Whats blooming outside your door

I have this, too. It's a fabulous bloomer, but not quite yet in my area!
There are some other very cool Halimiocistus - they aren't easy to come by here.

i sooo much like these better than the plain old colored cistus....... much more interesting

Today I caught my lab sprawled on top of my white Halimiocistus. It is now a horizontally branched shrub. Not sure why she thought it was comfy, but....

Katye and Shokami ~ Love the cistus. Really cute and honest little flowers.

Gordon ~ Is that Himalayan blackberry? AARRGGHH! I have so many berries and am going rapidly insane because of them! Even the natives are driving me bonkers! Some Himalayans remain on our property, some of which will not be removed because they are in areas that are going to remain "natural" but others which will be long gone before the spring is over. The ones to be removed are flowering, of course, the others are not yet. I must admit, they are quite pretty flowers and the berries tasty, but nonetheless, they must go! Absolutely love the Zante, though!

Katye...what's not to understand? I would sprawl on that as well! ^_^

i have one to coco........ but its not as full as your :(

Gordon, very cool about the camellia!

Carla, love the birdhouse with the green roof-and hens & chicks, cute!

I just bought a purple Pulsatilla but I think I'd like to add a red one as well. I looked for one today but mostly they were purple or white or very small.

Like the cistus, too.

Outta, like that scilla! Btw, been meaning to tell you--Oh Growup! (metal trellises & such-will be at Sequim's lavender festival) makes some garden stakes and such with round fused glass elements at the top, and also a square-based, four-legged trellis that would look very cool in the middle of a potager. Why am I telling a fused glass artist this, you ask? Because I talked to the owner, and she will make the stakes and trellises that fit the glass, but without the glass-and charge less....



This message was edited Apr 13, 2008 10:30 PM

Susy. . .that is so cool! I've been thinking about firing up the kiln again and seeing what comes out of it. Also have a bunch of gourds that still need to have something done with. DH and I were talking about how to incorporate them both into the gardens. Don't think it will be a problem at all, just have to have the beds in which to put the stuff. I think the plantings will really determine the artwork. I did order an obelisk from Plow and Hearth today for the center potager bed which I think will look really nice with Nasturtium 'Jewel of Africa' climbing up, hopefully! Hope I will be able to check out the festival this year. Last year, helped my young glass artist friend with her booth at Purple Haze Lavender Farm so didn't get a whole lot of time to peruse vendors at the main market. Should be able to this year, though. I really enjoy it. Maybe we can make a DG/PNW day at the Festival this year?

A DG day at the festival would be lots of fun! I've been thinking that the Flower & Garden Show at Pt Defiance Pk in June might make for a good DG day, too.

Plantings determining the obelisks makes sense. I'm going to experiment with the stakes and see what I come up with-sans glass, a 5 ft stake was $5...I'm not sure I've got room for the larger square-based one in any case. I saw some other fabulous trellises and screens with glass today-really well done stuff. It's giving me a few ideas. (I've started Thunbergia 'Blushing Susie' from seed (hey, I can't go wrong with that one, right?), so I'll be growing that up one of my trellises, and maybe up one of my lilies like I did last year. )

My weeping Forsythia Has bloomed. At least its something.

83* here today... I thought you all were blowing cooler weather my way!! :o(

NOOOO, that's not a himalayan blackberry. That's a native salmon berry. A very pretty shrub. I just took cuttings from one at my sister's house. they are well behaved and delicate.
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/alaska/images/rubus_spectabilis_lg.jpg

OUtta, the zone thing is wierd, it's true. It seems like they should pay as much attention to the heat as to the cold. I think there is another scale that takes that into consideration more. And Sunset magazine has it's own zone chart, too. Also the idea of full sun, part shade, etc. I find that up here, things that need part shade in other locations, like hydrangeas, do better with full sun or at least way more sun than you would think. Even hostas can take full sun if they are in the right kind of soil and get plenty of moisture. I'm not sure there is any rule of thumb that you can go by, except that if it's a plant from a warm tropical zone, it's not likely to reach its full potential here. For instance, my ginger grows really nicely, but I never get any blooms from it even though it has as much sun as I can give it, and it's supposed to like partial shade better. Ha! Not in my yard, it doesn't! Same with elephant ears. They need so much heat to get going that it's July before they do anything. I get nice 'ears', but they'll never be as big as the ones down south. So you just have to get the 'feel' of things, and that takes awhile.

I saw an image of that salmon berry that had double flowers. It was a beauty!

