Doc, just keep poppin those pills, drink hot chicken soup and put a hot water bottle on your chest. I used to drink hot tea with whiskey in it and put a heating pad on my chest to "bake it out".
Let’s Swap some plants! Ric & Holly’s
Oh Doc! I'm catching up on threads, and I'm so sorry to hear you've been ill! Yes, *you* are our #1 priority, don't even give a thought to plants, just get well. We can help you fill some patio containers with spring seedlings! :-)
Doc saying prayers for your recovery - please take it easy and do what the other Doc orders - ok?
Lovely day..........now off the medicine. Feeling better. Took a short walk and gently began reworking my health club exercises this AM. Whew......that pneumonia knocks a fellow down for sure.
Doc, glad you are feeling better. It is a lovely day, I got outside a bit, all bundled up as I usually do this time of year, but the wind is bitter cold so I had to come in. They are talking snow flurries Sunday and Monday.
Yes, glad to hear you are on the mend.
Glad that you're feeling better. If it's any consolation, my son had pneumonia when he was a teenager and he told me that he felt like he was 100 years old.
Your son had a good assessment. I'm working on 74 and felt like 110 peeking through a keyhole to try and figure out where I just came from. LOL The good news is I woke up this AM. That is the first issue each day.
Everything after that is smooooth sailing! :)
Well now that is questionable.................granted it is sailing. LOL As on the high seas the word smooth may show up on occasion. Those are the bluebird days.
Love bluebird days!
Looks like I will have a, ahem, larger amount of MG's to bring with in May :-)
I've been transplanting tomatoes today, and as usual I started more seeds than I need... How much interest is there in tomatoes? If I pot them all up, I'll probably have a dozen or so extra cherry tomatoes (several varieties) and at least 3 dozen extra regular tomatoes (several varieties again -- pink, red, yellow, bicolor, and a couple black), depending on how many my brother wants.
There may well be extra peppers, too, especially hot ones (sweets I can often cram in somewhere). Those will get potted up in the next couple of days.
I got behind because of being away... need to start basil & so many other things yet!
I did stick a few crooked willow cuttings and also some honeysuckle (Lonicera americana and also coral honeysuckle, and yes Miata's name is on a pot of the latter). Any takers, assuming they strike roots?
Jill: Only if you are at the point of tossing them, I'd love cherries and peppers. But let everyone else pick first; don't set any aside for me. It's a little crazy here; I have no clue yet what I'll be bringing.
I'm just trying to find the balance between last year, when I could probably have given away twice as many tomato plants, and Hart's swap, where I had a lot of orphans left at the end. :-) I haven't started as many flowers as usual (so far), so I have room on my light shelves... might as well pot up the extras then.
Cherries seem to survive on our shady patio. I really need to plant some seeds. But I haven't even gotten last falls leaves off . . . .
We're in the same boat Happy. My hellebores are blooming away and I haven't even got to trim away the old dead growth to enjoy them. Thanks for tagging the honeysuckle for me Critter.
I've got Black/Chocolage Cherry, Dr. Carolyn (gold), Sungold F1, and Wild Cherry... not sure if I'll have an extra Tumbling Tom or two, as the neighbor might want those. I started a bunch of Elfin and Sprite seeds also (red grape varieties, nice for containers) but only got one seedling... If I find time, I may start a couple more reds.
Regular size tomatoes, should have extras of most, especially Stupice and Jaune Flamme (smaller but early and very productive for me)... I grew out some pasters (Polish Linguisa, Black Pear, and an unknown prolific little one), red (Wisconsin 55, German Queen) and pink beefsteaks (Potato Top, Black Mountain Pink), oxhearts (German Red Strawberry & Joe T's Australian), Brandywine Yellow, and bicolors (Flame/Hillbilly, maybe an extra Mr. Stripey). Russian Black are being very slow, so I don't know if I'll have any extras there. If anybody has particular requests, please let me know and I'll try to put your name on 'em.
(I probably forgot a couple of varieties, so I might come back & edit)
Hey Bec :-~~~~~ so there!!
Hear...now here this. Ahem! Being way behind this is what I shall bring for the rumble. It is a rumble is it not? A year ago you all gave me or I picked from the table some Christmas Cactus, some violets and one way or another got some coleus. I got busy and clay potted some fifty or more. BINGO......I shall load up some of those for you all to pick over pots and all as you will see them. The violets are now a year old and begining to throw flowers. The coleus will be about eight inches and nicely branched. The Christmas Cactus come in various sizes and most NOIDS but all are started cuttings other than the traditional redish purples. Some pots are even mixed CC. I owe two people one of those potted plants and one person some selected cuttings. The rest will be up for grabs with or without a trade. This will be my friendship offering. I baby sitted them a whole year just for you and you better grab them or I shall go off into a corner and pout. LOL
Oooh! Those sound absolutely wonderful, Doc. No pouting or arm twisting will be needed, I assure you! I know you've been putting this generous gift together since the moment you got back from last winter's seed swap. Thank you!!
doc, I'll be happy to help rid you of those pesky things!
um, oh shoot I guess I should get my own tomatos seeds planted soon.
I would also be happy to have those!!!
