It was beautiful and sunny today. About 65%. Our usual spring teaser. It will freeze again before the winter is over.
Here is my evergreen clematis – “apple Blossom”. Just about ready to bloom. Spring is just around the corner.
What's happening in your garden?
This is Dr. Ruppel and Oridora just starting to poke their buds out.
I wish mine were!
Mine are crispy brown leaves, for those leaves that remain, and others covered by fluffy white stuff that falls from the sky.
10 inches of melting snow and more on the way!! Come on Spring!!
nothing is showing up here except the puppy poo I'm going to have to remove when the snow melts ;0( good thing hes a small dog ;0)
Gloria
I am Soooooo ready! The last couple of days have been in the 40's and the snow has melted. I am hoping we don't get the couple of inches they are calling for tomorrow.
This morning, I heard the birds singing. I first noticed them singing last week. This morning I just laid in bed and listened to them. What a pleasant sound!
So pretty!
I am amazed the difference in 1/2 zone. I have a little green leave growth, but no where near any buds. Did you prune #3 in February? Hopefully mine won't be too far behind.
I remember when I lived up north, February seemed like a long month....it's almost March...hang in there!
banana....I read somewhere that wet roots do not freeze as fast as dry roots. So maybe the 1/2 difference is because of the amount of rainfall. Is it dry where you are?
Relatively a lot dryer than the NW! I think that must make a big difference.
We have had the wettest winter on record here in NE Tn. But this has been a good thing as it has marked the end of a ten year period of drought we have had. I hope that is the case and this is not just a fluke lol. It is snowing here right now and not much is stirring yet except the red witchhazel is glorious and the hellebors are trying to bloom through all the leaf mulch I put down last fall.
That's a lovely sight on a rainy day here on Long Island.
Hi Pirl! As much as I love living here in the mountains of Tennessee, I sure do miss the wonderful glacial depost soil we used to have on Long Island! I also REALLY miss the salt air smell and living near water.
In the time it just took me to take that witch hazel picture and come in and post it, the little bit of snowing coming down has turned into a blizzard. I'm glad I am not working today so I can be here to enjoy it. :-)
Susan
Susan - it really is so pretty as it falls and as long as temperatures aren't too cold it should melt soon (we hope). No snow here today, just rain.
We love the salt air smell and the sight of water all around us as well as driftwood hunting but today is definitely not the day for it.
Watching snow falling is very good for dreaming. Not so with rain.
Tish, that Apple Blossom is very inviting! I hope you will post a new pic once it bursts open for you. =)
We've had a ridiculously cold winter here in Louisiana. We had a snow/sleet mix again yesterday morning. Every time the plants start to bud out, another hard freeze has swooped in and killed the new growth. Even my evergreens are looking decidedly unhappy this year. The crassifolia, for instance, is also brown and crispy... save one vine that seems more tenacious than the rest. It's there all alone in the middle of the trellis among all the brown leaves, still green!
All I can see if snow, snow, and more snow with about mid 20's for temps. Ugh! I miss spring! Nothing is showing up yet! Way too early yet here.
Look on the bright side, kentstar, we who have snow covering the ground can't spot a single weed.
Arlene
somehow, I would prefer the weeds.
I'm at that point, too, Carolyn. It's totally maddening and frustrating.
Wish I could show you something , but it is cold here too
I'm sorry it is so cold where you live. Have you ever tried amarylis inside for the winter? They are awesome. Funny thing, I stored my amarylis bulbs last summer and couldn't find them this fall to plant. Our last frost date here is near the end of April so a good cold night could freeze back the green buds anytime in the next 8 weeks. It's a el ninio year and that always affects the weather.
I just get so exicted when things start to grow.
This message was edited Mar 6, 2010 3:49 AM
Mstish -
yes, and although Amaryllis are gorgeous, somehow it just isn't the same thing......
OOO, beautiful amaryllis! I wish I could grow those inside but my cats feel entitled to chew on any plant I bring in the house. They don't actually eat them but I think they really like the feeling of crunching their little needle like teeth through the foliage lol.
