We are currently sending boxes for the May Hopefully Off Wish List Swap.

I'm currently totally enraptured by the hostas in their Spring Flush!!
Unfortunately, many of them need to be repotted or divided.
Anybody want to join me in a June Hosta & Shade Plant Swap??




~ Marea

We have had at least 2 1/2 inches of rain this week. The weeds have overtaken everything. I'm afraid when I finally get to check, the weeds will have eaten all my daylilies.

Sharon...I keep forgetting to tell you. Re: Chair fabric...I'm not surprised to hear you have that same pattern on your chair too. After all, great minds think alike.

Ellen...I tried to email you at your new address and it got kicked back saying there was no such critter as your ISP?

Jo thank you for your encouraging words and being the sweet, kind person you are.

Be back later to tell you about our wine making.

Debbie

Debbie, I'd love to hear how your wine making went.

Happy Mothers Day to everyone.
I have to work today. :(
We just chuckle at work because all the men take mothers day off. Every woman I'm working with is a Mom. The men take Fathers day off too. sigh I guess the men need to make their Moms and/or wives happy too.

sharon

I'll join the hosta swap.
By June mine should be up,,hehe.
I'm just starting to see eyes here.

Be well and hugs

Jean/Dirtpig

And Happy birthday to Canna. Where could she be?

Debbie, looking forward to your wine making story. I get an image of Lucy and Ethel in that large vat stomping on grapes :)

Shirley, your White Elephant box is going out on Monday.

I hope everyone had a great mothers day.

Debbie

just a quick hello, on my way out the door in bout 10 mins.

I would love to join the hosta swap, still have several empty spots to fill in my hosta garden under my weeping willow.

Marea,
I love that huge hosta at the bottom of the pic, what one is that? I think it needs to be added to my list.

Paul,
I agree with you, I loved that episode of Lucy, it is my favorite.

Debbie,
thank you, *warm hugs*

have a great day everyone, stay safe,
hugs,
Jo

Sharon, unlike women, men have to put up signs that say "MEN AT WORK"...

Debbie, Jean & Jo, I'm happy you will join in the Shade Swap!!
There are two huge hostas in that pot, the one with the misty leaves is Guardian Angel & one leaf shows from Dream Weaver.

I too hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day! I had a quiet one. Everyone came over Saturday and we BBQ'd. Was nice.

Melinda

Marea your hosta's are beautiful. I grow a lot of my plants in pots too.
I'd love to join the June Hosta & Shade Plant Swap.

Debbie, Looking forward to leaning about wine making.

Melinda, What a great white elephant box you got from Debbie. Bet it felt like Christmas opening it.

I ordered a daylily to plant where we buried our cat Tinkie Boy. Out of all the daylilies I have, not one had a name that I felt fit him. So I found one called HANDSOME PRINCE that I added to an order that hadn't been sent yet. I used to call him handsome, so I thought HANDSOME PRINCE fit well.

I spent most of Mother's day tackling blackberry vines and a poison oak that sprung up on the property. I didn't even recognize the poison oak. My neighbor had to tell me what it was. Sure was pretty. Glad I didn't try to touch it before I learned what it was though. I had ignored the blackberries too long, not a good idea as they were springing up everywhere. Still got more to tackle but I feel like I'm gonna win this battle.

Big Hugs
Joy

Melinda, you racked up lady! Debbie was like your Fairy God-mother of plants.

Marea, your hostas are pretty. I have a few in pots too.

I got 2 orders of flowers from my DS &DIL. I saw the truck pull up on Tuesday and they brought one order. I called her to thank her and say how pretty! Then on Friday the same one pulled up and I told Jerry that Spring had called the florist and chewed them out for sending them too soon. So when I called her she said she'd just called them to make sure that they didn't deliver her grandmother's too in Alabama cuz she wanted to be there when she and her mom arrived. Anyway, when the florist she sent them thru found out that the florist here delivered here she had them send more closer to mother's day. And, no, she didn't really chew anyone out. lol

Debbie, my parents made wine and put balloons on top and put them in the closet to cure. One day they heard weird popping sounds coming from the guest room, went in there and you guessed it, the balloons popped and they really had a mess. What can you do but clean it up and laugh?

Jo, I've really missed you. I have my Daylily Friends hanging rock by my front door and it makes me think of you. I'm sad to say that the other one got all the paint washed off by my flower bed. So just remind everyone not to put it outside in the weather. I wonder if polyurethane would seal it enough to waterproof it?

Jean, I haven't been gardening but I have been walking around looking everyday. I think this is the only day this month it hasn't rained.

Happy weeding,
Nancy

another quick run by helloing....hehe

Just was hoping someone might have some hyacinth bean vine seeds..I really want some for our gs garden, I have some awesome heirloom hubbard squash seeds to trade for them. I grew the squash last year, and i got a 28lb, an 11lb, and a 9lb from it. they are wonderful.

Please let me know if you have any for trade, and thank you very much.

Hugs to all,
Jo

Hi valeriem_gardener if you haven't already heard from someone, you can email me about how to join our group.

Paul have you gotten your froggy yet?

Now...for those who may be interested in making wine.(If you are not interested in learning to do this...you can skip the rest of this post).

The first thing you need to do is assemble the items you will need to start. You can go to Liquor Barn or other similar store and buy a wine making kit for about $70.00 which includes a 5 gallon bucket, a 5 gallon glass jar, a hydrometer, the siphoning kit that is used for racking (will explain later) and bottling wine, and a few chemicals.... or you can put you own kit together.

First go to Walmart or other large chain store that has a bakery and ask for their empty cake icing buckets and lids. These come in 5 gal., 3 gal., 2 gal., and 1 gal. sizes...you want food quality plastic, not all plastic buckets can be used. You may want to make several trips to gather various sizes to make different amounts of wine.
They just throw these in the dumpster anyway and it saves them time carrying out the ones you take.

Next in the same store or another if they don't have it there, go to the department that has the large plastic bottles/jugs like those that are used with the Culligan Water Cooler...I got mine at Mejers...buy a 5 gallon if they have it, if not buy 2 of the 3 gallon ones. This is referred to as a "carboy" in wine making terms. The buckets are refered to as the "fermenters". I will take pictures of the equipment and chemicals and post them on a new picture thread so you will know what I am talking about.

If you are wanting to save money...call your friends and have them save their empty wine bottles for you or you may ask at your favorite establishment to save their wine bottles for you. I will tell you about sanitizing later.
You can also buy empty wine bottles at the Liquor Barn but the empties run about a dollar a piece...free ones are much better;0)

Enough for right now...to recap:
Start collecting wine bottles (or buy empties)
Collect food quality buckets/lids in various sizes.
Buy glass carboy at liquor store of plastic water bottles at the store.

I'll continue to break this up in different post, to keep the information manageable. I'll be back in a day or two to continue. In the meantime...check the picture thread for the items I have mentioned so far.

Debbie

Thank you so MUCH for the wine lessons, Debbie! Your instructions are hyper-dimensionally easier to understand than the books I've attempted!

No hyancinth beans here, sorry Jo, but bet Debbie's will sprout.

Sharon, we really need to fix the Traveling Daylilies list again ~ after the vote.
[[[ I will do it this time, Debbie, so you don't have to do it for the hundreth time...]]]
Our Nancy who'se house is filled with flowers & love lives in Arkansas.
Those hostas amaze me, they apparently don't mind growing in those little pots, but I have had to fight the snails over them with those Iron Phosphate pellets for years now.

