me and DH cleared two areas for a vegie garden and we could move on sunday morning I am still hurting everywhere now but one garden is all planted with tomatoes, basil, zucchini and cucumbers, the other has onion, shallots, and is waiting for the beans and carrottes, hopefully it will produce well after the disaster of last year made a big beautifull garden just to have it all washed away in a rain storm, so we decided that this year we would make it on higher ground.
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #36
My dentist actually suggested using the sports-type mouth guard you put in boiling water and then mold to your mouth for the same reason..except it was after he had to replace one of my crowns.
My biggest problem is that I started taking mine out in my sleep. I also tend to sleepwalk when I'm stressed, so it would wind up in some pretty strange places.
I never broke another one, though, so it must have helped when I did manage to keep it in.
La, the species Dahlias get taller than the bedding types you see sold as bedding plants, about 2-3'. I think they may be Dahlia merckii:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/149820/
There are several species pictured on this site I found, but most look pretty similar. These we're growing have lavender and wine colored blooms.
http://www.dahlia-nds.co.uk/specie_dahlia.htm
I love dahlias have them planted all over the place they sure do make a good show of blooms if kept dead headed mine bloom from mid june to late october
Oooh thanks Neal! They have a couple of buds on them and am really excited to see them bloom. They do appear to be much sturdier than bedding dahlias....have you ever tried saving tubers from them? I saved a few bedding tubers last year just for S & Gs and believe it or not some of them survived and are growing like champs. I'd have to think these would do even better.
I've been weeding and planting like a woman possessed and my friends think I'm truly out of my mind. I have a standing date with some of my GFs on Tuesday nights, and after blowing off 2 of the last 4 weeks I attended last night to avoid the serious grief I knew my absence would ensue. I had to keep myself from watching the clock to see when I could safely make my get-away without causing a ruckus. LOL! After all the initial work is complete I can kick back and enjoy my summer, but while the beds are still over-run with weeds and the plants are withering in their tiny cell packs I have serious ants in my pants to get it all done.
I waited to start my planting until I was just about done with the plant sale. This means I'm using all the left-overs which means I got all the small scrawny stuff. LOL. It'll all look great in a few weeks as long as I can keep the local band of marauding canines out of everything. Grrr! My own dog is being kept on a pretty short leash until the plants get some size to them, but I swear there are more dogs than humans in this tiny burg and they all love my yard best.
of course they love your yard they are curious animals so where ever you disturbe the soil they will be there peeing on it and digging at it lol that is the doggie way mine has been trained and he jumps over the small ones and walks around the larger ones but that is four years of training
tabasco, what kinds of seed did you get for your wildflower bed? I hadn't heard of that company, must check them out!
re: night guards.... when my TMJ flared up 5 yrs ago, i got one of these http://www.splintek.com/ph/sleepright.html
I was also put on a 'special' diet of soft foods for months.... it seemed to do the trick. I now only get pain if i eat almonds or 'bite' when i'm nervous about something.... i'm, a cuticle biter... and that put huge stress on the jaw.
OH crap... i forgot to take before images of the flower bed i luckily worked on late yesterday afternoon.... it started raining last night, and it is still doing so -- the plants should be nice and happy.
I tried to 'pull' out the lily of the valley, not realizing you can not 'pull' that stuff out..... it just snaps at the roots. Oh well, they will be back in the spring before all the other plants, and i'll just pull them again.
only thing i forgot to plant was the White Swan Echinacea - i think there are 5-6 lil babies. I'll get those in when it stops raining.
Neal, Here's the Everwilde info: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/5871/
I just looked up my e-mail for the list of seeds I ordered but could only find out what I paid through Paypal. (It made me cringe) with no details. I ordered a lot of seeds (I must have lost my head) and I will be happy to share since it looks like they offer nice amounts in their packets.
I know that uneasy feeling when the weeds are taking over and the unplanted plantlings are sitting there getting leggy. My kids said I was like 'H- - - on wheels' when I was in the garden yesterday (bossing them around!). We got a lot done, though, and I'm more at peace today, drinking coffee and enjoying the view of the (weedless) garden.
Now I am looking for suggestions of nice soft mounding white or pale perennials that bloom in May. My garden is too spikey with alll the irises and daffodil greens and columbine and bellflowers. Need something nice and mounding. Any ideas?
p.s., about the Mouth guards. Yes, definitely go to Walgreens and get the do it yourself ones. Our dentist recommended them right away. I couldn't see any difference between those and the one I bought several years ago from another dentist for I-won't-tell-you-how- much. )-: My 3 kids all use them.
