October 2010

Heres that Sago Palm last year!

Pepper - The report is that no one had any life-threatening injuries, though the bus driver and some of the students were taken to the hospital. Other students had minor injuries and were treated and released at the scene. As far as I know, officials haven't released the details as to the cause of the accident. The grandson of a friend of mine was on the bus that was about two minutes behind this one. Scary! That is such a dangerous intersection. It's on a curve and a hill. One of our neighbors was killed in an accident there about ten years ago. He had two little girls. Very sad.
Your mums are beautiful. And they look so pretty with the Russian sage.

Will - Definitely a spider plant. And, like Pepper said, they last forever. Ok, she said for years...but I think it's really forever! LOL It's a great plant!

Lisabees - Good thinking, taking a few home! We gardeners learn a lot by experimenting, don't we? Thanks for the info.

Happ - Haha, you're right about it being 85 one day and snowing the next. That's Missouri weather!

Will - Beautiful Sago Palm. Cute kitty, too.
You don't necessarily have to use a fluorescent light. A east window with a little morning sun or even a north window works. As with garden plants, sometimes you just have to try it somewhere and move it if it's not happy. :-)

Since I've been hanging around this forum for a little while now, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Lisa & I live and garden in the Denver area. I started peeking in on this forum because my parents and my sister & her family all live in Metro KC and they are all fairly newbie gardeners. I guess I thought I might soak up some local insight for them. Since I work in a garden center, my family all consider me to be an "expert" so I try to help them where I can.

I've been working at Tagawa's Garden Center for four years now - it's one of the largest in Colorado It's a great place to work. I get to be around plants all day (I work in the perennials dept.) & I have learned a lot - mostly because I am EXPECTED to know a lot. I don't consider myself an expert though. The best thing about my job (besides the people I work with) is the goodies I get to bring home. My garden is *literally* full of plants like those hostas I described earlier - things I bought home that were supposed to be dead. I joke that I get "paid in plants" because the money is terrible, but there it is. I keep going back season after season.

And I find that our climate isn't all that different from yours either, It's just colder earlier & longer and it's drier. Funny, the comment about 85 degrees one day and snowing the next being Missouri weather - I would've said that's Colorado weather. But I used to live in St Louis where we said said similar things...

Lisa - I grew up in Denver... well, the suburbs. Funny that you grew up here and moved there and I grew up there and moved here.
You're so lucky to get to work with plants every season. I'm sure the best thing would be getting to bring stuff home! I think I'd be willing to work for less money and get "paid in plants," too. :-)

Hi Lisa, I use to live in Colorado Springs and it was wonderful and it certainly had crazy weather. We got like 2 feet of snow Sept 18 one year when I was there. Leaves were still on the trees, automatic sprinklers running, people stuck on the interstate between Co. Spgs. and Denver. The military had to go get them off the roads. I remember the date because I was going to meet my best friend who was flying in on her birthday Sept 18!

What a great job you have. That is what I want when I retire, a part-time job in a nursery or Lowes or somewhere like that around plants.

This group is scattered all throughout the state, I live north of KC. Been gardening awhile, went thru the Master Gardening program and loved it and figured out there is sooo much to learn and nothing is better than someone elses experience for sure. Thank you for telling us about hostas and pots.

Been washing flower pots most of the day since it is warm outside.....I figured out I have alot of pots...rofl. DH about fell over...rofl.

Will, I unburied the rose bush and it is still alive which I figured it was, but it is really leggy, lets wait until spring and I will dig it up early early and give it to you since it is so late. It is a good rose just not my color and will be more than happy to find a new home for it. I want a bright red rose, this one blooms on old and new wood which is good and why I bought it, sides the tag looked light bright red rose and it is a darker rose.

Dug up a bunch of wild raspberry bushes the birds gave to me that was tangled in the mass of rose, autumn clematis, talk about a mess wowzer...

Ok back out to finsh washing....

I finally planted my new mums and asters today and my parents power washed the deck. We used to do that every year and stain it every year. Last year it didn't get done and boy you could tell!! It was that grayish color that we all know and love here in Missouri. LOL! Tomorrow it will get stained again.