Joy, thank you! Your choice of daylilies for Handsome is charming. I was going to plant a plum tree for my Tim, but I've got a herd of deer who think tender young plum shoots are DIVINE snacks. They tasted most everything else once & leave it alone now - at least I hope they continue to leave the roses alone. Daylilies are a super choice, though!
What days of the week can you do your planting, Joy?

I got Dianne's Wish List swap box sent off in the mail today & had USPS send her the Conf. #, after warning her I was sending just 3 of her wish list so she couldn't send any more than that.

Made a whirlwind trip to take my house guest home to the Pacific Coast today & got to spend 1/2 a a seagull & fog horn blissful hour, walking along the tide line on the sand, finding little jewels to make earrings & breathing in & out...

OK ~ any more MAY/JUNE SWAP hosta, heuchera, saxifraga or shade flower swap joiners???

Annie posted her 3rd Annual Iris Swap for July/August in it's own post on the RR forum - I'm going to join in the for 3rd time & invite ya'll to follow me over there..

A beeeeeee-uuu-tiful day here. Got all my rhubarb planted in its new raised bed. fed all my fishies in the watergarden, weeded a large section of one of my daylily beds. Played with Alex, and just soaked up the gorgeous morning.

Hope it is as beautiful where u are.

Debbie,
I would love to try some of those seeds. Do You want some of the heirloom hubbard seeds? Be glad to send ya some. I am trying to get them into as many ppls hands as possible. We so need to bring back the heirloom veggies and flowers.

Let me know =)

Have a fantastic day all you beautiful daylily peeps.
warm hugs,
Jo

Marea : I won't be doing much on trading. I am still on a walker and my lungs give me problems. So I have to wait until my husband has time to dig for me.
The daylily you have above looks like Michaela. She is beautiful.
Also The reason men have to have a sign (Men at Work) is because with some men (not our Paul) you just can't tell for sure if that is what they are doing.

Gloria, my prayers go up for you.

Melinda - all those lilies!!!!!!!!!

Debbie - Do you trade that wine on here? Free samples????
He, he, he.

Miriam

Debbie, the wine making post was really interesting. I am looking forward to hearing more about wine making.

I have had my computer in the shop now for over a week. It was supposed to be fixed already but they told me yesterday that they have been backed up so I have been using a loaner so I am not online as much. I hope it will be fixed soon!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Dianne

Miriam, Dianne, and Marea...I'm glad you are enjoying the lessons on wine making. I have sent some of our members bottles of wine in some of the trade boxes and although more got through the postal inspectors than didn't, there has been 2 times that the box wasn't delivered for a long time in which the PO said the bottles had gotten broken and that it was illegal in those two states to send alcohol by mail. And because the box was delayed so long, the plants got fried too;-(

Melinda, I got your kind card in the mail today. Thank you so much for keeping my family in your prayers. You are a dear kind lady. Big bear hug to you.

Now for the 2nd installment on wine making:
I know this seems like a lot of items to find or purchase, but this is a one time purchase for most of the things and individually the items aren't too expensive so purchase a few at a time if that is easier for you.

More items to buy or make yourself.
-3 mesh bags- you can make these yourself but I suggest you look at the size of the weave etc. at the liquor barn before purchasng any of the material for these. You want varying sizes of these bags. You will need different sizes depending on the amt. of fruit/berries you will be using and amt. of wine you're making.

-Siphoning Kit-this is used to rack and bottle wine (this will be explained later). The kit is make up of a long flexible tube and a 2 1/2 foot rigid plastic tube with a crooked end. A bottling wand is sometimes included with the kit and other times you have to purchase it seperately

-Bottling Wand-this is a straight rigid plastic tube that is about 1 ft. long. It has a black plastic end that has a little extention that may be compressed back into itself. This allows you to bottle wine with little runover or loss of wine.

-Stoppers/Bungs-these are used in conjunction with an airlock/bubbler to keep air out of your wine. Air is the enemy of wine. I'll post pictures so you will have a better understanding of what I am talking about.

-Airlock sometimes called a bubbler. Fill the airlock to the indicated line with water and insert it in the hole in the stopper. This will allow gasses to escape from your carboy without allowing air back in.

-Funnels-you will want at least two or three. These may be purchased at walmart or other discount store. One funnel should be big enough to allow rapid flow into your larger carbory and small funnels for filling small bottles like a wine bottle.

-Long bottle brush-you will probably need to purchase this at liquor barn because this brush is about 2 1/2 ft. long and is used to clean those awkaward spots in the bottle.

-Large Paddle or Stir-you will need this on your larger batches of wine.

-A corker...you can get a $5.00 cheap that is difficult for women to use, but I will recommend the large corker that you will also see in the wine making section. You can hold off on this purchase until you are near to bottling your wine.

-Chemicals-these are most of the chemicals that I use in making wine. You can purchase these as each wine receipe calls for a new one. But they aren't really too expensive...around $2.50 a piece...some are cheaper.

--Cleansers, Sterilants and Preservatives. You may buy a granular form called Sodium Metabisulphite but I buy the Campden tablets and crush them. Remember that it is very important to be as clean and sanitary as possible.

--You can buy cleansers for your bottles and equipment such as Straight A or One Step. This isn't necessary that you buy it but I would suggest using it just for piece of mind.

--Pectic Enzyme-this increases juice yields and prevents pectin haze.

--Yeast-this is wine yeast not bread yeast. Get this in the cooler section as yeast needs to be kept cool until time to use it. There are different kinds of yeast that you can use...but the ones I use most often are Pasteurs Red, Pasteurs Champagne, and Montrachet. I will take a photo of the different wines that I have.

--Yeast energizer- this stimulates refermentation when it appears that the wine has been bubbling enough. Remember it is yeast that converts sugar into alcohol.

--Yeast nutrient- Put simply-it feeds your yeast.

--Wine Tannin-This balances low tannin wines and aids clarification (clearing the wine).

--Acid Blend-Ascorbic Acid-Citric Acid are all chemicals you may run across in your wine making recipes. Purchases these as you need them perhaps buying acid blend first.

--Potassium Sorbate-you add this shortly before bottling the wine to prevent renewal of fermentation. This is used when sweetening the wine if you prefer a less sour or less dry wine.

I'll take some photo's for you tonight but I probably won't get them mosted until tomorrow.

Next time we will begin making our first batch of wine. This will be juice wine rather that wine from the actual fruit or berries. This is an easier, faster way of making wine and its taste is okay but not as good as what we will be making next.

Don't forget to check the photo thread tomorrow to see the items I told you about tonight.

Hugs,
Debbie

Thanks,
Paul

Debbie, when you sent me the red peony root, I wasn't too sure about it. But I potted it up in the basement. To save space, I planted some Spicy Globe Basil on the top. the Basil did fine and I just transplanted it. But I had to take a peek at the peony. I'm happy to say it has roots and it putting out a little sprout, Hurray! Thanks.

sharon

Paul-your box is on it's way! Sorry so late, but moving slowly this year! I hope you enjoy! I do have the dc# if you need it.

And yes, I too am liking the wine making! I made alot many years ago and between the many moves through the years I had lost my recipe for good wine. So I am glad to be getting the instructions again.

Sharon-the dahlia I rec'd from you in a swap is growing like mad! Almost a foot tall and hope to have flowers soon!

Yes, everyone it was like Christmas opening my box from Debbie! I was quite thrilled with them all! And yes, Debbie we can do a trade sometime this year-just holler!

Joy, I love the Handsome Prince daylily!! Very nice choice!

I send my hugs and thoughts and prayers to all who are needing them! Good to see many of you posting!
Keep pics coming in the pic thread! I hope to add more soon! Still slow at doing it, but thrilled to have figured it out! (Thanks Debbie)

Have a great weekend everyone!
Hugs, Melinda

Shirley, I'm sorry but the second box to the White Elephant swap will not be mailed until Friday. I'm heading to Colorado/Wyoming on business and will not be able to mail it until I return.

