Debbie, I love the chipmonks! We had one that lived under the step next door for years. He was always in the garden, drinking from the stream and running across the outside of the house. Drove the poor dog nuts! LOL! He never ate the greenery. I've never seen them eat greenery. The woods across the street are full of them and they are so cute to watch. From the way that one sounds, someone has probably been feeding him. There's no way you could get that close to a wild chipmonk. They eat mostly seeds and nuts, rarely greenery. Could it be slugs nibbling on your leaves? They adore hostas! I wouldn't move him/her as he/she may have a family in the woods. I encourage the wildlife to visit or live in my garden and I love chipmonks! I used to like to sit out in the mornings with my coffee and watch all the birds bathing in the stream. I like squirrels too but they eat from the bird feeders if I don't leave acorns and peanuts on the fence for them. They can learn to be so friendly too. We had one that we could feed from just 2' away, not friendly enough to eat from our hand, though. I like to collect and save the acorns from the street in the fall and feed them to the squirrels and chipmonks in the winter. Sort of like helping them save up food. I used to find peanuts buried in the garden all the time. I don't think they remember where they put things.

I know squirrels eat and move bulbs, but not daffs. I had no problem if perennials were planted over the bulbs or thick ground cover had matted over it. They still grow up through everything.

Sounds like you guys have had a lot of rain up there. Its been sunny and fabulous here all week, then it rained yesterday and is overcast and cooler today. It's very humid though. I sure sweated a lot this morning, running on the trial. Drier weather is much nicer for that kind of thing!

I'm planting some tropical seeds today: pulcherimma and bahinia. Hopefully they'll sprout and grow a bit in the warm sun on the balcony before I have to bring them in for the winter.

Hi all

Debbie, I really doubt it is the chipmunk damaging your plants. We happen to have a neighbourhood chipmunk who is tame. He actually climbs right into your hand to get seeds and peanuts. He lives in the lawn of our next door neighbour and we keep him well supplied with food. He has never touched any plant and I believe that he has been there for at least 4 years.

Janet, I emailed you back with my phone number so we can get in touch about getting you those white bleeding hearts.

I found a hosta locally that will work for what I want. I needed a fairly large, but not too large hosta that would be able to withstand afternoon sun. I settled on Paul's Glory when I found it at Canadian Tire Tonight. The leaves were a little sunburnt but I think with gradual exposure to more sun, I should be ok. If not, it will burn this year and should be fine next year. Walmart had Night Before Christmas. It looked really pretty but unfortunately, I am not going to buy any more plants until things fill in and I know if I have any more room for perennials.

We had a sunny day here but every thing is still pretty wet from on the non-stop rain. Wouldn't you know it, the forecast is for more rain for the next two days. I have some Japanese Painted ferns that don't look too happy with all of this rain. I hope they aren't rotting in the ground.

Well 4 more days of work and I will be off for most of the summer. =)

Danni

Hi all! Happy July! I would say "Happy Summer" if we were having one *LOL*

I am not really "north", being near Ottawa, but just the same, we are cool and wet like you guys. My gardens are doing well, all weeded as of today. The shade garden under our Maple tree has been planted for dry shade, and it is currently not very dry, so the plants back there have been growing like crazy! The other gardens which need a bit more sun and heat are slow, and the veggie garden is REALLY slow. I started my tomatoes and things inside and put them out at the beginning of June, and they are still just sitting there, not even needing the cages yet.

I am having a tough time with those darn red lily beetles again this year, although spraying alternately with End All and Neem Oil keeps them somewhat controlled. I am kind of sick of my lily bed anyway, so am thinking of yanking them out and starting a bed of phlox. Anybody know anything about phlox?

The best garden is my little grandson's. He is two. He has two dwarf sunflowers booming, 4 bean plants and a Tiny Tim tomato. His tomato is doing better than mine *smile*. He also has a windmill and a broken flower pot that he painted with sparkle paints for his decorations. I bought a little sign that says "my very own garden" at Canada Blooms and DH nailed it to the side of the raised bed where his plants are. He is just thrilled - I knew I could make him into a gardener!

We finally went swimming in our pool yesterday - well, I went in, but it is very cold and every one else stuck their toes in. What a waste of time and money that is this year! Now that our water is metered and our prices are so high, we are wondering if we should just close it down for the next two years until our mortgage is paid off. We could probably afford it then!

Like everyone else, I am still waiting for summer. At least with this weather, the weeds aren't germinating very fast.

Take care all, and keep those umbrellas handy!

Cheers,
Julie

Hi
We had a nice day today. It started out very cold, but as the day went along it warmed up so I didn't have to wear a jacket until the sun started to go down, but by that time I was so tired that I went into the house.

I planted a big hosta as I measured the top bed and I had space so in it went. Tomorrow we are getting the dirt, peat moss and manure delivered and things should really start moving along then, as long as the weather co operates. I had hubs help me move a few of the tomatoes into the rose garden as they needed more sun and he also moved a few flower pots for me too. So I put them up on the top beds in between the tiny roses to cover up all the empty spots.

I did some weeding, pulled out a tree that was growing where it wasn't suppose to, actually had to call son to come over and help and he used loppers on it as the root was huge, I almost broke the shovel trying to dig it out. Fertilized a couple of the trees as I didn't buy the spikes this year for them and now it is too late to put them in the ground. Fertilized the water lilies again, son did the one in the pond. *BWEG* I did the easy one. *L*

I hope it stays sunny for a lonnng time so the pots can get a chance to dry out.

Janet, I don't think I'd like camping in cold wet weather. I use to when I was young, but my poor old bones would not like it now. *S*

Sheryl, I like chipmunks too, just not on my tiny property especially when they are living in my garage. He will be moved to the huge park across the street, but down the street a ways so he doesn't come back. I have never seen slugs do this type of damage on my hostas and I have about 75 different varieties and over 100 hostas. It might have been cutworms when the eyes were just starting to poke up thru the ground. Though they have never done that before, or it could of been the skunk too that has been around here since spring, but I thought they are insects. I don't like squirrels at all, but luckily we have had only one here and I chased it away the first time I saw it. It was just a little red squirrel, we don't have the black or grey squirrels up here that plague big cities, thank goodness. Squirrels will kill baby birds so I certainly don't want them here.

I have so many baby birds learning to fly here I have to be careful they don't fly into me when I'm out in the garden. *L* Very funny.

Dannie, I love Paul's Glory, I have two of them! They are gorgoues, well in IMHO. *S* Here is one of mine planted in 2002 I think it was. {{gwi:2100332}} I don't know if u know much about hostas, but they can be a different colour in different lighting situations and they can change leaf shape or texture as the plant matures too. If u give it enough water it will be able to take your sun. I have quite a few planted in full afternoon sun, but I give them lots of water,,,well when it's not raining that is. *L* According to my Hosta Handbook, Paul's Glory gets to be 25" tall and the mound "can" get to be 55" wide. I don't know how long that would take where u are. But they say when u plant a hosta, the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap. Most of mine are in the 3rd and 4th year and leaping for some of them is an understatement. *LOL* Night before Christmas gets to be 25" tall X 63" wide. That is just the measurement that the guy averages after seeing many different gardens with these plants in them.

Hey jak! Glad to see you post! I'm sorry to hear that u are having all of the rainy weather too!

I have some phlox, purple, white and some pink ones. I'm trying to get a guy to come over here and dig up a clump of my purple ones by the pond as it is just getting too big! They smell wonderful though and I wish I could keep it, but something has got to go. Some phlox get downy mildew I think it is, but there are suppose to be varieties than aren't suspetible to that.

Sounds like your grandson is doing great and he has his own little sign? How cute. We had a sign made when our son was small and had his own gardens too, he use to enter in the horticultural society garden show and he won quite a few years, but now he hates it. Go figure!