I hear that beautiful warm weather is due here this weekend and I can't wait. I have a few trees in my garage in pots that I would like to pull outside for a little sunshine (what's that? lol). When its warm enough they will get planted outside. One of them is another red witch hazel and the other two are dwarf japanese maples. Pretty soon the clematis will be arriving too (whoopie!) I am going to try planting a few in pots and the rest will be planted in the ground. I am thinking that I will plant some in difficult places - like under trees to climb on - in large sunken pots to keep them from competeing with the roots. Has anyone else tried this? After seeing how many people plant in sunken pots on the hosta forum I started thinking about this for other plants too.
Susan O. (where it is still in the 20s but I am patiently waiting!)
Lily -
I have 3 cats, so I know what you mean. That is one reason why I don't cut flowers and bring them in. I would be cleaning up water all the time.
I am thinking if you are planting the clems into large pots and sinking them into the ground if you might want to cut the bottom off the pots. The roots will still be separated from your tree roots or with whatever else you don't want root competition and yet the roots will also be able to grow as deeply as they need to grow.
That's a great idea Carolyn. I will have to try that.
That what the clematisguru "Debbie" does. She leaves some of the pot out of the ground so she can pile on amendments. It's a great idea! cut the bottom out.
I think she just leaves 3-4 inches of the rim so that she can control the base of the plant for fertilizer mulch etc., but I don't see why it wouldn't work if the pot bottoms are cut off.
I think BlissfulGarden cuts the bottoms off her pots and leaves them above ground. When she pops in, she can give better details.
Yep, that's exactly what I do. From small to huge pots, I cut the bottoms out of the pots and sink them down a bit... for roses, clems and just about anything else. This works really well along the fenceline and in areas where I want easy care. The "secret garden" is entirely constructed this way. Every pot there has no bottom so that the roots can spread out and plants are not restricted in size.
Some of the pots are quite shallow to start and some are deeper:
Clems are tucked right into those pots with the other plants.
For the back fenceline, I used chimney flu liners to make it even easier. They took up little space and are extremely durable in all weather. They also had the added advantage of having no bottom... so less work! Here's what it looked like when I was first setting things up...
I used a variety of flu liners for visual interest and then used hardwire wire attached four inches out from the fence so the clems could scramble easily.
Looks nice Bliss, a great idea!! I used rose collars sunk in the ground. Same principal. Works great. Mine was to stop grass and weeds from infiltrating the plants that are ground covers. Much easier to clean up. Some great ideas here.
That really looks terrific!
Susan
Great idea! It looks so neat. What did you use to secure the wire 4 inches out? And what kind of wire did you use?
Thanks for the kind words, all. =)
I used galvanized hardware "cloth" that they sell at Lowe's and Home Depot as the grid. I chose the kind that had the green coating on it so that it would be blend in well when the vines are growing. I used galvanized L brackets to attach the grid to the fence, but if I had it to do over, I would just use long galvanized eye hooks for that. The L brackets weren't necessary... they just added to the prep time because it required more screws (and holes) for attaching them. With the eye hooks, it would be super easy because you can use the black or green zip ties to secure the grid to the hooks with one pull. Very quick and simple!
Great advice. I have been thinking about how I could secure something for the clems to grow on. The fence was built by my neighbor, so I see the back of it...extra ugly. I wonder if I should ask if I can put up those screws...maybe I should wait until he sees those beautiful clems growing over to his side.He is not the friendliest neighbor!
Is the fence directly on the property line or a few inches in? If it's on the property line, you can attach things to your side regardless of who paid for it. If it's a few inches in, then you can't and your neighbor could legally roundup your clems! If it's not on the property line, you can still get the backdrop effect by sinking your own supports and stringing the hardward cloth between them. The clems wouldn't be attached to the fence at all in that situation, but would have a similar visual effect.
The galvanized cloth is the same stuff I use - only I have the grey color. DH went along the top horizontal slats on the fence with wood and nails. You can see it in this picture. He did this on the entire length of the fence where I have my clems.
If I had only the other side to work with, I would definitely put some type of spacer in there - even if it is just the length of the screw. This will give the plant some room.
That is same horizontal slat on my side of the fence, so now it is to finding property lines!
Previously I had coated chicken wire jerry-rigged on the fence...was a bad idea because it came partially down and nicked my babydog :(
Your idea looks very neat and I think I can handle it.