2015 Fall Plant Swap Thread PART TWO

WOW! This Thread is rocking and rolling!!!
I guess you did a supreme job with hosting the swap. YES! You did!!

Cam--Feel free to use the food (or whatever) tote if you want to.
It is very sturdy, has been used for years! And--it is collapsible if you
remove the stays in the sides. The handle also folds down.

Make use of it until I get it back. Grocery shopping--yard sales--
taking food dishes somewhere--etc. PPLEASE! I mean it....

The towels were in there in case some pickle juice spilled out.
Also--to keep things cold or warm.

http://www.likecool.com/Collapsible_European_Market_Tote--Bag--Style.html

I have another one (new) if I am ever desperate to have one.

Gita

Thanks, Gita, if I need to use it, I will with your gracious permission. But I will give it back to you at our next event !

Got a nasty headache Sat night, and I didn't even indulge in the lovely Sangria! Still fighting it this morning. but it's backing off. So I'm very grateful to Muddy for watering (and to CAM for keeping his hose turned on LOL), bec my plants are still in the garage, in my car!

Martina and I both had a wonderful time visiting with everyone, and of course our girls had a blast! They learned some plant stuff along with the play.. I heard them "lecturing" another friend yesterday, wish I remembered the topic.

Sally, one of your monarchs eclosed yesterday, to our delight. We missed the actual event but are keeping a sharp eye on the next one (the one starting to darken that you weren't sure was "good" -- now looks fine, can see a little orange too).

Cam, can't quite recall... is your cat tree "Go Pet" brand or something else? knew I should've written it down!

I don't recall the maker of the cat tree but if you go here... .

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/cat-supplies/furniture/ps/c/3261/10345

.. you will find a large assortment of them from the same manufacturer (you can tell because they look a lot like the one I have, just different sizes and costs). That website is where I got mine.

Hope that helps, Jill.

Cam--

Those cat trees are huge--and such extravagance!

Do your cats use the "trees" regularly--or do they just sprawl on a rug somewhere?
Do they each use just "theirs"--or does it matter at all? Common property...

I loved the chimes! so soothing....of course--it gave the small fry something
to touch every time they ran past it. Sounded so soothing....

Years ago--I gave a similar, but hanging , fancier, chime to my neighbor's
daughter and her new DH as a wedding gift. I always wonder if she still has it--
as that marriage dissolved in a few years. She remarried....had a daughter--
and this one is going OK.
I think women would hold on to something like a beautiful chime...Do Guys care???
I know YOU do!
G.

Gita, they use both cat trees every day. When I come home, if they don't hear me coming and greet me at the door, I find them napping on the top perches of the one in my family room. And during the warmer months when Reagan doesn't want to sleep next to me, she sleeps all night in the top perch. Kennedy loves to spend mornings on the one in my office, looking out that window at who knows what... traffic, people walking or biking, birds, all of the above ? :)

Thanks, I really like that wind chime too. I just need to find a stronger support rod for it, that one isn't cutting it. But yes, has a beautiful tone and I intend to have it for many years.

Cam--

I bought mine at the Annual Craft Fair here at the Timmonium Fairgrounds.
There is a more official name for this fair--but i am pulling a blank. Help!!!
...Mountain...something....

They also hold this in Gaithersburg. You should go to one of these.
All kinds of artists of many, many venues exhibit their wares. Mind-blowing!

That is where I bought the Chimes....You could go nuts--if you have money.
I don't--so I just go to gawk at all the beautiful things and collect free pens
and chocolates....
I think you could hang the chimes from one of the big trees you have--
Just need a really long chain...WOW--that would sound awesome in a breeze!
In a storm--your neighbor's would want to kill you....

OR--you can forego the idea of having it hang from anything--and just
hang them by your front door. Better than a door-bell....

OH, well--my brain goes off in too many directions when i start thinking....

