Planning Party at Outta's

OOH, sorry I missed that one! What a hoot!
Geez! Such service! Taking a break from building Sheri a light stand to bring Sheri and guest liquid refreshment! Some men are born to serve!

Rachel ~ we crossed, but yes, you're right. Not electricity as much as sparks. Oh yeah...and fire...hehehe...fire, yeah...I like fire!

But, Sheri, don't you like putting fires OUT???!!!

Yep...but you gotta HAVE fire to make it go away. ^_^ And sparks are so pretty.... (teeheehee)

You gotta laugh - those two were right at home with the battery and jumper cables. Two firebugs that have found eachother. Tim was in fine form. Sheri, I want that man when you're done with him.

And OMG, you guys should hear Chile snore. It positively vibrates the house. What a hoot. And I thought my dogs knew how to sleep. Chile has it down . . . Too funny.

Sheri - thanks so much for the plants. That's exciting. And maybe a wild heuchera or too when you have a minute? Carole, you should see the field of wild heuchera - full and lush with blossoms reaching up. It's beautiful. Congrats on your 30 from 6. That is pretty nice.

Guys: when/if we get together for the lavender festival, you have to have Sheri's mom tell you about dating in your 70's. If you have a good man, hang on to him. Dating does not get any easier and it's not for the faint of heart. :-p

Kathy ~ Absolutely some of the heuchera. I knew there was something else but my brain faded. I'll dig it tomorrow. And BTW, I do rent Tim out on occasion (in exchange for plants!) He finished the grow light frame and it's in the house. Tomorrow I pot up the hot pepper seeds and under the light they go. Cross your fingers!

Yep...the Chile-meister definitely gets into the tall timber with the chainsaw while sleeping. Tim says he and I snore in opposition to one another, he breathing in while I exhale. Can't imagine how obnoxiously loud that can be!

Yeah...mom's pretty sassy. I can only hope to be that tough at 70. She certainly doesn't take anyone's guff! And, she's got plenty of tales to tell!

Thank you!! I was just chuckling to myself at the conversation's risk of heading off on a tangent and then Tim's mom bringing us back with, "So what about the guy?" Maybe she could be the thread police for us here and keep us on track . . . LOL Your mom is sassy, allright. Now I knows whey you gets it.

So the grow light is finished. That's awesome. Of course we need to see it.

Oh, and thank Tim for the mini-battery-terminal-cleaning lesson. He was so appropriate and so helpful. Let him know it's on my list of tasks for tomorrow.

Hubby gave her to much ( no to many) refreshments. LOL

I wish I had got to go today,But I made a maiden voyage to Sheri's earlier in the month.
I have some ideas, and some planning books for her to use when she is stops by one day.?

Sorry Carole and Pixs for not getting to go, just love her place, I can picture Lauries GH at the back of the side area, with paths and big garden beds leading up to the house. and the woodsy area all full of woodland flowers, and neat places to have solitude, with places to set and enjoy. ^_^

I think MIL would not be the best for a thread cop. She was pretty spot on today but normally goes off on tangents way worse than anything we attempted today! Amazingly, however, when she wants something she can remain quite focused...like knowing about "the guy!" LOL

He says "you're quite welcome." And he'd be happy to be your surrogate man-slave.

Okay, I have to ask - what are wild Heuchera? I'd love to see them. These that I divided are called "Heuchera Brownie." Not the most eye catching I've ever seen, but really nice. I don't know what the flower will look like.

I was thinking to myself, "What cool ladies in their 70's . . . " when it dawned on me that I will be 70 in a little over six years . . . eeeeeeek!!!!!!!"

Carol ~ I will take some pix tomorrow and post them. I posted them a while back on a thread where I was trying to ID some stuff growing here. They weren't flowering at the time and I had several different opinions as to what they are. Rachel and Kathy, however, immediate knew so it's inked. At any rate, there is plenty here, along with Claytonia.

My mom will be 70 in August. She has had a pretty challenging life and has met the challenge on a regular basis. I come from a long line of strong, self-sufficient women and for that I am extremely grateful. As far as one's chronological age, I always ask, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" I'm somewhere around 12, I think. Age is all in one's mind.

