Glad you mentioned it in case others did the same thing.
Lots of lilies here to be potted up while it rains later today.
I can't stand it!
Lilies ?
We have had one of those winters, where it froze, thawed, then froze.. so it seems I will be loosing some plants that have been doing well for the last ten years or so. sad, but it happens. That's why my zone here says 7/8. It depends on the winter. But one amazing thing happened. I bought a cheap little box with three 'mixed oriental lillies'. Three bucks. Ha ! Surprised when they all grew and each had beautiful flowers. I had only put them in one gallon pots, not wanting to waste the dirt, since I figured I'd be lucky to get one good one. I used them as each bloomed to set the pot in my main entry mixed container, that holds whatever is pretty at the moment.
Once bloomed out, I unceremoniously set the pot with each lily on the side of the house,not protected at all, bare all around each of them, kept them watered and considered what I would do with these non-woodland, want some sun plants in the long run. Well, turns out a lily in a one gallon pot, can take 14 degrees for three days and nights, thaw, then do it again. Come spring I find these little stinkers have sent roots down to China, through the drain holes in these small pots, and are jumping up to great the season ! Go figure. What tough plants.
Yes, I've received 55 lilies I ordered and many more will arrive in April.
You had such a good experience with the lilies! I have many, still potted from last year (they did bloom), and I'll find out in the next few weeks if they enjoyed the many freezing and thawing cycles as much as yours did.
I came back to update you Pirl on the Clematis columbiana.
I've found the place I will order them from, and they had the info I wanted.
http://www.plantsofthewild.com/
A vine that creeps along the ground. Pale purple bell shaped flowers are followed by silvery seed plumes. This is a very delicate clematis, and is not invasive or aggressive as many others are.
Berries: no
Drought Tolerant: no
Evergreen: no
Flower Color: pale purple or blue
Flowers, Berries or Seeds: silvery seed pods
Mature Height: up to 6'
Sunshine: partial shade
USDA Zone: 3
Deer Resistant: yes
I am so happy to find this place. They are in a tiny, tiny town in Eastern Washington, not far from me, and lots colder. so with their set up, not hot houses, I know plants that are doing well there, will do great here. A hardiness test. LOL They have found a way to make a living in this more remote place, where the town gets smaller every year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekoa,_Washington
They grow for restoration projects, but do sell to home owners, I'm guessing 'for the cause'. Plants are liners, and look like the ideal size for such projects. At $2.50 each, for the clems I want, it's perfect for me.
Biggest part of the thrill is seeing so many bog plants at prices I can afford. Been wanting to set up a bog, pond, hydroponic thing.. but stopped at the huge specialty prices of plants to get started. $20 to $30 a plant to test which ones will do well in my mostly shade is a lot ! I can play at $2.50 or $3 each. Same for some of the other natives they have that are suitable for my place. Like most shops, most plants are for sun, but that's okay..I know my way through that part.
Interesting news on the Bushtit Niobie. It's now a sad, wind torn, whipped to the ground Niobie. Completely down. First time ever. So this may be the year she gets fixed up right. Thanks for the reminder on the manure. I tend to forget till later.
It's so soggy and colder now, that all waits. The washtub she's in is on top of a being built concrete pieces wall. The wall held fine till last year. When I went to fix it I found a nest of Bumble bees right there, happily doing their thing, so it all waited.
In other news, Sally Squirrel appears to be :VERY pregnant, so any day now. I also found our new neighborhood working cat has so wisely found my little plastic green house, pulled the seat cushions stored there down, and is happily staying dry, and warmer than outside. Smart little guy. Here in the city we need a few smart mousers that sleep all day, and work hunting all night. My kitty Karma was our last one. He died this winter after taking care of business for over 19 years, and we all miss him. It's hard to find a good cat for this job, so this new guy showing up was a stroke of luck. Luck for us, and mostly for him. He's a beautiful Himalayan ( looks like pet quality purebred,, that somebody dumped off here. Some people. :(
Here's my Karma last summer. He was mostly retired then and down in weight. Normally a solid 23 pounds, this picture I think he was down to about 18 or 19 pounds. Arthritis for several years as well as a cataract on one eye, but he was still happy. Just slower. We neighbors are all aging as well, so we understood, you know. New cat apprenticed under Karma, who sort of approved after new guys accepted that he is number two. One job of the resident cat is to keep all other cats out of our gardens, so this was a big deal. My garden is not a litter box, thank you very much.
Oh, and yes.. I'm thinking of how to help Niobie climb to the sky. Thanks for the push in the right direction. Easy enough to throw a line up over the cherry tree branch and use that to pull up what ever I decide to use. First it's a matter of the rain, then the wall. Like always, first A, then B, then....
We were typing at the same time.
So your spring is just a tad behind ours I think. Close too.
I love looking at your photos over the years. All that space and SUN !
55 lilies ! Wow.. that's a bunch. Beautiful garden addition in the near future. I was thinking of buying another three if I see those same boxes this year. Ha, ha, haaaaa
This message was edited Mar 28, 2014 7:03 PM
So glad you found it and found such great prices as well. Investigating bog plants will keep you busy until spring is here in full force.
If you can find some Chickity Doo Doo, as opposed to a heavy bag of manure, it's been the ideal answer for me. It's light in weight, does the manure job and fertilizes, and it's easy to use (still smells). Available at Home Depot, Menard's, Amazon and around the northeast at Agway.
The bees would stop most of us from any work.
Seems like Sally squirrel found a way to keep warm during the cold weather!
I'm happy Karma taught the new cat the ropes but so sorry you lost Karma.
You can get some fun exercise tossing the vinyl netting into the tree and then securing it. In time the clematis will pull down the branch of the cherry tree so try and get it attached securely to a strong branch so the impact won't be too great.
It will be a grand total of 76 lilies plus some I bought bagged at HD. That's far better than the more than 200 I bought a few years ago!
Thanks for your comment. It's just too much sun and we have added three trees in one year but it all takes time to give me some shade.
I hope I can fit some of the new lilies in here!
Arlene, that last picture is a gorgeous multi plant photo. It's so lush and colorful. I got my lilies also last week, I hope to get them planted in the next few days. I also got clem. Fragrant Spring, now I'll have to figure out where I want to plant them.
Thanks. I love the gardens as I watch the lilies take turns blooming.
Figuring out where to plant clem's is the hardest job of all. Planting them is so easy.