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Spring 2011
message 51:
by
Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie
(new)
Mar 31, 2011 06:48PM
Miriam, I do recall some Iris do spread by seed. The squirrels here can be an absolute destructive pain in the keester here! They are persistent & aggressive.
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Miriam, I do recall reading somewhere that some Iris do spread by self-seeding. The squirrels here are a persistent, aggressive and often destructive bunch of pains in the keester!
not at all, but it was well seasoned I think.I would definitely NOT use that pot to cook in! Iron is so porous! ICK
Very exciting, I did a little walk about on the bare parts of the yard today. I have a flower bed running along the south side of my house that has it's own microclimate and I made some fun discoveries. I have daylilys, rudbeckia, hollyhocks, sedum and one brave Asiatic lily poking through the mulch. Also discovered bud swelling on all my bushes and the crab apple tree I was worried about. It also looks like bunnies or deer have been munching on some of my bushes. All the rest of my flower beds are still buried in snow and are always way behind this bed by the house. Lifted my spirit to see all those little green noses poking up into the sun.
Cheryl: Can you put up some kind of fencing to keep deer and bunnies out? That would be discouraging to me to find my hard work nibbled off just as it was beginning to grow. I too found a nice surprise in my garden this morning. Four of my rose bushes are getting HUGE, and my strawberries (remember they had yellowing leaves?) are now green and showing pretty white flowers. I'm so excited!
Excitement for all! I have daffodils along my sidewalk about ready to burst in to bloom!
Terri wrote: "Cheryl: Can you put up some kind of fencing to keep deer and bunnies out? That would be discouraging to me to find my hard work nibbled off just as it was beginning to grow. I too found a nice..."
I have a big yard so it would be too expensive for me to fence it. My veg garden is fenced so at least I keep the critters out of there, although one spring a mama rabbit had her babies inside the garden and gave me quite a turn when they all came shooting out of their burrow and running in all directions. LOL!
Miriam wrote: "Excitement for all! I have daffodils along my sidewalk about ready to burst in to bloom!"Sounds wonderful!
Bummer about the fence Cheryl--but at least you have your veggies fenced in. I had to laugh at your description of the bolting momma and her babies. That must have been quite a shock! Reminds me of a scene from Phenomenon with John Travolta--did you see that movie? I won't tell what happens in case anyone here hasn't seen it. It's a wonderful movie but one you need Kleenex for.
Terri wrote: "Bummer about the fence Cheryl--but at least you have your veggies fenced in. I had to laugh at your description of the bolting momma and her babies. That must have been quite a shock! Reminds me..."I did see it and I thought Travolta was great. It took a while for my heart rate to calm down after the bunny incident and then I worried if they would find another place to live.
LOL! You're so cute! I never gave the bunnies another thought other than how cute and crafty they were. :)
Hostas are now about three inches tall! Spring is coming!
Spent the last five hours cleaning up my hell strip. For some reason, the mums decided, after ten years of behaving themselves, to start spreading! Maybe it was all the rain we had last summer. Anyway, didn't get them dug up/ contained yet, but everything else is clipped off and the winter debris raked up. My fern leaf peony has big fat bulbs! Everything in the hellstip is about three weeks ahead of the yard. East facing slope with road and sidewalk borders, plus lots of rock terracing.
Miriam wrote: "Spent the last five hours cleaning up my hell strip. For some reason, the mums decided, after ten years of behaving themselves, to start spreading! Maybe it was all the rain we had last summer. Any..."The cleaning doesn't sound so great but sounds like the result will be. My peonies are still covered in snow, but we are supposed to get some rain this week-end and hopefully that will get rid of what is left and green up the yards a little bit.
Oh, I love being out there working. It is my therapy. Sunshine and exercise both help my mood so much. People stop and chat as they drive by, commenting on how much they enjoy it. My favorite part of the yard to work in, since it is slightly social. Across the street the neighbors' flower garden is awash with daffs in bloom! Like me, he has no grass. He has hundreds of bulbs, though. Many more than I do.
We had some wild weather yesterday, warm and balmy before the storms, raw and cold after! Nothing compared to the deadly weather throughout the US South East & South over the past couple of days though. Not much else is blooming here yet but I can see the Tulip Magnolia across the street is either blooming or about to bust open and the Forsythia bushes all over are in full bloom finally!