I see a deer out my window contemplating on which daylily she's going to have for snack so must go!!
t, can I borrow your kids for a while I sure could use them in my beds for a day LOL Is this plant white enough for you or do you have one, I'm collecting seeds off of it now because I didn't get them deadheaded too much life going on around me :)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/172486/
They sure look bigger than what the plantfiles say though.
I know you probably have this one:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/110642/
Mine are nice mounds and I just love them!
Neal, my ostrich asters are starting to bloom and they are soo pretty!!! And Star my red select dianthus is beautiful!!!! Thanks to both of you soo much!
Does anyone have the Coral Bean growing by any chance? I planted two last year and they aren't up yet, are they late coming up or have I lost them? I hope someone knows.
It's finished raining for a bit so I feel the need to pull some weeds LOL
Just popping in to say Hi. I'm still struggling with our 2 weeks of spring, it's already summer here and so much didn't get done yet, or worse was scorched by an unseasonable heat wave. No rain since Feb. Another year of drought, and we're already having wildfires. Hang on to your hats, with the weather you all are having back east, I think we're in for a wild ride this year.
I already to start collecting Mediterranean Sea Pinks, they are still blooming and a lot of them have bloomed out already. I like them so much, that I can see using them as a companion plant in some of my pots.
Keep you all posted.
Be well.
WIB,
SW
Oh SW, you be careful I've seen those wildfires and they are really scary! be safe and I hope none get your place!
t, this one is beautiful without flowers but when the flowers come on the foliage dies back and comes back again, the foliage is like rabbit ears so soft and white, you would love this one if you don't have it mine are in bloom now I could save some seeds for you, they need room though after they are full grown they get about 3' around and the flowers are tall but you don't even need flowers with this one.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/37972/
Lea -- that Sage is interesting....
raining here... all day. Tomorrow and the weekend are expected to be nice.
Lea, no, I don't have Snow in Summer! Very pretty and a good filler for me! Thanks for suggesting it!
I have never seen your Sage, either!
You do grow some interesting specimens!
SW, sorry to hear about the crummy weather in the past few months. My sister in Fallbrook reports the same thing.
tcs, I had that sage in the swap, it's one of my favorites! I'll save more seeds this year and put your name on some :)
t, I'll save you some seeds from both, you need to get in our swap this year :)
I had so many seed that I didn't get planted because of dad having a rough time when it was time to start them that I just plan on sending a bag and a list in to who ever has the swap and I'm not going to look at what is offered this year lol I can't look cause I would be asking for seeds that I couldn't plant I still have so many even from last years swap! I tried not looking last year but it just didn't work LOL
My Inula 'orientalis' are blooming now and I'm dying to get seeds from them, they're purdy too!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/80506/
Singingwolf, are mediterranean sea pinks those light pink, almost poppy looking blooms on pinks foliage? They're everywhere here, including at the front of our neighborhood. If I can collect seed that would be cool, I've been wondering!
Don't feel bad Lebug. We have had non stop rain for months now. Everythign her e is startign to mold and rot. The yard is full of all kidns of mushrooms form it and we got mroe thudnerstorms and possible hail again yet today. I so far behidn on seed too , I ha d decide d to wait for the first tiem and start alot of stuff in the ground instead of inside cuz I wa sout of room and now it gettign late in the season and too much floodign and rain.
The perennials may go ahea d and try and get otu, but ain't even gonna try and more annuals for this year.
Was bad enough we had so much floodign and tornadoe s of our own now we got all this mess upf rom Flordia that been here for almost two weeks solid.
I got Dahlias that need to go into groudn and can;'t cuz it way to wet and they woudl either float away or rot it so bad here.
Singign Wolf ya wanan trad e soem sun for rain, be glad to send a few feet deep of it. What poor flower s are tryign to bloom are beign destroye d from the beatign they taking.
I feel like i have gone from zone 8 b to zone 4 a. Can;t fertilize , can't even put a fungicid e otu cuz the rain is on stop. First tiem in don'tknwo hwo logn abel to get back on puter and not have to unplug as fast as I get booted up. Onyl thing growign good is my Cannas. They lovign all this rain.
I'm hopign next door wil brign me anothe r load of manur e to rty and rais e thes e beds up soem more , the foot I went up still not enough and can't get my veggie s in til the rian stops or get the ground higher. If they don't get in groudn soon wil have to pitch them, cuz they gonna be so root boudn they wil end up beign stunted and not do anything.
Oh, been meanign to tell ya all, if ya get a branch that breaks or bends but that is not compeltely broke off and you want to save blooms from it, get ya a little peice of velcro and wrap aroudn it. It works great for holdign up bent and buste d branches.
