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iris lilies
3-31-21, 4:43pm
DH brought asparagus from Herman. This is our very first asparagus ever. DH hates it he won’t eat it, and he has always said about our small city plots “we don’t have room for asparagus.”
So when we got 1 acre in Hermann I told him it’s time to plant asparagus and he did. Our first harvest ever.
I usually pickle a few small batches when it's in season here. Would he eat it that way?
iris lilies
3-31-21, 6:50pm
I usually pickle a few small batches when it's in season here. Would he eat it that way?
You mean raw? No he will not eat it under any circumstances.
There were a couple of places I knew of to pick wild asparagus, but the competition is on to them and I've given up beating them to the harvest. Distinctly better than store bought. Maybe stir fry with a little bacon?
I hope yours lasts. Mine died out after a couple years though I dug very deep holes for it, gave it good enriched soil, etc.
Well, no, I didn't mean exactly raw. Pickled, like canned in a jar, processing them as pickles. But sounds like no.
early morning
4-1-21, 12:27pm
Raw is best! :- ) IL, I am jealous of your patch! It takes a while to establish. But if someone doesn't like it, what can you do? Sad that would be - I love the stuff. I don't have a patch currently- it was on the fence row and the neighbor's dog "watered" it to death. Well, their goats kept eating it, too. And no, I wouldn't have eaten it raw from that patch, lol. My DB has a fair bit in his fencerows, and I can usually cabbage some from him.
iris lilies
4-1-21, 1:15pm
Well, no, I didn't mean exactly raw. Pickled, like canned in a jar, processing them as pickles. But sounds like no.
Ah I read pickle as “picked.” Lazy reading!
but nope he won’t eat.
Ah I read pickle as “picked.” Lazy reading!
but nope he won’t eat.
How about in a Bloody Mary? :D
Last year I dug up my strawberries and put them in a raised bed that I made. They did quite well yet not as good as when they were in the ground - I attributed that to moving them. This spring I go out and look and the runners are doing great - the plants look good and full - can't wait to see how many produce this summer. I bet they are going to be great! My cherry trees that I put in --- not so good. One broke right off at the ground level. We shall see if the other one gets any leaves. Apples and Peaches are doing great. Blueberries great. Lots of flower bulbs sprouting. Come on Spring!!! :)
iris lilies
4-1-21, 7:41pm
How about in a Bloody Mary? :DI would like that but not him.
A few days ago I did a dry run to local gardening market which just opened for the season and bought a small kale and small beet plant start just to get a jump on things. They were dry and root bound so I made a little spot in the raised bed and planted. To my surprise the soil was frosty and partially frozen but so far they are still alive. We are in a warm-up pattern and I planted kale, spinach, beets and lettuce yesterday. Fresh greens will be nice.
And, divided a few perennials to fill in more space in my xeric area. I'm relatively new to perennials and have learned that "perennial" has a variable meaning depending on the plant and conditions. I really like some of the native penstemons which take a year to get established, go gang busters for a couple of years and then fizzle out. Sunset Hyssops are another favorite. The butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds love them and they have that odor like root beer. They seem to go four or five years and some are declining. I may try to grow some new from seed this year. Last year I divided a couple of Little Bluestem into eight plants and this will be the first year when they will flourish. They are a nice native grass space filler. I like to keep the xeric area as low maintenance as possible.
iris lilies
4-2-21, 9:58am
Roger, agreed about “perennials.”
I’m decades in as an ornamental gardener and many of those old standby flowering perennials give up the ghost after 3-4 years.
I am not even buying new lily varieties at the moment because too many of them are petering out on me. I don’t know what’s causing it but I suspect I have soil born diseases. The Asiatic lilies are not surviving with the exception of one or two cultivars. The Oriental-trumpets, which have always been problematic in surviving, continue to show variations in longerivty amount cultivars.Some live forever even in depleted soil. Others burst into huge amazing plants in year one and two and decline in year three.but then there are iris that multiply and multiply and multiply. And granted with Iris cultivars very widely and how strong they are and I do lose around 10%, but the ones that stay stay forever. They would run me out of house and home if I let them I have to give them away constantly and in the end just compost many of them.
I like peonies because they’re well behaved and they don’t peter out.
I’m just randomly naming perennials here, but there are so many other flowering ones that just dont last.
Bleeding heart here in Piedmont Maryland don't last for me. Penstemon either. My steady growers are daffodils, iris, peonies, lavender ( do have to replace a couple each year), cranesbill, Johnson's Blue geranium, coneflower, garden phlox ( although I am seeing some decline after MANY years), hostas that survive the deer nibblers. Annuals I love from seed or bought plants are zinnia, larkspur, sweet peas, cosmos. If everything I have planted over the last 45 years had grown and thrived...I'd be living in a jungle of flowers.
I’m just randomly naming perennials here, but there are so many other flowering ones that just dont last.
