What cool things have you added this spring?

Katye & Ginger- nice hauls, both of you!

I'm afraid Hops will be too large and vigorous for my limited space, but they are really nice looking vines.

Katye, sorry to hear you lost so many things. But that new Ribes sounds very pretty. I really like those lighter pink ones. And, that Daphne sounds wonderful-I'll have to keep an eye out for those. I'd be really happy to be a "rest stop" for you on your drive between Bend and Seattle if you take this route-let me know? :)

I went to a nursery I hadn't been to before on Friday and came home with a small, one-gallon variegated Ribes whose blooms are looking like they'll be a dark magenta. Very curious to see how it turns out...now, where to put it....Didn't get too much else-picked up a couple of $1/gal clearance hebes as backups in case a couple of mine that are not doing anything don't recover, and also an astrantia on the $1/gal clearance, along with a midnight blue penstemon-can't remember its full name right now, and an arthropodium candidum to replace the one that seems to have died.

I have a very small own-root Contorted Filbert/ HLWS that I bought mail order a year and a half ago and it's proving to be quite slow-growing. It did suffer in a windstorm last year-something fell on it and broke lots of the branches off and it's still recovering. It's all of about 18" tall right now. The one-and-a-half branches are nice and wiggly, though. :) Because it's so slooow, I'm thinking it may be in too much shade. I've had it tucked away to protect it from more damage while it recovered (It's in a pot) but maybe I should try it in a different spot?

There were three contorted filberts at Lowe's today. They don't look grafted at all. they aren't very big (beachball?). I really wanted one but it says morning sun only and everywhere I have is full sun at the moment.

I'll have to think on that and figure out how to pull it off.

Ginger

Contorted filbert is the same as HLWS.
Ginger - I think he's just being fussy. After all, the plants had to be outside this winter, while we were cozy inside. I am curious to hear about what happens on that branch over the summer. Please let me know what you think about the red form. I have just the place for one...
Sue - they like full sun here. I'd keep it in a pot and see how it progresses. But maybe pot it up in a larger container to give it some more room for root growth. I will definitely see you on my way down to Bend. Don't have a date yet - it will probably be june or july.
The losses are disappointing - always are, and always will be. I generally don't push my zone, so sometimes what doesn't make it surprises me. As with the Red spotted Cistus. Both of them showed the same type damage, one of which was in a more sheltered location. Now I'll need to find something alse to replace it with: something 4-5' high or so. Maybe a Hibiscus syriacus.....
I found a nicely branched/priced Franklinia at Wells, which I may retrieve this week. I need a smallish tree for the orchard border, and the Stewartias are very small & very $$$. Wish there were more trees that max out at 15 - 20'. (No more crabapples! too many!)

I had not seen the variegated ribes - I'll have to ask about it. White Icicles is pretty big at 5 years old. The Red-throated Hummers really like the blossoms.

Woo glad you got some hops! Sounds like you got a great deal too.

I finally got the blueberries in the ground (which already have nice little blossoms...I wonder if they will produce this year...) and my Italian Plum tree. I know it's late but we have been sick - yuck. Plus the landscaper wanted us to wait until our new grass had sprouted before we planted so he could weed the garden beds easier...poor guy I just couldn't wait. Techincally I did wait until the grass had sprouted though...

Still have to plunk in the strawberries and grape vines....hopefully this coming week will see me busy in the yard. I just have to get a website done for the landscaper...ahh I love a good barter!

Kayte - I love the hummer photo. I have one little green guy that keeps flying around my yard looking for something to snack on. For a while he was checking out the bright colored tags on my plants - poor guy is outta luck for now.

Katye, your hummer pic is spectacular!!

DBower - if your blueberries flower, there will be berries!
BTW - not a photo I took - it's representative of the little guys that are all over my Ribes.
They are fun to watch, and I get easily distracted by their antics. It's pretty cool when they're hovering 3 feet from your face, and keeping a wary eye.

Now you have me excited Kayte! All but one of them has flowers! The lady at the nursery told me they wouldn't produce this year (she said that before the flowers appeared of course...) ...but maybe she was saying that so I wouldn't get my hopes up! Now I am really stoked.

I read and article about humming birds last year. I guess they are pretty vicious to one another. Good thing they are only a couple inches big!

I went to a wedding yesterday just outside of DC and got to bring home one of the centerpieces. Columbine ' biedermeir' It is beautiful. I am only used to the short little white ones that are volunteers in my garden. It says this gets 12" tall, but I would say it's at least 18"
Also, the favors were Norway Spruce seedlings from The Arbor Day Foundation. Everything was recycled or reusable. They served a vegetarian meal. It was very good, but I did notice that there were a few that wouldn't partake. Too bad. Their loss.
The bride's dress was vintage. It was a beautiful gold color with beading. Knee-length and sleeveless. It was outdoors by a little river, next to an old mill where the reception was held.

Ooooh. Lovely! Columbine Biedermeyer:

http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/21/index.htm

What a wonderful idea for a wedding, Jan!

