I highly recommend columbine also. I have the natives here and I like it more than the hybrids. Loves shade and super easy to grow.
Keep an eye on the clearance racks at HD and other stores. You might get lucky and find one on there cheap. Or if you find one that looks bad but you think you can save it, see if the vendor is there and ask if they can mark it down for you. Some will, some won't.
August 2015 Insect World Reigns!
I love Columbine! I have seeds for the purple and white ones but I don't know if they are natives; they're not the Giants. I will definitely keep my eyes on the clearance racks. That is how I got my Montauk daisies – they looked bad. They should be starting to bloom soon. I need to put them in the spot with more sun though. My giant tree was scheduled to come down this week but Nikki's owner took a road trip. The tree had to get pushed back to September 3. I can hardly wait for that to happen. Then I will have a full sun bed to start amending.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AQCA
A friend of mine has big yellow ones. One of these days I will get seeds from her and plant them with my red ones.
Thanks for the hint Pepper I will stay CLEAR of the plants...lol. I still have a bunch to plant.
Patti , we must be twins, I dont have a bunch of material but I have a quilt to finish. lol Dont think I have met an art project I haven't loved..lol.
The silver leaves....I can't think of the name of the trees but when the wind blows around this time of the year the back side of the leaves just glisten in the light. Maybe BillyP will know the name.
Patti you have been busy! Hope you can keep your worker for awhile. Probably by next spring your hip will be better and you can do what you need to.
I should of played in the yard but I am trying to clean the garden room and the garden shed at the same time. I have toooo much junk. I want to put a stain glass work area in the garden room. But it is just dirty from a winter of plants being in there and the cat in there, he is long hair and omg I could make a mattress...lol, this is the first time I have tried to clean it since last fall.
Happ,
I know! We didn't open more than the porch door yesterday. It has full sun all day so it heats up in spite of all the screens.
Make the doorway big! You'll never regret it!
Tucker,
My Mom used to machine sew quilts. I can still see her draping it over the dining room table to pin it. I never got the talent for sewing.
ROTFL over the neighbor's dog. Be glad he's just ''visiting.''We now ''own'' two of our neighbor's cats....
Oh dear. I hope you can find someone to replace him.
Yep, bummer on the peppers. This year I started mine extra early and have a good show.
I don't even have a basement. I do hang them on the line. Does that count? :o)
The hostas will be beautiful nest year. I love the varigated!
Awww, cute pups!
Will,
If you have trouble, invest a paycheck in a GPS/Siri thing. They are pretty helpful and keep you company :o)
Patti,
I imagine even tho she went over the bridge, Abbey has never left your side.
Hugs to you for loving the homeless. I agree they are special.
Silver Maple tree leaves have white backs. When the wind is out of the east, it flips them over so they show. Actually, a lot of trees have the silver backs. Most rain will come from the east so it's a pretty good indicator.
Make sure you get Jamie to put in the flashing for you. That will be the hardest job!
I hope your hip is better too.
Mother nature is in your back yard :o)
I'm with Pepper on the native columbine. It's early and in time for hummingbirds when they first get back. Plus it re-seeds and it's easy to dig out the smaller ones. Transplants pretty good too.
After dinner and coffee I ran up the road and helped the guy put the last of the shrubs in. Talked to his wife for about an hour, came home and planted the mums, and the Prairie Sun rudbeckia my neighbor gave me.
I weeded and had a visit from Pink the neighbor dog. After we took her home, the neighbor's cat Sneakers and I kicked back in the lounge chair and watched the clouds go by. Another BEAUTIFUL evening!!
I washed windows and brushed dust from the screens. DIRTY!!! It rained so much I never washed anything this spring. I'm enjoying them now!
Have a great day. It's going to be cool again and I have a million things to do!
We caught the rainbow!
An old pilot one time told me if the wind is out of the east it is going to rain....lol too funny
Funny to see them irrigating after all the rain. HUGE cracks in my ground.
