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What hv u done this week&What is the state of your garden?

Marie Tulin
13 years ago

Abbreviations aren't usually my style but I discover GW has a limit on the # of characters in the Subject. Its been quiet on this forum and a few familiar names have been absent.I figure it is vacation time, relatives are visiting, nothings doing cause nothings growing with out water, or some of us are doing rain dances 24 hours a day or enjoying cooler weather.

Have you participated in any of these activities recently?

I have been spending a couple hours after work a couple of days a week for the last two weeks watering my all-too-expensive plantings around the new driveway. Everything crisped up despite diligent deep waterings. I am sure everything will survive, but I just noticed two big splits in the bark of the magnolia Elizabeth. It looks like that winter burn stress but it could be any old injury, I suppose. Something else to bring up to the landscaper when I see her tomorrow.

My other other concern is whether those variegated dogwoods are really going to make it under the maples. It is not deep shade but they are only plants to really wilt.

Never in my 20 years of gardening here have I let the weeds get so bad. Handful by handful tugging out in the dry soil

Sunscalded sad hostas and unusally short bloom time for Becky.

Finally, I got right to watering and weeding in my work clothes and good shoes. I forgot my gardening gloves and my new manicure looks like crap.

The life of a gardener. Time for a beer and TV

Marie

Comments (54)

  • corunum z6 CT
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cloud 9 dependably cracks me up...speaking of freshness,lol.

    Jane (now in a state of hernia-making chuckling)

  • hunt4carl
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bill, I have to admire your candor: a lot of the social conventions that exist in one-on-one conversations, in person, seem to fall by the wayside in on-line
    forums or "discussions" - it's the primary reason I dropped out of the New
    Jersey Gardening Forum some years back, because too many folks seemed to
    use it as a chance to snarl and "one-up" each other. Also, as "social creatures", don't you find that the subtleties of nuance, tone-of-voice, and even body language, are utterly lost in the stark black-on-white of a posting? And then, there's that dangerous element of anonimity that allows folks to say unnecessary things and then simply walk away, unaccountable. For me, at least, a member of an older generation, it's been an interesting lesson in a
    whole new world of "cyber-civility". . .

    And speaking of older, I can certainly appreciate Roxanne's lament about
    "approaching SS eligibility, and being a lone gardener of very short stature", , ,
    although part of my problem is the reverse - being a lone gardener of very
    TALL stature means I have to bend further, and it's tougher to fold up into
    tight sections of the garden. Looking on the bright side, however, I can
    deadhead the flowerheads on my my 7-foot Rudbeckia maxima with ease !
    Particularly noteworthy is her comment about down-sizing the garden, a
    process I began in earnest last season, continued to plot and plan over the
    winter, and have really been implementing more significantly this season.
    A large part of the scale-back involves a shift away from labor-intensive
    perennials (that "massing" concept that Marie - and yours truly - can't quite
    seem to achieve) and the addition of more and more shrubs, especially those
    with significant flowers and/or variegated foliage, or some other characteristic
    that makes them distinctive. Of course, there are SOME perennials that each
    of us could never live without - in my case, peonies, hemerocallis, phlox
    paniculata, any form of lilium, and a host of others - but each plant is being
    "documented" (yes, I'm actually using spread sheets on this campaign!) and
    quite a few are getting the ax. For example, Leucanthemum 'Becky' is being
    edited out this Fall (CT Plant Swappers take note!). . .too much time devoted
    to constant division and deadheading, and I can get the same "white-daisy effect", and a longer bloom period, using a few more less-fussy Echinacea 'White Swan'. There will probably be more lilies, because I love the fact that you can pop them in between other plants - or shrubs - and they quietly go about their business without much help from me, saving a healthy dose of compost once a year. My glorious stand of Lilium "Black Beauty', some over 6' tall, has definitely sold me on this dependable genus! And, after abandoning my dismal attempt to grow hybrid tea roses about a decade ago - one more bill of goods the horticultural industry sold us ! - I have now discovered the glories, and ease, of all the remarkable new shrub roses.

    Finally, two books I highly recommend, apropos "aging" and "scaling back":
    one, a long-time favorite by the poet, Stanley Kunitz ("The Wild Braid"), who
    lived AND gardened for a century - he died in 2006 at the age of 101;
    the other book, just released, is by reknowned gardener and writer Sydney
    Eddison, and the title says it all - "Gardening For A Lifetime: How To Garden Wiser As You Grow Older". No need to wait until you need this book; why
    not learn beforehand and make it a seamless transition? Remember, folks,
    it's all about enjoying our gardens, not killing ouselves just to make a
    statement. . .

    Carl

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    LOL, Deb! Bill, sorry to hear of your experiences here. I for one think your input is always interesting and informative.

    Carl, Roxanna's post also put me in mind of Eddison's new book. I have not read it yet, but have read great reviews and spoke the other evening with a local designer who highly recommended it.

    As far as my garden, mentally I've already moved on to next year. The terrible heat we had really did a number on both my perennials and especially my annuals (of which I have a LOT), and then after weeks of drought we've had weeks of rain and high humidity. Things were either crisped or drowned, lol.

    So onward and upward. I'm making new beds, (so much for downsizing, lol), whittling down my pot ghetto (or at least planning future homes for the plants) and thinking about some projects for next year. Those projects had been on the list for this year, but with two college tuitions due tomorrow (sigh) those projects will have to wait. Especially because the tax collector and the insurance agent seem to want their money tomorrow too!

    Carl, if you say that E. White Swan is easy, then I assume you don't have the dreaded oriental beetle? They wreak such havoc on my coneflowers that just yesterday I stood there contemplating ripping all of them out. Of course, those darn beetles do the same damage to my daisies too. Wish I could find a way to control them.

    Well, off to write some checks! (At least this will help keep any plant-buying down to reasonable levels, lol!)

    :)
    Dee

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I appreciate your candor too, Bill. It's not easy here in cyberspace and I would bet some of us have felt the same way some days. I found myself snarling at someone in another forum the other day and I'm still smarting from the exchange and find myself not wanting to post. Carl is right on the money, I do find the lack of facial expression, tone of voice and body language has always been a challenge for me and has gotten me into trouble more than once. You have my sympathies! Glad you are still hanging in there.

    I wonder if we're all a little grouchy from the heat? [g]

    So you still have a Bobcat working in the yard, Bill? You are very ambitious this year! Gee at the rate you're going, you could be ready for the local Garden tours next year. :-) Sounds pretty exciting! I hope the same mason is doing the work. He did such a great job. Still on the fence about the pond?