I think the newer hostas handle sun better than some of the older cultivars.

Outta, The zone thing is weird. Pixy's got stuff that's ahead of my same things-and she does have lots of shade. Not sure how that works, but a lot of my main gardening space is on the north side of my house, and maybe Pixy's has more southern orientation? It just takes a lot of time observing how your plants perform in different spots. Some places may be colder or more exposed, and vice versa.

I finally have Daffodils!

And I had to save this little guy from HUGE puppy feet! Sorry it's a little blurry and the color isn't as prominent.
Susan

Yay! Daffodils! The anenome looks very happy to be saved from puppy feet! :)

Thanks Sue! Here's a pic of who owns those puppy feet! Have to go feed the guys that own those feet so BBL!
Susan

This message was edited Apr 14, 2008 8:24 AM

beautidul pups gardener!! i had 2 black labs (had to put one down a few months back) they were brothers, awesome dogs. 13 years old. other one so far is doing ok, but i think he too might be getting some unfriendly lumps, so , so far so good he's still up and hopping around! yay!

Thank you! That's great shokami. Our dear beloved Cheyenne was 2 months shy of turning 14 when she crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. This pic was taken 2 weeks before her passing. She had bone cancer in her right shoulder. Q-how did the one you have now handle losing his brother? Was he depressed at all? Ok that's 2 questions! LOL!
Susan

This message was edited Apr 14, 2008 10:03 AM

hi.......
he seemed rather confused for a week or so, he kept looking for his brother. then seemed to go throught a depression period. but we paid alot of attention to him, even brought him into the house (they were normally outside dogs, because they like to munch on our cats) and took him for alot of walks. he seems to be doing ok now. just waiting out until its his time.....sigh. will be having to put down one of our very old siamese this week though wahhhhhhhh.............. :( shes 18. has lots of troubles...................

the vet said that the dogs will do this and its perfectly normal, just give them lots of love which we did and do.

hi
Sorry to hear about your cat. 18 is a long time to live for a cat, love her while you still can. Which I'm sure you do.
Thank you for the info on your dog, that's something we will have to go through I'm sure when time comes as they don't pass at the same time. DH didn't want another dog right now but these boys definitely filled the void in my life since I don't work and Cheyenne was my constant companion. I still miss her desperately though.
Susan

Her is my lunatic cat Marshmellow. He thinks he is a dog! Follows me around evrywhere, loves to chase after me when I mow the lawn on the rider. He is 11 and slowing down a little. So sorry to hear about you cat, shokami! The oldest cat we had was kiyi( I still have a scar from that cat) who lived to be 24. So sad to lose a pet you had for so long. But we still talk about how kiyi would destroy the Christmas tree if she smelled any catnip around it. You had to hide her catnip toys till after we opened presents, or she would open all of them!!


Thanks for the id pixy! They don't taste all that bad and is a nice bush, I really like the bark.

don't forget the microclimates that exist in your yard when you are thinking about zones.
It pays to spend a lot of time out on your property, large or small, in order to get a better understanding of what to expect.

Here is an easy way to do microclimate checks. Get a thermometer and check the soil temps at diffrent places around your house and in your yard. Many delicate perrenials and tropicals need at least 40 plus soil temp. I found the soil to be 15 degrees warmer on the south and west sides of the house than anywhere else. Helps when you are trying to plan beds and what to put in it. I use a temp probe from the restaraunt but even a baby thermometer will work. Put it down at least3-4 inches to get an accurate reading. Who knows? Maybe that alocasia will be okay outside now.

My cat Shadow turned 14 last Friday. We've had her since she was 6 weeks old. My daughter has a cat like your white one only with black spots. He thinks he's a dog also. Plays fetch too.

Now this tread has more ups and downs and I'm not sure which way to go, so I will go the fur way, I don't worry much about the other.
This is my Corky, She is Now 12, found her as a kitten at 5 weeks still very alert and funny at times, when she finds a piece of paper on the floor and just has fun with it, jumps all over the place attacking it. She is the oldest of the 4. I don't get many pics of her she stays in the house mostly.
This was taken last July

This message was edited Apr 14, 2008 8:50 PM

Wow Pixy, native salmonberry! I haven't torn any up yet of which I am aware but noticed what I think is some yesterday and thought about it. I thought it was blackberry because of the leaves and thorns, but it's got really pretty bright magenta flower starting to come out on it. Struck me as odd because the berry bushes have white flowers, at least that's all I've ever seen on it. I'll have to take a picture and put it up here for a positive ID.

