Confessions, still and again, part umpty-ump

You certainly don't want to run out of Iris needing planting pajarito. Better to have a couple too many.

Hmmm, that explains why the iris aren't turning up here; they're all headed for Los Alamos.
PJ, my order with Malevil never went through. I told them what to substitute for the ones they didn't have in stock, and then never heard back. Guess I'll try again next year.

Really? I have never ordered from Malevil but I have always heard good things about them and have met them at iris meetings. I wonder what happened? Well, I hope you hear from them. But if you want another good place to order iris next year try Superstition. They have quite a few arilbreds and lots of other kinds of iris, too. Here is where you can see their offerings:

http://community.webshots.com/user/rickt103

to order their catalog ( which has no pictures) see:

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/1418/

I order from these people every year and with fabulous service and low prices. Try them next year. Also, have you written to Malevil to find out why you never got your order? It seems unusual that they would lose it.

Yes, guys, I have to admit there are worse fates than having too many irises to plant. But the thought that I might not get them all planted really bothers my conscience, plus I have a million other garden chores going undone while I plant them in the ground - in pots, everywhere.

But I will get it done somehow and the other gardening chores will still be there. I hope that your iris acquistion project goes better next year.

I confess that there is a 50% off sale on shrubs and perennials at my fav Cowtown garden centre and I'm am going there tonight with the truck and DH to help load said truck. WHOOOO HOOOO!!!! It started this morning though so some good stuff might be gone :( Also hoping to pick up iris cristata so may end up with more bulbous things too.

I confess that I'm starting to get perennials out of pots planted but will probably not get everything done in time. I'm trying not to plant anything in the front because that is where I think we'll have the most falling shingles.

It's tough when you have to work around a construction sight roybird :( Maybe a designated dumpster site staked out with a buffer in case they miss?

Maybe. We are still getting estimates now. I confess I am unlikely to make any plant purchases 'til spring. Unless it is at least 50% off, xeric, and likes deep shade! No vinca or violets may apply! Nor plumbago. I'm interested to see how the Heuchera does. I also planted some little leafed ivy of some sort that is supposed to be an annual but one of my gardening neighbors grows it quite successfully as a perennial. So, I had to try it. I wouldn't mind more Iberis or some columbine, though.

Dahlia, I hope you checked out the article on DG today on how to grow penstemons. The guy who wrote it really knows his stuff and probably his sales of penstemons make up a good 20% of his business.
Maybe you will be able to figure out why you have trouble growing penstemons.

Oh, Dahlia, there's another Cowtown besides yours: Vacaville, Calif.
And I went to Cow College: U.C. Davis, home of the Cal Aggies, snorkle!

Oooh, you went to an ag school! No wonder you are such a good gardener! Sacramento is a lovely farmy area.

Penstemons hate me. It's personnal with them paj. I did read it to see if there tips about what to do if penstemons hate you. But alas.

Well, sorry to hear it has come to this.

OK, what did you buy, Dnut?

might it be too cold for the penstemon variety you got? I thought most liked to be zone 4 or 5 or warmer. also not much water.

Perhaps reverse psychology would work on them Dahlianut. Scatter their seed like you're trying to get rid of them and tell them they are weeds and to go away.

Penstemons do seem to be concise about the conditions they like.

Perhaps the word is "picky". Do you have clay soil dahlia? If so that gives me a clue why you have bad luck with penstemons --from the DG argicle.

Is it an "argicle" because you say "Arg!" when you read it and find out that Penstemons are picky.

*snort*

Hmmph. I'm glad I didn't know they were picky, as there is one growing here in the flower bed. I decided I wanted it next to the honeysuckle and moved it a couple of years ago. Now it has self-sown another plant nearby. I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear you, and they're just another plant.

My Penstemon bridgesii came up very nicely this spring, about a foot tall, then it started to get brown. I can't remember if it started from the tip - down, or from the crown - up. Anyways, it is dead.

Penstemons don't do especially well for me, either, Dahlia. Don't feel bad. The only kind I've had luck with is the purple Rocky Mt. penstemon. My in-laws who live on a slight hill with unimproved rocky well-drained soil, thin soil, I'd call it, have much better penstemons than I have ever had. If I remember right you and I have clay and shade. We can add all manner of wonderful stuff to it but underneath is clay and on top is shade. Plutodrive, I wonder if all that rain wasn't a bit much for your penstemon. Some of my really xeric plants don't want mulch at all and aren't crazy about too wet. Being xeric and all.

