Hi all, your phantom thread starter here, lol.
I'm sitting on the patio again, right where this whole thread got started last year. It's warm and sunny with the scent of Apple blossoms in the air, AHHHHH.
Page 11 was getting long http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/710290/ so .......
Sidekick Sarah is laying in the shade after enjoying a 'kibble-cicle'. The birds are at the bird bath and singing and the baby caterpillars are munching the baby leaves.
Andy P
Yea - more Andy. Now, that is a good thing! Thanks for the picture. My Saturn peach started leafing out this morning. I was soooo worried because it was the last to leaf: I waited two years for that particular peach tree. And I found a single leaf on the tea camilla that wasn't all brown - so maybe it survived. Life is good when the sun shines.
Andy, you're sounding downright poetic! Are we invited for iced tea on the 'Musings patio'?
See, Andy, we get rowdy, far-fetched and generally we think we're more A-musing than actually musing without you.
xxx, Carrie
Good news for me today - my solar system was officially turned on! Here's a photo of the meter. The left arrow in the bottom left-hand corner means they are buying from me!
Totally awesome!
How many of us are crashing at Kassia's on Sunday? :-) Of course, I suspect she will put us to work planting for her . . . .
Thanks! Well apparently I'm expected.
Alas . . I can't make it to Kassia's - I have to plant my own plants . . .
Andy, good to see you! and nice to picture you on the patio with Sarah in the sunshine.
Just delivered 3 dozen strawberry plants to the people I work with. I still have 5 or 6 dozen plants to dig up. Sigh. I need to go to a different department and ask for strawberry adoptive parents.
My new plants should be arriving from Raintree Nursery any day. Why oh why did I think I could fit five more trees in my yard? I dug up some of the lawn along my driveway that might actually belong to my neighbor for the lingonberries I ordered. He's always nice about me gardening in his yard. :) I'll put in a brick mowing strip when I get a chance. The three Maine apple seedlings I planted in his yard last year are leafing out. I've already dug around in the day lillies we put around his porch, replacing some with Stellas from my yard and digging some of the natives for Kassia - then I bought real mulch for them. I wish he'd hurry and get his siding replaced so I could move some other plants from my yard in between his roses to cut down on the weeding this year. Life is good.
OK, what's with Kassia's this weekend?? Why wasn't I invited?
xxx, Carrie :-] (that's me with a forced smile)
What a nice anniversary musing, Andy. Glad you're back.
Well put, Carrie--a-musing vs. musing. So funny.
Congratulations, Victor!! Having your own solar system is quite an accomplishment..... Seriously, it's a good thing. A very good thing.
This is the first bloom on one of my new mini roses. It's called Salute.
Thanks, guys.
Victor, all are welcome to the 'patio' but it's really a round patio table that I roll around for sun or shade. It's all lawn & gardens. You should be generating plenty of electricity this week. It's getting hot. The 'patio' has been moved to the shade, lol.
Carrie, A-Musing is fine, lol.
Yankee, It's getting late to plant strawberries. Mine are in full bloom now. That was a bed I planted last spring, they filled in nicely. I actually had to thin them out a bit. It's so warm and dry that I've started to water them. Last year we were in a 3 week monsoon.
I moved my Amaryllis out today. Under some trees for a while to get used to the great outdoors and not get sun burned. They were getting lanky in a west window.
I've had a very hard time getting the tomato seedlings to prosper. I'm not sure what went wrong but I may have to buy plants, heaven forbid, lol. I'm going to plant them this weekend, a bit early. If a frost gets them, so be it. They are not doing much in the pots.
My pepper seedlings are doing fine. Go figure.
This is the first year that the cold frame is NOT overflowing. I hardly started any seed compared to past years. Anybody want some seeds?
My veggie garden is shrinking too. No peas, cantaloupe or onions this year. Maybe I can drop some perennial seeds in there.
I have Dahlias, oxalis and glads coming out of my ears. There is a fund raiser plant sale this Saturday, I may donate something there.
It's a curse, you know. To save all these bulbs, roots, tubers and seeds.
This is my patio, lol.
Andy P
Andy -yeah I know it is late to plant strawberries - I just hate the thought of pulling them out and throwing them away. I tell the new parents to cut off the blooms when they plant.
I LOVE your patio!!!! I have a standard city lot - most of which is occupied by house and driveway. You are soooo lucky Sarahskeeper!
Yank, I have some strawberry plants growing around the compost pile. I'm heartless if there is no room, out they come. The first couple of years I tried very hard to find homes for the extras. It was so dissapointing to find out later that they died in a basement or were planted in 'death valley'. I found that people must REALLY want plants of any kind. If you push too hard, they will take stuff just to make you feel better then let the little things languish and die. I know this sounds awfully negative but I'm not shy to ask about my plants later in the season. Now I make a simple offer and leave it at that. If someone wants stuff, they better not hessitate because the offer will not be repeated. There is always room in the compost bin.
I think this is the year for the Bishops Children Dahlia to become compost. They can join bunches of day lilies already there. (The day lilies were from seed, ugly ones, lol)
Boy, I'm long winded today.
Andy P
Seandor, I'm in the city, too. The lot size and well was a big factor in building here. I have a third of an acre, big for the city. Most of it is in the back where I have privacy from all the evergreens I planted 20 years ago.
I could never do this again, although I would surely like to move to a better side of town.
Andy P
Andy - does Sarah join you for a mint julep or iced tea??
She gets the Kibble-cicles, ice cubes with kibble in them. They are a great Summer treat, cool. She is barking at a cat on the other side of the fence right now.
Let me tell you, this apple blossom smell can almost be overpowering at times. The big 'Bobwhite' crab is almost at peak, I can smell it from 50 feet away but I'm only 15 feet away. I may need a bath when I go in, lol.
Andy P
Love apple blossom scent, though anything can get overwhelming. I have noticed that a big 'weed' problem in my beds this year is turf grass! Almost impossible to get out once it surrounds / grows through the plants without pulling out the plant with it. Anyone have any tricks or tips?
That's one reason that I finally divided some Day lilies this Spring. Just to 'clean' them up. The grass had invaded to make an unsightly mess.
Andy P
I keep making new gardens, so I'm always struggling with turf grass. Got smarter on the last one and used Round Up first. I was surprised that RU broke down in the soil so quickly.
A blank canvas is nice. It's when the grass invades an existing bed that it becomes a nightmare.
Well, 20 minutes to eat some cereal, then it's out to the gardens. Sometime this weekend. I will start taking pictures -lots of pictures of the work so far.
A few flowers have bloomed here finally!
another tulip
and another......
I cheated and bought this one......
a few more tulips
side view of those funky ones
the inside of the funky one
a purple tulip
pansy's
Here's one of the beds...they are not all up yet. I'm still waiting on "Blueberry Bliss" and a few other tulips to emerge.
Wow Pixie, that is quite a display!
Thank you for the nice morning treat, Pixie. So pretty.
I love your patio too, Andy. You have the garden that I dream about.
Pixie - you got a dahlia already! what a cheater
your tulips are nice, they sure have those in any color combination you would want don't they.
Al - you forgot the question mark.
I think I made myself clear? Didn't I!
