Plant propagation part XXII based on my own experience

Hello to everyone and welcome:
To those new to our little chat. Plese feel free ask anything, as we try to keep it simple and fee l/we should always pass along our own knowledge. Lurkers are also welcome. Please check in if possible I would hate to loose someone in one of these switches.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1127799/

As with all of the threads I stat I like to welcome anyone new to our little corner of Daves Garden. Please take the time to read all the past threads. Most of them have some great information in them. There are no dumb questions except for the 1 thats never asked.

Anyone new I highly recomend reading the propagation how to 1/4 of the way down the first incarnation of this thread.we have evolved to a mix of good people having fun and discussing issues we are having at the moment. if you need individualhelp just dmail me I am always glad to help.
here is the 1st post http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/892721/

the pic is of Top Cat daylily. Top cat is the top of my want list.I am sure you can see why.
Dave

thank you for the intrest and welcome

Hi peeps!

I think I could profit from a Learn2Grow navagiation tutorial for dummies. I seem to get nowhere on that site.

Mary

JB ~ Sorry you are out of sorts. Maybe you got the flu from your dog. Hope you feel better. I have been out of sorts since I finished my one area near the driveway. Just hurting, especially the shoulders that I should not be overusing. All weeded and mulched, though not as mulch as I would like. My compost is coming out slowly, so I have been buying the 3cu.ft. bags 3 at a time to supplement my own compost. I should have just ordered a truckload (or 3..) and hired workers to weed then mulch, but I cannot imagine them doing weeding. Still some still do that kind of work. Most are older now, and too old to do it anymore (like me...LOL!!). I do hope you get a decent amount of rain as I am hoping for a nice weekend and following week for Jeanette as she needs sunshine. Too bad you can't just switch, huh? Sharon, Dawn and I will have more than enough of the heat for about a week, they are predicting, so today I spent most of it watering everything, making sure it is all soaked. Except I don't water the area by the road and along the driveway much as it is to be very drought tolerant and I can ruin the plants that don't like summer water. The small species cyclamen have just appeared there and I must take a picture, as I could not remember exactly where I planted them. They will all get water soon enough once it starts to cool down, but then they won't need much.

Jeanette ~ I can't believe that it is still raining after all that talk about the ridge of high pressure all up and down the PNW down to southern CA. I sure hope it gets better for you, though it isn't helping Dawn or Sharon. Maybe next week it will be better and then your tomatoes will ripen. Are they in sun? Is that where you will plant your sweet peas?

Sharon ~ Wow...was it Perfumer's Workshop Rose? I use to buy that for my mom, many years ago. She liked the violet perfume, but I do not remember by who. My memory seems to be going bit by bit. I have not felt her presence near me lately, but it has been a while now.

Dawn ~ Sorry you have to be working on Sunday. I have worked many Sundays. I am sure you will be glad when this heat goes away...again...

Linda ~ How is your weather now? Is it hot there too?

Dave ~ You have been awfully quiet lately. You aren't skipping out on us "old broads" quite yet are you? Are you still feeling poorly? I hope you are better. I went to the learn2grow website and I am not too sure about it. I read what it had to say about seed starting and whoever wrote the article had one glaring error according to what I have read. It stated, "...hold the seedlings by the stems, not by the leaves...", now everywhere else I have read the opposite was true. If they are aiming to be the "de facto" source of information for the home gardener, well I will withhold my judgement, as it is just one article, by one person, though it does represent them as it is given as official advice.


Ok...I found this picture of my departed "Midnight"...not taking a nap, but just enjoying the dirt. I cannot figure out why cats take so many hours in cleaning themselves and then take a "bath" in the dirt... she used to get on the roof every night, so she could say good night at the window, with her beautiful emerald eyes.

Dave ~ Now I know where you are...

Sharon ~ Oh, yes now I remember, it was Devon Violets from London. Not expensive but hard to find.

Here are the cyclamen...

I forgot and posted on the other thread. Sorry.