Tomorrow I should finally get all my bulbs planted and just have elephant ears, glads, and a few other seasonal plants to store downstairs or put in new pots and hope I can keep them alive for the winter. A friend is coming over to help me so we will get everything knocked out. Hopefully I can walk again after dealing with the tulips! lol

Hi Lisa!! Glad you are posting on here!! I used to work at Powell Gardens (not in the gardens though, just cleaning) and I used to get free plants from there all the time. You could really tell cause all of a sudden my gardens were a riot of blooms. Since they were free I treated them pretty shabby. LOL. If they lived they lived. If not I'm not out of anything except a free plant. Alot of them are still alive. So I did good. lol. Now I work at a store and take care of the greenhouse when it's up and take care of mums when we have them. It's my favorite part of working there.

Purple mums and Autumn Joy sedum.

Happ, don't you love the compost pile for just that reason :o)

Pepper, I love the color of the Mums alone and just love Russian Sage! Together, gorgeous!

Will, I know people usually haven't had Mum's blooming for long when the first frost hits around here.

I'm liking Marigolds more and more each year.

Smiling over the new cat names and laughing over the cat in the picture. Very nice Palm! It's really growing well!

ImaMes, I'm glad the bus accident wasn't worse! There are a few just downright dangerous places to drive.

Welcome Lisa! It's always nice to have new pictures and stories. I'm from Iowa, but Missouri feels like a second home :o) You have a job we all wish we had :o)

Happ, smiling over all the pots. I need to clean the garage and gather all the black pots people gave me from their transplanting. I have many different sizes and they are here and there. I use them for my ''Free Pile.'' Then, I'm putting seed starting equipment on the side porch so I don't have to dig for it this winter. I'm getting smart in my old age!

Pepper, we decided we like that old grey color, LOL! I like the Mums with the Sedum!

It's 7:30 and light out already. Where does an early morning go?

Out to finish my washing, this is the pile early yesterday, it is about 3/4 done and put away now. Glad I don't have neighbors on that side of the house. DH came flying around the corner when I first started and stopped dead in his tracks. Ask if I had robbed a nursery! LOL

Happ - Love it!! LOL I had to show DH your photo because he thinks I have way too many pots. hahaha

Billy - I know a lot of people don't like them, but I have always loved marigolds. I think last year was the first year I didn't have any. Well, I missed them and had to have them back this year. LOL My favorite is 'Lemon Gem' which is hard to find. They are smaller flowers, and yes, bright lemon yellow. I bought it a few years ago and wish I had saved the seeds because I haven't seen it at any nurseries since then. I think I saw it in Thompson & Morgan's seed catalog, but I didn't start anything from seed this year. May be next year I'll get some. :-)

We like that old grey color, too. In fact, we just built a little bench this year and I can't wait for it to turn grey and weathered-looking.

Pepper - Beautiful color combo with those mums and sedum!

Thanks Ima, it is a beautiful Sago. And, it was used as an example somewhere of a plant that gives off a lot of oxygen I think, oxygen is good!
Okay happ, Spring is good, I am envious, at all the nice decorative pots you have there!
Welcome lisabees, I too can attest part-time at nurseries doesn't pay well..lol
Heres what I been doing yesterday, in the photo below, some mulch and edging for the Hostas in the front yard.
Thanks Ima, I still need to get that Spiderplant in the light too, maybe it'll be with the Begonia. Spiderplants last forever eh?! I like plants that last forever!
Thanks, (the disabled lady would thank you too, thats her cat, it's her favorite, it's Skeeter). Skeeter is a nice cat, I'm not renaming her. The lady would probably have me arrested if she heard me call her cat some foul name anyway! Like the kitty window shelf for her 2 cats that I made, in the photo above, well, not made, but assembled and installed? Both of her cats like it, (not at the same time). Think it sags too much? I don't know if cats like that, but they still get in it all the time.
Some of the other cats are trouble tho. They are now, Grubworm, Hereford, Stuart (Little) and Slugworth, (they used to be Marina, Skittles, India and Rudy in that order..lol).