I took everything out of the storage shed, nothing better than to get everything out in the open for you to realize the junk you kept and how much of too much you have. I had told myself only stuff I cared about was going back and one whole shelf had to be left open for the stuff to come in the winter. Well I did it and I am shot! I have class tomorrow and I am sure DH thought she is going to leave all this junk outside I just know it. He about fell over around 4 when he came back to the side yard! I have a toss trash bag, I have a donate bag, and I have a recycle old pots bag, one shelf empty and I am feeling pretty good about now! lol I may toss some more stuff cause I forgot some of the stuff in the garden room has to go somewhere so I can get my crafts area done.....dang. Felt good for a sec..lol
I even got a shrub planted and watered the plants under the pine trees, pulled a few weeds but the ground is so hard, cleaned the pond filter.
Hey Pep I know you can answer this I have a BUNCH of old plastic flower pots, can I take them to home depot for recycle?
NO MORE POTS OF ANY KIND...LOL AND NO MORE PLANTS until I get these in the ground.
I have just a few tomatoes and that is it. Sure glad I am not a settler cause my family would starve to death this year. I do have some good peaches but I cant eat them as fast as they are ready.
I need to wash windows also, gonna get dh to help. This house was built for solar gain so we have ALOT of windows. Since there aren't any crops around us I don't have to worry about the combines covering us up in dust, especially if they had done soy beans. All the fields around us have been sprayed with weed killer, when I ask our resident farmer and the mg meeting he said if you are in a government program and nothing got planted you are required to spary weed killer! Bet that hasn't been good for the bees, birds, butterflies, or small animals. Sides everything is dead and brown.
Hope everyone is doing good.
Betti what are you up to? Not use to not hearing from you. Hope everything is ok. Thinking about you.
My nice lengthy post was lost after I selected save. I'll try again later. About to exit bus & have church this evening. Just been busy canning pickle relish & pear butter. Cleaned up my rear sun porch too.
The animals not leave me alone. Help! I want to pick up dog food for mom's dog and was immediately charged by American Staffordshire Terrier. That was a big boy – easily 150 lbs. he decided to lay down on my feet. It would've hurt less had he decided to sit in my lap. LOL I love the bullies and they know it. All four animals here had to give me the sniff test though.
Sally, I don't sew– Not even buttons. LOL my maternal grandmother actually pieced her quilt tops by hand. Quilting, in my mind, is nothing like sewing. I don't know why, it just plays out that way in my mind. I have machine quilted quite a bit but greatly prefer hand quilting. It is so relaxing.
Great rainbow!
Joyce, somehow I missed seeing your picture of Shorty. What a beautiful pup! I love it when you can look at a dog and know that it is good-natured and probably is a snuggle bug. Shorty has such a sweet face.
The combine seat ( Columbine seed) I have is apparently from a hybrid. I'll go try to find some native combine now. I really do want to attract the hummers and the bees. Glad I caught the auto correct incorrect addition. LOL
Jamie sure earned his money this morning. He got the last of the flashing installed so that is done. I am attaching a picture of his other project this morning. We are about one third done. I had to get this done, or at least started, so I would have some place to plant next spring.
I have also attached a picture of a volunteer morning glory. It's beauty started my morning out. Can you guys tell that I love gardening? LOL
Betty, I just knew you were busy canning. I have been losing posts too, but thought it was my tablet. It certainly is aggravating. Looking forward to hearing from you. Patti
Where did my morning glory go? It must've put on it's invisibility cloak.
Happ, we don't recycle them. Call your nearest recycling center and ask them. Check the numbers on the bottom or sides of the pots and just ask if they take those numbers. Some places take all numbers, some only take a few.
