Plant collector or garden designer?

And this:

That's a beautiful picture! Something to look forward to, for sure. It will be here before you know it.

Viburnum carlesii smells good: scratch & sniff???

Blueberry Stalker:

about 6 - 8 more weeks:

This message was edited Jan 15, 2008 9:14 PM

here's a little buddy & some sunshine for you all...

thank you katye - perfect before the start of work.

Katye - loved the pics! They are beautiful! Eleanor

Kayte, I've been looking at nyquil and thera-flu for the past few days. Your pics are so uplifting after battling the January bug. Thank You!

nice picture kayte, my favorite time in the garden has to be early morning , when the dew is on the ladys mantle , coffee in hand making list of the days tasks . I can't wait!
laura

Beautiful Katye! I too have too many skeeters to be out at dusk. I love watching the stars and envy your clear, dark skies.

I am very envious of that camellia too. I tried once to grow what was called a hardy camellia and it did survive the winter but It was not a happy camper . I'd like to try again someday
laura

Wonderful photos, Kayte! Makes me wish spring was closer, like tomorrow.

I enjoy early evening in the summer but only when there's a breeze to keep the gnats/no see ums away. They certainly can spoil the beauty of the setting sun.

I tried 'hardy' fall blooming camellias also. All four died. One lasted three years.

What I am going through now with my Fairweather catalog underscores why I started this thread. I planned on buying around five or six plants - mainly shrubs, one pitcher plants and possibly a perennial. I currently have about 100 plants marked off! The 'weeding out' process is excruciating.

The elimination process is painful. I've gone through it with several plants.

How do you work the process? Length of bloom? Eventual size? Shade? Space?

All of that, plus cost and just appeal. Not easy.

My spring is closer than your spring. What is going on here? Answer in three pix.

Step #2 What is going on here? It could begin within just three weeks.

Call child welfare. That nut is overworking his grandson. :) What goes on here?

so far there is only one shrub that I am going to order it is royal azalea . I see one along rt 30 in weston ma that is just magnificent and maybe a korean spice viburnum . I also want to plant some evergreen trees that my birds will like along the back edge of our yard . although the winter is long it is beautiful out there the snow is still clinging to the branches of all the trees here and now the sun is out so it looks just magical

docgipe I am guessing that you pay him in pancakes : )

LOL, Laura. Hey, I'd work for pancakes, too. Great pics.

WINTER WOODLAND BLISS..........that pix is very nice.

Looks good doc! Yummy syrup soon. Nice shot Laura!

Love the real syrup and won't eat the fake store bought stuff.

Very nice winter photo! We should remember it in the heat of August.

doc, I've always wondered about the process of maple syrup. Thank you.

Laura, lovely photo.

Laura..........in a nut shell it takes about twenty to thirty gallons of sap boiled off to get one gallon of good quality syrup. Back yard evaporaters are not as efficient as commercially designed and built evaporators.

Nearly all of the collection is now done by running a series of soft plastic hoses from the tree to a main line to the evaporator. All those buckets are now being used by back yard hobby set ups like you just saw. It certainly was more quiet, simple and peaceful to see a team of horses pulling a sled to pick up the buckets. Those were the good ole days.

Let's repaint that Winter Wonderland pix. Have a sap bucket or two hanging on those distant edge trees. Imagina a horse with driver and sleigh going down the lane to bring in the sap. Finally show a strong steam escape from the outbuilding with a couple of guys splitting wood. That would be an original sugar shack operation.

My little operation is just to bring back the good ole days for a day or two a year. We boil about ten hours to get a gallon of syrup. Firewood use is about half a cord in two days. If we figured cost we would not be doing it. :)

Don't know why I didn't see this thread last week . . .

I have always been a "collector" - guess that's why I like the cottage garden idea. I just dump stuff wherever. But this past year I've been thinking about organizing the whole yard - because I have mini-gardens everywhere. So we'll see what becomes of it all.

Even if you figured the cost Doc, I think it would be well worth it! sometimes we just have to do things the old way to stay in touch with the generations. Just looking at those pictures, I find myself thinking about that younger generation remembering how to make maple syrup when he has his own young ones. And there you will be sitting on his shoulder, just as the ones that came before you sit on yours. All of you waiting for pancakes.

Its inspiring. Thank you.

Hi Polly K & Debilu--had to sub for my sis today, so I just got home. My niece lives in Pittsford--we try to visit every summer---she lives above the Erie Canal. Looove the garden centers out that way--we don't have too many, & they're mostly small, except for WFF. Used my gift Cert. to WFF & ordered a coconut lime ech. a purple pagan delph. a peach flambe coral bells---& that was the end of my money! I have ordered lots of dahlias this year from other sources----I was a little disappointed my dahlias didn't win at the fair last Sept.--I ordered some zippy ones this year. Loved all the pics--could almost smell the flowers & maple syrup!

That sounds like a nice group of plants to get.

You'll fit right in here, people on this forum love dahlias.

Please call me Polly.

Shall we call you Robin?

Victor, I got two Camellias last spring at FW. I checked on them last week and they look happy as peas in a pod.

The fall or spring blooming types? You are half a zone warmer than me too!

I think 1 was fire and ice. I'm not sure on the other one. Unfortunately I did not learn to save invoices until midway through last year. Now I keep them for circumstances like this and so I know which one is what. For some reason, I can thumb through invoices and know which plant is which even if I have more than 50 different cultivars. Is that odd or are we all like that?

It seems to come with the territory.

Good to hear Pirl. I was beginning to think I was some odd form of Invoice Savant.

Good one! Very good.

I have my invoices going back to '97.

10 years worth?! You're good, very good.