Katye, OK, I'll try moving it, but I think I'll wait a little longer to repot it. And, delighted to hear you'll swing by here--and also delighted that I still have a couple of months to spiff everything up and hide all my mistakes, LOL!

Oooh, blueberries- You're doing better than I am, I still haven't gotten up to Tsugawa's....hmm, maybe this morning...

Jan, that wedding sounds really neat and creative. What a neat way to remember the day with such a pretty columbine and a tree. I'm your typical American Omnivore (And have the hips to prove it, lol!) but I don't understand why some folks won't eat vegetarian-even once in while, though. I wonder if they would have eaten it if they weren't told it was "vegetarian"?? That wedding dress sounds kind of like my mother's from the '50's. It was a sleeveless knee-length gold dress with gold embroidery worn under a matching gold coat, with a tiny hat and wisp of a veil.

Jan. Whoever your friends are... They have class.

People who care that much for what they are doing with sustainablilty should do well in their marriage.

I hope they want to have lots of kids and raise them with the same values!

Ginger

Jan what a wonderful wedding that must have been! sounds perfect to me, but I do indulge in sins of the flesh - I eat meat!

I don't understand why eating meat would make them choose not to eat a dish without meat . . .

LOL..Katie. That is very true and a great way to look at it.

In mean, even if you eat meat you usually have side dishes with it that are not meat.

Really, some people cannot think outside their own little box. If it is "Vegetarian" it should not be eaten by meat eaters.

I am an omnivore mostly on the herbivore side. I had to quit for the most part eating meat to get control of my weight......but when in Vegas and prime rib is $5.95 .. who can resist a bargain????

Sometimes a KFC attack is just plain unaviodable and who can not have CB &C on St. Patty's day?

Judi. We knew you were a sinner with no self control. I mean you ARE on the DAYLILY boads as well aren't you?

Ginger

Today I found another native plant source - in Corvallis, of all places (I go down there regularly to visit family)!

http://www.willamettegardens.com/

Katye:

You've got to love those Magnolia "Butterflies"! One of the reasons I like them here in the PNW is the fact that (a) their flowers aren't too big to get trashed by the rain, and (b) they tend to bloom just a tad bit later than some, giving the flowers a better chance of being seen for a season. We had to replant ours because the first one got trashed by a not-so-neighborly source of lawn fertilizer!

We have 3 HLWS, and all of them produce abundant catkins. One is on a tall standard (that's why we bought it), the others are the plain plant. They are now large and beautiful! I saw some on sale at our local Home Depot last week for $25. I couldn't believe it!

We just planted two new trees that we really enjoy. One of them is a acer conspicuum "phoenix," and the other is an acer tegmentosum "Joe Witt." Both are beautiful snake bark maples, the first being an intense red and yellow stripe, the second being a green and while stripe. There are some huge versions of the latter at the Arboretum at U of W. I'd love to collect those things because the bark is so intriguing no matter what time of year.

We are also enjoying the fact that our Quercus Dentata "Carl Ferris Miller" is growing well. While a smallish tree overall, it has humungous leaves, quite stunning however you use it.

Haven't been on DG as much as I would like recently - we still have the 2 yr old granddaughter until Friday. I probably should be taking a nap right now, too. I'm tired!!! :)

The link for the 'biedermeir' columbine looks just like it. Thanks. It was my nephew's wedding.

I agree - some can't think outside of the 'vegetarian' box, so won't even try. It was a table that was on the bride's side that had the verbal reaction. Don't know if they tried any or not.

I forgot to mention that the bride is a volcanologist so had the groom's cake in the shape of a volcano and they had a little cup in the 'crater' that they put dry ice inside. When I first saw the cup my reaction was - how neat, they are going to do the baking soda/vinegar thing. But that would have made a mess of the cake. My niece brought a piece for my hubby cuz we had to leave before they cut the cake.

When I just logged in I had 29 threads to catch up with. Needless to say, it is taking awhile.

billr - they sound great!

What I don't understand is if people turn up their noses at vegetarian food does that mean that everything they eat has flesh in it? My neighbors are vegans and they make the most delicious soups!

Jan - 29 threads!!! I can barely keep up with 5 or 6!

Yesterday I planted some herbs and spinach. Last week I sowed lettuce seeds. Today I will put tomato starts in the ground - well, maybe in a few days when it gets warmer. Has anyone tried those hanging things for tomatoes? I am going to put a cherry tomato plant in one and see how it does.

LOL, Judi. I know, I could hardly believe it. Most of them are from PNW and NE forums.

I am trying one too Judi. I do know that the stands for them were all recalled so mine is going in an lawn unbrella stand in the house until hell quits freezing over.

Ginger

My brother gave an "upside-down" tomato to my folks a couple of years ago and it worked very well on their deck.

I would say that you should be sure to mount it high-enough to pick tomatoes easily. If you mount it in the right place for watering, then the plant could easily touch the ground (and it's no easier to find the ripe tomatoes and pick them than it would be if they were upright).