Hit send to soon. lol
Spent the day dealing with a half bushel of peaches. Made a freestyle peach tart, put up 7 quart bags for the freezer, then I had a lot of ripe tomatoes that needed attention so I made a freestyle tart with those too. That one didn't come out quite like I wanted but not bad. Should have added a lot more tomatoes and less cheese. lol
Will try to post tomorrow. Found out that my grandmother died when I was about to mail her birthday card. She would have turned 96 on Friday. I had a hunch that she would be going home soon to be with grandpa and my 4 uncles. We were blessed to have her this long. She home canned everything from her farm and didn't think nothing about killing a chicken for Sunday dinner. Born in 1919, she was a rugged pioneer type woman. Once I witnessed her being chased by a bull which she out ran. They don't make women like grandma anymore. May she rest in peace.
So sorry about your Grandmother, Bettie. I know you will miss her. What wonderful stories you have of her. Thinking of all she had experienced in her life. From horse and buggy to people on the moon.... Yes rest in peace with her husband and family before her.
Bettie, it is so hard to lose those we love. I am so sorry. Wishing there were someway I could ease your pain. Patti
I'm fine. Tough like my Grandma. Thanks.
Happ,
I am laughing! I think I'm becoming a pretty good weather woman!
We have been skimpy on the rain we've gotten. I sure hope we get some this week. I washed all my windows AND screens. That should get me an inch!
I need to pull everything out of the side porch cabinets. I agree. You look over the stuff and wonder how much you can stuff back in. Yayyy for you!!! You got a LOT accomplished!
You know, that's kind of how I think about it when I'm canning. Will I have enough to be self supporting?
Cut your peaches up and freeze them in orange juice.
That makes me so mad. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of keeping land idle? My uncle plants wildflowers, but has to plow it up and replant every few years.
Betty,
Life sure gets busy at times doesn't it?
Patti,
That made me laugh about the dog sitting on your feet. I could just see it. I can see they love you too, LOL!
Good for Jamey. I hope he feels sorry enough for you to help just a bit more :o)
That's beautiful! I LOVE the bricking between the panels!
Morning glorys are so amazingly beautiful! Look at the sunlight coming from yours. Awesome picture!
Pepper,
YUM on the peaches and tarts. Laughing about too much cheese!
Oh Betty,
I am so very sorry. I feel like I know your Grandma because those are the women I admire. But you are right. We are too soft to be as strong as they were. I would have loved to know her. (((HUGE HUGS)))
35 quarts of grape juice. That was half the vines. The rest aren't quite as purple.
Gotta hit the ground running. I have hot peppers to deal with and drop apples piling up. I need to walk too.
Have a thoughtful day.
Losing grandparents is so hard. I miss my grandma everyday. She was such a sweet lady. A great cook and baker too. Grandpa was wonderful also.
Sorry for your lose Betty.
Billy you are such a busy lady, man oh man. I usually am a slug after work. lol. Not for to long I am up and doing stuff. But nothing like you do.
Patti I know you like gardening so do I. I worked for 4 hours on basically one little patch in my side yard. I enjoyed it so much. I'll tell any one. Do not put any ground cover where you are sure if you want it there for sure. lol. Everyday I try and pull some out. I hate it and wish I would've never put it there. Did when I was an inexperienced gardener.
I went to a couple green houses today and got some plants at 30 percent off. Was pretty happy about that. I really want to get some more ferns. They are pretty pricey. Maybe I can do a swap with someone or something. Enjoy what ever you do for the rest of the week. I am.
Ronna, are you talking about landscape fabric when you talk about groundcover? Or are you talking about plants used as a ground cover? Landscape fabric I pulled up from the house I lived in 20 years ago. it was a nightmare. Personally, I'd rather have the weeds, because it didn't really prevent weeds anyway. Maybe they weren't "as bad", but still…
OK, I hate to admit it because I don't think I'm stupid, but I need help. As you all know, I have been buying seed in preparation for winter sowing. Some of the seed packs have as few as 10 seeds while others could have 1000. I certainly don't need 1000 seeds of anything. LOL In an attempt to organize this stuff, I spent the day adding seeds to my trade list under the 'Have' column. I managed to get about 75% of them on there. The remaining 25% are contributing to my "I think I'm getting one" ulcer. Can someone direct me to an UBER, or a forum where they have "seed listing for dummies".