Well time to get going

Take care
Debbie :-)

Jak1, You could always turn your pool into a great pond! I love phlox, it smells so wonderful! But it does get the powdery mildew. I believe that "David" is mildew resistant. Its white. There might be more. Maybe you can put them out somewhere that's drier with lots of cross breeze? I love lilies even more, though, and would hate to see you pull them all out!

Debbie, it must be great to have all those baby birds! I've been watching a nearby next all through this spring. There was a grackle nest in there. Those babies have all flown now and are gone. The parents were very entertaining to watch!

Weather is sunny here today, but cool. It like it cool like this - much better for running. But I do have some seeds I'm trying to germinate out there. Maybe I'll have to bring them in until it warms up some.

Hi i don't get to post much because it seems that my dh is always sick, infact he is in the hospital again because of his heart, but last weekend i did get to go into the back yard and start trimming those plum trees, boy are they dangerous and multiply like you wouldn't believe my legs and arms are bruised, scratched and bloody! my pernnials are not doing well at all this year, i have a ton of purple and yellow iris's, buds on my daylilies, peonies and tiger lilies, my rose bushes seem to be the only things that look promising! i too only see about and inch or two of my lupins, i planted 3 packages of pea seeds and only have 10 plants i figure it might be the squirrels who live in my garage, but the sunflower plants are about a foot tall and they didn't go for them! glad to see the photos of some of your plants and to read your stories! debbie L>

Sorry to hear about your dh, Deborah! I hope things improve for you.

Do you get a lot of plums on those trees to make it worth the trouble?

Hi Buddies!

Sounds like everyone is busy, busy, busy!

*Debbie* just reading about what you've been doing has me tuckered out! I always have people say how much work my gardens must be, but I always reply that it's "playing". What you've been up to sounds almost like work!
Don't forget to take it easy once in awhile too.

The weather has sucked big time for sure...nothing is really growing at all...one of my perennial beds has no colour in it right now, except for a few things...everything is soooo behind this year. It better warm up soon. I haven't even taken my socks off yet this year!

The waterlilies have been blooming profusely though.The fish haven't even spawned yet this year...whew...hopefully it stays that way..lol

My pink ladies slippers have buds! I can't wait to see
them bloom as I've seen pics of them and they are going to be gorgeous!

Your blue poppy is gorgeous *Marcia* I have a huge, healthy plant that I gave up on seeing blooms again, but lo and behold, 2 buds developed on it now....kinda late huh? Wonder if they will even open? Weird....
Have you made any plans for another TBay visit yet?
If not...hurry up! ~LOL~

Everything has popped up in the veggie garden, but has been at a standstill.Replanted some empty spots in the cuke row...sure hope they grow as we are out of dill pickles already...40 jars doesn't last a year in this house I guess!

The 3 baby robins are growing extremely fast...I think they may be ready to take their first flights soon and they are only 2 weeks old. My youngest kid broke my digital camera...so I can't even post any pics! I'm afraid to take it to a repair shop to see how much it's going to cost to repair it!

Our cat Spongey has been deathly ill the past week too. For some unknown reason his red blood cell count has gone down to only 8 and the MINIMUM it can go down is 30. He's on a drug to try to bring it back up, but the vet doesn't even know what's causing this to happen.
They sent another blood test to check for a parasite to Toronto yesterday, so will get the results today..
Kailee found him in the bush after gone missing for 2 days.
I thought he went off to die, as he has never not come home in the morning after hunting outside at night.He would never want to miss a meal!

He "seems" to be getting better though...but we still have to feed and water him with a syringe, as he has zero energy. The vet bill has been an unexpected expense...that's for sure! Not sure if he'll make it or not...but he probably will, because Steve dug a grave for him on Friday while we were at the vets and the cat is still alive...lol..he's gonna live another 5 yrs.,just to prove him wrong...lol

Anyhoo.....not much happening in this neck of the woods......just waiting for summer to ARRIVE!

Hope everyone has been enjoying puttering in their gardens!

Talk to ya'll later, Gale

Hi

We finished the bed yesterday and I started planted the lilies and iris and a hosta in it. I also found that the rose I thought was dead may not be dead, so I'm back working on my garden plan again. *L*

I caught the chipmunk, but when I went to give him some bread and more sunflowers he got away. The rivet at the corner of the cage is missing and he snuck out of the tiny spot. If I wouldn't have felt sorry for him and lifted the cage up to give him some food, he wouldn't of gotten away.

I have found weird things on quite a few of my asiatic lilies. It is like white/greenish balls at the where the leaves join the stems. My lollipop lilies are turning yellow at the top where the buds should be. I have never had trouble with lilies before and I don't know what this could be. If it is insect or diseas because it has been so wet, but I gave them a shot of Trouce and hopefully that will fix it. I picked on the tiny balls off and squished it and it actually reminded me of vermiculite,,,but I didn't add vermiculite outside,,,,i added it to the peat moss in the house and haven't used it in the garden beds, only in the pots.

Gale, I'm so sorry to hear about your cat, do u think it could be poison? I know animals like to eat antifreeze cause it has a sweet taste apparently from what I have read. Or he might have chewed on a toxic plant? Eaten a slug or snail, they have diseases that cats can get. Did he have any blood work done for toxins? I sure hope he will be ok.

The garden is work, though it is also good therapy for me too. *S* I don't know about hubs, he isn't saying much, I just thank him for helping and he says "you're welcome" *LOL* Now what he is saying when he's out on the driveway by himself having a smoke I don't know. *LOL*

Deborah, I'm sorry to hear about your hubs being in hospital with his heart. I don't know what kind of trouble he has, but I have been in Sudbury Memorial a few times for heart ttroubles myself, and on a gizzion pills. I sure hope he is feeling better soon and gets out and home quickly.

Well I have to go my garden helper just got home. *G*

Debbie :-)

Well I found out what those things were on my lilies......they were the shake and feed fertilizer balls...*L* I went out this afternoon and realized what they were. I gave them a really hard shower and got all of them off the plants, so hopefully they will recover. I don't think I will use those again.

I planted two more hostas and went to get a third which was in the backyard, but something awful happened to it. It was the squirreliest looking hosta I have ever seen! I think I must of hit it with round up as it sure looked a mess, nothing like it was suppose to look. Opps *L* So now I have to come up with a replacement for that spot, as I wanted a blue one.

While I was doing the digging I also hurt my back, more than it normally hurts. So tomorrow I hope it is ok as I have plans for more work in the garden.

We also have another set of babies in the bird house on the back of the garage, I think this is now the 3rd set of babies! I don't know how they are doing this.....well errr I know HOW they are doing this,,,,but I didn't know our season was long enough for 3 sets of birds. I think everyting has gone a bit squirrely this year! The weather and now the birds. *L* I saw my little chippie friend, he came running around the corner saw me, slid to a stop did a u turn and ran in the opposite direction. I sort of felt sad cause now he is scared of me and I was just trying to feed him in the cage when he got out. *sigh* I was hoping he would of found another property to live on.

Take care
Debbie :-)

Hi all =)

Hurray!!! The front yard beds are done and planted. Quite a change from the jungle that was growing in there. We had 6 yards of topsoil (nice stuff too) delivered and we ended up using about 4 yards. One of our neighbours was nice enough to take the rest of it off our hands so all we have left to do is some minor cleaning up. Oh then again, hubby wants to redo the front walk but I am letting him do what he wants with it. I just need to weed, water and watch the plants grow.

Unfortunately, my digital camera is broken so I can't post pictures. As soon as I get another one, I will get pictures up.

I hope everyone else on the forum is doing well and I hope you all had a nice warm and sunny day.

Danni

Hi
It was another mostly overcast day. Last night it poured for hours and the ground is just saturated. I sure wish the sun would stay out longer than an hour and dry things up.

