Seed Swap & Chat # 57 - summer is upon us

sorry for the delay in the new thread... been really busy....

We came from here.... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1091414/

ants....

so sorry for your loss. losing a furkid can be so difficult.

Terese

Thank you all for your condolences. I loved Little One & miss her terribly.

ants

Please stop by and weigh in

-http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1101381/-

Thanks Tcs. Sure glad to see new thread. I had to huff an d puff to get to bottom of other one.

Ants.... I so sorry. Losing our furkids is like losing a piece of us. Hopefully a new one will come into your life when the time is right and fil that spot again.

I gotta find where I buried my camera cord to puter. Went out and the Rudebeckia Denver Daisie s are blooming and they so awesome looking. A whole section of them would be a site to see.

Ella I have an extra camera cord to the puter if you need one is it a short cord with the little square end sort of? lol Like I know what I'm talking about but I have two of those cords and only need one lol It's not like I use either LOL

Have a great long weekend everyone!

Thanks herbspirit you too and make that a safe one :) Everyone else have a great holiday weekend too and a safe one, if you drive this weekend be very aware :)

You know I remember the first summer I started planting seeds and was trying to get the last of the seedlings in the ground on this weekend holiday gosh if I were planting as many as I did then I would have been done a long time ago for this year! My thanks to all of my garden buddies that have been so generous with their seeds thru the past swaps thanks to you all I get to plant all summer now and if I'm lucky I may get done by the time it turns cold but haven't seen a year like that for a few years now LOL

Lea

I tried to say goodbye to old friends on the pet forum, with no specificity
Just a simple I am leaving DG and thank you to all for the great friendship
My thread was removed so I am attempting to say goodbye here
My gardens are so much more beautiful because of all who shared seeds
Thank you
I am back to the garden where I belong
Cinda

So many people are leaving DG. You will be missed, gardengus. I felt the same way for a while, but decided to stick it out. I have a part of my Dad here, and I've made a lot of good friends. Had a couple of run ins with trolls, but I keep thinking of all the good people and the caring people. So many of whom I've met on this thread.
I really just popped in to say HI, I've missed you all.
I got some poppies blooming and the guppy plant did come back. The edible Hibiscus made it through the mealie bug infestation, our flood, and are coming back strong and happy.
It's a busy time for my family right now, but I'll be back when I can find time.
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

Good to see you SW. Glad to hear all those plants made it back.

we have been quite dry and i'm watering like crazy... i did lose some annuals i planted... didnt have enough time to keep them watered.

will get home tomorrow so i can survey my gardens and see if any of my other WS containers have germinated.

SW, I'm still here. Sticking it out to see what happens. I'm over on the other site too, but don't want to give up on everyone here, there are great but different things about both sites... hoping there's room for both on the internet! I suspect the lack of traffic is just the normal time that we're all swamped in our gardens.

For me, that's literal. I think we must have had 6" of rain in the last 2 days! Crazy for here! Once my plants recover from near drowning, I suspect they will be very happy. Before this, my lawn was actually browning in May. Used to that in July/August, but May?

I've spent the spring alternately planting, weeding, and potting up things to give away! Making all my gardening friends either very happy or at least very busy :) My WS did Fantastic this year... out of 160 or so things planted, only maybe 20 haven't germinated! Of course, they were all sown like chia pets, so when I took my 3 or 6 plants that I wanted I had to run an adoption agency for the rest! That's kept me busier than it should... must sow more lightly next year, or figure out a way to give them up for adoption that is less time consuming!

I've planted and given away probably over 100 agastache from seeds from Gemini-sage, barhea7 and RatherBDigging, from only 1 jug of each. They did amazingly well (thinking I'd better watch the dead-heading when they flower ;-). Three types of Milkweed from Starlight, gardengus and Lebug took a little longer but were almost as prolific. Digitalis from HerbSpirit, Starlight and a mystery piggy have gladdened almost as many gardens, and I still have a few up for adoption. I could go on forever, but you get the picture. Wish there was a nearby roundup this year, but I've seen no talk of it. Can't possibly take it on here, maybe next year if I can restrain myself from planting so much that I'm in over my head!

Also took on raising some butterfly cats that we found in the garden with my daughter. Three beautiful Black Swallowtails have left our care so far, and we've had two other butterfly cats adopted by good homes of friends. I'm hoping to see some monarchs eventually, with all the milkweed I have going now! The orange tuberous one is blooming already!

Hope you all are having a great spring too. (almost summer!)

>>I suspect the lack of traffic is just the normal time that we're all swamped in our gardens.

I do find that summers are slow for chatter. everyone is in the garden or vacationing etc.

I find i do not have time in my life for conflict... i'm ignoring it all.

I dont have time for much anymore... Daves has been my gardening "home" for over 3-4 yrs [i've lost track] now , and it will be at least until next Feb - it all depends. but my friends are here.