Oh boy, I just got a call from my ex and may have to work at his office tomorrow. Part of the reason we broke up is because his life revolves around drama. Mercy, I have enough of my own! LOL
I would go water my plants but they're saying we're going to get rain tonight. Maybe I'll water anyway.
Patti
I'm off the hook. I just have to show up for my appointment in the a.m. Whew!
Patti
Ju, this for you and anyone else who likes caterpillars and butterflies.
http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?source=facebook&emailid=15807Czech
When you go to the link you click on pics of caterpillars and the pics magically change to butterflies.
You need to select nature and travel, then nature. Scroll down until you find "19 Amazing Caterpillar Transformations".
It may take a bit to find it, but don'the give up. It is pretty cool.
No Patti I was talking about actual plants that take over the ground. Ground cover. I really never used the land scape fabric stuff. How are those hosta doing??? Are they still alive hopefully.
A local nursery was having a 25% off sale on shrubs, trees and grasses. Why,oh why, did I have to read that marquee. The car obviously has a mind of its own, as it just ripped right into the parking lot, even though my mind was saying, "Patti, you have to eat". I will post pictures after Jamie pulls the plants out of the van.
He will be unloading a hydrangea (magical fire), a smoke tree shrub (velvet cloak), a chaste tree and 3 pots of gramma grass (blonde ambition). Maybe it was because it's the end of the season or maybe they are going to mark things down again tomorrow, but I ended up paying 50% off instead of 25%. I sure am glad that Jamie's working this Tuesday. LOL I'm trying to begin establishing the "bones" of the various areas of the yard.
The smoke tree shrub (will grow up to 15 ' tall) will be planted in the bed that will be receiving full sun after next Wednesday. It looks pretty rough right now, but I'm sure water and getting it in the ground will make all the difference in the world. The grasses will go around the birdbath in the backyard. The forsythia my friend is giving me will go behind that, which means the forsythia will be in a corner. The chaste tree will also go in the backyard, in the area I just mulched.
Now I need to research hydrangea; I have no idea where to put it. My original intention was to put it on the north side of the front porch staircase, but it may be too sunny there. It will be in full shade after 12 o'clock noon . Morning sun will be filtered most of the time, due to trees. It would really only get about one hour of straight sun a day. Is that too much? Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!
Patti
Ronna, I lost one – The lemon lime. Darn! I cut it to the ground, so maybe it will reappear next spring. The others seem to be settling in nicely.
Unless you consider viola or sweet asylum to be a groundcover, I think I'll be OK. If either of these are, please let me know. I will rethink planting them, if so.
Thanks for the warning!
Patti
The hydrangea will work where I wanted to place it initially. I didn't realize it was going to be "so" pink, but that's fine too.
I also talked to Jamie when he came over and he has about decided to continue working through the fall. Great news! Now if he would just decide that he was having a momentary lapse of reason and commit to next summer too.
I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will.
The hydrangeas don't like a lot of sun but it likes bright light for sure. So that spot there on the north side will be perfect.
The others you have it figured out just fine. :~)
Pepper, I have been reading and reading and reading some more. I'm really trying to put a base of gardening knowledge in this brain of mine. Ideally, I would've worked in a nursery when I was younger. What's done is done.
When I was over at Danas, showing Jamie how to trench around the forsythia, in preparation for moving it, I noticed the neatest flowers in her front yard. Do you have any idea what these are?
Japanese anemone. I knew it was either that or hardy geranium but google helped me narrow it down. lol. Very pretty. I've never grown it but I know people who have and love it.
Thank you my googling would have gone, pink flower with five petals and yellow center".
LOL.