I got the last of the top bed done today. I had to use the pruning saw on the rose roots as it was just huge, so I cut off part of it and took it over to my neighbour. *LOL* She is waiting for her hubs to build her a flower bed and has't gotten around to planting the last rose I gave her. But if she doesn't plant it I don't care as they would of gone into the garbage anyways. I dug out and transplanted a hosta that was being squished and then dug out two big clumps of irises. One yellow and one pink, so the bed that I got those from is done. It was son's old flower bed and I don't want anymore of the phlox or lilies that are remaining there. That will be covered with stones. I fertilized the bed then mulched it and it is done. Hubs moved a couple of pots with annuals over to fill in the bare spots, so it looks better now.

I saw son tonight and guilt tripped him into give me an hour of his time tomorrow to dig up some hostas I will plant later. Might as well get him now, as he won't be handy when it's time to fill in the lower beds. *L*

We have more baby birds in the nest on the balcony, I heard them tonight. It is so great to have all these birds around this year! Hubs thought he heard a tanager too. It sure has a pretty song.

Danni, I was saying to hubs that it probably would of been cheaper for us to buy a truck load of soil, than buying it by the bags. Glad to hear your garden is finished, what did u plant in it? How is hubs doing? Sounds like he is home from hospital now?

Take care everyone.
Debbie :-)

Hi all. Another warm day here, but i'm not complaining! I even got burnt a little on my back and shoulders while i was out weeding one big bed. Did you know that beard grass reseeds like crazy? Now you do! :)

My daughter and i went into town on Monday, and our favourite nursery was having a 2-for-1 sale. You can't pass that up, eh? She was worse than i was!! One of the things we got was godetia - really pretty! Hers were darker pink and i got one pale pink and one white for the white garden. That afternoon, we planted her garden, finally, and we even built her a little pond! At the far end of her raised bed, there's a faucet that drips constantly. So we dug that area out, lined it with a garbage bag, edged it with rocks, and voil Instant little pond! We figure it'll be a swimming pool for her cats! LOL

I haven't done a real lot here. Mostly, the mosquitoes keep you inside. They're awful! Yesterday, i did some lawn cutting and weed whacking, so things don't look too bad. There are a few things blooming, but the peonies are still tight little buds. I'm sure if they bloom now while it's hot, they won't last too long. Too bad.

My rose Simon Fraser bloomed today!

{{gwi:2100333}}

The wild rose near the deck is blooming too.
{{gwi:2100334}}

They sure are pretty, aren't they?

Debbie, i looked at Canadian Tire for the Off Lantern or the Mosquito Inhibitor and none were to be found. I guess you took the last ones! You sure sound busy in your gardens. I love your hosta pictures. I have Paul's Glory too, but it isn't that big yet.

Jak - good to see you post again! That's so cute about your grandson's garden! Get 'em started young!

Gale, sorry about your cat? How did he make out? I hope she's okay! Our dog is none the worse for wear from his porcupine encounter, but dh is afraid to take him to the lake again in case there are others around.

I'll consult the powers that be and figure out a good time to get to Thunder Bay. I would guess that early August would be when i'd go, seeing as EI should have kicked in by then. There should be some sales on by then, eh? :>

The Dominion Seed House catalogue came the other day and now i'm going to have to enlarge one of my beds! LOL I made a list, but was too chicken to add it all up! There are so many things i need.......

Deborah, it's probably the weather that's causing your plants not to grow much. Now that we're getting some warmth, things should take off better. I sure hope so, anyway - my veg. garden is the pits!

Anyhow, getting late here, so i'm off. Talk to you all later!

Marcia

Hi

Weather seems to be improving, yesterday felt like summer, and the weekend is suppose to be hot. I hope this evening is going to be nice as we are taking in the blues fest. tonight, Eric Burden and the new animals are playing and the house of the rising sun is my all time fav. song.

Danni, I have been so busy this week, painting a rental unit that I haven't had a chance to call you, I try early next week, but if they are all gone, my loss, sorry but this just came up at the last minute, someone moved without that much notice.

Sounds like everyone's gardens are doing great, just looked at my pots and they are beauitful. My white rose bush is in full bloom and looks and smells wonderful.

Have a nice weekend
janet

Hi all

Debbie, well I planted some shrubs: blue fox willow, little giant cedar, compact cranberry bush, annabelle hydrangea, burgundy barberry, little princess spirea, magic carpet spirea, dwarf alberta spruce and some perennials; daylily, hostas, snow in the summer, bleeding hearts, goatsbeard and a clematis. One bed is in the sun so the stuff for sun is in there and the other plants are in the bed that is shaded by our huge flowering crab. I had one of the shrubs and most of the perennials already so it was just a matter of removing and replanting the perennials once the bed was redone.

Thanks for asking about my hubby but I believe it was Deborah's hubby who was in the hospital. Mine is just fine, thank goodness cause it would have taken me a lot longer than 3 days to do those beds at the front of the house.

The truckload cost $100 bucks. They don't really charge for the soil when you think about it, it is the delivery that is the major part of the cost. If we had used bags, there is no way we would have built it up as high as we did. We live in an area of muskeg (if you live in Thunder Bay, everyone knows about the soil in the Northwood area) and you are constantly raising the grade around the house. This time, hubby raised it by over a foot over the rest of the yard so hopefully, we don't have to do this again any time soon.

Janet I understand about having to do things at the last minute with rentals. My parents have a few rentals and they are a major pain in the neck. I have your bleeding hearts in huge pots in the yard so don't worry about there being none left for you. If you want and if it is easier for you, hubby and I could deliver them to you. We are both on holidays starting as of right now and we love to go for drives out in the country which is where I am assuming you are living (I could be wrong but for some reason, I got that impression).

Tomorrow looks like it is going to be a nice day here. The rest of the weekend and into next week looks like more rain. =( Oh well, at least I don't have to water the sod we put down in what used to be the dog pen.

Take care all,

Danni

Hi
We had summer today, *S* hot and sunny and NO raining.

Went to Walmart this morning and did some shopping, no plant buying was invovled though, darn it! *S*

Then son and family came over. The baby played on the patio in the pond spraying us all with water and having a great time. It was so funny! And son and I dug out quite a few hostas and he dug out the huge Striptease hosta in the raised hosta bed in the back as it was getting too big, but now I have a huge space there that is empty, so ya know I'm just going to have to fill it up. Cause well, if I don't weeds will just grow in it. *LOL*

Then later tonight hubs and I filled up the 14' lower raised bed in rose garden with soil. I couldn't do much else as it was a bit too hot for me, but I'm not complaining. Tomorrow it is suppose to go up to 27! We will be trying to work on the 24 footer tomorrow, I have a feeling we are going to run outta dirt though.

This is the lower part that we finished today.
{{gwi:2100335}}

This is the other part, the top part is complete, the bottom parts of these still have to be filled with dirt etc.
{{gwi:2100336}}

This is the top part we finished off yesterday {{gwi:2100337}}

This is the new annual bed that was done a few weeks ago, it still hasn't started flowering as much as it should be but it is starting to flower a bit more.
{{gwi:2100338}}

Marcia, sounds like u and daughter have been very busy and having a great time and great prices! That was a great idea about making her a pond and how u did it!

Nice pics! Did u just get Simon Fraser this year?

Marcia, they have the Off Lantern at Walmart but not the inhibitors, well not here anyways. Hubs had to order the refills for the inhibitors from Home hardware, who have the malibu moquito inhibitors, solor power with light, on sale this week for 30 bucks. I didn't see the point of a light myself as the bugs would be attracted to it, so that is why we took ours back and got the one from can. tire without the light.

Danni, yes sorry, it's Deborah's hubby that is in hospital. I had a brain burp. Sorry. I think that course I took drained all the brain cells I had left in me. *L* it seems since I took that course I am more scattery and forgetful than I use to be. When in itself is a very scary thought. *L*

Sounds like u moved a ton of stuff. That bed must be very big to get all those things in it. I hope u can take a pic to show us.

Deborah how is your hubby doing? Is he out of hospital yet?
Sorry I got mixed up with u and Danni's hubs.