Rainy and cold again today. We have set some kind record for the coldest April. Gor a box full of plants waiting to get planted but the ground is soggy. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. New Heuchera and Heuerchella plus snapdragons. Have you tried Madam Butterlies snaps. Really fluffy. Love them.
I was out today running errands and I noticed some bushes with tiny pink blossoms all over it. The rest of the year the bushes are green. I don't know what they're called but they're planted everywhere here so they must be drought tolerant. But what got my attention was the bees. Lots and lots of bees buzzing around. Who would have thought that seeing bees would make my heart sing?
Our warmest day so far--57 degrees and it felt wonderful. Hoping for a repeat tomorrow. Bought a basil plant today to keep on my kitchen counter, love the smell, having something green to look at and something yummy to put in my food. Also purchased a power washer, my synthetic wood porch is developing a moss and mold problem and I can't wait to clean it up. Also got a new lawn chair--the comfy kind that tips back with a nice pillow. I have a feeling every time I sit in it I'll see something I need to do in the yard/garden but my intentions for relaxation are good.
We could not live without our power washer here in the Northwest. Our deck is so slippery that it is impossible to walk on it unless it is cleaned twice a year.
Cheryl: I put basil and rosemary in my window boxes so that I brush up against them when I come into my side yard--the fragrance is heavenly. Next I'll have to plant oregano. I think the Rosemary is going to have to be put in a bigger pot than the window box allows. Oh and Sage. I heard Sage smells good.
I put peppermint in some of my pots. Some one had told me they would deter critters from my woods. I am the vole capital of the world plus squirrels and chipmunks too. They get pretty ratty after a couple seasons so do have to replace them. I suppose I could put them in ice cubes. Think about it but do not seem to do it.
I have wild thyme and sage here. It has a lovely fragrance in the sunshine, especially the sage. Also some lemon grass but it disappears some seasons, I hope it comes up this year.
Cheryl, have you tried using white vinegar on your deck? My mom gets green moss and mold on hers so she sprays it with white vinegar and it takes care of it immediately and lasts quite a while too.I have lavender outside of the bedroom windows! Love it!
I have two types of creeping thyme among the flagstones in front of my house, as well as scottish moss. I have lavender all over. My rosemary died. Haven't replaced it yet, but I use it a lot. There were some other herbs here when I bought the place, like lemon oregano I think? that were horribly invasive, so I took them out. Cat mint and cat nip are invasive too, but are well loved by my cats, so I put up with them. They both self seed all over. I don't use a lot of sage (got sick of the smell living in Idaho with sagebrush everywhere.) Sometimes do parsley. This sounds horrible, but I do not like basil.
Miriam: That doesn't sound horrible! You either like it or you don't. My husband doesn't like it either. I try and go light with it when I cook my basil chicken dish that everyone else loves. It can be very overpowering. For me that's a good thing, but then, I love it. :)Did you ever think of planting the cat nip in pots? Or does that defeat the purpose for the kitties? I guess it wouldn't be easy to roll around in a pot. LOL.
Actually Terri, I noticed the catnip was coming up near my compost bin, so I dug up two clumps and potted them. One for my neighbor and one for inside my house. I enjoy having it outside, grab a stalk and bring it in after weeding, and let the cats roll in it. Throw it on the compost pile when the smell gets too overpowering in the house! If I were smart, I would dry lots, and make mice to sell! I also pull some up in the fall, and just bring it on to the back glassed in porch for them to enjoy throughout the winter. It makes a horrid mess (dry leaves all over the porch, and on them when they come back in) but they love it so, and I like to please my animals! I could eradicate it from the garden if it really bothered me. I just pull it up when it pops up in a bad place, let it go in the back yard especially.
http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/4...Click link to see a Catnip Frenzy, the four siblings I "fostered" (long hair black three, and gray sister), and two other kitties enjoying the bounty!
Thanks for the link! How cute is that? Great pic. :) Not having a cat I always wondered if it really drove them nuts, now I know! LOL. I think the catnip mice sounds brilliant. Go for it!
Elizabeth wrote: "We could not live without our power washer here in the Northwest. Our deck is so slippery that it is impossible to walk on it unless it is cleaned twice a year."Mine looks like it has a disease. Green and yellow lichens plus mold.
Terri wrote: "Cheryl: I put basil and rosemary in my window boxes so that I brush up against them when I come into my side yard--the fragrance is heavenly. Next I'll have to plant oregano. I think the Rosemar..."I love experimenting with fresh herbs. My oregano tries to take over the garden every year and I kind of let it because I love the smell and so good on pizza.