I have 6 siblings, and my hubby has 6 siblings and my hubby is the only one who works for a car company. But around here all of us are affected by the layoffs. Even at the hospitals we are having layoffs and losing hours (even full timers are down to 72 hours now) because the people who had medical through the car companies are now unemployed. Michigan has been having it own little recession for more than 5 years now.

They are saying its 99.9% that GM will go into bankruptcy come June 1st, so we are looking forward to huge, massive layoffs then. Crossing our fingers that hubbys luck will hold, or should I say recognition of his hard work.

It gets to me when people have the audacity to say the American Car Company workers aren't hard working. I had a co-worker say that to me once ... I think she forgot about my hubby working for GM. I told her my hubby leaves the house the same time I do at 5:30am, drive an hour, starts work at 6:30, leaves work at 6pm and gets home at 7pm. This is an average day. Some days he works more ... never less. He is salary, so he receives no overtime. I told her she can say he is lazy when she is willing to work an extra 2 to 3 hours each day and not get paid for it. Yikes! ... she never said that around me again. lol

Ok, I'm done ranting. Can you tell this weighs very heavy on my mind. LOL

If this could make me any grayer, I'm sure it would. But thanks to hair dye, you would never know I've been going gray since 13 years old and now am totaly gray/white. sigh

I guess I can always pull it out, the hair that is.

I got my front of the house pots all planted. What a great stress reliever gardening is. It better not frost now ...

Melinda, yep, the Dahlia bulb I kept for myself is growing, I'm a ways from having a bloom though. I can't wait, I love the cactus Dahlias!

sharon

I may as well go ahead and give the ingredients for making juice wine and come back later tonight to tell you what to do with these ingredients.

2 Cans Frozen Concentrate Juice
3 1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 package of wine yeast (whatever kind you want to use)
1 Campden tablet (this is the sodium metabisulphite)
Water

The juice must be 100% fruit juice...Welchs is easy to find in the frozen juice section of the frozen food section. I prefer white grape and raspberry myself but apple raspberry, and white grape and peach is also tasty.
So choose your juice to suit yourself.

You will need to have your 2 gallon bucket,1 gallon carboy, a stopper and airlock (or balloon)and ingredients to begin.

Now go get these few things and I'll be back later to help you get started.

Debbie

The Hosta/Shade Plants May & June Swap participants so far ~
Debbie, Jean, Jo & Marea ?????

There are over 20 of you missing in action, people! TALK to me!! Don't you want a new hosta?
~m'

Into your plastic bucket put:
2 cans of 100% fruit juice thawed. As with any frozen conc. juice put in the 6 cans of water (3 per each can of concentrate. Now add 3 1/2 cups of sugar. Crush 1 campden tablet between 2 spoons or follow the directions on the bottle of sodium metabisulphite if you are using the granulated form. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Replace the lid loosely. This will allow the gasses from the campden to escape...do not add the yeast until tomorrow night. Now you're done for the next 24 hours.

Here's what you have done so far:

Mixed 2 cans of juice with 6 cans of water, added 3 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 crushed campden tablet and stirred.

This is white grape and peach juice. Now place your lid on loosely and allow to sit for 24 hours before adding yeast. I will tell you about that tomorrow night.

Debbie/budsnblooms

Sharon, no offense taken :)... I've been buying American for a while... trying to balance out the wife's choice of cars, which is Japanese/Korean.

Marea, no can do on the hostas here. Your photo is beautiful.

Joy

Can I join the swap?

Ellen

Ellen, OF COURSE you can join the swap!!

And sorry I forgot to add you on the list, Joy, I did read you signed up...
********
The Hosta/Shade Plants May & June Swap participants so far ~
Debbie, Jean, Jo, Joy, Ellen & Marea
********

Sharon, I say aother prayer for your family every time I hear something about GM or the auto industry on the news...
Grey since a teenager? Genetics is fascinating, 'eh? I got my first grey hairs this past year.
What did you plant in your front yard pots??

In a small bowl put a cup of warm water (not hot) and a tsp. of sugar, stir until the sugar dissolves. After the water settles a little...sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Allow this to sit until the yeast becomes foamy. Pour this into the bucket of juice, and stir. Replace lid and wait for the yeast to start working...Usually the next day. You are going to let this sit for 3-7 days. You want the juice to bubble and foam a little and then taper down to not bubbling and foaming so much.

That's all for now. I'll give you more instructions when it is time to put the wine in your jug/carboy.

Debbie

Marea, your box went out on Monday so should be arriving very soon. I am sorry to say I won't be able to join the hosta swap next month. I am lacking in that department. LOL... It will give me time to get ready for the next one though!

Carol, I would be really upset if someone moved my plant labels. I am sure the neighbors think I am nuts with all of my daylilies labeled in the yard but I can remember the days when I first started planting daylilies and didn't label the first few. By the time they started blooming, I had already forgot what color they were supposed to be and which one's they were. I can't imagine going back to that. Hope you are able to figure out which one's they are.

Have a great day everyone.

Dianne

Debbie-I was one of the ones you sent the wine to and it broke in transit. They tried to give me a hard time about it at the post office. I bet the plants loved it though. LOL
Saying prayers for you and your family. Hugs and more hugs coming your way.

Paul-I am in no hurry for the second box take your time sending it and thanks. I have my daylilies all planted and waiting for blooms. LOL

Nancy-Wow that white peony is beautiful. If you ever divide it I would love to trade you something for a piece of it.

Marea-I will join the hosta-shade swap. Your hostas are beautiful. I mailed your white elephant box today so be on the look-out.

At our local Arbys a lady was outside pumping gas tonight and shot herself. They don't know if she was on a cell phone arguing with someone or what. Don't know yet if she was local or just passing through. Things like this just doesn't happen here in our small town. So very sad.

Shirley

Sharon, you sure scored on your box!! How lucky ~ so far everybody is getting super great boxes!! You guys are GOOD.

A gallon of wine will make about 5 bottles of wine. Are you getting excited yet?

Debbie

Shirley, glad you got the first box okay. Sorry the daylilies were kind of small and I hope I did okay dividing them. Free Wheelin' is blooming today, so I'll post a photo for you in the picture thread.

Melinda, I received my box in great condition. Thank you. She included some extra plants (irises) in addition to the posted contents for the White Elephant box.

It's nice to be home... Paul

I usually use my big plastic or wooden spoons just because they are bigger than my metal spoons. But I have never read that it will harm the wine to stir it with a metal spoon.

Your wine should be smelling "yeasty". If not e-mail me and I will give you some directions.

Shirley...I think "got broke in transit" is PO jargon for "we kept the wine" or "we broke the wine on purpose". I had the boxes clearly marked that they contained glass, was fragile, etc. I had the bottles wrapped in the bubble wrap that has the huge pillows, paper between and at top and bottom...plus plants that were also cushioning any drops or blows. I don't think there was anyway the bottles got broken "accidentally". I am sorry you missed out on the wine though, it was from fruit, not from juice. Maybe sometime we can still do the Gatlinburg trip. We can have an in person trade. How about this fall sometime? Anybody interested?

Miriam...I've had you on my mind a lot lately. Are you improving? Please post whenever you get a chance and feel like it.

Hugs,
Debbie

I hope your Memorial weekend has been wonderful.

Debbie

Wow, more fantastic white elephant boxes, they sure are nice.

shirley,
sounds like you and your group really cleaned up at your sales.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday weekend.

