WE almost made it through October but there were over 200 posts, so here we are and I have no new pictures to share. Will someone else post on the other that we moved here? Thanks. I know Jannich has dial up and I am sure there are others.
October blooms 5
All done, Gail!
We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/914626/
Thanks for the new thread, ladies! My computer is pretty fast most of the time (we have our internet service through our cable company) but I do remember those dial up days ... was so glad when our cable company finally offered internet service.
Thanks for a new thread ladies.Yes dial up stinks but I take what I can get in this area.^_^
We need some pictures for October.........I have a few.............
I wonder what our 45 degree temps are going to do to my flowers that are so fragrant.
Lin, you have to see obscura and her foliage and blooms. The blooms get more orange in this cool weather and the leaves look like someone has poured cinnamon on them!
This is the plant from Nan and I am begging it to bloom before winter. The leaves on the back side are sooooo red with cooler weather.
These are the baby graphtophylum plants (caricature) that no one bought on DG Marketplace so I put them in a pot and will have another pot!!
My little dendrobium from the grocery store is still blooming outside on the porch.
I will never get rid of this particular Space Dust plant as I never know what her blooms are going to be like. I love the genes she is carrying.
First blooms on Bristol's Moon Moth. I can't remember if Brenda or Cedarnest gave me the leaf. Thank you!
I overwatered Rainbow's End and thought she was a goner...........she is back!
Satin n Lace chimera is going to Goldleaf's house so she can make babies. I have run out of room for african violets right now.
I am just enthralled with the bloom of nematanthus 'Tropicana'.........that orange calyx (is that what you call it) is so big and then this little adorable bloom literally pops out of the orange.
no more pics
Oooh Gail ... so pretty! You know I love those Hoyas! Nothing like those gessie's either! Real beauties!
We are supposed to get down to 39 degrees here tonight! It was 45 last night and only in the mid 60's today and real windy. Tomorrow is supposed to be low 60's for highs!$%@! We are 20 degrees below normal temp's! I hauled my orchids in this afternoon and a few hoyas. Other hoyas are outside along with a hundred or so other plants ... they are going to have to suck it up! I have a small house and there's just no room inside for anymore plants. And, I don't want the cat thinking I've restocked her salad bar! I have to watch her as it is ... always wanting to chew on leaves! Dagnabbit cat!
Hey Everybody: Come on over to the other thread and play AV Bingo: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/917878/
I've got 15 cards already and the game doesn't begin until Monday!
We had temps in the upper 20's last night-- but amazingly enough --no frost!! Sorry thing about that-- I have to get up every 2-3 hours and stoke the fire. Your Hoyas should be fine-- I have overwintered mine in a really cool GH for years(upper 30's & 40's) and they do ok--as long as they don't freeze just--keep them dry.
Here's one for you, though a poor quality webcam pic. It is ROB'S SMELLY CAT. It has never smelled for me. It is going to a new home this week.
Wow! Do you only have a wood stove for heating? I know that must be no fun, having to get up every 2-3 hrs! We have electric heat and air and our electric bill runs almost $300 a month all year. Our air stays on unless it gets below 70 in the house and then it kicks off. If the temp reaches a certain low, the heat automatically turns on.
I'm watered all of my outside plants thoroughly today so I think they will be okay. Everything was bone dry. I think the hoyas will be okay because they are in a very fast draining mix and it's supposed to be back up to the mid 80's on Thursday! When we have cold nights it's only for a few hours at most, as soon as the sun rises it warms back up, quickly!
Wow! It gets cold where you live! 20's already? It's not even November yet! Do you have long, cold winters there in AR?
What a pretty Strep! Is it supposed to be fragrant, or stinky? Oh, how I wish I had space and that I could grow Streps! I haven't figured out what they want yet! They die within days of entering my house.
Oh yeah--To respond to a question asked earlier...Enfield is in No. central CT--right on the MA. border, about 30 miles north of Hartford. I drive to Norwich several times a week for one of my jobs-I love it there. I love the water and all the old houses. The climate is also slightly milder in the winter, slightly cooler in the summer. I am thinking of moving to Norwich if this job proves to be long term/dependible. This pic is a supermarket Noid that has been blooming it's head off for weeks. It was just beginning to bloom in this webcam pic. Both the plant and the blooms are much fuller now.
Oh, I love pink and that is one pretty pink AV!
Gorgeous plants phoebesviolets!!-- I love the noid!! to answer the question-- I do only have wood for heat--I wouldn't have to get up so often-- but we built an attached Gh and heat it with the air from inside. We are going to have to get a small electric heater before real winter gets here-- the floor isn't staying as warm as I would like. This GH is only temporary and will be bigger with it's own wood heater next year. I am loving the view out my kitchen door tho!! We enclosed the back porch and then off to the right to edge of the house. Our winters certainly seem long-- and they can be cold. Our weather here has gradually gotten warmer the past few years. We have cold "snaps" with temps in the teens. We do have lots of nights in the 20's-30's. It is going to be 31 tonight--but then back up to 50's for a low over the weekend. Our average first frost is Oct 15, last year we didn't get it until Nov, even tho it has been cold, we still have not had "frost'. Our avg last frost is May 15 tho this year it was in early april.
This message was edited Oct 28, 2008 8:47 PM
I am loving this thread.................thanks for all the pictures of plants and a greenhouse at that! Wish we could buy an african violet that pretty at the supermarket or anywhere around here.
I am going to make my front porch a greenhouse again this winter with 6 m poly and just wrap it around the south side of the house. The porch faces the south. Last year I didn't do until Dec. 15th. If this cool weather keeps up I may have to do it sooner.
