Happy Birthday, Kassia

True . . . 'cause the alternative is rather deadly . . . :-)

Seandor, ya got me chuckling. Yup.

I'm a little late but...

Whoa. Well, blow me down. That's gorgeous Andy.

Harper

lol!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks Andy... that's pretty amazing... is that one of the gladiolas you gave me???? if so I am going to set a camera and wait for her to bloom!!!!

I just came back from dinner ... another b-day present!!!

Yes mam, that's your Priscilla.

wow.... I am going to set a camera.... I check everyday ... all the plants... not a lot of change for the grape, and the glads... the lillies look happy and the butterfly bushes are begining to show growth... I still have to plant the dahlias this coming weekend... when should I expect Priscilla to show some growth???


that;s where they are planted... surrounded by lillies and irises ... and zinnias ...

Kassia - mine aren't showing any signs of growth either. We have to be patient and that's the hardest part of gardening for me.

45 sounds pretty good to me! and I like Seandor's 37, too. wouldn't go any younger than that.

I'm not seeing my hosta yet (they may be up under the new mulch), but the new lilies and iris I planted last fall are all up and looking good!

I bought some irises at an end of the season sale and knew they'd struggle outdoors so I planted them and held them over on the indoor, unheated porch, all winter. They're doing great and, hopefully, will be planted soon - maybe even today.

oh patience... I will give them another day!!!! oh well, more than a day... I still have the gigantic rugosas I got from Susy to plant... I mean the roots and the canes are gigantic... I am impressed... and they were trully taken out of the ground... with plenty of growth... even from the roots... really amazing...

yesterday I planted The Bishop., The Alexandra Rose. Belle de Crecy, and Belle Pointevine... Oh I had such a great time!!!

Kassia, I potted up all the young grape cuttings, one of the 4 is showing some bud swelling. The Glads can take a couple of weeks to show up. I see you divided the Iris, it's good you placed them near the edge of the bed. They spread and need dividing every few years. I started to plant the Dahlias last weekend, they take a couple of weeks to show, too. The Redskin can flower in 7 weeks.
I should have given you some strawberry plants, it's too late to move them now ~ they are in bloom. Six weeks to ripe fruit.
Good luck, don't rush it. Summer will be over soon enough.
Andy P

Yes. Patience. ...sigh... I know how you feel Kass. Your flower bed looks so ripe for growing. In July it's gonna be packed!

"Summer will be over soon enough" Bite your tongue Andy!

even with all the heat for the first time I am not complaining!!!!

I am. I have a narrow window of acceptable temps. 63-ish to about 78. If I'm not doing anything physical - maybe about 82.

CZJ is bound to increase your tolerance.

Wherever she be, it's heaven for me.

She was looking for you today but you were out hiking so she went to Dave's but........he was sick.

Dave did not show proper reverence for her.

Why is she so special?

Let me count the ways...

I think pirl is special. She gives me great advice on my plants - especially roses. :-)

Thank you!

My DH, Jack, called Park's re an order we hadn't yet received and they said they were shipping them that very day. Then they made him an offer of red roses (how's that for a man's description? No name - just "red") and he took them up on the offer because he got two for the price of one. Now I wonder where he'll plant "his" roses! He's been busy turning compost and rototilling. The soil looks like Devil's Food Cake Mix.

Pirl; Is this going to ben a competition of the rose gardens??

oops, that should be "be" not ben.

Nope. It's the vegetable garden: the feast of the tomatoes, cukes, peas, broccoli, cabbage, beans, radishes, etc.

oh, my, pirl. now I have soil envy. at my old house I had a big veggie garden for many years. I amended it every year, tilled it, and still the soil was heavy clay. now I am growing my veggies in big, self-watering containers. all my beds are flowers.

here's my 'Big Boys' from last year

oh that's so cute that he got roses just like me... I would totally do that!!!! I wish my sister could do something like that... lol...

well, my mom arrives Monday... and I hope she will be happy with the garden... I have my doubts... but she may need to get used to the idea at first... and of course when the roses start showing off their beauty it might be what I need to sell the idea... so I decided to leave some spots for Karla and my mom to do it... and also the veggies have not arrived yet so when it gets here it will be a family job... and I am also leaving a bed for Victor and Alec to plant... this way if I am the cool auntie kassia they will be on MY side... I need all the help I can get... so I figure I should start them early...

Pirl, do you have a mantis??? I am thinking about getting something like that...

gram - your tomatoes look grand! It must be much easier to harvest from the Earth Boxes.

Kassia - You are a good aunt to allow your nephews room for plants. That's a good way to enlist their help. Yes, it is a Mantis, Kassia and we love it. Just a bit tough to pull the cord for me.

The trend is away from tilling. It damages the soil structure - physical and biological.

Some people go a lot deeper than we do. What appears to be soil is mostly compost.

Is that all your homemade stuff?? I have to build a three bin system and start composting for real.

YES! All ours. We have six bins. Lost the seventh when we had the shed installed. Jack's been turning compost and making more this week, adding the huge amount of grass, little by little, and boy are those piles cooking!

That's some good lookin dirt Pirl.

Did you ever get the 'plans' for the bins from Jack, Pirl?

Jack "plans" to make compost in them.

I remember one show with Paul James advocating peeing in the compost, after drinking beer - to activate it.

I've been remiss. I'll try to get him to write down the plans in the morning. He's always on the move - simply amazing. I know he got them from a book and that's how he made the first three. Then, when he was making the other four (now three) he decided to make them deeper - BIG mistake. It's too much of a reach to get to the back of them with either pitchfork. Still he manages to do it. He'll be 77 in two weeks.

NO PEEING IN THE BINS! Only sick people do that. Sorry, Dave.

Well, You can pour the beer on before you drink it but that seems such a waste!