September 2013 autumnal equinox coming soon.

Since I'm posting after midnight on Sept. 1, I figured that I'd get the new thread started. Good night all.

Does this mean I get to be first to say Good Morning .. You all have a delightful Sunday ) it's going to be another hot one !!!
Tomorrow & during the week cooling down (looking forward to that .
Not as much to the 52 degree temps forecast though , little to cold there ..
Here 's a few from yesterday

I haven't caught the recent updates to the weather. Last I heard was high 80s. Not much of a cool down but will help some.

Got a nice fat and mean thunderstorm this morning. It was still pretty dark at 8am this morning and remained that way til around 10am. 50-60 mph straight line winds. Rain soaked right in though which is great!! Now if it would only get under my truck and wash the underside and the wheels out.....

Ju, plants look great!! Mine look like crap. Even my mums don't look good though they are getting ready to bloom. lol

My mums are blooming and they don't look good either , last year in the drought , they almost died. Some of those are nice bloom and not so good of a plant , (the pics above) The sunflower is Jerusalem Artichoke , nothing bothers them , they will lose a bloom to dry weather or plant stress once in a while only they fight back with a vengeance ,
The white hollyhock is barely two feet tall . The Dahlia on the end is rather faded , the others give a laugh and keep on going like Cardinal flower , as long as it gets watered every few days it doesn't mind anything .
The best looking plant right now are some seed grown Gaura , tiny little guys in the breeze , they will look some when they fill in though . For now they are only new ..
Of course the Gallardia not shown this time are still blooming and laughing at the dry weather(as always)

Ju, I bet you can pull together some real nice bouquets with your huge variety of flowers. Now that you mentioned mums, I haven't really noticed that many this year. Mums are so popular in the late summer/early autumn when hardly anything else is blooming. I love to mix the shades; everything from lavender to burnt orange. I remember when I was a kid that my dad bought my mom a football mum which was all the rage back then. She was as excited as when he bought her a Chicago Peace rosebush. That was my first memory of mums. : )

I also love the asters. I wish that I had some. I'll have to work on it for next year.

We're heading out to the Labor Day Parade so that my gr-daughter can get candy & see her school teacher walking her Golden Retriever "Mia" (who is also the class mascot!). I have to hold onto Chloe's dog "JoJo" so that her teacher can finally meet her doggy. LOL After that, it's yard work until I drop since the weather is gorgeous today. Enjoy everyone!

I only have one large clump of willow aster , the small white roadside aster you see everywhere .
The others I moved away from my Coneflowers , they resent being moved and I believe the ones I moved are all gone . One of those oh well, next year things ..

We survived the parade which was fun! JoJo really enjoyed seeing all the other dogs and one float was passing out bacon strips to the pups, so he got a treat too! I got a pic of Chloe's teacher walking her golden retriever "Mia". To my embarrassment, JoJo growled at her dog. : (

I've finished the front lawn and am taking a break before tackling the backyard. Then, it'll be time to pull out the grill. Yum! Yum!

I've been harvesting some nice spaghetti squash. I priced one at the store and it was $3.00! I've got some nice trombone squash (about 3 ft long) ripening. I'll be picking a mess of Christmas pole lima beans too which is my husband's favorite veggie. The okra has finally started producing, so I plan to make some gumbo this week since I now have some jalapenos to throw in it.

My husband's best buddy since 4th grade visited yesterday evening and I sent him home with some of my home canned goodies. I'm glad that I made some B & B pickles with Splenda because his wife is type I diabetic; just like Chloe.

I'm not sure if the Bartlett pears are ready to pick yet. I tried the "lift" test & the stems didn't give; even though the pears look ready. Ju, any advice would be appreciated. Could they be maturing late this year?

Time to finish up the yard. Then, I'll take a cool shower before I start supper. Happy Labor Day to everyone. It's the last holiday weekend of summer 2013 & we survived the tornadoes, heat, etc... Time to start planning for the 2014 growing season. I get excited just thinking about it and I already have some new ideas.

