2014 Spring Roundup?

Hey Samigal,
We missed you so much that we used your salad bowl, just so we could feel closer to you. Shortys Mom had a medical emergency, so she couldn't be here. Just hope that it isn't too serious.
Don't know what happened to Sylvia, but Dee and I had a great visit. She brought a SUV full of plants, and I did my best to fill it up for the trip home. I think I forgot to give her some stuff, but there is always next year.
Dee left a bunch of succulents for you. I'll try to get out your way soon, to deliver them.
DH and I are going to Oregon next week for his family reunion. I've never been to Oregon, and I would love to talk to some of the elders. I hope to collect some family history. I also want to find Joyce and let them know that their high school reunion committee is looking for them.
Tell Darwin that I missed you both, today.
I did get a couple of photos, that I will try to get posted before we leave for Oregon.
I am glad that your son helped you get that flowerbed cleaned up and replanted.
My son offered me some of his zucchini squash. I didn't even know that he had planted a veggie garden. I've got cherry tomatoes that are ripe, and a big green tomato growing right now
My hot peppers are getting ripe. Still a lot to do.
I am tired in a good way, but tomorrow is going to be very busy with Jeffrey's open house, and the family coming by. Uncle Gale will be seeing the old cabin for the first time since we renovated it. I think that most of the family is surprised that we didn't tear it down. We like the old stuff, especially when it was built so solidly. Hopefully, it'll be good for another hundred years.
I need to go feed my puppies.
WIB~
SW

I'm sorry two of the ladies didn't show up. But you and Dee seem to have a good time with all the plants. BTW, you can keep that salad bowl if you want to, I really don't miss it. I'm still waiting on my one lonely tomato pant. It is huge but don't see any tomatoes. Patty pan, or scalloped squash, has taken over so much space and looks like I'm going to have a nice crop.
I love the old stuff too, and wouldn't have torn the old cabin down either. I would love to have had some of my grandparents furniture, it was so neat. Now only place where I could see items like it is at an antique shop.
The morphine pills are making Darwin do and say very weird things. I get so frustrated at some of the things he does, but always tell myself it is the medication. Told me he is getting out of here, the bed I guess, and asked where he was going and he didn't know but said the bed was so uncomfortable. We even have an air like mattress that pumps up and can set at his comfort level that they use mainly so they don't get bed sores. Nurse thought he might be more comfortable. He can't get up and walk so don't know where he thinks he will be going. Good days and bad days and I think I'm being tested on how much I can take before I have a melt down.
Oregon is a pretty state, only been there once years ago when my nephew and family lived in Bend. Have a niece still living there and the other kids are scattered around. Be safe.

SW I look forward to seeing your pictures.

My mom had laser surgery on Friday for glaucoma. On Saturday morning she woke up with a swollen eye and considerable pain. I took her to her ophthalmologist and she had an allergic reaction to the combination of eye drops she was taking. Her blood pressure also shot up to 220/150. She's home and much better now.

I cooked some baked beans for the RU from a Food and Wine recipe "All about Cooking with Kahlua." I guess they'll have to go in the freezer. I cooked way to many for just my mom and I.

Samigal, morphine causes hallucinations. There's a portable hoist that you can rent to help the nurses move Darwin from the bed to a chair, couch, or recliner. This can help with the discomfort of always lying in bed. You may want to check and see if your insurance will pay for you to rent one.

SW, let me know when you return from Oregon.

Will do. I am going to rest tomorrow. We had such a busy weekend.
Happy Father's Day to Dads everywhere.
WIB~
SW

I had a great time visiting. I'm working on planting the plants I brought home without pots first. I'll be putting the bouganvilla in this afternoon. I've already got the night blooming epi cuttings and that trailing plant potted. I'll be at this for several days I'm sure. I LOVE the african mask and put it in a really nice shiney black pot. Thanks again for a great time, Dee.

Dee, it'll take me a while to catch up with you. I am home now. We had a great visit with extended family. I'm tired, so for today I'm just going to take it easy. I'll water, and survey the damage. Sigh.
Shorty, I am home so give me a call.
WIB~
SW

It's a shame I don't get out to survey my small garden. I think I lost my small plumeria. I cut it way back and will pot the part I saved and hope it takes root. Minnesota is getting a lot of rain, sure wish they could send a lot of it to us. Why am I keeping a very pretty large umbrella in the shed. Will have son drag it out. No sense in letting it rot away. I probably could get some yard work done if I had shade. I have so many morning glories coming up, seems once you have them it is so hard to get rid of them. My patient must be sleeping, no noise coming from the bed area. He was so addicted to the TV and now he doesn't care to watch it. Keeping the remotes away from him is a job in itself. He manages to mess up the picture and then I'm lost as how to unscramble it. Very hard to understand him and then he tells me I should have my hearing checked. I get him to smile once in a while, he still jokes around.