We got bout half of our veggie garden planted yesterday, will do the other half today. Also need to get all my petunias and pansies into their pots.Got a new variety of petuna this year, called fragalino (think that is how it is spelled lol)
They are gorgeous shades of dark pink to pale pink, and cream. Some look like a kalidescope. Just yummy.

We are also building our little grandson one of those cool playsets, with the slide,swings, teeter totter, fort on top, etc. started that this weekend too. got the 4x4's(the top) and legs up. we also bought the cedar shingles (they were seconds so really cheap) for the roof of the fort.

Debbie,
I got the seeds, thank you so very much. i will e-mail you tonight.

Jean,
I will dig your plants today, and mail them tomorrow. I will e-mail you the conf. number.

Warm hugs to all,
jo

Good luck with the seed Jo. I haven't planted mine yet but plan to this week. If I get any to germinate and eventually produce seed, I will let you know.

Joy I should be able to get your What you Want swap box out this week...if no more rain (ugh)

Wine makers...your balloons should be expanded/expanding or if you used an airlock, it should be bubbling. I put a balloon on mine this time because I figured that is what most of you would do. I'll post a picture on the other thread of my "wine jug" tonight or tomorrow.

Hugs,
Debbie

I don't know anything about the size of the bulbs or reliability of the sellers but I love their prices.

http://store.brentandbeckysbulbs.com

Debbie

Carol, I did receive a plant that wasn't named, it had huge bulbs. Should I guess this is the Fox TAil? Ohhhhh, I hope so, I've been wanting one of those!!!!
And I wanted to say that one of the varigated Delphs is bouncing back!

Jo, your Fragolino petunia's sound great. If you or I can remember, try to save me some seeds from them. I'd love to try and grow them next year.
Sounds like your grandson is one lucky boy to have such great Grandparents! You 2 are busy, busy people.

Shirley, the Red Zinger Iris you sent me is gorgeous! I have an Iris blooming that is in the area of the ones you sent years ago. This is its first year blooming, I will have to take a picture and see if you can ID it. It is not a Bearded Iris, at least not like any one I've seen. It is blue(purple) and white.

Marea, Stop the music is blooming, got to find the camera. It is more of a brownish red than the picture, but I still love it. It has beautiful markings.
Very nice box Dianne sent you!
You asked about my front yard pots, well .... are you ready for my list of my front yard pots ... LOL

Had to make a cup of coffee first, now I'm ready.
You know better than to ask a gardener to list what they've planted right .....

Under the Birch Tree, under which, I can't get anything to grow in the ground, I've placed all river rocks. On top the of the rocks are 2 pots. One is a big clay pot tipped over and placed several of your semps and some sedum. The other pot is filled with Perennial Dianthus.

I've potted up all my new Lily bulbs in pots, so as they bloom, I will move them to the front. I have a pretty Salmon blooming now (started it early).
In my cluster of 3 pots by the door I've planted almost the same thing in each:

A spike
Blackie potato vine - will save for next year.
Ameythist Heuchera - will plant in ground in the fall.
Diamond Frost - new to me this year. White, looks kind of like babys breath.
And pink and white Bacopa I started from seed, so not very long yet.
A few other odds and ends that I have started from seeds. lol

I cheated big time for the pots under the coachlights. I bought 2 hanging baskets and just put those in my pots, and added a spike for height. I never have much luck with these 2 pots.

On my front porch is my mish mash of house plants.

A TON of Cliva ... if anyone want to set up a trade for some Cliva, I'm more than willing. I can't get them to bloom, try as I may. So I have no idea of the color. I grew them from seeds I bought a zillion (3 to 8) years ago.
My HUGE Rubber plant/tree.
Thanksgiving Cactus
Christmas Cactus
MY absolutly lovely pot of 3 different Oxalis.
Also, I potted up a shade pot of 3 different giant exhibition coleus I grew from seed.

We were at the cottage over the holiday. Put in the dock and the boat and the boat hoist,
helped my brother with his also. Still working on the front part of the cottage. Cut the grass, cleaned windows ... You know all the work stuff. So I did't get any gardening in. I took today off too, so I hope to get a little gardening in when it isn't raining.

Hope all of you had a nice Holiday!

you ordered those 50% off bulbs - will they bloom for you? Do you pot them up for next spring? How do you deal with them?
Anxious to know, so that I can order some.

My dear friends, Keep me in your prayers - they mean my life.

Miriam

Miriam, great to see you. I had to take some antibiotics recently, and it just killed by stomach. Yuk! Didn't have problems like this when I was young. I had some yogurt with active cultures and it helped. Hope you'll recover and get your strength back soon.

Jo, would love to see the fort you're building. Sounds cool. I thought about building something for my kids when they were young, but ended up just buying a plastic thingy.

I have a free round trip ticket from Southwest... hmmm... a trip to Gatlinburg perhaps :)

I ordered way too much from Bluestone Perennials 1/2 price sale so I'm afraid to look at more lovelies. I always talk myself into the buying by saying I can sell this and that and get the money back. I am doing very well at a local farmers market each Saturday from 8:00 until 12:00. If you take blooming plants they are sure to be bought.

Debbie-I will check my irises and see what I have left. I sold the bearded irises about 3 weeks ago. If they were not blooming I should find some extras. There was a run on anything blooming in my yard. Some lovely person even TOOK a bearded iris I had in a pot that was not for sale. I meant to plant it and wished I had when it was over. Oh well I hope they enjoy something they took and did not pay for. I agree about the PO and the wine. If you get enough interest you know I will join you in Gatlinburg this Fall.

Jo-Yes we did do well with our plant sales and I was surprised with the economy not being the best. Our local seed store has sold out of seeds 3 times already this year. Seems everyone here is going to plant veg. gardens.

Miriam-Heartfelt prayers for you Dear Lady. Hope sun shiny days are ahead.

Paul-You would love Gatlingurg in the Fall if you decide to visit. Who knows this may be the year for us to do it.

Sharon-Red Zinger is a nice one. I love the color. Post the iris and I will see if I can ID.

While camping this past week-end we went to a local flea market on Sunday. I found a plant I did not have and knew nothing about. It is called Bad Hair Day Plant and I love it. Of course I had to buy it. It likes wet soil and can't dry out so I think I will plant it around the pond. I may forget to water it enough and lose it if I don't. Hopefully I can get a picture of it and post it.

Shirley

Joy your Wish box is on it's way today...Conf.# 0103 8555 7497 4840 6437.

Sharon post some pictures of your beds and containers, I would love to see them.

Miriam are you home yet? I hope you are feeling much better soon and feel like chatting with us about plants and gardens and life in general.

Nancy I spent more than I meant to also but I may have to go back and add more to the order (grin).

Hi Melinda...waving at you with both hands and the fat part of my arms jiggling.

More later,

Debbie

My prayers came TRUE when i got my incredibly GREAT WHITE ELEPHANT box from Shirley yesterday, I'll ya!
You are all going to be jealous, sorry. But I am going to share these with you!
She sent me a ceramic duck that is now down at the creek nestled in between hosta pots,
a gorgeous, well written book called 'The Well-Tended Perennial Garden - Planting & Pruning Techniques' from Timber Press that will be my constant companion,
FOURTEEN Louisiana, Siberian & Bearded Iris!! (head's up, Debbie! *grin*)
Nelly Moser Clematis,
a clump of Babylon Crocosmia
AND 2 daylilies: Way of Life & Brer Rabbit's Baby!!!
Shirley, a heartfelt thank you again for the huge bounty of beauties!