In the eastern area of Colorado there is a National Grassland that is dotted with homesteads that most likely were abandoned around the dust bowl. Some springs when there is good rain the prairie flowers are especially nice and I've made a few tours in late May/early June for birds and wild flowers. I distinctly recall one of these old farmsteads with yellow blooming Iris around the broken down farm house. One could guess these went untended for decades, but may have had other care. The wild variety I've called blue flag are common in some of the wetter mountain areas. I have what I assume are blue flag in my yard that are low maintenance and have been around for at least 15 years and probably longer. In dry years the flowers are rather unimpressive, but survive.
iris lilies
4-2-21, 10:55am
In the eastern area of Colorado there is a National Grassland that is dotted with homesteads that most likely were abandoned around the dust bowl. Some springs when there is good rain the prairie flowers are especially nice and I've made a few tours in late May/early June for birds and wild flowers. I distinctly recall one of these old farmsteads with yellow blooming Iris around the broken down farm house. One could guess these went untended for decades, but may have had other care. The wild variety I've called blue flag are common in some of the wetter mountain areas. I have what I assume are blue flag in my yard that are low maintenance and have been around for at least 15 years and probably longer. In dry years the flowers are rather unimpressive, but survive.
Bearded iris are a desert plant so they would like your region.
The abandoned farmsteads in Iowa had old peonies, probably iris although I didn’t pay attention, but I remember they also had the holy Grail for me which is —perennial orange poppies.
Those old perennial poppies that are impossible to get started. Lord have I tried many times. No luck. Nope they don’t like it. They aint going to grow for me!
I know of one such plant within half a mile of my house and I visit it every spring. I’m always fearful that someone over there, it’s a commercial parking lot, is going to dig it up or Roundup it or something nefarious.
early morning
4-2-21, 11:54am
I love native wildflowers, and have well established (5+yrs) of bloodroot, dutchman's britches, bishop's hat, wood poppy, solomon's seal, spring beauties, and of course violets - purple, white, mixed. I have a small patch of yellow violets that is s l o w l y expanding. a couple trilliums are making small clumps, and there's a jack in the pulpit that simply will NOT reproduce itself. (I don't actually know how they reproduce, need to look into that.) Most of my hostas are 8-10 yrs old, several really need dividing. I have some iris, peonies, and daylillies, but most of my yard is shade, so that's limiting. I have a nicely expanding collection of hellebores also. I really appreciate plants that thrive on lack of attention, lol.
I collected seeds last fall and now have a sunroom full of baby penstemons, bee plants, flax, hyssops, baptisas and an odd assortment of other new to me plants that are native or naturalized to this region. My biggest triumph is that I got a few desert 4 clock seeds to germinate. Everyone on my street has edge to edge lawn so I will be a rebel and put them out front in my soon to be "prairie" space. It is hard to justify all this effort if we end up moving but it brings a great deal of satisfaction just watching plants do their thing.
iris lilies
4-2-21, 8:39pm
I collected seeds last fall and now have a sunroom full of baby penstemons, bee plants, flax, hyssops, baptisas and an odd assortment of other new to me plants that are native or naturalized to this region. My biggest triumph is that I got a few desert 4 clock seeds to germinate. Everyone on my street has edge to edge lawn so I will be a rebel and put them out front in my soon to be "prairie" space. It is hard to justify all this effort if we end up moving but it brings a great deal of satisfaction just watching plants do their thing.
Germinating seeds can be tricky. I don’t have the patience for it, I let DH do it when I have things that must be germinated or else I just toss them in the ground.
I had to look up the desert Four’o clock Because I like regular annual 4 o’clock’s. That’s a pretty plant so I’m sure it will look nice.
Oh lucky you with the fresh asparagus. Perfection cooked and chilled and served with hollandaise sauce.
I had them grilled the other day as a side with the fish and chips. That was surprisingly good, too.
I had a couple of what the nursery called Colorado Four O'clock. Possibly one of the hardiest plants I've had. Planted in my full sun xeric area next to the sidewalk. Walkers would comment on them even though they only opened their blooms later in the day. Unfortunately, they self seeded like mad and there were so many blossoms it would have been impossible to dead head. I finally removed them for that reason and had volunteers for a couple of years afterward. If my experience is anything to compare, I'd think they should do well from seed.
Our teen age garden helper called the other day to ask if we needed him!!! Yay! He's coming Monday for 2 hours. He's 15 or 16 now, we were afraid he would be "too old" to work here and have another job elsewhere for the summer. So I have a list of jobs for him. He's much stronger and more skilled than when he first came in 2019. I'm so happy!!
Teacher Terry
4-4-21, 10:57am
I always buy 6 potted plants with flowers for my patio that only live through the warmer weather and then they die. So 6 years ago I bought this pretty green one with no flowers thinking it was the same. In the fall it wouldn’t seem to die even after I left it outside in the cold and stopped watering it. Now it lives inside in the winter and out the rest of the year. It prefers the outside and looks better than.
Our teen age garden helper called the other day to ask if we needed him!!! Yay! He's coming Monday for 2 hours. He's 15 or 16 now, we were afraid he would be "too old" to work here and have another job elsewhere for the summer. So I have a list of jobs for him. He's much stronger and more skilled than when he first came in 2019. I'm so happy!!
Lucky you!!!
Bright sunny day today and got me thinking about the garden boxes outside. Thinking it may be time to start some seeds inside!