Gale, how is your poor cat doing? You haven't posted in a few days, so I hope he is ok.

Take care
Debbie :-)

It is finally starting to feel like summer - hopefully it will last this time. We're are actually going to have a nice weekend!

Know what's growing in my gardens?? Cutworms!! I spent a good two hrs the other morning picking and drowning. They are everywhere! Petunias are right chewed up and the peppers and beans as well. I am really regretting planting a moon garden this yr as these night blooming flowers will only attract more moths. Ah well, hindsight. Its kinda interesting spending a day investigating the insects in the yard. Looking for cutworms is tediuous, especially as the day warms they hide. It was well worth it though. While looking I also found a few early aphid infestationsand was able to nab them. I always seem to get the stupid ones that allow the ants to farm them. A problem cuz ants defend them against their predators.
This time of year they are just starting their 'farms' so I spent some time looking for ants on the plants and they led me to the aphids which like to hide at the base of flower buds. Picked of the ones I found and I put a few ant traps in the garden so we'll see what happens there. Made up a good batch of garlic/pepper/oil spray and plant to spray everything this morning.

My first calla lily has started to bloom - first time I've grwon them and I am very pleased with it. The glads are sending out some flower stocks. Most perennials are budding, not much blooming happening yet though. Everything is soo behind, I am wondering if some of the annuals I started from seed fairly late are even going to bloom. If we get a few weeks of heat and the temps actually stay above 10C at night there may be hope yet!
The squash are really starting to take off. Finally had our first garden salad the other day. Mesclun mix, lambsquarter, radish, arugula, nasturtium leaves, green onions and of course my favorite summer salad addition - pansies! Very spicy salad, it was great!

I've noticed that the white ash tree planted (by the city)on the boulevard in front of the house is dropping leaves like crazy. Somethings on it. OThers on the surrounding blocks look the same. Some completely defoliated. The birds seem to be having a hayday on it so must be some kind of juicy bug. Anyone know about ash bugs? I think I'm going to call the city and see if anyone knows what's going on with them.

Well, sounds like everyones gardens are coming along nicely. Love seeing the pics of all the gardens.
Gale really hope your kitty has been diagnosed and is getting better.
Talk to ya'll later.
Tina

Hi tina,

It is hot out right now so I'm waiting in the house for it cool down a tad, but I'm still not complaining. *L*

About your cutworm problem, Jerry Baker, I think it was said to sprinkle cornmeal around the base of the plants. The cutworms love it, but can't digest it so it kills them.

About your ants, I use 1 part borax laundry detergent, to 3 parts white table sugar, mix them up well together and put them in a margarine dish with just a tiny hole cut into it. It is poisonous to other critters so u don't want any getting at it. I usually duct tape the top closed too. Then put it around the places that u see the ants, they will take it back to the nest and eventually all of the ants will be dead.

About your aphids, I know that u are an organic gardener, turn the hose on hard and that will knock the aphids off the plants and they usually don't climb back up the plant and will die. I have done that to my luipins which always got aphids and it worked, sometimes i'd put soap in a hose end sprayer and that took care of the aphids too. I have also read that if u put aluminum foil under the plants the aphids can't tell which way is up and get confused, I haven't tried that one before.

Take care and happy hunting. *S*

Debbie

Thanks Debbie.
All of the suggestions I have heard of and may try.
I used Diatomatious earth for the cutworms but am out now so I am going to try the cornmeal option. HAndpicking is gross but gave me a good idea of the numbers in the garden - 6 cutworms on ONE petunia plant. I do plant them as companions - they attract various pests. Horrible when it works so well though - lol. The container full of cutworms and water I mushed around a bit and spread around areas of the garden which seemed to be the worse. Apparently splaying the dead around is the best deterent!

I use the ant traps that do the same as the borax/sugar mixture. Ants take it back to the nest. They worked great for me when I had a few anthills in my previous home. The ants just disappeared. I am out of traps now so I think I will try the borax and sugar mix next. I've heard even using one sugar cube soaked in borax is effective. They are everywhere this yr. And worse is where ever there are ants there are aphids or wherever there are aphids there are ants. So I have to get rid of both in order to get rid of either. Usually I don't worry about ants they don't really do to much harm to a garden except when they are farming!!
Buggers.
Yesterday I found both on 2 of my blue shrimp plants - I was pissed. Then on the delphinium, and my clematis!! I keep checking the lupins as they usually get it every yr.
I did turn the hose hard on these plants last night. And then did a good spray with my potent garlic pepper spray.
Here's a useful recipe - I use it on my houseplants as well it is effective for spider mites, thrips and mealies. Doesn't cause any ill effect to the plants.

8 medium dried chili peppers (or any hot peppers with high conc. of capsicum - suppose you could also use any hot sauce with a good hot pepper base)
1 bulb of fresh garlic
5 cups of water
Boil for 2 minutes
Add 1/2 cup of canola oil
Liquidize in blender
Store in fridge for up to 3 weeks.Separation occurs due to the oil/water so shake before use. You can add a bit of soap as a surfactant for wetting. When I have it on hand I also add about 10 drops of cinnamon essential oil.

I use 2 tbsp per litre of water in a spray bottle. Or you can use a hose end sprayer.
Remember it does contain hot pepper so if you get it on your hands wash them well or you'll have burning eyes when you touch them!!

It certainly was a beautiful day yesterday. Spent it hanging out in the backyard with my kids and my gd. Rare occurence that we all spend an afternoon together with their busy social calenders. Put the baby pool out for Beth and we all ended up putting the patio chairs around it and soaking our feet. How refreshing!

Today is supposed to be much of the same - its hot but I am revelling in it!
Hope you're all having a great weekend. Tina

it's my husband who was in the hospital debbie from thunderbay!!!(lol) he is home now, but for how long i don't know! but you were right i went into my backyard and i can't believe all the colours, it's starting to look nice, but my dh keeps on getting sick during growing season so i don't have time to divide my perennials, when i'm supposed to right now i think i must have about 300 yellow iris's and about 150 tiger lilies! one place i might mention is high variety across the street from hillcrest hs, they have bedding plants and some not alot of perennials and they are always 1.00, i noticed that they must have stocked up again today (there's right infront of the store, so if you don't like what you see, you can take off real,real, fast (lol) have a good evening everyone debbie in thunderbay

Hi all

I finally broke down and bought another digital camera. First thing I did was run around the yard after the torrential downpours we had *again* today, snapping pictures of the yard. Then I had to play with them and make a website to show these off.

You will see that everything is still pretty new and has to fill in.

Hope you enjoy the site and the pictures. I tried to reduce the resolution of the pictures so they would download fairly quickly on dsl or cable. If you are on dialup, please be patient.

Danni

Here is a link that might be useful: Danni's Garden

Hi
It was another hot, humid day here today, but I'm not complaining. It was overcast and looked like we were going to get a thunderstorm, but so far we have been lucky.

I have had to redo a bit in my lower beds, but it is coming along ok, still have not started putting any plants in them yet, but hopefully tomorrow I will start. We are just waiting for more dirt to get here.

My zukes and cukes are really starting to take off now, one of the zukes even has a flower on it! All it took was some nice sunny hot weather. I have buds on Morden Blush rose and my clematis is blooming too!

Tonight we had a salad that was mostly from our garden. Buttercrunch lettuce, onions, radish and tomatoes from the store. I have been using quite a few onions in tuna and potato salads and will have to plant a few more bulbs so we don't run out. I like having them in the flower pots, much easier to run out and grab a few by the front steps, than having to put my shoes on and go to the veggie garden. *S*

I ordered two hostas to go in my new beds and I sure hope they survive. One is June, which I lost a couple of years ago, and one is Great Expectations which is hard to grow. I have one in the family room garden, but didn't want to move it in case it didn't like it and died on me.

Tina, I heard about that mashing and spraying the dead bodies around the garden. From what I can remember if any of the dead have a bacteria it will infect others of the same species. I think I heard it on that Canadian Gardener show out of B.C.

