=) I KNEW it. The secret's out Hazel.
What's in your Texas garden?
htop: Are begonia's an annual?
Aimee, you're lucky. I have scorpions out here where I live. I have one rule. If they stay outside, I leave them alone and take precautions. But if they invade the house (and they do) they are history!
Ouch, we have scorpions and they hurt worse than any sting I've ever had.
Linda, Yeah I lived with my Grandmother a couple years ago and a couple times she'd said she'd felt something crawling on her and she'd tell her husband to come "check" and wipe it off....actually said it was scorpions!!! EWWW! I am soooo glad I never did see a live one in the house though, just a few in the sandy yard. Thankfully, unlike fire ants which are taking the country by storm, the scorpion needs hot hot hot and sand, so he shouldn't become a treat to our friends of the north.
Oh, and if you have scorpions in your yard God bless you for trying to work with the landscape!!! I don't think I would have the courage to garden....I am a wimp!
htop, what plants do you anticipate having extra of this year?
I have a friend in Michigan who seems to recall that Lupine took over in her garden. Has anyone else had this problem?
I have not ever had Lupine, but bought some starts this year that WM had on sale. I went ahead and potted them up for now and they are already 4-6" tall. I have plenty of unplanted yard, so they can grow and spread all they want to when I set them out.
I seem to have a hard time finding what I have seen in catalogs, locally. I really hesitate to buy from catalog (unless seed) because most don't say the size of the plant and then shipping costs almost as much as the plant. Specifically for trees/shrubs I like to see the trunk of these in person to pick the straightest ones.
I can't find any seed or plants for Coneflower: Razzmatazz & DoubleDecker, no Viola Johnny Jump Ups (though I can get these as seed by mail), no Heuchera "Marmalade" and no Hydrangea's anywhere.
Does anyone else have these problems?
Also, how does Clemantis do for you Texas gardeners? I hear you should prune them back to 12", seems harsh?
This message was edited Feb 25, 2006 10:10 PM
Try Rainbow Gardens on Thousand Oaks and/or Milbergers (Bulverde Road and 1604). I know Rianbow Gardens have Viola. I don't know if they have any coneflowers in yet and I don't know if they will have the 'Double Decker" culttivar.
Hazel, has Rainbow Gardens completed all that work they were starting when we were there last year? I plan to stop by there the first week of May, hope to be able to take some "after" photos.
Aimee, remember that most plants shown in catalogs are geared for northern climates, that's probably one reason you aren't finding those plants locally. Another thing is, as impatient as we all are to get started on our gardens, it's still a bit early for many of the plants to have hit the nurseries. (This is that very frustrating time when most of what you see in 4" pots at the nurseries are plants that are almost finished for the season.)
Good excuse to keep going to the nurseries every week, to see what's come in. :-)
Htop, I LOVE Milberger's. I find stuff there other nurseries wouldn't dream of having!
Maggie, I hear ya on the catalogs, but that's what's great about DG, I always check for zone info so I can make sure I am getting good stuff. And of course htop has been great about what worked for her. I've already nixed some from my list. =)
I'm not sure about that other Rainbow. The Rainbow Gardens on Bandera Rd. had pretty much finished their new butterfly garden as far as construction when I was there sometime this month. They still had some planting to do. Should be gorgeous when everything's blooming later this spring! They are one of my favorites! Others I like are Natives of Texas (out near Kerrville) and Schumacher's (near New Braunfels). I need to find out this spring if Schumacher's will still have good plants after all those changes they had, however. I usually only go to Milberger's when they're having a blood drive. They give donors a $10 gift certificate, which I normally use right away. BTW, there's one coming up on the 4th of March, 10 to 2, if anyone is interested. Aimee, I know what you mean about shipping rates. I ordered something by mail this month and it cost me $25 just for shipping.
Linda, good info on Milberger's blood drives. I like them because unlike other nurseries they have weekly sales. I got some roses at 1/2 off and they are doing well. Keep hoping they'll have a sale on the Sky Pencil shrub, those are 20 bucks! They also offer a frequent shoppers card and you can get a punch with each sale as long as it totals at least 5 bucks I think. After 10 punches you get $50 credit there!
Never heard they offer the blood drive thing. Cool!