I did take pictures of my special buy today. Now that I'm looking at them more closely, it is the end of the season and they wanted to move the plants out. The smoke tree looks as if it was watered and then hundred degree sun rays beat down on it, really burning the leaves. The sunburnt Aloe plant looked worse when I brought it home and it looks fine now. It will be fine. The same with the hydrangea, although it's not in as bad of shape.the chaste tree and the grasses are perfect however.
In picture number 3, you can see where the newspaper and mulch work ended. The Forsythia will go back in the corner behind the birdbath and grasses. The cement dog may or may not get moved.
Forsythia get really big so either be prepared to do a lot of pruning to keep it the size you need or move stuff out. The area looks smaller than that in the pic but may not be. :~) My grandma has a bunch she uses as a hedge to help with dust control and they are about 6 feet by 6 feet at least and get pruned every few years to help keep them healthy.
Otherwise I like the set up for that corner.
The smoke bush I would trim into a tree a bit maybe. Just trim it high enough for you to walk under and plant hostas and other shade plants under it. Or just high enough for Tucker to have a shady place to lay. lol
I have not done my in-depth research on Smokebush pruning yet, but fully intended to turn it into a tree. If I remember correctly, and I very well could be wrong, it seems they suggested pruning in December. See Pepper, great minds think a like. LOL
I know how big Dana's forsythia mother plant is. I chose to put it there so the birds will have some place to land, nest or hide. I know I will have to keep it pruned up but, doesn't that really help keep them healthy? Kind a like getting a good trim on your hair to get rid of the split ends?
I guess I've had too much excitement today – I'm tired. Going to read for a while and turn the lights out. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and experience. I really appreciate it. It's sprinkling here again. Perfect night for sleep.
Patti
Patti, the plants look great. Wow you are on your way girl. I have several hydrangeas. A couple are getting way too much shade and haven't done much. I have always loved those anemones, they have early blooming and late blooming. Some are not hardy in my zone which is 5a... ;( Don't know why I have never bought any.
I still have plants to plant....geehz.
No rain for me but I know KC got rain. Now I have to water this morning before class...darn..
Worked all day on the garden room. I am taking everything apart and out and cleaning it. My cat has one of those tower things and he is a long hair black cat and oh my was it hairy....lol I have one more corner to clean, then cleaning the cabinets and I have some door handles to finally put on. I will take pics when I am done. The garden shed, it is so nice to walk in and be able to find something...lol. I thought I liked the idea of the doors have those panes in them and what a pain to clean...geehz. Mistake on my part.
Weather man said Sept was going to be abnormally warm. That is ok with me I don't want it to get too cool I am not ready for summer to end.
Hello all of you toiling outdoors and tending your gorgeous flowers. Our focus has still been clearing our home of clutter while the weather is so pleasant. My oldest daughter, who left behind much of this clutter, is renting a dumpster at her place from 9/2 - 9/10, so I can take her stuff over during that week for her to keep or toss. You know that I am going to take advantage of this opportunity to reclaim my spaces in this house. The service she has repurposes and recycles, so the good stuff does not end up on the landfill. I will also be able to get rid of more of my husband's collectibles that were only of value to him.
After the dust settles, I can start renovating and redecorating. Once the indoor spaces are done, I start working on the outdoors. That is my plan anyway. Nicole is back in college after taking off to care for her dad, so I can't depend on her help right now as her focus is on her studies. We will be traveling to Tennessee soon to visit my grandma's grave. My aunt who cared for my grandma wasn't up to a funeral and buried her the day after she died. I know that she was emotionally drained being her caretaker all these years. Aunt Dottie kept grandma out of a nursing home and allowed her to pass away peacefully on the farm where she raised her 7 children, so I can't complain. Only my mom, the oldest, her only sister Dottie, and much younger brother Bobby survive. My grandma lived to bury 4 of her 5 sons; which included her youngest child. Her 1st loss was a son killed in the Vietnam war. Next my grandpa died suddenly of a heart attack in 1975. The last tragedy was her 2nd oldest son who died 2 years ago from an accidental shooting. At each funeral, I saw the sorrow in my grandma's eyes. Forty years later, she has went home to be with grandpa; and the 4 lost sons.