Well -- i got home about 90 min ago, and i have carpets of color!! the Sweet Williams is in all it's glory, i've got Roses that already need to be trimmed, Coreopsis and even in Coneflower in bloom. All of my Heucheras are also blooming, and my salvia Purple Knock Outs are about to bloom.

I did have more of my salvia seeds germinate and i have lil ones in many containers. Still a bunch of duds, but i'm not sweating it.

gotta run.. tons to do.

I was out late afternoon yesterday, as DH and #2 son were mowing the 'back forty' and i was pulling weeds and being a feeding station for 'squito.

I noticed that the "Red Rocks" are in bloom -- and of course, i didnt have a camera with me... i'll do it today ... the rain has just let up. Also i have gorgeous Burgundy [looks more red to me] Gaillardia. They are very pretty this year.. last year they were 'nappier' looking. They look really good with the white blooms of Husker Red.

I also noticed my cute little compact FeverFew is no longer short and compact... it's up about 24+ inches now. so much for it being a 'border' plant. I love the smell of the leaves.

the Lavender that I spent a small fortune on [$10 a plant] that i did not think was doing well... is flourishing this year... has really spread thru the Roses and parts are in bloom.

Once i trim back the spent Rose blooms, i'll see if i can not get a good shot of them. The Bronze Fennel I planted there last year is HUGE too.

Here are a couple of my Favs. from the swap. This is Heliopsis Lorraine Sunshine. Hmm, went to look who it was from and I don't have a name... anyone claim it? It's really pretty. Small so far but supposed to get big... plenty of time for that yet!

Hot pink MG. from RatherBDigging.

Milkweed Orange Tuberosa from Lebug

I thought this was so pretty.

here was a close-up of the Penstemon x mexicali blooms -- glad i got to see if bloom this year, as last year i totally missed out on it.

I was surveying my WS containers this morning.. .and noticed the Hollyhock leaves are all chewed... so i picked it up and found a 'visitor' in there... so i put it back down.

When i look out the sliding back door... this is what i see.

all those 'specks' of white.... blooms of Husker Red ... i have A LOT of it. gorgeous all of the time.

Does it rebloom if you cut it back? Mine looks done now and I've been thinking Ineed to deadhead it!

Loved your 'visitor'!

Kelly -- does what grow back if cut? the HH? not sure. I'll just leave it, they wont bloom til next year anyways.
I think those are my Double Whites.

isnt he cute. i went back later and he was gone... but i could tell he's been 'sleeping' in my WS containers... there are a bunch of mud holes. I usually leave at least one milk jug for the critters.

Very cute!

I was referring to the Husker's Red. Mine bloomed for the first time this year. Very nice plant, but wish it would last longer... maybe it will rebloom... it's all new to me!

ah ... OK. I guess they do only bloom til mid Summer.
i recall this because it takes forever for the seeds to 'ripen' ... but i dont plan to harvest seeds this year.

I have another variety, it's like a dwarf Huskers... reddish foliage, white blooms, only shorter.
It's called Mystica.... i'll harvest those this year.

I am so excited to have some blooms on some Torch Lilies I grew from past Piggy Swap seed. I am so happy they overwintered.

I shared some of my wintersown foxgloves and clematis 'radar love' at my first Dave's Garden related meeting in Mount Bethel, PA today. I had a great time and met some wonderful people. There was a soon to be new member of Dave's garden there. I am sad to see people leave before I get the chance to meet them, but am glad new people are joining.

I think that the subscription to Dave's is definitely a great value. I just renewed my membership. I think the takeover is going better than most takeovers do. I don't mean to open a can of worms here about that, it is discussed elsewhere on the site already.

I am already saving seeds for the NEXT piggy swap. This one was my first. So far, I have some bleeding heart alba drying. Lets see how many of my wintersown seeds survive to adulthood and go to seed. At the moment, a few have succumbed to slugs and earwigs, but I am persevering.

I saw some wintersown tomatoes at the swap. They were bigger than the ones I started, so I think I will wintersow them next year. This year, I concentrated on hardy perennials. Next year, I will be more adventurous.

in my yard, nothing says Bright Yellow like Coreopsis Early Sunrise.

It just brightens everything up.

NICE! So happy!

Love those! Here, they are just getting their first blooms. They are another one I got from a past Piggy Swap! :) Almost time to start saving seeds for the next one!

Collected our first seeds the other day! That's the only part of gardening that my DD is into. We got some sweet william, and some browallia. I need to get out there and dead head the rest of the sweet william. It was SO gorgeous, my first year having it flower. I definitely won't mind some reseeding, just need to leave some room for other flowers too :)

if seeds fall from Sweet Wm this summer and they germinate, will they bloom next spring?

I have a beautiful carpet of them... so if i gather seeds and sprinkle them in a new area... could they bloom next year?

Terese, usually they do, and will often behave like perennials and bloom every year. The only times I've had a problem is when it gets dry in summer and the seedlings aren't established well enough to survive. Otherwise, they should bloom next year.