Danni, I checked out your webpages and all your lovely picstures, very well done! Your gardens look beautiful! I love your willow chairs! I'm on dial up and the pages loaded very quickly. *S*

Gale, I hope your cat is doing ok, haven't heard from u in a while.

Take care
Debbie :-)

Danni - I love the willow trellis! Did you make it yourself? I have been meaning to makeone for a few yrs now, maybe this yr. Your garden looks beautiful.
We got hit by hail yesterday. The black and red poppies that had just opened the day before got decimated. Drats. Thankfully more flower buds coming.
Everything is finally growing!! Almost every plant has flower buds on it. First thing I have to do every morning is see what has opened. Its crazy being so filled with anticipation for weeks when you see flower buds startign - some of them take forever to open!! I have been waiting on the poppies, scabiosa, ccoreopsis, various lilies, etc etc.
The glad and acidanthera have bud stocks as well. I will definitely be starting these indoors from now on, usually don't start seeing stocks until at the earliest mid august.

Debbie, isn't your first salad garden the best!! Now jsut to wait for the first tomatoes! Now that we finally have some heat we just might get some.
The tomatillos are forming fruit. First time I ever grew them and they are pretty cool looking. There will be lots of green salsa here come fall!
I've attached a link of my latest blooms. Tina

Here is a link that might be useful: July Blooms

Hi all

Debbie, thanks for letting me know that the pictures load quickly on dial up. I was a bit worried about that.

Tina, I got the chairs, trellises and arbour at Willow Springs out on Mapleward road. The ladies out there turned out to be cousins of my hubby's. He comes from a huge Finn family and he has cousins all over the place. One of the sisters is making us another arbour to put beside the ferns as an entrance to the rest of the yard. She is also making a couple of little tables to put beside the chairs.

Hoping for another sunny day,

Danni

Hi

Was another nice day here today. A bit cooler because of the big grey clouds in the sky, but was still hot enough to need shorts!

I didn't seem to have much energy so I didn't do much, I think my body is starting to go on strike from all the lifting and moving stuff I have been doing. I need some wheaties! *L* I did get all the plastic put in the beds, filled the beds, and started putting on the landscaping fabric. Have almost finished that and planted one hosta, I couldn't do anymore I was too tired. I think I should of had the bottom beds made a wee bit higher as my legs and back were protesting having to bend so far. *L* I had to do some more watering today too and I pulled out a five gallon bucket of prickle weeds! I don't know where these things come from, but if I don't dig them out they just snap off and regrow as the stems are hollow, so I can't just pull them out. *ugh*

I got 3 more hostas today, I only ordered 2 and I got a bonus one, so that was nice. All the hundreds of dollars I have spent on buying hostas and this is the first time I have ever gotten a bonus hosta, it felt sorta like Christmas! *S*

I had to water the hostas on the patio, they were wilting as they are just the ones my son dug out and we stuck in plastic bags. I'm going to have to start planting them tomorrow though it is suppose to go up to 27C tomorrow! That's a wee bit too hot for me, but I'll try to get some of them in the ground. Maybe I'll just turn the sprinkle on and keep walking thru it to cool off. *LOL* It is weird having to water stuff, seeing as I went weeks without having to water anything. *S*

Tina, sorry to hear about the hail, I hope your plants will recover ok. I'm like you, I love to see what is blooming, today my orange pixie patio lilies started blooming, they really brighten up the spot! I tried to open up your link, but it says it is not accessible.

Take care everyone

Debbie :-)

Doh! Forgot to make it public. It should work now. Tina

Beautiful flowers Tina. I don't have much blooming here except for the astilbe and the peonies.

Danni

Just a quick post, as i have to do something else right now. I'll write more tonight, okay?

Love to see all your pictures, everyone! Here are mine for the month so far. Other things have opened since, and i didn't get a good picture of Martin Frobisher - i'll try again today if it stops raining!

Ttyl!
Marcia

Here is a link that might be useful: July gardens - more of them!

Hi everyone!

It was another summer day here today! *G* I finished off the lower east bed and have tried to take a few pics of it. I planted 3 more hostas and a pack of lilies. Now u may not think planting hostas is hard,,,,but when u have to soak them and lift them wet to check and make sure all the stupid quack grass is out from around their roots when it is 79F outside and your trying to protect yourself from being eaten by bugs,,,,it's hard work! *L* But it's done and tomorrow I start on the 24' bed.... *LOL*
This is part of the east bed.
{{gwi:2100339}}

east bed from balcony
{{gwi:2100340}}

On the left is my brother's bed.
{{gwi:2100341}}

Some more of my lilies are blooming now too and two of my roses are blooming! Seeing as i chopped them right down to the ground I didn't expect them to bloom this year. But Winnipeg parks and Morden Blush are blooming! yeah!

Tina, love the pictures! I have never seen black poppies before.

Marcia, I love your pics too! That is really kewllll how u planted the mailbox!

Take care
Debbie :-)

Wow!! Great pics everyone! I find it fascinating how we are all in the same general area but ahve such different bloom times. My coreopsis and dianthis are still in bud stage.

Marcia your dark pink lilac is gorgeous. I have a few new lilac seedlings that are little now and of various colors - can't wait til they're old enough to bloom!
I sure hope we can do some trading this fall - I would love some lilac seeds (they winter sow great!) and blue poppy seeds.
Debbie I love your beds. Great hosta varieties you have. You sure have been busy - and still plugging away!!?! Geesh doing ANYTHING while avoiding being eaten by bugs is a chore. HAve you heard about the rash of moose accidents somewhere on Hwy 11 due to the moose running out of the bush to escape the blackflies? The poor things - can't imagine not having hands to be able to swat at them!!
It sure got hot here yesterday! But then the rain came and cooled things off nicely by late afternoon. Summer is definitely here and I am not complaining! I am finally seeing wee tomatoes and peppers.

I seem to have a handle on the cutworms now - been picking like crazy. Seems like the ash tree in front of hte house which was looking infested must have army worms!! I've been finding them here and there in part of the front garden under the tree. I thought we had seen the last of them here for the next few yrs. They don't seem to be attacking any other trees though so maybe some caterpillar that looks like an army worm?

My poppies are all ready to explode. I wsed hundreds. The black ones were the first to open of the somniferums but the rest should follow soon. HOnestly didn't keep track very well of what I planted where so it will be a surprise until the open!
The lilies are close as well. The orange and yellow days are about done.
The small lavatera hedge I planted is just starting to bloom. Mostly wintersown lavatera and so far mostly MOnt blanc but I am sure i also planted some silver cup so again surprise until they open!!
Well off I go,
Tina

Ack - i feel bad! I deadheaded the lilac and it never occurred to me to save any seeds! :( Darn. And i don't think they can be rescued from the compost either. Remind me next year! The lilac was labelled only "Preston", but i hear that many lilacs are Prestons. It smells like roses!

Debbie, i love your beds! Raising them like that really gives you extra space. What do you have for stepping stones? I like the shape! I have an angel too - my daughter gave her to me a couple of years ago. She's sitting on something and writing in a book - Allison thought it was appropriate for me! LOL I have her in a shady area with some ferns around her.

Tina, i tried to watch a slideshow of your pictures, but Yahell :) kept skipping certain ones - it would show the titles but not the pictures! Anyway, you have some interesting stuff, and, like you said, a lot of it is blooming at a different time than mine. Though, i'm zone 3 and you would be 4, so that might account for the difference. But, my lychnis hasn't bloomed yet and the one that i gave my daughter last fall is blooming. I want it back - it's a pretty peachy colour! LOL A friend had sent me some seeds and said they were pink or white, so i'll have to inquire about the peach!

