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Spring 2012
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Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie
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Mar 27, 2012 09:59AM
Well we had Spring for Winter, then Summer for Spring and then a hard freeze here on the coast last night! What couldn't be brought inside made it through, some got covered (new forsythia, the azaleas) and others didn't (raspberries, clematis vines). The pantry is Full of containers and the spare room is Full of roses! lol Still very chilly here today so we'll start bringing everything back out again tomorrow so they don't get shocked after being cozy warm inside since Sunday evening & yesterday. Crazy flipping weather!!!
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Think the world has been topsy-turvy weather-wise this 'spring'. Q8 has had spells of, if not freezing weather, at least brass monkeys this month, though now getting back to normality and the need for air conditioning...
Found evidence of growth on several clematis today. Didn't stay outside long as we are having wind gusts of up to 45 MPH and it was hard work just walking around.
I have buds on my Clematis and they're half way up each side of the arbor already! The freeze didn't damage them thankfully. The Bleeding Heart, Peonies and Hydrangea apparently love being in the pantry because they are growing by inches since yesterday! Lol
Jo - you know Peonies need a good cold chill to bloom well - couldn't grow them in my old zone as winters didn't have enough freezing days.
I sure do! I'm hoping they bloom this year but we'll see. With no snow, ice or prolonged freezes this Winter, I'll be surprised if they bloom at all this year. They are are coming back like crazy though so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! The Kansas Peony is a beautiful magenta color and 'Cora Stubbs' is a beautiful creamy white - stinks to high Heaven but it's so pretty! Lol
Good luck - I'm concerned that 2 in pots that were close to the house that may have resulted in them being "too protected" as overall I've had a pretty warm winter. I didn't know any of them stank - they sound gorgeous.
They are pretty! Some are scented and apparently some aren't - the Kansas/magenta one has no scent. I'm sure someone would think Cora Stubbs smells pretty but wow, it is heavily scented and just not appealing to me :o)
My bleeding hearts are starting to bloom already. I have buds on my clematis as well, already. Really strange weather. Blooms aren't lasting long in this heat either.
My bleeding heart is about to bloom! Exciting, it's one of my faves!I have to see if my clematis blooms are opening yet or not.
My bleeding heart bloomed yesterday. My husband brought it to my attention as the blooms prevented him from mowing down the plant, even though I had encircled it with rocks. He did mow down one of my daylilies. I've been admonished to mark the daylilies with rocks and to add more rocks to the bleeding heart border to make it easier to see. I think I lost my maypop in the freeze.
Oh my - you seem much more calm than I would be if Hubbs had nearly mowed over my Bleeding Heart!
Jo, I'd not be this calm if he'd mowed it down. I love bleeding hearts. I've got both a pink and white. It's the pink that's blooming. My daylily will recover. I just have to make sure Hubbs doesn't go in for a repeat performance.
lol I'd flip out if mine nearly did that! Worse if he did lol! I'm planning to pick up a white one soon. So pretty!
I have both pink and white bleeding hearts too. Can see both from my kitchen window. Love it!My son was always jokingly threatening to take the weedeater to my garden. But he was just joking. I am glad I do my own mowing, no one but me to blame if something gets mowed.
The person who mows the park I tend did take out the small mugho pine I had planted. It was the first mow of the season, and the grass was really tall in a corner where there had not been anything planted the year before, so I couldn't get too mad. I just planted something else there, with LOTS of big ugly stakes around it until I got it better mulched in that corner.
Mowed my yard for the THIRD time, and it is still March! Wow!
Is anyone else noticing a large number of bugs in their part of the country? In the last week, I've seen Harlequin bugs, green worms (eating my kale and plum leaves), ticks, inch worms, cabbage moths, aphids, tent caterpillars, a large variety of bees (the only good bugs I've seen!), flies, wasps . . . and those are just the ones I can remember. Our mild winter has produced a feast for birds and a scorge for local gardens.
Rain! We finally had rain here. About to be the warmest & driest on record. Not enough rain to make much of a difference in the way of drought & brush fire season but I do believe my garden is happy :o)
Congratulations, Jo! I appreciate your excitement.
Always excited when good things are happening in the garden :o)
Yes the bugs are awful here! Flies are just thick! I am dreading what this year will bring. This weather is just too weird. Eighty five in Iowa on April 1st. Unheard of!
More rain for us tonight thankfully.
I am shocked by the large numbers of bugs. I lift any pot that's remained in the same location for a few days and the earwigs scatter. I've not seen tent caterpillars for 10 years, and yet I've already cleaned 2 nests from one peach tree. And something's eatting my infant apricots. I've never had that happen. Even the squirrels don't eat apricot flesh. (They rip the flesh off and eat the pits.) Scary.
Local bugs made the front cover of today's city newspaper! Specifically, the inchworms. They've broken records for sheer numbers. Wow. I'm not crazy.
There's a bud on one of the Peonies. Roughly a month to six weeks early.
Wow! My peonies are only about 6 inches out of the ground.
I'd say this one is about a foot high (still to early for a bud!) and the other is about 6inches high.
Does anyone know when I should start to see signs of growth from euchinea? I'm not seeing anything above ground yet and I'm starting to get concerned.