Yes, JB, I seem to feel the same way. Can't get moving. I was hoping to have my sister over for dinner one night but with Bob ailing I don't want to contaminate anyone. Is that good for an excuse?

I thawed out a big slab of ribs for dinner tomorrow night. Also, have a quart of oysters that we all crave, and a piece of that Northern Pike that my son in law caught while here. But, just can't get moving.

Here is a picture of him bringing it up to the dock. You can see the line in it's mouth. It was 44 inches long. Have any of you cooked that kind of fish? My daughter took the picture with her phone.

Here I am!! The G sale is over thank goodness What a sad time.
I also have trouble with that website. Much prefer it here, maybe it "grows" on you hehehe
I am going to take a couple of days to rest up then I will start getting garden dirty again. Havent forgotton about the blue flowers, they will be first on my list. Thanks for being patient with me.
Is Barney feeling a little better? notice I asked about him first, that's because I know you will be fine. Our poor babies can't talk and let us know what is wrong. Hope the both of you get better soon.

Lee, thanks for asking about Barney, he threw up again at 5 a.m. today. I am really getting tired of this. He was not in any discomfort, just sick in the stomach. Now all he wants to do is eat and I am in no mood to clean up vomit today.
Everyone please pay attention:
As far as the other site, please you guys, do not think I want you to move there. I merely told you all it had very good information, plus classes you can take on gardening, and I wanted to share that with you. Not to get you to move from here. I am here to stay. I am not going anyplace, but I do like to learn all I can and I found that place because DG did not have the information. I looked here first. Enough of that. For those of you who took a look, enjoy. I am thinking of taking a class or two if I have time this winter.

IT IS RAINING TODAY. THANK GOD. I am still cranky and tired. I need sleep but I am so tired I can not sleep. I am sitting here just wishing I could take a nap and if I lay down I will just not sleep.

I have a pile of paperwork and a file to work on so I am going to move on for now.
Talk later today. JB

Hi Everyone, I followed you again.
Evelyn, this week we have rain! Yes glorious Rain! i am doing major happy dances. We usually have several tropical storms through the summer that keep our sandy soil going through the heat of july and august, but this year it was bone dry. even my established plants were having a tough time of it. Wilted azaleas are real sad and watering with the hose just adds insult to injury.
It is still in the 80's -90's and high 70's at nights, so it is pleasant enough, the humidity has died down. I've been trying to talk my son and his friend into planting all of my hardy seedlings into the flower beds for me so that I don't have to, but he apparently doesn't need money badly enough yet. ( i'm thinking maybe his friend isn't as fortunate as my son and would be more willing to do something. LOL, you know lessons learned the hard way?)

Dawn, I think you are right about the lantana and the water leak. Hubby was great though and got it fixed yesterday. it was amazing to see mud soup in such a sandy area.

JB is barney sick again? That poor baby. He must be finding something to eat that isn't good for him. Hope you both feel better soon.

Dave, your tile sounds awesome! I want to re-do my kitchen, but I can't decide exactly what I want so until then, I will leave it as is.
I am putting new draperies in the living room, but it isn't a big change because I only have 1 window. It will be the first time I have ever bought them instead of making my own though, so it is a strange feeling. BTW, I can see why you want that daylily.

I trimmed my crape myrtle tree while hubby was doing the water leak, and stuck the cuttings in the sand next to the house, I may be begging you all to take a couple off my hands in the spring, I also stuck a few of the lantana ( when he wasn't looking).

Gotta go, I have some studio work to be done and some jewelry to package for mailing. hope everyone has a great day, if you were here I would share my rain with you.
Linda

good morning to all:
our weather has been fantastic this week. lows in the 40's and high's mostly in the 60's - 70's. its suposed to do this all week.
Yes the stone auction was great. we will be doing granite in our kitchen in the future. when they are selling 6' bullnosed with backsplash for about $200.00 its hard not to do it. just have to find a mason to install and cut the sink area out. we can do the shorter runs by the stove. its the 12' run on the sink side thats a killer. do you have to treat the granite? or seal it?

last night we were trying to get the silly mower to start but no go. we changed the gas out and still nothing. I ended up weedeating the back yard. we need to mow the yard really bad in front. the siding guys finally finished ...well sort of. we still have to do the walk around and they have to finish around the back door. kims pretty p'ed off. they never even said one word to her in the install. no questions nothing. I am sure se will have a long laundry list to fix.

well as a result from yesterday I am taking it easy today. on the endge of over did it so I should be able to get outside and play some more tomorrow.

