Vela your house is very pretty, I love the red brick homes.My 1st was like that. It looks huge.

Chrys- That sage...wow, that's pretty! I love blue flowers! It always amazes me, the variety in nature.
I was looking through a plant encyclopedia last night (trying to find that flower! lol) and all the plants in other countries that look so exotic to me....It's very fascinating, really. Like tropical birds! All the different colors, they almost look fake! :O)
Every time I go to someone's garden, I'm like a kid, discovering things for the first time....Flowers are so awesome!!

When you get tired of the nature photos just say the word. These were my animal encounters in the garden this morning:

Every time I water this hanging basket a little bird flys out...

Ctack2 sent me the white caladium bulbs in our last swap.

The first bloom on the tropical water lily this year.
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Hazelnut--you are right I too go first to everyones garden hoping I can snag a piece or two.

Poisondart--Keep the nature coming, they are as good as flowers. We don't have so much around here anymore since all the building going on here. Its a shsme. I used to have groundhogs and babies every year for maybe 8 years now I don't know where they have gone. Havn't seen them in almost 2 years. We used to have alot of fox also around here and now the only time I get to see them is when someone runs over one. Thats why we bought this house when we did we were told no one could build around us it was all state owned land. They sold it all off.

Good Evening Everyone;
I am back from a trip to Vermont. Stopped at Ben and Jerry's and had a Pfish Food cone, boy was that good. They had some nice lupine growing in their yard. There were lots of flocks and lupine all along the highway up there. Vermont is such a pretty state.
When I returned home, my poppies had started to open, they are gorgeous. I took some pictures and tomorrow when I am not so tired I will try to post some of them.
Hazelnut, I think maybe you planted that siberian iris a bit too deep. I may not have flowered at all except for the mulch. Iris should barely be below the surface of the ground. I have had some of the best blooms from rhizones that you could actually see. I have some beautiful ones in bloom now, I will try to post those picture tomorrow also.
This group is growing and getting better all the time. Vela you are doing a great job with the hostessing, and the dialogue is so much fun. Hello to all the newcomers, I am once again too tired to try to get the names correct. I will visit in the morning. Have a great night.
diene

Diene- Glad you're back safe and sound. Any trip with a Ben & Jerry's stop HAS to be a great one!! :O)
Well, my hubby is the one that planted the iris, so he's to blame. I believe they're at the right depth, though (the bulbs are showing through the dirt).... I think it has more to do with the fact that we had an unexpected killing freeze back in April, after all the flowers had started making buds...it wiped out everything here, my rose had hundreds of buds on it..and it took it out to the ground. I was soooo upset. :O( Whatcha gonna do, though...Mother nature is like that.
So we only had one other Iris that actually made it through and bloomed, the others died back. So in a way, probably you're right...the mulch is the only thing that saved them.

And I hate that..cuz Iris's are one of my favorites! I was looking forward to them this year...

I believe that we've identified that purple flower...It's a wild petunia. One web site actually says it's rare, and is trying to sell it for $47!!! Can you believe that?? Geeze....so... my hubby just pulled up like $500 worth!! lol :O)

Thanks for all the help, girls! I appreciate it! :O)

Welcome back, hope your trip was a nice one. I am waiting for the pics to see tomorrow.
Can't talk much now, my youngest grandson visiting me for a week. Have to go check on him will send pics later.
Melanie

We had visitors in our yard the other morning, 3 Doe (only 2 in the picture).
My son says he saw a big buck too, but didn't get a picture of him.

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Hi everyone! I love all of the new pictures! I've been very busy cooking for a bridal shower that was sunday. I'm exhausted. Cooked all day saturday. Ran my butt off sunday. Now I have a mountain of laundry again in the basement calling my name! Ugh! Does anyone like doing laundry? You can have mine!

Hazelnutbunny: That rare wild petunia was beautiful! Pulled $500 worth? Eeek!

Melanie: OMG I was dying at the squirrel escapades! you should film them and send a tape into Americas funniest home videos! Love the picture of the little stinker in the feeder! laughed my butt off!