I like that grey color too, but treated wood I don't think turns that color, at least not for a long time.
If grey wood would stay strong and sturdy I'd be all for it. : )

Thanks billyp, that Sago has performed well the last year or year and a half. It's had I think 2 flushes of 3 new fronds in each flush of each of the last Spring/Summer of the last 2 years. I saw on HGTV shows where it's used as a tree in the yard in places like Fla. and Ariz., not looking forward to it getting that big in the house! It's like when I put it outside here (in the warm air and the sunshine), it goes nuts! It's one of my cheaper buys that is now turning into one of my "banker's wage" plants..lol
I see my annual subscription is about up, (in less than a week). I may be needing to undergo a major employment change that likely won't be in my favor monetarily. It's a mutual decision all around, I'm in agreement on this possible change too. My income may be uncertain for awhile, prolly not long tho is the plan. I'm not relocating or anything, and my well-being isn't in jeopardy or anything.
Will

Will, use redwood lumber and it will weather to that gray color. We have a shed that is probably a hundred years old and still in great shape. Now the addition we added several years ago is starting to blend in more and you almost can't tell the difference except in texture.

The stump has been a stump now for a couple years so it's had time to "age". lol. It's about 7 feet tall and pretty thick so won't be going anywhere anytime soon. We use it to hang chains on and to occasionally throw bird feed on top to feed the birds and squirrels.

Will, I hope you aren't gone for too long if you aren't able to renew your subscription here in the next week or so. Keep us updated when you can on what happens job wise.

Happ, I would have been able to claim to have more pots before I did a major cleaning this summer. LOL. I had lots of little ones and some gallon pots too. Got rid of a bunch of both since I didn't need that many. Still have lots of big decorative pots and a few nursery tree pots. Those we put to good use for covering up the tiller and other stuff when needed.

Oh Pepper that wasn't all of the pots, that was just part of them! I got done at 7:45pm! Everything is watered, cleaned, dried, and put up!! I am exhausted! I started and 9 and stopped for 30 min to eat lunch and that was all. But it feels good to have it all cleaned! Hope I don't find any oprhan pots, cause I think I will just throw them away...LOL Kidding.

Now to get the garden room organzied cause I just threw all the plants in there when they were threatening us with frost.

Will that looks great, you did an excellent job. You should be proud.

Will do Pepper, thanks.

Thanks happ. Looking at it now, it needs some changes like around the border to make it more pleasing to the eye. That day I was more focused on getting the mulch unloaded and spread out in the space there, just more the labor part of it all.

Back to the cold! But, right now, the leaves they are a falling!
Will

Shortleaf, everytime I look at one of my flower beds I see something, something that should be changed...LOL That waterfall pond is the worse I can't leave it alone!

Lots of leaves starting to fall at my house also. I will hear DH really growling here shortly cause they all blow in the garage door....

Dig around on this website, this guy built a greenhouse out of old windows and it is sooo cool, for little money.
http://montanawildlifegardener.blogspot.com/search/label/Greenhouse
He is also working with trying a compost heater, from what I can tell he dug a hole in the floor of the greenhouse then put compost in it, then put slatted wood above the hole so you could walk over it and let's heat rise. I read about a kid for a science project was trying to make a compost heater for his dogs house so he wouldn't get so cold in the winter and it actually worked a little. Good idea, just needs to be perfected.

Stayed up too late watching the miners come up out of the ground. Wowzer being claustrophic myself I am amazed they are sane at all.

I've been feeling like my garden is pretty much done for the season, but I went out with the camera to document what's left - especially since we had a frost advisory last night. I was surprised by how many things are still blooming.

I did cover the veggie garden, but we didn't get frost - it was 39. Here are some more pics.

Haha happ, finishing touches here seem like as big of a job as the actual job..lol
Wow, lot of work in the compost heated greenhouse thing there! Sounds like a pretty big gamble, when it gets so cold in the Winter to actually try to grow stuff without conventional heat!