Someone was right. The native four o'clocks took off and now I have 15 little pots of them. Unfortunately, we are back in winter again and all my various seedlings must wait another few weeks to go in the ground.
I'm soaking the sweet pea seeds and deciding where to plant them. I love the scent and look of them. Some years they thrive, others...not at all. I have volunteer four o clocks and hopefully larkspur, but I bought seeds just in case. I'm trying a new nasturtium seed, too.
I love the scent and look of them.
Me too. Particularly the old fashioned fragrant ones. They look like a watercolor painting in the vase. Another flower with similar watercolor-like colors is this particular snapdragon: https://www.selectseeds.com/rare-antique-heirloom-flowers/snapdragon_university_of_california_seeds.aspx . I like snaps in general, just wish they lasted a little longer.
iris lilies
4-18-21, 11:12am
I'm soaking the sweet pea seeds and deciding where to plant them. I love the scent and look of them. Some years they thrive, others...not at all. I have volunteer four o clocks and hopefully larkspur, but I bought seeds just in case. I'm trying a new nasturtium seed, too.
My Hermann house came with volunteer sweet peas. They always come up in the same place and I am not sure if they are perennial or self seeding in the same places. Down the block I see the mother planting where mine most likely came from.
I strewed larkspur seeds all over but have not seen one! Odd, because they thrive in my city garden. I am optimistic about getting them started, just need to keep trying. Am still trying to get annual poppies started in
Hermann, no luck so far. Oddly, am having trouble getting perennial coreopsis and pink primrose started in Hermann while in my city gardens they are practically weeds.
I strewed larkspur seeds all over but have not seen one!
I almost never can get them to germinate when and where I want them, but they continue to come up in random places that never had larkspur before. I have this issue with dill: it'll come up "wild" somewhere but almost never where I sowed it.
I'm so psyched! DH helped DS clean out his back yard--a nice, rectangular, deep city plot surrounded by a tall stockade fence. So without all the junky stuff it's almost like a blank canvas and DS and DDIL want me to help them design it! A small manageable vegetable plot, a "starter" perennial garden for some pizazz, and ideas for "set it and forget it" options for their busy family. Plus ideas for placement of a dining/picnic table and a sandbox for the kids.
I'm on it!
happystuff
4-19-21, 10:26am
Sounds like a fun project, catherine!
iris lilies
4-19-21, 10:29am
Catherine, tell us what you end up doing with the space. I only have one thing to say about sandbox and that is – have they thought about neighborhood cats using it? It’s an attractive nuisance for cats.
What fun, Catherine! Enjoy the planning! a triangular pollinator area at each corner of the garden plot is what our local Extension Service has- e annuals,cosmos, zinnas, I think...don't remember, but they mark off the "garden plot" nicely with color and design. I just planted the sweet peas that I soaked yesterday. It's warmer today so may even get some weeding done! soak more seeds- hyacinth beans for starting, nasturiums for starting and sweet peas for planting. I LOVE spring!!!!
Insto-Presto Cactus Garden, from the largess of my neighbors! Apparently all you have to do is stick the paddles in the ground, kick a little dirt around the base and add a little water and walk away. They have evolved to root themselves pretty easily in this harsh high desert landscape. We have a big yard full of dirt to attempt to landscape, so I am trying to divide it up into sections with rock-lined walkways and plant with native vegetation. HUGE learning curve here, as it is NOTHING like planting in Michigan! Plus, you have to protect everything green from the rabbits and squirrels...
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Some parsley is coming up on its own from last year.
Some parsley is coming up on its own from last year.
Yes, my curly parsley is coming back, not flat-leafed. Parsley is biennial, and from what I've learned, it might not be as tasty as it was last year. But it's so great to see it greening up the herb garden!
SouizQ- Exciting about the cacti. Keep us informed. Here my starters of zinnia and nasturtium have come up so are on the porch getting lots of sun...One lonely milkweed sprout in a pot - Lots of weeding of flower beds, peonies about a foot tall, gladiolus bulbs sprouting (can't believe it's the 3rd year they have come back.- along with some snapdragon plants.) I pruned the roses and lavender, bought a water heater pan to use as a big enough bird bath for robin baths! I'm looking at a little solar portable fountain thing to put in it to move the water around...or to put in the other birdbath. I just LOVE spring in Maryland!
iris lilies
4-26-21, 10:25am
This year my reliable tall bearded iris that always pops open on April 24 did not pop open due to cold weather.
I do have another cultivar of TB iris open, but it is shortened by the cold weather.
Teacher Terry
4-26-21, 10:41am
My husband made a sandbox for our kids and it had a lid. It solves the cat problem.
Beautiful day here today. Next door neighbor and I share garden boxes and we went and picked up soil today. They got some plants and I did seeds. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, radishes, zucchini and pumpkin have all been planted in various boxes/spots. It's going to be interesting to see what actually grows, as the 4yo insists on digging in the dirt with his trucks. LOL. Fun having the kids help. Hopefully things will grow for them to harvest. :)
Iris Lily.....do you know you're not supposed to pick any of the asparagus until the second year, and only a few? Then you can start picking more of them by year 3. It lets more of the energy go to making more roots.