Lea
>>My Inula 'orientalis' are blooming now
those look like little sunflowers. how cute. I can never get sunflowers to grow because the bunnies love the seedlings.
all the ones that come up are from bird seed that gets buried.
I got the rest of my dahlias in just before it started raining it took me a week to figure out where and get them in the first ones I put in are starting to come up only about two inches out of the ground but I can see them so that is good so far hoping they all come up still have some of the stragglers that I dont know if they will grow and havent decided where I want those since if they dont come up it will leave holes in the landscaping lol
Sic.. How deep do ya plant them in the ground. Haven't plante d dahlia tubers in the ground before/
tcs, your Inulas don’t look like mine? I know they have several kinds, I really wanted the ones that the petals are further apart and longer kind of feather looking. They might change a little next year this is the first year for them that’s what the flowers looked like on the package. How old are your Inulas?
I couldn’t believe how many sunflowers reseeded in my middle bed for this year, usually the birds get my seeds even before they are developed.
My milkweed bed looks so bare! I didn’t get any of my milkweeds started and those were really important to me. I’m sure some of the annuals will reseed later but right now all I have are a few of the purple milkweeds that I planted last year and they are starting to bloom now :) And I had some castor beans reseed, couldn’t believe it I just knew that I had taken all the beans off because I was afraid the cats would get into them.
Star, I’m so sorry about your rain! Isn’t it awful to get all of this rain now and none for this summer and I just know that’s what’s going to happen! I read on here about putting mulch in a five gal. bucket and using miracle grow in the water for your tomatoes maybe you can try a couple like that, I‘d like to try that one of these days, someone’s father planted his like that every year and they said he had a bumper crop. It’s been raining so much here that I’ve having problems getting plants in the ground too when it does dry out a bit I don’t have the time to do it but we haven’t had nearly as much rain as you have had!
I’ve called two different guys to try and get my pipe fixed downstairs that froze for my hose and neither has called me back, thank goodness for this rain now cause it was really starting to dry out and I don’t think my flowers would have made it by the weekend they were all drooping so bad.
I gotta tell you I’m so disappointed in the annual salvia selection at the nurseries around here :) I had such pretty salvia seeds from the swap and didn’t get any started now I have to have what everyone else has lol I’m hoping my black and blue reseed but haven’t seen any yet maybe later on in the season? The black and blue salvias and coral bean vine are the only two plants that I was really wanting to come back and so far no luck :( I did buy one more black and blue at the nursery. I think I'll put this one in a pot and try and save it this year.
I forgot :)
Neal how deep do I plant these Ensigh MGs? About 1/4"? I put them to soak in H202 the other day and one has sprouted I had some pots outside to get wet from the rain and ready to plant them, Hey better late th an never lol I just did start my moon fowers too and still need at least one MG for the front! But I have so many different seeds just can't decide which one to put out there lol
I had my cordless outside when I was pulling weeds yesterday and kept getting these stupid calls people selling things that one of the phone calls I just didn't hang up right away and forgot and ran my battery down! I had phone calls to make today to the VA and lawyer and now I can't use my phone until I get the batteries recharged LOL
kl, I will take a photo right after I finish "pacing myself" (read that as goofing off). I did take one or two photos of the seeds, blooms but am not sure I got the foilage. It is a low growing ground cover like plant, that send up flowers two or three inches above it's foilage. A photo is worth a thousand words. I will be starting to collect seeds from it as they are starting to ripen.
LeBug, am in the same boat. Intend on planting some things anyway. I have different microclimate zones. Lets see what pops up.
Star, sure hope that the weather clears up for you. I'd gladly trade some sunshine for some rain.
Like this one. I can't remember, but it is written down what it is. I did receive it in the Piggy Swap, and by golly it survived all the neglect from the last few months. I love it's colors, and the the flower itself. Hope I get seed, I like this one a lot.
Thank you to who ever gave it to me. ^_^
WIB!
SW
Here is another from the trade that bloomed. I'm going to have to go look it up and see what it is. I love this flower. I want a whole area full of these!
Thanks so much. I don't know why the color blue cheers me up so much.
WIB,
SW
SW, wonder if the second one could be larkspur? I have some getting ready to bloom.
I guess us late sowers will have something to talk about, eh, LeBug! Just got done hosing down the rattan chairs, and found a bunch of egg sacs, yech! And I saw a black widow. I'm not sitting in that chair until DH sprays it down with something, and encourages her to move elsewhere!
I'll have to look at the tag. I know that wasn't a very good photo. Here is one of just the flower.
WIB!
SW
Thanks all for the information about others using the sports mouth guards ... now I don't feel toooo strange.