Have a great day

Dave

Its been raining off and on here for the past 2 days. I have worked outside inbetween the showers. I will be attempting to re-establish a lawn in the rear..... the rear flower bed on the right side of garage that leads to the end of the property is slowly taking shape ... it now has the asiatic lilies that were in the front bed ..... and I just finished planting 20+ Easter lilies there.


MARY

I am back, feeling a bit better, I think Evelyn is lost in the other sight. The funniest thing happened today. I am a bit slow at my age, and I get this email saying I have a message on Learn2Grow.....I opened it and it says NOW WHAT.......I thought "what the H" who is this, it was Evelyn.....I love her....she always says things in the funniest ways. I have no idea WHAT? I am still trying to find my way around there. Did almost nothing for three days or more because if the darn dog is not sick, I am feeling like crap. I am soon going to go to the doctor if this does not straighten out. I feel like I have sleeping sickness, but I can not sleep. LOL That does not make any sense at all. It has been rainy and muggy here and the barometric pressure is dropping and we are under a tornado watch until six tonight.
Just what I need. Hey Evelyn....can I come live with you? Now What?????

I have not even been to the GH today. and I have a lady who Dave sent me....thanks Dave....looking for an Aimee. I need to give her some prices for shipping and I swear I am too miserable to even to out and measure the darn plants. Oh well. I am sure she will understand.
Boy Mexico had a landslide that killed hundreds and there are over 500 people missing. How horrible. Poor babies...I think about children when things like this happen.
Also, those of you in Tennessee must be ready to build an ark....sounds like the Ole Opera got 4 ft. of water in it. Wow. That had to be a mess.
Now there is a tropical storm coming this way by Thursday. Ugh!

Linda,,,,,,you better honker down. It may miss you and hit Wilmington NC instead. I doubt it, the way the weather channel is looking. Be safe my dear friend. You have a little notice to prepare yourself.JN

That was not meant to be a JN....it was to be a JB. Sorry.

JN er. . . JB I mean. LOL, you are so funny. I know exactly how you feel. I am feeling the same way. I was suppose to go to a meeting today and finagled my way out of it. I hate meetings. I hated them when I was working and when I retired I said I was never going to go to another one.

I got ready to go and then worked my way out of it. Now I have another appt. at the clinic at 3:20. Appts are bad enough!! But, dr and hair appt. kind of take priority.

I hear you Dave about kitchens. I have a 12' run too and even in formica they charged me $1,000 for it. Crooks. So, what do you think in granite!! Plus, I want at least 15 inches on the back splash. I know it is expensive, and at the same time it is almost a must to replace the appliances underneath it. i.e. dishwasher, compacter, stove. Talk about expensive!!

Gotta get ready to go, JB you go find Evelyn. I can hear her calling you.

Good idea, Dave! I have learned...I hope...that when overdoing it, or nearly so it is wise to be only moderately active the following day. I tried it the other way many times and I just ended up missing days of work anyway only in a lot of pain. Have a great day and enjoy your noce weather. I will be watering a lot as it will probably be 90º again today. Usually it is a bit cooler here, but it was over 100º in L.A. yesterday, I think they say 113º or something like that for the downtown center. Whew! That is way too hot for most people. The valleys of course, will be hotter today as well. At least we live in the hills. I have to go to town tomorrow, but it is supposed to be slightly cooler...I hope so.

JB ~ How is your weather right now? Is it still blistering?