    Marie, we went to the beach a couple of weeks ago and it was a wonderful day. We hadn't been in two years, so it was a treat. We have relatives visiting next week. Sorry to hear your new landscape has to put up with this heat. Fingers crossed they all make it through. That's a LOT of honey!

    It's been the hottest summer I can remember in a long time and I am fairly heat intolerant so I've been keeping everything watered as well as I can in the early mornings. I did spend a couple of mornings making one sunny bed in the front of the house a little neater. Callirhoe climbing all over everything had to be cut back.

    I've been heading out about 9:30pm to hand pick Asiatic Beetles with a new headlamp on my head. I do enjoy being out there at that hour. I'm sure the neighbors are trying to figure out the headlamp. lol I ran into this fellow where I usually find the beetles and he startled me.....

    I've never seen one of these in my garden before. I'm not sure if he was eating the Ninebark or eating the Beetles I was looking for.

    Hi Roxanna, happy to see you peeking out of lurkdome. :-) That's a lot of garden beds! I don't think I could keep up with that. Count me in the 'getting decrepit' club. I wish there was a garden fairy that would visit in the night and put everything in order.

    Cloud_9, I wish I could do one liners so humorously. :-)

    Hi Jane. :-)

    Carl, I keep working toward downsizing, but I need to get there faster. I added a few more shrubs this year and have one ready to go in when the heat breaks and I bite the bullet and pull out the perennials. I improved my documenting last year and very happy I did. I just added Echinacea 'Fragrant Angel', one of those perennials I'll keep. The FA has such a pretty double row of petals and a green center at the moment. Would love to hear which shrub roses are working out for you.

    Those book titles are going on my list. Thanks.

    Dee, I have had a couple of summers where I was already thinking of the next spring before mid July. You sound like you are doing a good job coping and continuing to keep on track. We've had heat and very little rain. Lots of forecast showers that passed us over. I've had the sprinklers running about three times more than usual this year and very little is looking great. I've had Asiatic Beetles eating coneflowers, chrysanthemums, basil and my Ninebark. I've barely had any in the past. I'm keeping up with it hand picking at night. They are just about gone now and I've deadheaded off the worst of the echinaceas and waiting for a rebloom.

    Glad to see so many posts... :-)

  • cloud_9
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Carl & Others - You might be interested to know that Sydney Eddison is speaking on her new Gardening for a Lifetime book at the Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury, CT on Sunday, August 1 at 3pm (tomorrow!). This is a fundraiser for the library so they are charging $15 admission and serving ice tea and light refreshments.

    If my family cooperates, I will be there.
    : D

    Here is a link that might be useful: Roxbury library

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PM2 you are a brave woman to venture out in the garden at night, lol! That is one thing I don't like to do. I stick to the patio after sundown, lol.

    I don't have too much damage from Asiatics (I think). It's those darn Oriental beetles that do me in - and to add insult to injury, I find them in my hair after coming in from working in the garden. Bad enough they have to destroy so many things in the garden, but then they have to freak me out by hanging out in my hair too? Enough already! I guess on the bright side they are out in the daytime, so I can try to get them then.

    The Asiatics congregate on my screen door after dark. I stand there and flick them off from the inside and chuckle an evil little chuckle, lol. I'd probably be doing myself a lot more good if I opened the door and killed them, but I can't bring myself to do it. One, I'm not good in the bug squishing department, and two, unless I find something in mid-destruction-mode and I get all riled up, I don't like to kill things that are just doing what they are supposed to do. I know, I'm a wimp. (By the way, Oriental beetles are NOT supposed to be in my hair, so those get squished! - and quickly! No hesitation when its on me instead of a flower, lol!)

    I just had a nice big salad with tomatoes, lettuce, cukes, onions, basil and parsley, all from either my garden or the farm around the corner. So at the moment I am very happy with the way the season is going so far, lol. Ask me tomorrow when I'm out in the 90+ degree heat and watering my crispy astilbes, and my answer may be different!

    :)
    Dee

  • hunt4carl
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Asiatic beetles? Is THAT what is shredding my new Echinacea 'White Swan', Dee?
    Maybe I'm going to get lucky here: the two E. 'White Swan' are still up at the
    front end of the pot ghetto on the driveway. . .all the other planted Echinaceas are 150' away, down back, and have never had a problem. From my research,
    I've learned that these beetles frequently turn up in nursery stock, so I'm guessing they snuck in on my new 'White Swan'' purchases. Perhaps I'd be wise to get rid of these two newbies, and thereby avoid an infestion. . .what are
    folks thoughts on that? Or is it already too late?

    PM: So far, in my own and other gardens, I've worked with almost all of the
    Knockout series of roses. . .I have a particularly contented "original" Knockout
    (cherry red) that swells to a HUGE size each season (it gets cut back severely early each Spring), fully 5' foot tall, and as wide, by the end of September !
    I do dead head the flowers because I have found it definitely increases the
    bloom; yes, I get Japanese beetles (who doesn't?), but I also get perverse pleasure out of tapping them into an ever-present can of soapy water once
    a day. . .keeps the population under control. Both the K. "Double Red" and
    the yellow 'Sunny Knockout" are excellent; the pink Knockout can work
    pretty well (it anchors one of my beds), but I'm not sure it could "stand alone";
    there is a double pink that is just too Pepto Bismol pink for my taste, and the 'Blushing Knockout' is a bit wimpy - but it might be a good blender with other stronger colored plants. The Rainbow Knockout, specifically requested
    by the owner of another garden, leaves me cold. . .thank heaven's we all have
    different tastes, else it would be a terribly dull world !

    Heirloom Roses (linked below) has introduced me to a number of other shrub
    (and non-shrub!) roses: last season, it was 'Iceberg' - like a white iceberg
    floating in a blue and pale yellow garden - and this season I've added
    'Westerland', which promises to develop into a 7' mountain of apricot and
    copper-orange (I get goose bumps just writing that!). . .of course, 'The Fairy',
    a shrub classic, thrives in my garden as well. Last, but not least, there is a
    growing collection of David Austin roses, which, whether classified as
    shrubs or not, have all flourished for me, with no problems, and are some of
    the most beautiful - and frequently fragrant - roses I have ever seen. With
    so few problems, roses have once again become a mainstay in my garden, and many of them bloom non-stop from earliest June to frost - what's not
    to like?

    Carl

    Here is a link that might be useful: Heirloom Roses

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Shame on you Carl! First you say you are cutting back on growing roses, and then you link to Heirloom Roses! My God, man, what have you wrought?! Anyone who is not familiar with Heirloom will innocently click on the link and be hooked instantly! Tsk, tsk..... Who can help but be suckered in by David Austin roses - any of them?

