Lol I hope the deer don't come around here!! So far I have been lucky -maybe too many dogs in the neighborhood. : )
What have you ordered for spring 2009 - Part 5
here is what we picked up at lowes yesterday
http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/vbc/onewish1/74812/
Randy Just had to have the red twig dogwoods... sometimes he is as bad as I am
Oooh, now I want to go to Lowe's too!
Went on an errand to the hardware store today, saw a rack of seeds & picked up Calendula & california poppies so won't have to send for them. I had been looking hard for the calendula.
On top of that list I added a few from Meadow growers and Bluestone had more stuff on sale they let me add to my existing order ;-)
guy was supposed to prep the patio and put rocks around one bed while I was away this week, can't wait to see it!
M.
Can't wait to see where Sherrie is from every day!
I went to Lowe's and HD today and purchased a few things. I got a nice pot of Pieris japonica 'Valley Valentine', which is just gorgeous. I also picked up 2 packages of Astilbe roots and a package of 7 bulbs of an Oriental Lily called 'Sorbonne'. Got 4 bags of seed starting mix for my WS efforts. Also got some Liquid Deer Fence concentrate and will see how it works (having lots of trouble with the deer and rabbits these days; they're voracious!). It was really cold outside today. Only 31 with a wind chill of 19 in Plymouth. Not so bad on the wind at my house, so when I got home I got a lot of yard work done, mostly raking out beds and pruning stuff.
Karen
Nice trip to Lowe's! lol You'll love 'Sorbonne', it's a beautiful pink!
When do you have to plant it? Does it smell? I'll look it up.
Plant it now as soon as you can work the ground.
LOL I ain't working no ground no time soon!!! But, I haven't even gone to HD or Lowes yet, so this is all totally hypothetical.
I can work the ground now, actually. This weekend I worked on dividing up large clumps of daffs, and I moved some astilbe plants (still dormant, of course) from the front garden, where they were not getting enough moisture, to a new garden in back/side where the soil is more moisture retentive, and they will be much happier. The garden where they were in front is under a large red oak, and the soil there is too dry, and I think there's too much root competition from the oak. I also transplanted some primulas and snowdrops in the same garden, as well as some variegated Solomon's Seal.
And just yesterday I dug up and transplanted some old fashioned rambler roses from a spot that just wasn't right for them to my arbor behind the house. I had some red climbing roses there that looked awful every year from black spot. The ramblers don't have that problem, so the the red climbers are history. That was a big project. Took me awhile to trim the rose canes back and tame them, then dig them out, then move them to their new homes. I hope their happy there. There were 3 of them, and one I potted up. Will either sell or trade if it does well, unless I can find a good spot for it here.
Karen
I'm still waiting for my son to dig up my overgrown shrub roses, & take them away---he says the soil is still frozen in his yard, & I believe him---he lives in the coldest spot in CT!
It's even frozen on the surface here today...no mud.
robindog....can't you just prune the shrub roses and keep them? I've got some old ones and you can prune them quite a bit will no ill effect...
Miles
PS...you're the next town over from me!
This message was edited Mar 24, 2009 12:33 PM
Where is spring? Go away cold. Please
Spring is over--was it fun?
lol
I ordered a Brother PT-2700 label maker to use for plant tags. Watercan2 showed me a photo of his from last year and they looked great. They have laminated tape that resists fading and is waterproof.
Those are pretty slick Victor.
I have the older model but it still works pretty good.
that's for that info victor i was meaning to ask you what you were using
It was only $60 with free shipping fro Office Max.
I am going to check that label maker out. Now that I am on a daylily kick I am going to need to start labeling stuff! I keep track of everything I plant, to the point that I usually have their botanical names and where they are planted memorized. But I don't think that will work with all the daylilies.
I think something is wrong with me - I just bought a rose at the super market! I know it probably is not the smartest thing to do but I am a sucker and got suckered in. lol Now what do I do with it? It says it is dormant but it appears to be in a pot with some type of moistened media. (I haven't attempted to take the plastic wrap that's surrounding the pot off- yet) And it is getting little green buds - only like two - but I don't think it is dormant anymore. Should I just keepit moist and in the house or can it stand the 30 degree lows we will be having for some time? It is called Tahitian Sunset, I think the combination of wanting to plant some roses and wanting to see a Tahitian Sunset in real life is what got me. ;)
I'd surely like to see a Tahitian sunset about now as well. LOL I've gotten some good deals at the grocery store, too.
