what have you bought so far? part three

I think I just smothered my astilbe. I got some great, solid roots from CN, but I didn't know how deep to plant them. They already had little leaves starting from the root. Can the little stems be under the soil? I think the daylilies will be alright, although I think I planted those too shallow. The pictures on the labels look just luscious. I love my butterfly bush because the butterflies love it, but the blossoms smell strangely yeasty. If I'm going to put my nose in a flower, I'd rather get some lilacs. So glad for the recommendations!

How deep did you plant the astilbe? Two to three inches should be fine.

I loved the smell of my butterfly bush before I killed it.... :-( I have another one growing (not dying - dormant, I hope . . .) inside, I will plant it soon. Can I put it in a container? If it's not dead, I mean?
xx, Carrie

That's about how far down the top of the root is. Each whole root piece is about 5 to 6 inches long, so I put them in the ground vertically, with the little stems about 3 inches down. I didn't know if the starter leaves should be at ground level or if it was OK that they were so far down. They just didn't look like they should be above ground, very delicate at this stage. I was hoping that they could push their way up.

That's true about the onion flowers, I had 2 purple globes that lasted about 2 weeks I didn't realize what they were until I remembered I had planted the end of a cut off onion just for fun. Next time I'll take a pic! ☺

drumlin - they should be fine and, yes, they will push their way up through the earth.

WC - such fun for even a common onion!

... yes it was a very pleasant surprise! (better not let 'King Kullen' know they'll start charging $4.50 an onion!). ☺

Ha! That's a good one.

Ok...I hope I'm doing it right. I realized, beside the DL's that I've either won, or bid on...I wasn't posting any pics of what I've been purchasing. Onewish, I believe had a link to your journal, posting all of the pics, with some links. SO...I got to journaling...it's a royal PITA...but I'm getting there...I have about...30%...lol...listed so far...didn't realize how stunning the dahlias looked combined...until I saw the journal...here is my link, which is going to be a major work in progress...some pictures load really quick, others take as long as 2minutes!
http://davesgarden.com/tools/journal/viewbystatus.php?status=18992

uh oh.... don't see any dl's there.... i clicked on your name and then went into your journal that way... only see hostas & roses with entries

edit -- that's funny I just checked again and there are more entries....

http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/vbc/Hemhostaholic/59617/

This message was edited Mar 16, 2008 7:41 AM

The dahlias are great, Thom, and we ordered a few of the exact same coleus!

You have made a great start on your journal Thom. Some great choices in all categories. You are right about putting all the pics together certainly does help to visualize your selections as a whole.

don't know what got into me this year .... going crazy with the journal... but i hope this can help me in the future

http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/sj/onewish1/0/

Pixie:

Some poor gal was in the check-out line next aisle over from me at Hannaford's yesterday with two of those lovely campanula plants. I squealed with delight and went right over to her and checked them over and over! I couldn't believe how pretty the campanula were.

I must have made quite a fool of myself but she seemed very proud to have someone notice her plant baby purchase. But my DDs were rather embarrassed!

Thanks for the suggestions. i'll try to take a picture today. Thom and Victor - wow! i'm not sure how i feel about 10 - 12' grass - i didn't know you could get it that big!
i am way too picky about how things smell to try the butterfly bush - it would also be right by windows - under ours, and just across from our downstairs neighbors, so i'd hate to inflict something upon us or them. i really don't want something flowering at all, because of the bees and bugs. (i know, i have strange preferences, but that's just me...)

Go to a nursery and take a sniff!

As opposed to the fragrant dumpster?? What about a lattice of some sort? They can be inexpensive and give you instant screening.

After I get back from doing laundry today, I'm going to attempt to list pics of all of the DL's that I've bought, both from nurseries, and from the lily auction. Also, I'm going to try and list all of my annuals/tender perennials (under tropicals tab). I didn't realize how much of everything there is...I'm gonna be really really busy.

The dumpster is farther away, and i didn't put it there.
Nothing structural, because of the transformer. And because it is NOT my property.
i tread a very fine line between making improvements and making trouble. i cannot forget, as much as i'd like to, that it a) doesn't belong to me, and b) many other people share access to this area too.

But now i am wondering - is there a reason i shouldn't want a tall grass? Because i feel like you are trying to "gently" dissuade me from that idea, which i like. And i know that you know a lot more about, well, everything growing than i do...
So, please - what am i not taking into account?

No, not at all. Remember I said earlier that you can plant something else in front of whatever grass you choose while you're waiting for it to grow. My only advice was to try to get one that will not be a floppy mess after a rain. A number of 'Karl Foerster' grasses is what I would personally choose. But you can pick any others that will stay upright and grow relatively fast.

Allison!!! ♫ ♫ ♫♫ ♫ ♫♫ ♫ ♫♫ ♫ ♫! Are all those annuals you have listed as germinated ones you have germinated inside? I really have to evict the girls in favor of a sun/plant room! Fomenting rebellion, Carrie (PS nice journaling, guys!)

