Coffee Break!!

Dave, I'm not sure about the Brockton Bomber...
We have a top ranked Minor League Baseball team, The Brockton ROX.
Our High School is ranked in the nations top ten for academics and athletics.
We are about 20 months away from turning on the Northeasts first water desalination plant for city water.
Building the largest Solar power field in the northeast and just getting started on a really big "Green" Condo complex.
This "Sad Sack" of a city has started to shine again.
Andy P

Dry days coming up for me finally!

This is about the highlight of my spring flowering.

Azalias, lovely.
I saw 5 minutes of sun around sunset.
Yippee
Andy P

I got enough sunlight to plant some of the seedling tomatoes that have been hanging around for too long. I'm not sure that they will make it - but what the heck. I started 3 kinds - a sauce, a sun-drying and an eating variety - but I have no idea which ones I planted. The columbines are blooming - I have mostly Nora Barlow. The ones I transplanted to the front yard in full sun are only about 12" high - the ones in the back yard without full sun are nearly 3' tall! I thought they liked sun. The poppies are waiting to bloom. This is the first year they will bloom and I am impatient to see what colors they are. I hope they are some light and some dark orange ones - I bought them on eBay last year and I have found that you don't always get what you thought you bought with eBay. The Solomon's Seal is up and starting to form buds. This is their first year - I saw some at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and had to have some for my shade garden. After a whole week there are still no shoots poking up on my asparagas. I planted them the day they arrived - they should be OK?

I was going to plant some things I purchased over the weekend, but decided the ground was bit too wet. It was pouring in Nassau County when I left work, but I got to drive towards and finally reached the blue skies of Suffolk County where I live.

It's too wet here today, too, to plant much. I 'm so happy with my new purchases of natives from Rarefind nursery - 2 NJ teas (ceanothus americanus), 2 cliff green or rat -stripper (paxistima canbyi) small evergreen groundcover, 3 native pachysandra (Allegheny spurge) , and 2 heuchera villosa (Brownies) fall blooming. I can't wait to get them in the ground, of course things will have to move around. I will try not to pack them in too tight. Will I ever learn to leave enough space around plants? I have a new plan, I'll fill the inbetween spaces with small annuals or groundcovers so I'm not tempted to pack too much in yet again. I need help on this.
Pixie

I agree Pixie, it is hard. You want the complete look right away.

The sun is out today and it is supposed to be normal temps - in the 70's - yippee! I'm in the office all day so I'll probably pop in and out during the day. I'm off with my coffee for the morning inspection of the garden.

The SUN is out, the birds are singing.........

Heard on TWC the water is starting to recede up there...go, sun...

pam

Sunny this morning - when I have to be at work! It is starting to cloud up now. One good thing about all the rain - worms, worms, worms!

..long live the worms. My yard is full of muticolored Azaleas! Yipee

Another benefit of this weather seems to be that my bleeding heart have been in bloom longer than usual. Or is this my imagination?

Dave, It's not your imagination.
Here is the same Columbine flower I posted May 15th (pic taken May 9th).
It's still not fully open.
Andy P

Good to hear Andy. Now, my friend Harvey the 6 foot rabbit, is that just my imagination?

No, Harvey is not real.

I finally got my tomatoes in today. The compost was almost too wet to screen.
Worked on the front flower beds. Dahlias, Petunias (from a DGer) and I'm trying a new Sunflower in front of my L/R bay window. (Where tall Dahlias were last year.)
I found a dozen Dahlia seedlings coming up, had to pot them up, a Columbine too.
A Heuchera 'Palace Purple' was sprouting by the driveway, now potted.
Then I mowed the lawn, front and back.
I'm pooped.
Andy P

Sarahskeeper,
Love those volunteer plants, Palace Purple is always useful, although the dark color is sometimes hard to place for me.
I must love purple because this time of year almost everthing I have blooming is purple,
Iris, clematis, colombine, siberian iris, salvia, baptisia. Among all this purple, quite unexpectedly, tall spires of yellow flowering kale. It makes everything look light and airy.
All second year plants that are going to seed. I find what naturallly turns up looks better then all my planning.
Pixie

I've been busy on the new bed in the back. I put in some astilbe, black snakeroot, coleus, dahlia, jacobs ladder, some of my wintersown nicotinia, oenothera and rudbeckia. Last night I added some impatiens and lamium. Dena's hostas and daffies also have a place of honor there. I've also been transplanting forget-me-nots and achillea here and there. It's amazing how quickly it is filling in and I am looking forward to seeing the results a few weeks of warm weather will have on it. It's raining now, but that is fine as my new plants should enjoy the drink.

I pick up my eldest niece today. I do a 'birthday' weekend with them. They get to stay the whole weekend, by themselves. They get to do basically whatever they want - within reason of course. It's fun for me too as I can concentrate on just one at a time and since they are like night and day - - my life becomes a bit easier. The youngest will have her weekend in June. She's still bumming thinking she'll miss out.

Isn't that great that just spending time with you is a big deal! It certainly means you are a great aunt and they are at a wonderful age. My neice & nephew are in their mid-twenties now. We were like that. I'm still so honored that they go out of their way to visit.
Enjoy!
Dave

Being auntie is the best. My sister is uber-auntie to my 13 month old son, who thinks she's just the bee's knees. She spoils him terribly. :) A few years ago, when we were still childless, DH (who at 40 has a full head of hair) taught his oldest nephew to say, "Daddy's balding." DH said it was payback for childhood trauma induced by his brother. *snort*

Since my beds are new nothing is blooming, and it's been cold and dreary for the past couple of weeks so nothing is really getting bigger, but my plants are all nice and green.

pam

Anita,
Ever fool with bamboo? I am contemplating looking for a spot in the yard to start some. I like the idea of having a perpetual source for stakes and the like, and I have plenty of room to let it run wild and then to beat it back. Thoughts?!?