Dianne, I have to show you a photo of how happy you made DOZENS of birds with the feeder you sent me!! What a concept ~ I've always been afraid to feed them because of my predator cats, but these birds are hip & safe & now WILDLY HAPPY! I really like the key rock you sent me, too, I have my extra warehouse key hidden in it, hidden in the hostas.

SISTER JO -I lost your new email address somehow!! Yes, of course - you get what you wanted!

HOSTA/SHADE PLANT SWAP partners & rules Thursday evening 5/28, everyone - any last joiners?

We're an odd number again & need just one more to join us...

Marea,
thank you so very much (grins) I will send it to you after I post this *hug* wowza, u got a great box from shirley, nice goodies there.

Jean,
I sent you an e-mail, hope you got it, buuuuut, in case you didnt, here is the confirmation number for your wish list box..0308 0730 0000 2330 2283

Shirley,
awwww, I am sorry that person took your iris. But, after many years working in retail(over 20), it doesnt surprise me. I have seen it all. I got stories i could tell you lol
from knitting needles in a but crack to a guy piddling on our feather boas (every week for nearly a month, till we put them in plastic bags, I knicnamed him the phantom piddler) and everything in between, (grins)
Yes, everyone is into gardening, with the economy so bad they are staying home and doing things there instead of traveling.
I read an article that says home improvement stores are doing very well. And i believe it with all the ppl at home depot the other day. Our garden center sold out nearly 3 weeks early last year, we didnt get things we wanted, so we got there early this year, it was a good thing too, we stopped back the other day to get a couple things, and many items were already sold out *whew*

Paul,
I will try to remember to post a pic on our pic thread when its done.

Nancy,
sounds like you "cleaned up" with all those lilies. I hope Jacey is doing much better now.

Miriam,
I will keep you in my prayers, I hope you feel much better soon and can join us in a swap or 2.

Sharon,
I will try to remember seeds for you, but, my brain is a sieve, and stuff leaks out, so, if you can, please remind me =)

With the 3rd anniversay of my dh heart attack coming up in 2 days and my moms passing just 2 weeks past, I have thought a lot about all the kindness, prayers, love, and healing thoughts from this wonderful group. I just wanted to take a moment and once again thank all of you, you truly are angels, and I am so blessed to be a part of your lives.
Thank you all so very very much.

Debbie,
I havent forgotten you, I will look at that and see if i can get to my list on here, it is "sadly" out of date.

Come on , one more person for our hosta/shade swap????????

Warm hugs to all,
Jo

Shirley, I have the pictures of the unknown iris over there.

Debbie, I realized I didn't post a close-up of the birds you sent me, they are on my Rose/clematis trellis. I originally had them on the top of the Trellis, but the wind kept pushing them over, so I put them on the side and I just love them even more! The wind leaves them alone now. :o)
Here is the close-up.

Here's hoping Melinda & everyone else missing is doing OK - specials prayers from Oregon for you, too.

Hosta/Shade Plant Swap Details & Partners
Send at least 3 hosta eyes & one other shade loving plant.
A prize will be awarded to the fastest shipper.
A 2nd special prize will be awarded to the first sender who meets a secret criteria ;-)
A 3rd prize will be awarded to the first recipient who meets another secret criteria.
PARTNERS ~
Jo sends to Debbie
Debbie sends to Ellen
Ellen sends to Jean
Jean sends to Shirley
Shirley sends to Joy
Joy sends to Marea
Marea sends to Jo

....ready, set, GO!

Sharon,
love that bird statue, it is just adorable.

Melinda,
they are a special group arent they? *hugs to you*

Marea,
I agree with Sharon, wonderful idea with the secret criteria.

Off to get something done,have a wonderful day,
warm hugs to everyone,
Jo

Marea, I can still hear you humming your song this morning. ♫♫♫

JO, hope you got a lot done yesterday. How is the swing/playground going for your grandson?
tma

So,I am just here to say, Thank you!

I am doing some better. The predisone helps. I was able to do some weeding yesterday (you don't know how wonderful that feels - after yrs. of not being able to- yes weeding can be exciting). I also had enough breath to plant some seedlings that I had raised. So you see how God has answered your prayers for me. I just thank you, thank you, thank you.

I bought Meet Joe Black X noid last year and it is budding up to bloom - I can hardly wait.

Looked at the pics today - beautiful flowers and children and mothers.

Miriam

Shirley, I'm so sorry I haven't sent your box yet and here it is June already. I promise it'll be in the mail in time for you to receive it by the weekend. I don't have a good excuse. Can only say that I didn't get it done and before I knew it the month was gone.

Melinda, Sorry to hear about your health problems. Will be sending positive thoughts and prayers your way.
Miriam, So glad you are feeling strong enough to get out and do some gardening.

Marea, I promice I won't be so late with this month's trade. Will try my best to get it out next week. These months just go too fast, especially it seems at this time of the year. :-)

Loved everyones pictures. Now that my internet is fixed I'll have to post a few too.

Oh, I have my first ever scapes on 3 of my 200 seedlings. I found 2 the other day and the third I found today. I've been checking them a few times every day sense I spotted the first ones. LOL I'm just so excited.

Big Big Hugs for you all.
Joy

Marea, I am glad the birds are enjoying the feeder and the cats aren't scaring them too much. I guess I didn't even think about that when I sent it. LOL...

Melinda and Miriam my thoughts and prayers are with you. I hope your health is restored very soon.

I hope everyone is enjoying beautiful daylily blooms and other blooms too! It is already in the 90's here. Where did spring go?

Dianne

Jean,
I am so glad you liked your box of goodies.(smiles)
I am eagerly waiting for mine, I am so excited to be trading once again.

Sharon,
Still got a couple more things to buy to make his play set, but got almost everything, should be able to start on it by next weekend. Have to nickle and dime eveything, lol
We have his pool set up, and the rain put a couple inches of water in it, every time we turn our backs he is in it splashing, and using the little built in slide. Last year we bought 3 inflatable pools, and they all went flat, couldnt figure out what we were doing wrong. Then, one morning, we were out in the gardens, saw the cat standing on the edge drinking, she was puncturing it with her claws. rofl
So, this year, we bought one of the hard plastic ones, and he just adores the slide in it, so glad we did. =)

Joy,
Awesome box of goodies you got there. Debbie sure knows how to pack one doesnt she?

Miriam,
I am so glad you feel some better. Every little bit counts when you're not feeling well. Will continue to keep you in my prayers. *hugs*

We planted Alex garden with him yesterday afternoon, he really loved the dirt part, digging the hole, and pressing the soil around the roots. he planted the sunflower and hyacinth bean seeds, the zinnias were a bit more of a challange, but he managed to get most in the little trench.
I wrote the plant names on little stakes I had gotten from JoAnn Fabrics, have little turtles, ducks, and frogs on the tops. Over all he had a good time planting it.

Debbie,
I am waiting for my order to come in before I start on your box for the hosta/shade swap. I ordered a couple things that i will be able to share.

Hope everyones day is fantastic, and filled with sunshine and laughter.

hugs to all,
Jo

Joy, you sure DID score with that great Debbie box! Thanks for catching us up. I will happily wait until you have time for my shade goodies *grin*

I believe that Debbie's is the last box we were waiting on for the Wish List swap ~ if anybody else did not get theirs, let me know.

Yes, my shrubs ARE non-fragrant Mock Orange/English Dogwood - thanks!

Dianne has posted photos of loads of her daylilies blooming already this year in the Daylily Forum, ya'll should go see - she has BEAUTIES!!
My gorgeous Purple Mound started blooming yesterday in the pouring rain along with Penny's Worth & Awesome Blossom got her act together & is blooming beautifully - I won't give on it after all - so the season starts!!