Celebrations are in order! The hubby brought home the excavator and cleared the area for the new shade garden! Pictures will be coming soon. Lots of dirt! I have to go to the city for humus. They are selling 1 yard for $10.00, we're bringing the dumptruck! Load her Up! Yay!

The lavender is blooming, my daylilies are almost blooming, the coneflower is getting tall. I am itching for new blooms and can't wait!

Poison: I just love your tropical water lily and your persian zinnia! Gorgeous! Don't you dare stop posting your wildlife pictures. They are fantastic! Where do you live that you have such rich flora/fauna?

Vela: Keep those flower pics coming! Helps satisfy my craving for new blooms! If mine aren't popping I love looking at everyone else's! I like the nasturtium. Very pretty leaves and blooms!

Diene: I'm jealous, I've always wanted to visit Vermont. I bet it was absolutely beautiful. I've seen so many great pictures.

I love all the flowers you all post! Hopefull soon enough I'll have some of my own to post!

Vela - I would love to join. :-) I sent you a message with a few of my noobie questions.

Welcome Seraki! I didn't receive your e-mail. For some reason I cannot receive messages through the link above. Please e-mail me directly at vkupfner@yahoo.com (sorry!)

Hi everyone! Don't have much time to post today! I'll catch you later!

Hi everyone I have been busy with the grandson all day.He got here early this morning and we have not stopped all day. Taking him to the pop-corn zoo tomorrow. That is a zoo that takes all old and hurt animals, nurses them back to health and we can all go for free and walk and look. Hehehehe, maybeeeeeeeeeI can snag a few blooms, of something I do not have. LOL Don't mind the mess in the room or the walls without molding that is my last renovation room. And messy.

Here's a pic after bath with my other favorite bloom sylvie
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Hello All;
I still have not figured out how to get the pictures here but I did provide a link to my poppy that bloomed yesterday. It should show you everything I have uploaded I think but if not I will try the instructions again or the link to the instructions. I am very tired so I will say 'Good Night'. diene

Good Morning;
Let me try this again. diene

Here is a link that might be useful:

That's a beautiful picture of your grandson and Sylvie! They look like great pals.
I love poppies Diene, especially the Orientals. That one looks great! I have some P. somniferium blooming now that looks really pretty. I'll get some pictures sometime this week.
I am getting excited about what I will send in our swap. When I walk around the garden I see a lot of things that should hold up well even this late.
For those of you that have recently joined, if you have not created any listings on your exchange page it would be helpful to your trade partner if you put your plant wants there. That person may have something you would really like to have, but choose a different plant to send because they don't know that you are looking for it.
Have a great day!

Hi All. Taking a small break from unpacking now.Fianlly found the one with the computer in it.LOL! Loving all the animal & flower photos!Will post some more once I make more progress on boxes. My Mother-in-law is visiting from MI. She is a big help.She keeps the older two kids occupied while I get things done.The baby is slowly warming up to her. She is leaving Thursday morning.So I got to hurry & finish. Later.....

Ok...where is everyone?

Love all the new pics!

Hello Vela;
I am here, life has become a challenge but I am ready for this swap. DH was late coming home from work last night and I was annoyed because we had a project to finish. He finally called with the excuse of a plane accident. Fortunately, no one was injured, he was a bit shaken up. Amazingly, he came home had dinner and we finished the project that needed to be done. It is funny how we worry about little things and then something like this happens. He says he is sore today but refused to take the day off. He does fly for a living and will be back up in a plane again today. I figure he is disaster proofed for a while now.
On another note, I discovered some rust on some of my irises which is unusual for this part of the world. I did receive some in a trade last fall and I am assuming that is where the rust came from. I have sprayed them and will keep an eye on them. If the rust starts to spread to my daylilies, those irises are toast. Keep your fingers crossed. diene

Oh Diene! That is scary. I am glad he is okay.
Everyone must be busy in their gardens. I have been working on my daughter's wedding and reception plans. We finally got everything planned but I am going to have to go big time shopping this weekend. Where did the time go? We had 6 months to plan and now that we are down to 3 weeks it feels like we are just getting started. We booked the honeymoon yesterday. They are going to Charleston, S.C. to soak up some history, which they both enjoy. Olivia (daughter) is already planning what to wear when she has a photo of herself taken coming down the staircase at "Tara".
I did get some photo's in the garden yesterday. I usually do close ups of my favorite flowers but I tried to get a few of the garden areas this time. Here are a few of them:
Papaver somniferum

The pink, white and blue garden

My secret garden

The front garden

Garden off the back deck

The picture quality is poor because the light was going last night by the time I decided to stop taking pictures of the gardens and get a few of them, but this is my daughter Olivia and her chosen mate, James.