After my father passed away, who was raised down the road from my maternal grandparent's farm, I brought back some red Tennessee clay soil taken from my dad's parents' old homestead and sprinkled it on his grave here in Illinois. I plan to bring back some more on the next visit to sprinkle over my garden. Does that sound silly?
Betty, you have been on my mind. I did not know what to say when you shared with us about your husbands instruments. I don't know how long ago he passed. And then you posted about your grandmother. I am so sorry. I think of my grandmother every day. She and my dad were the two reasons I felt like I belonged in this family at all. My dad was an only child and he passed about 10 years before grandma, his mom. She was never the same after he died. Life does go on, that it is never the same. I am so sorry for your losses.
Mom was widowed 2 1/2 years ago. That is when my stepdad, Gene, died. Part of the reason I think it would be good for her to move in here is because she has changed nothing in the house. His clothes still crowd the closet and his denture cream is still in the bathroom cabinet. I did manage to remove and properly dispose of all of his meds. I had to have my brother, Tom, distract her while I went through the cabinets. I was afraid, given her history of confusion, she would take his meds.
Oh my, Mynx has something in her mouth and is tearing around the house like she has firecrackers attached to her tail. Got to go retrieve whatever it is she has and get Nikki ready to go home.
Patti
Betti, nothing sounds silly if it soothes your soul! I think it sounds wonderful myself.
Wish I had 1/2 the energy you have! I cleaned my garden shed and think I had accomplished alot. I have all my sisters stuff in our "spare" room that doesn't have anything in it but her stuff. Things like pictures and mementos that probably only mean something to her and I am not sure she could recognize 1/2 of the stuff. Thought I would take them to my younger sisters house and see what she wants to do with them. Then we have another building with the rest of her stuff in it. Guess I ought to do something with it.....
Today was school day for me, 9 to 4 on schedule A. Got the test done so tomorrow I just need to finish the rest of my test. School is almost done EXCEPt for the one big test....yuck!
No flower playing for me, maybe tomorrow.
Joyce, you do more than you realize. You are just too busy to notice. I am hearing from others that I am not the only one left to clean up after someone else. We do what we can, right?
Betti maybe you are right....hummm. There is a saying and I don't like ...lol because it is so true. "The hardest lesson to learn is to Do what NEEDS to be done, WHEN it needs to be done, rather you like it or not". The times I have gotten in 'trouble' is when I have not paid attention to that saying. I probably need to cross stitch it for all my great-nieces and put it on their bedroom wall, think of all the turmoil they could avoid in their lives. AND NO I am not so stupid I need turmoil to know calm...rofl. I have this other saying Don't underestimate boredom because the opposite is NOT ALWAYS good. Boy I am DEEP today...rofl.
Ok I have to go take my tests I have put it off as long as possible.....even cleaned house!
I'm never going to catch up! I will try to get back and read what I have missed.
I've been canning, weeding and potting up phlox that are in front of the shorter things. My, phlox sure can multiply. It itches too, but I don't want to cut the stems yet because I want to replant for height.
The rose bed needs some serious work and I'm getting ready to dig up the tiny Asiatic bulbs from the arbor fences. I hope to rejuvenate them because they were my Mom's. So much to do this fall.
Have a good day!
Wow, Patti great buy on all the shrubs and plants you scored! Sounds like you have loads of room for stuff. I wish I had more space. lol. But yet I am trying to reduce. I have way to many plants. If I do buy something it takes me three or four passes thru the yard to find the correct spot to plant it. Oh well I am addicted.
Betti sounds like you have so much on your plate for sure. Busy busy lady. I have been pretty busy myself lately too. Cleaning and straightening up our house. Always dishes to wash and clean the kitchen. Always my job.
Happ I am so excited to see the finished shed. You will feel so rejuvenated when its done. Mine was all cleaned up to until my son moved back home!!! Enough said about that.
Have a great week all...