The last of my iris are still in bloom, thank gawd the days are starting or I would be devastated about the end of their glorious season!
Annie's Annual Iris swap is still open, if you want to get some gorgeous new iris , come sign up with us - we send in July!

Prayers for you all, especially Miriam, and Sharon during this GM disaster, ~m'

Sounds like everyone is getting wonderfull boxs.Makes for
great gardening.

Shirley your box went out today as well :)
Number is 0309 0330 0001 4460 7253

Got to run off to work.Will get back later to read all of the post.Just skimmed thought them..hehe

Hugs Jean

I received my beautiful bouquet today! You all are the best! It was such a pick me up and moved me to tears... I apologize for not participating for so long. I have felt like such a hermit these past couple of years and not being very social like I used to. I have so many things in my home and gardens that remind me of my sisters and brothers here!

I think I am up to about 50 hostas now and wished I had gotten in on the swap. I have collected quite a few Irises too and they were just gorgeous this year.

I am finally getting back outside this spring and trying to reclaim my tropical gardens that have gone to waste land the past few years. We still have tons of daylilies! Doug has been on a buying rampage the past few years and we have some really spectacular cultivars to hybridize with. Our business, Southern Skies Gardens, is slowly progressing into a profitable business. We just finished up planting approximately 2000 seedlings last week from our hybridizing efforts last year. Maybe in a few years, we will actually introduce. We started selling on the Lily Auction too under the name, SouthernSkies.

I am still plugging away at Real Estate and I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel here locally. It has been tough going, but I have used the down time to take classes and keep up to date with the market changes. I am prepared for when it does turn around! I recently helped a couple find a home to retire to here in East. TN. They are coming from Florida. It was such a blessing to be apart of something that is so important to them.

My kidos are out of school for the summer. They are growing up waaaaay too fast. Dakota is the same height as me and thinks he can wrestle me now, but I still have weight on my side :). Maleah, my little princess, is my constant companion and gets prettier every day!

I had a cancer scare back in March that turned my world upside down. My GYN found a lesion on my cervix, biopsied and found it to be precancerous. We caught it in time and won't know if my treatment worked until August. Please keep me in your prayers.

I promise to stop by so you don't think I've kicked the bucket! I am always here in spirit!

Canna

Good to see everyone getting fantastic swap boxes.

More later... Paul

Melinda...I saw the pictures of you and your son and daughter and grandson Austin. You are a beautiful lady and just as I knew you would be, smiling and happy with what you have been given. The boys (any you) have made memories that will stay with them forever. My happiest memories as a child were of ones when the family went fishing for the weekend or swimming in a creek or swimming hole in the country. Please don't worry about sending anything for the swap any time soon, I am looking at your have list and there is so much that I would like to have, I am looking it up to see if it is hardy in my zone. Plus I am going on a family vacation from June 13-20th...So would rather not receive anything during that time.

Ellen...I will try to get your shade plants out in the next week, but if not, I will get them out shortly after my return from the beach. I'll try to get an e-mail to you this week to find out what you already have and what you would most like to have.

Jo...if you don't mind...please wait until after the 20th to send my shade plants. I want to let you know also how happy I am that you are back with us again.

Shirley...I think of you several times each day when I see all the Iris I have received from you. In case you don't already know it, you are a very special person.

Miriam...I am so happy to hear that you have been able to enjoy your garden again. Please let us know when you are ready to receive more plants sent to you from the group that loves and prays for you.

Joy...I am glad you liked your box...I have so many more things from your want list, and you have many that I want too...lets plan a trade for July.

Marea, Paul, Jean, Dianne, and everyone else, hugs to you my TD friends.

My daughter had an appt. for a lumbar puncture, after 3 tries they were unable to get spinal fluid. Two days later they retired the puncuture using fluroscope...they finally got the spinal fluid. For a week she had a terrible headache that make a migraine look like a picnic and vomiting several times a day. This was all to again confirm that her diagnosis was correct. She does have MS. They told her they would begin to treat her whenever she was ready. But she isn't ready because she want's to have a baby before she has to begin the steroids and all the other meds that she will have to take for the rest of her life. Please pray for her.

Debbie

It is such a gorgeous day here, makes you glad to be alive.

Got the raised bed done, filled and planted with our sweet potatos.
Planted the last of my pansies and petunias. Got morning glory seeds soaking, gonna plant them in large pots and put at the base of our metal gazebo, and let them climb on it.

I have 4 pairs of the cutest birds at my feeders, i searched the web, and looked them up in a large bird book. They are cassiens finch. i couldnt believe it, so researched it more. But, they are definetly cassiens. Their range is west of the rockies, so dont know what they are doing here, but they are so pretty, I dont mind a bit.
Hehe I am going to try and get some close up pics, not sure they will let me tho.

Jean,
I got the box of goodies. Thank you so much, love it all.
She sent me...
2 dalilies..siloam baby doll, and siloam baby talk
filipendula hexapatala
lily..deep impact
hosta color glory (whoo hoo)
hosta stiletto
miniature blue crested iris
a small angel window screen saver..too cute
and a large yummy chocolate bar..which Alex is helping me polish off (he comes to me and says "chocat peese") How can you say no when they say it like that lol

Debbie,
No problem, i can send after the 20th, my order isnt here yet so it works for me, =)
Hope you have a blast on your trip.
Be safe.

Melinda,
I will keep you in my prayers. Take care. *hugs*

Miriam,
I will keep you in my prayers as well. *hugs*

Marea,
No hurry, I am waiting on my order of things so i can share with Debbie. Wont dig anything till they come, so its all good. lol I will eventually get the chance to post some pics, (I think)

Rebecca,
I am so glad things are going so well for your business.
Several years ago, I had the same thing happen, this past year, when i had my test, it was completely clear, they never did any treatments of any kind. So, I just know you will be fine =) *hugs and smiles*
Maleah is just gorgeous, she must get it from her mom.

It is great to see so many posting again. I have missed you all. Now we just need to hear from Dawn...ohhhhhhh Daaawwwwwnnnnn!!!!!!!

Nancy,
yes, still running bout with my head under my arm. lol But, love every minute of it. Yes, pulling weeds can really be the best thing in the world. people who ask me why i love to garden so much and have so many plants...I just tell them, instead of paying a shrink $300 an hour, I just go out and pull weeds, listen to the birds,the sound of trickling water from all our watergardens, and the happy laughter of our grandson. The stress just melts away.
You cant ask for anything better than that.

Carol,
Awwwww, I am so sorry that happened. I know how you feel, it is a big disappointment.

Has anyone ever had their old peony varieties seed themselves? I have 6 little babies coming up in various places in my gardens, just about 4 inches tall. have no idea what color they will be, i have several diff colors.

I sure hope i didnt miss anyone, if i did, I am sorry..warm hugs to you.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone,
hugs to all,
Jo

Debbie or ANYONE, do you know about Peonies? The peony root Debbie sent me has roots and has a green sprout about an inch long. I had planted the root about 4 inches deep in the soil, but the sprout is not growing in height at all. It is all still under the soil and it has been 2 weeks. I decided to lift the root and have the sprout stick out of the soil ... is this right?????

Carol, sorry to hear about your misnamed peonies, frustrating I know. What .... it isn't raining in SEattle, must be Global warming....

tma

I've emailed Canna to say she's quite welcome for the bouquet of flowers that we sent her & invite her to jump into the Hosta/Shade Swap...

Jo, I STILL haven't gotten my 2 eBay pymts. Murphy's Law, if you need the $ they won't get around to paying on time. Will email you when I get your box in the mail.

