It's supposed to be 108° today, they said on the Noon news! If it does it'll be a record.
Here is a pic of my waterpond in progress. It looks refreshing but if you got in it you'd be filthy!
Will
Aug. 2011 dry and hot, like July still!
Sorry to hear about you're dog Polly, Crit.
What do we have here?! A hijacker of sorts?! I don't know what it is, I was wondering about White flowers in a dark red Rose pot! Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a separate plant with way different leaves. My guess is an Ohio Buckeye tree, but thats just because I don't have any other guesses!! : ) Maybe happ will know, I got it from her!! Happ, are you out there?
Anyway, it's kinda pretty!
Will
Leaves look like the Ohio Buckeye but the blooms aren't close from what I can see from pics. My guess is a weed.
Thanks Will.
Water pond is looking good !!!!!!!!!
It looks like a white cleome to me. They are nice plants. Look good with roses. Get pretty tall (36"). Have big stickers on stems when mature, so be careful if you pull it out. Will re-seed prolifically. I like them.
It does now that you mention it birder. I have a feeling that might be it.
Thanks for doing that link, Pepper.
Thanks Crit. Oh, spray the pump out? No, I haven't done that yet. The pump is still working today, so I think everything is gonna be okay with it for awhile.
Do pumps come apart pretty easy to be cleaned?
White Cleome eh?! I've never heard of it, but I've never heard of a lot of things! They look good together huh? I think I might just keep it in the pot and plant them all together.
I did some White foundation painting today!! I've done roughly 1/4 so far, the front, oh joy!!
Here is that White Cleome plant in the Rose pot again.
Will,
My pumps don't come apart, but where I can turn the water speed slow or fast is where I would get some crud in them. I just pulled out what I could, then sprayed it (be careful or it will spray you back) to clean it out some.
I have some white/pink cleome. Never grown it before, but I like it. It was one of the things I ws'd.
It is cleome and a flower that LOVES hot weather. They do reseed hence why you got one in the rose pot. I have pink, purple, and some that are more white than not. They won't even begin to grow until it gets hot. Will, the rose still looks really pretty but you better get that rose planted because it will need to anchor into the ground before the freeze thaw thing happens according to the rose guy. The pond is looking better and better each time you post a pic.
Summer seems to have flown by and I know August will fly by, sure doesn't feel like I got much done again this year. Have tons to plant but so hot and dry afraid to do that.
Seeing that I don't have any time I was thinking about doing a fall garden...rofl. I have never done one before.
I haven't seen any crud in the pump, but it's prolly full of it in there, I'm gonna find out.
Happ, I have a place underneath an arbor here, but I tried digging a hole for it a couple of days ago, and the shovel sparked!!
Thats just a funny, but the ground is as hard as a rock!! I'm hoping for rain soon and I'll go ahead and dig that hole, otherwise I'll have to find a way to deeply soak it with water.
But I might leave that Cleome, it seems kinda nice. Thanks happ, that pond is coming along, I find something to do on it every day it seems. Here is a photo of it from yesterday. I think I just took out some patio blocks out from underneath some rocks yesterday. Boy, I hope it rains soon!! Like my concrete frog?! It's banged up, I used to use it to weigh down stuff in the bed of my former pickup and to chock the tires, mostly. When it wasn't in use, (most of the time) it was sliding around the bed getting banged up!!
Will
This message was edited Aug 4, 2011 11:42 AM
When DH dug the grave for my Polly, he went down probably 15 or 16" and it was dry way down there!!!!! He had to get the pick out to break up the dirt. No way he could do it with the shovel!!!
That looks like a pretty big concrete frog there. :-)
Will, one of the volunteers at PG once told me that when it rains that's when she goes out and digs holes in the garden. That way the ground was soft and ready to go when she was. LOL.
The pond is looking good!! When you do plant the rose plant it deep. Don't hesitate to bury it some. They like that. I try to do that with mine but I hit clay pretty quick and am not strong enough to mess with hard clay for my roses so I cheat and bury them in mulch. lol
That is a big frog, it weighs about ten lbs.! I'll get that Rose vine planted soon. I have a spot all ready for it, I'll post it after this post, a good spot I think, we'll see. I also see now I might have a pink Cleome! Anyway, there is a pink flower! Thats what I do if I have too, like I did last year for the Bamboo trench, break out the pick. Then I'm afraid the pick head thing is gonna fly off when I'm swinging it and hit a neighbor! Digging a hole for a beloved, deceased pet stinks, then putting the pet in it stinks even more. I buried my cat of 11 years in Nov. 09', that stunk too.