    By the way, I did not have Japanese beetles until about three years ago... AFTER I spent mucho bucks and walked my acre of land with a teaspoon depositing milky spore all over the place, in a desperate attempt to get rid of Oriental beetles. This stuff is supposed to get rid of Japanese beetles, but it seemed to attract them to my yard! Sigh.

    And it is *Oriental* beetles, not *Asiatic* beetles, that do the damage to the coneflowers - in my yard at least. I can see them all over the blooms in broad daylight, munching away and staring me down as they chew. I suppose the Asiatics could be assisting them, now that I think of it, but since I don't go in the garden at night I don't know. Perhaps I should stop flicking them off the screen and let them congregate in peace - if they're on the screen door, they're not on the plants!

    :)
    Dee

    BTW, here's an Asiatic - http://www.invasive.org/images/384x256/5171063.jpg

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1085231}}

  • runktrun
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    To the Queen of Witty and Droll (not drool) you have once again shown why you reign supreme.

    Hey Marie,
    I am in the midst of traveling and thought I couldn't wait to get back home to share with you all my experience and zillions of photos from a stop at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. But after I reading this thread my bubble has burst. Frankly I think it is very easy to target folks who go out on a limb and post frequently as they have given you a plethora of information/opinion to rip apart. Lets be honest how many of you who easily sit in judgment take the time to up and down load photos with narrative and post on NE GW. Frankly it is easy to start threads about where to buy the best pot of pansies and accent it with [g] and smiley faces.
    Rob,
    I had a bad experience at a nursery, and people questioned it. So basically, I don't see much point in posting here if everything is challenged. Really??? Lets back pedal and remember that you had not once but twice used some very strong adjectives to review a nursery ....so because not everyone agreed that your one time experience justified such a bashing you stopped posting at the NE forum??? Come on.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Cloud_9, we're stuck painting a bedroom tomorrow. :-( Hoping the lower humidity is going to hold out another day. Sounds like an interesting talk. Maybe you'll share the highlights? What a nice looking library that is!

    Dee, I am in the suburbs in a neighborhood of 1/4 acre lots. Not a lot I'm going to run into out there. We don't have deer or raccoons. Haven't even noticed any skunk this year and I wonder why. Lots of crazy looking moths and bugs. I can't squish bugs either. It makes me too unhappy. Like Carl, I use a soapy plastic cup to collect them too. I do brush my hair thoroughly when I come in, now I know why...lol! Hey, maybe you could hang some of that flypaper outside by the screen the Asiatics are on? I know, pathetic idea, but my best shot...lol. We made gaspacho with some of the garden basil last week, it was great! The cherry tomatoes are not making it to the table though. I've got a small crop of string beans getting ready to pick.

    Bill, did you have time for a vegetable garden this year?

    Carl, I never have Japanese Beetles. I've seen 3 all season this year. I never had much of the Asiatics either, but someone gave me some organic fill last year when they were moving from an organic vegetable garden and I think that's where mine came from. He did warn me about it and I tried to sift it, but some got through I guess. They do hide in the soil. I wonder if you could inspect them after dark to see if they come out on the plants and capture them? I wouldn't give up my new plants, it's probably too late anyway, but maybe you could get rid of most of the soil and repot them in fresh soil and leave them in the shade for awhile, it that would make you feel better?

    I have one Knock Out rose, the old original too and that does pretty well for me. I did just move it in the spring, so it struggled a little earlier and is just starting to put out more buds. I have found it is mildly fragrant, whereas when I see others KOs at the nursery, I find no fragrance. I want to try that 'Sunny' when I get the chance. I have two David Austins and the Golden Celebration was a bug magnet this year. I was disgusted with the foliage and cut it back to the 6 inches high in June. It has new foliage so maybe next year. I gave in and finally ordered bare root roses from Pickering this year. The jury is still out. I did get a David Austin Harlow Carr, that has some potential. Supposed to be disease resistant and repeat blooms. So far I've been impressed. It's tiny, but it's been putting out a steady stream of buds and the beetles have been ignoring it, the foliage looks good. I'm still looking for roses that fit into the idea of 'downsizing'. [g]

    Dee, I have only seen a handful of those Oriental Beetles in the yard. I call them the 'brown splotchy ones' [g]. I have the burgundy color Asiatics and I've seen them on the foliage and flowers at night having a feast. They love basil and chrysanthemums. Dee, you might want to check out this link to see if one of these is in your future....

    Here is a link that might be useful: For Dee... :-)

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    After reading Katy's post I am wondering IS THERE A ROB ON THIS THREAD OR NOT?

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    After reading Katy's post I'm wondering about a few things.... Katy, why would you not want to post your photos? I don't understand. Did I miss something...? More than likely, I did, as usual!

    PM2, the first thing I thought of when I saw your link was "Oh my goodness, I'd be able to see *everything* with that thing!" (and that's not a good thing, lol!) My second thought was "Ew! Everything would be flying at my face, attracted to the light!" I think I'll stick to a flashlight, thank you. That is, if I HAD to go out into the garden at night....

    :)
    Dee
    P.S. No, there is no Rob on this thread, lol!

  • cloud_9
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dee - I was going to head off to bed, but now I'm afraid that I will have nightmares of bugs flying in my face. Thank you very much for that very strong visual! I'm not following what Katy is saying either.

    Katy - LYMY

    PM2 - Your buddy there is a Katydid. Not sure what he eats, but he makes lovely Summer night music.

    Anybody going to see Sydney? I believe it is not supposed to be too hot.

    xxoo
    Rob

  • spedigrees z4VT
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This isn't a great photo, but my phlox and daylilies are in full bloom. Alliums, lupine, and irises have long since gone by, and the bee balm too although it still is attracting bumblebees.

    {{gwi:1085233}}

    I dread reading of the Asiatic and Oriental beetles. I don't have any yet, but I'm sure they will find me. Just when I was thinking of putting in some perennial echinacea and rudbeckia next year... Do they defoliate the wild black eyed susans and daisies too?

    Maybe I'm thick skinned, but I like to read differing opinions on any forum. I find this forum to be overall friendly and non-combative, as well as a useful source of info.

  • aeiger
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    MY garden seems to be in fast forward. First flush was in mid may and my hydrangeas were past peak by the first week of July. My lilies bloomed so early and fast I didn't even get to see them! I also have Oriental beetles which devour the perennials and squash beetles that are wrecking the veggies. So what have I done this week? Not much by way of gardening but Fairfield county people may recall reading about some cat hoarders and possibly some cats being sold to labs. I may (or may not ) have been involved in some rescue missions BUT If anyone is looking for barn cats or is a very patient soul and wants a house pet, email me./Abi

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    spedigrees: it's lovely to see all that healthy green open space around your garden.