Jill, I could take some off your hands, one of my co-worker's husband just lost his job, and she was asking me about growing a bigger veggie garden, she did a few tomatoes and sweet peppers last year. I don't think I'll have many extra plants to share with her as I am running out of starting space. So I'll take what will be left after everyone gets their pick.
I'll share some of my extra seeds like peas and beans with her just to get her started with her garden. She has 2 children, one in preschool so this may encourage some young new gardeners too.
Oh, good! Because I just potted up 3 and a half flats of tomatoes (36 per flat, and one whole flat is cherry varieties), and it looks like I'll have double the hot peppers I can use, also (not all are hot-hot, for example I have several extra 'Pizza Pepper' seedlings). I may have a few extra sweets, but it's easier to make room for 5 dozen sweet peppers than for 5 dozen tomato seedlings, LOL. Some will go to neighbors, family, etc, but it sounds like I can probably find homes for a dozen cherry tomatoes of different types plus at least a couple dozen regular ones. Again, letting me know if you're interested (and how many you can use) lets me know how many to put into the car. :-)
Just pick me out one mator. ROTFLOL...I know what you're thinking right now...OMG, CHANTELL...not a repeat of years ago WHAT kind do you want? Chantell's response: surprise me ^_^
LOL, at least give me a clue as to size & color... but you know I didn't grow out any that I didn't think would perform well & taste wonderful, so you can always just reach into the box and select one at random. :-)
I did grow out a few extra Potato Top tomatoes, because it's my favorite heirloom... DH likes red ones like Wisconsin 55 and German Red Strawberry... for the history of Potato Top, check out my article here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2213/
I grow Potato Top tomatoes, save a lot of seed and send it to the gentleman you mentioned in your article. This year I have only twelve seed that I kept for me. I like the tomato. The leaves are different. People often ask what the heck is that ?
Thanks, Doc! I know Doug appreciates any extra seed he can get, since he gets mores responses to his offer every year. :-)
I shall live on the edge - close my eyes, reach in the box and whaa laaa!
I'll make sure to put the strangest tomato on top... ;-)
: l~~~ ROTFLOL
Roses, I found your post about the cuttings! You were asking how-to... I don't have experience with most of them, but with lilacs I've found the best thing is if the plant is putting up little "water shoots" at its base, you can usually dig down and cut one away from the mother plant, getting at least a little piece of root with the cutting. Pot it up, and there ya go.
Also, this is the time to take cuttings from willows, before the leaves get "bigger than a mouse's ear" according to my mom. Just cut, and stick into moist potting mix or dirt... or you can put the branches into a bucket of water and pot up when you see roots forming.
I just stuck some crooked willow cuttings. :-) Holly, the black pussy willow cuttings you gave me are doing great -- I've got 2 nice ones, and the little trimmings might be rooting also.
I'm reading through this thread again, trying to catch all the things I missed... I'll be editing my first post on this thread with a better list.
Gita, I think the curly spider plant is probably 'Bonnie'. I'm glad you've got some to share! My original one is failing, and my new little one isn't big enough to take cuttings yet. I can bring regular spiders (green & variegated), but I think everybody probably has those.
LadyG & Sally, I'd love to try your hardy geraniums. I think they like my yard. :-) I will try to get cuttings of 'Biokovo' for the swap (even if I don't get rooted ones like I had last year, they root easily).
I am also bringing some Heliopsis. This plant grows about 7 feet tall, has yellow daisies. No seeds. Divisions. Also dug up some seedlings from the Greater Celandine Poppy. And anything else I can find, I will list, as I find it.
I've got a somewhat shorter Heliopsis (H. helianthoides var. scabra, aka "not chocolate daisy" LOL), and it's one of my favorites... blooms all summer long! I'll check for volunteers... should be a couple out there...
I also winter sowed seeds for a variegated Heliopsis, but no sprouts yet in the jug.
Jill, keep one for me. Maybe we could do a swap.
Thanks, but I'm not sure I have a good spot for such a tall one... I've got something similar (mexican sunflower, I think the seed packet said?) in my back corner already! I will see about potting one of mine for you, though... a variegated one too, if the darn things sprout!
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia) is not tall, unless what you have is different. My kitchen window is high and I can see the beautiful flowers from the top down, instead of the bottom up. I can also see over the rose arbor. The people who built our house for themselves, were very tall & Bob & I are very short (????) so I have a step stool & a grabber to get food out of the top of the cupboards. That's the reason the house went so cheap. Bob bought it in the 60's for $ 12,000.00. Worth much more now.
What I have is tall (6 or 7 feet tall!)... I've just got the name confused.
sorry, photo is unedited & sideways, but this does show the height. Come to think of it, I believe Claypa ID'd it for me as a native... will have to ask him again. :-)
Buttoneer--I am afraid to ask if you are missing a few places in that price of house. I suppose you are not. Oh
MY
GOSH.
But I beg to differ, or clarify, on Tithonia. There is a tall one and I believe a shorter cultivar also pretty common. I of course bought the big ol tall gangly one- ( seemed fitting) It's orange , grows like lightning and turns into a bushlike plant. Here's one from June 14th and it will grow plenty after this. Plan for a five foot tall, four foot wide plant. You could probably grow some small gourds on the plant for framework.
critter- there are some wild sunflowers. Pretty sure you usually see Mexican sunflower name used on Tithonia in the sed trade.