This morning i got all the grass cut before it got too hot out. The bugs were another story! Ack. Dh whipper-snipped all the tall grass around the edges of the yard, so that should help a little. Things are looking good now for the horticultural society's executive, who are meeting here on Monday evening. It's too bad we won't be able to sit outside because of the mosquitoes, but at least they'll be able to look at my yard and things won't be too bad! I took some more pictures that i'll post later.

Oh - does anyone here know about apple trees? Someone (shy!) emailed me and asked if having apples near cedar trees would stop the apples from producing. I said i'd ask here. If none of you know, i'll put a post out here and at Far Northern. I'm inclined to think that you need two trees to cross-pollinate, so that may be the trouble.

My dad called last night and told me that my aunt would be passing through here today. We haven't seen each other for a few years - she lives in the Niagara Peninsula. Her daughter is a gardener too (must be in the blood, eh?). I visited her a few years ago, just drooling all the time! I might have posted some pictures here at one time, but all i can find now are the ones on the CD.

Anyway, i should go and have some lunch.

Let's all close our eyes for a minute and appreciate summer! :)

Marcia

Hi

Worked some in the garden today. I planted 6 hostas and moved a daylily that leaves were all yellow. I don't know what is wrong with it. I'm thinking it was just getting too much run off from the roof with all the rain we had. So I put it in one of the driest spots in the garden and I hope it will recover. It bloomed once for me last year and the blooms were really pretty. I have stuck a hosta where the daylily was.

Tina, I didn't hear about the mosse running out onto the bush this year, but I have heard of it happening other years and I always feel sorry for them.

I planted dwarf lavertera this year for the first time and I really like them, I'm going to plant more next year. They look very nice in the pots.

I think I like the idea of not knowing exactly what colour a plant will be until it opens. *S*

Marcia, the stepping stones are just octagonal? foot wide patio stones. Son and I couldn't handle the big patio slabs so we got the little ones when we put the pond in, much easier to move around.

I remember you getting your angel, I have another one in the front yard and cherubs on the patio. I'm thinking of picking up another one at Walmart, I collect angels and have statues of them is perfect for me. *S*

I don't know if cedars would stop apples from producing, but if it is a regular apple tree and not crabapple, then u are right they need two to cross pollinate. From what I can remember two are needed unless she has a neighbour with one close enough to her. Also fertilizer would help too.

Marcia, if we close our eyes for summer it might go right on by.... *LOL*

I cut some lilies and big marigolds tonight and brought them into the house and put them in a vase,,,now I have two vases going. One with peonies and one with lilies and different kinds of marigolds. Summer is here!!

Here's a couple of the hostas I planted today in the lower beds. {{gwi:2100342}}

{{gwi:2100343}}

This is my brother's memorial bed

{{gwi:2100344}}

Morden Blush
{{gwi:2100345}}

and a few of my lilies {{gwi:2100346}}

Take care
Debbie :-)

Hi Debbie and everyone - it has been ages since I have posted over here. When it isn't raining I've been out the garden. When it is raining I've been updating my webpages and running my new gardening group at MSN. There are lots of plants in bloom in the garden and I've decided today that gardening is a UFO .... Un-Finished Obsession. You can see some of my garden photos at my website, url below. Take care, and I will try to get back again.

Here is a link that might be useful: Country Roads Gardens and Crafts

Lovely garden pics, Tina, Debbie and Crafty!!
We've sure had good growing weather here. Lots of rain mixed with sunny dry days here and there. The trail is loaded with wildflowers. The perennial sweet peas are in bloom now and cover the edges of the trail in areas. Beautiful! The gardens are just overflowing with blooms everywhere. Just not on my balcony! Everything is being consumed by the spider mites and aphids! I'll have to give in and get a systemic insecticide today. Don't want to loose my hellebores and clivia and gesneriads and calla lilies! The other stuff is replaceable.

Tiny, I'll be happy to send you several different kinds of named lilac seed in another month or two, whenever they are ready. Did all those little lilacs survive? I have a small 'Charles Joly' lilac in a pot on my balcony. I'll prune and root prune it to keep it small, sort of like bonsai. I also have a honeysuckle bush and a corkscrew willow in pots. That should give me some privacy!! LOL! I don't know if I'll keep the corkscrew willow. Just giving it a try.

Does anyone know what systemic insecticide is effective against red spider mites on dahlias, cannas and other tender bulbs? I've been using peroxide/water but the mites are just too bad to control with that now. I only have one jewelweed left now, badly infected, and the dahlias aren't going to survive until the fall without some serious help. Everything seems to have them now. I did wipe off all surfaces of the clivia with the peroxide/water mix and separated it - ditto for the hellebores. Those are the most percious of my plants. Had to cut the fuscia back to the ground. Its beginning to grow back now, only to be reinfected, I'm sure, without help. I managed to clear them off the brugs, but until the entire balcony is cleared of them, I'm just fighting a losing battle. Fortunate they have not migrated indoors onto my AVs! I'd hate to loses the gloxinia too, but cannot wipe off the leaves or spray underneath them - large plant with many tightly grown leaves. I have not noticed any signs of infestation on it yet and have separated it. But its probably too late to protect it now. It'll have to be a systemic insecticide. Fortunately I don't get any butterflies or hummers or bees, etc up here on the fifth floor.

I've read that mites are very hard to get rid of with normal insecticides. Has anyone used anything that is very effective?

Sheryl, Can't advise you on any systematics - never used them. I control spider mites quite effectively with straight rubbing alcohol. Spray the plants and the soil. They tend to infect new growth so make sure you spray any emerging leaves. I use it straight although some do dilute it with water. I've never found hydrogen peroxide to be very effective on any houseplant insect infestations. Can;t recall ever having spider mites on outdoor plants.
On a preventive note- spider mites usually show up when there is too little humidity. If you spray often you will have a better chance of preventing them. LOL always a battle with something too little humidity spider mites, too much humidity snails, caterpillars and fungus gnats!!
If you have a infected plant that is hard to get at the soil, I would pull it out of the pot and give it a good soaking - drown out the mites.
If really energetic you can repot in new soil to ensure they are gone. Good luck!
The lilacs I got from you all leafed out except 2. One does have buds so I am still hopeful. They are still in pots but out in the country now. Still haven't figured the best place to plant them with future construction inevitable and more brush clearing going on. If Les could make up his mind what he is doing where - I could decide as well!!
I would love any lilac seeds you can spare.
Tina

Hi Buddies!

I've had 'puter probs again, so haven't been able to connect to the internet.

I haven't had a chance to peek at everyone's pics, but will make an effort soon.....life seems so busy these days!

Spongey the cat is getting much better!
His blood count went up to 17, he's eating on his own and is back to meowing for food everytime you walk by him!
Once his blood count gets up to 30, we will begin weaning him off the medication and see how he does.
The vet is quite surprised he overcame this!
They still don't know WHY his blood count went down, but at least he's making a comeback.
Will have to wait for new furniture a bit longer and Steve will have to fill back the grave he dug for him too..lol

I'm finally getting colour in my one perennial bed now....the delphs & lilies are starting to bloom like mad!

Steve sawed off the lilac tree and we will have to wait nearer to fall to dig out the roots, as I don't want to disturb the plants around it that are blooming now.

I actually went fishing with him on Sat. First time since 1999!
Of course I outfished him like nothing....haven't lost my touch!
I caught 17 pickeral and he got 14.
I was 7 fish ahead of him until mid afternoon when they started hitting his line....lol

I bought a mountain ash tree for half price and we planted that on Sunday too...it's about 8' high and has 4 bunches of berries on it already.

The veggie garden is starting to take off now with the heat.......finally....I can go out sockless!

The waterlilies are going beserk!
Had 17 blooms at once this weekend....gotta love that Perry Slocum planting recipe...it definately makes them grow like they're on steroids!

Oh.......my blue poppy also bloomed...shocking! Only 2 blooms, but at least they were there for a few days! Weird plant that is!