As you guys are probably figuring out, I can't grow grass. The only place it seems to do okay is down at the bottom of the hill at the bottom of the driveway.

Hello everyone,
I have been busy with the grandson this week so I have not been on too much. The new pic are great. Congrats to Olivia. Kool she is going to Tara.

Im ready for the swap just waiting. I don't have any new pic of the gardens but will soon
Melanie

Hi everyone! It's been too humid here for much of anything! The flowers are even taking a break...all my roses have finished blooming and are starting new buds. Can't wait for the second round!

This one is my baby...when we bought the house 2 years ago, they had planted it along the driveway, and it had one cane...which they kept running over because they wouldn't trim it or stake it. >:) So I trimmed it back, and last year, it did better, but this year it's over 12 ft tall!

And this one is just for fun...I couldn't resist putting in a picture of my kids. :O) This was a photo shoot we did at our TV station awhile back. It was about 100 degrees...everyone was melting.
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My Magnolia blossom opened! Yay! Except now the dang japanese beetles are out and eating on 'em....! Grrr....

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And I have ONE apple on my apple tree. That freeze we had back in April took out nearly all the fruits around here, so many orchards and blueberry farms have signs out now telling everyone there aren't any to harvest...Very disappointing.
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Hey everyone! I sent some e-mails out to some people who haven't posted in a while to make sure they are still interested. I hope to get the partners listed tomorrow. Hopefully will hear from those people!

IHazelnutbunny--hope ya got a blowup of the pic with the kids, that's a beautiful family there.

Your rose bush is now happy I think.

Grandson leaving and going back to NC tomorrow. Im sad today. I will miss him very much. Him and Sylie are the best of buddies.
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Hi! If you are just finding this forum, we are now finished registering new people for this robin, but please let me know if you are interested in the next one by emailing vkupfner@yaho.com and I will pass your name on to the next host. We plan to keep these going continually so newbies will always have a place to land.

Well, it is the 15th and I have the trade list! I will be e-mailing you your partners mailing addresses as soon as I get this typed up. Please send your box out within the next 10 days.

Shadymeadow will send to Laurieanngarris
Chrystallake will send to Shadymeadow
Laurieanngarris will send to Dirt_under_my_nails
Dirt_under_my_nails will send to Chrystallake
Vela75 will send to Tracyvine
Debbya will send to Vela75
Medontdo will send to Debbya
Tracyvine will send to Medontdo
Poisondartfrog will send to Ctack2
Ctack2 will send to Diene
Diene will send to Poisondartfrog

I think I have everyone sending once and receiving once...if I goofed up or missed anyone, let me know!
Wait until atleast Monday to mail out your packages, just incase I've goofed something up and have to make a change. You should not be sending to or receiving from someone you traded with in the last "Make new friends robin"....because, of course, you want to make a NEW friend!! Have fun everyone!!!

Forget that list...I already realized I left people out!!

DUH!!!

Hi! I still need your address, Hazelnutbunny...if you have sent it already, I apologize. Please send to vkupfner@yahoo.com

Vic and Seraki, I apologize for leaving you off the list, I hadn't moved your addresses over to my swap file yet in my mail box.

I think I have it right this time! I am so sorry.

Shady sends to Laurie
Laurie sends to Seraki
Seraki sends to Shadymeadow
Hazelnutbunny sends to dirt
dirt sends to chrystallake
chrystallake sends to hazelnutbunny
vela sends to tracyvine
tracyvine sends to ctack
ctack sends to diene
Diene sends to poisondartfrog
poisondartfrog sends to Vela
Medontdo sends to debbya
debbya sends to Vic
Vic sends to Medontdo

Yippy Skippy! This is the fun part!
Okay Miss Vela; I would love to know if you are working to build a collection of anything or if there are any preferences I can consider when I choose your plants.