Thanks for starting the monthly thread, green, I do say you like you the monthly threads!
Here is the second Ligularia 'Midnite Lady' that I amended. I know the leaves can get bigger for one, they were about twice this size last year, but I think that was just due to the heat. It's photos 1 and 2. -
I'm glad their still alive anyway, I love my Ligularias! 3rd is my Heuchera (Coral Bells) 'Palace Purple' in the apple basket. Like I figured it was about 3 times heavier after I put a bit of soil in it. All mulch isn't too natural, not having any water retention can't be good with all mulch, even tho the pot WAS light then! lol Those Hollyhock seeds you sent me, ju, are becoming more sprouts everyday, here they are now. - 4th pic. Here is an overall view of the shade garden, it doesn't look too harassed with all the amendments, I even put some new cedar mulch over it, 5th pic.
Will

Here's that black and white stray cat getting a drink out of the birdbath that I keep full. I think he likes our house because we're nice to him, we pet him often too. I've been amending some spots where some plants have been because I think the current clayey dirt and little rocks/gravel has been stunting them regularly. - I've been digging the hole bigger that they sat in and just filling it with this potting soil that I made out of mostly garden soil, (not potting mix, it's too high). I've noticed that the garden soil is a whole lot better than the dirt here, so I'm okay with it, AND the price..lol
I amended 1 Coral Bells 'Plum Pudding' and 2 Ligularias 'Midnite Lady' that I got from pepper, they all seemed to be under-performing, some more than others. Oh, I almost forgot the one in an apple basket that I amended! It's another Coral Bells called 'Palace Purple' I believe. I was talking about how light it is from just mulch in it. But, I'm fairly sure that isn't good. If it was a good idea I suppose everybody'd be doing it. So anyway, I took out a bunch of mulch that was in it and replaced it with this soil. I watered all the amend jobs real good. Boy, that storm the other nite was no joke! My rainbarrel was empty and that storm or whatever it was filled it ALL the way back up! I was worried about my Elephant Ears and my Cannas, but nothing broke! It was strong wind like pepper said, I was worried, I was thinking, "well, there goes my Cannas and my Elephant Ears!"! But, I think being so close to the house gave them some protection maybe.
Here's those amendments I did today. -
1st pic is the cat, 2nd and 3rd pix are a Coral Bells 'Plum Pudding' that was about the size of 5 or 6 quarters on strings..lol The 4th and 5th pix are the little Ligularia 'Midnite Lady' that only had 1 sprout and I'm almost sure it was because of the nasty soil.

This message was edited Sep 2, 2013 11:06 PM

I bought a liguaria a few weeks ago to replace the ones like yours but it looks like it bit the dust. Oh well. Both my beds on the north side of the house will get redone next year after the house is done. Making some major changes.

Not many pics from me , I'm re doing most of the flower garden , if it goes the way it's looking ,it will be mostly white and red flowers for next season , Only doing some easy , basic flowers .
My claim to hope , here's a Purple Coneflower , being treated with Ammonia x Listerine basically that seems to be recovering from aster yellows ,, ?

Haha! I have better luck with Ligularias than pepper! lol I'm just kidding, I really don't have a secret to keeping them alive other than planting them in full shade and watering them at LEAST every other day. Change is good, that's a good time to make some landscaping decisions when remodeling outside or something is being done too.

White and red is a nice color scheme, I always did like white and red, especially if I could alternate them just right and evenly matched. I have some Purple Coneflower seeds for you, ju. I deadheaded a couple of flowers a few days ago, just waiting for the seed to get more crispy and willing to come off the flower head without pulling them out with much force. I like it better when I can just run my fingers over the flowerhead and the seeds come out on their own, a few have came out that way but not most of them. I don't want the seeds to get all busted up much by forcing them out much. -
Here they are, I get more seeds out each time. - They should be ready to mail later this week, ju.
Will

Will, the threads get so long near month end that I'm anxious to start fresh again. That's all. : )

I wish that I could chime in on the flower talk, but I'm not familiar with most of the flowers you all are chatting about. Most of my sunny locations are taken up with veggies, herbs, fruit, roses, coneflowers, and lilies as our maple tree shades a good portion of the backyard and the pine tree the front yard. Next year, I plan to tuck more annuals among the veggies, but this year's rainy cool Spring weather kept that from happening.