Nice photos lisabees, very colorful. Yeah, the temperature is going down at nite here too.
I'm not sure what it actually got down to here last nite, but 42° was forecast for the low.
And good job on customizing all the photos and squeezing them all into one.
Will

Happ, ROTFL!! Especially over DH stopping dead in his tracks. Lady, you gots pots!!

ImaMes, I'm loving starting my own seeds and now look forward to the catalogs for a new reason! I won't afford perennials anymore and I have so many now. I have quite a list of 2010 plants I didn't buy. I rescued swamp milkweed, lighter purple asters than the one's I have, caught 5 yellow touch-me-not seeds to go with the orange stem with roots I pulled up at my Daughters house. Someone gave me three new iris and an Oak leaf Hydrangea, which all are doing well. My neighbor gave me a caryopteris shrub and another, tansy. Why, I have a wealth of plants :o)

How neat! A new bench!

Will, oxygen very good! It is good to have houseplants. I just don't know how to keep my cats out of my spider-plant and the aloe. I might have to bring in the 4' seed starter with the screen around it.

I think that if it doesn't come crashing to the ground, both cats in it will work. They do love perches!

I'm always jealous of places that have trees that I have as container plants. Pentas are actually large shrubs. I'd love to have one that big!

They do have an angel fund here for those who may have trouble affording a year. You should check into it. I hope the new employment works out better than you think it might.

You can keep in touch with me on Facebook, the place I haven't checked in a couple of weeks, LOL! But still, I'll be there eventually.

The mulch around the ramp looks really good!

Pepper, wood is so neat! I love stumps. I might as well because they are impossible to burn out, LOL! Your's is great. Use it as long as you can.

Happ, LOL, over ''not all of them!'' Oh my! Did you actually have every one filled with flowers? I would love to have a greenhouse built onto the house. Out a door and into the greenhouse. It will never happen, but that would be neat!

I too am amazed they are all sane! I'm so glad they are up and safe. I don't think I could ride up if there was light to remind me of how small the cage was.

Lisa, me too! I have phlox, asters, reblooming beebalm, foxglove, etc. All of your pictures are so pretty!

I got my to-do lists out from two years ago and started whittling them down. The biggest job was digging wild garlic out of the flowers and having to get rid of the dirt. I used most of my compost to fill in the hole. I didn't remember to take any before or after pictures Grrr! I've moved plants around and weeded all along. Things are gonna look different next year :o)

I'm trying to cram a summers worth of work into the two nice weeks we're getting.

Don't ever, ever, leave lilies in a pot for two years, ever again!! I just had to plant the whole mess, hoping I can separate them late this fall or early next spring.

Its official, I start working 2 days a week doing the same thing starting tomorrow.
The replacement aide can do more for the patient lady here than I can.
She is the same gender as the elderly lady. The new aide is more skilled and is trained more in the field of home healthcare, I think she is a CNA. We're all in agreement here, the new aide can do things I can't, like help her with bathroom duties and hygienic stuff.
It wasn't because I renamed some cats here or anything. : ) We're trying to get some of the stress and the lady's reliance off of the daughter here. The elderly lady just relies on her for too much, and the daughter has a full-time job. For instance, a couple nites ago, she wakes her daughter up at 1:30am, (on a work nite) to tell her about imaginery noises she thought she heard, (water running somewhere). We don't get short with her or anything, we could all be in a compromised state also someday.

Thanks billyp, my new employment isn't going to change, it'll just be 4 days a week less,
a difference of about 10k a year. I'll look at the Angel Fund, I AM a poor son-of-a-thing!
I'm not one for "woe is me" and self pity stuff, I will bounce back, just a matter of time. Yeow! Lilies in a pot, that is some roots!! Thanks on the mulch, now I'd like to talk her into some flowers in there too. Alright on Facebook thanks billyp. Also, dmail works for non-subscribers if anyone would like to dmail me. I just typed out a "contact us" query to DG about the Angel Fund and they say my email address is invalid, which it isn't..lol
Will
Will

Holy cow that's crowded pot billy p! Time to get out the sharp knife!

Happ - I'm the same way. I keep changing and rearranging my flower beds. Someone once told me that that was the sign of a good gardener. LOL I'll take that... even though I don't think I am.