Debbie, my heart is heavy for you & your daughter. My prayers are with you & yours.
I have a bunch of plants all lined up in a row to send you, too, when my ship comes in so you can lose yourself in the garden for an afternoon.
~m'

Happy gardening friends,
Nancy

Jean sent:
Hosta:
Stiletto
Whitewall Tires
El Nino

Daylily:
Siloam Baby Talk

Filipendula Hexapetala-Will have to google and check this out. I love plants I don't have.

Lily-Candy Club

Whirly Gig on a stick....love it and the colors

Bird on a metal rod...I have went wild about birds and have them on my porch. This one is so cute.

Jean thank you so very much. I hope you met the secret criteria and win a surprise for my awesome box.

I hope to mail my May box to Melinda and also my June box to Joy this week. Will let you ladies know when.

Debbie-So sorry for your Daughters diagnosis. Hoping and praying just the best for her. With you as a Mom she will be well tended to. Hope to see pictures of her little one next year. HUGS.................

Melinda-I will let you know when your box is shipped so you can have your Daughter watching for it. Take care of your self.

Hope to post more next time. SOOOOOOOOO Tired

Shirley

Happy Sunday morning!!!!!

MAREA...
Oh my goodness sister Marea, I got my hosta swap box!!!!!!
I LOVE everything. Thank you so very very much.
She sent me..

Hosta....
Bridegroom,
Cherub,
Dream Weaver,
Pauls Glory,
and.....Guardian Angel!!

Saxifraga London pride...so pretty

Daylily..
Braided edgeings
Lee Pickles

I had tears when i saw that lee pickles tag, i have wanted it for a long time for my family garden. My Dads name was Lee, and my F.i.l. was nicknamed pickles. So, it is doubly important to me. That daylily and the guardian angel hosta are both in my family garden. We planted yesterday between rain storms.
Thank you again Marea, You really made my whole month, maybe my whole year...*warm hugs for my wonderful daylily sis*

Sharon,
On peonies, The eye cant be planted any deeper than 2" or all you will get is foliage, very few(if any) blooms. Also, the very best plant/transplant time for them is September. you can do them at other times, but they do best if done in Sept.
On the short perennials, I too, have dianthus, in several colors(they also drape nicely over walls), but my favorite is my pink creeping babies breath. It also hangs over my wall.
And big congratulations on your sons graduation. =)

Nancy,
even if they are in pots you can still get into the dirt, and they will still be gorgeous. (smiles)
As to the watergardens, No mosquitos here. I keep the little pumps going in my tub and natural gardens, skeeters dont like that, also, there are little donut like things called "dunks" that keep them from living in your ponds, so far I havent had to use them.I have a lot of fish in my big watergarden, and lots of dragonflies, they feed on the skeeters and larva. I also encourage bats, they can eat as many as 500 mosquitos a night.

Debbie,
You and yours are in my prayers. This vacation will really help you destress. That is especially important for your dd. But, you need to as well. *hugs and prayers*
I am getting the list together for our swap as well as the hosta swap, gonna send you a big box of goodies.

Melinda,
More prayers for you as well. =) *hugs*

Shirley,
Awesome box from Jean. Happy planting =)

We have made a good start on our gs sensory garden. I have an old door, it is smooth, so gonna hang a windchime in the area where the glass was, gonna paint it a soft color, and then paint the whole bottom half with chalkboard paint, and then secure it in the ground in his garden. He has tons of sidewalk chalk, but no sidewalk lol, so this will work well for him.
Still working on his playset too, it is coming along slowly, but at least we are getting there.

Hope your weekend is wonderful everyone,
Hugs to all,
Jo

Debbie, I owe you, that's why.

I'm taking photos every day of the daylilies & lilies as they bloom here, my albums on photobucket are under "mareas" if you want to see.

My deer herd eats ONLY my roses and plum trees & grape vines. Thank goodness they don't like daylilies, figs, raspberries, iris, lilies or hosta (after that first big bite). I found the allium family incl. chives,onions, valerian & oregano are natural deer barriers & protect the plants i encircle with them. Leave a fawn size hole in the stinky protector circle, though, & wham! the roses are back to sheared sticks...

Melinda, I will be thinking of you and praying for a smooth operation and speedy recovery.

Got to get out and do some more watering.

Hugs
Joy

Melinda, I am saying prayers for a speedy recovery.

Ellen, I should be able to get your Shade box out this week.

I have a lot of reading and catching up to do. Hugs to all.
Debbie

Hope everybody had a wonderful & sunny First Day of Summer!

As y'all must have guessed, it is full Daylily bloom season here & about all I'm getting done is watering, pollen dabbing & flower photos... The asiatic & oriental lilies are blooming, too, along with some roses finally, safe behind their onion screens, as well as vivid spires of my beloved rocket larkspur ~ it's a rainbow of color here thanks to all of you.

The June Shade swap special prize winners will be announced next Friday.

Debbie, glad to have you back. Just the name 'Gulf Shores' sounds interesting. Can't wait to hear your stories about your trip and pictures too. :o)

Marea, be sure to send me some seeds from your rocket Larkspur! Be sure to post pics of your larkspur! I tried growing some last year, but when I tranplanted them they were very unhappy and then I think I flooded them ... they got 6 inches high and died.

Now I have to remember to bug Marea about the Larkspur seeds and Jo about the Fragolino petunia seeds.

Marea, I'm so jealous you have daylilies blooming. And you are 'dabbing' already!!!!! I'm happy to say that I have lots of buds on my 3 year old seedlings ... about time! It's always so exciting to see the seedling flowers, there is no way I can go even a year without planting at least a couple seeds from a cross. It was kind of easy last year to choose a cross ... I wanted a 'blue' cross. This year will be harder since I've told myself no more than 5 seeds. I planted only 3 seedlings from last year.

I'm not going to make many extra seeds this year, I'm sure you are all Daylily seeded out. But I will offer this, If any of you would like to contact me and ask me to make a cross of certain parents I have, I will be happy to do that for you.

I usually see my hummingbird twice a summer and have already seen him 3 times ... I must be doing something right this year. I know, he must be someone else's hummingbird ... sigh.

Jo and Marea, thanks for the peony advice, I've replanted it and am hoping for the best.

Can't wait to hear who the 'secret criteria' winners are. lol

tma

I have been ill for about 10 days - worst case of bronchitis. Went for xrays. changed my meds and upped the predizone again.

But before this happened, I planted the crosses from Sharon's contest; and about 20 of my own crosses. They are all in their cribs in their nursery -growing like weeds.

Thanks again for the prayers - they give hope and dispel fears.

Miriam

Miriam, So sorry to hear you've been so sick. Hope you are feeling better now.

Marea, Your box of shade plants are going out this afternoon. It's sitting in my mailbox waiting for the carrier to pick it up as I type. I had a blast picking things out for you. The secret boxes are so much fun.

It's warmed up today after a few days of chilly weather. I was surprised to see how many of my daylilies opened really well in cooler weather. Will have to post some pics and show you what I mean.

Can't wait to see who the special prize winners will be.
Hope everyone's summer is starting out great.
Hugs to you all.
Joy

Joy, my FAMTASTIC box arrived today & all those plants are still in show condition. I/m wildly happy with all these great plants! Blue hostas, heucheras, the gorgeous instant saxifraga collection & that heavenly purple variegated columbine! Wheaton Blue & Blue Angel were indeed on my wishlist, as was everything. Awesome plants, I thank you!
Marea

Joy-I will let you know when your hosta/shade swap box is mailed.

Shirley

Ellen I almost have your shade plants ready to send...I will try to get them out tomorrow or Monday.