Thanks Pepper, I'm still bragging on the pond! I had my friend just now come to the computer and watch a short video clip (with audio) I made of the pond and the water trickle, which she loves the sound of water, she was all smiles and appreciative. Thanks Pepper, I'll try to remember to plant the Rose deep, sometimes I think I don't plant deep enuff, then the plant suffers!
Will
Heres where I plan to put that Rose plant, here in front of this arbor. That stream is dried up, it usually is, but about a month out of the year there will be a little water in it. And then 2 or 3 times a year it can be a mini-creek after a good rain.
Good spot for it.
I made a Youtube video of my waterpond if anyone would like to see it and hear it, it's only 36 seconds long. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfFOvOo5_c8
Will
Thanks Pepper, I hope that spot works out, that'd be neat.
FYI: When planting rose bushes, you need to keep the crown above the ground. Pick a spot where they get at least 8 hours of sun a day for the best performance. After a bloom, or when pruning, go down to at least the first 5 leaf stem to cut. Cut at a diagonal inwards towards the bush. Prune the canes so that they are facing outward as there needs to be air flow within the bush. You can leave the stem buds that are on the outside of the cane. They need about an inch of water per week. Hope this helps!
oh ya.... a little more:
Use a soaker hose or water close to the base in a trickle. Don't let the dirt splash back up onto the leaves. You can develop black spot and possibility of other disease if you splash it. Mulch then to prevent splashing from the rain. Use the Bayer 3n1 Rose care every 6 weeks to help with fertilizing, disease control and pest control.
Thanks Crit. That is a bunch of good info. If I don't keep the crown above the ground I'm gonna be in trouble! Oh, the spot I picked out gets lots of sun, I want lots of blooms!
I don't know if I'll be able to do the Bayer though. I'm hoping this plant will learn to get tough on it's own. Thats kinda my theory on some of my plants, at least until it looks like they're bumming, then I'll do something.
I went out there to do dig the hole for the bush and was I ever surprised! I thought, "oh, this is gonna be perfect digging, it rained good last nite"! I went out today and everything was wet. I thought, "oh, this is great, everything got watered and I'll be able to dig". Well, I got my shovel and put my boot on it to drive it in the "soft" ground and only the surface got wet from the rain!! I was like, "oh, this is great!". So, I just poured a bunch of water there and I'm going back out in a bit to see if I can dig that hole for the Rose bush. I didn't know it was so urgent, I am gonna be in trouble if that bush don't make it till next year.
Will
Well, I got the hole dug and the Rose planted! I'll train more branches on the Arbor when they get a bit longer, likely in a couple months. It's like a sigh of relief after stuff gets planted, then not so much worrying about overwintering and watering and of course, carrying and my hording collection gets smaller! lmbo!
Will
This message was edited Aug 5, 2011 4:30 PM
I don't do anything for my roses except mulch and sometimes water. They are happy so far. lol. Really suprised they are thriving in this heat without much supplemental water.
Now I think I'm gonna get a White Rose to go up the other side of the Arbor! That cheap $5.99 Harbor Freight Arbor just doesn't seem to do it justice! My most expensive plant is growing in nothing but mulch, (well, Pine bark), speaking of burying you're Rose in mulch, Pepper. It has NO soil in it. For a plant and a planter thats so big, it's still plenty light enuff for one person to carry.
And, it's hardy that way, it has always been outside for the 8 years that I've had it.
Hehe! See the little solar Cardinal bird in the planter? It sings every time I water the Dwarf Eastern White Pine 'Nana', or just walk by! It has a photo eye sensor motion detector, it wags it's tail, works it's beak and sings!
Will
Will you are in luck with that rose. It is a tuffy. Other than the first year I planted it I never did anything to it. It blooms on old and new wood and has survived my horrible winters up here so it will think it is in the tropics in your protected back yard. It just needed to get to settled before winter started. I probably wouldn't fertilize it this late in the year cause it would be probably be 3 or 4 weeks before alot of new growth started and then we would be heading into fall and who knows could have an early frost. I bloomed pretty well for me on the east side of the house and probably only got 4 or 5 hours of sun, so if it gets more it should be a happy camper, course it also had a giant clematis growing on it.