Pegi,
It looks like I lost the orange plummie you gave me last year. I am so sad. :-(
It wasn't the only fatality of my trip to the Family Reunion. I guess the boys got lazy. I lost 2 holly plants I was growing for foliage, I lost 2 of the glads that Dee left me, I also lost the 2 pups of that cool bromeliad. I lost a Mexican torch too. I know that I lost most of my small seedlings. I also lost one of my favorite daylillies. I am hopeful that I don't lose anything else. I think I need to revamp my drip system so that I don't have to rely on the kids the next time we go on a trip.
I am really grateful that I didn't lose more. I'll replant what I can. Boy am I grateful I gave Dee two of the wild blue indigo seedlings, because I'm down to one.
On the other hand, I'm glad to see that the fix that DH made to the fence around my gourd tunnel has been effective in keeping the critters out. I had to go pull a few weeds, mostly some kind of thistle.
I'm still planning on coming out to visit you soon Pegi. I just have to get a few things done first.
Like finishing your hanging planter for succulents. Dee left me a bunch of plants to bring you.
I also need to dig up your lilac bush. :-)
By all means use the umbrella. Do try to go out in the cool of the day. I got sunburned today, and I already have a decent tan. Go figure. I wasn't outside for long, at any one time, today. I think the longest stretch of being outside continuously in the sun was maybe 1/2 hour.
Drink lots of liquid and keep hydrated. I think people need a certain amount of sunlight to be healthy. Not just for the vitamin D. But for your immune system.
Dee, the aloe you gave me that is going to be huge, do you think that it will grow well near the creek? I guess I need to look it up. The guy that's going to run the Farmer's Market wants to start a garden that is kid friendly. I want to start a botanical garden. I'm hoping to identify the plants I have growing out there, label them, and tell people a little about them.
I saw a butterfly house at the pick your own fruit place near Bakersfield. I am so glad that I'm taking my time and planning everything out before I do it. They started out okay, by building an enclosure for the b.flys. Then they planted some milkweed, some passion flower and some lantana. That's a good start, and it's not as active this time of year as it could of been. I didn't see any monarchs or gulf frits. I did see 2 swallowtails caught in between the two layers of screen. They did have some nice paths and a water fountain. They had airlock type doors, and an area where you could have a display showing the cocoons, and cats. They did have a cat cage, but it was empty. The b.fly wasn't being maintained, looked sort of neglected.
I am not going to plant anything in the raised beds I'll be building, I'll place pots with flowering or leafing plants in there, and replace them as they quit blooming, or become denuded due to the cats voracious appetites. I saw them doing that in Thailand, and it just makes sense. When you plant the host plants in the ground, they look bad when they get naked. They don't want to grow the way you want them to, or they outgrow their area.
They had the right idea, but I think it got away from them.
I think I'd probably put in some misters too. They did that in Malaysia, and with our climate it just makes sense. Especially if you want people to come visit. Another thing they didn't have was places to sit. I plan on having benches around for folks to use. I just haven't decided what kind.
I think I'm going to go the B.fly forum and ask for advice before I do much more work.
Well, I'll be doing some catch up work in the garden in the morning, and I'll check in and see if anyone has heard from Sylvia. I'm started to get worried about her.
It's late, and I'm really tired.
WIB~
SW

Sorry you lost so many plants. We would be a happy group if we could get rain once in a while. Everything is so dry. I don't get out to do much these days. Had company today, first the young gal came to bathe Darwin, then the nurse showed up and then my social worker. He was very quiet today. Keeps reminding me that there are many services out there to help. If I had someone to come in to help me clean I would have to clean up the house first. Can't have them see the mess I have. I have been so tired lately and I usually sleep good during the night. I picked a couple patty pan squash and will fry them up tonight. Just wish I can get Darwin to eat. If he could put on a little weight I know he would feel better. Found a lot of good recipes on facebook that I would love to try. I get hungry just looking at them. Off to feed the doggies then see if I can tempt Darwin with food.
Hugs
Samigal