Can't help you with any info though. Don't really know roses.
this is the brother ptouch I use... I bought the extra strength adhesive laminated labels... a bit more.. but I think they are worth it
http://www.brother-usa.com/Ptouch/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=PT1010
Miles--wrong town--I live in western CT---you're thinking of Thompson. The roses have been severely pruned before, when we had the house painted. They just grow huge again---they are against the side of my garage, where there is a patio---the canes reach out & grab you! Our son has a lot more room than we do at this point.
I use a p-touch 1880. I think I wish I had bought one that i could hook up to the computer. But it was just 32.00 and has worked great for a couple of years now. I still hate having the beds filled in the winter with the markers showing. Patti
Adds structure.
We bought our property fairly recently, and it needs something of an overhaul in the garden department. For this year, I've ordered (from Miller Nurseries):
2 beach plum
3 lowbush blueberry (1 Northsky, 1 Northcountry, 1 Northblue)
25 Ozark strawberry
2 Aronia
2 "no-bog" North American cranberry
2 grapes (Van Buren and Ontario)
2 heartnut trees
Last fall I planted several bulbs from Old House Gardens and I can't wait to see them pop through the soil.
I'm also going to be creating some raised garden beds using cement blocks that were left here on the property. I plan to make them 4 x 8 foot, and then create some cold frames that can be placed on top. My goal is to try out some 4-season gardening a la Eliot Coleman.
I'll be doing my best to remove the sweetbriar that has taken hold, and cutting the very overgrown forsythia back a bit. We have two, and I may take one out entirely and just leave one as a speciman plant. We have 12 acres, but much of that is woods and only a small amount is available for gardening. I want to maximize the space for edibles. Fortunately, we have a good southern exposure and that will help a lot.
WOOHOO!! Sounds like a great plan. Way to recycle those blocks.
The cement blocks will work really well for cold frame bases. Pics please when you start working on them.
gallesfarm, I am so happy that you are growing beach plums. We planted a couple 20 years ago and enjoy most years 75 to 100 jars of jelly. They are lovely in spring and picking berries in late August is so much fun. It will form a nice small tree. Even some of the small ones that I started from seedlings off the trees produce fruit. Here is a collage of our ours. Good luck with the bramble, all the area around those beach plums were filled with it as most of our property when we bought it. I have been defeating it year by year. Patti
Those are cool trees. I didn't know fruit trees could grow in so much sand. I wonder if it could adapt and become a 'clay plum' in my soil? It's zonally friendly to me.
We have just a small patch of sweetbriar here, unlike our last place, where it was EVERYWHERE and trying to walk through the property was an exercise in pain and ripped clothing. We removed as much as we could using pruners and loppers, and then the sheep ate any shoots that came up from the bases thereafter. But it was a slow process.
I suspect that the sweetbriar was intentionally planted here, because I haven't seen any of it anywhere else nearby and because of where it is. And smack in the middle of the patch is some sort of young fruit tree. I think it's an apple. So, I'd like to get the bramble out, and give the tree a chance.
Pics will be forthcoming - probably a few weeks yet because my garden spot is still covered with snow!
I'm eager to try the beach plum. I'd seen it in the catalog before and decided to give it a try. Supposed to be really hardy and not picky about soil, so if that's true, it should do well here. :)
Anybody else grow Aronia? It looked intriguing.
Love the pic of the tree covered in snow. Lovely silhouette.
But Patti, doesn't that mean that you (or DS) has to cook 75 jars of jelly/jam?
Will trade jelly/jam making labour for jelly/jam.
Carrie, My DH does most of the work. Last year was a bumper crop and he got nearly a hundred jars. My job is to pick the stems off them.
Dahlianut, I think we might have a customs issue. I do take some up to the family cottage near Algonquin Park each summer. Jan, I love that tree in the winter snow too. I think it is the small size that seems so charming when covered with snow.
A pair of Geese just flew right by my window at eye level heading toward the moors and away from any water, weird. I have never seen them over the house before except in the fall and high above. Wish I had time to grab the camera. Patti