We used to have 2 big beds of asparagus and loved it. One has since died off, and the other is dwindling. We found 2 volunteer asparagus beds on our large property, which was good for awhile, but it petered out. I'm thinking of having DS dig a new one this Fall. I love to roast it. Just mix the spears with olive oil, chopped up garlic, S&P, and sprinkle with some grated Parmesan cheese and roast for about 12-15 minutes at 425. Yummy! I can't really taste asparagus, but I like the stuff I put on it, and I know it's healthy.
I'm trying to make my garden smaller this year, since my legs and hands are so bad. DH moved one of my 70 gallon raised stock tanks out and helped me move the cattle panel arch closer to the rest of the garden. I grow cucumbers over it. I'll again plant Waltham Butternut squash to grow up fencing on my kids old swingset, and I'll plant bush and pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard and kale and spinach. We're still eating the frozen squash and green beans from last year. Oh, and I'm growing zucchini again in my back yard in 2 big pots. I'm going to try to grow it up a trellis. I saw that on a You Tube. I had to move the zucchini from the rest of the garden because it was attracting too many squash bugs. I've learned to kill them, then apologize. Can't wait for marinated cucumber, onion, tomato salads!! And it's a relief that I know some of these plants will be available in stores now. Last year at the start of the pandemic, I feared they wouldn't be available and started a lot of my own. That's a lot of work! Fortunately, plants ended up being available, so I had back-up to my spindly plants. Now, if we just can get the weather to cooperate. Oh, and I always grow rosemary to dry, and parsley to attract butterflies.....
iris lilies
5-2-21, 3:53pm
I didn’t know that about asparagus. I think this might be there second or third year for it? We were on that property for three springs so don’t know. But next year I expect it to really take off.
Very cool cactus garden, Sioux.
My Meyer lemon tree I grew from seed is now 10 years old. For the first time ever, it has a bloom on it.
Gosh, I can't imagine having a lemon tree in my yard! Cool!
Gosh, I can't imagine having a lemon tree in my yard! Cool!
No, it's in a pot in my living room! In South Carolina, it was in the ground, but not up north.
I had a meal with asparagus gleaned from flower beds...Not from the asparagus bed which has been disappointing, but those volunteer plants produce a meal or two every year!
So today, Mother's Day, I went and got more dirt. Had started peas, some kind of cherry peppers and yellow tomatoes as seeds and all are now in containers outside. (Yes, I'm once again trying container gardening, but just these three containers - lol). Also planted kale, radishes and cauliflower seeds in the last raised bed. Supposed to rain today, so letting Mother Nature water for me. Done planting and time to see what grows!
happystuff
5-27-21, 11:55am
Things are growing!!! LOL. It's so thrilling to see the little plants popping up through the dirt and knowing they were just little seeds not too long ago! The lettuce and leaf veggies have yet to show themselves... time will tell. But most everything else seems to be thriving!
Continued thanks to everyone for their help and motivation! :)
catherine
5-27-21, 12:13pm
Things are growing!!! LOL. It's so thrilling to see the little plants popping up through the dirt and knowing they were just little seeds not too long ago! The lettuce and leaf veggies have yet to show themselves... time will tell. But most everything else seems to be thriving!
Continued thanks to everyone for their help and motivation! :)
Yay!!! it is thrilling!!
I planted zucchini from seed a couple of weeks ago, and it was the first time I did a direct sow up here in VT, but I have 3 seeds sprouting on each of 3 different mounds! I'm psyched! Problem is, I hedged my bets by buying seedlings a week ago, and I see now that I won't need them.. and I don't have space for them, so I'll have to find someone to give them to.
Spring is definitely here!
We got hot (90's) weather already so I feel behind. The tomatoes are in and I will buy the rest of my plants and put them in tonight inshallah.
Things are growing!!! LOL. It's so thrilling to see the little plants popping up through the dirt and knowing they were just little seeds not too long ago! The lettuce and leaf veggies have yet to show themselves... time will tell. But most everything else seems to be thriving!
Continued thanks to everyone for their help and motivation! :)
Glad that it is working out for you. I am struggling with shade impacting the desired (8) number of hours of sun. The biggest challenge is the shade from my house and the one next door. I am trying more pots this year but the effort to heave, fill these pots has made me think that next year the number will be less. My spring enthusiasm overtakes my energy at times. I will focus on those veggies that need just 6 hours or so next year. Please remind me next year:D
happystuff
5-27-21, 12:23pm
Glad that it is working out for you. I am struggling with shade impacting the desired (8) number of hours of sun. The biggest challenge is the shade from my house and the one next door. I am trying more pots this year but the effort to heave, fill these pots has made me think that next year the number will be less. My spring enthusiasm overtakes my energy at times. I will focus on those veggies that need just 6 hours or so next year. Please remind me next year:D
I have two pots that are very slow growing, but they ARE growing so far! I agree with the spring enthusiasm overtaking energy. Good luck!
Thanks, catherine! I hope you find a taker on the seedlings.