Jeanette ~ How about you? Is it still raining? Too bad you and JB can't share your weather. She could warm it up a bit for you and you could let her have some rain. Oh yeah, and Sharon, Dawn and I could use some of that rain as well. But it does not work like that....oh well...

Linda ~ That's great about the rain. Enjoy!


I must go now. Have a great evening all...the heat is wearing me out...


Evelyn

It just shows you how far behind I am. Today I had the Weather Channel on and that is where they were talking about the Grand Ole Opera being flooded. Stupid me, I thought it just happened. Tonight the news said the Opera reopened from being flooded weeks ago. How dumb can I be? Who cares? Anyhow, that just goes to show you how things get started. I only got part of the story. They did get flooded, but not today. WAAAAAAAAA, between the internet and the darn TV I am loosing it. I guess I need to pay more attention to what is going on. I honestly never heard that it had flooded prior to today. How did I miss that?

Our weather went down to the 80s today but muggy. Man, LA is really hot. Glad I am not in CA today. I would have a rip fit. Drink lots of water;
The storms are over and the sun is setting......I can not believe we only had 1/2 inch of rain in the past two days. Other people had inches. It really looked scary a few times today, but it blew over or around us and nothing came down.
Tornado watch is gone and all is well, now I can put the stuff on the decks back where they belong and all that energy I wasted putting it away is wasted. *&^%$#

I must watch NCIS and NCIS LA and Good Wife tonight. Wow, I will be up til late tonight. I hope I can stay awake. I hate when I just miss the ends. Have a good night my friends. Love and Hugs. JB

Hi Everyone!
I am doing better and yes the storm is headed this way even if the weather channel isn't here yet. LOL The barometric pressure has dropped and so I am using the inhaler a lot more often. It has rained steadily for 2 days now and it has been wonderful. When I was a kid growing up in Tucson and Edwards, rain was something that rarely ever happened, so to get rain now is like a gift from God. I just love a good storm.
Monday, I took all of my hanging baskets down and set them out where they would get rained in and I have made sure there is nothing protected by the eaves of the house.
My epi oxypetalum bloomed for me saturday night and the smell is/was incredible. you could smell it long before you could see what it was.
Our Temperatures are falling. Evening temps are going into the 50's next week. Hubby is already making plans to change his wardrobe over to winter clothes. My shorts and tees are not budging till valentines day!
JB I am glad you are feeling a bit better. You're funny, when you started talking about the grand ole opry, I started thinking I was reading an old thread. LOL
Hubby wants to re-design the front yard hibiscus and daylily bed again. I don't want to touch it. Maybe I can talk him out of it until it blooms again in the spring.. Gotta go, hope you all have a great night.
Linda

Oh Lord JB, I hope it is not an age thing. I read your post and thought about my day and worry it might be. I stopped at the produce stand and picked up some things and dropped my wallet in with them to put them in the car.Went to the clinic for an appt., to the post office for mail, and then to the grocery store. Went to pay for the groceries and couldn't find my wallet. tore the car apart and finally called Bob to come pay for the groceries and get them. Went out and looked again, and found it in the produce. After calling the clinic, the post office, etc. I tried to call Bob and tell him and no answer.

I went in and paid for and got the groceries just as Bob walked in. So, I was following him home and on a 2 lane highway a huge truck was bearing down on me. I kept praying for Bob to go faster and watching the truck in the mirror and next I looked up and there was a deer right in front of my hood ornament. It zigged and I zagged the other way and there has got to be tail hairs on my right fender. I was too worried about that truck to be afraid for the deer. We were about a mile from home and I was tailgating Bob which I never do, trying to get him to go faster. He must have been asleep!! By the time he turned into the drive and I was right on his bumber and the truck was on mine and must have missed me as close as I missed the deer.

I came in and locked the doors and am not going to open them until tomorrow morning.

It was 74 today, got a short rain storm, and it all feels really good. Tomorrow I am going to go out and pull up the pepper plants and rejuvenate the soil and plant garlic there. Decided to leave the tomatoes in until the end of the week since it is suppose to be close to 80!! Then I will pick them and ripen them inside.

