Yardening June 2014

I found this information about managing iris borers:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/iris-borers/

It sounds like a difficult pest to get rid of. :-(

Thanks, Cat. I cannot wait to clean them up and give them a new start.

Mid July - dig them up, divide and replant (may have rhizomes to share)
Late October - clean up the garden to remove moth eggs
Early next March - systemic pesticide

That is so cool that Terri was able to go help you out Cat, what a wonderful day you two must have had! =) Terri, God bless your warm fuzzy heart, what an angel you are!!

Since I'll be outside playing tomorrow I shall look through my Irises very carefully for these signs, thank you for that info and the link. I know I should know these things already (seeing as I do work at a nursery), but I had no idea!! =/

SSG, I'm glad your husband likes the edging. It does make mowing a lot easier and keeps the wood chips from washing away.

I don't have any bearded irises, so I can't say I've tried it, but beneficial nematodes kill iris borers according to this site: http://nematodes.com/

I've used nematodes a couple of times because they kill flea and tick larvae and the type of grubs that do the most damage to lawns, in addition to Japanese beetle grubs. The downside of nematodes is that, unlike milky spore, they die as soon as their food supply is gone.

I started using Scotts GrubX on my iris a couple of years ago with apparent success. I haven't found any since. Just to be sure I just wrote to Scotts and inquired about it. I will be sure to let everyone know what they answer. The iris are the only place I use GrubX, the rest of the lawns and gardens are treated with Bacillus thuringiensis, milky spore. You can't use both since the spore needs live host or it dies off. I also wrote to Planet Natural asking if Bt or one of it's variants is effective. I did see Bt is effective in cabbage moths, which I found interesting.

Jill wrote an article on Iris care - includes what to do about borers.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/832/

thanks for the link, Aspenhill.

pretty Iris Donner


does anyone know what type of sunflower this is? I had gotten it from one of the swaps. It spreads and is perennial

Are you sure it's a sunflower, Wind? Do you have any photos of it in bloom?

I don't have any bloom pics... I call it a sunflower, maybe it's not. I know it is a yellow "sunflower-like" blossom. I have some in a pot to give away and I wish I knew the name of it. When I pulled some up, the roots came up nicely with each stem, hate to trash it

well, if it's pretty and you like it, then that's what counts! :-) Hopefully someone else will be able to give a positive ID.

wind, I don't recognize it either.

okay, well, one of these days I'm sure I'll get an ID on it. Our patch is pretty large, maybe 9- by 4 foot. It is pretty hardy whatever it is.

Yesterday, I finally trimmed some of the dead wood off our now slowly but surely, regenerating itself, pom pom blue hydrangea.

Another beauty of a day here in Jersey. I'm headed out to the garden to plant and then hope to work on a mosaic watering can project

enjoy your day!

What a gorgeous gorgeous day.
Found homes for several things- Houstinia and Adlumia form David (unique petite wildflowers) Kalimeris from happy, Polygonatum humile from aspenhill, and happy?, Ice Ballet Asclepias from coleup, ...Phlox Kattherine from ?, and moved some Phlox from Jill to go with that, Wasabi coleus from Gita went in front, gotta check on that...

happy- the Tinantia , that we were worried about? One bit came up so I moved to more shade, Then another chunk, and moved that, Now there's still more coming up LOL

The Phlox Katherine was probably from Terri. She had given us some, too.

The corn plant from Gita has lovely blooms on it now. We're still in the planning stages for most of our new items, but enjoying them nonetheless.

Pat--show me a picture! What color were they?

Hope they will find a nice home in your woodsy garden.

I have been hauling in my garden since maybe 11AM. Did a lot of weeding to start--
as I was waiting for delivery of my new dryer. So--piddling around weeding while waiting.

Then I tackled my last bed that still had not been planted. The "Stump Bed"...
That is where my deciduous Azalea got planted.
LOTS and LOTS of work! Had to dig the edges towards the iside of the bed
so my black plastic edging would fit around it w/o any gaps,
Then--when that mission was achieved--I had to situate the edging and then re-work
the soil so it looked like a bed again. Tamped down the outside of the edging--
and a bit on the inside too. Then went looking what I had left to plant--mostly Coleus.

This was meant to be my mostly Coleus bed anyway. Used to always have
the big pot in the middle--now there is the azalea.

It occured to me that this is NOT the way to plant a bed....like--go looking to see
what I have left and then try ti imagine what would look best where. It will be
hodge-podge...

Watering the rest of my beds--I had an AHA moment!!! REALLY!

It is NOT practical to fill every bed with just flowers! Beds could use some
"anchor plantings" (small shrubs or bushes) and then planting flowers around those
would be much easier...

That is what I now notice in pictures others are posting. AHHH! SO! That's how it
should be!!! Need to think on that....
Probably a lot less maintenance and care.

Of course--my "YUK" bed already has all kinds of "anchor plants" all over it.
They are the tough ones...Not much room or good spots for annuals in this bed.
Just a dribble along the edges.

