Vermeer is one of my FAV. Dutch painters.
My fav. painting is The Milk Maiden. Shown below.
When I was in Amsterdam, I spent a lot of time starring at it in the Rijksmuseum. Stunning.
Some blooms from my Florida gardens 2
thanks Mona... I planted about 20 last year and only one came up/ so I quit! but I will give another try!
just do your research and make sure the soil conditions and watering is right you will be rewarded with amazing blooms but start with like two or three get the hang of it and then go all out
Glad things are settling down for you, Louise. The calla will be lovely--do you leave them in the ground all year in Fort Myers? I was so amazed at the amaryllis I planted in The Villages---the clump was huge, & bloming this time of year.
I love amaryllis I get a new one for xmas every year and then leave it planted till november of the next year and then let it go dormart and then I plant it out for the summer so this summer I will have eight of them blooming in the garden cant wait they are so beautifull but I also love all lilies
I grow many hippeastrum to keep the blah days of late winter away. Here are some on the kitchen counter today. I just put them outside for the summer and ignore them while they grow their leaves, then I bring them inside in late Sept. I cut back all their leaves and give them a cool spot to rest for a couple of months and withhold watering them until they show signs of growing, then I bring them out to a sunny spot and water them until they bloom and make me so happy.. But it would be wonderful to live in a place in the winter where I could grow them outside. Patti
very nice patti - i see you ordered on the geranium coop - those are annuals right?
Patti seems to order on EVERY co-op! I see Dyane a lot also.
wha, caught me. Yes, but I bring them into the gh for the winter and take cuttings to start new ones for the summer. They don't mind our cool gh. It beats paying 4 to 7 dollars each, plus it was a nice selection for my containers. I am doing lots of reds, oranges and purple stuff this year. Wild streak in me. Patti
evidently patti is into an early spring cleaning and finding resources from many different pockets - i thought they were annuals - i ended up going to that link put up in the geranium starts/plug-in thread near the end to get some hardy geraniums for cheap $$.
This message was edited Mar 2, 2009 5:58 PM
Now victor, not true, I missed a few.
I just looked the list up and see that I didn't do Christmas Rose Helleborus & Toad Lily" & the Horn Canna Co-op or the Agristart's Tropical Co-op & the Envelopes & zip-lock bags coop or the Aloha Hoya co-op & the Buried Treasures HIbiscus, Mandevilla & Brug co-op or the Spring Hosta coop from Sissinghurst nor the Rosy Dawn Coleus Co-op this winter, so you see I am sort of selective.
I am just trying to keep up with all the things you and others keep posting about. Island living is tough as the places that sell plants here though better than many, but still the selection is much more limited than you can find online or on the Mainland.
The bulb coops are the best IMHO. The plugs can be iffy, but I like growing things out. That process has a certain "feel good" quality for me. Nothing makes me more crazy than buying a 10 or 12 dollar plant at a nursery and getting it home to find it is a tiny plug in a big pot. I now secretly try to check before buying. Many nurseries are all buying from the same sources and buy as needed, even late into the season. They just get flats of plugs and pot them up and selling them immediately. I hate that. Not nice.
Wha, Oh, did I hear cheap geraniums.....off to look. Patti
yeah it was on one of the interest threads towards the end.
and i hate finding a plug with i thought i was getting a plant - happened once with a echi i bought - it didn't make it either - should have returned it.
I always keep all my reciepts and tags for plants and I will put the dead root in the pot and bring it back to get a new one or my money or a credit lol anything is good since I will just get more plants anyway but I will not burn the money ahhahahaha
Patti, reds/oranges/and purples are my favorites. I got some red paint so I can paint my grandmother's chair that looks like yours. At least I think it was you that had the red chair and I was going to bring mine and sit on your shed's porch. Unless it was someone else. I can't remember what I had for dinner. LOL
mona i usally do bring em back but got lazy on that one - garden center was an hour away - i now check the root systems - just pull them out of the pot to make sure - kinda like squeezing the melons at the grocery store - gotta be careful
I plant some in pots on the deck with other plants in the same pot and many in the ground in the garden since I have over 40 of them now from very small to giants in the yellow and white I just love them they are so beautifull and they have such different foliage also I just love the tropical looking leaves
I, too, hate buying the plugs passed off as nursery grown---never thought to pull them out of the pot though!
I don't actually pull them out. I just give the pot a gentle tapping to see if the soil is ridiculous loose and then I do tiny amount of digging around the stem to see if I can detect a plug. May then a do a little tug. I once told a staring nursery guy, that I didn't want any root bound plants or any bugs. He bought it and smiled and said that his were not root bound. I later put his newly planted plug in a big pot back and left. Fool me once....Patti
That's pretty common. Happened to me with an online purchase last year - gaura. Don't remember the company. Sold as a 4 inch plant. Had a 1 inch plug!
