Better every day!

OH Roadrunner, where does a fella find 2 dozen birdhouse gourds yesterday??

Indiana, try posting on the gourd forum. You might also try the plant trading forum. I have some but they aren't technically mine. I got them for my neighbor, scrubbed them all and he's yet to come get them. I'm going to strangle him soon. :) I was going to go ahead and sand and paint/stain them for him but he said he'd do it. Every year it's the same...I should just do them and send him the bill.

Bonnie, I hope you are sitting. I could have taken about 50 trays of those Petunias. When they are done with them (baskets and pots), they pitch the rest! I'm tempted to make a second trip but how much seed mix can I buy? LOL I could take a trailer and fill it with what he's done with!

We had breakfast for dinner last night. Yum.

Well, I have to get my running shoes on. I need to make sure nothing needs watered then run to the mall. Carly has a spring dance next week. Snow tonight/tomorrow?? Bleck!

Hugggs Chele n everyone!
Ya'll are sooo busy already!! I haven't planted anything yet! And what's with this 4 letter crap comin in??????????????? Geez...I am sooo over all of it!!
Not sure what I'm gonna get into today???? I suppose Dave will want to go somewhere? He is the runnest...is that a word?? man!
Anyway...contrary to what you think, Chele....lol..I am here ...reading at least!! Hugggs!!

Hey Marcy! Good to see ya! Hugs back at ya!

Yeah, dirty four letter S word! At least I can escape to the greenhouse. LOL I have everything I need out there. The only issue I could run into is a frozen hose. cuss cuss cuss Thankfully I bought a two gallon tank with a sprayer and fill it with warm water when I go out. :)

At least Dave doesn't have the runs....

What kind of plants are you going to raise this year Marcy??

I didn't forget to mail seeds to you, Lou and Bonnie. I seem to have misplaced my padded envelopes when I moved the book shelf to the living room. As soon as I find them or buy new ones, I'll get those seeds off to you!

Oh my! Just ran out to the greenhouse. 44 of my 54 pots of daylily seeds are sprouted and I have about that many more in the fridge. My tomatoes are up. 4 days...You probably won't see me for that long once they really get going. LOL

I don't have a lot of birdhouse gourds...I suggest she search for a gourd farm near her...or Wellburn Farms...or Wuertz Farms..Jo

what category is that gourd forum under? i guess im looking over it.

thanks

Ornamental Gourds....Jo

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/cucu/all/

Thanks Jo! I knew you could help!

I just finished cutting down an entire mini blind. I should have enough tags to get through the summer. LOL I get 7 tags per slat. I wonder how many slats are on a mini blind anyway... So, if they are 1" slats, I guess I could see how long the blind is and get a good estimate. I doubt they overlap enough to lose too much length...

Okay, the mini blind box was handy so I looked. The blind is 64" long and the slats are 1" wide. I'm getting 7 markers/plant tags per slat. I imagine there are a few more than 64 slats since they overlap a bit. That is 448 plant tags for less than $5 and it took me about an hour to cut them while I watched TV. I'm not sure I can beat that!

And my car is covered with snow. bleck.

Some good news, & some very bad news. Good news is that Bruiser is definitely feeling better, & has gone outside several times & has come back in without trouble. I'm still attempting to give him the oral antibiotic, but most of it ends up on me or the furniture.

The bad news is that Isabella's leukemia has returned. Isabella is the darling 6 year old daughter of my sister the teacher's principal, or assistant principal. She was first diagnosed in Dec. 2007, & since then she has had 2 bone marrow transplants, and months of hospitalization. She had relapsed last year on March 10th, so March is probably not their favorite month. Cincy public is just starting their spring break (one week) so they're just going to enjoy spring break, and then they'll start some kind of treatment in April.
So, please remember Bella, her mother Monica, and granpa Lynn in your prayers, & ask you praying friends if they'll pray for them, too.

I really need to be doing laundry & packing, but my get up and go got up & went!

Took DS's teaching assistant to the airport yesterday when her car refused to start. I went via the Anderson Ferry, & was surprised at how high the river still is, & how FAST. There was a huge tree trunk that was bobbing along so I could really track how fast it was moving.