Give me hint as too what you like, so I may have some idea of what I am sending..Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeethis is going to be soooo much fun. Can't wait to start digging. And I also bought some new bulbs today for my new buddy.
Hehehehe
Melanie

Seraki...

What grows in Arizona?

Laurie

Hello Poison;
I am going to enjoy figuring out what to send you. I looked on your list and I know I have Fairy Tale Pink Daylilies but they are not in bloom yet so I cannot find them. I have several weigela's, have to see if I can get a baby from them. I can find something for you. This will be fun. diene

Hey Poison! I am so easy to please!! I'll be happy with whatever you send :-) If you really prefer hints, I like things that flower all summer long, things that have really pretty or different looking flowers, and things that come back year after year and multiply.

Tracy - Hey there girl! What kind of things are your looking for? See anything in my pictures you want a clump of? :-)

Ok, Diene, fess up on what you want! I went to look at your lists and what did I find? NOTHING. lol.
I have a couple ideas - no I won't share them with you yet - from reading some of your past posts, but now I want to hear it from you to me.

This is going to be so much fun - again!

Carol B

When you posted the butterfly 'bush' 'plant' I knew I had seen it somewhere before. It was described as looking like a field of butterflies when it was in bloom.
Here is a link to the name of it and more pics. I'm pretty sure this is what you have.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/7214/

Well, it might not be a clickable link, but you know what I mean. lol.

Carol B

Hi debbya, so what are ya interested in? guy's, the photo's are so awesome, i had to do a fast scroll, i had like a dozen seeds to get out, one of them i think was the vicky, my hubby said it was all too confusing, LOL i put it all in the envelopes and labeled everything for him, all he had to do was send them out when their envi's came in. men!!! LOL gotta love em!! what would he do without me??? LOL hi mel and melissa!! sure missed everyone!! but i must say, the west coast is sure beautifull!! i didnot want to come home! LOL got slapped in the face with humididty and mosquito's when we crossed the ks border and then remembered why i can be so grumpy! LOL :')) just kidding!! i took many pics of the wedding and the scenery up and back there and oh my them mountains.

Vela! I am very excited. can't wait to start digging! As far as what I am looking for... hmmm. I am nearly finished preparing the shade garden so anything you think will do well in part to full shade would be fantastic. I have plenty of sunny spots too. I love color! Purples are my favorite. Anything you send will be great. Thank you!

Poison: Your gardens are stunning! I love the way you have them planted. I am gradually trying to accomplish similar gardens here. Who needs grass! Flowers are better.

Laugh of the day: My 5 year old was in the back yard with the hubby and I today. He walks up to me and says "Mom, I just saw a little black poop running around in the grass." I turn around and start looking to see what he was talking about and see little blades of grass wiggling around in these small zigzags. It's a mole! I was cracking up! Sure enough it is dark brown with a shiney coat and shaped like a poo! Loved it!

Ctack: Do you have any special desires? Take a peak at my trade list to see if anything looks good! I'm looking forward to sending to you! I hope you like everything!

