After the swap 2

Yep, I originally got them from an end of season sale from Brent & Becky's bulbs - Lilium, Asiatic 'Tiger Babies' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/108441/

Thanks Terri! I love having the PF link cuz then I go to the bottom and Add it to my journal. easy PZ.

Another Asiatic - Satin Slippers is about to bloom here. I'm anticipating it any day, just hope the deer don't spoil it for me by eating them at the last minute... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/138165/

Remember Chantell's chickweed request? Check out this article by Sharon on ATP:
http://allthingsplants.com/ideas/view/Sharon/290/Let-em-grow-Chickweed/

Now that I've seen that weed close up, I'm pretty sure that I have it everywhere. I'm not sure enough to eat it though.

cruising further down on the link above--here is a tour of Holly and Ric's gardens.

http://allthingsplants.com/ideas/view/Sharon/285/Garden-Tours-HollyAnnS/

Thaks Gita,
I was thinking how different the garden is looking since we held the swap. Those empty mulched beds are filling up with annuals, the empty black trough on the patio is planted as well as many planters are starting to fill up the patio and corners. The caladuim pots are finally starting to bloom. And the biggest difference is the new fence that Ric just finished, gone is that old patched together mess in the dog yard. Can't get over the difference not just because it looks nicer but how much more open the wire is compared to the wood lattice we replaced.

So you'll need to host another swap to show us. I'm packing my bags now.

Lol!

LOL, Come on up Happy.

Here are a few pictures Harry took at the swap

and a few more...

We had a great time

Thanks again!!!

Boy, we sure are a quiet bunch, aren't we? (not!) Fun photos.

Nice, wind!!!

Wind, please tell Harry thank you for taking the photos and allowing you to share them. He is a real trooper to attend some of these activities along with this crazy bunch. He seems to take it all in stride though.

Ruby

We are fortunate to have so many of the guys coming along with us to these things. Just goes to show that we've chosen wisely. They're the cream of the crop!!

I LOVE Sharon's plant tales....see, I wasn't kidding about the chickweed. I know y'all thought I'd gone nuttier then I already was...LOL

Yep, Sharon confirmed it - you were spot on with the chickweed! It was fun to have some laughs about it though. Chickweed... go figure LOL. Now we'll all be trying out its uses and looking at those crazy weeds in a whole new light.

....awwwwww....I'll tell Harry. He also has a few short videos taken at the swap. I'm not sure what happened to them or how I could share them. I'll ask him and track them down. Maybe I can put them on YouTube (private need the link to view) and I can post the link on here (not exactly private if I put the link on here though!!).

Still planting swap plants.

Ruby, tell John the Mexican Lily bulbs are happily sprouting in a cup! I have to get them in dirt asap. I didn't expect them to sprout and grow so fast. I put their roots in a little moisture to keep them alive until I could get to them and voilà!

Well, consider yourself as very special if you are one of the very few to get some of the Mexican Lilies from John. They were difficult to come by and required some bartering on our parts. Sounds good so far as for the sprouting. I hope they will turn out to be something that will bring you much joy.

Have a great weekend.

Ruby

Ugh, Gita, the lovely brug I got from you at the swap was trampled on today by a neighbor's dog that had jumped the fence. :'(

I really hope it's salvageable. I was too freaked out from the dog attack to go outside until just now, and when I checked, about 1/3 of the leaves had been torn off and the brug was leaning about 45 degrees. It seems to be the only plant in the entire yard that was damaged. :-/

Is there anything I should do to try to repair it?

Oh, too bad! Dumb dog... or more precisely, dumb neighbor. I'd say straighten it out , maybe give it a little drink to re-settle the soil around its roots. Not sure about whether to prune it back or not -- maybe not unless it seems shocked/stressed from the damage (remaining leaves yellowing or wilting, that sort of thing).

SS---
Brugs lose leaves all the time--especially the bottom ones that yellow and you can just pick them off.

If all that happened to your brug is that it lost some leaves--I think it will be OK.
You had the older one--the cuttings from October--right?
Do not cut it back--unless there is some serious damage to the plant.
The "leaning" can be corrected by a small stake.

Did you re-pot it into a bigger pot? Did it go into a growth spurt? I know they were root bound...
as they all had stopped growing.

Gita

Gita, yes, I'd gotten an older, established one.

I actually have it planted it in the ground (no pot in the ground) and it had gone through quite a growth spurt. It had gotten at least twice as big, maybe even 3 times?

I'll fix it tomorrow morning. Ugh, these neighbors...

I bet it will be just fine -- brugs are tough. Just water it a lot in this drought and keep your eye on it.

Diana, I'm so glad you and Harry both got to swap and had a good time.

ssgardener- agreed with above ,that brug will be growing again before you know it. Plenty of water and food and it'll love this tropical heat we are starting. Remember the heat last summer? Mine got huge.

Finally confirmed some family plans, so...

Hypertufa Party Date: June 24! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1264631/

I was given a Lychnis Alpina by.Jill???? Not sure! I woud have to go back to th Swap chat Thread....

I just checked this plant out on PF--and it seems to be a low-growing, cool season perennial.
I was under the impression that it was a taller plant--and planted it in a location with "background" in mind.

Now I have to reconsider-------It seems to be a 6"-8" tall growing plant that spreads easily.