Somehow our temps at 80 this time of year are not as hot as in July at 80. Very comfortable. Wish it would stay this way for a while. Would love to do some fishing before the end of the season, or before winter should say. Some fishing is open year round.

Well you all, have a nice evening. Dawn, where are you?

JB ~ Why do you not get a DVR? I got my second one last night from amazon.com as bestbuy.com no longer carries them. Well, too bad for them. They are very hard to find and they are not sold in stores. I suppose that most people get their DVR's from the cable or satellite companies, or TIVO, but we have an antenna. So the antenna cost $99.00 and the DVR a little over $200.00. Now I can record the shows I was missing as only one TV is hooked up to the antenna (so far). It is great as it is similar to a VCR except you can use the hard drive and need no discs. No for my own purposes, I will record from the downstairs TV some shows I no longer get from the rabbit ears such as anything on ABC. So in that case I will put in a disc to record, and then I can pop them up in my TV upstairs and watch the shows at my own convenience. My husband can record something he doesn't want to stay up and watch or watch one show and record a different one. I also like to be able to watch things at my own convenience and then skip through the commercials as well. I suppose everyone here is laughing at me as I am in the stone age with my technology. Still, we are very budget concious and why spend money if you don't have to? So we pay only $10.00 per month for internet and nothing per month for TV. Still, it would be nice to have a high-speed connection, but I would probably spend even more time online than I already do. I find that TV and the internet, though they do have their place in my life, will not be a major portion of it. And certainly not to stare at a screen every single night until I go to bed. I need time for reading and my propagation among other things. For many years I did not even own a TV, and people thought I was a bit strange. (Well, maybe I am, preferring to write this to you instead of constantly being "entertained".) Now I am going to have to budget my time even more in order to fit my favorite shows into my schedule as it is. I have a penchant for time-wasting, and that is one reason why I am cautious about getting more TV.

Does everyone here have cable or satellite? Do you record your shows or watch them directly? Just curious...

~ Evelyn

of course count me as all of the above. we record lots of stuff so we can watch when we want to and not worry about falling asleep on a show. we just rewatch the end and delete it.

I am curious how much gardening time is lost to tv and the computer? I find its a blessing when i am hurting. i can put on a show and either fall asleep to it or watch it. I spent the day down and did just that. we get a couple of extra channels than the normal cable. it has a lot of movies on the 2 channels. I watched congo again today. I have over 300 dvd's so its hard to find a movie I have not seen 4 or 5 times.

so whats on the plan tomorrow? I am going to finally get the 1st section of my nursery clothed and move all the plants close together for winter prep. I still need to buy some more frost blanket to keep the leaves out of the pots so clean up in the spring will be a breeze. kim wants to mow/mulch them as we pick them up. I may end up with a compoat pile next spring without even trying.

yesterday I spotted a momma wolf spider scrambleing away with all her babies on her rearend. it looked like a swollen rearend but then I spotted some movement on it. I just let her scurry away.

well the siding peps are all done with the winders and siding. I will try to get pics later this week.

anyone that wants to see what all i have ready to put out for sale can see them here. I just wanted to share what all has been growing and whats worked well for me. I have really done well with the salvias. I have Blue hill and caradonna coming on and snow hill has just exploded. Ofcourse there are the self seeders too coral nymph and a red one I cant tell if its perrienial or self seeding but I do have them everywhere.

http://s995.photobucket.com/home/PUGHBEAR7

MY newest seeds coming in are Lobelia siphilitica - Great Blue Lobelia : SALVIA COCCINEA-'Forest Fire' ; red bird of paridise - caesalpina pulcherimma ' and shooting stars - dodecatheon pink

pictured is the red BOP


I will shuffel off to slumberland as i am hopeing for a good day tomorrow. say cheeze ...
come on I know you can...

please

okay, I'll bite- what the heck is a 'red BOP'? VERY pretty...