And they are not so easy to refill the second year - setting them up (and re-setting them up) seems to be the hard part.

I did the upside down tomatos for two years, and then quit. The first year they did fine, but like Kathy mentioned, cleaning them from the first year and then setting them up the next year was a bear. The result was not significantly different from the ones that I grow in pots, and staking them up was much easier than the thought of having to deal with the planters again, so I gave up. Also, remember when you are hanging them that they are VERY heavy, so make sure that what you hang them on is substantial!

Beadmom LOL You guys are colder there than Portland. Is it still freezing at night there?

I got one of the hanging things because I have a limited amount of space in my little city yard. I'll hang it on the deck. Anything to grow more food!

It's a bit chilly here today so I'm using that as an excuse to catch up with email & do the crossword puzzles in the newspaper. I'm not very good at it but my 92 year old Dad does them in a flash in ink. Obviously he did not pass that gene onto me!

It wasn't last week but as of tonight we are going back to the 20's for a week or so.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


Ginger

Well, Judi - you have a "few" more years to practice. I'm sure you'll be up to your dad's speed by the time you're 92!!

I have a HLWS that we bought last year and it is doing fine in a pot. I will take some cuttings and try to get them to root. Maybe they will be ready by the Roundup for anyone who wants one.
Katie59, I took pictures of the progress in the Cloner, but now it is outdated. I will go take new pictures today and post them.

Thanks, Lynn. So which ones of the ones I gave you seem to have taken?

Here is a picture of the top of the EZ Cloner taken yesterday.
Unfortunately, some of the labels fell into the water, so I don't know what is what. You know, the old "I will remember this one" story. After taking the pictures, I threw out some of the cuttings that were not sprouting and appeared to be decaying.

Here is a picture of the roots in the EZ Cloner. My oh my, I definitely need to do some potting today!

Here are the roots one month ago. What a difference!

Here are some of my wintersown containers of new baby seedlings. This is my first year to wintersow. So far, so good and EASY!!! No hardening off!

Lynn, Wow! They are really progressing well! Did you have a cutting of your HLWS in there by any chance? Reason I am asking is that I remember there was a little furry little kid that I didn't recognize in your cloner that was one of the first hardwoods that had roots. After looking at my HLWS closely due to conversations in this thread, I realized that that might be what that cutting was. Figure I would throw that out there in case it helped you ID one of your unknowns!

Happy Planting!!

Yes, I found a broken little stem on my HLWS, so I put it in the Cloner. I had completely forgotten about that. I will check on it today. Hopefully I will have time to get some planted, Joey needs to go to work so I can get something done.
Here is a picture of my new GH before we disassembled it to bring it home. I absolutely cannot wait to get it put up. It might be months before it gets done though. Oh well, it will be worth the wait.

Lynn, what a nifty way to root-in the plastic bottles. You can sure control humidity I think.

The plastic containers made such nice little greenhouses. Mother Nature did most of the watering and they are germinating when they are good and well ready.They are already used to being outside, so I can plant them whenever I am ready, and of course when the fear of frost is gone. I do cover the the sprouting containers if I think it might freeze. I have so many plastic milk jugs, soda bottles, take out containers, etc. full of sprouting seedlings that DH is embarrassed of them. He will change his tune when everything is in the ground and looking beautiful and the only cost was the potting mix. The seeds came from friends here on DG. That picture was only about a fourth of what I have!

Thanks for the pictures, Lynn. It looks like you have a lot of stuff goind in there.

I don't recognize anything - what I gave you was all hardwoods and it sounds like those were the most problematic. Too bad, but certainly worth a try.

Did you get a new greenhouse? Where did you get it?

Looks like you have lots and lots of little seedlings going.

Lynn, Your new GH looks awesome! I am so happy for you! The benches are wonderful too! One less thing to have to worry about when you have the time to get it set up.

Kathy, I keep promising Lynn that I will remember to share some of my root tone that is designed for hard wood cuttings. I think that it will make a big difference, as will the learning curve with the cloner. Bet she is much more successful with the hardwoods in the future!

We bought the GH on Craigs List for $400. That included the benches and bricks for the floor. There were approx 15 broken windows that will need to be replaced and the auto ventilators are missing. Joey is going to put it on concrete blocks so it will be higher. That way it can hold hanging baskets better.
Katye, some of the hardwoods rooted. I will take close up pictures of them individually. Petunias rooted amazingly fast, and the Sarcococca cuttings were fast as well. Hardwood, well that is another animal!

Congratulations on your new greenhouse, Lynn. That's a find.

I'll be interested to hear if the hardwood rooting hormone works better than the gel.

Lynn, looks like you will be very busy for a while. Glad you got your new greenhouse, looks like a good addition to the one you have. Did any of the cuttings I put in your cloner start? Know this is not the "proper" time for hardwood cuttings, I am sure we will be more successful in the alte summer or fall.,