Nice!! It's not every day that you get an okay to that. I know your mom needs him one day a week to do her garden . . which, by the way, we need to help her plan. I was thinking of something along the line of what crazy4plants has done along her water feature. Nice and low maintenance. Love sun. And, of course, we should be plants swaths of lavender.

Now that I think about it, that's definitely what you should do in the front portion of the bed at the end of the driveway. Just a huge curve of lavender - dense and defining the begining of the slope up to the beds under the trees.

My mom is kinda like that, too. Wait, I guess I'm kinda like that, too. Oops. Who needs a thread cop anyway? Then we wouldn't have 1/2 as much fun.

Mary, had fun flipping through one of the books you gave Sheri today. Could have flipped through it for hours, but had to remember that we were there for a purpose.

Kathy, are you talking about where I put the wild geranium? Lavender would look nice there. I also noticed today that some of the poppy seeds I threw out there a while back have germinated, so those will be there as well. And I stuck that Centaura out there near the geranium. Figured just plant it now and move it later! Maybe some lavender would look nice in the raised bed under the 'Wolf Eyes?' The purple may look nice with the white flowers and variegated leaves.

Rachel (I know you won't see this until tomorrow, but oh well) ~ I'm holding your Blue Bunny and 5-gallon buckets hostage. Guess you'll HAVE to come back, now!

I have allot of neat books, and only loaned them. I bought them back when I was just new here and was going to start a landscape design business for the do it you selfer. but ran into other problems, needed to have a JOB, now. so I ended up letting it go. maybe when I retire. LOL

I wish you guys could hear the frogs right now...they're deafening! May have to close the windows!

And bonding with the local yoomans

Black cap is actually a raspberry - rubus leucodermis. Mmmmm. Sheri has these and lots of baldhip roses - rosa gymnocarpa.

I can't find the heuchera - its color was like much of the surrounding grass - medium light green. I'll keep looking.

Mary - I have a secret desire to buy Wallace Hansen's native plant nursery. So I know what you mean.

Sheri - my frogs are totally silent tonight. They were crazy a couple of nights ago. You have so many, I can imagine that they must be mating right outside your windows. That could get deafening.

Okay - brain cramp. I can't remember whether you had yet put anything there. It's the front of the bed above the faerie garden . . .

I can't imagine that you can use too much lavender anywhere - and you are so in the right country for it. Hot and drains well.

Not really? but I wish I had the money I would.

Really - I would love to own a native plant nursery - there are so many natives and they are so dramatic. And his place is for sale. So when I'm daydreaming, I wonder what it would be like.

I think it would be great if you really wanted it, to enjoy all the plants. but them on the other side of it, you will be devoted to all the hard work to care for it, and not ot cry when a plant is going to a new home LOL.
But it is allot of hard work, look at Heidi.( and I have worked in a few)
My DH made a comment the other day, He said by the time I retire I can open my own nursery, I am not as savvy as Heidi, shes to good. and he is going to expand my GH. ^_^

And I wanted my own florist shop, but the "real job" thing got in the way. And no capital to purchase one anyway. Sigh . . . now I can't stand the thought of that much work!!! (I satisfy my desire to design by doing flowers for church once a month - and I used to do other things, lots of weddings, but I dont' want the stress anymore.)

What a lovely chat this thread has - almost sounds like a girl's sleepover. Very warm and cosy.

Glad the day went well, like Carole, I wish I could have been there.

That is why I am staying out of it. Have fun girls.

Murmur ~ Here is a picture of a small patch of my wild heuchera. . .there are little plants everywhere around here but this patch seems to be doing quite well.

We walked down to the boggy area on the property just below me. This is a wetland that will not be developed (thankfully). I wish I would have taken a picture a few weeks ago when the skunk cabbage was in full bloom. This was a vast swath of yellow and green and it was incredible with the sun shining through the cabbage flowers. After seeing it like that I know why the plant is also called "Swamp Lantern." At any rate, this is what it looks like now. The largest leaves of the cabbage are between 2-3' long. . .quite amazing.

Kathy and Rachel ~ I took some close-ups of the astilbe-like plants coming up in the cabbage. These were not there when the cabbage was blooming. Maybe someone can ID it.

And this is a little wild heuchera at the base of a big ol' maple.

