Lets see New lilies sprouting #5

Chain saw! Piece of cake. I wrap the grasses in duct tape, saw through, put the bunches in lawn bags, and take them to the compost pile.

Just wear gloves, because some of them can be sharp. I will confess that when they get 4-5 feet wide it takes more than one pass to remove them. I go in from opposite sides.

Donna

Major envy, here. Alas, my garden-boy is just a fantasy....

At first it was "the money"
After a lot of thought I realized I could garden longer if I had help.
There are plants and ideas I havnt tried yet.
I will be planting mini daffs around some of my vulnerable lilies.

It's a good fantasy, though, Moby, especially dressed as he is. LOL.

All my grasses are now 4-5 feet wide, Donna, and I just don't have the strength to do all of them.

I had my daughter's boyfriend to help last summer. Had major digging and moving of a lot of gravel. he was a godsend. I never could have done it withouthim. Of course, he is rather nerdy, heavy into youthful philosophy that life will clear up for him, and borders on being a socialist. i try to overlook these. Nerdy I can take. And he is very very polite. But he commented once that if the 'rich wouldn't share their wealth, maybe it should take taken from them." My husband won't have him here after that. But I was grateful for his help, and when we (Laura) go for coffee, I invite him along sometimes. Or if we are going for breakfast. He is her choice for now, so I want to be supportive. Alas, he also didn't know a kumquat from an azalea.

LOL, our Billy that cuts down the grasses wouldn't know an azalea from a kumquat either. But he enjoys cutting grasses and racking, and bagging leaves for my compost. If he expresses any interest in learning the plants, I will teach him, but none so far.

Trying not to get into politics here but I couldnt help be amused at the boyfriends philosophy.
I have been around a long time,was a weekend member of a commune for a few years, and made the choice to make a living.
Biggest reason was I like indoor plumbing.
Your daughters boyfriends philosophy is common for young people who arent quite sure where their lives are headed and dont want to take the reigns themselves and be the masters of their own destinies.
My grandfather used to say"If all the wealth was distributed equally, within one year the rich would be rich and the poor would be poor"
You are wise to accept him at the level you do. She might be as level headed as her mom, you never know.


This message was edited Aug 21, 2011 1:35 PM

Oh gosh, Polly, no, especially not in one day. I would stagger it. Since I was gardening every day in the spring, I'd pick one and do it. Finally, after many years of taking out multiple five foot wide grasses, we paid someone to do it last year. The biggest problem is that I have lilies in grass beds. I of course, know where they are. I could see some of the leftover stalks (which I left on propose). I was fortunate - I didn't lose a single lily.

As for the young man, well, I started working when I was 11. Mostly babysitting, but I saved every penny and by the time I was ready for college I had a few thousand dollars, which I offered to my father since he was paying for it. He insisted that I keep every penny that I earned (most of it at 55 cents an hour) and that I could do anything with it, even if it was completely frivolous, because I had learned to work and save. What that young man doesn't quite get yet is that having your own resources gives you freedom and some power of determination, while waiting around for the powers that be to distribute someone else's accumulated 55 cents doesn't.

I work in non-profit, and you would be amazed how much money hardworking people in modest houses often have - and give away freely. It's inspiring to be around people like that. Not the ones who want buildings named after them and want to meet celebrities, but the ones who want no recognition and just believe in giving back..

Dave's Garden isn't for politics, I understand. But it is nice to hear from folks who share our philosophy and have the work history to prove it. I never was much of a saver, but like you, Donna, started babysitting around 11 or 12. Left home at 18 and have never left a debt unpaid or got in over my head. LOL. And my husband is, as he says, slightly to the right of Atilla the hun. Laura is her own person, like me in some ways, and where the rest came from I have no clue. Must be her father. lol

Well, Conc d'or is just about open along with Mother of Pearl. When they are decently open I will post pictures.

I can never get over the sequence of lilies in the different zones.
I love Conc d' ore ,cant ait to see it again.