They say size doesn't matter.
Apparently it does!!! :) I've never had the experience of plugs in a pot sold as bigger plants. I will be checking for it now, and will try to remember your line, Patti. That's priceless!
A one - inch plug can't do much in a four-inch pot.
Hi Kassia. Thanks for your sweet thoughts about Molly. Hank is doing ok - sad as well, but we know how lucky we are to have each other to lean on when the tears appear out of nowhere. We will definitely want to see you again this summer! We'll be back in NH in May.
Patti - what a pretty lily pic you sent for Molly. Thanks! And I think you have every reason to buy tons of plants through the co-ops since your purchasing power is limited on the island. Great idea. I've had such good luck with Bill's caladium co-op.....got some more just last week from him.
Mona - I found your info on the callas to be very helpful. I may have goofed in where I put mine, because the afternoon sun may be an issue for it. I'll think about moving it into a more protected place. Thanks for all of that good stuff about them. This one is my first and I hope it will make it through the summer here.
Thanks, Robindog!! How nice that you were able to find your amaryllis blooming upon your return!
Victor - the beans are starting to come on those bush beans.....getting hungry for them again!
Sherrie - the full ones are the bush beans and the ones with trellis's in the pots are the pole beans that take longer to get going. I have 4 pots of the bush beans right now and 3 pots of the pole beans.
Today Hank and I went to our citrus grower and bought a Valencia juicing orange tree so we can eventually extend our season of home-sqeezed juice for breakfast down here. It's going into the ground soon so we can get it settled in before we leave. That will make 7 citrus trees in our little grove. This has been a really good year for our fruit. Sure wish it wasn't illegal to mail some to you guys!!!
Me too and some fresh beans. Can you do something about our ball team? Patti
what is bad is that a one inch plug that has lots of foliage will probably not make it but if it has only like three sets of leaves it will grow quick
most garden center are suppose to get there plugs in january or early february and then grow them for three months at that time they are 4 inches or 6 or 8 and that all depends on the plants what size it will be full grown
but many garden centers are cheap and wait till the plugs go on sale to buy them and then voila one inch plug in 4 inch pot
I have been burned to now I am carefull and I do not like being taken advantage of so when it happened to me I had purchased a couple of flats so the next day I took them back which happened to be saturday morning the place was full and when they told me to bad I made a racket and got my money back hahahhaah
Louise, I'm just reading this thread now. I'm so sorry for the loss of Molly! I feel honored and privledged to have met her. May she rest in peace.
Hugs,
Harper
Last fall my DH's niece lost her tricolor collie---he had been chosen by her fiancee, Mike, who died of brain cancer in Feb. '05---naturally, she was totally devestated---but I spoke with her a few days ago, & she & her Dad are searching for a new tricolor collie--to me a very good sign of healing---I found some internet sites affiliated with Collie Club of New England, but if any of you know of a collie breeder in your area, please let me know.
Harper - you are so sweet. Thank you so much.
Robindog - When I was a kid, our family dog was a collie (Lady), and she was just the loveliest dog. I hope you are successful in finding a good breeder.
I am so grateful to all of my DG friends for the comfort each of you has brought me in our loss of sweet Molly. You are all just the best!!
Family of family = family.
Victor - I get it.....and you are so right. If you're part of DG, it is impossible to say you have no family!!
I'm always amazed at the care & concern of our "family"!
WooHoo! Red wing black bird!
How exciting, Sherrie. That's got to be a good omen........isn't it??????
Robindog - I agree.....it is truly amazing to me.
Just thought I would add a splash of color for you to enjoy 'bout now, Louise! Hope you don't mind a brief distraction ^_^
Pretty, Willie!!!!
I LOVE your pretty distraction, Willie! Those are gorgeous! I have bloom spikes on my 2 orchids here, and I can't wait for them to bloom. Thank you.
Today my friend who is visiting from Canandaigua and I hit all the plant places. She bought a sweet lemon for her greenhouse, and I bought a pink and white bicolor bouganvillea. Once it is planted, I'll post a pic of it. The ground is soooooo dry here. I had to water some things twice today, and our citrus were so wilted, I had to soak 5 of the trees for a long time. Yikes on the water bill this month!! Tomorrow I'll be getting some crystals in and some mulch down.
wow and it's still early... I will pray for some rain for you!
Thank you, Allison! We could use the help! Last year it was April before it got so dry. The odd thing is that it wasn't even all that hot today. I think it got up to the high 70s, but the humidity is very low.....just the way I love it! The plants prefer the humidity!
This is a shot of my new bi-color bougainvillea......