Of course by now.............all the plants have changed to hoyas , orchids, begonias and a few of what is here.
Love that gessiegail!! Your porch looks as big as my whole little house!! My little Gh is on the south side too-- next year though it will cover that whole side of the house, and hopefully have a plexiglass roof. I am putting native stone in the floor--hoping it will add a little passive solar to the mix.
This is an old farmhouse built waaay before air conditioning so it is built for the right sun at the right time. It is simply amazing how warm that porch stays as it goes across the living room and my bedroom where there is plenty of heat coming out from the house. I do use 2 heaters if I have to.
When I lived in the mountains of New Mexico I had wood burning stoves and big fireplaces in my cabin on the river in Ruidoso. Oh, I thought it was so novel and exciting for the first winter. After that I put in electric baseboards everywhere (LOL)
We have a nice brick wood burning fireplace that we had put in the house about 30 years ago. I bet it's been used about a dozen times over the years. I love it though. Nothing like a cold day or night and a rip roaring fire in the fireplace!
Very nice pictures Gail! I like the Satin n Lace chimera. If you have any extra, let me know . . .
I am jealous of your space and light! Gessie,your sunroom is beautiful! And you have some beautiful plants there HG! I have begonias and hoyas also, though on a much smaller scale, and I tend to stick to the mini varities as I live in a small space. Also have a few orchids. Don't know how you 2 get by on wood and heaters during the dregs of winter though! ;:-o
Gail, where do you buy your 6ml poly that you encase your porch in? I really need to think about doing that to at least the north end of my pool enclosure this winter!
I bought it at Lowe's and it was 50.00 for a 100 feet of 12 feet across. I had almost half left over..........more like a third left over.............but I can use it this winter .........still will have to buy another roll, but next winter I will have enough left over to not go buy. Don't buy 4 m as it will tear. I just used an electric staple gun and put this on very securely. When the winds would get high, sometimes I would have to go out and secure it with more staples..........but it wasn't that bad..................
awesome pictures to look at on a cold morning!
phoebe's violets,pretty plants.Your noid AV is beauty.It was me asking where Enfield was.What a small world we live in.I grew up right outside of Norwich.In Montville.I have heard from friends Norwich/New London is getting so expensive because of the Casio's.If you do move to Norwich you will be only a little over a hour away from Logee's greenhouse.Now that's a great place to visit!
Thanks Gail ... I think I will go to Lowes and pick up a roll of the 6ml. I will have to use tape to hold it up though as my screen enclosure is aluminum so staples wouldn't work. As long as we don't get any heavy winds (which is rare) it should stay up with duct tape! Won't look very attractive but it's on the back of the house so no one would see it! I might just cover the north end and just leave it covered until spring!
Gail, what an awesome porch. It reminded me of when I lived in South Florida. We had a room at the back of the townhouse that had windows all across. It faced the north and I had shelves of African Violets going across the windows. The rest of porch was filled with plants. It was the perfect spot to grow them. Just enough sun.
Up here in central Fl. I have an enclosed pool that faces south. The sun is too strong for violets, but I have a covered lanai and that's where they are. They get moring sun from the east. The new little kohleria and streps are out there also. I'll have to bring them all in tonight as it's going down to the low 40s and possible mid 30s. Some of the hoya will have to be brought in also. I wish I had an enclosed sun room now.
When I read of the cold temps from you folks up north, I'm happy down here where it's warm most of the year. I left NY 20 years ago to get away from shovelling snow and cold bitter winds. I guess we are never satisfied no matter where we are, as long as our plants are happy. ^_^
Ooooh, Gail...I envy you that porch!
It's so interesting 'listening' to all of you talking about cold weather already...here in Phioenix it's still in the 90s.
I have lived in the desert all my life and wouldn't know what to do in the cold.
My DH is from North Dakota, and keeps talking about moving back.
I have to remind him that at our age we'd probably fall and break a hip the first time we had to deal with ice.
Better stay here and deal with heat...lol...
Sharon
Gail, Syrumani began a new Off Topic Thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/918214/
I hope you will post lots more pictures of your "other than gessie" plants! You can sure grow, my friend! I think your botanical gardens is one place I'd love to visit!
Sharon, still in the 90's there? What are your lowest temp's in winter? I know you have high heat out there but it's different than the 90 degree heat we have here. It's pretty dry out there ... we have 90's here with the air dripping from so much humidity! The older I get the more the summer heat and humidity gets to me but I couldn't handle snow and ice so we will remain in the south. Maybe when my DH retires we will have a place a bit farther north in the Blue Ridge or Smokey Mountains during the summer and live in Florida in the winter ... perfect solution, IF my dear hubby ever decides to retire. He will probably still be teaching at the age of 80! But, it's great that he loves his job!
Well, let's see...
Occasionally it gets down to freezing or below at night in December or January...but not often. Normally our winter nights drop to the mid forties.
Yeah, at least it's dry...mostly...altho when we get our summer rains it gets a tad sticky...but not like where you are. Just makes it hard if you only have an evaporative cooler. We have both, so we can mostly use our evap and then switch to refrigeration when it gets humid. Really saves on electric bills when it's 115 outside!
This message was edited Oct 29, 2008 12:00 PM
Jan--I LOVE Logees! I've been there many times. It's like going on vacation- sometimes I go there just to breathe :-)
I would love live near a big vendor............I would order from Logees but they are just too expensive for what one gets...............I do know that feeling that you are talking about.........."just to breathe".................isn't it wonderful!