    This week I've mostly been looking at my overgrown, cluttered garden and seeing all of the plants that need to be moved, but I don't want to right now because of the weather. Actually I want to but shouldn't.

    I'm also waiting for the Phlox maculata to finish blooming so I can pull some out and make room for the plants that need to be moved. The hummers love the phlox so the blooming plants stay for now.

    And then there's the blackberry plants that snuck up on the edge of the property and exploded there. I want to remove most of them to make room for some dogwood seedlings I found here (4 or 5 at least), but the blackberry fruits are now ripening and the orioles and catbirds visit every day so that's got to wait too.

    As for the state of the garden, did I mention overgrown and cluttered? and weedy too. My roses are mostly taking a break for mid-summer and will start up again in earnest when it gets cooler. Phlox David, shasta daisies, and various lilies are blooming, along with some monarda that are now in the shade (and need to be moved). A few daylilies are also blooming, although it's been a mediocre year for daylilies for some unknown reason. Ornamental grasses are full and getting ready to dominate the garden
    .

    Lots of other things in this thread to think about - for one, I read the Eddison book and loved it. I'd already been moving in that direction but I felt guilty about it (a "real "gardener doesn't downsize, I thought). But Eddison makes it alright.

    Bill: I think part of the problem you had here was that you came to the forum as an experienced gardener, not a newbie, and people weren't sure if you knew what you were talking about, particularly since some of what you said went against established dogma. I hope you'll continuing posting - we all can learn from new ideas.

    Claire

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Marie, Carl, Ann, Diggerdee and others,
    I think you all have great comments! Carl you made some excellent points. As far as downsizing my garden (and as another gardener who IS on SS!) I am having a lot of work done to make the task easier. The desert landscape out front requires much less maintenance than the more traditional beds and lawn out back. And when the current project is finished, the area will be defined by stone walls, and a large area of questionable lawn will become a paved patio. So things should be a lot easier to care for.

    Katy, I didn't stop posting, however if I had a bad experience then it's my right to use this forum to express it. Never meant to be anything more or less.

    Roxanna,
    Although cacti may not fit your cottage garden style, there are many succulents and xeric plants that could fit in nicely. When I was in England, arguably the birthplace of cottage gardens, they were very fond of sempervivums and sedums amongst other succulents.

  • diggingthedirt
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wish I could have gone to Eddison's talk - I hope we get a report on it from somebody.

    We're having old friends from out of town house sit for us next week, so I've been wildly busy cleaning up the gardens - since they're pretty overgrown, it's been quite a task. It's not as tidy as I'd thought it would be by now, but most of the weediest areas are cleaned up. (Or, if they aren't I don't know about it, and don't want to!)

    I'm hoping they won't notice the partly cleared out bank of old forsythia along the side of the house, another task I haven't gotten around to finishing yet. There's a bush pile the size of Cincinnati out there, but no time left to chip it or even to haul it out of sight.

    Maybe the bank of Tardiva hydrangea in bloom will distract our visitors from the unkempt areas? Better yet, the crape myrtles are showing color - a small white and a big old zinging rosey red - I hope they'll be stumped by these, definitely not hardy where these folks come from.

    I got rid of my Japanese beetles about 5 years ago, with milky spore, but apparently it doesn't effect the Asiatic and Oriental beetles, and they're almost as bad. So, most of my daisy-like flowers end up without petals; except they seem to ignore gazania, which is my fave (though an annual) anyway.

    So the short answer is that my garden's in a pretty good state, other than the fact that the September-blooming plants are already in full swing. I wonder what September will be like - but in no rush to find out.

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DTD,
    I am very curious to know about your crape myrtles. What varieties are they, and how long have you been growing them? Do you give any protection? A crape myrtle is something I have really thought about planting as a centerpiece in my new planter out front. Of course there's some concern about hardiness.
    Bill

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, we finished painting half the bedroom today and we're happy with how the new color is looking. Progress. In the garden, didn't do more than get the birdbaths filled and the containers watered this morning.

    Dee, I thought the headlamp would have a lot of bugs flying in my face, but so far not very much at all. I keep turning it on and off for one thing and I have eyeglasses for another. It's easier than trying to hold a flashlight and knocking Asiatic beetles into a cup. [g]

    Thanks Cloud_9 for the ID on the Katydid. I liked all the information I discovered about it. Especially the fact that it seems to be an indicator that native additions to the garden are having a good effect.

    Spedigrees, very pretty color in your bed, is that purple, the Bee Balm? I don't know if the beetles eat black eyed susans.

    Pretty lily, Claire!

    Bill, replacing some lawn with a larger paved patio is a great idea. I am always pulled to put in stones with plants between, but in the end, I think it's too much upkeep.

    DtD, as you and aeiger mentioned, I'm also seeing bloom way ahead of time and wondering what the Fall garden is going to look like.

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Everyone,
    I am very happy my original post spurred so many comments so quickly. Open ended questions invite responses, and there's not really much to disagree about if everyone is simply reporting his or her's experience.

    I spent about 5 hours outside weeding and deadheading. The garden looks infinitely better. I also got a more leisurely view of just how wilted and brown many plants are, including iron clad hosta.

    This leisurely veiwing also aroused my critical eye and it was all I could do not to tear that pink phlox out on the spot and replant it elsewhere. But it would just wilt and add nothing to the garden, so I made myself wait.

    Gotta hunt down some mulch so I can cover what I just watered deeply. Don't want those weeds to gain a foothold again. I have a large can of preen calling my name. It says "think of how many fewer weeds there will be" and "you lazy woman; we know you don't want to weed...."

    And Bill (not Rob) I really, really encourage you when you encounter a post that seems a little edgy to just step back and take a breath. I thought many of the comments about email were right on. I read these posts too quickly sometimes. Then I dash off a note that has nothing to do with the op questions or misses the point entirely or answer redundantly. I can almost promise you that someday you'll dash off something you wish you could take back. So try not to take things too personally most of the time. (Sometimes things are personal...and people usually join in on a collective chiding of the offender)

    Enjoy that beautiful garden. WE are waiting to see what ends up in that corner bed
    Marie

  • cloud_9
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I spent the morning making a gallon (yes, a gallon) of pesto. My husband returned quite late, giving me just enough time to dash off to see Sydney Eddison before they locked me out. Everyone who came to see the talk, including my garden club friends were dressed quite nicely. And here I was with my quite forgotten about in my rush - dirty knees! LOL Oh well, I'm still glad I went. Sydney was quite charming. The talk was more anecdotal than a list of suggestions. She read the beginning of her book and the end, entailing the evolution of her garden and the epiphany that it had become too much to handle with failing body parts and energy. I guess I will have to read her book to find out the details of her plan.