The weather here is suppose to be very nice today. I'm on vacation and plan to work outside again today. I've started picking pears which will be an ongoing project as I give-away, store, and preserve them this will keep me busy for quite a few weeks now.

that one Coneflower is the one I am watching and spraying my solution on the most , I have two of a dozen remaining , I am not going to throw all my coneflowers , I won't give up !!!
The is working on a few plants , some others like it .
I know for sure it can keep the disease from spreading , from what I am watching anyway .
A couple things to get done this morning , Were still making pear butter , with the pears .
I could pic seedlings , might in a while . Easier when there 4 or 5 inches tall than only visible with their two true leaves , most ..
Back later .

Hi all! Now, where'd that happ go?!

Didn't want to join us when we switched threads and did not answer a couple of questions about flowers .
Only I bet happ is busy working the plan details to cover that potting bench deck,,.
Lost all interest in us , compared to that project . I would likely do the same , A person needs the time ..
I got some mail today , I sent some mail today , all to do with some of the chat here .. lol

Pill bugs , etc , aka potato bugs ate my first Delphinium seedling that I planted, soo I planted three more and dusted them ,, We will see what happens this time .

I still need to take a pic of my driveway and keep forgetting. I think there's enough light to do that now and I need to make a run to my truck anyways. lol

Doesn't help my huge cat is emitting a ton of heat and we bumped the temp on the ac cause we were all cold. Now I'm hot. lol

Ok, here's the end of my driveway. The tree behind the mailbox and across from it are where I need to put new ones. The second pic shows the power line up close since you can't see it in the distance shot. The tree behind the mailbox is the dead one. The other one will come down either this winter or next spring most likely unless I get new matching trees in there.

If your considering Japanese Maples for that spot, pepper, not sure how they like alot of sun. Mine is experiencing leaf burn I'm pretty sure. I made a post just today in the Japanese Maples forum asking what's wrong and posting pics of it but I thought it'd like more sun but I'm not thinking so now..lol - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1331770/

Oh, you got some mail today did you, ju? I bet they were Hollyhock seeds weren't they?!
I will send these Purple Coneflower seeds if they ever come out of the old flower.

My sunny spots are taken up by plants and debris alike..lol

I still boast of my Elephant Ear! - I'm proud after they sustained the 50 to 60 mph winds we had recently, they must be rooted good.
Will

Yes that's what they were .. lol
I'd boast too . staying in a 60 mph wind is a good one , even for us sometimes.!!!

^_^

My elephant ears. Look about the same as yours which is pretty good.

Will, it's on the north side, with filtered sun on all but the east side which gets full morning sun. Taking the pic I was facing north.

Hi all I have only had secs to be able to read and no time for anything else...rofl. I didn't do a darn thing constructive over the weekend. It was miserable hot Fri and Sat, then Sun mowed, watered, picked peaches, tomatoes, and saw friends, then Monday ran up to Menards and bought stuff and didn't do a thing with that either! Did get a great bowl for succulants at a good price but it is going to weigh a TON....but the same game plan haven't done anything with it yet...rofl.

This weekend doesn't look much better as for as getting anything done... ;) Peaches have been sooo good I about made myself sick on Monday..

I am not even thinking about any more construction until NEXT year....just playing now.

Well the second is up and off I go again...geehz

Seedlings of all kinds ;
#1 rose yarrow my own seeds
#2 Delphinium seedlings
#3 a Keifer pear seedling
#4 Campanula seedlings
#5 Ajuga seedling

I will show the planted in the ground later , here's more;
Japenese Apricot
red stem willow
sandbar willow
red stem willow
Native gaillardia in the ground

Seedlings look great Ju!!!

Yeah 60 mph winds are no joke, I'd have a hard time standing up!

