them,some are torn and some have been folded, to keep in a wallet I suppose.
I am losing my wander lust these days, Its good to stay still for a while :>)
Carol

Amen to that my friends.
Josephine.

In my immediate family, I have lived in one place the longest - 23 yrs now! And I've had my ph# even longer. Even my mother, now 82, keeps moving from place to place it seems.

It looked like it was really going to rain this morning, overcast and almost dark. By the time I got off work @ 11, the sky was clearing up. It still doesn't feel as hot though. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I could swear it almost feels like Fall. :-)

I was so happy to get some replacement parts for my Compostumbler. I'm taking it apart now to make the repair, am looking forward to starting a new batch. I love the smell of good, rich compost, it is certainly one of the fragrances in this garden!

Trois, I remember that you and Barbara brought scrumptious fruit to the RU in April. Do you grow your own mangoes?

No, we are not that warm. I think Mangos and Papyas require above 40 degrees minimum. It was several degrees cooler today, with lots of thunder.

Fall is coming!

I knew it! I knew it! (Skipping in the garden) What a beautiful red!

Also, I noticed some new BLOOMS on my cross vine! And lots of new FLOWER buds on my star jasmine!

What?!

My Sky Blues are starting to bloom, also my Port St. John's Creeper.

Both these plants were planted this spring on the A-frame pergola, and have reached the top.

It must be beautiful under that A-frame, Trois.

It is looking pretty good. In another month it should peak.

Okus, the last time I bought Grass-B-Gone, I bought it at Walmart or Home Depot.

Veronica, I haven't used Over -the-Top nor have I used Ornamec. I know that Weed-B-Gone will kill bermuda and I thought it wouldn't kill St. Augustine. But, I don't think it killed any of my St. Augustine because maybe I didn't spray it on the St. Augustine because it is easy to pull up if it wanders where it isn't supposed to be. I will test it out. I have a little Grass-B-Gone and I'll spray it on some St. Augustine and see what happens. I don't have the little booklet that came with the Grass-B-Gone to read what it kills and doesn't kill. I could surely be wrong about it not killing the St. Augustine.

Actually, if you are going to plant St. Augustine, I have found that it will eventually choke out most of the the bermuda grass. If planting the St. Augustine in solid sod form over the top of the burmuda, the burmuda will be set back a bit by not receiving light. The burmuda that comes through will be choked out fairly quickly. The St. Augustine sod that was placed in my yard when my house was new was mixed with bermuda grass. I can't remember the percentage of bermuda that was in it; but, I don't have much bermuda left. It grows in the areas where the yard has little soil over the limestone and the St. Augustine struggles because I can't give it enough moisture. I am sure there is some bermuda left mixed with the St. Augustine in some other areas, but not much. Another thing that will help is to keep the bermuda from going to seed by mowing it before it make seed heads and when you plant the St. Augustine, don't mow it to a height that is under 3 to 3.5 inches. The bermuda needs light and the St. Augustine being at this height helps to keep the bermuda from receiving the light it needs.

I have killed the bermuda in some areas in whichI was going to make flower beds by solarization. During the hottest part of the summer, I cut the grass as short as I could and then weed whacked it to the ground, spread plastic tarp over the area and then placed mulch about 4 inches or more deep. I can't remember how long I left it there, but the bermuda baked and did not reappear in the newly made beds. This would not be feasible if you are needing to kill the bermuda in a large area.

I am in the Grass-B-Gone right now, bought it at Home Depot and it is slowly working... they will mail you coupons for it if you will email them and ask ( I think it is ortho.com?) Grass B Gone is killing the Bermuda and not touching the St Aug - and I think it will stay that way. When I asked Ortho they did say it would kill Zebra Grass and some others so be careful spraying into beds - Mitch

Trois and Maggie, some of the plants that usually bloom in the fall are starting to bloom now. Many plants are going to seed sooner than usual. It appears that we may have a repeat of last year when the temperatures, I believe, were hotter in July than they were in August (or at least August wasn't as hot as it usually is). Only time will tell.

My first moonflower vine bloom opened tonight. It is huge (over 5.5 inches) and really beautiful. The corkcrew vine that Dave gave me has buds on it and I check it everyday to see if any are open.

Here is the moonflower (moon vine) bloom this afternoon.

Here is the moonflower (moon vine) bloom after it opened tonight.

When we levelled and sodded our back yard, we ran out of St. Augustine about halfway through, and ended up checkerboarding the rest with Bermuda. The St. Aug choked out the Bermuda in just a couple of years.

We used to have only Bermuda in the back yard, but I've noticed the St. Augustine got a start somehow and is taking over. I would rather have the St. A because it's easier to pull out of the beds. I think eventually what will happen is that I will have only Bermuda in the flower beds because there's no St. A there to smother it. HMMMMMM... Mother Nature.

Maggie, you have mail, I think. I don't know what happened to that D-mail I thought I sent.

I agree about St Augustine choking bermuda and relatively fast.

Veronica, I have used over the top and I think it's a good product. I used it to kill bermuda growing in beds and between my monkey grass and did a great job. I bought mine in Houston at Houston Plants and Garden World. Can't say I've seen it anywhere else. Maybe there is a website for it, listing local distributors in your area.