Tracy,
Anything you feel you want to share is great with me. One thing that is SUPER - we're in the same zone. I can't think of anything that I don't want except iris's. My yard is mostly full sun. The back of the house gets morning to late-afternoon full sun. The front of the house gets mid-day to sunset full sun. The side yard is full sun except right up against the garage, which is shady until late afternoon, and for right now, I have plans to put rhubarb in there and don't know what, if anything, else. That is where my bleeding heart is, and I'm afraid to do anything with it because it does so well there.
My dad and his wife are selling their house and....well, here is what I posted to the iris site yesterday.....My dad and his wife are selling their house. They have a 2 1/2 car garage that is bordered on one side and all across the back with iris's. They asked me if I wanted any of them since they were selling and I told them that I did. I went over there last week, and they have cut down ALL the foliage! They are so thick, the ground looks like braided tree roots. I told her they shouldn't have cut the leaves off until they died down because they feel the plant for blooms next year. She said "Oh, they'll come back! I do this every year." Whether she does or not, I don't know, but do you all think they are worth digging up? I bet there is enough there to fill up a 55 gallon drum or two, but I don't want to go to all the work of digging, cleaning, planting and then not get anything from them.
The blooms had died down, and since I wasn't over there right before they cut them, I don't know what the foliage looked like, but I'm sure it wasn't all died down, just maybe a little ragged looking.
If I do dig them, what should I do before planting them? I'm in Middle Tennessee, and we're in the 90's now so is it too hot to replant? I don't have a cool place to store them except maybe in the house somewhere because the garage is hot and they would fill a fridge if I had an extra one. What should I do?

So, as you can see, I have no need for iris's. lol
Deine???? Want some of these?

Can anyone tell me how to divide my bleeding heart? Or propogate starts from it? Someone told me to look for bean looking pods after it flowers, but I can't find any. Now, it was turned to mush after that late frost we got, and it flowered after that, but I can't find any seed pods. Maybe they won't be there until next year because of the frost? What about rooting? Can you do that with a bleeding heart? Or dividing? I just have NO idea. I might just have to wait until next year and look for the pods after first flowering.

Anyway - Tracy - just have fun and share what you like to grow. I'm easily pleased. It's just fun to share.

Have a great day all
Carol B

Diene, I will love whatever you send. As you can see from the photos, my gardening tastes are eclectic to say the least. Eccentric might be a better word. My trade list is far from comprehensive so please don't feel limited to that. Anything will be welcome!
Ctack2, it's good to see you post. It sounds like your gardens are coming along. The iris should be okay to move even though they lost their leaves, but they may not bloom next year. Even when allowed to develop properly they sometimes need a year to recover from a move. If they are beautiful I would go for it. This time of year they would be hard to store outdoors without risking rot. You could try washing them thoroughly, dusting with sulfur and putting somewhere cool and dry, but if you can let them cure for a day or two and then replant right away it would probably be better.
Medo, glad to have you back. It's been pretty quiet around here. It sounds as though you really enjoyed your trip.
Tracyvine, love the mole story! Kids are so funny.
Vela, I am going to walk the gardens this weekend looking for rebloomers and plants with persistent blooms for your box. I have a few ideas already.
Have a great weekend everyone.

Where are you...need some ideas...

Medon't welcome back..
Good morning everyone..
My boat is finally in the water and will be fishing off the coast tomorrow morning.I'll try to get some pics.
Melanie

Sorry!! I've been off the computer for a day or so...Whew! I'm back now. :O)

Ok...I'm super easy to please. And my garden is just getting started, so I can almost guarantee that I won't already have something you send. Unless it's orange daylilies. Please, none of those. My hubby would shoot me. :O)

I need some dirt on DIRT, please!! :O) What would you like? Any ideas would be welcomed, I'm a first timer, after all!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Melissa

Not very picky here! Just moved to 4 acres most of it is in the sun.So I would rather have sun lovers,but if you have shadseekers I could put them next to house. Will be happy with anything.Even those dreaded orange daylilies everyone hates.LOL!See EASY.I'm a first timer also!

Now Melanie,I could use some ideas.I have a few things already, but extra help would be nice.Don't forget your sunscreen,hat,or sunglasses while on the boat. Have fun fishing!Later....

I also am easy to please, love anything, and would find a place for it. I love blues and purples, pinks and white and reds. Maybe yellow's, orange, green, LOL I like all ...

Im a newbie also this is my first robin.
later

thanks vela!! i gotta let it cool a little, alotta work to do, men do not clean, no offense. mel!!!! i did not know that! i was only looking for blues and purples!! hmmmm, :'( but i'm so glad that i love to pick "flowers" !!! LOL anyone know anything about debbya's likes other than her want list? that's alot to read!! i have so much to do, so this is my "break" LOL oh mel, maybe you can trade me some sea shells, i couldn't bring any home from cali. you actually get into trouble i hear. and if you bring driftwood home. that's nuts!! they oughtta let people with as much as they have on the beaches, then i coulda brought a whole lot of em home, LOL
i'm easy to please too!! i like anything that looks like bells, tropical, fragrant, pinks, blues, purples, reds, and the list goes on, LOL i really like doubles and unique things, and especially whats not mine, i just learned that!! LOL :') oh ya and if it's edible and attracts butterflys or birds. i sure did miss this!!!