Hey Samigal,
Yup, it's frustrating to loose plants when you have so much time invested in them. Thankfully, most of my plants are on drip irrigation.
We really could use some rain, but I don't expect any until October or November. Since the water temperature along the coast is nearing the 70 degree mark, we think that we'll be having an El Nino winter/spring this coming year.
I am really glad that you are getting some help in caring for Darwin. You should take advantage of the house cleaning help. They don't expect spotless, they know you have had more urgent concerns. Honestly, I can't tell you how many people who clean professionally have told me that they don't feel like going in and cleaning houses that are already spotless. Bless cleaning people who enjoy making a dusty mess into a sparkling home. Give them a try. They have seen a lot worse.
Honey, you've worked hard all your life. Take advantage of the help while you have it. I felt bad too, when they came to help out with Mom. I wouldn't let them clean anything but the areas she used. I wished later that I had just turned that nice lady loose and let her clean. I wasn't well myself at the time. The clean house would have helped with my stress levels, I'm sure.
The only problem I have with cleaning ladies, is that I feel uncomfortable when they are older than I am. I also have some bad allergies to common cleaning chemicals. Especially ammonia. MIL sent her cleaning lady over to help clean my house before the RU and Housewarming. Despite me telling her in advance, she used windex on the the mirrors and windows. Windex contains ammonia. I'd even asked her to use my white vinegar and newspapers to clean the glass. She either ignored me or wasn't aware that the main ingredient in windex is ammonia. She did a great job cleaning, but she won't be asked back.

I was feeling under the weather myself yesterday. I checked all the plants, but let the kid water for me. Mostly I slept, and caught up with my siblings about Mom. EB#1 is still looking for paperwork that Mom either destroyed or lost. Why would she put a confidential seal on her Marriage License to her last husband? He found the Marriage Certificate, which hopefully will do or we'll have to go to court to have her declared incompetent so that we can get her records which will allow her to get the medical attention and care she needs. Her dementia is becoming a lot more obvious over the last few years that she has been in EB#1's care. To be fair, she had it for years, and we thought it was the effects of the strokes. EB#1 did a good job caring for her as long as he did. Considering his health issues, I'm proud of him. I just hope that he doesn't have to loose the house, to pay for her care. All of my siblings will help him out with the finances if we can, but none of us is doing great right now. Hopefully, we'll find a way to pay for her continuing care.
I just downloaded the photos on my camera, and found the photos from the RU. I'll be back in a bit to post them.
WIB~
SW

Oh good I think I can post them all on this one post. I almost forgot to take photos of the visit from Dee.
I've got a photo of the plants she brought down to trade/share.
Another view of the loot.
This is a photo of most of the plants I sent home with her. Before she left, we went around and dug up some rooted cuttings, and I talked her into taking that huge bougainvillea root that was trying to make a comeback out in the greenhouse. Bless her heart. I did my best to fill up her SUV.
Here we are, shortly before she had to leave. We'd just dug up a rooted piece of wisteria, which she is holding up. We really enjoyed our visit, but as always it was too short. I'm pretty sure I forgot to give her some plants, and I don't remember if we toured the old cabin that we just fixed up, but I know that there will be visits back and forth, and we'll get caught up some day.
I have to thank DH for taking the photo of Dee and I.
One last photo, this was taken on my flyby visit to Pismo Beach area. We arranged to go to the succulent show, in SLO, and of course I had to get a few. We gave Dee a jar of our Honey, which you can see her holding.
Well, I'm doing better than last year. I got 'em posted. Enjoy!
WIB~
SW

We did have fun and I am still planting out some of my bootie.
The bouganvilla is in the ground and looks like it is going to make it. Not sure the wisteria will though. All the green dried up and fell off but I'm going to continue to water it and see if it comes back.
I have a rotten cold today and I'm even running a fever. I'm glad to say this doesn't happen too often.