Planted the rest of the garden - butternut and spaghetti squash, parsley (since what came up on its own has turned scraggly), dill, and an impulse orange pepper. I found some garlic coming up that I forgot I planted. If it starts to go bad in the fridge and the ground is not frozen I stick it in the ground.
catherine
5-31-21, 10:28am
We replaced the raw, natural tree limb edging that our prior owners had used with new cedar boxes lthat we built ourselves this weekend. I expanded my pollinator garden to include Jacob's ladder, native Columbine and common violet (from my son's house)--I also used the large rocks from the veggie garden edging to give the pollinator garden kind of a woodland/rock garden vibe.
Also planted some veggies--we'll be doing tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and our typical herbs--parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (I love that Simon and Garfunkel song) as well as mint, chives, and lavender.
Today we're building a new compost bin.
Thank you cold, nasty weather! If it were sunny and hot, we'd have done a lot less work and a lot more play!
iris lilies
5-31-21, 10:53am
This year I honestly can say I am not always 3 steps behind the garden.
Last year was such a monster of work to move and mark iris, prepare their new beds, move them again…ugh. Most of that work is done, This summer I need move only odds and ends iris.
I can start digging up other plants to move to hermann: ferns, clematis, lily of the valley, hellebores. I wont move hostas yet because I don’t know where they’re going to go in Hermann. They have to go very very close to the house because the damn deer eat them like salad. I’m not even sure I’ll be able to bring many to Hermann, I don’t know yet.
In Hermann so far this year deer have decimated tall phlox. That surprises me that that’s the one plant they are picking out of all the perennials there. They did chop off the top of one Lily which didn’t surprise me, but so far they’ve left all the other lilies.
But man do they ever love tall phlox! That’s too bad because it’s such a strong perennial and it looks great in a cottage garden and it spreads itself.
My area in the community garden is under control although it’s always in need of some weeding. Then there’s an adjacent section that I share with other new gardeners and I just get in there and weed it because I don’t want them in there weeding because they don’t know anything.
Early season greens are petering out. I had to rush and get all my native plant seedlings in since we are leaving for Tx. I ended up sticking them here and there without a lot of planning other than tall in back etc. It is so delightful watch everything come back after so many months of winter. All the irises are blooming now with some surprises - one patch that appear to be shades of brown which I have never seen. There will be lots of surprises when I get back with all the rain we have been having. Unless the seasonal hail storms decimate everything. And so it goes.
Iris, Talll phlox- haven't had a deer problem with them, yet, but hosts-yes..salad bar for the 4 foots. Then there're are the vary closely puned rhododendron and azalea- about 2 feet up from the ground all pruned quite neatly. Hungry critters. I love the tall phlox! Good luck keeping them.
Teacher Terry
5-31-21, 2:28pm
I don’t garden but I loved to buy 6 big pots of flowers to put on the patio wall. Now my balcony is shaded because of a big tree so had to put 2 plants that don’t need sun.
I have decided only to grow tomatoes, herbs, and garlic from now on as long as we live where we do. It's all I can keep up with. I am enjoying putting together some flower pots for my deck, though.
Just got my tomatoes in yesterday. Four types, purchased plants from the local farmers market. One cherry, one roma, two Big Boy types.
iris lilies
5-31-21, 4:13pm
3820
pretty!
happystuff
5-31-21, 4:23pm
3820
Very nice!
3820
Very nice! I love both petunias and coleus, so I love your arrangement!
rosarugosa
5-31-21, 5:19pm
Kay, that is really lovely!
Iris: Groundhogs decimated my tall phlox for a few years, but it started to come back last year and is looking pretty robust this year, so I am hopeful!
I was invited to visit a friend's garden to see her poppies so went this afternoon. I brought some banana muffins that I made yesterday that we could enjoy with tea outside. I was telling her about the snails, slugs eating my hostas and received about 5 lbs of crushed eggshells that she has accumulated for a few years. Totally awesome! Also she had started a number of Christmas cactus so brought one of them home as well.
Gardeners are very generous.
iris lilies
5-31-21, 9:50pm
I was invited to visit a friend's garden to see her poppies so went this afternoon. I brought some banana muffins that I made yesterday that we could enjoy with tea outside. I was telling her about the snails, slugs eating my hostas and received about 5 lbs of crushed eggshells that she has accumulated for a few years. Totally awesome! Also she had started a number of Christmas cactus so brought one of them home as well.
Gardeners are very generous.
God I love puppies! I wish I knew somebody who had a nice stand of puppies who would invite me to come and look at them!
Is exciting that I have two annual poppies coming up in my flower garden here at home. Once I get them established they will seed themselves most likely.
But I still have been unable to get the big orange perennial poppies established. I now know places in Hermann where I can drive by and look at them. Hermann gardeners are very old-fashioned small town gardeners and many of the old standards probably like their gardens.
God I love puppies! I wish I knew somebody who had a nice stand of puppies who would invite me to come and look at them!
I don't think they would stand still. Puppies are very wiggly. I know you do love them especially if they are bulldogs.
iris lilies
6-1-21, 9:00am
I don't think they would stand still. Puppies are very wiggly. I know you do love them especially if they are bulldogs.
Poppies! Poppies!
Actually dont love puppies, prefer grown dogs.
