So it had been a while - but we are back rady to get going on here agian!
Been a long week but everything is in the garden for Spring and now I have more coming from the RU... I just dont know where I am going to put everything yet but I have tried to be good over there and only get those things I know I have a home for! All my Daylilies are up and growing, rock rose is blooming, lantana and yarrow have yet to stop. The Iris are going nuts this year so something with the weather went right! A rabbit ended up in my veggie bed and cleaned me out of my tomatos... dont know if the stubs will come back but already working on getting some to replace the ones lost.... one of those things!
Sooo how is your week going?
Come Sit A Spell March 28
Sorry to hear about the rabbit buffet you sponsored, Mitch, lol. I think someone in the RU thread said they have heirloom tomatoes available for swap (Throneofyord?)
Two of the three LA irises given to me last year are blooming, they are beautiful. Still in the pots, but I'll wait till they stop blooming to get them to their final homes. Gulf Coast penstemon is just about to bloom, I can't wait! My Ducher rose bush has been covered in blooms for about two weeks now, with many, many more buds. The Maggies are a little behind, struggling I fear from the great whacking I gave them in February. But they are both on the verge of bursting into bloom.
More to report, but I must get back to work. We're getting a nice gentle rain here all day so far, hope it's doing that at home!
We had a hard freeze here off the creek in Bastrop last week, and there is frost damage on new growth on several herbaceous plants, such as salvia guaranitica and leucantha, frostweed, justicias, etc. New leaves on several shrubs, trees, and even the Viriginia creeper were also damaged. On the brighter side, the freeze did not seem to damage the rose blooms, although it did some damage to new growth. Crepuscule is flaunting herself, as are Old Blush, Cramoise Superiore (sp?), Winecup, and Sam Houston. Chipper-shredding branches and pine/oak leaves from a friend are ongoing, as are remulching the numerous beds. Cedar allergies put me behind on this, and catching up is the current mode. So far this morning, we' ve had 6/10ths of an inch of much needed rain, with minor thunder and lightning. That's why I'm here instead of outside.
Good idea Mary I am going over there to take a look!
Just sounds like sring is in bloom down in Conroe!
Bullnettle - sorry about the freeze there, I was spared for the worse part of the cold here. Let us know if anything does not come back out!
Oh, sorry to hear about your frost, bullnettle. I was afraid of losing some stuff to frost last week too, actually brought a few things in and covered a lot of other stuff. I usually never do that, but just wasn't willing to lose anything that had struggled to gain ground after the mid-Feb freeze. I checked my frostweed, and it was okay, so my guess is we didn't get quite as cold as they predicted.
We've had a very nice rain all day today. I suspect the rain here was a consistant, nice rain like it was at work, because everything was nice and soaked, but no sign of water coming too fast (I have a leaky gutter seam that turns into a spigot at full blast when it rains hard.) All kinds of containers around the yard were filled with water, so my guess is that we got over an inch (maybe over two!)
Mitch, it really has been spring here for some time. I took down the Sweet Pea last weekend, it was at the end of it's time. It was so beautiful, I'll miss it.
I might have started my sweetpea a little to late this year, still not a bloom and yep Spring is almost over . . . I can feel the summer lords waiting on the wings to get in here and dry everything out agian... not that I dread our summers here! I think with most of my garden on the South side of the house I stay a little warmer back there then the rest of the area. works for me most of the year - not that I planned it that way!
The same freeze that hit bullnettle damaged some of my plants especially the new growth and/or flowers on my grapevines, figs and peach trees. My Fuyu persimmon, pluot and plum trees were not affected. The new growth on a few of the herbaceous plants froze. The Noisette roses were blooming the day after the freeze.
We got an inch of rain today. It was so welcome, but we could use more just not all at once.
Mitch, I'm hoping that we get a spring like last year. We almost got through the month of May without 90º weather.
