Coffee's on and Spring is here!

ROTFLMBO!!! Pam, I got the best mental picture of your tiller taking you for a wild ride through your garden! Thanks for the laugh, I needed that!
I'm off to work soon but tomorrow I'll have pictures of my new labor of love!
Oh and I bought "Chocolate Peppers"! LOL! (if only that statement were true)
Its gonna be nice out for a change so I'll talk to you in the PM!
I miss youz guyz!

Dena : )~

Finished up one of my dahlia beds with a taller back perennial row today
http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=2231212

Andy - one of the problems about having plants in my garden as a temporary bed are people commenting on how nice that bed looks - I say no it doesn't - it's temporay! Dummies

Al, are youz talkin' ta me?
I know what you mean though.
A couple of years ago someone commented on the row of 20 Hardy hibiscus in my 'nursery'. They were in full bloom at the end of their first season. Looked great.
I told him they were all coming out next Spring, he thought I was nuts.

I found the first Strawberry flowers, 6 weeks from flower to ripe fruit.
I hope tonights near frost doesn't get them.
Andy P

This azalea was practically flowering when I bought it, about 10 days ahead of my others.

Al, It likely was grown somewhere south of you, hope it's hardy for zone 5a.
I got burned a few years ago that way. It died the first winter,
Andy P

Got a big 'ole cup going today. Going to rain tomorrow - so I need to get all my tilling done today.

Andy- that azalea is rated to -10( so no it won't like winter), but it is guaranteed. I have a few strawberry flowers also.

Parks/Wayside is giving me credit for my dead plants - so I'm out the shipping. Man I hate to order from those guys, but they sure get exclusive plants.

I have strawberry blooms, too! The figs on my stuck-inside-the-house fig tree are 3/8" long. I put a Fuyu Persimmon (grafted on Jiro rootstock - I hope - it came off eBay) in the ground on Wednesday. Had to move some columbine out of the way - they seem to be thriving in the "burial mound" in the front yard. (Actually it is my compost pile transported from the back yard and covered with a thin layer of dirt and hiding a rotting tree stump.) The tomato seedlings that I sat out on the front porch to harden got a little sunburned yesterday. They will get over it.

Tulips are doing well. I planted some Monsella tulips last Fall and they have held their blooms quite a long time. The Westpoint are down to 3 from the original 12 planted in their third year. However the Westpoints that I planted in my neighbor's yard did much better - he still has 11 of the original 12 and they don't even get full sun!


Peace and Plenty,
Mem'

Here is a pic of the hosta I am tearing out. Some will sneak into my neighbors' yards when they aren't looking, others will go to a co-worker - but there are still lots to share . . .

Hi everyone,
Nice pictures Mem,
Al, love your azalea! Pretty pretty!

Anita I sure hope you got out in your garden this fine Saturday!
Hi Dave!

Hi Andy and Sarah! Sarah still sharing the her essence up high? LOL! Silly puppy dog!

Danny had a birthday! Our little guy turned 7 today. Friend party today with lazer tag, family celebration tomorrow. I'm exhausted!

Congrats on your being able to survive to your sons 7th year!
I'll be lucky if mine doesn't kill me before his fourth, ooo he is so fresh! He told some guy at the store to make his daughter stop looking at him! I couldn't speak! I stood there with my mouth open catching flies! Where do they get this stuff! This would be the sweet looking kid in the pictures I posted from Easter, the little guy with the blue shirt! What a freshy he is!

Your little guy sounds a lot like my little guy. We gave him a playscape, which is why I'm exhausted! We got enough of it together to surprise him yesterday (kept him out of the house on Friday until it was dark while me and a much appreciated nephew did construction). Got enough of it completed but far from all of it.My brainstorm was to tell him that part of his surprise was that he gets to help me finish the construction! He liked that.

Well, I'm off to finish putting together the patio furniture we just bought. The family comes today and we're going to need it. This handyman stuff is so not me!

Somewhere in me I think I've got a story about 7 yr old boys birthday parties versus when my daughter turned 7. The former has much more fake flatulence.