Morning, I am having a cup of coffee a bagel and off to town. Lots of appts. today.

Must be back by noon to get some work done before the storm comes. Another tropical storm that is to drop buckets of rain. Yeah , I hear them...I hope we get the 3 inches they are predicting. I could use it.

As for the TV and Cable. We had cable for years and changed to satellite now. I am not sure which I like better. As for the DVRs we have one on each TV, but I never use them because I will not take time during the daytime hours to watch a show from the night before. It is too much of a waste of time for me I just wait for re-runs and it works fine with me. The only thing I will record is a horse race and that is because I want to see the entire race and seldom do you get a rerun of the full race. LOL Sorry, I am still into the horse business when possible.
Must go. Be back later. JB

Mornin all:
JB: I do understand about wasting the day on tv. of course my situation is a bit different as I am sure you will agree. thats why I do record shows. once its set up its pretty easy to expand and only takes a few moments to add to the recording.

BOP - nursery trade slang for bird of paridise. of course we ment the tropical one in south florida but it fits here as well.

well gotta get a move on today is wasting away
Dave

Dave, that is a very pretty flower, what is it? Perennial or annual?

Evelyn I can't imgine that the stores don't sell the DVRs any more. My daughter and her family have 4 or 5 of those things. They all use them. She uses one just for her soaps I think. Might be wrong, 'cause I think she only watches one or two of those. But, I don't see enough stuff on TV worth watching even if I had the time and inclination to do it when they show them.

We use netflix. Do any of you watch C-span?

Dawn, where are you?

I rarely watch tv at all, so I don't record anything. I love biblical history or archeology shows though, so I will watch those if they are on, but other than that, I don't bother turning our tv on. Hubby and Son like to watch different things, DS loves animal planet and discovery and scifi and hubby loves turner classic movies and any western he can watch. Put me in a room with a shelf of books to choose from though and it is a whole different story.
The tropical storm is moving in. Today is a good reading day. I can't do anything outside and I am basically caught up inside until my jewelry supply order comes in, so I might just spend the day reading. Can't think of a better thing to do.
Hope you all have a good day, Linda

ps, I told ya'll this bloomed the other night and then I forgot to add it in.

That is a very pretty flower Linda. Is it a passion flower? Do you make, buy, or sell jewelry?

I would think out of all that you said, that your husband and son would use a DVR. Turner movie channel ha a lot of good ones that you do miss. And, your son probably would use it for PBS , sci fi, etc.

Dave, Do you have BOP to sell? I have always wanted one and I would love to get one from you if you have them. I have always loved them. Jb

JB, I understand there are white pobs now. The flowers are white I think.

bops are another of those tropicals that take 5 years to bloom. Takes patience.

The ones that are tropical do take 5 -7 years to bloom. the normal or orangey colored ones go to about 4 feet. now the whites are another story yes about the second story would be fitting. they will reac the peak of a single story house. I amgetting in seeds for the one I set a pic of. I am hopeing to do some cuttings on them. one think that does bother me and I found out a bit to late was that they either have thornes or sharp edges. I will see what becomes of that. yes it is perrienial to like zone 6 acording to a local grower.

http://www.bustaniplantfarm.com/caesalpinia-gilliesii.html

I spent the afternoon cleaning up the patio area where I useally do my planting and other stuff. it was a mess and still is a pile of stuff that needs a garden shed to live in. hopefully santa will bring me one.

I got in plants from Richey Nursery today. they do wholesale out of michigan brrrr. anyway they were all nice plants I got in hydrangea all sumer beauty, Chamaecyparis 3 kinds Golden shower, Filfera aurea and torulosa nana. I am going to try cuttings this winter or should I say here in the next few weeks to go all winter in the greenhouse with only a 40 watt bulb for warmth. they were a great price I had to buy them. worst case i will take them out to a friend and let her have them. they should yield a ton of cuttings.

well it time to hose myself down and lay down for a bit.

take care
Dave

Linda ~ When I was younger, and before I was married, I rarely watched TV at all as I mentioned I did not even own one for many years. People would give me TV's and I would just put them in storage on a top shelf on a closet or just tell them, "No, thank you." Before I moved to northern CA, I was living in Topanga and had access to free cable. Well, I did not actually know that as I had no TV, but again, someone donated one to me...OK I watched it now and then, but that was all as I was quite busy. I was taking some hort clases at the local college (Pierce College in the SF Valley) and working 6 days at Green Thumb Nursery, which was one of the largest retail nurseries in that area. So between that and occasionally getting together with friends and/or family, that was my life.