And I also see that on another thread my dictation software or spellcheck or whatever corrected “U.S.” to “ass.” Twice.
very annoying.
happystuff
6-3-21, 10:29am
We've been getting a good deal of rain and the radishes are proliferating! I'm thinking they will be the first thing harvested this summer and I may even have time to plant more!
My husband has been on medical marijuana for a couple of years now--originally he had a card in New Jersey and then got one in Vermont. These dispensaries are so interesting--the one in NJ looked like Tiffany's with glass cases showing all the different types of plant and edible for a whole host of maladies and "salespeople" there to counsel you on the benefits of each.
In Vermont, you have to make an appointment by phone. Then you drive to the site, which is a nondescript white building near the airport with no windows. You call them when you get there, you bring cash, and then someone comes out and makes the trade. This legal transaction couldn't look more illegal.
Anyway, they offer plants in addition to the actual weed and/or edibles, so the latest addition to our garden is 3 cannabis plants. In addition to the 3 plants, DH traded two plants with our neighbor and in return the neighbor is going to teach DH how to grow them. There's always something to learn about growing things!
My husband has been on medical marijuana for a couple of years now--originally he had a card in New Jersey and then got one in Vermont. These dispensaries are so interesting--the one in NJ looked like Tiffany's with glass cases showing all the different types of plant and edible for a whole host of maladies and "salespeople" there to counsel you on the benefits of each.
In Vermont, you have to make an appointment by phone. Then you drive to the site, which is a nondescript white building near the airport with no windows. You call them when you get there, you bring cash, and then someone comes out and makes the trade. This legal transaction couldn't look more illegal.
Anyway, they offer plants in addition to the actual weed and/or edibles, so the latest addition to our garden is 3 cannabis plants. In addition to the 3 plants, DH traded two plants with our neighbor and in return the neighbor is going to teach DH how to grow them. There's always something to learn about growing things!
That's interesting, Catherine. My DH has been using medical marijuana since it became legal in MA, and I guess you could say non-medical for a long time before that, lol. I don't think our dispensaries offer plants though.
Be prepared for unhappy neighbours when the plants come into bloom. It is not about cannabis, its legality or its use, just the bloom, they really stink. That may vary with the variety of plants as well.
From 2018 news report which is being repeated elsewhere and creating huge problems:
https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/four-plant-limit-wont-limit-giant-pot-harvests-local-grower-shows/
Each of these particular potted plants, however, is a monster — taller than an adult with arms stretched upward and wider than an adult with arms spread out.
“There are three types of growers, the novice, the intermediate and the advanced — this is advanced,” Lucier told the Star on a recent pre-harvest tour....
The trained and pruned branches are dense with buds laden with trichomes, the resiny crystals that will cover the plant like frost and provide the mind-altering high or the pain relief being sought by the marijuana user.
Lucier estimates each plant will generate about four pounds of useable bud, most of which will be converted into cannabis oils, all of which, he adds, is for personal use.
happystuff
6-5-21, 10:15am
I'm reading these posts on marijuana and thinking - "I really AM old! I remember when it was a little baggie of pot that one hid away until the next party." LOL. Just goes to show that, one way or another, things do change.
Not that I was ever a big fan for recreational use, but I'm so glad that it is such a help to some folks for medical use.
Be prepared for unhappy neighbours when the plants come into bloom. It is not about cannabis, its legality or its use, just the bloom, they really stink.
Well, then it's a good thing we've found our "tribe"--neighbors on both sides grow and partake. (FWIW, I don't partake--I do not like smoking pot--I'm introspective and introverted to begin with, and so I'm not much fun to be with when I'm high.)
I saw a rabbit nibbling my phlox this morning, so it is not just deer that go after it.
iris lilies
6-12-21, 8:00pm
We had a huge crop of peas, uncommonly large. They were grown in Hermann. DH brought them home yesterday and we sat in the coolness of our living room, shelling peas and catching up on news. Then he cooked them parboiling I guess, and put them in the freezer.
mschrisgo2
6-13-21, 3:04am
Severe drought year here in California… I’ve been hose watering my garden, and I guess that’s now forbidden. I have 12 strawberry plants that are finally blooming, and I put in raspberries before I realized water was going to be an issue. We’ve eaten all the lettuce and spinach, I’ve decided not to seed and more. I don’t think my carrots or radishes are going to make it. And the squash requires too much water… frustrating.
I've been on the road for two weeks and had to leave all my newly planted tomatoes and native plants to fend for themselves since we don't have an irrigation system. I also "planted" some empty wine bottles full of water within the raised beds and that helped I think. Luckily, our neighbor came over and hose-watered the tomatoes a few times. Surprisingly with no rain, I only lost three or four native plant babies. It is supposed to be in the mid 90s for a week or more with no rain so it will be hard to keep things going with that heat.
happystuff
6-13-21, 9:53am
So sorry for those of you not getting the rain and having the water restrictions. It really must be frustrating. I hope things turn around.