Lisa - Great photos!!

Will - I hope your new job works out. Keep us posted. The mulched area looks good!

Billy - Wow! That's a LOT of roots!! You might need a saw or an axe to divide those lilies!
My aunt in South Florida has a hedge of pentas lining her front walk. It is about 4-5 feet tall. Just beautiful!
I usually don't start too many things from seed because I don't have a place to put them. I bought an indoor "greenhouse" years ago, and used it until I had grandchildren. The only place I can put it is in the guest room where they now sleep when the come for the holidays. Grandkids or plants... I choose grandkids! LOL

I finally got everything into the ground that I needed to plant before winter comes, except for one plant. It's a vine and a friend of mine was making me a trellis for it. He just delivered it today so now I need to get DH to put it in the ground so I can plant the vine. The trellis weighs about 100 pounds, so it'll be a two-man job. Then there's the task of cleaning out my big containers. I emptied a few, but I like to keep some of them until the frost kills the plants. I hate to see a bare patio too early in the season. :-)

lisabees (Lisa), love the blooms, they are beautiful. I haven't gotten home before dark in 3 days so I have no idea what is blooming or so dry it dying....yuck! How high are you lisabees? (above sea level folks!..LOL) Are you the same as Denver? Your the same zone as me but your winters are alot more fun than ours.

Will I don't think a compost heater would come close to keeping an area warm but it sure is an interesting thought if you could figure it out.

Billy I am with you I am going to try some seeds. I will have to let you know when they do the round robin seed swap, I have never seen so many seeds in my life! I have a cat and big flower pots, most of mine are brugs or ee's and I went to the hardware store and bought like screen stuff except heavier and cut it out to put over the exposed dirt. Stopped that kitty for playing in the dirt! Only thing this summer I didn't take it out and weeds started growing thru the screen stuff, what a mess, but worth keeping Hairy out of the pot.
I never had all the pots filled with flowers at one time, that is years of saving pots. Yours phlox is still blooming? Mine stopped several weeks ago! Those are amazing lily roots OMG....

Wow, short that is a cut in pay to say the least...yikes. But in this economy anything is better than nothing. Both my sisters and DBIL lost their job. One sister was old enough to start collecting social security, the other isn't.

Ima, doesn't it feel good to finally get the last one done...at some point I do need to look at the inside, plenty of time when the weather is junk tho....

Thanks Happ, I'm at about 5800 feet, just a little higher than the city of Denver, but I am East, basically out on the plains. Do you mean that our winters are more fun than yours because of the snow?? There are times the snow is definitely NOT fun!

Will, I can see why all are in agreement, but it's a shame about the pay. That's a big drop. I really hope something else comes along.

No woe is me. Just, I'd like to stay but can't afford it. I think you will qualify for the fund. So many kindhearted people have donated.

Lisa, I was afraid to do anything so I just pushed them into a new hole and hope they magically fall apart.

ImaMes, then I'm a great gardener! Actually if I was, wouldn't I have gotten it right the first time? LOL! I'll bet the penta hedge was beautiful! I tried overwintering one, but I don't remember if it lived or not. That was so long ago.

Don't I hear you on no room! I can only bring mine in, in the Spring. I'd love to leave it in. The older we get, the heavier it gets. DH built it for me in 2007.

You have things pretty much under control for Fall clean-up. Post a picture of the trellis when it's up and planted!

Happ, thanks, it will be interesting to see what is available. I've never had time to look into the Round Robin before. Smiling. I don't think you could even start enough seeds to fill half those pots, not to mention finding time to water them!

Suprisingly, I do have phlox blooms! Those and the reblooming, or rather, new blooms on the beebalm took me by suprise.

The older I get the more I only like the first snow with big puffly flakes, and then it melts :o)

Back to the flower beds today. I'm making headway!

My large Grow Light box covered in hardware cloth to keep cats out!

Me and DH.