My mother had moved up here and became seriously ill and needed my help as her COPD had progressed to serious proportions. It was so sad to see her health deteriorate, and I did move here to help her. She has been gone since 1999. Since my dad passed away in 1973, she was living on her own for quite a while, and never re-married. I am sure she is in a happier place now.

It seems as though everyone has their challenges, doesn't it? Some of us learn most of our lessons in life and others never seem to make any progress. I am glad I am a member of this group now as we all strive to do our best each day with whatever hand is dealt to us. I really enjoy learning about propagating and hope to be doing more this coming fall and winter. You each have contributed to my life in many ways, more than just learning how to take a cutting or to plant a seed. Thank you all.

~ Evelyn

Here is an old picture of Mom and Steve (DH)

Well, had a good day. Still in the 100s bu who cares. Supposedly we may have rain by the weekend and temps around 95. I got a manicure and pedicure. Got my hair colored and cut yesterday so I am good for another 6 weeks on the hair and 3 weeks on a manicure.

Took DH to cardiologist today and heart is still irregular. Blood pressure was 80/60. So 10/8 they are implanting a pace maker.

I have major work to do tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. But it should be fun work because the majority will be moving plants. I am finally going to dig up the black bamboo and get it i to the mail. Also some of the cannas. I also have to move some hardy hibiscus and get some of them in the mail. Believe it or not I got an other box of irises as a gift. Also a neighbor three houses down wants some advise on his front flower beds. I can tell him the problem is to much water and to many tree roots. But he said he will do whatever I say, so let us just see how much he wants to make his DW happy.

Thursday is a great day for me because the mow and blow guys show up and if I have anything heavy that needs to be moved, they will gladly do it. I am ripping out the tomatoes and get the area ready for the winter vegetables.

I split the oleander cuttings and put 2/3s in the EZ Cloner and the other 1/3 in moist seed starter. Keep your fingers crossed. The heirloom tomatoes at the greenhouse are enormous. I am going over tomorrow and I will take photos.

We had a Board of Directors got approval to spend more money. We have 12 islands in the subdivision and the irrigation is 1 years old. we are going to install new irrigation with new valves and then replant with new plant life. Good news at the meeting last nigh. From the rehab from late last year an year to date we have reduced the water usage by 30%. That is a biggy. The reason we are spending so much money is because we have a major excess of money in the reserve account. So we are planning ahead and doing repairs before they break down and cause major problems.

Have a great Thursday friends. Love you all. Later....

Sharon, sounds like you have had a good day and are looking at some exciting times ahead. Good for you on the 30% cut in water usage. That is great. You must be very convincing.

Sure hope the pace maker is the answer to Vern's problems. I would have thought with a bp reading like that that it would be pretty good??

Evelyn, your folks look good in the picture. Is Steve still living? You stayed where you moved to to be with your mom? How long have you lived there?

Well gang, it's getting late, think I'll go to bed and read a while.

Jnette, I could sell you your own shoes.......

The Dr. thought the BP was to low and the heart beat was 167 to 190 on the test. His BP is usually 110/80. But he now weighs 144. He gained 3 pounds.

Sharon, does his weight fluctuate? Lets hope the pace maker does it's duty. I am sure it will and he will feel much better and gain more than 3 pounds. He will have all kinds of energy. You will have a hard time keeping up with him.