Mona, I love the Dahlia's also. I just have a couple though. I'm really attracted to the Cactus Dahlia.
Someone mentioned on another forum that she digs up her tulip bulbs 10 days after they finish blooming, then plants her Dahlia's in the space. Then in the fall, she digs up her Dahlia's and plants her tulip bulbs again. She said that 10 days is all it takes for her tulips, they bloom nicely the next year. I'm going to give it a try this year, but I'm giving the tulips 14 days. :o)
SW, I love the peach flower ... whatever it is. lol
Singingwolf, I think the first one is Salvia Coral Nymph, pretty sure. The blue one looks a lot like my cascading Lobelia, if it's really tiny.
Hey guys, here are a few shots of my pots. Things are really getting going now. It was a little wilty out there when I got this one, but you can see what's blooming! (please ignore weeds in patio :) too busy planting to deal with them just yet!)
Here's the deck... I really crammed a lot into the window boxes.. thinking I may have overdone it this time. They're just so little when you plant them, it's hard to have restraint :)
Lea, I sowed them about 1/4-1/2" deep. Have found a few volunteers from last year too.
tabasco, I've got some Salvia argentea growing (from Lea's seed), and didn't realize how big they're going to get! They're doing very well, which means I should probably dig a couple out- they're way too close (like 12-18" apart, and I thought I was being really good not crowding them, LOL). Shall I bring those extras to the RU for you?
Lovely, Kelley!
SW, I agree with Kelley that you've got Salvia coccinea 'Coral Nymph'- I love them too! I think they will reseed naturally well for you.
just make sure you water well and do feed your containers on a regular basis
>>tcs, your Inulas don’t look like mine?
lea -- actually, i had never even heard of these til your post. I just looked at the photo [from the link] and thought they looked like sunflowers.
Wow I have been really behind on this thread. I have been trying to put a dent in everything I have to plant. So far I still feel overwhelmed. We are on our third day of rain here so I have had a break from the garden even though I would prefer to be out there getting more done. I know it is good for everything I have moved and planted so far. I have been trying to get a spreadsheet together in hopes it will make me more efficient when I am out there planting. I keep finding myself wandering around trying to figure out where to begin and end up getting practically nothing done. Kelley your containers look so beautiful!
Meredith.... when i was trying to get things in the ground before i left [i was pressed for time]
i basically found an 'open' spot, dug a hole and sunk it in.... height wise, it's probably all wrong... but they are in the ground.
i'm hoping the few days i'm home around the 10th, the weather will cooperate and i'll get plants in the ground, other divided and potted up to come up here. we shall see. too much to do, so little time -- especially since i spend more time up here... i will have to rethink my sowing for next year... though i do have a lady friend who keeps asking me about certain plants [i gave her one of my Lavatera Silver Cups ] now i will do parsley and poppies for her next year, and probably a few more. Shes' like the cool Aunt I never had... and her DH is so cool too. they are in their 70's, but probably my best friends up here.
I usually end up doing the same thing once July rolls around! lol My problem is I have no empty spaces. I keep telling myself I am not allowed to start anything from seed or buy plants unless I have spot ready for them......... it never happens though! : ) I should be able to get out and get more done tomorrow - it's supposed to be a mostly cloudy day... perfect! : ) I am s o happy you have some nice friends to share your love of gardening with. I have unexpectedly made a new friend from work within the last year. She is as crazy about plants as I! It is nice to have someone that actually wants to talk about their garden as much as we do! My dh just thinks I am obsessed and isn't very interested in hearing about everything all the time. So I am happy I have someone that I see pretty much on a daily basis that I can share updates with. Only problem is she keeps bringing me new plants and I can hardly handle what I have!! lol : )
lol she is being nice and she has to many also so is trying to share hahahahahah
it is nice to find someone that has the same interests, but when it comes to gardening it can be an expensive day out looking around the garden centers lol
when my lady friend [Jeannie] and I went out... she only bought a parsley plant and i got a "kiwi fern" coleus... so cool looking. then, Van Husen was having a huge sale... so i bought an outfit [for dinner tonight] , then new Corelle Dishes at wallyworld [the outlet was more expensive and wouldnt price match]
It's so nice to be able to share our obsessions! I went to my neighborhood garden club meeting for the first time today. We toured an amazing garden, and had a nice lunch. Not necessarily people I would have anything else in common with, but definitely great to share plant talk!
Gem, I would love to try the Salvia if you are up to packing them up into the car. (Otherwise I could come down and get them!?)
I am excited you're coming to the RU and I hope some of the others on this thread will come, too. (Lea?)