Nice Elephant Ears, pepper. You must really water them regularly they are standing up good.
They look as good as mine and mine are IN a big thing of water..lol

Wow ju, I got an envie in the mail this afternoon and all I can say is wow! I'm gonna have a flower and tomato paradise next year, you set me up! Man, I owe you big, I'll dig you up some Bamboo perhaps!
I'll hopefully be mailing these Purple Echinacea seeds to you soon, I know Aster Yellows has hit yours hard.

Just curious, did you grow your Japanese Apricot from a pit, ju?
I am envious, all that stuff you grow from seeds and cuttings, that's alot of babying and work.
Alot of being focused on what seeds and cuttings need what, good going.
The Hollyhock seeds you sent me grow more seedlings all the time.

Hehe.. happ made herself sick by eating peaches!

Ok, now where'd that green go?

Wanted to thank pepper for enjoying and complimenting me and the seedlings to start with'
Grasshopper got to one white yarrow and one white coneflower seedling, ate them to nothing so I've lost two of a dozen seedlings so far , ( I hate those locust , hoppers )


Hey enjoy some growing !!! Some I know some are good others are new collected and untried , I'm trying to organize the seeds and my mind . lol
Yes , the Japanese Apricot seedling are from pit , hopefully they are what they are , I have lanceleaf Japanese maples and two others in germination , they look good but no luck yet .
If you would like a peach , plum or cutting during winter , let me know ,
IT is easy to make yourself sick or give yourself 10 minute trips , eating too many fruits from the tree , ( I learned a long time ago) lol

Some seedlings in the flower bed

One thing that always interests me is , that I have a foliage possible from the rose yarrow seedlings , the seedling and first two true leaves are red , The odds are a million to 1 or about of it's foliage staying red like that ,
Only had it happen once before with a tree , an orange tree that stayed white variegated . Makes the growing kind of more fun .
These yarrow plants barely make a foot tall , but it would be neat (like cool) to have red foliage yarrow like that

That's how new introductions start! If you have a uniqueness that stays that way it could be a mutation that might very well interest alot of people and make you rich, having a new cultivar, red yarrow. It might be worth looking into, ju, some people go and grow a lifetime trying to get permanent mutations of plants.
Yours could be called, Achillea millefolium 'juhur's red'! This is only if it stays red, if it goes back to the regular colors eventually then it wouldn't be anything new. Maybe that orange tree could also be something interesting.

Here's some links -
http://www.bing.com/search?q=discovering+new+introductions+from+seedlings&go=&qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=discovering+new+introductions+from+seedlings&sc=0-16&sp=-1&sk=&ghc=1
Will

I will read some more on those links to info ; Interesting thing , that was 1975 with that orange tree . Two years later , a variegated orange tree showed up on the market , That was a little while after mine disappeared ,
Not that it means anything but one does wonder about these things ..
Makes seed growing interesting though , that is how variegated Ajuga and some grasses came to exist, I have heard of variegated Hollyhocks and zinnia . but I don't know if they exist or not .
I know a variegated dahlia also exists , but have only seen one once , and it is no place to be found
I would really like to find some red foliage Queen Anne's Lace . but those things are a tough search , and then rare means $$$ , I don't usually have ,
I have my moments though

I happen to have some white yarrow so I will get some seeds off that for you. I'll help Will out with sending you coneflower seeds too. I have more than enough and the birds will just have to share. lol. I also have white coneflowers but just a small plant so not enough to get some seeds from otherwise I would send seeds of that too.

Oh and thanks for the seeds by the way. lol. Waaay more than I expected!! They will all get put to use this year and next. And your plants always look great so I have to compliment them. lol.

Mine tends to struggle but I'm slowly working on getting in some garden soil and compost to help with that and figuring what where to put what type of plant. Next year will be a big year for my gardens!!

I think that's super from both from both you !!! . I hope that helps with the wildflower garden ..
We, and all here, have some really nice conversations and pics . This is a good thread !!!