Good morning, Sarah and I are off to Plymouth today.
I told some friends I like to assemble "furniture in a box".
They are setting up an elaborate office. Over-size desk, hutch and all.
It's like a big puzzle.
I asked him if he checked if all the parts were included.
He hasn't even opened the boxes yet.
This may take a while, LOL.
I did my simple office desk in a couple of hours a few years ago.
Dave, if you need any help, let me know......
Andy P

Had a monster day outside yesterday, probably best that it is raining to rest my back. Perfect day to go plant shopping then, I found the 2 shrubs on my wish list at the virtually last place to look within 50 miles. I found 'Black Lace' Elderberry and "Quickfire' Hydrangea. So exciting, I also picked up some cheap boston ivy that I am 'upgrading' the virginia creeper on my fence with. That darn 'zebrinus' malva conned it's way back home here too! Got about 2 weeks to go before the all out planting assualt takes place outside - I should be ready.


Meg - you still here?

Al, Your yard must be getting a bit crowded by now.
Where do you put all those Dahlias?

We had a good day.
The 'L' shaped desk W/drawers, hutch with little compartments and fancy legs went together nicely.
I didn't mention that they have a cat, Shadow.
Sarah was soooo good. The cat and dog watched other but no problem.
Well, Shadows toy mouse no longer has ears but..............
Andy P

I'm pretty full that's for sure. A lot of plants need to justify their existence to stay. Some oddball's that got sent down to the minors this year were - cordyalis, lupine,sea holly, rondo penstomen, pee wee hydrangea, carnaval and wine and roses weigela. The problem is pretty soon my neighbors bed will also be full.
I am always waivering between trying to actually have a landscape design and just buying all of the 3 types of plants I like and just jamming them in.
Anita - you lurking now?

Hey everyone - I haven't been online much the last few days. Had test that left me in bed for a couple of days thanks to office staff not giving me complete post testing directions!!! Then I had my sister's Wedding shower which was wonderful. I didn't get to enjoy any of my yard with all the nice weather and was really bummed about it. I'll make up for it after work everyday this week and next weekend!

Anita - must be hard to be your age!


Hey I've been waiting on this one. Leopard's Bane - really a nice plant.

Al, Nice plant. Plus it keeps Leopards away!

Leopards have traditionally been a problem in Wisconsin. (They eat all the cheese. :) )

pam

I just ordered 6 cubic yards of organic humus. It is being delivered on Saturday. I am sooooo excited. I will use some of it to back fill the asparagus trench I dug Saturday. I remembered that it needed to be 18" so I dug down 18". Then I discovered that it only needs to be 6" deep but 18" wide. Sigh, why didn't I google before I started digging? Now I have to move all the dirt I piled up to dig it wider. Oh well - I hope the purple asparagus sets I ordered get here by Saturday so I can bury my mistake. I'm sure my neighbors will just shake their heads when they see the dump truck roll up and dump a mountain of "dirt" on my driveway. Maybe there will be enough to completely bury my front yard so that I won't have to mow it any more.

I have Arapahoe blackberry baby plants that need good homes if anybody wants them. It is a semi-erect plant with hardly any thorns and huge berries. I have it up against a chain link fence for support.

YankeeCat - didn't you know that lawns are for paths between the garden beds???

No - that is what all the @#$* rocks in New England are for! First you dig every single one out of your garden and establish the growing zone - then you dig big trenches in the paths and fill them with all the stupid rocks and put gravel on top or arrange the flatest rocks neatly to make the paths. Then the men in little white coats pull up to take you away, to take you away.

ha ha, hee hee.... to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time....

They even call it the funny "farm" to entice us to go!

YankeeCat--where do you think all the stone fences came from up there? All the 18th century farmers flinging rocks out of their fields, I'm sure with many a naughty word. :)

When I was little my dad (who had an organic garden) used to make me and my sister go pick rocks out of the garden. There were so many rocks in there I'm surprised anything else grew! :)

pam

phuggins - My Dad used to blame us for putting rocks IN his garden when my sisters and I were little!