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Marie,
    Thanks for the encouragement. I'll post more photos of the new side yard project when it's done. Probably will be at least three weeks or more. I've read some posts here where people say they value what we say here, so that's a good thing. I'll tell Rob, too! LOL!

    Bill

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, Cloud_9, you gave me a good idea with the pesto. I'm wondering if I have enough basil to make some. Do you have a recipe you particularly like? And I wonder if it freezes well?

    I just put a reserve on Eddison's book at the library. I hadn't heard of it before, so thanks again. There was already 11 reserves ahead of me, so if anyone else is planning on looking for it at the library, 11 goes fairly quickly.

    Marie, 5 hours of gardening, you're in pretty good shape. Maybe you don't need Eddison's book. [g]

    Bill...you are a breath of fresh air. :-)

  • nhmom2four
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I posted a message here but it has mysteriously disappeared. Anyway, this past week I have watered as little as possible but my roses need watering. My back lawn has several big browned-out spots. Being a Maine native, I can't fathom having to water the lawn up here so I am just hoping it will come back. Many of my roses are starting re-blooming and Abraham Darby must have thirty buds. Of couse, AD is the very favorite meal/honeymoon hideaway for the Japanese Beetles. Many of my roses have been so devoured that I haven't seen an open bloom before the beetles get it. Every day I drown about 30 of them. I don't want to use a grub killer on the lawn because I don't want to kill everything else. Their population seems to be dwindling now, probably because they have finished laying the eggs in the lawn.

    My phlox has to be moved or destroyed. I bought a variety from White Flower Farms that is supposed to be mildew-resistant but for the second year it is not even going to bloom in spite of a fungicide regimen. I am going to select a more wide-open spot for them because obviously they don't get enough air circulation in my front flower bed.

    I was thinking about what in my garden besides my roses that I love. #1 has been my Little Lamb Hydrangea. It is always loaded with blooms and the growth habit is very pretty.

    I hear the weather is going to turn hot and humid again- hooray!

    Barb

  • hunt4carl
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bill: I've long admired crape myrtles when visiting friends in North Carolina,
    but was always concerned about their hardiness this far north. Then, during
    the past decade, I started noticing them popping up locally; one of my local
    suppliers filled me in on all the advances in hardiness they've made with
    Lagerstromia. . .and has been growing them here in their nursery - zone 6b,
    just like you - for six years. Currently, I have L. indica 'Dynamite' and L. indica
    'Red Rocket'. . .both have been thriving for three years, with absolutely no
    attention, and if I had the space I'd certainly add a few more!

    Carl

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Barb, does Milky Spore kill everything else in the lawn? I thought it was specific to the Beetle.

    We have a brown spot in the front that I don't think is going to come back. This is the first year I've had mildew on phlox and I have phlox 'David' that's supposed to be more resistant. It's really dry this year which I'm sure is a stressor.

  • nhmom2four
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Good Morning,

    No, Milky Spore is specific to beetles but, sadly, it is generally ineffective in our part of NH. I am still thinking about using Dylox. My next door neighbor hasn't seen one JB on his stuff but I think that's because they're all rushing over to my yard to eat my roses. I bought my brother-in-law a cherry tree and they devoured most of the top leaves in the first 24 hours after he planted it.

    One of the other problems with Dylox is you have to water it in thoroughly and immediately or it will degrade and never kill the grubs. I have a lot of lawn and that's not that easy.

    Have a great day,
    Barb

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Carl,
    I'd like to try those crape myrtles here too. I try a lot of things that are different and I enjoy the experiments. A few years back I used to drive by one street for my job a gew times a week, and one house there had two crape myrtles that were at least 12 feet high and loaded with flowers. The trunks were thick as my arm and had time to develop the typical bark. They were there for a few years, and I never saw any type of protection in winter. I've not been by there in several years so I don't know if they're still around. But at least having seen them gives me a reason to try. Thanks for the information.

    Happy gardening!
    Bill

  • tree_oracle
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bill,

    You can easily grow crape myrtles in your zone. They are completely root hardy in your area. In most years, the top growth will overwinter with no problem but every now and then a brutally cold winter will kill some or possibly all of the top growth. They will resprout from the ground very quickly though if this happens. We had a very cold winter back in 2003 that killed all of the top growth on my CMs but they recovered and I've never observed any winter dieback since then.

    One thing to keep in mind is that they don't always put on a good flowering show this far north. CMs like the heat big time so this year is right up there alley. In most years, my Hopi CMs which are my best bloomers put on a few sporadic blooms in late August/early September. Every few years, there is enough heat (like this year) for them to bloom like they do in the South. These years are nice because they will bloom non-stop for 2-3 months. Even if they don't bloom, all of mine put on a great fall foliage show. They are also interesting during the summer just as foliage shrubs. My Acoma has an unusual weeping habit that I really like. My Red Rocket has foliage that is red when new turning to a very dark green as it matures.

    Keep in mind if you get any that they are late to bud in the spring. They are usually the last thing to leaf out in the spring. So don't dig one up thinking that it didn't survive the winter without giving the bark the scratch test to see if it's still green underneath.

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yesterday the landscape crew dug up 15 hostas from around the property and made a hosta garden. Some of these were over three feet across,and those guys did an exceptional job. They look great, very little leaf damage (from moving, but lots from slugs) and so far no wilting. I think the next week will tell but I intend to keep them well watered.

    Part of the impetus for this was the need to get 2 Sum and Substance out of the perennials where they stood like great stuffed lime green mastadons. Overcooked to a gross yellow, really. Now in a much shadier place the gold looks wonderful and not sickly.

    Will the old leaves that are healthy adjust to light and turn to their "real" chartruse?

    Will this hot weather never let up for more than a few days? I lost many new plants that were mail ordered. I just could not keep up with the watering.

    Marie

  • sequoia54
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's not only the heat, but the relative lack of rainfall that's making it tough this year. The last year my town had such stringent water restrictions (odd/even days, ONLY from 6-9 PM) was 2002. My garden beds are doing surprisingly well, under the circumstances. My newest plantings were last fall--although there are the inevitable winter casualties, the survivors seem to have rooted themselves pretty well. Nothing grows as well as in a wetter year, but most are hanging in there. I hate hot humid weather--thought last year was great, LOL!
    That's a shame about your new plantings, Marie--how aggravating is it to invest all that time and money and then see everything keel over?!
    Betsy

  • mayalena
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello Marie, et al!