Pat

Chele, I'm out too. I think that is the best thing you ever taught me. I know you use that Garden Marker, but I use the paint pens, and when I was seeding a few weeks ago, needed a few more markers, and couldn't even take the paint off with nail polish remover. I've got to get more before I transplant anything.

Your daylily seeds sprouting has me thinking about starting some of the seeds in my fridge. Most are Hanson pod parents with Jerry Nettles/John Peat pollen. Then I have a bag full of Aunt Wimp seeds. She is the best pod parent ever. So far she hasn't produced anything spectacular though.

Pat, I'm so sorry about Isabel... I can't even imagine.

Cars are covered with snow here too.

OH Pat, I'm so sorry to hear about Isabella. :( Life just isn't fair. No one should have to go through that, most of all a kid. I will remember Isabella, her family and friends in prayers.

And you Ms. Pat!! Don't make me drive to your house again. Do we really want that? Do I really have to bust your chops, tell you how excited you are and get you moving?? Really now! Take a nice long nap and get your buns moving! Pronto!! (okay?? LOL)

I drove nearly to Adams Co yesterday (actually I saw the Adams/Highland sign...) and down to Eastgate Mall today. Water is high everywhere! I've been amazed at the creeks, ponds and puddles. I actually miss taking the Anderson Ferry! I've not done that in a few years! When my sister lived over there, we always took that to the airport!

Which paint pens do you use Melissa? Craig picked me up some a few years ago. I was doing my dips and tets in different colors to make hybridizing quicker. The ones he bought, started fading after a couple of years. I wish I'd had known you needed more markers. I could have grabbed another blind and cut it for you. I don't think I'll go to Lowe's before I see you next week.

Do the daylily seeds! I did mine in baby food jars so I didn't have to mess with them twice. I'd have done them in seed mix if I had room in the fridge. LOL Now I just have to dump them in pots after 3 weeks and move the name tag.

Uh oh. Nolie's awake...

I don't have Babyfood Jars! :)

I use the marvy decoColor pens. They're fabulous! Someone did a couple of co ops with them here... the second one, I bought several of them.

Here's where they came from.

http://www.markersupply.com/madeexfi.html

This message was edited Mar 27, 2011 1:00 AM

I didn't have baby food jars either. I did have a bunch of baby food Nolan wouldn't touch. I asked several times and no one took it so I dumped them and cleaned them. LOL I have three Sterilite bins full of ones with seeds in the fridge. How many crosses do you have? I have a laundry basket full of jars and lids. They probably need rinsed now. And I'd probably want them back for next year. LOL You can also use any kind of plastic seed bag or sandwich bag. You just need enough moisture to plump up the seeds for three weeks then you can sow them in pots of seed mix. Some use soil...

I'll have to check into the paint pens...when I have plants to label...and metal labels. sigh....

There's an ongoing co op for them at the C place. ;) The eon markers that is.

I'm not sure how many crosses I have. I could probably start saving cottage cheese containers, or just do them in zip bags like you said. I'd lose the babyfood jars before I got them back to you! LOL


The last time I sowed them, I just took them out of the fridge and put them in Soiless mix in Solo Cups under lights on my plant stand?

Ziploc bags or even the little plastic seeds bags work well and take up a lot less room! I used to save the seeds in the little plastic bags, add a bit of moisture (water and peroxide) three weeks before I was ready to start them, then just dump them in pots with seed mix. Germination rates are said to be higher with 3 weeks of moist germination. The line of thinking on storing them dry, is that you are just storing them. If the seeds are really fresh, still plump and round, they may be fine. The moist germination will rejuvenate smaller or dried ones and kick them back into gear.

I forgot to ask! When does WB have spring break? LC only gets Mon and Tues off. What a crock! And they wanted to cut calamity days. hahaha

Ah, ok. I've got some old ones, maybe I will try that. Our spring break isn't until Easter Weekend. We get off Thursday, Friday and Monday. But, that Thursday may be a makeup day, I can't remember. April 23 is youngest's birthday, so he's psyched to have a long BD weekend. LOL it kind of makes up for the years when his birthday is ON Easter I guess. :)

LOL Yeah, nobody likes to share their birthday for any reason.