The 4' one I ordered from Park Seeds. DH covered it with hardware cloth too.

lisabees, winter is more fun with the snow and prettier I think, usually we just get rain that turns to ice, then everyonce in awhile it will put a inch or two of snow on top of it just to make it a bit more interesting.....LOL Now last year was more like good old Colorado with lots of snow, course we don't have real ski slopes or snow mobils or any fun stuff. Course I live in the flatter part of Missouri, those in the south may have felt they were on ski slopes...LOL

billy, great pics and you two are a mighty handsome couple. Love the seed racks he built those are really nice. Great idea. I have never done many seeds but this year 2011 I keep saying I am going to. Are you leaving DG also or did I misunderstand? Hope I misunderstood.

Will - I guess we must have cross-posted and I missed your post about your job situation. Wow, that's a big change! I can see where it would be better for the elderly lady to have a caregiver of the same gender. At least they didn't cut you completely. Hopefully, you can find something to make up the difference in pay.

Lisa - Haha, I remember that snow in Denver is not always fun. But I concur with Happ that rain-turning-to-ice-with-snow-on-top is even LESS fun. And I am south of you Happ, and live on a hill... so, yeah, ski slopes here (minus the skis). LOL

Happ - Definitely a good feeling to get things done and put away. I'm hoping to clean out the shed this weekend... so I can put away all those pots. LOL

Billy - You ARE a great gardener! I've seen your flower beds. :-)
Nice job by your DH on the Grow Light box. It looks great! Ditto what Happ said, you guys are a handsome couple.
I'll try to remember to post a picture of the trellis when I get it up. My friend made it from a section of stair railing - you know, the old-fashioned iron kind. That's why it weighs 100 pounds. It's simple but nice and tall. Taller than what you can buy.

I'm good for a while! I wrote DG about possibly getting the Angel Fund membership. I wrote their "adsales" email because the "contact us" one didn't work for me. I don't know who it was that had mercy on me. DG just sent me a dmail that said -

"Dear shortleaf,

Today an order has been placed for a subscription for your account on Dave's Garden. Your account is now fully subscribed through Dec 16, 2010 8:10 AM.

Thank you for being a part of Dave's Garden!

The Dave's Garden Team"

I'm glad I can stay longer, I enjoy the forums and the people here.
You guys are stuck with me for a while longer! : )

Heres what I did today, dressed up more plant labels with sandwich bags and ice cream bar sticks..lol Don't mind the black cat, thats just Stuart Little rooting around!

Oh, think nothing of it, Ima.
Thanks Ima, that mulched area got a few little cosmetic touches today. I just wanted to move the border a little to try to make it look less odd. Yeah, its a pretty big change, but everything is still alright. Yeah, the new aide is going to make a world of difference in the care of the lady, and the relief on my friend will be very good, which means alot too. My friend is kinda like the nucleus here, we'd all here be in a bad way if it weren't for her.

Yeah happ, it seems the gov't or the news or something is of the sentiment that the economy has turned around some. The first-time home-buyer's discounts have expired and all (like as if the recession is over), but yet, they say the economy is still terrible.
And, the unemployment benefits are still up.

That is a nice grow-light box there, billyp, I still want to make something like that when I have space, how neat. And I too, say you two are a great looking couple. : )
Will





This message was edited Oct 15, 2010 6:56 PM

Will - Good idea, covering the labels with sandwich bags. I see you have one of those blue Maxwell House coffee "cans." I got a few of those at the recycling center where I volunteer. They're great for scooping bird seed, potting soil, or just for storing things in the shed. I like that they have a good handle to hang on to.

Glad you're gonna be around for a while. I always enjoy your posts and photos. Stuart Little reminds me of a cat we had about 20 years ago named Dinky. He was a stray kitty that we found when he was just a "dinky li'l thing." Hence the name. :-) He ran off one time and after about 6 weeks we thought he was dead. But he came back, limping, dragging his tail, and his head tilted to one side. We took him to the vet, and it turned out he had had a stroke. Must have been while he was pretty far away since he couldn't make it home for so long. I was surprised that he lived for several years after that because he looked like he was a-goner when he first came back. He never did regain use of his tail; it just hung down and dragged on the ground. And his head was always tilted a little, but he regained use of all four legs and was pretty normal for the rest of his life.