He has lost over 25 pounds so his pants just hang on him. The Cardiologist called him skinny today, which made Vern very unhappy. He tried to work out yesterday and just could not get going. The Dr. said the pace maker would make him feel like a million bucks. We shall see.

That was not very nice. Is that guy fat? He probably thought he would make Vern feel good that he didn't look as fat as that guy. I am sure it will make him feel a lot better. I can hardly wait to hear his good news. Will keep my fingers crossed for him.

The 8th is just about a week away. Good. Is he looking forward to it? Hope so. Attitude is a huge part of success in surgeries.

Vern is 5'9" and 140 lbs is a little light. No Dr. Lee is slender, he just used the wrong term. He has absolutely no muscle mass. He has lost it all. He always worked out at least 3 times a week and has not for over 6 months. Yest, he will feel better and then he will kill himself working out to get his muscles back. The most he has ever weighed is 160 so I guess he did not lose 25 lbs. Just looks like he did. He reminds me everyday now that I now out weight him.

Hi Everyone, The rain has ended so for the rest of the week I will be out doors picking up sticks, but I will not complain, I will do a happy dance for each on I pick up! Everything looks so green now. The weather is turning cooler this weekend too, so the mosquitos are about to bite the dust! Maybe I can finally work outside in peace. I have terrible reactions to mosquito bites.
J'nette That is a white orchid cactus. epiphyllum oxypetallum.The fragrance was unbelievable too. It onIy blooms at night and only for 1 night. They are awesome thought. I forge and fabricate sterling and fine silver and gemstone jewelry. I sell some online, but most of what I have sold has been locally. I am really just getting started selling online. I love doing it though.

Sharon, Try feeding Vern peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I know it sounds weird, but when I married Burk, he had lost from 198 to 127 and he is 6 feet tall. You can imagine that at 127 he looked very much like a 1 sided man. My mom told him to eat a pbj and have a glass of milk as a bed time snack and it would help him. It did. He began to gain weight and he began to regain strength too. It did help that he loved peanut butter. We found out later that he had an arterial problem that had led to the weight loss.

Evelyn, When I was growing up, there was a tv on in my house 24 hours a day and most of the time someone on the floor asleep in front of it. I hated the fact that there was never any quiet time in the house, so when I moved out, I never even considered buying one. When I finally did buy one 12 years later, it was because I needed a computer monitor for my brand new commodore computer. LOL When I moved, I gave it to my grandmother so that she could watch her favorite soaps in the kitchen while she made lunch. My son will keep a tv on just for noise. It drives me crazy though.

Dave, do you know if those bop are perennial in zone 8?

Hope everyone has a great day. I am off to pick up sticks.

Linda's rain has move to my and JB's area. I have not yet experienced heavy rain ... but its been raining off and on ...they are forcasting the heavier stuff is still to come ... so today is an indoor day .... stripping the kitcken floor .... cleaning fridge .... rearranging cabinets .... and finally applying a few thin coats of pledge floor finish.

Tomorrow, I will probably be picking up sticks .... the picture is one I took this morning inbetween showers ... it is the back of my property.

Dave .... I would be interested in having a few rooted cuttings of your newest hydrangea acquisition for this area.

Jeanette, the pictures I took today of the plants you sent me are too dark to post ..... I'll take some more when the sun is shining and post them soon.

Great picture Evelyn.

Sharon ..... how many DIFFERENT irises do you have .... and which is your favorite?

Dawn .... like to see a picture of the outside of your house.

JB .... I brought in the Christmas catsus my granddaughter gave me .... I plan to give it 12 hours of total darkness/day. I need to take a picture of it in its present state.

Love Ya All

MARY

Dave, how much are you selling those rooted hydrangeas for. I need a reference for something I am doing.

The sticks we are picking up are coming from where.

My favorite iris at this time is Canned Heat. A striking Red.

I decided to clean house today and cook and to garden tomorrow and Saturday. It will be cooler.

I will respond to all of the above comments, later this evening.

This is not canned heat. This is a 2011 introduction by Blythe. Over $65. No I did not order it.