I'm headed to bed. I'm freezing and can't get warm. Nolan is on the couch with Craig but restless.

Night y'all!

The only drawback to the Anderson Ferry as a way to get to the airport is the panic-stricken look on the face of someone who's never been on it before. The landing in KY is not terribly inviting, and when you make the turn out of Constance & go into what looks like beyond the edge of civilization, I think people wonder if they've been kidnapped. 3 minutes later you can see the airport sprawl. The road there should be dedicated as a monument to the pothole industry!
Pat

LOL Pat. I remember getting off the ferry at what seemed like an alley! Craig actually worked right there for a few years. The company filed for bankruptcy and cut their people loose when I had just found out I was pregnant with Lillie.

I had a busy and productive day outside! I watered, watered and watered, started all the seeds for my consignment job, did all the cuttings of two different willows in my rooting tables and started cuttings of the Wave Petunias. They all needed cut back so I'm going to root them all and do hanging baskets with them and the original plants. It killed me to cut off a bunch of buds but it's too early to do anything with blooming Petunias anyway. I was looking at the flats today and realized I came away with three different colors.

Jazzi spent most of the day outside helping clean seeds, fetching things for me and watering. She went to the pot house and got me about 40 trays then dragged out my styrofoam trays for the 1,000 cuttings I have coming next week. Then Lillie came home from her sleepover and her friend stayed here. They started cleaning and sorting the pot house and getting everything organized. It's been a wreck out there the last couple of years. It will be nice to have everything sorted by size again!

My tomatoes are coming up like gangbusters. I need to get all those trays loaded so I can get them all transplanted. It sure is nice to see all of that green out there! It was warm enough that the heat stayed off from noon until 7pm. Then it started kicking on every little bit to warm things up. Lillie's friend's Mom hung around and talked to me for awhile, left to get her daughter extra clothes then came back and talked awhile longer. After that, I came in and made burgers and pasta with Velveeta. Nothing like a cheeseburger and mac n' cheese after being outside all day!

Hope the rest of you had a good day.

I just want to assure everyone that I will not be getting lost in the big city of DC (I do have a tendency to wander off, either on foot or by scooter),
BECAUSE I got my hair cut and colored and I'm now more orange headed than any carrot. My hair will stick out like a match tip in any crowd. Hopefully, no one will have to call the fire department to put me out...
Pat

Oh, Pat you made me giggle out loud. I had my hair colored this week, and although the beautician that I went to said that she had written down the color from last time, it didn't turn out like it did last time. I am sort of a washed out light brown, and she colored it ash, and then put some caramel highlights in it. Was very nice, and I liked it. This time, I turned out a darker brown, with more red in it, then the highlights. Still looks good, but I preferred the first color best. I had decided to go gray and just get it over with, but holy smokes, made me look years older than what I really am. Enjoy your trip!

Chele, you are really going gang busters. I bet you are happier than a sow at the slop trough. I would be.

I have my stuff in my garden shed on heat mats. I didn't get out there this afternoon, because I got interested in watching University of Kentucky whip North Carolina. Need to go check things first thing in the morning.

Just wondering, will you be able to sell the daylilies that you are starting, since they are crosses and not well known named ones? I think most people who are not really "into" daylilies don't really care about names, and just like the color, or the fragrance, or the form of the flower.

Melissa, good to see you posting more. Sounds like your school break is cut back like most schools around here. My DGD will be here all week, but they will have to go longer at the end of the school year. Seems some of the administrators had vacations planned, so it was full steam ahead on the spring break dates.

Chele, I am hoping that my DGD will be able to come to the RU with me this year. Since you always look so nice, with hair and make up, I would appreciate it if you could give her a little encouragement with her looks. She is a beautiful girl, but she takes after her dad and is just big framed, and she is so sensitive about her weight. That is counting chickens before they hatch, but she saw you at one of the RU's and she thought you were so pretty. It may have been the first RU I attended.