It's always good to see you, Dee. I hope that you are as thrilled with your loot, as I am. Those pink rain flowers are so beautiful. Oh, the balsam are making seed pods! Collect seed please.
The wisteria will probably come back, just keep doing what you're doing. I'm not surprised at all that the bougainvillia is coming back. I told you that it was a monster.
Something wonderful happened yesterday. I got an apprentice. Sounds strange in this day and age, but this kid called a couple of weeks ago, and said that he wanted to gain work experience. For some reason I thought he was with the work experience program through school. DH and I discussed it, and decided to give him a chance.
He came by yesterday, and we had a chance to talk. I like him a lot. It turns out that he is only 14 years old. He hasn't hit last growth spurt yet, and has a small stature. He big on presence though. He is not in the ROP program at school either. Because of his age and size, and the child labor laws there is a lot that he can't be allowed to do. Which works out well for me.
When we were talking, I found out that his goal is to make things that people want. When I asked him why he chose to contact us, he said that he's been to the farm several times and likes the way we do things. I feel flattered. He is a very polite and respectful youngster.
So I told him what I'm working on here at the farm. You know, my plans to start a pick your own blueberry patch and of course my beloved butterflies.
He passed my sharp eye test. He found some cocoons on the host plant. He even likes my dogs. I am keeping him. He is going to learn how to plant seeds, take cuttings, and transplanting too. Then we'll get into marketing them. I think I'm going to follow the advice of my local nursery and follow Dee' s example and we'll sell our plants on Craiglist. Since I haven't set up an account with them yet, he can learn how with me.
I met his Dad, and older sister.Turns out we have a lot of the same acquaintances. A real nice family.
I've got to get moving. While I do have Spencer's help for six hours a week, that is only on Mondays and Wednesdays. There will always be chores. Today I want to go pick the wild elderberries, and see what I can do with them. They are getting pretty ripe.
Wish me luck.
WIB~
SW

Jules,

Thanks so much for posting the pictures. I'm so sorry I missed meeting you and Dee as well as getting in on some of the plants.

I've participated in a couple of plant swaps with other DGers but I can't do that often due to the cost of shipping priority mail.

I think I would have won the shortest person contest. Here are a couple of pictures of me with my nieces and nephew. It's very clear why they call me Shorty. Even sitting, they're all taller than I am.

I think I need someone from a work program to come and help me. Seems you found a very eager to learn young man. Never too young to learn about plants.

Nice pictures, Shorty! I would feel like a giant next to you. I'm losing it girls, went to doctor appointment and found out it is only the 27th not the 30th. I have it written down on my calendar too and felt so stupid. Now have to repeat the whole thing again Monday. Had to pick up Darwin's meds any way at the hospital pharmacy so walked over there to pick them up. Not a long walk, but my legs said it was. Decided to take a bus home, bad move. I hadn't taken a bus in 6 years and they had changed all the routes. No more Metro buses, just the Norwalk bus and that bus doesn't go far enough to take me where I wanted to go. Ended up having to take the same bus back and driver told me where to get off and take the Norwalk bus home. I'm beginning to worry about my state of mind. So Monday I have to take 2 buses to get to my destination. Most of the riders know how to get around on the buses, most of them are young too. So glad to get home and then had to find out it was time to change Darwin as he wet everything. Will I get out to play in the garden, well when it cools down I plan on doing some work out there. Think I'll take a short nap in the meantime.

Yes, you look shorter than me. I am the tallest of the women in my family at a cool 5'2" tall. My mom was only 4'11" and wore a size 4.5 shoe though. Maybe you can join us next year, it really is fun chatting with other gardening crazed women.

Hi Samigal, if you haven't looked into discounted senior transportation services in Norwalk that provide door to door services you check them out at http://www.ci.norwalk.ca.us/trans_services.asp.

Shorty, you just might be making us 5 footers feel like giants. :-)
I am still holding onto plants for you. Give me a call when you can come get them.

Samigal, please check out the senior transportation system. I know a lot of seniors in my community use it to get around. I would feel better if you did.

Dee, are you feeling better? What are you planting now? I'm starting some seed for the teaching garden. Planting some of the seed that you left me too. I hope that the red POB, germinate. So many seeds, so little time.

Has anyone heard from Sylvia? I'm really starting to worry about her.

I need to wash my hair and it takes forever to dry.
WIB~
SW

I read somewhere you can still plant sunflowers in June. That gives me three more days, LOL. I've got lots of older flower seed I'm going to go ahead and put in and some white pumpkin seeds. We still have a few months before the weather gets cool so I figure why not? Some of the things I planted early Spring didn't do well this year; dill, queen anne's lace, even my annual lion's tail is lagging behind. Everything is shorter than last year, I guess that's from the weird weather we've had. The Echium wildpretti from Carmel is giving me seeds now. I'll be doing fall sowing again this year for some new perennials. What am I most excited about now? Has to be the purple salsify, I have a real soft spot for giant dandelions!

Yes we love our dandelions, don't we, Dee.

DH and ES have been planting the teaching Pumpkin Patch in July and they do have ripe Pumpkins by Halloween, so I'd say plant them sunflowers and pumpkins too.

Say did I give you one of my bushel gourds? I sure hope so.

Okay, the kid, aka apprentice, helped me plant some Purple Bell Vine, so hopefully we can add that one to our collections. It sure is a pretty plant.

I found a native plant that I think might be a milkweed, but haven't been able to get an i.d. for it yet. I posted a photo, but I'm wondering if I should have posted on a different forum.

