Last year's crosses, this year's vines/blooms! (Part 2)

Lovely yard Becky, reflecting all your hard work.

Louise - My dh's biggest fear is that something will happen where I can no longer take care of the garden beds and all my plants will grow outtta control, take over the yard, lift the house up off the foundation, and carry it high into the sky like a Jack and the Beanstalk nightmare! LOL! It has taken him almost the entire 4 years that I have been gardening to appreciate a lush garden as this. He likes things bare. It was a very difficult transition for him... but I think this lush jungle concept has finally grown on him! Or at the very least ... he doesn't complain anymore about there being too many plants in the yard. LOL!

And of course ... I have to hear the sound of a waterfall. It kinda drowns out the traffic and sirens and other annoying noise in my neighborhood. LOL!

Thanks, Jackie! I do agree that all that backbreaking work has afforded me the opportunity now of reaping the rewards of a REAL honest to goodness garden. :-) It's my sanctuary to escape from my hectic lifestyle and daily problems. It beats therapy any day! LOL!

Your gardens are beautiful!! I get some peaceful moments just looking at them. I am at the hospital right now. Hubby has had conjestive (sp?) heart failure. He has been in now for a week. Don't know when he is going home, so don't know what my plants look like at home right now. Keep the pictures coming!!!

Meag, am very sorry to hear about your DH - sending you hopes and prayers for a positive outcome. Try to take care of yourself, now, too.

Beautiful flowers and gardens, everyone

Meag, prayers out to you girl for you and your DH, and he will be okay they have wonderful meds now, my mom in law has lived with it for 30 years so far...hugs

girls the pics are beautiful!

Love the pics Becky! A truly inspiring garden! Meag, saying prayers for your hubby and you!

Melanie - {{{Hugs}}} So sorry to hear about your dh's health condition. My father lived many years with congestive heart failure. (Which was due to diabetes.) They do have medicine now that will make a dramatic difference. My neighbor is 85 and she is on something new which really helped her. (Sorry I don't know the name, but she may have been a test subject ... so don't know if this med is out yet on the market.)

I am glad that my photos are a source of peace and calm for you. My heart rate drops down when I am outside looking at and walking through these areas. If something is bothering me, I just go out back to chill. It works! :-)

Melanie - Here is a photo for you ... was taken in early April of this year. You can actually SEE the white fence before all the Passiflora vines covered it. This is a 3-tier raised bed in the Zen Butterfly and Hummingbird garden room. This raised bed sits in the middle of that area. This was taken right after I completed this garden room with raised beds, mulch path, and stepping pavers! Every single one of the plants were grown only from seeds or cuttings shared with me from a multitude of DG gardeners. You can see the soil bags piled up in the upper left had corner because I wasn't finished quite yet. This was when the weather was cooler and I had a small garden fund to use. This was one of my weekend projects! One of my favorite photos from this year! Enjoy! :-)

This message was edited Oct 5, 2008 10:21 AM

Here is the photo of the center garden bed in the Zen Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden Room!

This message was edited Oct 5, 2008 10:22 AM

Oh my! That is spectacular. Are the pink flowers poppies?

Here is another view taken on April 3rd. It looks odd to me now to see this because there was very little growth against the house and fence in this photo unlike what is now there. Amazing how Mother Nature can grow and cover an area in such a short time! There are completely different flowers growing in the center garden bed now. When plants die off, I till that area and throw more seeds down. I love trying different seeds/plants to see what they look like, to observe their growth habit, and what the blooms look like. Almost all of my seeds are for butterflies, bees, and hummers. :-)

Love it! Great design!

Louise, Jackie, Karen, Melanie, & Debra - Thanks for the kind compliments!

Here is what it looks like today. Looks like we got a bit off topic here, but since it is my thread ... that's just fine with me! Melanie - I do hope your dh starts feeling better and can go home so that both of you can get some much needed rest in your own home! :-)

Louise - Yes! Those pink flowers a few photos above are poppies! I never thought I could grow poppies in Florida! As you can see from the photo ... they will grow in zone 10a! LOL!

amazing! I was really surpised to see those. Poppies hate me. Have tried them, everyone else grows them. They die a horrible slow death here.

Becky, you have a very beautiful yard. I am so sure that it gives you some peaceful times. As for hubby, he is holding his own right now. His chf is from artrial fibillation ( the older I get the worse I spell).
Thank you everyone for the prayers and well wishes!!
Becky sorry to have hijacked your thread.
Melanie

Melanie, it looks to me like Becky has made the kind of garden that invites friends to share joys and troubles as they *walk* around in its magic (must be those pink poppies?) - I'm sure she's not minding at all. Stay with us and keep us posted on how your DH is doing.

Oops - edited to change DG to DH

This message was edited Oct 6, 2008 6:01 AM

beautiful ard pics, becky looksl ike we have alot in common, I have been gardening about 4 years now as well.. hope you all are well, I have been in bed sick, just got up and thought I would check in gnite!

Debra - Your garden is beautiful!

{{{hugs}}} I am sorry that you have been sick.