Melinda you can send the wish list box whenever you feel up to it. I am in no hurry though, so work at your own pace and don't over do.

Marea you are such a sweet and thoughtful person...you don't owe me anything.

Sharon I would love any daylily crosses you make. Please choose two of your largest spiders to cross and send me the seeds.

Shirley I hope you get to join us full time soon. It sounds like you have been very busy. Hope you can slow down and enjoy life soon.

Miriam and Melinda...gentle hugs.
Debbie

Dirtpig Jean wins First Prize for being the fastest sender AND the Second Prize for being the sender who sent an Angel (the secret criteria). You won the hostas Lakeside Cindy Cee & Katie Q and Marea's Angel daylily.

Shirley wins the Third prize for being the recipient who posted most quickly to let us know what she received. You won a secret surprise!

Hope all of you have a great week, Marea

Happy Gardening all
Jean

Marea, you and Debbie (previous swap)
are such sweethearts for giving away prizes ... and such nice ones at that!

Hubbie and I are at the cottage ... kids will come up in a few days. I'm going to tell my boss when I get back to work that I need some summer days off ... its Fall up here! In the 50's .... I know Jean is used to that, but not me! hehe So I'm baking brownies, and hubbie and I are deep into the latest project updating the cottage. I guess we are going to get more done this time than we had thought.
I did manage to jump in the lake twice when it hit the 60's.

We are having my son's graduation party on the 4th, just like we did for my daughter. Just a few family members, but its fun.

Shirley, my son is going into the Marines. He will go to bootcamp at the end of August. If all goes well he is hoping to be Military Police. They have to sign up for an 8 year commitment now, 4 years active, 4 years Nat. Guard.

Kids tell me that my daylilies have just started blooming at home ...

Oh, and my tiny garden here looks Fabulous!!!!!!!! I have to take a picture and post it ... I'm so happy with it. Hubby asked if I could make my gardens at home look this nice. lol

Off to paint a ceiling and trim.

Jean - your package went out today. I hope you like it!

Deb - take your time, glad I'm not last to ship :) Sorry about your computer - if you need help, let me know. I work with computers for a living.

Melinda - sounds like you makde out - very nice package! Good luck on your surgery.

My daylilies are starting to bloom. I found a new daylily in my garden - a seedling! Wonder what it's going to look like. My jap irises keep putting out seedlings. I have a new one that bloomed completely white. I have a deep purple one with a really nice form. I guess these are the advantages of having a weedy garden - you never pull up the seedlings without knowing it!

Ellen

Melinda-Glad you liked your box...I was worried about sending you a repeat plant by having your name 3 times. Wishing you the best with your surgery...Big hugs and prayers heading your way.

Ellen-Hi..glad to see you posting.

Sharon-Oh my gosh you have to see the seedling I got from some of your crosses. IT'S GORGEOUS. I will post a picture soon. My DS loved being a Military Police in the Marines and it lead to his degree in law enforcement.

I'm heading to Pigeon Forge, TN as soon as I have my 40 hours in here at work. Should be 1:00...YEAH and I won't be back until Sunday.

I wish everyone a safe and fun-filled 4th of July....I will be married 40 years Saturday July 4th....Gosh I don't know how I have put up with that man 40 years...LOL

Shirley

Jo I just got your huge wist list box a few minutes ago. I will be back to post a picture and list everything this afternoon....grandbaby is here and crawling everywhere so I have to keep a watchful...grandmotherly eye on him.

Hugs everyone,
Debbie

Hope your 4th of July is great.
Thanks,
Paul

Happy July 4 to all.

Dirtpig

sorry I have been mia again. It has been a crazy stressfull several weeks.
Our son deployed over to the war again, so have been stressing over that. And, we have so many projects in the works, but all it has done is "RAIN". grrrrrrrr

I have so many slugs and snails its insane. some of them are as large as my thumb..yuck. we have to keep on top of the strawberries as they ripen, if we leave them even one day, they mold. =(

Debbie,
I am glad you got your box, sorry it was so late, but i finally got a few hours between rain showers to get all the plants dug and packed. Sounds like you had a wonderful time on your trip. I am so glad. =)

I has rained here nearly evey single day, several times, it was sunny all day while i was working, but started raining as I was driving home, geeeez
and one day it was dry at the place i worked, but when i got home, my dd told me it had rained there all day. How did i get so lucky, lol

Jean and shirley,
Big gratz on ur prizes *smiles*

Melinda and Miriam,
More prayers and hugs for you both.

Have a wonderful 4th everyone.
Take care, and stay safe,

Hugs,
Jo

Paul I hope you got some picture for us on your trip:)

Jo,prayers to keep your son save and sound.
You can how ever send that rain here thou.
But please keep those slugs and snails.yuckie boo!!

Wishing all a fun and safe 4th.

Jean

I cannot begin to tell you how happy it has made me to read through this thread. I really needed the smiles. I'm not sure how many threads I've missed and I'm terribly sorry for being absent.

Debbie, I am so sad to hear of your daughters dx. HUGS
I'd like to talk to you via email and will send a note along soon.

I had been hoping to get back here many times since the birth of my sweet boy 2 years ago, but life keeps getting in the way. My family is now in crisis once again and I ask for your thoughts and prayers. We really, really need them.

I will send out a group email soon - hope I have all the correct addresses.

Marea, 'Snazzy Memories' is in it's full glory - magnificent! We never got around to dividing it yet and the fans have grown into a nice clump at the entrance to my Sis' home.

My little one is doing so well. How amazing to watch him grow and learn! He is a wonderful garden helper too! Loves to put the weeds in the wheelbarrow, and digging is his middle name. :)

I lost my dear dog to old age - he was over 15 years old! He was laid to rest up on our Bluebird Hill.
I sure do miss him.

Our birds are doing well, but I know they miss us because we are always working. I can't wait until we get the house done and can spend more time with them again.

We still haven't moved, but the house is coming along. I do have water now so that is wonderful. But only a hose- no luxuries such as a sink yet.
Working on stoning our fireplace now. Electric is done. We have our insulation ready to put in after an inspection next week and then we can finally sheetrock. Still have to put in septic system as well as our furnace, but all ductwork is done. Kind of running out of money so things are slowing down.
I did manage to put in a beautiful organic veggie garden w/ DH's help. It was supposed to be a temporary one but it turned out so nice I have to keep it.

Daylilies are in full bloom here in Western PA and I think of you all when I step out the door and see all the color you have shared with me.

HUGS,
Dawn (mamabirrd)

It has been over 100 degrees for several days here and we have been on an outside water ban all week. I have been sneaking out to water my daylilies in pots, otherwise I don't think they would survive. They told us that today we can water outside but only during certain times. It's funny, some things you just take for granted like water and electricity and when they are gone, man you sure miss them!

Marea, I am surprised to hear about the deer eating your roses. I would think that they wouldn't like the roses because of all the thorns. They must be pretty tough!

Shirley, I hope you are having a nice trip and Happy Anniversary to you and hubby.

Melinda, hope surgery goes well and you are feeling better soon.

Paul, it seems like you are always going some place or the other. Lucky you to be able to travel so much! I am hoping to go somewhere this summer, just not sure where yet.

Dawn, I am sorry to hear about your dog. It sounds like he was lucky to have lived such a long life.

Hugs to all,

Dianne

Dawn called my first registered seedling magnificent!! You sweetheart, I've missed you lots. I'm sorry to hear about your dog, too. but so glad you had such a sweet place to lay his body to rest.
Please tell Jenna I loved her post about the flower ~ it put tears in my eyes & that I lost her email addy, too.
Hope to hear more from you & hope life gets easy for you at last...

God bless you all, Marea