*Sheryl* The only thing I've found to work on mites halfazz is RAID. They are a bugger to control!
I bought some dust last week for the potato bugs in the garden and it says it kills alot of other pests as well.
I used it on my peppers and morning glories for aphids and it worked really well! Not sure if it works on mites though.
Haven't seen a bug since I applied it and it stays on the plants quite well after raining too.Just something to consider....

Well, I'm going to sign off before I lose my connection again.

Glad to hear everyone is having nicer weather and their gardens are bloomin' beautifully!

Talk to ya'll later, Gale

Thanks for the advice on alcohol, Tina. I'll switch from the peroxide to alcohol and try to control them with that as a maintenance spray. I have heard that once you have spider mites, they are ever really, permamently gone, just controlled for that season. Maybe I'll start spraying them with water a lot too, just to up the humidity. Getting water out there is difficult, I could use a hose here. Maybe I'll look for an adapter for the kitchen sink faucet to use for a water hose. That would be handy! I'll soak the soil too.

Gale, I hope you're right about the Raid. I gave them all a light misting with the 'House and Garden' Raid aerosol today. I coated them liberally with the pump sprayer of Raid 'House and Garden' a couple of weeks ago and the leaves that were sprayed all shrivelled up and fell off. I was more careful this time. I'm glad Spongey is doing better now. Odd thing, that.

I also mixed up some antibacterial dishsoap, canola oil and a tiny bit of the Raid from the pump sprayer in water and liberally coated every leaf surface on every plant I had. I read that recipe on another posting here, somewhere (without the Raid - that was my own addition). Now I'm just waiting to see if the plants will thrive or the leaves will shrivel and fall off again. I didn't touch the gloxinia as its about to bloom and it didn't look infected. I've kept it a bit separate - ditto for the hellebore seedlings. Here's hoping!

Systemics are no longer sold in Canada. I called the Co-op today and discussed it with them. Maybe its a good thing, I guess, eh? If I'd known that, I would have hung onto the little bit I had in the jar I left behind when we moved from TBay.

Gale, I love the blue poppies! (meconopsis) I planted blue poppy seeds, no results. I've read that they are so picky about location, too. True blue flowers are my favourite color in the garden and are so hard to find! I'm considering planting some caryopteris (blue mist bush) seeds that I have and seeing how it does. Its a true blue flower. Maybe put the extras on the trail. The blue bugloss sure was beautiful on the trail this year! They are just now finishing.

I cut some sweet peas and Queen's Anne's lace and put them on the new table. They sure are beautiful together! I love wildflowers! I scattered a lot of my left over perennial seed along the trail here. I'm hoping to see some of them in a couple of years. There are a lot of perennials here on the trail. I think most escaped from a nearby garden. Lots of tall coreopsis.

Hi
Hope everyone's garden is doing well. We got the stone today and have started moving it into the garden. Son came over and dug up another rose root so I could finish putting cardboard and landscaping fabric over that area, he also planted the last huge hosta in the bed. I think my Morden Centennial is going to start blooming soon too! My lolipop lilies have recovered from getting burned by the shake and feed and have started blooming.

I found a caterpiller in my buttercrunch lettuce, I think it is a army worm. This is the second one I have found, so I guess our time is getting closer to having a whole bunch of them again. Thank goodness I found it while I was cleaning the lettuce and NOT afterwards! Ewwww *LOL* I picked my first zucchini tonight, that was nice, before August and with all our crappy weather we had too!

Hi Crafty *waving* I checked out your website, very nice, love all the crafts u have on there too! I agree with you about UFO.... *LOL* Have u been getting a lot of raian there?

Sheryl, sorry to hear about your spider mite problems. I have heard that if u dab a q tip in rubbing alchohol and then touch the mites it will kill them. Or how about putting a plastic bag over your plants and putting one of those yellow inseticide strips made by Vapona in the bag for a a day or two? I have heard like Tina has; that spider mites like low humidity.

I would worry about putting perennial seeds on a trail because they might take over the native plants there?

Hi Gale,,, *waving* I have been wondering where u have been and if you've been ok. I wrote u a email just to make sure u were ok but I guess u didn't get it as your pooter was broke.... *S*

I'm so glad that Spongey is doing better! That is good news! Poor critters don't understand when they get sick.

And u even went fishing and outfished hubby? *LOL* Too funny! I bet ya he'll tell ya u have too much gardening to do to go fishing again anytime soon. *L*

My water lilies haven't started blooming yet, the one in the pond is pretty much taking up all the surface area now, the poor fish are having trouble finding a way over to get their food when I tap on the rock to tell them it's supper time. *L* Poor blind fish is having a heck of a time if he gets stuck in there. *LOL* I throw in extra food so he will be able to find it easier. What is the Perry Slocum planting recipe?

Did u take a pic of your blue poppies? I loved Marcia's pics they were gorgeous!

Here is a pic of the pools on the patio.
{{gwi:2100347}}

Take care
Debbie :-)

Hi

Are we still in July? It went down to 2C last night before I went to bed. I couldn't believe it. Today I was out weeding one of the beds in my "light" winter coat in the rain! This has been such a crappy summer??? errrr fall? Right now it is 48F or some such thing. I'm thinking about putting on a sweater.

The slugs and mosquitoes are loving this weather, I can't keep up with them eating my hostas. I have put slug bait out, but hostas that haven't been bothered in the past years are getting eaten this year. Some people tell me it is cutworms so I'll have to see if I have some corn meal to try on them.

I do have more lilies blooming and my clematis has more blooms on it. I went and cut down a bunch of lilies and brought them into the house today. The bed is so full of weeds I thought I might as well enjoy the flowers in the house. *L* Still lots more lilies out there and lots of buds, now if I can just get to them thru the jungle of weeds, I'll have blooms for another week or so in the house. *S*

{{gwi:2100348}}

{{gwi:2100349}}

{{gwi:2100350}}

Hubs and I have the whole front garden done with lanscaping fabric and a light layer of stone on it. Tomorrow we will continue with the stones as we need another two inches or so.

Take care
Debbie :-)

We've had a cool couple of days here too. Last night i put a sweatshirt over top my nightgown to go to bed! How attractive! LOL Oh well, supposed to get better this coming week.

On Monday, the Horticulture executive met here, and i was able to show off a bit! :) Actually, the yard was doing the showing off, because it all looked pretty good for a change. Would you believe the peonies are still blooming at the end of July? Some of poppies i winter sowed are blooming now - a deep red, and so pretty! I had thought Shirley poppies came in pastel colours, but i love this! None of the lilies have bloomed yet, though. There are a few larger buds, but nothing yet. Not even daylilies. The white gardens are the ones looking good right now - just about everything is blooming in them and they're lovely! *BIG grin!*

Believe it or else, dh has started working on the house. There's scaffolding up all over the front, making me grateful that i hadn't gone ahead and planted foundation beds all across the front - or i'd have a bunch of digging up to do now! As it is, i'll have to dig up the bed on the other side of the porch, the one with Phlox Dave and the dianthus, etc. That's okay, 'cause Dave is pretty crowded, in spite of being divided a bit last fall. And the verbascum in there isn't really happy anyway - it needs more moisture and right up against the house, the rain misses it. And so does the watering can, apparently! Oops! She'll have to go to a moister spot.

Actually, what dh is doing is replacing the shingles on the roof, and putting up new soffiting and fascia, and then siding. This will be a whole new place! LOL We've had to move the hummingbird feeder to the side of the house, and the poor babies are pretty confused. Of course, Java Pussycat is not confused, and is trying to figure out how high she can jump when they're at the feeder, wicked gleam in her eyes and all. Bad pussycat!

Well, i really must run here. Mil and i have to go down to the beach this morning to help with some clean up that's going on there, so i should get ready. Also have to move some stuff (my barrell) in the yard so that dh can manoeuvre better there. (i need spell check for "barrell" and "manoeuvre"! LOL)

K - ttyl!
Marcia

Hi everyone!