I got some bad news yesterday. My mother went to see a specialist (doctor) and he believes she has late stage lung cancer. She has one spot on her left lung and he saw it with a scope and said he is 99.9% sure it is lung cancer and is in the tissue and looks pretty bad. She is scheduled for a biopsy next week. It is a shock because she had heart by-pass surgery last December (a couple days before Christmas) and she has had a rough time of it. But has managed to hang in there. She just had a lung x-ray and MRI done in August and there was no sign of anything. Doctor said that he and the radiologist looked and looked at them and saw nothing. She had the last one done the end of September and that is when the spot showed up. They were going to do a biopsy then, but she was on blood thinners and they didn't want to risk it, so just took a peek in her lung where the spot is. He doesn't know what else it could be if it's not cancer. The biopsy will tell us what is going on. If it is cancer, the specialist said probably 2 months is all that she has. Right now my mother is in denial and thinks the doctor doesn't know what it is until the biopsy. I am kinda shocked that something like cancer could show up and be late stage cancer in only a month. I hope it is an infection or something else. But if not, it's going to be a difficult journey for us.

I have been enjoying my MGs this year. It's been a difficult year with all that my mother has already been through and may still have to go through. She will be 80 in December (if she makes it to her birthday). The ecomony has been a challenge for me and my family as well. I work full time and my job is quite a stressful one working with very young children that have varying degrees of disabilities. My garden has been a much needed distraction for me.

I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful seeds that you have shared with me. I've enjoyed all of them that I have grown out so far and look forward to future grow-outs! Everyone has to have a source or two of joy in their life ... my garden is one of those sources that helps me get through some difficult days.

If I am not here posting much, the situation with my mother will be the reason. Any prayers for her and me would be very much appreciated. Thanks to everyone here on the MG forum!

Saying prayers here! Becky my Dad had inoperable lung cancer and was given 3 mos. He did chemo and radiation and was cancer free for 10 years. They have improved treatment alot. It all depends on what kind of cancer it is...if it is even cancer. My Dad had no trouble being elderly with the chemo. Just made him tired. He never even got nausea or anything. They give stuff with the chemo to really improve things. We will be praying for her here! Please let us know how the tests go!

Just to let you know that you are in our thoughts and prayers!!

Becky, sending prayers for your mom and you and your family too.

Becky, my thoughts and prayers for you and your Mom.

Becky
I am with your mom - until the biopsy is performed, can't know what it is. I would be prepared for the worst since the doctor doing the procedure has seen many cancers and has a good sense of what the appearance is. And, as far as the time frame of how things will go if it is a lung cancer - -- that is totally person by person. There are so many factors. I know it was a shock to you - with the sudden test results --unfortunately, sometimes malignancies can hide from the diagnostic X-rays. I will keep your mom and you in my prayers - for healing and for peace and acceptance.

Becky-
I know you have sent it to me already - but would you D-mail me your address? I have something I want to send you and I have been looking at it for too long --saying "I gotta find that address"

Melanie - if you D mail me your address - I will send you a nice booklet that we purchase for our patients who have CHF. It is very manageable with some lifestyle changes ---especially for A-Fib as a cause. A-Fib is generally well controlled by medication and if not, there is ablation which works real well.

Becky, sending hugs and warm thoughts your way. Praying for your
moms complete healing.

Becky - Thanks for the magnificent amount of sharing that you do and hoping that things go as well as possible for your mother and your family under the circumstances...


Regards,


Ron

Becky, sending you more prayers and hugs for a best-possible outcome

Becky,
I haven't checked in lately here and just did..

Please know that my prayers are with you also for your mom and you. Ditto everyone above. Thank you for sharing all your photos of your gardens, it means a lot to me too.

A.

I genuinely appreciate all the prayers and well wishes for my mother. Thank you!

This is not going to be an easy journey. She is now refusing to have the biopsy done on Monday. My sister mentioned the fact that it might not be cancer at all. It could be MRSA. She knows of someone this year who was misdiagnosed with Lung Cancer only to have the biopsy prove it was MRSA. My mom has had bouts of staph infection after her heart surgery in December. So it can not be ruled out. Now we are trying to convince her to have the biopsy done. She is more stubborn than my teenage children. Though we are also quite aware that it could also be very aggressive small cell lung cancer. Her reasoning ... I don't want to know. She is dealing with the stages of a possible terminal illness ... Denial being the first stage. My concern is that she needs to be diagnosed so they can either treat it or make her as comfortable as possible during the time she has left. Our journey is only beginning ... please continue to pray for her.

I wanted to get this thread back on track (if even for a brief time) ... I will post off and on as I have the time. It is a good distraction for me to think flowers ... instead of illness if only for a few moments ...

Here is LYK 2nd generation. I am positive this is a cross with Kohkan. The blooms are getting bigger. The leaves look very similar to LYK (no variegation like Kohkan). The star center is showing up on most of the blooms. It is a very attractive flower.

This message was edited Oct 12, 2008 9:12 AM

Becky, My Dad had small cell. It is also the most treatable form!! My father was the same way when diagnosed. He thought it was an automatic death sentence. He beat it though!