    I finally made the time to work on my garden last week -- after a full year of neglect. I also started watering. I think I have lost a couple of yaku rhodies, but everything else seems to have survived! I am sad about the rhodies but delighted that everybody else has pulled thru. Then again, the drought stress on dogwood (a cornus florida in my front yard) will probably only show up later.

    And, speaking of dogwood, I have lost about 3 red-twigs -- but I think it is the birch they are planted under more than the drought that has done them in. I am going to cut them back hard today and see what happens....

    What else is going on here? I have cut the tops off of *tons* of chocolate Eupatorium so it doesn't flower. I need to get rid of it altogether. I am *so, so* sorry that I ever shared any at plant swaps!

    In the same category is that Persicaria 'Lance Corporal'. It is trying to take over. I do like the foliage, but it gets out of hand if you look away for a moment. I don't want to pull it all, but I know if I don't, I'll have it everywhere.... This plant was one I picked up at a swap, too.

    I think most of my daylilies need division. I am supposed to be job-hunting right now. Maybe dividing will be my next form of procrastination?

    Marie - I'll send you an email. I'd love to see your garden!

    Best,
    Carolyn

  • defrost49
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I thought I would join this thread so I can make everyone else feel better. On another thread I was encouraged to post pictures of my garden. I took some pictures but they look awful. And now the garden doesn't look as good as it did a couple weeks ago.
    We moved to this house in 2007 and immediately started major renovations. Our son and DIL bought our old house and didn't want any of the perennials. These were plunked into two hastily dug holding beds. Both holding beds are slowly reverting back to meadow. I'm too busy taking care of the vegetable and flower beds in the front yard. I weeded a semi-shady bed where I had tried to grow some vegetables. This year I decided it should be a perennial bed and obviously a great place for hosta. I transplanted a hosta in the spring. I think it is still there but the weeds are so tall I can't see anything. Some of those weeds are mint. Did I mentioned I decided to let some mint stay and then promptly added composted manure to the rest of the bed. Needless to say, the mint promptly made a bee-line to the compost and grew enormous.
    Which is sort of a good thing because for the first time DH found mice in the camper. I remember using mint as a mouse repellant so he cut some to tuck around. But I didn't give him any guidance so he may have cut spearmint which isn't as effective. Guess it doesn't matter. At least some of it is cut back.

    I'm astound by the number of beds reported by a short, older member.

    The shady slope between the garage and barn did pretty well but I didn't add as many annuals this year so once some perennials were cut back there is a big empty space. I did not start climbing nasturtiums indoors this year. They are growing but it's already August and they haven't started decorously climbing the old apple ladder nailed to the barn wall. Actually it's only half a ladder. DH didn't know it was a valuable antique before he cut it in two.

    Last year when I was working on A Plan, I was given the good advice here to think about how often the area is viewed and walked by/thru. This was good advice because it would have been silly to plan beautiful small plants in my circle garden that is in the middle of the yard. We see it all the time from our windows. It looks very good with a nice young patch of some kind of fragrant white phlox (where did I put the tag?), several plants of ordinary echinacae, a huge shasta, King somebody yellow yarrow, etc. It also made a lovely place to put a concrete rhubarb leaf my DIL made for me. I have learned a lot from this small bed. The lovely yellow daylilies point toward the sun. Since they are on the north side of the bed, they bloom away from our view. Huh? Also, even the north side of a bed that is not kept watered is no place for impatients bought late in the season. They are even smaller and more scraggly than the day they were purchased.

    Last year we dug a kidney shaped bed to the east of the circle bed for some shrubs. Two dark leaved August blooming perennial somethings (now where did I put the tags?) look good with the yellow and white daylilies. A good crop of pot marigolds showed up on the north end. The shrubs looked decent in spring (a pink azalea, a viburnum) and the hummingbird clethra did survive although the top stems are dead. I would have pulled it out when everyone else reported theirs were dead except I didn't get around to it. There is supposed to be a nice crab apple but it hasn't been purchased yet. This has meant keeping a large section weeded. I should have put down some mulch. Recently a wild turkey thought it was a great place for a dust bath. I finally got around to planting the flat of mystery plants my DIL passed on to me that someone had given her. Of course, half had dried up but the survivors are doing fine and once I picked up the flat I saw the label ... Big Sky series Sunrise echinacae. Duh! I have never seen a flat like this so apparently they came from some nursery that intended to put them into large pots.

    I really like to have cherry tomatoes in easy picking distance of the kitchen door but after two years in the same spot and last year being The Blight Year, I decided the herb garden needed to be transplanted to that area. The herbs are very happy I did that. They have more sun now and I have an especially bountiful tarragon. The herbs used to be along a narrow brick walkway to our former kitchen door. Hence that bed is now half empty but still holds some nice non-culinary specimens I didn't dare move during this awful dry summer.

    Under the DR window became the cucumber patch. I have two shrubs next to the new kitchen porch, opposite the herb patch. A viburnum and a spreading cotoneaster. Both were planted in 2008. This summer the viburnum has suddenly shot up 3-4'. Hopefully it is at maximum height because I chose a short variety. A variety of basils, 3 scented geraniums and a brave lemon verbena also enjoy that side of the walkway. The lemon verbena spent the winter in the north window of our semi-heated garage with very little water and survived. Dormant is good.

    I might have made better progress on the flower beds if the vegetable garden hadn't required most of my time. I love lasagna beds. I planted the tomatoes too close together and I really shouldn't have a dozen heirloom varieties but I can get individual plants from a local grower. Of course, there's only 2 of us and our DIL and one GD hate tomatoes but we have neighbors. This weekend is the abosolute last picking of sugar snaps from the dying plants. The Sugar Anns were planted early and so the old vines were pulled several weeks ago. DH let me use three 5x10' panels of concrete mesh for fencing. I have yard long beans growing in place of the sugar anns. The birds love the fence, esp the phoebes. Spinach was a great success this year, too, but I was away in May, came home sick and the early plantings of beans, beets, etc didn't get watered so germination was just about non-exisitent. Hope to have our first green beans this week.

    The veggie beds have been kept well-watered (literally since we are in a rural town with our own well). The tiny stream in the backyard has just about dried up and a frog has found refuge in my veggie beds. Sometimes I find him in a low granite bird bath. This week he didn't move when I watered the adjacent impatients so I watered him, too, when I re-filled the bird bath.

    Striped cucumber beetles killed the yellow summer squash plants but the costata romanesque and somekindofAmish zucchini plants seems resistant. Found squash beetles on the Confection winter squash but they seem to be taken care of by the organic spray I got at the farm store. I've seen a few Japanese beetles. Not sure what they are eating.