Lots of things poking through the soil here, for example bleeding hearts are about 6 inches high, but of course way behind what other areas are seeing. The most shocking thing to me is the hostas are coming up and they're usually the last thing to appear. As far as I can tell I don't think I lost any plants due to the warm winter and lack of cover. We have had a few nights in the 30s but most days it's warmed at least into the 50s when our normal highs are still in the 40s. No bugs here as yet except a few ladybugs and I'm always happy to see them.
My friend's peonies are covered in buds, and I saw my first ladybug this morning. I've also taken a risk and planted two tomato plants because they were so large, although I did mulch them well. The strawberries are full of blooms and small green strawberries. I've also got volunteer pumpkins and tomatoes in the asparagus bed, which is what spurred me to risk planting the tomatoes.
Makes me think of OH, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brush-wood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England -- now!
Appositely titled 'Home Thoughts, From Abroad'
Harvey, you've the heart of a poet, with a poem so appropos to the season.
I wish it was mine!Flattered to be compared with Browning. I do write poetry, but not so good :(
Harvey wrote: "Makes me think of OH, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brush-wood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole ar..."
Haven't heard this one in years--love it!
My oldest daughter witnessed a motorcyclist's fatality on her way home from work this evening. Her work partner was driving in front of her in a large pickup truck with their work trailer hitched on behind when the cyclist coming from the right didn't stop and drove between the pickup and the work trailer after which he flew through the air and landed 20 feet away. The motorcycle sheered off the hitch on the trailer and it was held only by the two safety chains or it would have come loose and crashed into my daughter's vehicle. Needless to say we are all shook up over this and so sad about the death of the man on the bike.
OMG, that is terrible, what an awful thing to happen.
How awful for your daughter (as well as the poor deceased of course). My neighbor rides a big as... Harley and won't wear a helmet; I worry about him although he is not a crazy driver.
Cheryl, I am so sorry for your daughter. She may experience some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (nightmares and emotional reactions mostly) for a while, but it should fade. Keep an eye on it and get her in for EMDR with a trained therapist (you have to ask for them) if it persists. EMDR is about the only therapy for PTSD that works. It uses rapid eye movements back and forth while telling the story to help the person use both thinking and feeling parts of the brain to overcome the trauma. But since she is YOUR daughter she should be just fine. I am just hyper aware of PTSD since so many people disabled with a mental illness have it.
Miriam wrote: "Cheryl, I am so sorry for your daughter. She may experience some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (nightmares and emotional reactions mostly) for a while, but it should fade. Keep an eye ..."This same daughter was hit by a car about 15 years ago and she too flew through the air and my youngest daughter witnessed the event. The witness has had flash backs but not the daughter who was hit. Fortunately, although she landed on a cement sidewalk she escaped with a broken leg and a neck injury that plagues her to this day. The poor motorcyclist was wearing a helmet and full leathers which in this case just wasn't enough to protect him. I'm hoping my daughter involved in the accident with the help of co-workers and family can get through this. She has had a lot of stress in her life this past year which she has handled about as well as anyone can expect. She is tough and has a resilient personality so I'm hoping for the best.
Thanks to everyone for your support, much appreciated!
Cheryl, I'm so sorry! Your daughter is in my prayers and I hope she'll be alright!
Cheryl, how awful for your daughter. A close friend witnessed a fatal motorcycle accident and it took her a long time to get over the event. Patience, prayers, and understanding help. She's in my prayers, too.
Thanks again for the kind words. I'll be seeing her on Easter and can't wait to give her a big hug.
Thoughts with you Cheryl over Easter....
Harvey wrote: "Thoughts with you Cheryl over Easter...."Thank you!
We're in the 30s with a strong wind today. Bitter! Because of the wind we didn't get a frost last night but there is a possibility for tonight.Had a nice Easter, had a chance to talk to my daughter about the accident and she seems to be handling it well. Her boss has been very supportive over what she and her coworker went through and I think that's been very helpful.
Glad you had a good Easter and your daughter isn't totally traumatized after witnessing that awful accident.
So windy up north I was wind-burned by Sunday, yesterday here on the coast the wind was horrendous (27mph w/45mph gusts all day). My roses look even more worse for wear (the fluctuating temps aren't helping either) so I hope they'll be ok.
Glad to hear your daughter is doing well. I have been worrying about her.We had two nights of freezing temps. It is supposed to warm up a bit now. I brought in all my dahlias and houseplants that I had put on the porch, and my geraniums. Nothing else seems to be affected.
We were supposed to get frost the past 2 nights, but didn't. I don't know why and I'm glad it didn't happen as my flowering crab is about to bloom. Temps are supposed to head back into the 50s and 60s now and we can all breathe a sigh of relief.Heard my first lawn mower of the year working across the street. I guess it's officially spring.
Lots of pink and yellow blossom out now - it's spring here too. There is a fab smell in my house from a tree covered in white blossom (the blossom is nothing to write home about though) about 50 yards away. We call it sweetwater because the pods have a sort of cottony stuff inside, a bit like cocoa pods, that is sweet and lemony to suck. The scent is somewhere between floral and marshmallows, powdery. Lovely.
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