Shouldn't have gone to bed with wet hair and the fan on. Was feeling kind of punky to begin with, and now have post nasal drip. Ick!

Oh, and I found out that the passion fruit is sweeter when you let it get wrinkled before you use it. Still looking for other uses, than eating it fresh, making juice or using it for a flavoring. Which reminds me, I need to go get some ice cube trays to freeze the juice/pulp in. I'm saving the seed, which I can trade or sell to others.

I've also gone to the H.bird & B.fly Forum and posted a thread asking for help to develop that Butterfly Education & Exploration Site, I want to have here on the farm.

Hopefully, the wonderful gardeners here at DG, will help me to achieve my goal.

I got a dmail from Sylvia, so I can quit worrying about her. Now I'm just concerned.

Found a healthier alternative to Round Up. My EB#2 told me that he has used this and it works well. Take a couple of cups of white vinegar, and put it in a spray bottle. Add a couple of drops of liquid dish soap, like Dawn. Add a couple of drops of lemon oil. Mix well and spray onto the foliage. Within a day or two the plant will start drying up and die. It's non toxic, and EB#2 says since he didn't have the lemon oil, he just used the vinegar and soap, and it still worked. Just thought I'd share this with you.

That's the farm report for now. LOL~

WIB~

SW

Dee, almost everyone in my family is tall. I'm 4'8". My brother is only 5"8" but he was adopted from Japan so that doesn't count. My mom's mother was only 5"1" so that's were the short genes came from.

SW, I hope to call you soon. My mom still hasn't recovered from eye surgery. Her glaucoma pressure was supposed to go down after surgery and it went way up. She was also allergic to the post op drops. She's been going to her ophthalmologist three times a week. Friday her pressure was down a little but still way above normal. In the mean time she hasn't been able to see well enough to drive or cook.

Saline water (Simply Saline is the brand) or a hot pepper do wonders for me when I have post nasal drip. I hope you and Dee feel better soon.

Jules . . .that's funny I just found this weed stop recipe online too.
Shorty - I'm still running a fever today. I've been using the mucinex, the steamer and simply saline, but I also bought some nasalcort, something I have used before for allergies and it really helps with the swelling. I feel lousy, no gardening today, but I'm hoping that after a shower I can go down to the green house garden and check for seeds.
Talking about short genes, I have a pic of my great grandfather, he looks about 5', and a cocky irishman at that. My families genes are so mixed, I told my daughter when she got pregnant her child could have any hair color and eye color too. Just about the only thing I can see of my immediate family in my them is they are short girls. My daughter is blond with blue eyes and her husband is Puerto Rican with easily tanned skin and kinky black hair. The pic is at the babies, Lalenias, 1st birthday party. And Nat, Natalia, is 5.

Well, I managed to go out to the garden and collect some seed this morning. The Echium wildpretti is dropping seed so if anyone would like some, now is the time. It took me 3 tries to get this to grow from seed and I have to think it had to do with freshness. The seeds for these I collected from a plant on the roadside in Carmel. I also have tons of Berlandia lyrata "chocolate daisy" seeds. This is not a really showy plant but it seems to be handling the heat better than the asters and the bees and butterflies love it. It's a perennial, front of the bed kind of plant.

Dee, you know I want some. So I should plant the seed immediately and not wait for spring? I've already planned on planting the Chocolate Daisy seeds you left me next, so I guess I'm good so far.

Say, Dee, have you registered your place yet as a Monarch site? I just registered mine at monarchwatch.org. I'm pretty sure you've already looked into the site, but I'm glad that I happened across it.

I like tea and honey when my throat gets all scratchy, it soothes it.

I've been in and out of the gh today, I just can't seem to get started doing anything.

I think I'm just going to take a nap.

WIB~
SW

I should register. I am attempting to put in a large butterflyweed area. Thanks for the swamp milkweed plants, I got them in the ground and they are doing fine.
I started my Echium in Fall in the greenhouse. They take two years to flower and go to seed so they should survive through winter, mine did even being out in the open in a freeze. I do have a couple that don't look like they are going to flower this year, I think it's because they aren't in as full a sun as the two that are flowering or maybe I left them in their gallon pots longer. I'm hoping that means they'll flower next year. I'll send you seed, they are really worth the effort.

Have you heard of a native CA milkweed that vines? I'll be getting some seed to share.
My bfly garden just keeps getting bigger.
Glad to hear that the swamp mw is doing well.
Can't wait to try the Echium.
WIB~
SW