    I was dismayed to recently learn that the lovely sphinx or hummingbird moth is the mother of the dreaded Tomato HORNWORMS. I found 7 last week and promptly squished them even though they wiggled when I tore them off the plants and it was really hard to squish them since I was only wearing flip flops. And to think I started to blame the local deer for the nibbled tops of my plants.

    I am really happy to be the proud owner of a decrepit John Deere riding mower that DH revitalized for me. I have a little cart and a battalion of five-gallon pails for my weeding chores. It is very easy to fill them and the yucky weed pile is way down back behind some trees.

    It looks to be a glorious day and I'm heading out to the Canterbury NH garden tour instead of weeding. I'm sick of weeding and yesterday I had to bake and make zucchini pickles to use up my striped cucumber beetle resistant squashes.

  • kathyannd
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi, All. Today was my lucky day in that I discovered this thread. My side is aching from laughing and I am embarrassed to admit that not only am I among the Social Security set, I also am of the age where the peril of a hearty laugh is to widdle in one's britches. Suffice to say, it's been.... an interesting afternoon. ;)

    I also lurk a lot but recently have started to post more. I have not experienced the kind of rudeness noted by Bill on this forum, but I have experienced it on others. It does bite, and I AM thin skinned, and sometimes some time away is the best balm. I don't know what gets into people sometimes, but my DH says that some of these folks are just plain miserable in their own lives and take it out on others. And anonymity lets them feel a sense of power over us other equally anonymous "victims" of their wrath. DH is a psychiatrist so I just take his word for it and try to quietly lick my wounds when it happens. But there is something to be said for whining. I find that helps too. (Especially when empathetic readers have experienced the same and rush to boost one's wounded ego.)

    Our entire yard is 1/2 acre and it's a series of gardens with more than 24 distinct beds. My DH and I spend hours and hours making sure the weeds don't resemble something out of Jurassic Park. We do 90% of the work ourselves. We hire some help in the spring when we are getting ready for the garden tours (we are on two) and one son in college helps out as well (in exchange for us covering college bills). That's a wonderful arrangement for us, since we had committed to paying for the kids' education to the best of our ability anyway. It's like free help.

    Bill, your cacti sound lovely. Do you have prickly pear? Are they are as lovely as the pictures? I've been tempted to plant some but afraid of the thorns. (That from someone with 130 roses, more or less.)

    The recent lack of rain hasn't bothered us as badly as others. We used SoilMoist when we planted shrubs, roses, and perennials. Those couple of tablespoons of insurance have paid off in spades. We watered yesterday for the first time in two weeks. There is a voluntary water ban locally, with watering restricted to 6-9 PM and AM. We water rarely anyway (except for the pots and new plantings). The only thing we water regularly and meticulously are the vegetables growing in pots on the deck, but we do that in the confines of the ban.

    This year, bowing to age and infirmity, we planted a potted garden on the deck and have most of our vegetables and some kitchen herbs there, along with flowers and shrubs. The deck is now a lovely place to relax and eat dinner and I only have to walk a few steps to pick salad, squash, and tomatoes.

    We are getting two crepe myrtles for the deck as well as a camelia and gardenia. We have a wonderful place that we can overwinter them indoors during the worst of the winter. I'd love to get a hardy crepe myrtle for the yard but our microclimate is tough on tender shrubs and trees, so we might not be able to pull it off this far north on the coast. We saw some two weeks ago at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden that were huge - the first time I'd seen them out doors that far north, and they were glorious.

    Here is a link to some photos of our garden taken this year. They aren't in the best order yet, and it is far from complete in terms of all of our beds, but it's a start. I have no clue how to add them into a post. I'll be adding more to that album. The spring bulbs are glorious and the fall blooms are equally lovely.

    http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5347523013/a=84589877_84589877/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

    So nice to meet all of you!

    Cathy (Northeast MA on the coast)

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cathy: I tried to view your album but Snapfish insisted I had to join first and I don't want to. Can you set it up so the album is public? or however Snapfish handles it?

    Claire

  • diggingthedirt
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is certainly the best year for crape myrtles that I can recall, and I've had one or more for 10 or 15 years. Speaking of their root-hardiness, my old white one (tag's around here, somewhere) has only died to the ground once, which I guess was in 2003. Even leafless, the structure and lovely texture of the bare trunks was so good that I left it standing until JULY 4, when it finally started to leaf out, mainly at the base. The down side is that it's hard to plan around a specimen that may be 15 feet tall one year and 18 inches the next. But in a year like this one, it's all worthwhile.

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kathyannd,
    The flowers on the prickly pear cactus are very attractive.A flower lasts only a day but I have one very large clump that produces so many buds that it will bloom for about 6 weeks. The blossoms are yellow and silky, about 3-4 inches across. They are followed by fruits that turn reddish-purple in fall and usually stay on all winter and into the next season.

    The spines can be an issue, but these plants don't really need any contact. No pruning or anything. If there's a damaged pad, it usually will heal itself, but if you don't like seeing it you can remove it. Just use good LEATHER gloves if you must handle them or weed among them. Overall has never been a problem though.

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Everyone,
    I thought I'd revive this thread because it is two months later and I'm sure the reports will be totally different. I note that in August we were in the second month of a three and half month drought. We certainly have had good rain in October.
    Two months ago, It was so hot many of only whined about gardening and didn't actually do any. What have you been doing since late September when the weather finally cooled down?

    Two months ago, the extent of my gardening plans for the future was "what am I going to rip out because its died or needs too much water?" Now I'm dreaming of more trees and I'm pretty sure I can keep them alive.

    Finally, this forum has sure been quiet!! No arguing, sniping, suggesting, bantering, admiring, pictures...
    If I had to choose between any of the above and dead silence I'd even be willing to undertake any of the above activities. I'm still trying learn how to be subtle when I snipe.

    Marie


    Hope this post will quick start some new and old posters

    Marie

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, since you asked...

    My big (VERY big) old osmanthus is blooming!

    As is Blushing Knockout and a whole lot of other roses:

    Asters and goldenrods all over the place. This is Harrington's Pink New England aster:

    Some volunteer mulleins are flaunting themselves. The smaller one is constrained by the stairs (unfortunate choice of germination spot) but the bigger one should be a blockbuster next year.

    And all that rain lured some impressive mushrooms out of my compost pile.

    As far as work in the garden, I've mostly been removing a whole lot of volunteer blackberry plants (ouch), transplanting volunteer miscanthus, and digging out Siberian irises, volunteer and/or overgrown.

    I've also been industriously messing with the compost pile, trying to get the compost ready to be spread in a month or two.