Hmm, cool, I was wondering the same thing. i have some that I WS'd, but not as many as they would need to replace.

Thanks Neil,

when i get home next month, i'll look for seeds and sprinkle them.

off and running up north again today... will be a very busy week.

I had a very dear friend pass away suddenly last week -- i'm crushed beyond words... but have the second memorial this week... and I"m gonna help her DH any way i can. He is heading to the Park today too ... so with that and work -- i probably wont be in here much.

Question for all of you-

Alot of my perennials are in bloom right now. But we had some bad storms this weekend that wiped out a lot of the blooms and flattened the plants. IF i cut these back which of these do you think will rebloom? And which ones should I just chalk up to done for the year. These are all ones that I've never cut back before and I'm not sure if they will rebloom if I do-

Will these rebloom if cut back?
Pink evening primrose (mexican)
Sweet William - I don't think these will
Peony- I don't think these will
Bell flower (also will bellflower root from cuttings? Some were ripped out of the ground)
Daisies - I do think these will rebloom
Foxglove
Spiderwort (flattened and need to get cut back- not sure if they will bloom at all if I do that)
Sundrops- yellow evening primrose
Lupines
Delphinium


I am just so disgusted!! I had the best blooms ever this year, and they are all wiped out... flattened to the ground, some even ripped out of the ground.
I could cry!

((((Terese)))), I'm so sorry for your loss.

herbspirit, Foxgloves will produce some shorter offshoot buds, but I usually leave mine to go to seed. Like Sweet William, they'll often germinate this year and bloom next year, giving you a perennial display. And you know how the seedlings are so tiny, and easy to weed out? I stumbled upon the coolest way to deal with that (at least I thought so, LOL). When the seed pods were ripe along the stems, I cut the stems, and laid them in the garden where I wanted seedlings. They germinated in perfect little rows right where they fell, so I knew immediately what they were.

Also from your list, I've cut floppy Spiderwort all the way back and had it come back and bloom again, although if its a dry year they may just go dormant. Delphinium is a good one for reblooming. I have a feeling Bellflowers will rebloom some, I've had stems break off to be replaced by side shoots. I'm assuming Peach leaved bellflower on that, so it may depend on the species you've got.

Well, some of you may remember last year when I was wanting Poppies from anyone with seeds to spare to sow in the septic leach field at the bottom of the hill. I did see a big wave of color last year as the Poppies began to bloom, but right as they were starting to get really pretty, giant ragweed engulfed everything. All we could see was a sea of foliage, with the occasional fleck of color showing through. I considered the endeavor a total failure and didn't even mention it I was so disgusted. I guess the Poppies did well enough to produce lots of seeds, and for reasons I couldn't figure out at first, were able to do their thing this year!

I'd been thinking perhaps since the Poppies had germinated in the fall and overwintered, and therefore started blooming about a month earlier this year, that they had simply beat the ragweed, and put on their show before the ragweed got large. Well, here it is June, about the time they started blooming last year, and still no ragweed?

Well, I was talking with our 83 year old land owner, who loves all the flowers and was intrigued with the idea of sowing the leach field from the beginning, and found out he's been going out and selectively hitting the ragweed with round up!
That's how in to the idea of the field of Poppies he was!

Here are 2nd year Feverfew (I think from Toofew) and Penstemon smallii (from critter).

Terese so sorry about your loss, I had a dear friend pass and his realitives didn't live around here so they had a one day funeral and didn't call anyone and put him in a cemetary miles away in Madison, In. Didn't even get to say good bye and I had just talked to him the day before he passed making plans to see him on Sun. and he passed on Sat. couldn't believe I didn't get to say good bye it bothered me for a long time now I know the importance of having a funneral and saying good bye. God be with you and her DH and family :)

Neal my Sundrops are right by the sidewalk and I deadhead all the time but doesn't seem to make them bloom any longer but they do bloom for a while those puppies are hard to get all the seed pods off of lol I think God put those seed pods there just to tease me with they never make seeds lol

Flowerfantsy on here gave me a peony bulb a tiny one last year and I stuck it in a pot for the winter planted it out and my cat laid right on it yesterday for me to rub her belly and broke it off at the ground it was only about six inches high :( Will that come back? I know nothing about peonies! My side yard is getting so full of plants I can't even get a hose thru it without hitting a plant lol

And Neal my larkspurs are really looking nice this year I was worried about them reseeding and they are all over that bed :))

I'm sorry you had so much trouble with your plants this year we did have some very hard rains and storms! Looks like we have some storms coming in this week too.

Lebug, I suspect your peony will come back. I used to help my mom weed a bed when I was in high school. There was this one weird weed that came up every year and was a real pain to pull... now that I'm a gardener, I recognize that that 'weed' was a peony! We hadn't planted it, so didn't know it was intentional in what had been a bed full of weeds. I think I pulled that thing for at least 4 years in a row and it kept coming back!