No rain up here just humid as all get outs. I was push mowing and sweating like it was 120! I truely belive Missouri gets 2 good days a year and they are when I am at work...rofl.
Losing all the deep moisture is not a good thing. It takes alot to get that back. Sadly we have had so many stray animals thru the years if anyone ever digs up the pasture they are going to wonder what the heck. When we first moved here we had 6 dogs, 2 cats, and 3 birds.... ;) They were all so sweet, then course thru the years different pets have wandered up and stayed. One time this beautiful black lab shows up and stays. No collar, but well behaved, just a sweetie. After about 2 weeks I found out he belonged to the neighbor across the road. Crazy dog could see his house! Then one time 2 chocolate lab puppies got dumped and I wanted to keep them so bad, but I knew I could find homes for them, sadly no one ever wants the mutts or gladly because they become mine. Course now we have 4 dogs and 1 cat. One dog the basset we did buy but other than that, they all adopted DH and me. Crit I know you miss your gardening friend something awful.
Yes happ ...... I had a little backslide today when trying to take a nap. Was really missing her ........... wanted her to be on the bed with me.
Will, be sure you water that rose good to get all the air away from the roots.
Ah Crit, I sure feel for you. Post a pic of your newest baby.
We got rain this morning and the temps are amazing. I can pull some weeds thank goodness.
The master gardeners are suppose to come to my house the end of August and lordy is it a mess. Wish I would of order dirt last weekend...rofl. Oh well I am sure everything will dry out shortly.
Well out to play will check on you all later.
Well, I hate to boast when some places are so hot and dry but we are getting a big downpour right now. I was outside watering earlier and I got the front yard watered then came in for a little while, then went out to water the backyard and it was real cloudy! I thought, "oh, it won't rain". So, about a fourth of the way thru watering, here comes the wind, then the rain. The poor neighbor next door got a big limb fall on they're new car. The neighbor on the other side came home on his Harley in the storm. I was outside under the porch when the branch fell on the neighbor's car and then the guy came home in the rain, I am traumatized! I got a photo of when it was just raining, not the blowing torrential downpour that it was.
Glad to hear that Rose is tuff, happ, I hope it stays tuff! I saw the little metal tag thats wired to it from JacksonPerkins, do you know what the name is?
Oh, that Rose has been watered real good! Even today, it is getting soaked from rain.
My friend has had a lot of cats too, she has I think 7 cats in containers from cremation, there is 7 here now. They are like companions here, the disabled lady has 2 in her room, she calls them kids or babies.
Will
This message was edited Aug 7, 2011 7:04 PM
That storm sure packed a punch by the time it reached Oak Grove!! We were at Walmart when it hit and it was blowing people around in the lobby area and pulled the lid off the bag container. It was raining so hard we couldn't see past the sidewalk. The only reason we could see that far was because of the people still standing there. They eventually called Code Black and sent employees to the back but not customers. Finally they came back for the customers and sent us back there. They sent us back there due to the large hail and because there are skylights on the roof.
Higginsville, which is 30 min east of me, got hit with 90 mph winds, lost power, trees and had roofs blown off. A friend of mine got home and found her trampoline in the front yard and shingles in their siding. We have limbs down including one really big one where my dad normally parks. But it doesn't look like we got hail because my old cat hid under plants instead of going into one of the cat houses so he got soaked. lol
We had some rain last night. Noisy thunder, but we were glad to get the rain. Yippeee!
We caught another coon. This makes four. This was a big one. She/He has pretty much destroyed my window box plants.
Made strawberry pie today. Yum. Making a quinoa with a basil pesto tomorrow. We have lots of basil in the garden.
Still very hot here. Need to pull weeds. Maybe tomorrow AM
Wowzer the city is alot cooler. I walked out for just a second to my car and it was nice out, especially compared to what it has been.
Well I was weeding Sunday morning it was cloudy and cool, and when I got to the lilies, something had chewed them down and chewed the bulbs, just like the ones I had overwintered. I went a little farther and found holes in the ground. I am pretty sure I have voles.....only thing that I could find was poison and with 4 dogs and 1 cat I can't do that, so anyone got any suggestions? Made me angry about my lilies. I really like those, and not far from those I have more lilies and surprise lilies a huge patch of them. Which by the way haven't bloomed yet, but I have some in the shade blooming.....