I still have about eight seeds of White swan Coneflower , if I can find where I put them .. good grief .. lol
Hopefully all those Hollyhocks have enough time to grow large enough to take and make it through winter.
My seedlings have to be 4 to 6 inches at least to make it through , Some might be that large after next week , two chances of rain and 90's are back for a high ..
That is if the grasshoppers don't get to them all , I dusted and sprayed an organic around them before that dusting. yeah locusts , after Aster yellows ,, it makes since ..
Wonder who the next Pharaoh is going to be ? lol Oh well , I here the pyramids are coming along nicely also . Makes you wonder sometimes ...

I forgot to say thanks for the seeds, ju.

On that orange tree with the variegation, ju, what a bummer that would be if it really was from your tree. And it was a cutting or seeds perhaps, if it was a friend that maybe you sent them too, that would be cold not to give you some credit and/or compensation in some way.

Oh, the Coneflower seeds are nothing compared to what you have sent me.

It IS a good thread and everybody that is here is super!

Yeah, gonna get hot here too I hear, near 100 for pete's sake! Oh well, I guess one last hurrah before the temperature starts dropping won't be so bad!

I went to a job interview today and went by the MO. state champion Smoketree on the way back at Vaile Mansion, Independence, Missouri, here it is. - pics 1 - 4. Like my cool interview shoes, how can they not hire me with shoes like that?! Nice landscaping at the place. - 5th pic
Will

Aha!!! That sounds like fun.. oh yeah cool shoes ! Head of the department , for sure !!!

You had thanked me in a earlier thread for the seeds when you said you were ready to go , (set up) .
At the moment I'm hiding in the AC in the backroom , it is like 95 degrees outside .. way to warm for much !
Pic of some tomatoes taking their time , little ones and Lemon cucumbers still coming in , Seeds to dry of those later also ..
hoping forward and onward !!!

Lemon cukes are sooo good!!! I have one plant going right now also. Can't keep up with it. lol.

Will, great pics!! Tree will definitely be too big for my spots but might work if we have to cut down another tree somewhere else. I'm really liking it's looks.

Hehe.. head of the department! It's funny, the interviewer is nearly always much younger than me anymore. After that interview, not sure that I qualify, tho they might not be picky because it's only a very part time job. It's hot here too, they say maybe 100° Monday.

Oh, I forgot to say in that 2nd photo up there, that's the big, round Smoketree on the left but not all the way left, (you can see my tiny, fountain cup from McDonalds below it in that pic). I wonder how old that tree is, I know the house is old, 135 years old to be exact. The trunk of it is looking all big and gnarly.

Ever seen Virginia Creeper climb like this?! That's about 30 feet, the height of that Smoketree just left of it.

I had a hanging planter fall today due to weight and a flimsy, (apparently..lol) basket. The 3 plastic hangers hadn't broke. The planter itself just gave out around where those hangers fit on the basket part. It was an oversized basket and with the cheapness, it just didn't make for a successful heavy hanging basket. I have another hanging planter just like that one in the backyard that had a big Asparagas Fern in it, I repotted it already, I didn't want what happened to my Boston Fern out front to happen to my precious Asparagas Fern too! The first pic is the basket, I suspected that it was too big and thin but it never failed until today. That's the one that hadn't failed yet, but I wasn't waiting! The 2nd pic is after I potted the Asparagas Fern into a metal haning basket with the cocoa fiber in it.

The 3rd photo is just more Purple Coneflower seeds yet to get out of the old flowers. I can send you yet more seeds of them, ju. Anybody else want some? It just takes 1 stamp and I got plenty of stamps.

The hanging basket that failed and dropped I don't think did much if any damage to the Boston Fern that was in it. It only had 4 or 5 feet to fall, it landed nearly standing up. It's right in front of the living room window and we were watching tv, we watched it fall unfortunately, but I went right out there and straightened it up. It is now a porch basket, no more hanging!
This time of year must be better for water retention in the pots and in the ground. It's been 3 days since I watered, I was expecting there to be a few drooping plants but there were none today.

Being the way I am ,I will take them .You be careful of falling houseplants as hanging baskets . That's definitely not good !!!
Pic's are looking great , plants that is !!! lol