There is some story I heard about glaciers bringing all the rocks to New England and then leaving . . . to go back for more rocks! Maybe global warming isn't such a bad idea after all. (I am just making a joke - but I really do hate all the rocks in my garden.) I just have to take them out. Hmmmm guess that is one of those OCD things...

Well, all our topsoil in NE is now making up Long Island, thanks to the last glaciation. :) Here in WV I don't have rocks but I do have clods of clay which might as well be rocks...they're hard enough to resist cracking with anything short of a pile driver. (I'm looking forward to the day when I can get my kid out into the garden to pick clods. :) )

pam

Hey all! Good morning to you!
Anita, this weekend I'm gonna try to get your Daffs ready for you, I'm gonna trim them, and then pot them up with some green left, I'm thinking cuz its early in the season but after they have bloomed, they should need to be planted out so they can continue to get some sun and save energy for next years blooms. Any thoughts on that? I wanted you to see these Hosta I have to thin out as well, (this offer is good to anyone who is interested) D-mail me, and mention Hosta so I'll know what the heck I'm sposed to be sending you! LOL The mind (what little of it there was/is) has been on the fritz lately.
Hosta (no name) need new homes... Dave, you know you want these Hosta, Al, there has to be one little shady spot you just have to put a Hosta in... Andy, need some Hosta? LOL! I'm off to bed! Talk to you all soon I hope!

Dena

Dena, I have the same hostas. They do very well in full sun.

About rocks; the contractor building next door was disappointed. He scraped all the top soil and piled it up hoping to use it for landscaping. HA HA. There are so many big rocks that he will have to buy screened soil for the lawn.

I've just finished my 8th PhotoShow, titled "Spring Flower Show" (how original).
This one has a little of everything, except Tulips, from the last 2 months. Runs 3 minutes.
A "Tulips Only" show is in the works.
http://photoshow.comcast.net/fantasyfinishes/
Andy P

Good job Andy! Beautiful and relaxing. You have a lot of fruit!

Excellent Dena! Yes, I'd love some Hosta too. I don't have anything for trade at the moment as I'm still trying to fill up that new bed in the backyard. I'll send you the postage after the package gets here! Thanks so much!

Now that I'm back to 'normal' [if I was ever that] - I spend most of my daylight time in the yard. Last night I got home around 6pm and worked in the yard until almost 8pm! I'm off to do the inspection with coffee in hand!

Catch up with everyone later!!

Hi All, Thanks Dave. The Plum is not mine, and most of the other fruit trees are young.

I got my 'must do' chores taken care of and I'm now sitting in the yard near my Crabapple tree that is in full bloom, what a lovely fragrance.

Has anyone else started to notice the little Gypsy moth caterpillars yet? They are all over. Only about an eighth of an inch long at this point but tons of them. Kinda dampens the enjoyment of being out. They are even crawling on my screen, (get away). If I get a 'bug' in my laptop...........

Oh, here is the tree!
Andy P

I've been working like crazy outside, it really is scary how many plants I have moved off of my property - I must limit my purchases in the future.

Dena - I am good on hostas - I do like them for shade as a foliage plant. They are easier to give away as everyone has shade beds with limited plants to put there. Still waiting for some sun bed pics from you Miss.

It's amazing how little time I have these days. Every moment I have is out in the yard. I absolutely love it! I took a few more shots. I even made a new friend! A female Oriole was keeping me company today. I was amazed that she got so close to me! The male stayed up in the tree canopy with the Goldfinches. Some update pics of the yard. I'm slowly making progress.

Al, Most of us move plants into our yard.

Nice shots Anita. The yard is looking good.

Dena, I could use some hosta. Thanks

Hello to everyone!
Hey Andy, you wouldn't happen to know what kinda Hosta they are do you? I know they do well in the sun, mine are growing in everything from wet shade to dry and sunny all day, they are so amazingly easy to grow, untill you try to dig them up, I didn't realize I was dealing with a "Hosta Take Over"!
I have dirt in my hair, down my shirt, I got a mouthful at one point, what a great day!!!
Anyway, here are some pictures. These would be Anitas Daffs, nice and healthy.

Here are the Hostas...

I dug about the same amount for both of you and I barely made a dent!

your boxes are all ready to go...