Wow. I think I have a bunch of that - never thought of it as Heuchera, thought of it more as a type of Piggy Back plant!!! I'll take a photo later of mine so we can compare and see if it is the same thing. That's quite amusing to me, as I am a HUGE fan of Heuchera!!!!

Murmur ~ When I first posted the plant a few months ago to ID it, I think we decided that it was Tolmiea menziesii. And it very well may be. Sure looks like it, but it looks a bit like heuchera as well.

AHA!! A Piggy Back plant after all (maybe!).

Kathy and/or Rachel and/or anyone ~ I think you guys ID'd this for me yesterday but I forgot already. Any guesses?

(Edited to add:) I looked through Robson and Pojar and can't find any leaf that looks like this.

This message was edited May 18, 2008 7:59 PM

I just couldn't figure out the name. It came to me today - it's called a Fringe Cup - tellima grandiflora. Check out this picture, Sheri - it has nothing on yours, though.

http://www.rainyside.com/features/plant_gallery/nativeplants/Tellima_grandiflora.html

Don't know on the Astilbe-like one. Is the last one not Ranunculus Repens? I was pulling today and marvelling at the fact that you don't have much of it at all - I have as much of it as you have of the Claytonia.

I found a little plant tonight out in front of my yard under a big fir tree. Brand new - I've never seen it before. And there are about 25 of them in a little swath down the bed.

Anyone know what this is?

And another one close up.

Sheri, that original bog picture is awesome. If I were you, I'd seriously consider getting that professionally printed and framed and mounted in your house. You could a seasonal thing of it. It's just stunning . . . primordeal . . . magical . . . full of promise of surprise.

Kathy
I Know what that is and for the life of me I can't remember its name. ####, I hate that. its is wild.

I have lots of what you called wild Heuchera, and I get burr balls from it.
I always thought it was a form of Geum what do I know!!

Kathy ~ I think I have both the tellima (which is the one in the big patch by the little creek) and tolmiea. I think I've been confusing the two as the same plant when in actuality they are different. I'd like to reshoot the swamp photo with more sun. I think it really makes the cabbage stand out with the shine of the leaves juxtaposed with the unknown lacy plant and the sword ferns. We'll see. I would like to do a multi-season chronicle of that area. As far an the ranunculus ID, this is a fairly tall plant ~ it's one on the fence where we crawled through to get to the swamp. Does Rr get tall? Leaves kinda look similar, but. . .

I'm hoping someone will be able to ID the other swamp plant. It's really pretty and I'm thinking about going down there and digging some just to see what happens. Don't think the swamp would miss a plant or two. = O

No idea what your plant is, but it's really cute.

I think your photo plan is great, Sheri. You could make some money on photos in b/w in that area at the right time of day. Carole, maybe you should try to sneak away to Sheri's with your camera one day for fun.

Yep, the ranunculus gets 6-12 inches at my house if the conditions are moist. It'll be big or small, depending on the conditions and can reproduce both from seed and from runners. Great!!

My neighbor paid good money for the tolmeia. I'm going to get a little from her at some point. They are both so nice looking.

I found out what my plant is: trientalis borealis. I've never seen it here before, but I'm thrilled to have it now and not to have missed it. I may put a couple of plants back in the woodland to see how they do there. I for sure will collect seeds from the berries in a couple of months!! Don't know how it got here - maybe a migrating bird??

Oh, and Pepe le Pou is doing great. Didn't seem to mind the heat so much, and now I have him sitting in his own little bog. Have to create that area up in the shady spot for him - maybe this week.

http://www.bigbaer.com/land-o-lakes/wisconsin.wildflowers.starflower.trientalis.borealis.htm

The unknown plant by the fence it probably 2-3 feet tall, so I don't think it's Rr. And I've already dug you some of the tolmiea...I have 2 in 1 gal pots, along with the snowberry and claytonia. I can dig you some of Pepe's swamp mate so you can recreate the whole bog right there at your place. Are you going to the Pt Defiance F&G show? I can bring them then if you'd like. Otherwise, I just may make a trip across the water to deliver them.

Kathy,
I also have the star flower, I love it! Mine have pink edges on them. They grow in the sun and shade here some even in deep shade.