Gordon...good idea about checking the temps of the soil. Right now I think everything is just plain cold but we'll see. And I think I'm just gonna give up on the zones, stay away from tropicals but otherwise plant what I like and cross my fingers!

Yep, outta, the blackberries have white flowers and also a different growth habit. These are not going to get out of control. Just pretty.

I know it has been on the farm for a very long time. The house was built in the 1920s and was bought by my parents in the 70s.The back is untouched. It would be fun to have evreything id so I know what is back there. Lots of vine maple and firs. There is this pussy willow that has grown thru this old cedar stump. Giant cedars once used to grow here.The trunks are all that remain. The bicycle tree was famous back in the day in Snohomish. A cedar trunk that was carved out big enough to walk or ride a bike thru. Punks burned it down years ago. Really peed me off when they did!!!

Wow tilly, your Corky looks like she could be my Spooky's older sister. He wasn't very happy here since it was cold out and I can't let him in the main part of the house. He's neutered but he still sprays the walls and worst of all the books on the bottom shelf, so he's been exiled from the main house. If it wasn't for me he wouldn't even be here as he doesn't have a very nice personality, everyone knows NOT to try and pet him. He was mistreated by a little brat when he was a kitten before we acquired him. He'll be 10 on the 28th of this month. I can pet him for about a minute and that's all. We have a game that we play (shadow) at night in the utility room, I turn the light on in the pantry and he chases the shadow of my hand as I move it all around and wiggle my fingers. We've been doing that ever since he was about 8 weeks old, started doing it in the kitchen and he still likes to do it periodically. Crazy cat.
Susan

I'm loving all of the plant pics, the only plants that are really doing anything around here right now are the Daffodils. The irrigation water was finally turned on over the week-end, the only problem is it's STILL cold at night. It was 24 at 6:00 this morning! BBBUUURRRR!!!! The poor Dafs are looking a little wilted, but at least I got this pic yesterday.
Susan

good rainy, sunny, rainy, sunny. etc............. day to y'all. this weather can not make up its mind today. to full of 'sucker holes' to really go out and do anything. got a cool few pics for you... i have a tiny little dwarf rhodie called 'carmen' that is blooming, it will only get 12" in 10 years. its soo tiny right now... the blooms are half the size of the plant!!

hmmmmm... something is going on i cant send the other pic of it.... saved it in two diff. spots and it wont go. poo well here is another tulip pick... right after a rain this am

and one more.........everything was sparkling with the sun for awhile.. so pretty

i would say brrr gardner........ , poor little daffs all alone lol heres pic of the two i have so far.. unfortunatly the grew facing away from the street so all people see is their backs!

105 they do look alike, but he looks more like Corkys son The Rat. he was called that because when he was born he was all ears and very tiny the runt, now is as a big cow. and the one next to him is Tilly

Great pics Shok. my tulips still havent opened.

Just got back from the nursery..bought some great plants.. had to
put on layers of clothing as it is cold again outside and I need to get the plants out of the car..Burr.. will send some pics of few of interesting plants I found today. One has both pink & purple delicate flowers on the same plant..can't think of the name right now..
Scratch the cat's belly... pet the Chihuahua's(their napping) and off
to the garden.
Feisty Kitty..4 yrs ..we just adopted her about 6 weeks ago.
Her name was the name she came with..and lives up to it every day. She has personality & attitude ! Loves chasing a laser light..
Has very long & thick fur .. a high maintanance girl!! :)

She is cute

I have a long hair too 'Miss Sassy' who also fits her name, more like Miss Prissy if you where to ask her. LOL
but I have no problems with her fur, she keeps it well maintained, but in the summer I do have to pull the burs out.

Cant wait to see what you brought home........

NOW I know where you got the name tillysrat. Very clever! I have 2 more, Champagne (long tailed Manx) she'll be 8 the 26th of June and Koregon (Ocicat mix) he'll be 6 the 1st of Sept. She's buff and he's tabby. This pic is VERY unusual since he loves to pick on her and she's always trying to hide from him. It's very seldom that they ever sleep together like this. She's in his bed on the water heater and he's in Spooky's on the washer, Spooky was outside. She's the PRISS of the house!
BTW-love the pics of your other cats.
Susan

This message was edited Apr 15, 2008 11:28 AM

Thats the pic that I got the name idea from, TC
How do you ever get to do laundry, Ha Ha
Its kinda like how do I get to make the bed. LOL