The penstemon I stuck in the ground in the half shade on my ARRGH!-slope is doing great! I just wish everything else I put there would grow as well.

I have no trouble growing penstemons, but I have sloped and/or sandy, well drained soil and lots of rock -- which doesn't absorb rock at all well.
I am wondering if those of you who have trouble growing penstemons have clay soil. According to the article, yesterday, penstemons don't like clay soil. Okay, this is a survey, do respond!

sloped, sandy, well drained, half sun, rarely watered and generally neglected seems to do the trick.

well guess what showed up yesterday!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/24/

That is what brought this whole discussion to mind. Perhaps you have found one of the ideal plants for your slope. They are used all over New Mexico for road cuts.

I see lots of the red penstemon ( I'm not sure what kind it is ) planted with Russian sage. Very pretty together. It is used in some tough spaces, like street medians. Jude, my in-laws have some sort of large, pale pink penstemon on their slope. They also have Russian sage, lavender, horehound, santolina and some grasses. Of course, what they really want are roses and hollyhocks, neither of which will grow for them. They do have some lovely Spanish Broom that blooms in late spring. I was trying to find some pictures I took recently but need to look more closely.

Here we go. Not the best picture. But, you can see what kind of a slope it is. They've had run-off problems and a culvert by the road had to be re-built earlier this summer. They have a deck on a terraced area but otherwise it is fairly steep. They had a "man-who-worked-on-the-yard"; they would never hire a landscaper. Consequently, it really doesn't look the way they would like it to but it sure looks better than it did.

Very pretty and natural.

Dahlia -- and anyone else who is interested, I confess that I have been very concerned about the number of chipmunks I see running around the tops of my walls and even running down the sides into my yard. The dogs don't seem to have the slightest interest in chasing them away.
I have been suffering lots of depredation from something which I always assumed was gophers but I began to wonder if it was chipmunks. Then I would have a real problem because they are a whole lot cuter than gophers and I don't think I could bring my self to exterminate them. But I was seeing a lot of smaller holes in my vacant lot and was aware they were firmly entrenched.
Finally I looked them up on the internet and the good news is that we needn't have worried, well almost.
It seems chipmunks are not a problem. See:

http://www.crittergetteronline.com/Chipmunk/chipdam.html

They are only a problem if they make so many holes that they undermine the foundation of buildings -- how many would that be? certainly more than I am seeing. And if there are too many they can eat all the seeds in the forest. Well, I kind of doubt that they can do that. So I am not going to worry. But if someone sees my house fall into the earth like the House of Usher, I was wrong. Still I doubt it due to the bedrock underlying the entire house and yard.
So I can go back to admiring the cute little furry critters that run along the top of my wall.

"Too many holes" may mean the tunnel density rather than the number of entrances.

We will have to hire Soferdig to estimate the density of the holes. He's our tunnel guy!

So you think Soferdig is a holey man?

Well, he travels in tunnels which are long holes aren't they?

We had a nice rain yesterday, Loved It. So maybe I won't have to irrigate for day or so.. I let my mother banty and her five almost week old babies out of chicken yard for the first time yesterday after the rain. They also loved being out. Here is a picture

Donna

Excuse the shacky wind-rain shelter. They also have a nice chicken house to go into. Donna

They seem to like their "shacky" shelter -- who are we to complain? They are really cute.

Oh very happy looking birds! And that is palatial compared to some chicken houses I've seen.....

I confess that I am stricken with grandiosity when I go to any place that sells plants -- including the internet. They are so easy to buy and so hard to plant. I have promised to get as many plants as possible in the soil -- or at least into pots before winter and I am discovering that I seriously overestimated my willingness and time to plant things each summer.
I have been planting some each day and find myself completely worn out. It is relaxing to plant these things and to think about the flowers next year, but some times I stay awake at night feeling guilty about having over bought.
Sigh. I will not buy any more plants until these are all planted. I will not buy any more plants until these are all planted. I will not buy any more plants until these are all planted. ( cut and past makes writing lines a whole lot easier )

I confess, Paj, I feel for ya! I have not made any purchases even of seeds, as I am not at all sure I want to do the work of a winter garden....... tho I know I like having the fresh things to eat...... today's project out at the compost was all the work I want to do for a little while. Pacing ourselves, according to the results we want but also according to how we really want to spend available time and energy each day, is a real balancing act! I know what I want but I also know how hard I would have to work to hurry it along, so I am waiting for a while before committing myself to anything.