Well, I had a long day, so I am heading down the hall to bed. DH is going to the hospital to see his older brother who is in the hospital and not doing well. DH has a cold, but is going to get a mask and visit for a few minutes. It sounds pretty bad for his DB, and he so wants to visit just for a minute, in case something were to happen to him.

I'm sorry to hear about your BIL Bonnie. :( I hope he fools them and bounces back. I'm glad your DH will go spend some time with him. We just never know how things will go. I'll put in a prayer for you all when I head to bed shortly.

Yes, I'm going gang busters. LOL I have no other choice. I'm going to have to make money at this or give it up and get a job. I really don't want to work outside the house until Nolan is in school and maybe not then if things are going well. Honestly, I didn't go into the hole, my second year in business here so that is pretty darn good.

I don't have the daylily income to depend on but I think I have enough other stuff of interest this year to break even and possibly come out ahead. I had several big expenses this year since I had to start over. My neighbor was supposed to buy the heater since he gets his plants and gardener for free. He didn't bother even though it was his idea and he promised to do it. Then he said he'd cover the gas for the same reasons. I gave him about a 2 weeks heads up and he fell through again. I told hubby that it was fine and I can do this by myself but he better not expect his plants for free again this year, nor for me to do all that work.

The seedlings will just be seedlings for a few years. I'm free to keep them or sell them or name them or whatever, since I'll own all of them. Most people aren't willing to pay much for something that is not named but you can still sell them for the price of any other perennial. I have several very nice seedlings that I have been watching for a few years and they may end up getting registered this year. I need to move them around and divide them and see how they do. Then I'll make my decision.

Thank you very much for the compliment and sharing the one from your granddaughter. :) I think all girls (maybe all people) are self conscious or lacking self esteem about one aspect of their looks or another. I'd rather see a chunky person then a bony person any day! I know people that try as hard to gain weight as others do, to lose weight. I'd be glad to meet her and I'm sure the girls would enjoy her too. They all have their little quirks about things too. I know kids can sure be unkind with their words to each other. It's not easy to convince them it's better to be a good person on the inside than a pretty person on the outside.

Pat, if you go missing, I'll turn on Google Earth and look for your hair. LOL Send me an email and let me know when you are leaving and returning so I'm not worried about you. You probably don't want to post on here, what days would be best to have a party at your house without you. hahaha

I guess I'm going to shut down all my windows and sneak up the hall. I need to fill about 55 trays tomorrow. Oh boy.

OH, hubby starts his four 10's this week. The kids are off the next two days, then Craig will be off Wednesday. After that, I gotta figure out how to get my 4-5 hours of kid free time in the greenhouse. I told hubby I guess I will start getting out there as soon as the kids get on the bus and stay out there until he leaves for work. That should give me a solid 2.5 hours every morning, then I'll get nap time too.

Soccer and softball start this week. Ugh.

Chele,
I agree with Bonnie 100% on the non-registered daylilies. Personally, I could care less about if it's registered.
Mostly, I think of the area I'd like to showcase it, and how it will compliment that/those bed/s.

The only info I'm really interested in is: Do I love "the look"? What is the normal bloom count? What is the bloom time and length? How tall is it? Everblooming or not? How old is the cross, and is it fairly stable?
Can't think of anything else at the moment.

I wish you the very best success. I've been following your thread since it started and cheering you and your family on.

Your greenhouse is fantastic, and a pox on that neighbor who so easily used your gardening expertise and labor when you were vulnerable, but finds it so easy to forget his promises. Disgusting.

Happy Gardening!
Deanna

Hi Deanna! It's great to hear from you! I'm happy to know about all the people that peeked in and kept an eye on us and said prayers for us. It was sure rough going and we couldn't have made it without our friends pulling for us. :)

I'm a little sad about all my daylilies being gone but I do have other plants and I'll build up my stock again soon enough. It worked out well that I needed the money from the sale to buy hubby a car as he got a job offer right after I sold them. Maybe it was some bizarre twist of fate that had to fall into place.

I do have a couple dozen named daylilies left and maybe I'll be able to sell those or trade them to get others. Growing as many as I did and having all the experience that I do, I can be more picky about what I put back into the garden. I also have the opportunity to work on the beds and get them like I want them as opposed to the cram everything in method I had to use when we moved here. I guess all things happen for a reason.