Well the festival is over! We now have access to our driveway again! We did have some nice animals on the other side of our fence, 4 legged ones that is. A couple of lamas, cow, goats with 5 horns, sheep and a pig. *LOL* It was strange being in the garden at night and hearing a cow moo! *L* The first time I heard the cow I thought I was hearing things, then realized they were setting up a petting zoo.

It was a pretty nice day here today, but then the rain came in and the temps dropped.

Here is one of the lilies I have to get around to transplanting. {{gwi:2100351}}

Here's my bellflower, they are more blue in person
{{gwi:2100352}}

Marcia, I'm glad your gardens put on a good show for the horticultural meeting! I haven't had any daylilies bloom yet, but one has a bud on it, so if we get some sun it should open up in a few days.

Glad your hubby is starting to work on the house! Yeahhhh Did something happen to get him moving? And he won't leave that scaffolding up for years will he? *L* Are u going to put insulation under the siding? We did and it made a world of difference in temp control and noise control.

I sent ya a couple of emails about those hostas u were interested in. Fandance and summer music, let me know what u think as the lady only has one of each.

Take care
Debbie :-)

Hi Debbie - i've emailed the woman about the hostas, and with tax and shipping, it would come to - toooooo much! LOL I told her i would see if one of the local nurseries could bring them in.

I was outside for awhile this morning, deadheading and weeding, but the bugs got too bad. Now it's deer flies and ankle flies doing all the biting. You can't win.

One thing i need to find out something about is seed-saving. With some plants, the seeds are more obvious, but with something like geraniums, where are those seeds? Somewhere in the little pointy thing that's left after the flower, i guess, but is it a single seed or multiple ones? Dianthus too - i was looking at some this morning and wondering what to do with them. I could see with the saponaria - there are little pods that have formed. I'll have to get out and gather some of those seeds pdq.

Some of my lilies have started to bloom, and i'll have to get some pictures of them. Some of the colours are unexpected - like, did i really plant this? I really need to write things down...

Yesterday we did some garden tours, and they were pretty interesting. People have some lovely yards! And good ideas. One of the things i liked was a hollow piece of driftwood that had been filled with dirt and pansies were growing in it. I would probably do a different flower, though. And someone had a whole whiskey barrel with holes drilled all through it. It was filled with dirt, a pierced length of PVC pipe down the middle first, and the woman had planted begonias in the holes of the barrel. Are they fibrous, those little ones with the shiny leaves? Can't remember. Anyway, it was cute.

Debbie, i'm not sure about the insulation. Do you mean those rigid sheets? I have a feeling we already have them under the current siding - not sure, though. They are on the porch for sure. The guys were on the roof for awhile this morning, but it was just too hot. Fortunately, if the siding needs to be done, the scaffolding will have to be taken down. Good thing! LOL

Anyway, i should go and find something constructive to do. No idea what - i've already ripped out the living room carpet so that we'll HAVE to get new flooring, and put up new curtains on the patio door. And cleaned some closets. I suppose i could try to install some closet doors, but that would mean trying to get dh to help and he's out playing at something with his chainsaw or sawmill or something. Oh well, maybe i'll just be lazy! :)

Take care -
Marcia

Hi

Yesterday I transplanted a huge clump of lilies that was taking up space in the hosta bed; to an empty space in the front garden. It wasn't empty last year, it was full of lilies, but I guess the contractor dug them out. I transplanted some more lilies under the picture window as there were empty spaces there too. I had a clematis growing their for years, but it didn't come back this year, so I guess the contractor dug that out too. *sigh* It is amzaing how many plants I lost.

I also have another zucchini growing in the pots and tomatoes are starting to show themselves. Another two roses have started to bloom, so that is nice.

I picked up another garden angel today but when I got her home I saw she had a piece broken off her so I will take it back. I hope I can find a replacement.

It was very hot here today, 29C humidex 31C. I didn't go out to the garden until after 6 tonight and just to water the plants, no hauling stones around today.

My water lily has a bud on it. I went to give it some more fertilizer pellets and they crumbled as soon as they hit the water. I had this happen before and Moore's gave me replacements and it looks like the replacement is doing the same thing. I hope it won't hurt the plant getting into the water all at once like that.

I bought a paper shredder today so I will be able to start making my own mulch over the winter. *L* Anything to try and combat the weeds.

Marcia, hostas collecting can be expensive for sure. *LOL*

I was getting bitten at the ankles yesterday too. I asked hubs if he thought the no see ems were out.

My dianthus haven't started to bloom yet. I hope they bloom soon as I have never grown them before and like to see what they look like.

Yes, I mean those ridged sheets of insulation. I hope they take the scaffolding down this season or u may be putting Christmas lights on it. *L*

Here is a pic of the corner of the rose garden with stones {{gwi:2100353}}

{{gwi:2100354}}

Take care
Debbie :-)

Hello, everyone. I'm a newbie gardener who has been reading & learning a lot from this forum over the past few months.

Debbie, you mentioned using shredded paper as mulch - what kind of paper do you use? Does it break down over the winter and spring or do you have to remove it?
Thanks for the info.
Margaret

Hi everyone

It was summer again today, *S* 29C humidex 33! I didn't get outside until after 7pm tonight, too hot and humid for me though it is better than freezing!

I tried pulling the toboggan full of stones around the beds and the pond and to the side garden, but I kept getting stuck, I need a bridge that goes over the pond. *LOL* Next year's project!

I put a few toboggan fulls down on the fabric and had to call it quits. So I went and did some weeding and round upping. Had some raspberries too!

Sent two big boxes full of hostas to a chat friend out in Alberta, mostly seedlings that I grew from seed a few years ago and no longer want or have space for.

Played with my new toy, the shredder and went thru my old files and junk in the cabinet. It is amazing how much stuff I keep. I even found the instructions on how to put up our old dining tent which I haven't used since we moved here in 88. *LOL* I know where the poles are and the tent but I didn't have the instructions but now I do. *LOL* I told hubby what I found and he just said oh brother. *L*

Hi Margaret, welcome! So glad u finally posted. *S* I have been shredding bills, regular white paper and I also have done a bit of newsprint, though the instructions for the shredder said not to. It will not break down over the winter, well not much and no I will not remove it in the spring. I have used shredded paper before in the garden and it worked well. When I planted the new beds this summer I put sheets of newspaper under the landscaping fabric. I also am just putting sheets of newspaper around my perennials in my old beds and putting mulch on top of it to hold it down and to help keep the weeding down. The perennials should break thru the paper in the spring and have no problem with it, though the tiny spring bulbs might, so I try not to mulch around them. They are mostly at the front of the beds anyways so that is no problem.

Take care
Debbie :-)

Hello, everyone.
Debbie, thanks for the mulch info. I really like the look of mulched beds, but I've discovered that my bank account likes it much less.. *L*. Think I will claim all the shredded paper from our office - it goes to recycling now so it's there for the taking.
Margaret

Margaret,

I fill a bucket full of water then shove the paper in it, so that way the paper won't fly around while I'm trying to put it around the plants.

To save money, you could put a layer of paper, about 1 inch thick, you could put more if u like, around your plants, don't let the mulch touch them though as it may cause rotting, and then put a thin layer of the real mulch on top to hide the paper. *S* I mean who would know it wasn't all mulch except you? *G*

I would also suggest if U are making new beds, to use landscaping fabric with mulch on top, it really keeps down the weeds. You lay the fabric first, then cut holes in it to put the plants.

Good luck!
Debbie :-)

Debbie, thanks for the hints. Have a couple of beds that need mulching, so am going to try with paper on the bottom and 'real mulch' on top.
Not planning on any more new beds this year....but I have to admit I said that a few times already, so will try the fabric, I think, if I change my mind!
Cheers,
Margaret

Margaret,
Just in case u happen to do new beds *G* I also put sheets of newspaper under the fabric too, just to make sure no weeds come thru, then mulch on top of the fabric.

And everyone I have started a August thread I know I was late.

Debbie :-)