I am very glad to hear you have so much sun! That is the bulk of what I have to share! Wheee! I have lots of good plants that I think you will enjoy. Poison had great advice on the iris. I have divided and transplanted iris from house to house and left them in buckets in 90+ heat for days on end just adding a bit of water to them as needed until I could plant. They held up surprisingly well. THough I have never chopped all of the foliage off. Are your iris the ones with the large fans or the thin grass like leaves? The fans are a bit sturdier than the grassy ones but both divide well.

Looking forward to sending your plants. I will label the plants and list the planting area they like best. I will post after everything is dug and mailed. I'm hoping to have it out to you by Tuesday at the latest!

Medon't! Welcome home! I hope you had tons of fun! I can't believe you didn't stuff sea shells down your bathing suit! Maybe a couple of conch shells???? You could have looked like madonna! LOL!

Melanie: I hope you had fun out on the boat. That sounds like a blast. I haven't gone out on one in years. I Hope you caught some whoppers out there! I bet you miss your grandson terribly. Hard to watch them go home. Would you like to borrow some of my monkeys??? LOL I have some in every age group! Take your pick.

Tracy. I can't wait to see what goodies you have in store for me! Tuesday mailing would be good because it's hot here and I'll be off work Thursday-Sunday next week - so will be here when they arrive. Sandy sent me some raspberries (yum yum I love berries!) and I had a fall at work and luckily had to come home and shower and change - I fell on a milkshake, a peach tea and a banana split - and they had been delivered probably within the hour before I got home. When I opened the box, you could feel the heat coming out of it!

I'll have to look up iris's to see what leafs you are talking about, but if my memory is correct, they are the wider leaves. But no matter, they have to be dug up this year if anyone in the family is going to get them because they have a prospective buyer for the house so probably won't be there next year.

Deine - I hope you don't mind waiting a little longer for your box because I go back to work tomorrow and work 12 hour shifts. Won't do anything until my off days.

Sandy - the raspberries are doing great. When I put them in the ground, they looked a little pitiful, but I divided them into 3 plantings, and 2 of them have survived and have new leaf growth! WOOHOO! I'm sure they'll be fine by the time winter gets here and will make a big leap for me next spring....yummy. I planted them in the back of my garden spot because even if I move my garden next year, that's where I'd want a berry patch anyway.

Have a great day everyone.
Carol B

Hi everyone! I now have everyone's addresses and have sent everyone their send to partner's address....please let me know if you didn't receive yours so I can get it to you. Thanks!!

Hi All!
I am still around! Haven't had time to check in. I had a terrible ordeal with about 12 trade requests/answers to my requests went to my spam folder! Wow, did that make for a busy week when I caught up with all of them, I think I dug about 60 - 75 black rasp. plants to send, among other things. But, I've pulled all the thorns out of my fingers and am ready to dig some more lol.

Medo, I'm glad to see your not too picky! As far as "unique" hmmmmmm........ I might have to go dig something out of my neighbors yard lol!

Now.....I am a little confused at how this works as far as when to send. Do we all send at once, or does this go down the list one at a time? I don't want to steal my neighbors plants too soon and have them die before they get to Medo!

I've got this week off!!!! Daycare is closed and I have no sitter so I was Forced to take a week off to stay home and try to get some flower beds ready! I'll have to post some before and after pics so everyone can see just what a mess I am starting with.

Gotta go,
Vic

Hi Vic! You can send it as soon as you can. I've asked everyone to try to send theirs within 10 days, so sending sometime this week would be good, or if you need another weekend to have time to dig, the following week works too. Be sure to post on the forum when you send and receive your box, and let everyone know what you got!