My neighbor pulling his shenanigans cut into my plant buying budget but didn't stop me in my tracks. You do what you can and work it out later. :) I'm aggravated but I'll get over it. LOL

Good morning!
Yeah ...that stinks about the neighbor, Chele! Geesh!
Always some of those kind around though.
Not sure what I am starting in my lil greenhouse this year. I can't really start anything until the temps stablilize a bit.
I put all my hypertufas in there last winter, hoping the non hardy plants in them would somehow stay alive...nope..didn't happen. Somehow ...I knew that ahead of time...but had no where else to put them. I had some gorgeous succulents in them too!
I just love your greenhouse. Somehow I missed out hearing about it though? Is it new? Or a combination of others..or what??????
Inquiring minds want to know!

Yeah, I don't know what gets into him sometimes. I put four beds in for him last year, three all from scratch. The fourth one is/was in pretty bad shape. It's a circular bed under a tree and the roots are horrible. I built up and amended but it still stayed pretty dry. He raved and raved that he'd never had flower gardens and he couldn't believe how much he enjoyed them. One of the gardens was a kitchen garden. I put in several tomato plants, a couple of pepper plants, walking onions, bush cucumbers, a miniature rose and some sage just to give it some color and finished it off with Mexican sunflowers and zinnia I think. He ate very well all summer. He promised me he'd buy me the heater to make it quicker and easier this year. Then hem hawed around and I had no time to waste. Then he said he'd pay for the gas to cover his plants and didn't get to that either.

I did call him last week and told him I wanted to order some plants he wanted but since I had to pay for the heater and gas, I didn't have any plant money. I told him paying for those two items ate my plant budget. So he did give me $50 toward his plants but that sure ain't $400! LOL So he'll have to pay for anything else he wants... He also asked me to pick up some plants and soil mix to set up a mini greenhouse/cold frame kit he'll be marketing soon. I did and he'll pay for that too. I can't afford to be *that nice*.

Marcy, check some of the lists for winter sowing seeds. Also take note of things that self seed. Any of those could be sown now. Things like Cleome and Blackberry Lily actually benefit from fluctuating temperatures. You could do Poppies too. You can pretty much start anything that you could throw on the ground before the last frost. If I have anything you want, I'd be more than happy to share. :) I'm sorry to hear about your succulents. :(

Remember I had the one greenhouse and it had the old style door that sagged? Then there was a storm that ripped off some roof vent windows. When the doors blew open, a piece of the front got broken. I wrote to let them know about the issues and see if I could have the parts replaced. I was shocked when they wrote back and said they were not worth replacing and would be too hard to insert so they were sending me a whole new one! So I had two that were 8.5 x 12.5. I always wanted to join them together but didn't have the money or energy with all that was going on. I took them down last year to sell them but Melissa talked me out of it. Good thing! I spent about $160 and bought a set of the ribs to connect them together. So now it's 8.5 x 25! I staggered the pieces around so you can't really tell what is old and what is new. I put the older polycarb panels on the back which is the shady side. Since I have two extra back ends, I used the metal strengthening bars above the doors to double support the openings and put doors at both ends. It's working out great! I'm also really happy that I moved it closer to the house. There is a light on the garage which lights up the inside just enough that I could work out there all night if I wanted. LOL

Marcy, I forgot to say...If you look at my photos on facebook, there is an album called Gemini Garden-starting over. All the pics are there. :)

Got a bunch more seeds done. Got a bunch more cuttings done. The kids worked on the pot house and played sports outside with a friend. Then we made a candy run and I did more seeds. LOL Just got out of the shower and we're heading to soccer soon. This IS the life!

Chele, I hope that you will soon be done planting and transplanting. The selling should be a lot more fun!

