Coffee Break!!

Anita, If you're not satisfied with DE, Garden's Alive has a product that I find helpful. Everything they sell is organic.

yes, I've heard of that company - thanks, Dave - I'll check them out just in case.

Finally got a mostly good day of work in the garden! The mostly part was because my rototiller kept pooping out. Spent a hunk of time trying to get it to run right. But even still, I tilled, put down fabric cover & planted my veggie garden, tilled & prepared my new perennial garden, got in an Agway run, did some work on my pond.
I'm exhausted but one more good day and I will be ready for May 15 :P

I did a whole day of yard work yesterday too. Slept so hard last night that I am up earlier than usual today. I love it , it's a weekend and I'm up with the birds. I'll try to take some pictures later on of my work so far.

Dave47 - I LOVE Gardens Alive products. I also love that they have so many coupons that I get everything at half off. Their fruit tree fertilizer is the best for berries and their bulb fertilizer is my favorite for daffodils and tulips. I like that everything is organic, that the packaging is brown paper bags and that they deliver it to my door as I *sometimes* get distracted at the nursery by plants when I go to buy fertilizer. The couple of times I've used their pest products - they have worked very well.

Here's a few pics for everyone...

and a few of the yard...

Yankee, I agree. from pantry moths to slugs they have worked great.

Anita, another great job! How do you fit all those gardens? I assume by the proximity of your neighbor & where you live that your lot is limitted in size.
My favorite is the path!

Dave

Sunday was another long day in the garden for me. My new garden is taking shape. It is like a horseshoe (a little more squareish) and probably runs 50 feet by 4 feet.So far it has 7 roses plus 5 mini roses, a lily tree, veronica, echinacea, shasta daisies, a grass, butterfly weed. I am filling in with annuals (zinnia, love-lies-bleeding, kiss me over the garden gate, lobelia) which are just seedlings at this point.

Very satisfying. Eventually I will fill in the midddle of the horse shoe leaving just path and a bench.

Dave
PS After I planted a few jack-in-the-pulpits, I realized that they grow wild on the edges of my property. Very cool.

Thanks Dave. The stone path is recycled from my neighbor's patio, which was my great uncle's at one time. That is part of the yard that I reclaimed from overgrown bushes and is still a work in progress - even more so than the rest of the yard. The center grass section is where I want to put the raised veggie garden next year and a possible water feature - I keep playing with this idea.

What about you.....pics......please....

I like it all but I meant the grass path.

ahhh..that's 'The Hill'. Pretty good for sleigh riding in winter...

Anita, in the first collage, what is the top flower? Very pretty.
Andy P

Angelonia/snapdragon -annual. Aren't they beautiful? I have them in white and purple too, I might try them from seed next year.

Wicked hot here again today.

Anita - you gotta recycle those stones


This just landed in front of me when I was outside.

He's pretty Al - I had one too, but he didn't sit still long enough for me to grab the camera...must have had ants in his pants!

Al, is the New England slang wearing off on you. It's 'wicked' hot here, too. LOL.
Is that Black Swallowtail on the Bush Cranberry?

Lets cool down with a white 'Star of Bethlehem'. (Thanks Boojum for the ID)
Andy P

Just seeing if Dena was lurking.

Andy - yes and yes

That's nice, is that a bulb?

Al, Yes.

OK - I really have been happy with my recent photos. I liked this one from a school field trip last week.

Looks like fun

Great pic, but your daughter doesn't look too happy? Is it the ride or the fact that you are taking her picture?

Is it your daughter or just some kids you were stalking?

and who's the kid on the leash on the ground??

OMG! The kid is leashed to his mom, plus wearing a harness with an emergency leash (hanging between his legs-no really) and now I'm thinking his other arm is glued to the wagon.
Someone call WI Protective Services!

I know all about the tethered kids, there are leash laws in Green Bay.

This photo is not as good, but took about 15 shots to get.

now the smile's getting squeezed out of her!!! Oh man-I so remember that ride! You can't help but laugh! Now I couldn't help but feel sick. I used to love all those rides and now I just can't stomach them...very sad...

Here is the left side of that new garden I'm working on:

Here is the right side:

I love the stumps...they make such great planters. Are those woods behind you or just a wooded area? Do you have an issue with deer? Looks like you've put a lot of work into that bed. How much did you have to clear out?

There is a small wooded area on 2 &1/2 sides of my house. Its not very thick and for some reason I have little or no deer problem (Some years I've had one visit, other years none.)
I had to clear most of it out. The right hand side borders my veggie garden so that was easy. Tough vines! Still fighting to come back.
Stumps are also containers, tables or chairs.

I always made my gardens wider than the managable 3-4 feet they recommend. This is the first time I can reach without stepping into the garden. I lived & learned!

I love that natural furniture look in the yard. My great-uncle had a home in PA on a hill. He created a nature path that weaved it's way down [due to the steepness] to one of the tributaries of the Delaware. All along the way there were steps, hand rails, benches at the most appropriate spots all made from the 'scraps' of clearing the path. I used to love walking that path. I still wished that my brother and I had had the money to buy the house after they had passed away. What a place to spend summers.

It sounds wonderful Anita!

Hello folks, I'm new to Dave's Garden and am happy to see this NE gardening forum! Can't really talk to non-gardeners about the little iris rhizome you rescued from an abandoned lot without putting them to sleep. I am really thrilled to be back gardening again - I just underwent a 2 year (yes, 2 year) whole house remodel. I have so much respect for plants - they have survived such torture and abuse. Before the project started, I moved a bunch of plants to a "nursery" area in hopes that I could protect them. Didn't work very well. Most of my garden beds ended up being "storage" areas for lumber, roofing material, extra bags of concrete mix and such.
I haven't let the poor weather stop me from getting back to digging in the soil this Spring. It turns our that nearly all my plants survived and are doing very well. During the renovation of my 110 year old house, it was necessary to remove one whole side of stone foundation (just boulders with no mortar) in order to attach the new foundation for an addition to the house. I ended up with MANY 3-5 foot boulders - my backyard looked like a moonscape. We dealt with the situation by using the rocks to terrace the backyard into 2 levels. so, this year's project is to use this terracing to create a rock garden. I am attaching a picture of the boulders that were removed from the original house.

you are so lucky! I have to gather rocks from a property 15 miles away. we are putting in a stone patio, surrounded by a low stone wall, and have been spending every weekend out in the fields getting rocks. my property is the end marane ( don't know how to spell this, my sister is a geophysisist, she explained it to me) so we don't have any rocks big enough to use for anything. i know how you feel though, we have a 1930 craftsman bungalow that we bought 3 years ago. it was basically abandoned since the 50s. the hedges were over the roof . we put on an addition, and buried the electric. this year we are hooking up to the sewer system, so my yard is full of ruts and construction debris. i can't wait til it's over. the mud is making me crazy.

Dave - do you have any of these in your pond? They are so nice.

Al, Are those yours? Very nice. I have 2 water lilies but neither one has yet bloomed.
How've ya been? Has it been cold in WI like here? Not as wet, I assume.

No they are not. I took that pic at the Rotary Gradens at the UMW Roundup yesterday. I might try growing them in a mini pot here soon.

Weather's OK here, cooler but nice.

Hey Andy, I think I made this referrence a while back about 1 of Brockton's favorite sons.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0545698/bio

I also mentioned shoes. Brockton was the leading makers of men's shoes for over 100 years. Funny the things that stay in my head from when I was a kid, especially 'cause now I can't remember my name on a bad day!
http://www.brocktonma.com/bhs/shoes.html