Soon all the DL's will pop in it--and it will look beautiful. This bed earns it's keep...


1--This was the BIG POT on the stump last year. Now--stump is gone!
Azalea owns that spot now. This is what I worked so hard on today..
d
2--Last year--July--Frans Hals DL-s filled the YUK bed

3--And the corner was full too last year--Lots of Stellas...

You will get to see all this again soon. G.

Yes, Sally the Phlox Katherine is probably from me - I had potted some up for grabs.

I got most of the swap things planted this morning. I have the big beautiful azalea from Paul and the huge clumps of Siberian iris from Muddy left, but that is about it. Now that it is cooler again, I'm heading out to get those planted now.

thanks Terri, please don't be offended I forgot!

weeded aspergrass bed, planted baby kales on its shady side. Taking a 'break' to make dinner. working up the nerve to divide that big Queens Tears. I have a pot that would be great for a part of it.

Gita, here is a photo of the Persian Cornflower you gave us at the swap. We both really like it. Thanks!

Thanks--I kind of thought it was pinkish-blue.

In the spot I dug this one up from--I planted the VA. bluebells--which you now
say is a Campanula....We shall see.........

Hope it spreads in a lg. clump for you. Glad you accepted it.
G.

All your hard work looks great G!

I like that cornflower too, very pretty.

SallyG--

How is your Faery House/garden coming????

Got any progress pictures? G.

Sallyg - you know I wouldn't get offended lol. Besides, I only labeled what the plants were, but didn't put my name on them. Phlox 'Katherine' has performed well for me - never mildews the way a lot of phlox does.

Gita, the Persian cornflower is pretty - I saw it in bloom yesterday when I stopped over at David and Pat's to pick up some foxglove and to eat a delicious lunch as a bonus :)

Got busy in the garden yesterday and decided to divide my irises--they looked very crowded and didn't bloom well for me this year. Thank goodness for Gita's hands-on lesson last fall, and Jill's helpful articles! :-)

Then, I decided to remove one of the pre-existing rose bushes. It's been ridden with pests and the blooms were turning brown and withering right away, so I lopped away at it and discovered that the whole thing was dying anyway! I guess that explains why it was looking so bad. :-( I couldn't get the huge roots at the base out of the soil, so I left them in there for now. Fortunately, just last year it sprouted a fine looking baby, so I left that in there, and I'm glad it has the opportunity to live on in the baby. :-)

In its place, I planted my red chokeberry bush which has been wanting more sun anyway. It sure looks empty there right now!

Also got my indoor plants into larger pots! So, it was a productive day. Unfortunately, I need to get some *indoor* chores done now. (sigh) Why is there always time/energy for garden chores but never any for indoor chores??

1) Red Chokeberry planted in old rose spot
2) Beauty Bush 'Pink Cloud' planted in spot where several irises were cleared out
3) Pile of debris from old rose bush
4) Newly-potted begonias and fuchsia
5) Newly-divided irises

Gita, all my time has been on plants so the gnomes have no new 'hardware' to speak of. But I'll try to get a picture now that a couple new little plants are there.

Catmint, if this is how you 'take it easy after surgery'...(shaking head) (laughing) I'd be the same, good mental health therapy helps healing, right?

happy asked what is your favorite plant right now, after swap. I couldn't answer. But I find begonias in general very interesting lately. So diverse. So striking for a relatively easy plant. Easy to propagate.

Sally, you said it about mental health therapy! :-) I feel obliged to point out that the house is a mess, the laundry remains undone, and the huge pile of bills/paperwork is still there... If only I found house chores to be good mental health therapy, too--LOL!

well don't look to ME for help with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahaha
I think Id get more laundry done if I was outside stirring it into a boiling kettle, instead of laundry room. I just L O V E being outside in this weather.

yeah, and I might enjoy tidying more if I lived in a house with glass walls so I could watch the birds and pollinators while I worked... :-)

Ditto for me - I spend every moment I can outside while the inside chores seem just that - CHORES and they rarely get done lol..

AMEN to that, Sisters!!!!!!! < =D Cat, you're doing an awfully LOT for being so closely post-op! Be careful Young Lady or I'm gonna have to tell your doctor! =P heehee I am glad you're feeling better though, and SEEING better, YIPPEEE!!! Gardening is seriously under-rated, I tell ya...

Spent most of yesterday and today outside playing and GOSH it's been great!!!! Even though I used my sunblock like a good little girl, some sun still sneaked past it and coloured me golden/happy! =) I got all of the honeysuckle vine that I wanted to tackle taken care of yesterday. That kicked my dupa! Spade, shovel, pitch fork .. Yoy what a pain! Today I weeded more areas.. like ALL of the rest of it. ;) heeheeheee Sprayed Ortho stuff where it would be safe to spray it, installed 4 Poblano peppers, a handful of Coleus and a couple other things, raked out most of the table area out back and switched the places of the bird bath and the Blue Angel Hosta that I got from Gita... used to be Hosta behind the bird bath.. BAD idea! Fed and watered everyone, cut back the bloom stalks of the Irises.. and I don't know what all else. Sure feels nice to have that done! Goodness, those weeds in the Big Bed were ridiculous!!!