I had to pick up DGD today, and had a few errands to do in that city. While I was there, I went in to this furniture store. I have been looking for a bed, or more specifically a headboard and frame for some time, so I had them order me one, and it will be in in about 2 weeks. Got a new mattress and springs too. We have a full size bed, and DH and I have outgrown it. I got a queen size, and it suddenly dawned on me on the way home, now I have to buy sheets and comforters and a bedspread. Oh, me this is a big ticket item, all for a comfortable night's sleep. I have cherry furniture in the bedroom, but have been using an antique brass bed with the other pieces. So ordered cherry colored headboard. I think it will look okay. I am moving the brass bed into my guest room, and changing that all around, so when all is done, I will have a full size bed that is extra. Will either put an ad in the paper, or see if anybody in the family wants to take it off my hands. It is nice, hard rock maple, and still very nice.

I enjoy the growing part. It's lots of busy work and always something to do and the whole time I worry, knowing I forgot to start something and I always do. By the time I realize, it's too late. I'm just thrilled that I have the opportunity to do it again and the ability and to do it. This part of it ends all too soon and it's much harder to keep the larger annuals going. At least the perennials can do fine outside in pots or I can plant them.

The bedroom sounds beautiful! I love cherry wood. My bed posts are cherry with an antiqued metal sleigh bed head and foot board. I never got around to getting the other pieces. We had a king for a long time but when we moved here, it was too big for our room so we went back to a queen. Have you tried Target for bedding? I've not looked there in awhile but they used to have a very nice selection, reasonably priced. They carried a lot of Waverly when I worked there and had some nice patterns in a large variety of colors. Years ago, we always went to the Whiting Outlet. I always did very well there too, buying overstock. I wish you were getting rid of bunk beds. LOL We need to replace all three!

Sorry no bunk beds in my house. Since I only had one son, we didn't need them!

I will be looking online for the bedding. I was in Penney's today, and had I thought of it while there, I probably would have shopped for it then. Duh, is my middle name!!

LOL Had you thought about it, they wouldn't have had anything you wanted.

If we had more rooms. I wouldn't need bunkbeds! :P

We worked on the Cherry kitchen today. We need to go back & do the doors & panels on the back of the island.

Our house was a little full to as we grew up. 4 boys in one room. 2 in bunk beds. At least we had beds, we knew kids that didn't. They slept on the floor!

That is beautiful Bernie! Make sure you post pics when it is finished. I love seeing other people's kitchens. I hate mine. LOL It's big and serves it's purpose, but definitely not my dream kitchen...

Ok Chele...will look there...but thanks for explaining to me.
Yes...I know I could winter sow...but heck...I throw down my poppy and Cleome seed in the fall...where I want it...don't have to fool with it that way. Plus, there is always some that comes up that can be transplanted.
I remember you doing all that for your neighbor too, Chele. Shame on him!
Thanks for the offer of seeds, but I have them coming out of my ears here...lol. Plus I can never resist buying more in the spring you know!
Bernie...the kitchen looks really really nice! You guys do excellent work! My dad was a woodworker, and I "grew up" in his shop....since I was a tomboy!
Loved the smell of wood! We also have a young friend who does woodworking for a living. He is very talented and can make anything...just by looking at it. He made me a cupboard..like one
that I saw in his mother in law's antique shop. It was already sold...and I wanted it soo bad...lol. His wife antiqued it...and you can hardly tell it from the real one!

I figured you knew you could do that stuff but I know you are probably itching to get out there and grow something too. So, if you forgot to throw something on the ground in the fall, here's your chance! LOL

Speaking of, do you have any extra Cleome? I think I Preened mine a way a few years ago. Whoops. I saw some Rose Queen at the dollar store. I probably should have grabbed a pack. A few plants go along way since they seed like they do.

We had a lot of give and take and bartering with my neighbor so I'm not too bent up but he offered the other on his own without me asking and PROMISED he'd take care of it. That aspect bothers me. It put me in the hole since I budgeted and then he messed it up.

Guess I'm going to gulp some more coffee and get at it. I need to start transplanting those tomatoes. Guess I might throw the heat box in the greenhouse if the peppers aren't up today.

I know I've got some cleome here, Chele...I'll look for it tonight for you. I'm with you on the kitchens..I love looking at everybody else's but mine and I love Bernie's - can't wait to see the finished deal!