I'm sorry for those of you in drought. It seems to be spreading. Here in Piedmont MD we've been blessed with plenty of rain. I cut back the peonies yesterday. They were wonderful this year, full and so heavy they were nearly bent to the ground even with the 12" support fence. I'll have to put some taller supports in. The dill is growing, nasturiums nibbled by bunnies. The planted milkweed is doing well. Larkspur blooms. Old climbing roses are nearly done. I'm feeling pretty successful this year as I am able to maintain the beds and nothing is out of control, yet.
dado potato
6-13-21, 4:48pm
New in 2021 in my garden, Bearded Iris "Savannah Sunset". I put in 6 plants, and I estimate each plant will produce 6 blossoms this year.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness.
-- John Keats, Endymion
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happystuff
6-13-21, 4:51pm
New in 2021 in my garden, Bearded Iris "Savannah Sunset". I put in 6 plants, and I estimate each plant will produce 6 blossoms this year.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness.
-- John Keats, Endymion
3830
Beautiful! I love the color!
iris lilies
6-13-21, 5:42pm
Nice iris! My last tall bearded Iris left the building 11 days ago.
I bought two scented geraniums yesterday, and am in love. I bought orange and lemon. I did not buy pine because I have enough pine scent everywhere I turn in this house, but I can see how you would start collecting them.
Tybee, that is not fair!! I have just decided that I will not look for any more plants and here you go leading me into temptation. ;)
I just bought three lavender plants. True Grosso and Impress...long stems. I've purchased from this lavender farm before and had a mixed result. But I have one that I think is from there- truly I should keep better records! that is HUGE and LONG stemmed and Fragrant. Hoping these three are as lovely. My zinnias have been chewed by some bug. some have survived. Nasturtiums are starting to bloom and fill out. Coneflowers blooming and the wildflower patch I planted in the spring is full. Not in bloom but full of a variety of plants that don't appear to be any of the weeds we usually see. Chestnut is blooming, so the blueberries are a week from peak ripeness. It makes the stink of chestnut a good thing!
I am very happy with my garden so far!
Cucumbers, zucchini, squash, strawberries and herbs interplanted with zinnia, catmint and marigolds so the bees will find it easy to pollinate!
DH has his own garden of 22 tomato plants (I need to learn how to can in the fall!) and 3 marijuana plants, purchased from the State of Vermont.
Montmerency cherry trees have a lot of cherries on them and I'm about to go out and harvest some to make a pie.
We planted some small forsythia saplings from our NJ house so we'll always have a piece of NJ with us.
My pollinator garden of echinacea, milkweed, aster and balloon flower has increased with new plantings of Columbine, Jacob's Ladder, and common violet.
My window boxes are really pretty this year!
Hosta's are just about to bloom.
nswef, I love lavender and have a couple of different varieties--I was thinking of doing a mass border of lavender but a local horticulturist said that lavender aren't really hardy enough for that and I should try Russian sage instead.
My Russian sage does well in New England.
iris lilies
6-26-21, 5:27pm
The thing about Russian sage is that it’s so big. Unless they have made dwarf varieties since I grew it decades ago, It is too big for any place in my current planting scheme. It is pretty though in a light airy way.
With some rainy days now after record heat, plants are finally starting to pop. I planted many of the natives I started from seed and most are doing OK so far. Goosecreek black tomatoes are coming along, peppers setting flowers but no fruit yet. So many new to me plants here so still learning - nasturtiums, feverfew, borage, salvias, roses, catmint, coreopsis and on and on. Lots of compost volunteers so I will leave them be and see what sort of mystery squash I get this year.
rosarugosa
6-27-21, 7:57am
The thing about Russian sage is that it’s so big. Unless they have made dwarf varieties since I grew it decades ago, It is too big for any place in my current planting scheme. It is pretty though in a light airy way.
There are some dwarf varieties. 'Denim n Lace' and 'Blue Jean Baby' are a couple of them.
iris lilies
6-27-21, 8:52am
There are some dwarf varieties. 'Denim n Lace' and 'Blue Jean Baby' are a couple of them.
That is wonderful! I’m going to check those out for Herman property.
catherine
6-27-21, 10:04am
That is wonderful! I’m going to check those out for Herman property.
I'm checking it out, too! Thanks for the info!
iris lilies
6-27-21, 11:11am
Caryopteris is an herbaceous shrub that has a wonderful blue flower blooming in August when it is very difficult to get anything with that heavenly blue color. It is also light and airy like Russian sage.
Caryopteris is an herbaceous shrub that has a wonderful blue flower blooming in August when it is very difficult to get anything with that heavenly blue color. It is also light and airy like Russian sage.
It is a glorious blue but I had no luck with over-wintering it.
Does the caryopteris smell like the sage or salvia?
iris lilies
6-27-21, 12:53pm
It is a glorious blue but I had no luck with over-wintering it.
Caryopteris lived for me several years here in St. louis but perhaps it wont survive the harsh winters of the NewEnglanders.
As for smell, I don’t think it’s got one.
Have to say that I am loving the fresh leaf lettuce, radishes and green onions. I have eaten a couple of small zucchini. Tomatoes have formed, lots of bloom on peppers, pickling cuke; climbing beans love the current heat so thriving. I have three different tomatoes, 2 climbers and some Bonny Best slicers. The bush beans were popping up knuckles and disappeared - I think robins see them as worms.