All the info I have read about small cell cancer says that it is incurable and the most deadly. Is there any internet info such as you are sharing with me. How old was your dad when he battled his lung cancer? Was he advanced stage lung cancer as they are telling my mother?

Yes he was given 3 months to live. His oncologist said it was the most treatable form of lung cancer, ie responds to chemo the best. I don't have info from online, just what his oncologist told him. For sure it is NOT incurable. My Dad remained cancer free the rest of his life. My Dad also had no spleen so they had to halt his chemo several times to let his white cell count get up to par. He was 69 when diagnosed and remained cancer free the last ten years of his life. They did radiation and chemo on him.

Thanks for that encouraging information, Louise. I will definitely be mentioning that to my mother. I'm supposed to see her later today. I'm observing signs of her shutting everyone out. This is going to be a very difficult journey unless she is open to suggestions ... and treatment. She is very frail and has been since her heart surgery. I don't know if she would survive chemo and radiation. I know she has been dealing with depression too since her heart surgery ... it really saddens me that she has declined so much since the heart surgery. I almost wished she had never had that surgery. Before the heart surgery she was a little pistol ... now it's like she has given up since that surgery. Maybe she has. If your health is bad at 79, there isn't much to look forward to in her mind. :-(

This message was edited Oct 12, 2008 10:29 AM

State of mind is everything Becky. My father had a very rough last couple years health wise and had to have a pacemaker put in. Strangley non of his health conditions killed him. He developed an infection from a routine colonoscopy and died of systemic shock from the infection. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he was very depressed too. He wanted to give up and my sis had to bully him into fighting!

Thanks for the information Louise and the encouragement! :-)

Becky
The docs can't stage the cancer without the biopsy. So, I am not sure about the doc saying it may be late stage.

Perhaps your mom may be saying in her own way that if it is cancer, she doesn't want to undergo treatment and so why go through the biopsy. If that is the case, then the docs don't need a biopsy at all. If she declines --they will know how to treat her and to make her comfortable.

The latest studies show that exercise (I know she is frail and depressed and scared) really is beneficial for so many of the issues that she is facing: aging, endurance and strength, depression, immune boosting, quality of life issues --including balance and safety. Dr. Blumenthal at Duke is specifically looking at cardiac disease and the elderly. I would D-Mail you all this but perhaps everyone here at some point may find use for the info. Is it possible (not sure where you live in proximity to your mom) that she would go with you to an exercise class/program or could you split that with another family member? Senior Centers offer this sometimes at no cost. If this isn't possible of if she won't agree --- a daily brisk (as possible) walk.... and a 15-20 min program of lifting: Rice or dried beans in zip loc bags (start at 1/2 pound if strength is an issue) (rubber band around the middle for ease of handling and add to the 'weight' as strength improves) and elastic bands will help with strength. You mom will perceive this as doing something for herself. If she is like my mother (89) she may value the aspect of doing something for herself.

I have a question for you --the LYK vine as I have mentioned is very fragile. Only two seeds sprouted and only one of the vines still looks viable. I see a pod - one fat and one skinny --not so hot looking pod on the one vine. But overall both vines are in decline (the others seeds you sent are doing great --now looking like Autumn is getting to them...but seem strong) Is there something I can do to keep the health of this one fat pod up? I am afraid the vine will die before the pod matures.

Also--- some of the flowers on the LYK vine look very much different from the original with the 'rays' etc. These are smaller and purple... is that possible? I know these are 'freshman' questions - I apologize. Thanks, Dot

Becky {{{{{{{{{hugs girl}}}}}}}}} I know you are scared , not only for your MOM but those around you as well, I am sure she will be the rock you need when times are rough. Don't borrow trouble and stay positve for her. Todays' medical field is a different thing from even 10 years ago. My prayers are with you and yours. I enjoy you and your posts and look forward to hearing from you more. We are here for you.... Debra

This message was edited Oct 12, 2008 3:37 PM

hey Becky, how the gardeners share seeds and their worlds share similar problems is truly amazing!! first~my Mom had staph at the rehabilitation center the hospital senter to after knee surgery, and she LEFT the hospital in GREAT health! she came out fine tho'after I kidnapped her and brought her HOME to finish healing!...then she had a Quad Bypass years later and is thankfully doing well except the bloodthinners make her bleed too easy~ (ROSE THORNS are her BAIN lol!!!!)...and my Dad Did go on quite well for 15 years after his cancer was diagnosed (if) the treatments taken, side effects are worth the pain to spend time with your loved ones I am swearing to that..he did...now, I love the variety on the vine you showed! what is why I grow more than one seed type per pot at my front door! There, now, we need another thread!...agian ;)
Thoughts are with you, Beck~~
:Darren in Vegas

What a beautiful pic, fernman

thanks Debra (if I may) ;) those vines are 10+ feet high now and staying open all day due to a sudden cold front came trhough the Vegas Valley...I was surprised to see that yesterday when I got home at 5:15 pm they were all STILL open...stopped me in my tracks needless to say!!!
:Darren