Pixie, one year I planted any vegetable I could find that was purple. Beans, Kohlrabi, Peppers etc. That may have been the year I started the Palace Purple seed, too. I have 3 of them that always get lifted by frost. Today I lifted them, divided and potted them all up. I now have a dozen, if they do well I'll have to find a spot for them. Why do I do that?

One good thing that came from the Monsoon. I think it severely knocked down the Gypsy moth population. They have not grown in the last 10 days and are far fewer, thank heaven.
I read that prolonged wet spells breed a virus that attacks them. Works for me, LOL.

All that rain did some good for my sneakers, too!
Andy P

Hey Andy,

I remember seeing pics of your "green" sneakers before, but now I see that you have my gargoyle's twin! Unfortunately our poor excuse of a drainpipe doesn't fit well in mine.

E. McCool

Those sneakers look great! (I also appreciate that someone else still calls them sneakers.)

I still call them sneakers...and I'm a relatively young 'un here :) .... what ELSE would they be called?

Speaking of putting it in your shoe, one of my neighbors lines up about 8 sneakers on his porch railing every summer, filled with...hm...some sort of blooming annual, haven't looked that closely. In the winter, he replaces the sneakers with ice skates. :) No picture at the moment, sorry. :)

pam

At least I didn't call them Canvas shoes!!!!
Like Pam said, what else are they called.
Running shoes, Cross Trainers, Walking shoes?

Just got this in an E-Mail.
Andy P

Down here in WV they're called tennis shoes, come to think of it...

pam

I believe athletic shoes is the term. It includes alll the specialized athletic shoes: running, walking, tennis,basketball, cross training, cross dressing...

Why, when I was a kid we ran, walked,played basketball and tennis in the same $8 pair of sneakers! And we liked it!!..

When I was in college I worked nights at an Italian restaurant where we had "those" shoes made out of the same material as the skirts of our uniforms.

Dave47, could you expand further upon the "cross dressing" variety of athletic shoe? :) :) :)

pam

Hey Andy! Your "KICKS" look wicked cool! Those Hens must be likin the foot funk you left behind for them...LOL!
And that shark would have had a free lunch if that were me in that kayak, cuz I would have fallen over dead just as soon as I saw it coming at me.

Wormboy, I love Bamboo, but if your fixin to grow it in your yard be very careful, you'll hate yourself for it in a few years. I recommend if you must have it, build yourself an underground "containment" barrier and do be sure to get the clumping bamboo. It is so beautiful, but very evil too!

Hi Anita! Hello Dave (not Dave)!
Hi Al! Hi Pixie!
Pam, The Daddys balding revenge thing followed by the *snort* got me rollin on the floor! I love a good snort! : )~
I'm working overtime this week so I have to get some house work taken care of. I miss youz all! Be safe and Happy Gardening!
D

What's up weiner!

Hey I got a good picture of my daughter with my lawn today.

Pam, I wondered if anyone noticed that. Mine have heels.

Al, Nice lawn! Great lawn ornament!

WOW- I've missed alot! Had a great time with Samantha. I can't believe the weekend is over already!! Yes - I am lucky that they still want to hang with me. Before I know it, they will rather spend their time with their friends.

Wormboy - I agree with Dena, be very careful with Bamboo - I know too many people that have neighbors that have grown it and now it is trying to take over their yards as well. It's almost impossible to kill once it takes hold.

More purple, deep solid irises. You can just see the yellow flowers of the kale behind the Baptisia 'purple smoke'. Oh, the text on the photo covers the kale.
Pixie

This message was edited May 23, 2006 6:23 PM

A friend gave me two Rose Campion plants - which I planted - I'll plant anything. Then I checked it out and read that they are very invasive. So, now I'm wondering if I should get rid of them, OR, could I cut the seed pods (?) off before they find their way to the ground? Anyone familiar with this plant?

Kayellen

Kayellen, I know a lot of people have it though I don't have personal experience. But I do think people over use the term invasive. I wish people would seperate those plants that may require some attention because they spread rather aggressively vs those plants that you rue the day you ever planted (like bamboo can be or purple loosestrife)
Cup plant is now called invasive & is illegal to sell. I have seen 1 cup plant in my travels and that was at a nursery. How invasive can it be?

If Rose Campion fits in the former category, then its a personal preferrence if you wish to hassle with with its seeding.
Dave

Hi Kayellen,

Have you checked the PlantFiles? I took a look at them after you posted your original question and found that although this plant re-seeds itself pretty vigorously, most of the posts were positive. I have no personal experience with it that I could share with you. (Sounds like my kind of plant though, one that doesn't need "cosseting". I just don't have the time to devote to fragile plants.

OK...I had a beautiful Dill plant the other day that I had wintersown. This morning it was gone!!! I couldn't even find where it went, until I realized that some little bugger had eaten all the beautiful lacy leaves and just left stems!!!! ARGHHHHH!!!! I am guessing the little bugger was a slimy slug. I am going to put down some DE and hope it revives itself.

Anita, Wait! Don't use poison!!! You could be killing a butterfly or other friendly bug, I just can't remember what one I planted the dill for!?

DE isn't a poison. Diatomaceous earth (tiny fossilized skeletons of ancient aquatic diatoms) is moderately effective as a slug barrier. When slugs come in contact with diatomaceous earth, it is abrasive to their skin. Diatomaceous earth is most effective when used in dry conditions and has little effect when it absorbs moisture.