Garden Photos of '09......#4

Welcome Joy ^_^ Luvly indoor blooms you have. I am still totally snowful too sigh.

Does your favorite tree rat like the snow?

He is immune to cold. Even my winter birds powdered up into the mountains this winter (except for Chick and Dee who are too excited about the birdseed wreath) but Damien is out there sneering and leering with his beady eyes, just waiting for the first thaw. Truly the essence of evil :( I'm wondering if you can exorcise a tree rat?

hello Joy... welcome
Allison

I am not sure how much we actually enclosed, but we bought a roll of 1000 feet which is more like 2/3 of acre. We had a small amount left over. Math is not my strong suit, plus we had it be an irregular shape to fence. I think an acre is around 1500 ft I found a dealer in NH where we bought it with no Tax. Cool people who had border collies and sheep. We had the truck off island so we didn't have to pay freight either. I think it is more available now. Patti

Hi, kids. I have to get away from my regular hauts for a bit.
I snapped this a couple weeks ago of old sedum flower heads capped in snow.
Andy P

That's a cool picture Andy! For being dead, those are some really strong Sedums!

Great pics Joy, I don't envy you with all of that Snow. Ick!!!

Thanks Karen! and like you would have to...I have to take up "winter work" as well. Definitely! I have 2 jobs this winter plus several odd jobs here and there. Although, some years we have worked through the winter. I like it... but it's really cold!!

I hope you post that on Blooms.
What a great picture.

Thanks Jo Ann. I can't post it on blooms. However, I can put it in the plant files. that sounds like a great project for tomorrow!

the last for me for now.

They are really appealing, I dont think mine are going to survive.
I think we dont have the constant humidity that you do.

how do they look now? I'm sure that you already knew this, but it's pretty normal for the leaves to start looking sort of ....well, crappy by about Nov. or Dec. on quite a few of the hybrids. Some species types manage to have good looking foliage all winter, but that's about it.

These are Niger's and the leaves are looking pretty bad.
The whole plant is on the ground, but this was its first year, there may be new growth at the base. I'll check when the weather gets better. Its bitter cold w/temps in the teens and wind 25-30 mph.
I have a question about Astilboised tabularis. They look fantastic. Have you ever grown them?

well, Niger's don't take all that well to me either. I had two of them. One planted alongside the driveway, which is heavy clay but with great drainage. I ammended like crazy, put in lots of nice organic stuff, and it grew great the first two years. The next four years it went downhill. It would loose it's leaves during the winter, but still sprout new ones each spring, although smaller. Finally it didn't come up. I went to pull it up and plant something else there, I realized that the soil had become really compacted and clay had worked it's way back in pretty thick. The other plant, I planted in an old stump. I really wanted something there even though I knew it might not work. I picked at the stump until it looked like mulch, mixed some potting soil in with the "mulch", stuck the plant in, and called it good...just like that! I waited for it to start going down hill, figuring then I would move it to somewhere else. Well, it's still there, Still growing, and still seemingly happy. So, that is what I know about Nigers! I have never heard of that other plant you mentioned. that name sounds interesting though.

Thats my problem with the Niger then,
We have clay soil here and eventhough I had topsoil-compost tilled into the area ,it is doing as you said and putting out small leaves. No nice stumps to transplant to so I'll watch it and decide what to do later. I certainly can use the room if the plant wont perform.

are you talking and niger seeds that is what I feed the birds because it doesnt grow
I hate the other stuff because it makes a mess in the spring and grows stuff like crab grass etc... that I have to get rid of and it is to much work

I also use sun flower seeds for larger birds I can guarantee you I will have millions of them by my deck this year so many on the grown Im sure the birds will not get them all but that is ok since the heads will be just over the railing deck is 4 feet about he ground
it will look nice

Nice shots from everyone! Those orchids are my undoing---I threw 4 away a few weeks ago---I'd like to have just one blooming plant! Guess they don't like my house.

they are very picky my sister grows them and she is very good with them keeps them in a closed room with its own termostat at 66 F and no direct sun but lots of bright light and water and fertilize at the right times and hers bloom twice every year for 3 to 4 months man she is good I cant do anything with them they just die lol

good luck with the Niger Jo Ann. I wish I had bothered to dig mine up to see what the problem was before it died. But, live and learn I guess. however, all of the other types of hellebores that I have do all right in that area of the yard. They're not the most vigorous ever, but they do pretty darn well given the situation. However, I have one that was planted just about a foot away from the Niger that is doing fantastic in that area and the leaves have never started to look ratty in the winter as the oriental and hybrids ones do. That one is Hellebore micha 'white beauty'. It's been there 3 going on 4 years now and has tripled in size. Micha doesn't come in any fancy colors or anything like that, nor does it seem to have a lot of seedlings, but it looks good all the time and blooms large, pretty flowers where the niger just fizzled. I think that micha is AKA 'ericsmithii' White Beauty'

This message was edited Feb 20, 2009 10:01 AM

shelly those were nice pictures you posted earlier - as usual - still white here.