It's is absolutely glorious and the scent is wonderful. It's HUGE!

Mine came from Faraway Flowers. http://www.farawayflowers.com/

Wow!

Here's Red Hot lily atop Conca d'Or to show the big difference in size.

Oh yes. It is the biggest bloom I have and the most beautiful I think. Your picture is just perfect.

Thanks, MC. I have to move it and others since they all back up to a Jackmanii clematis, which in turn backs up to one of our six compost bins. The Jackmanii defies description in growth so it can stay but I do want to see the lilies in bloom and can't as long as they remain where they are.

Holy cow! I have tried and tried and can't get one to bloom, assuming I can even keep it alive. Yours is gorgeous.
Six compost bins (I can just see part of one in the pic). You must have great mulch. but a lot of work.

Mstella,

My guess is that jackmani thrives on neglect. I knew a woman who did NOTHING for hers. No water, no fertilizer, improper support, north side of house. It bloomed outrageously every year (it was the only thing in her neglected garden that did). Are you giving yours too much love?

One of our neighbors insists on never pruning or feeding their Jackmanii, in full sun, and they get a few measly blooms on top and they're happy so I say nothing. A friend "thinks" hers may be Jackmanii but it hasn't bloomed in so long she can't recall the color - she's never pruned it or fed it.

Contrast that with the constant feeding ours gets from the compost and the fact we cut it back by 12' a few times each summer. Here's the cuttings on the brick and that was taken July 8th and it desperately needs another 12' removed.

I would love to have compost bins but we have no room except a spot that has asphalt on it. I don't think that would be good for a compost bin. I have seen three bin designs that look like just the ticket. So they are heavy feeders, eh?

Now, Pirl I must say that she never needed to cut it back. So yours is obviously performing at a level hers never approached.

The neighbor who doesn't cut back was busy giving advice on her Jackmanii to the man who asked me, not her!

They are very heavy feeders, MC, as Clematis Guru and Evey and Jeanne have always said. Before I came to DG I'd give each plant 20 pounds of manure, a handful of lime and a handful of 5-10-5 and they always did quite well but they were all planted with a lot of our compost. Now, with over 100 clematises, I'm not about to drag around 2000 pounds of manure each spring!

I cannot even imagine that many vines. You must have acres to plant. Next year I will try your formulae. I think it is too late for this year.

Conc d'Or finally opened.

And Mother of Pearl. Not a favorite but maybe it needs time to mature. Now waiting for Pizzazz and Ice Caves

Conca d'Or is gorgeous, as usual. Aren't the buds beautiful as well? How do you like the fragrance?

I love it. I walk up the path to the top of the little rise and the fragrance is just wonderful.

My last lily for the year, a minature Oriental: Sunny After 8.

Beautiful, Jack.

How unusual. And it is in a pot, isn't it? Did I ask how many lilies you have?

125

Oh my. I only have 39.

Arlene, I love your clematis! The plans that were in the yard when we came are still going strong each spring. The plants I put in from starters in the spring of 2009 are just strating to show their stuff and bloomed for the first time this year.

I think our last lily is just about ready for Taps. Mary, I will live vicariously on your beautiful lilies and jmorth's dwarf oriental. You cannot have too many lilies.

marcia

Ice caves is almost totally open. pictures tomorrow. Might have to stand on my head as it is still short and points down.

Thanks, Marcia. Some clematis do take a while to get growing while others just zoom.

All done with lilies here. Last week Salmon Star surprised me and gave me two blooms on a new bulb.

We will look forward to seeing Ice Caves, mstella.

Looking forward to Ice Caves, mstella, mine was just gorgeous this year. You'll love it.

Ice Caves! Ice Caves! Ice Caves!

Ice Caves. Growing anticipation!

yer killin me !

gosh, I feel like the peasants are out with pitchforks and torches!!! this Ice Caves is only two years old.

I took this other one that shows more of the green; kind of a weird picture..

I probably have (hopefully) three or four that I haven't seen bloom yet. Hope I didn't lose them.