Any suggestions welcomed and needed. Wonder if I could set mouse traps. Where is that stupid snake when I need him!
OK group .......here is my little Bobbi's "mug shot" from the Humane Society. lol I'll try to get some more, but she is always in my lap!!!
My grandma has one just like Bobbi. He was dumped on her porch one day last year. She knows who dropped him off but Tiny is part of the family now. lol. And always sad when I leave since I'm his playmate. lol
Happ, I can suggest stalking the yard with a gun since I know you are in the country. lol. I will ask my dad what he uses to catch moles and stuff here. We have a couple traps we use and they don't always catch them but we know they get hit at least because they get tripped.
If you can't catch the mole(s), they make great dirt for plants happ!
Boy, those 2 Ligularias 'Midnight lady' are neat plants, I didn't even know about Ligularias. They are going to make a fine addition to the shade garden I plan. I have a photo of one of them that I got from Pepper, the 2 are doing good, they will be good with the Hostas, Ferns, and Coral Bells in that spot. That Hosta is that scorched Sum And Substance I was telling about, it is recovering in full shade, I cut some of the leaves with scissors, they were toasted. The Ligularias seem to love full shade!
I may have talked big before about a "tropical spot" I plan, but I noticed recently that that spot gets NO sun, it is gonna become a shade garden and the tropical spot I plan has been moved to the side of the house.
I went to Heartland Nursery today and got 2 more Banana 'Basjoo's in they're 50% off sale, I got the 2 for $14 even. I thought that spot got some sun in the Summer, not NO sun, so the plan has changed..lol!
That looks like a Miniature Pinscher, Crit, neat dogs, my Dad and Stepmom used to show them in dogshows.
You caught another coon, birder?! Just don't sleep with them like the lady in the tv commercial for glasses, she thinks it's her cat!
They say on the weather this will be an unusually cool week, lows in the 60's, one low even of 61°, that could change tho!
I'm glad we finally get to cool off finally!!! We need it!! Hopefully I can get my garden weeded again and start planning on putting in a fall garden next month. Not sure what all I will plant though. I know I will do a couple rows of radishes but after that not sure.
Ligularias do like shade. Mine seems happier in my shadier spots than the spots with a bit more sun.
Will, Bobbi is a Rat Terrier. You can't tell it by the pic but she has white on her too.
I have Voles not moles, moles eat bugs, Voles eat plant roots! They don't leave mounds like moles, they have a hole that looks what you would think is a snake hole. Now that it is cooled off maybe I can convience the cat to go back there since he is a long haired solid black cat, he wouldnt go to the west side of the house. Maybe I will start feeding him over there.
Will, most tropicals will do just fine in shade. I have gingers, bananas, elephant ears, orchids, calla lily, voodoo lily and some other stuff in shade. Hibiscus wouldn't be good, nor plumerias, things that bloom might need more sun but the majority of my stuff gets very little sun.
Wow these temps are something else. Feels good, I am trying not to worry about an early winter or first frost, I still have lots to do.
Ack!! Voles!! I saw that after I posted Moles. I was thinking, "ot oh, I think they're different"!! Sorry about that happ. They do sound nasty, I hope you get rid of them, ewww.. eating plant roots does sound nasty! Yeah, the backyard is kinda sheltered from the North, there is a big hill on the North that prolly goes up half a block, and just as far to the North, I hope it helps the Rose plant survive it's first Winter here. I had EE's in the shade and they seemed to suffer here, anyway they were pretty small, I'll see if I can find the others for sale.
Eeeek!! A Rat Terrier!! Looks like a nice dog, if I'd looked closer I'd have seen the White down lower, sorry Crit.
These are nice temps indeed, I'm doing more painting outside when sweat won't be such a problem!
Will
happ ...... I thought Ginger's bloomed.
will .....last night they were "possum" terriers. lol The got a possum cornered and the new one, Bobbi, was all over it. ^_^ I wasn't there but DH said she was relentless trying to get it. He was afraid she would get bit so he opened the gate where it could run out to the pasture. It must of gotten trapped in the yard somewhere when we "Bobbi Proofed" the back yard and couldn't get out. Today they were after a rabbit but it found a little opening by the gate and got out.
Here are some Google results for vole control. I don't know what methods you want to try so I'm just showing the whole page for you.
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=vole+control&aq=3&aqi=g4g-s1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=739cf39a78c48e1&biw=1440&bih=763