The rain is such a big miracle here! So many wildflowers didn't even come up or couldn't grow big enough! Anyway, it's starting to look good out there now: Fleabanes, Fendler Bladderpods, yellow primrose, bitterweeds, pink primrose, phlox, etc. Ox-eye Daisy is blooming good in my yard, so I'll start cutting some to put in a vase soon. The native Fox-Glove and the Brazos Penstemon are just starting to bloom. I've been digging up some volunteers and other plants I need to move or put in pots lately. Still trying to figure out where to put some plants I have in pots. I really need another raised bed, but will need another load of topsoil to do that. Just the realities of the Hill Country, where caliche and rock will always limit my choices. Probably more rain tonight and tomorrow, then maybe clearing a bit.
Linda, my ox-eye daisy doesn't even act like it intends to bloom! The foliage is wonderful, nice and lush, but.... :-( I bought it last spring when I saw a number of beautiful beds with them at The Antique Rose Emporium.
never froze here...all is good now that we've had rain...at last!
Too many blooming things to list. Roses are really getting into the swing of spring. Some fruit trees are finishing up and others just starting. Beautiful and ever so fragrant. So wonderful just to go outside and breathe deeply after the wonderful rains of the past 2 days.
Mitch I found one devils claw plants that has come up in my garden. Do you want me to try potting it up for you or did you already find one?
Patsy
Thanks Patsy - Roadrunner sent me close to 50 seeds so I am crossing my fingers that they grow first. If I dont see them coming up I will let you know.
Roses - I do not have any roses blooming... lots of buds and my cuttings are growing (how long do they take to bloom?) but no blooms.
How do you get your cuttings to grow? I have never been successful with rose cuttings despite everything I try. My roses never really went dormant this year.
bettydee, i think it just takes trying, trying then trying again. Up to now, my attemps had been 100% failure, then last fall I got 1 in 30, this spring I'm batting 50%.
When m local extension office cleaned the rose gardens, I took a bunch of cuttings and rooted, tweaking the process here and there. I am beginning to get a sense of what MUST be done and what is nice to do, from a propagation standpoint. Also helps to get the easy varieties, certainly has pumped my "propagator ego" as it improves my odds. lol.
Nery, isn't that the truth! I actually gave up even trying to do seeds, but was encouraged to try again. Slowly but slowly I've seen more and more success, with rooting, also. Do you think the plants somehow begin to know that they are now dealing with "experienced" propagators, as opposed to amatuer gardeners, and grow for us out of our new-found respect?
:-)
Oh they know allright, lol.
you guys go over to the butterfly forum. I'm posting the absolute neatest pic. If somebody knows the particulars of this creature, pls share.
OK, thanks to marylyn the pic is posted.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=2150981
This message was edited Mar 30, 2006 3:34 PM
Yeah! we got a little rain!!! A gentle drizzle for a few hours. Of course the soil was dry on top by the time I got home because we're still having wind, but the plants look so much better when they get real rain as opposed to resaca water.
We didn't have frost, but we got to the mid 40's last week.
I agree. I had been watering with the sprinkler system before the rain, yet the effect from the rain is so much better!
cuttings - lol - well Josephine is the Queen of getting things to grow with cutitngs. I just try 10000000000 (not really but it sure feels like it) and 20 or so grow... I have not mastered it yet. Now that I use the mix that she does I have had a lot better results.
Brugs are the only thing I can really be sure are going to grow!
Nery, those are absolutely fantastic pictures! Apparently the little guy wasn't very shy? I immediately thought of a stained-glass window, with the leading between panes. Did you have more than one?
OMG wonderful, awesome picture of the butterfly. I agree with maggiemoo,
first thing I thought of was of a stained-glass window!!! Thank you for sharing
the pic with us.
Angela
I should be so lucky! This beauty was not in my garden. It's a pic my friend Becky sent me. Dunno where she got it.
Well, they are really beautiful. I have several pots planted, each with parsley, fennel, and rue. I call them butterfly cafes, and have them in different spots in the garden. I've been thinking about painting the pots with "Butterfly Cafe" on them, and now I think I might use those beautiful wings for the "B".
That sounds so crafty Mary!!
Lol, yeah, that's me alright, really crafty. Well, full of crafty ideas, anyway.