This is Blue Fescue - ornamental grass. Started March 10th in seed starter soil. If you can see it with hitting the picture. It has come time to move on.

Now since I start from seed and move up here is what I do. The pots have been filled with potting soil. The little tiny seedlings are moved into there home. I put in Osmocote as this soil has no nutrients. These "IF" they make it will have a home in MY GARDEN. What I don't use freinds will get the 1st dibbs, then will go for sale or maybe back to MY Garden.

Just to show you how small and delicate they are! Now don't forget I have a GH and I am a basic commercial grower.

I loved the dahlia pics--what's Cyril doing in there with all the whites & purples? You'll have to get some yellows to keep him company--Cyril being my DH's middle name, I guess I'm partial to it. Isn't it strange that some folks don't like the smell of butterfly bushes, & some do--Pirl, I would love for mine to take over as they are masking our ugly dog fence--but they don't --we're marginally hardy here, & I have 2 left. I hope!

ok, i am displaying my shame for all to see.
This is taken standing under my/my neighbors bedroom window.
The stars mark where i want to put the grass. i think just the 2 in front, and i'll leave the back one so i can walk through. The front side is the one that is supposed to have 10' of clearance. i may put cosmos there again. (The mulch covers 20 mixed Darwin tulips, from a bag of 40 i got for $3. We'll see.)
Hopefully, the grass will also screen some of the trash that blows out of the dumpster, which no one ever seems to close.

yes. see my lovely garden.
sigh.

And here it is from my kitchen window.

Don't blame you for wanting to screen that. As far as the transformer goes, are you allowed to put a pot in front of it if it's not too heavy?

For that matter, you might want the grasses in pots too. This way you can move them around to give the best screen and get extra height. Many are hardy to zone 3 so they can be left outside.

Most, if not all, of the purple/lavender and bitone white/lavender and all white dahlias are going in the large bed that I'm creating...I'm patient, to a point...so I figured what better way to fill a large space, that will eventually be mostly white/purple, than with white/purple dahlias. The red, yellow, and red/yellow combo are going to be introduced onto my tropical theamed deck. I added all that I bought, I know there is one order out there from Plants Delight, but I don't have the invoice. I know I ordered 2 cannas, and 2 elephant ears, but that's where the order stops with me...lol. The company told me that they were having problem with sending emails to peeps, and peeps not receiving them due to anti-cookie programs, and spam filters. I think mine ended up in the spam filter.
Pirl...great minds think alike!
Victor...in the pic-journal are some of the mini/dwarf conifers that I searched out, researched, and am buying.

Most if not all of the pics are from the websites that I ordered the items from, with a few exceptions...most of the hosta pics are from hostalibrary.org and some of the dwarf conifers I had to search high and low for pics. I hope I didn't infringe upon any copyrights!

Took a total of 6 hours to DL the pics from websites, organize them, rename the pic/file, type everything in, and then upload to my DG Journal...again, some pics DL'd really quick, others took upwards of 3-4 minutes!

I hope everyone enjoys!

Checked it out, Thom - nice!

Victor, if you don't get the Forest Farm catalog, or haven't ordered from them before, they have tons of dwarf/mini conifers listed. Some don't have pics...but once I click and paste it...there is a grower, Iseli Nurseries I believe is their name, they have pics of many of the mini/dwarf conifers. I'll try and clip/paste it with another post. Most of the minis that Forest Farm sells are in their tube sizes, some can be bought in gallon, and larger sizes, although shipping starts to escalate after the tube sizes...LOTS...lol.

Here it is:
http://www.iselinursery.com/index.htm

I didn't realize how many dwarf conifers were out there! There was a couple I met through a bird club...don't laugh any of you...lol...who had a Japanese inspired/themed garden, they had nothing but conifers, largely dwarf, and JM's...it was spectacular to be seen!

Thanks Thom. Looks nice and I will look at it more closely. Yes, there are lots of dwarf conifers. The combo with JM's - especially the reds - is gorgeous. Here is one I'm getting (not from this site though):

http://www.tinytreasuresnursery.com/Plant%20Pages/Crypto%20j%20Knaptenensis.htm

Here's one I already have:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/178985/

Amy, I'm worried that the place you want to plant whatever it is you end up planting is too compacted and industrialized - I'm not sure anything would grow in that - I think Victor's idea of containers is a good one. I'm a big proponent of using containers for small spaces so you can adjust/control the placement, the soil, the sun, the shade, etc. xx, Carrie

One problem with pots, as with everything for me, is cost. i ave thought about it, though. They want to fill the whole sqare around the transformer with mulch because it is too hard to cut grass there.
But, the transformer bothers me relatively little, as compared to the dumpster. And also, i am not deluding myself into imagining that i will suddenly have a sylvan paradise. i am always going to see the dumpster. It will always be surrounded by asphalt and yellow painted curbs. i just want to minimize the impact a little.

The cost of the pot or the cost of the dirt? I can usually find some old thing to use as a pot - it's the dirt that I gag at shelling out the $$ for.... ♫ ♫ ♫, Carrie

A little creativity turns any type of container into a nice one.