I have spread egg shells and diatomaceous earth around any vulnerable plants which did slow down the slugs and snails but after 2 1/4 inches of rain, should I repeat the diatomaceous earth?
Loving all my flowers unfolding in their turn; hydrangea, clematis, lilies, penstemon, hosta bloom, etc. The annuals except for the marigolds are thriving but something is stripping the leaves off the marigolds. Any ideas what loves marigolds that much? That used to be my foolproof annual.
With this heat I'm worried my tomatoes will not set fruit. They were/are in blossom stage. So far, since we've canopied them---and I've deep watered---, the blossoms are hanging on, but....this is just extreme heat for us. :-(
It is turning into another dud year for me, though I used manure and have watered when it was dry.
Parsley and dill are doing okay.
Squash and basil are still alive but have not grown at all in the month since I planted them.
I have a few green tomatoes on one of the dozen plants but nothing ripening. They have been green for a while.
Domesticated strawberries have not produced anything after the two berries the chipmunks took down and took bites out of, although I put netting over them when that happened, even as the wild strawberries flourished.
The pepper plant is a dud too though I generally haven't done well with them and it was a long shot impulse purchase.
I have not noticed bees this year. Maybe that's part of the reason.
The garlic died in the second heat wave.
My tomatoes were duds this summer, too.
I had cherry tomatoes continually for months. Cut the stems back after each harvest and that baby re flushed with flowers and then fruit.
I then planted five different larger varieties. Only one plant set fruit, and they split. This is due to water issues, I know. The rest just looked good but dropped the flowers.
Last week I pulled them all up and threw in the towel!
gimmethesimplelife
7-4-21, 8:00pm
Something I am pleased about this year - my Armenian Cucumber (a plant that loves heat, humidity, and hopeless desert clay soil) is doing very well this year. We have to date (unlike last year) already had two heavy monsoon storms move through the Phoenix area this monsoon and Armenian Cucumber loves the muggy hot air. Looking forward to a nice h harvest soon! Rob
My three squash plants have flowered. I'm waiting/hoping for the squash, itself, to appear. Tomato plants are HUGE!!! and full of green cherry tomatoes - anxiously waiting for change to red. I share these plants with the neighbors and we should end up with more than enough for all. Green peppers are doing well; already have two in the fridge. Kale leaves got attacked by something and the radishes are almost done. Need to pull the last of them tomorrow. Just a little bit of lettuce left as well, but it did well.
Apparently, we are in monsoon season - afternoon storms with hail predicted every day this coming week. Pea size hail today shredded squash leaves so going out in the morning to buy poles to improvise some hail coverings. Don't want to lose the 'maters after growing them from seed.
iris lilies
7-14-21, 2:59pm
Onion harvest is in.3852
I am jealous IL. This is why farmers abandoned New England and moved to the Midwest in the 1800's.
iris lilies
7-14-21, 4:00pm
I am jealous IL. This is why farmers abandoned New England and moved to the Midwest in the 1800's.
Well ya know, I live with someone who has an advanced degree in vegetable production. He grows small truck- farm quantities of veg.
Onions are one of the few things that I never get tired of. We have a separate refrigerator for apples and onions.
rosarugosa
7-15-21, 5:41am
We had a fence put up! There was a time when we had a magnificent hemlock hedge providing a lovely buffer between us and the nearby busy street, but it became overgrown and many of the shrubs/trees died. We had talked about doing this for awhile and we finally did it. We just love the way it makes our yard feel like our sanctuary again. It's a 6-foot tall cedar fence.
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It looks wonderful, RR and definitely like a sanctuary of your own.
That is gorgeous--love the gazebo, too!
My garden is still not producing. After pruning I have more tomatoes but they are still all green. The squash is finally blossoming but not producing any fruit. With warm and moist weather I had expected better.
iris lilies
7-15-21, 11:06am
We had a fence put up! There was a time when we had a magnificent hemlock hedge providing a lovely buffer between us and the nearby busy street, but it became overgrown and many of the shrubs/trees died. We had talked about doing this for awhile and we finally did it. We just love the way it makes our yard feel like our sanctuary again. It's a 6-foot tall cedar fence.
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pretty! It is indeed a sanctuary.
iris lilies
7-15-21, 11:07am
My garden is still not producing. After pruning I have more tomatoes but they are still all green. The squash is finally blossoming but not producing any fruit. With warm and moist weather I had expected better.
We just started getting our first big tomatoes about 10 days ago, so your tomatoes will be turning red soon. I’m sure you are 10+ days behind us.
catherine
7-15-21, 11:16am
I have been picking zucchini for a week or two, and they are doing really well. I've been making minestrone soup, and will be digging out my spiralizer. Also have picked 4 cucumbers.
DH has 23 tomato plants and we are gearing up for the onslaught! They are mostly all green. Haven't picked any yet.
iris lilies
7-15-21, 12:07pm
I have decided to freeze 25 bags of tomatoes this year. That is about the number I bagged up last year, and that was a 12 month supply. I doubt DH will have time to can tomatoes, and it is so easy to freeze them. The bags probably hold about 16 ounces, so not a whole lot.
What a peaceful setting now.
Love your sanctuary,RR. What a tribute and reward to hard work!
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