Spring NE Roundup - Saturday June 28th

I got home from work at 5 and cleaned 1/3 of the garden with the blower and rake... oh I got a blister even wearing gloves... and I already need to mow the stupid lawn... it grew and I mowed for the last time the day the first day we had snow! I swear that the grass hates me! so now I have to mow this stupid thing! can't believe that...

being totally fair: some places the grass really look thin and dead... oh well, so be it! I will have a contest and any of you guys can make suggestions about what I should do... what kind of grass grows ok with little water??? because I refuse to really water the lawn...

ok,another question :
I have an irrigation system - which I don't really use because I LOVE to water my plants... yes, I do it almost every day it's therapy for me! anyway, I need to have at least 4 hoses in the front - can I replace some of the sprikler heads for faucets? I am going to take away some sprinklers any way because they are annoying and I can't make them work... so they will be shut permanently! suggestions on where I can find help for this?? I have tryed the web and got nowhere... and I don't want to call a plumber or a landscape person... thanlks

Patti, thanks for my first chuckle of the day!!

Your anemone is beautiful too.

Wish I could help you Kass.

Kassia, try High Country Gardens, they are in the Garden Watchdog and they specialize in plants (and grass) that don't need a lot of water. I understand your therapy. xx, Carrie

Kassia - I have zoysia grass in my front yard and I have maybe watered it 10 times in 5 years. It makes a thick mat that grows very slowly. During the winter it goes dormant and turns yellow. It starts from plugs and you can come down to my house any time and take lots of plugs. Either this summer or next I will get rid of it altogether anyway. I already got rid of half the lawn with my dirt mountain! Google zoysia and see what you think.

Why don't you like it, Cat? xx, Carrie

My neighbor has half of his lawn zoysia and it looks like crap from late Nov until late April.

My "lawn" looks pretty bad year-round. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/52000/ I'd like to try this stuff. xx, Carrie

Victor - nice flowing, velvety yellow crap. I do like it, Carrie - I just don't want to have non-productive plants taking up land. (And by "land" I mean the little 20'x30' patch of lawn.) Most everything has to pull it's weight at my house.

In STL, everybody (slight exaggeration) has Zoysia grass. Why, it is as St. Louis as BBQ pork steaks and Budweiser. i always hated it as a kid because it is SHARP and not at all nice to walk barefoot or sit on...

Yes, I would tend to agree with Emily, Kass. The pvc lines used to feed the sprinklers is usually smaller than a standard hose size.

well, it's interesting... I looked at High Country - oh my goodness I want the thyme lawn... really interesting... I love the pink one... some great plants... I am hooked! I will get the thyme from Green mountain transplants - much cheaper...

I saw the zoysia too... I was thinking of getting some and Yankee I may take you on that offer... I want to just fix some areas... very small ones... but I refuse to use seeds and water for that!

I am going to try to install at least 2 faucets and see... if it does not work I will have to get a professional... but I am going to try!

I think mine are old enough to be 1/2 inch... the ones I saw are 3/4 ... well, what do I know!!!

oh, Kassia, I know, I don't just want the thyme lawn, I WANT THE THYME LAWN!!! Maybe with some chamomile in there too. But you, independent single woman, you can DO it! I have to convince all these other people how wonderful it would be, how much better his back would feel, etc. xx, Carrie

Not a great visual but classically Carrie!

Ick!

HAHAHAHAHA! Carrie, that is so funny! It's so amazing how some people live and breath for their lawn. I don't mind as long as they don't pressure me to do the same....and in this neighborhood let's just say there's no particular pressure to have a nice lawn. I admit, I would like something nicer than the dead yellow stuff that I have (and it's not even zoysia, just neglected for 40 years). The best luck I ever had with growing low-maintenance grass is to use the fluffy patch stuff that they sell in the Big Box stores. Put top soil on the bare spot, then hand seed the area, then some of that shaky-box granular fertilizer stuff, then the fluffy patch stuff which acts as a good mulch until things get going. OK, you do have to water every day for a couple of weeks, but the area that I did last year came back beautifully, and I'm certainly not going to water that.

David, I will take that as a compliment! xx, Carrie! (Sorry, Louise.)

Carrie, Boring you ain't!

Thank you, David. (God help me if I'm ever boring!) xxx, Carrie

I'm supposed to be on call for work the RU weekend, but have been "donating" some free work time last week and probably again next week, so I am going to ask for someone else to take my on call weekend, and try to make it!

Good Debi!

You are all so awesome. I wish I could come - we're going to Nashville that weekend. Ah, the south, and the amazing things they can grow there.
Laura

Hope you can make it, Deb! Looking forward to meeting you.

Deb - I'm so hoping you can come! And Laura, I'm sorry you won't be able to make this one.

Me too! Still have to tell DH, and decide whether to bring him or not, and what to do with the puppy. And where to stay. I'm thinking it might be fun to go solo.

Oh Carrie, you just described my next door neighboor!

well, guys, you all can come... I worked and worked and worked... finally I did garden... about 20 hrs this weekend... I am so tired I took 3 Aleve... every single muscle hurt but it's good pain!!!

so it's clean... well, I did not clean under the pine trees... looks actually nice... roses are prunned, pansies are planted (well, not all of them...) all the columbines came back... irises are growing and growing... dayliliies all came back! peonies, hostas are all growing.. I can not believe how much the irises multiplied! goodness gracious they double their amount...

so I finally have a garden again.... come everyone... it should be really nice this year....

Kassia, it was really nice LAST year! xxx, Carrie

Thanks Carrie... one day it will really be nice... with all plants the way they should be planted... I still struggle with size and what should go where.... texture and all that... so for a few years my garden will be like a lab!

Kassia, after a number of years of being really sad a frustrated that I couldn't make MY garden the way I wanted, and i couldn't even get my own husband and children to cooperate or even understand why I wanted what I wanted, I've pretty much adopted the philosophy that each garden is, or at least SHOULD DE a work in progress. They grow, they evolve, they change! The year that all your roses are perfect may be the year you decide you'd rather grow strawberries, or cactus, who knows? I can't wait to see your roses, as long as you're still growing them!!! xxxx, Carrie

Sounds wonderful, Kassia! I can't wait to feast my eyes on all of your lovelies!! I'm so looking forward to it! Enjoy Spring!! And don't have too many of those 3 Aleve days!!

Louise, Carrie is right, Kassia's garden was beautiful last year!! Here's just one photo from last year's RU at her house.

Oh, that IS so beautiful! Kassia, you should be so proud. And, Carrie's right. Gardens are always a work in progress.

ok, the first pictures....

oh what a difference... no grass! look the irises...

now... these are the roses that were inside the garage... Tuscan Sun, Outrageous and Lady of Guadalupe...

pansies... I love them...

could not resist those English Daysies... they are soooo cute....

my favorite sign....

some more pansies to plant....