Jo wrote: "Cheryl, have you tried using white vinegar on your deck? My mom gets green moss and mold on hers so she sprays it with white vinegar and it takes care of it immediately and lasts quite a while too...."Thanks for the tip, Jo. I will try that if my new washer doesn't work.
Miriam wrote: "I have two types of creeping thyme among the flagstones in front of my house, as well as scottish moss. I have lavender all over. My rosemary died. Haven't replaced it yet, but I use it a lot. Ther..."LOL! I don't like rosemary, cilantro or terragon so everyone has their prefrences. My kids can't believe I don't like cilantro and they put it on everything.
For the first time this spring there are birds chirping in the yard tonight. There's also a couple having a very loud argument in the parking lot across the street. What a world.
Forsythia, dwarf bearded iris, hyacinth, some daffs, virginia bluebells in bloom, muscari almost there. Bleeding hearts grew six inches since yesterday morning! Merry bells poking their noses out of the ground and the bloodroot is blooming! Birds singing, windows all open wide.
Lucky Miriam. Another rainy weekend for us. A few things are blooming like the flowering plums, daffs, and I saw an early magnolia just starting to open.Did see Friday a mother killdeer. We walked to close to her and she had a fit protecting her eggs. They are so funny. We stayed away and worked in another area.
I am lucky, I have birds in my yard all winter. Cardinals, chickadees, doves. Sure do enjoy actually hearing them when it warms up!
Rain chance of tornado after five today.
No tornados allowed!!!!!!!!I wish I could see a real live cardinal. We do not have them here.
When I left the house about noon today it was 72 degrees and very humid with hazy sun. Four hours later it was 56 with a cold wind. Difficult to know how to dress in such weather.
Is everything okay where you are Miriam?? Lots of tornado's in Iowa and WI yesterday along with wind storm damage in TX, the footage is heartbreaking. I hope all of our US Southeasters and Southerners are okay as well with all of that nasty weather (including tornado's) last week. It's 78* outside and 77* inside! A little uncomfortable for me even with the fans going, especially with this cold turned tonsillitis.
Bleeding Heart is coming in nicely as are the peonies and bee balm. Grape hyacinths are starting to bloom as well and the yellow petals are just starting to fall from the forsythia bush revealing tiny green leaves.
Snow Peas are coming in! We'll have enough for dinner tonight. The snap peas are still only one or two, but that's Texas for ya. I can't ever get them in huge amounts no matter how many I plant. Lots of green tomatoes...none ripe yet!
Yes, Jo, I got missed by all the bad weather this weekend. Not even a good thunderstorm! I was watching, though. Prime conditions for it. Thank you for worrying about me!It has been nice here today. I took an old dresser outside to sand and prime. It is a c.1950 bow front, three large drawer, no handle short dresser with a mirror. I will paint it tomorrow. It will be lime green with a shadow of a large flower growing up out of the left hand corner. I haven't decided what to do with the mirror (frameless, just a trapezoid base) so didn't touch that yet. For my granddaughter (her bedroom is bright orange).
Hello Great Gardeners...here, on the Lake Ontario shore, things are starting to pop... pussy willow, forsythia, one tulip in bloom, daffs ready to open. I am fertilizing, hopefully in advance of the rain. I have rosemary, parsley, and lettuce ready to plant ... so exciting!
Maria: The snow peas are the ones you eat pod and all, right? And the snap peas--are they for the peas only? I have snow peas, but I want to grow some for the actual peas and not the pods. I've been eating all the snow peas as fast as I can gather them. I'm not fond of the pod, but I love the peas. The pods tend to end up in my worm composter.
I have to get mine planted (snow peas). The weather has been so horrible and cold. Hopefully tomorrow. The ground is also soggy. But the good news is my rhubarb is coming along great. Many pies this year for the freezer and to take to potlucks and all..
Terri - the gent at UC Davis recommended a pea called telephone pole or alderth. As it's late to mail order - you might jusy look for a garden pea that's not sugar snap or snow.
Whooo Hooo! Some of the daffodils I planted last fall are coming up. I'm so excited -- I had written them off as "sorry, deceased, try again next season". I was raking all the flower beds yesterday, and there were the little shoots! The daffodils in my main bed are already 4-5 inches high. Weird. But good!