Thanks Bill. None of my hellebores, that have live here all winter, have opended up yet, however I think that one of them is going to today or tomorrow!! I don't think that I could take it there where you are!!! Here, if I want snow (and I don't have any) it's usually only a 20 min. drive, or less, to a winter wonderland. I much prefer to go visit the winter wonderland than to actually live in it like you, and quite a few others there do!!!

Thanks for the Niger info. I believe Seneca Hill Gardens has the micha. I'll check it out and maybe substitute.

well worth it! I'll see if I can pull up a picture of mine from last year since it's not blooming just yet now. The poor thing set buds on it at the end of Dec. but was thrown for a loop with the weather patterns.

here it is.... some of a disposable camera's finest work!! I'm posting both of these pictures because the true color is somewhere between the two photos.

very nice

and the other pic of micha

Thanks Scicci! lol. Those pictures really don't do the plant justice. But, I think that they're actually not too bad for a disposable camera! although, i'm definitely glad that I finally got one that is good for more that just 27 pictures.

This message was edited Feb 20, 2009 10:56 AM

just lovely cant grow them where I am just to cold for them since they stay green all winter here they die to the grown and then its to warm to bloom since the foliage has to grow back fist

uggghhh... that's too bad Scicci. As, I said to Bill up there... you folks are a lot tougher than I am. That sort of stuff would just drive me nuts!

is that a disposible digital camera or film shelly?

GROOOOAN My Nigers dont look anything like that.Those are beautiful.

I use to live in toronto down below the bluffs by the lake it was 6b to 7a and I had many of them in different colors and they did fine facing south tucked at the bottome of the fence here they sell them for what reason I do not know since they never survive but I guess if I planted them like on the septic tank they would do well since it is warmer there on the south side of the house .

Good luck with that Scicci! I know a few folks that have tried that here with some zone 8 plants, it actually seems to work all right. Maybe you'll finally get your hellebores.

Jo Ann, that is my only hellebore that looks like that this time of year. The rest get most of their foliage cut off because it looks worse than what i can take.

Bill, that's Kodaks "max" disposable film camera.

just curious - there is a digital "disposable" on the market that my company made the imager chip and camera design inside that was sold through CVS and other drug store chains

Nice shots, Shelly.

I might have to check that camera out Bill, i really ran my camera through the ringer this season when I took it out with my crews. That would be a good step between the disposable I used and the digital I have now. We don't have CVS here. But, I think that I can look them up online and order from them. Are they reasonably priced?

Lol, thanks Victor! Sorry, but those two pictures are going to be replaced as soon as the plant blooms this year.

it is sold not only at CVS so just check the photo section of any drug store - pure digital is the company that sells them to the d-stores - they are ok if you have good lighting.

Forgot to post this yesterday. Buds on my JM Mikawa yatsubusa.

Yeah, you can exorcise tree rats, Cousin Nut. Just call the exterminator. Only problem with that is they can only relocate the little buggers, not kill 'em. Even if they could kill 'em, more will always move in to take their place. They're very prolific.

Andy, that sedum in the snow looks nice. I'm glad most of the snow here is gone now. If only we would not get anymore for the rest of the season. I'm a hopin'.

Shelly, I would have to say that I would not mind working outdoors in winter through the cold. As long as you're moving you stay pretty warm, though the windy days with low temps can be brutal. I would not like working in the winter outdoors in Alaska. My sister Dawn often has to do that. She works for the local telephone company up there, and a lot of her work entails being outside. With temps below zero I would not be a happy camper. You really have to put on the layers there!!!!

Hey, I'm with you, Shelly, I would prefer to visit snow if I get a hankerin' for it rather than live with it most of the winter. I liked it when I lived in Mesa, AZ, cause I could go to the mountains to visit it if I wanted to. Same when I lived in Reno, though they did get some snow now and then. When I was there I could just go to Lake Tahoe and see snow if I wanted to.

Karen

cool shot Victor!... made me think of the castle in Krull

:)