Glad you are able to hang around for awhile Will!!

Winter around here can be interesting that's for sure!! Like Happ said, we get rain which then freezes, then we get snow on top of that, it then gets above freezing, freezes at night again, and everything turns into a solid sheet of ice. I live at the bottom of two hills and let me tell you, it can be almost impossible to get out at times. I've posted pics on here of what my road looks like during those times and it just looks like glass. I much prefer snow!! lol

Billy, love the seed starter stations!! Mine is a little folding table with a lamp above them. I try to bring it out in January or February. And you and your hubby are a great looking couple!!

Last night was the opening night of the Mavericks hockey season. I was there and it was a great game!! We won 5-3. We had alot of fun and I can't wait til the next game!!

We got our trellis up today. Yay! I put it in an area of the woods in our back yard where I like to sit but not see the neighbor's back yard trampoline. I planted a supple-jack vine there, which is a native and should do well in that spot. Hopefully, once it grows it will block the view enough. You can't see it very well from the angle in this photo, but the trampoline is the blue thing to the left of my head.

Here's a picture of our little bench in front of the trellis. You can see the view I want to block a little better in this pic. The bench actually faces the opposite way, but you can see their yard as you walk along the path to the bench. Also, I thought the bench needed a "wall" or backdrop of sorts behind it. It's a nice place to sit after gardening in the heat. It's probably five degrees cooler in the woods than out in the yard.

I'm planning to leave this are "wild" because it's my little getaway in the woods. I cleared a winding path to it and plan to put some stepping pavers in the path so we don't have to walk in the mud to get to it. Ok, that's not completely "wild" but....

Thanks Ima, if it weren't for me here saving labels and making them so they'll last longer there wouldn't be labels on anything. We don't know what the nice, dissected Japanese Maple is here because there is no info. on it, or some Hostas. My friend says "all I need to know is thats a Hosta and thats a Japanese Maple". I said, "do you know how many hundreds of each there are?!" I don't hassle her much about it tho, I might find myself living in a cardboard box with a derogatory label on it! lol
Ack! Poor Dinky Cat!

Cool trellis and bench Ima. I have a trellis, it cost $5.99 at Harbor Freight, although it isn't very good..lol It's too light and regularly gets blown over by the wind, or is always needing adjustment because it's crooked. A heavy trellis like yours would be nice.
Thats neat how you are improving that wooded area.

Thanks Pepper. I'll be here until 9 days before Christmas, unless I can afford then to subscribe again.

Doesn't this cat just look like a grubworm?! lol
Will



This message was edited Oct 17, 2010 12:15 PM

Got the shed cleaned out today. So satisfying to get that done. DH was a big help moving some of the heavy stuff out so I could sweep and then moving it back in. Also got more containers dumped out, so now I'm down to the ones I want to overwinter. Next job is washing out my big containers and putting them away. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Tuesday...maybe if I just leave them out on the patio..... haha.

Thanks, Will. Yeah, that trellis ain't goin' nowhere! LOL It's tied to two fence posts. I know what you mean. I have a trellis that I bought and put on the side of the house that would probably fall over if it didn't have the wall to lean on.
I'm sure you know this but you can get a two-month subscription for $5.00. Still costs, but cheaper than the full year subscription.
Now, aren't you mean... that poor kitty doesn't look like a grub worm. LOL

Thanks Ima, I'll keep the $5 subscription in mind. That sounds like the deal they give Angel Fund recipients. After that, I think we're on our own.
Haha! "Grubworm" is mean is it?! It prolly is, but I still pet her the same, I just call her a different name when I see her. I don't think she minds! : ) She still gets on counters, knocks stuff over, fights and chases other cats and other mischief tho! She had the first laugh tho, about 7 years ago, she was just a rotund stray outside. I told my friend "how can you not take that cat in?". She fooled us, she was pregnant, my friend found out after she took her in! Her 2 daughters are here too, they are "Stuart" (Little) and "Slugworth" lol!
All 7 of the cats here are strays or are offspring of strays. The cats here get treated better than I do!
Just curious Ima, is that Aloe Vera still going? Boy, did that one of mine ever bounce back from the near-freezing temps in the garage last Winter. I want to have a couple single specimens of Aloe Vera to get really big. Like 3 feet in diameter! I think that would be cool! They always multiply, and little Aloe Veras grow up right next to the big ones. And they are hard to get separated for me. I think what I'll do is just keep them cut down, of course, they'll grow back, but I will keep cutting them I suppose. Any ideas on doing that?