    Claire

  • diggingthedirt
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, Claire, that's one beautiful mushroom!

    My Osmanthus looks a lot like yours, and it's the first time the flowers have really knocked my socks off; they must have loved the heat this summer.Can that be right, aren't they from the Pacific northwest, where there's no heat at all???

    My Franklinia are still blooming, which makes it at least 6 weeks running - a record for my garden. They're temperamental, but really rewarding when they're happy.

    This was the first year in a long time that I didn't have to go to sea during summer and early fall, so you'd think my garden would be in good shape. Unfortunately, maybe because of the heat, I just ignored the garden for most of the summer, other than an occasional stroll around the yard noticing what wasn't being cared for.

    So, the state of my garden is ... not too good. It looks like one of those yards where you look at it and think I bet a gardener used to live there!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DTD: I proudly showed that mushroom to some visiting little kids and they were horrified! Maybe I'll try to use it for Halloween Horrors...

    Osmanthus isn't native to the PNW - it's originally from eastern Asia so I guess heat is welcome to it.

    Claire

  • pixie_lou
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I feel like I've been trying to close out a pretty lame garden year. I've gotten most of my spring bulbs planted. And cleaned out the veggie garden. I am turning the compost regularly - hoping to get it garden spreadable soon.

    Last week someone on my street was having a bunch of trees taken down. The tree guy dumped 1/2 a truck of wood chips (at no charge) in my driveway, so I have spent most of my free time mulching my garden beds with the wood chips.

    I have a 3 gallon bucket of daffodil bulbs I still need to plant. Plus a friend brought my a huge trash bag full of violet plants that I need to transplant. We head to the Cape next Saturday for a weeks vacation - so I definitely need to get this done this week!

    In early September, I started what I call the "Monday Morning Photo Project". I've been thinking for a while that I wanted to photograph my gardens weekly. But never got around to starting it last spring. Granted September is an odd time to start - but I figure if I want to document the gardens for a year, it probably doesn't matter when I start?

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yesterday I went with a friend to a "granite farm" in Lynnfield MA to find a granite step for our front entrance. It is an astonishing place. Acres of huge granite pieces from old bridges, curbs, foundations, demolitions. Nice people too.
    Then DH and I bought a a.japonicum Golden Full Moon at 40% off, and two hollies.
    Today, planted the big b &B holly. A ridulous amount of digging, and heaving and panting. Next time I'm hiring out. Moved 4or 5 plants and spent many many minutes trying to figure where things will go and how big they'll really be. It is too much work to move something twice. Nevertheless, something I just planted needs to be moved tomorrow. But before I can do that, I need to move something else first. It's a game of checkers....
    Wonderful day for gardening, and almost anything outdoors.

    Marie

  • ejr2005
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey Marie - what's the name of the granite farm in Lynnfield? Sounds pretty interesting.

    In June I posted some pics of our new front walkway and yard. I then spent almost every free minute this hot dry summer planting! Totally crazy but I'm too busy with work in the spring and fall so summer it was. A lot of folks here were really helpful in thinking about what to plant. We ended up with a lot of hostas (an old love), a lot of hydrangeas (a new love), a pagoda dogwood (some folks here suggested), some fragrant azaleas, ferns, daphnes, rhodies, and assorted other things. We have lots of shade, though a little more sun than in the backyard so I got a little more adventurous.

    My question posted here was about what to plant in the bed center stage in front of our house. We never really "decided" but it kind of evolved. We saw a small red weeping Japanese Maple that we had to have (Tamukeyama). Tagged one at Weston's for the fall, but then found one on sale at Stonegate in Lincoln and bought that. That went in the front of the bed to hopefully someday weep over the big rocks along the walkway. I also wanted a green one to weep over the side wall - bought a very small A J Green Cascade. Not sure how long it will take till they're big enough to really see! Finally we were out in the Berkshires and we saw an older (10 years?) PG hydrangea at one of our favorite nurseries that we totally fell in love with. We had no way of getting it back here, so they're holding it until it goes dormant. Hopefully we can then somehow get it into the back of the Subaru! I'll post when we get everything in, though by that time it might not look like much so may wait until the spring.

    Today I finally finished planting - moved a couple of things from the backyard. Hurray!!!!

    We've also been trying to get the thousands of acorns up before they're lost in leaves. I spent most of last spring pulling up baby oak trees. I had the landscaper rake a lot of the leaves into the beds, and he raked the acorns in too. This year I think we're doing it ourselves. What do you all do about acorns?

    We also tried to move our old kayaks into the back yard. Turned one over and out popped a very frightened chipmunk...

  • silvergirl426_gw
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, finally lots of nice soaking rain in October. I've been planting -- my neighbor found a nursery going out of business -- and bought out the stock. They planted a whole bank of rhodies, but he generously gave me three. And I just put in a smoke bush, and made a big trough for a swath of daffs. Since this is NW CT, we have rocks everywhere, so making a big enough planting hole was a big excavation project. Starting to cut back -- down came all the old echinops, the iris spears, the ferns getting brown, mildewed leaves of phlox. But I'm happy to report that my blush knockout is still pumping out blooms, the cosmos and zinnia are still going strong, and the asters are brilliant. It's nice not to have to drag around the hose! I am not a lover of fall. I hate to see the garden come to an end.
    lucia

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, I was away for 16 days, but I've done some things in the area in and around the new patios, planters and stairs. I planted some "Red Riding Hood" tulips around a small Clerodendron in a triangular bed at one corner of the patio. I have some mixed darwins and some daffodils for stepped planting areas next to the new stairs, but because of the weather today I'll plant them tomorrow most likely. I got some winter color in the planter with "flowering" cabbages and kale. They usually look good until really cold weather sets in. My "Snow Flurry" Camellia is almost in full bloom. There are about 40-50 flowers open now, but not less than 300 more to go. It always produces a lot of buds.

    I should try to take a few photos and post them, but I'm checking into various photo hosting websites (free of course!) because many of the people on the Italy tour with me have asked to see my photos of the trip and it's a lot easier to upload them to a website and just share the link. Would be easier for garden photos too.

    Bill

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really really want to see a picture of that camellia.
    I'm sure I'm not the only one.
    Marie

  • bill_ri_z6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Marie,

    I'll try to post some photos soon. I've just created a Flickr account. I have some camellia photos from previous years, and I will try to take some new ones as soon as it's in full bloom. Then I'll be uploading to Flickr.

    Bill

  • Marie Tulin
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I found trollius "alabaster" half price and bought several.
    Also, a five foot magnolia "Butterflies" for half price: $125 and half price Fringe Tree for 4o.

    It was a cold shopping day, but I was very happy.

    Marie