While I love the blooms, etc...I was not wanting a low-growing plant. Like--for a border.....

Can someone clarify this ---please?????

Thanks--Gita

I have a Lychnis Alpina from Jill couple years ago. It is a cute sweet plant, but dainty. I have it in a spot where it won't get overgrown. Yes it is about 8-10 inches tall.

The Lychnis alpina shoots up when it blooms... sometimes just to 8 inches, but Joyanna has one blooming now in her fairy garden planter that's at least 30" tall. I don't worry about putting them front or back... the blooms are bright enough to show even further back in the garden, and if they end up near the front they won't really block the view of whatever is behind them, either. They self-sow pretty readily, and the foliage rosette is easy to identify if you want to pull it or move it. They're a cousin to the Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria, I think?) that a lot of us have popping up around our gardens, and their growth habit is pretty similar -- low rosette of foliage the first year, shooting up when they bloom. They don't seem quite as floppy in bloom as Rose Campions, at least not in my garden.. bloom stem is a little more wiry.

Joyanna helped me gather seeds from several plants today, so we have plenty to share for winter sowing next year!

Oh, nifty, Mine just a young un then! Looking forwward to more ...

Gita, the lychnis alpina was from me. I wintersowed the seeds I got from Jill and didn't know how big they would get.

In my garden, the ones that were transplanted early are about 3 feet tall. The ones that were transplanted late are very short, about 1 foot tall. I don't know if transplantation time made a difference. The taller ones are also in 50% shade, whereas the shorter ones are in about 80% sun.

Jill, how do you collect these seeds? They're such fun plants. Also, I had one single volunteer from a thyme I got from you last fall. It actually bloomed very early in the spring, around March, when we had that warm spell. That single bloom was so cute in my little hanging basket! I'm going to broadcast the seeds in the fall when I'm taking down the summer annuals.

Thank you all----

I will leave it where it is. Behind it is a clump of Autumn Sedum--and in front--some Stellas.

Worked up this area of my "YUK" bed with composted leaves. Wasn't too bad.....
This is where I dug up my old Rosemary shrub.

G.

What dya know? My L alpina is actually about 18 inches tall. And has a bunch of nice full seed pods right now.

Just to let Jill know that a couple of weeks ago I also planted some seeds from she and Joyanna from the Seed Swap. I have a Pink Cosmos and some sort of Zinnia which are a bit over an inch tall. I hope they weren't planted too late to have good showing this summer. I still have a few packages of bulbs that I received recently sitting on my kitchen counter with a note to plant soon. Maybe this coffee will perk me up a bit and I can get out and stick them somewhere later today. I suppose I should try planting the several things I want in close vicinity so that the watering that will be required for the next week or so will be easier to do.

Many of our Day Lilies are in beautiful bloom now. So pretty to look out the back window and see a very large area covered with them. I suppose I better be enjoying them now because I have heard rumor of a possible green house being built on that spot at some future point.

My Gladiolus are all very tall at the moment though I haven't seen sign of them blooming soon. One thing I have noticed though is that nature can work over night at times. It was a couple of days ago when I looked at the Glads and wouldn't be surprised when I visit that bed later, if they are not showing buds, just a few days later. I have thoroughly enjoyed vases full of different colored Glads in years past, so hope that they will do as well again this year. My very favorite flower of the beauties there are. Only aggravation is their tendency to fall over due to top heaviness. Just an excuse to cut them for vase when that happens though....so no worries.

Hope that every one is enjoying their day.

Ruby

We winter sowed a few of those Zinnias (Zahara Starlight Rose... white with a magenta "star," sometimes not on the earlier blooms), and they are blooming now along the front of the veggie bed. I've heard reports that this variety comes pretty much "true" from collected seed (F2 generation, at any rate).

Collecting seeds from the Lychnis alpina reminds me of getting seeds from columbine... when the bloom clusters look old & crispy brown, tip them upside down over a bowl or other container... the tiny seeds pour right out. The "rose campion" Lychnis is very similar, but the seed pods are much larger, like little vases.

Just wanted to say I love the cactus soil I got at the swap. It is the nicest stuff to plant in. I would love to have the recipe for it.

Holly, I'm glad you like the cactus mix! It's so much fun to make. :-)

The recipe is Al/tapla's "gritty mix": 1/3 Turface, 1/3 chicken grit ("grower's size"), and 1/3 pine bark fines that have been screened to between 1/8 and 1/2 inch.

I get the Turface and chicken grit from a farm supply store in Ellicott City, MD. When I asked for these products, they said, "Oh, are they for your bonsai?" I guess they get a lot of gritty mix seekers there! The pine fines are from Behnkes, but Homestead Garden Centers (in MD and VA) also carry them. The bark sizes are uneven, though, and need to be screened. I use a 1/2 inch chicken wire to screen out the big pieces, then a mesh drawer from the Container Store (that happens to have holes that are about 1/8 big) to screen out the small bits. I think the hardcore bonsai growers actually use a 3/8 screen and an 1/8 screen, but this works fine for me. :)

There's also some Osmocote and a bit of lime in the mix.

I'm so thankful that Al came up with this recipe! Store-bought cactus mixes are so expensive.

I usually mix my own cactus soil. Just potting soil with sand and chicken grit but I like yours much better.

It is nice, I used it for a Sedum today. Thanks again ssg!