Found some interesting things in some pots out back.. never know what's gonna fall into them and grow while I'm not looking. A few pics to share, if anyone's got any ideas, please let me know.

Oh, and Paul, are you still on the lookout for Columbine Little Lanterns seeds? I collected some for you, just in case. :)

1- About 85% of that green behind the Coreopsis and Mint are WEEDS! Good Heavens, how does it get so bad so fast!?

2- One of the odd things I found in one of my pots. Weirdest looking leaves I've seen.. they look distorted and just plain "wrong".

3- The biggest Caladium so far in the background, with.. I don't remember what in the foreground. At first I thought it might be a weed when it first came up.. glad I decided to wait and see before I pulled it out! Looks familiar, but I don't remember what it is!! Oh and look! There's Paul's jar of Columbine seeds! :)

4- Gitas Hosta in FRONT of bird bath.. looks so much better now! =)

5- The "right side" benches, where I put the newly-potted up stuff; Coleuses and the decorative Pineapple plant. I hope that thing makes it, it was a rescue. :)

JR slept over after a movie and helped some in the garden this AM. He really seems to enjoy his time here, and not just the sweet potato waffles and maple links. LOL He helped Grams awhile then came to help pick strawberries for his Mama. He's a pushover to get his help if the phrase includes "for Mama". I did get all the mowing done today as well as moving all the tropicals to the yard, from the GH. It looks as though it's going to rain so I crawled under the deck and hooked up the rainwater recovery system to the pool, Alfie came with me to supervise, since I was invading his space. The yard is coming along nicely and we should be ready for the fall swap. LOL

Our whole row of nandinas is growing back from the roots, That shows something to be said for procrastination. Our very old butterfly bush looks like a total loss though.

Aw man, I'm sorry to hear about the flutterby bush, but glad to hear about the Nandinas. And, LOL at "for Mamma". What the heck, if it works... =)

That is so sweet about JR wanting to do things 'for Momma'! :-) Sounds like you all had a busy day!

Speedie, you sure got a lot done! I'm in awe of all that weeding and honeysuckle digging! :-o I think you should sit back with a cold drink and enjoy the fruits of your labor! :-) That is definitely a weird looking plant-- maybe a pest of some kind causes this type of deformation? I love your mystery stalk--looks like it will be very pretty!

Speedie- yes please! Thank you.

speedie, your weird plant is a morning glory of some kind with weirdly crinkled leaves.

I love your plantbench, bleachers, the whole team lined up and ready to be called in, or rather, all on the bleachers cheering you on!

Speedie, I love that bench! Is that the one that your DH made for you?

Catmint, I can't believe how much you're getting done during your recovery!

I find that I always get nervous before pulling out a sickly plant, but it feels just wonderful after doing it. Some roses are just not worth the effort!

Speedie---

Sally beat me to it--but i can tell you what kind of a MG it is--
I myst have given you seeds to this one--or maybe you grew it
once in that spot...

I bwlieve it is the M.G. "Picotee"--you will love it! Plant it under a 5' trellis or so---
I planted mine in a pot by my shed. It is slow getting going--but I hope it picks up the pace.

Here is what it will grow up to look like....mostly the blue one--but "may" pink..
Save the seeds on this one.....

The seeds I have were mixed up--but O love seeing a pink in a bunch of blues.

Gita

edited to say that this MG is MUCH better behaved than the regulat ones.
It won't climb very high. Hope you like it.

This message was edited Jun 8, 2014 7:26 PM

LOL, SSG--I know, I should have surgery more often, right? ;-) Seriously, it's been excellent therapy being out in the garden puttering away as opposed to lying in bed feeling miserable... It's also been nice to have some time off from work to recuperate--including the garden-puttering!

Cat---
You got the right idea---i totally agree with you on how to deal with "after surgery"
times. I have been doing the exact same thing for years...on my own!
Everyone wants to give you advice--but YOU are the only one who knows
and understands YOUR body. Do what you can--as best you can! Never give up!

My list of surgeries fills a full sheet. I kid you not! I have to bring it to all my Dr.'s.

I believe the BODY heals better if you use it. Never mind some small pains or discomforts.
Mind what you can and cannot do---but don't lay in bed feeling sorry for yourself.

An inactive, passive body CANNOT, heal itself as well as an active one..
Using your body and muscles as best you can--no matter the small pains--is the fastest
way to heal. Look at all your "Must do's" as just an extension of Physical Therapy.

I don't know what else to add. I hope you "GET IT".
Always comes back to the old saying: "Use it--or lose it!"

I will fight, and deal with,all my pains and discomforts, to never "lose it". Forever!

It feels good to say that! It is the truth. Gita