Hi happ, if you're still out there, have you been to Red-X lately? I'm wondering if they still have Banana 'Basjoo's for sale there? I was gonna get them from Lowes but they aren't selling them this year. I think I'll give Red-X a call soon to see. I would love to get one over-wintered in the backyard starting this year.
Will

Happ, I'm not leaving! I was helping Will formulate a story for the angel fund :o) I've also needed my morning computer time to plan my day of work every morning, so I haven't had time to be around :o)

Ima, I love the sound of your trellis!

Will, I'm glad you get more time here! Nice labels! I finally learned to keep all my empty packets instead of throwing them away. I will say they are all in one baggie, LOL!

Ima, so sad about Dinky, but I'm glad he came thru it and had a happy life!

Thanks for the compliment everyone! Looks like I'm lucky to get snow with occasional ice.

Ima, I love the trellis and you're both beautiful!! I'm sure you said earlier, but where did the top come from? It's perfect! I love the bench! I need those instead of the many green plastic chairs I have. Someday....

Will, I'm one of those who have to know a name and if you know the Latin, all the better :o) You need to mount your trellis on a wall. I don't trust mine out on their own too much. Awww, Grubworm is a beauty! Is she part Siamese?

I've moved about 70 plants around over the last few weeks. I couldn't believe it was so many, but I kept track and transfered my notes to a task sheet. Yep. I moved a lot! They also got tags since some were missing or so old they broke.

I mixed wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of:
My compost, dirt taken from the planting holes, peat moss and lime. I have three buckets of mixed dirt left to slowly use with new planting hole dirt. I can't believe how compacted the ground is after all the summer rains. We had some real pounders.

I most likely won't have time to lift all the Astilbe and put better dirt in their spots. That was big on my list, but too big a job right now. I had many little jobs that were more important.

I moved a few of the rescue Iris and found my favorite had rot! I cut it off and soaked them in clorox water. They look fine and I replanted. Next year ALL the iris will need to be divided!

Then, there was the watering of all the new moves.

Yes, I have kept myself busy :o)

It sounds like everybody has been pretty busy. I have just a few more bulbs to plant and some plants I want to move around my gardens. I expanded one of my borders & it needs filling in. The big chore for today is to get out the compressor & blow out the sprinkler system.

Will - We had a "fat cat" once we got from some neighbors when they moved. We thought Tigger was pregnant, but no, HE was just fat. LOL

Yes, the aloe vera is still going. I divided and shared it, and had some to take to our Garden Club's plant sale this Spring. I'm down to a small pot of it now, which I keep in a sunny window. Thanks again for sharing it!

As far as dividing them, if the pot is really full, I just take them all out and pull or cut them apart. You can see which ones have roots and are ready to be replanted. The little ones that don't have their own roots yet I just leave attached to the mama plant. Some of those may come off when handling them. If they do I just pot them up and keep them watered (not too much) until they develop roots of their own. Some do and some die.

Billy - Thanks! The bench is actually a plastic one we bought at Walmart years ago. Ours has a small crack in it which will probably get bigger the more we sit on it. I was hoping to replace this Spring, but alas, Walmart doesn't carry them anymore. In fact, I couldn't find any cheap, plastic benches like it anywhere.

The top of the trellis is half of a wheel of some sort that my friend welded on. When he told me he had these porch railings I thought he meant the newer, lightweight metal ones. So did DH... boy was he surprised when my friend delivered it and told him it weighed about 100 pounds! LOL It's one of the old-fashioned iron ones. DH is a trooper, though. He helps me with all the "heavy lifting" garden chores. :-)

Speaking of garden chores, it sounds like you've been doing a lot of 'em!

Lisa - Sounds like you're busy, too!