Gita

Yes... I've been to those crafts festivals several times but not in the past couple of years. Yeah, watch yourself at those things, you can easily spend a small fortune. :)

I will likely add a second, smaller set of chimes some day for some sweet music while I'm gardening in the front yard.

You get those--and you will not need Prozak..... (Not saying you do!...)

It is like those CD's that play ocean waves---the sounds of the sea--and such...
You either want to destroy the CD--or you love how it relaxes you....

I used to listen to one of the ocean waves when i was recovering from my
knee replacement on the couch. Just tried to ignore the pain and discomfort......

Then the repetition starts getting to you--and you want to scream!
Then you pull the plug--and go to sleep in a more natural way....
g.

G, was it Sugarloaf Craft Festivals that you are thinking of?

Sugarloaf.... that's it ! Thanks, Terri. :)

Cam, I happened to notice that your neighbor has pine trees with limbs hanging over your yard. Maybe you could hang the chimes from one of those. The limbs look pretty high, but if you attach fishing line (or clear dental floss) to a ball and throw it over a limb, you can then hang the chimes from it.

Hmmmm... might just work, Muddy. And that would almost equalize the negative aspect of having those limbs hanging over my property. :) Thanks... creative brain you have there. :)

I've hung bird feeders that way, thinking that squirrels couldn't get to them. Well, that didn't work..squirrels slid down and/or bit through the line/floss...but weight-wise, fishing line and floss can handle heavy loads.

Yeah, I wasn't going to mention the negative aspects of having what looks like White Pine limbs hanging over your yard, but since you brought it up.....at least those look like relatively young trees so they might not drop too many limbs while you live there.

When we bought our house, one of my brothers-in-law took a look at the 7-10 White Pines growing in the backyard and said "You should cut them all down now before they get any bigger." At the time, I couldn't imagine why he would say such a thing; I loved those trees! By the time I knew he was right, it cost thousands of dollars to have them cut down. Maybe your neighbor could be persuaded that they're not going to be good screening trees 3-4 years from now when all of their lower limbs are gone....

Newbie still glowing from Swap. I brought pedestrian plants, got fab stuff in return. Met a bunch of kind, generous people who are unabashed plant nerds. Happy to join the club. Many thanks to all my new friends.

I'm excited that you're happy to be part of the group Lisa. It was nice meeting you. I am indeed one of those 'unabashed plant nerds'.

Yeah, Lisa.... nice to have another plant lover among us and you were a pleasure to talk with. Hope to see you at many future club events.

Muddy, yeah, those white pine never were a favorite of mine, they're dropping tons of those long needles all the time. Oh well, could be worse... could be a locust tree.

It was nice meeting you, Lisa, and I had fun raiding Cam's yard with you : - )
Hope to see you at the early 2016 seed swap which is also a great MAF get-together even for those who don't care to grow their own.

Oh man CAM, I think you're lucky to have those pines there. If I lived in your house, I'd rake up all the needles and use them in my beds. I actually take them from a friend's yard in the garbage can full. I took one can last year and this year I might take two. They mix really well with shredded leaves as a mulch for the winter garden.

next event we have, I'll bring you a bag or two of them, Jeff. :)

Thanks, that'd be great! I think appreciation of the pine needles differs between garden styles. Your style is very different from mine and in my style, they fit perfectly.

Agree..and looking forward to seeing yours in person one day. When I'm all done here with my plans, I'll host another event so everyone can see the finished product. Of course, it's never really finished but you know what I mean. :)

It was nice meeting you, Lisa!

CAM, I like how you mass your perennials together so they make more of a visual impact. I think I need to do more of that in my garden.

Indeed, I'd love to have you guys up to my pad sometime.

Seq, I'd love to see your viburnums in person!

YES!
Pine needles are awesome for mulching evergreens. Don't waste them!

They are slow to decompose--but great as a mulch. G.

As far as rain--we had the "skies" looking like any time now---but it never rained.
I hand-watered my beds as usual....

Going to bed now--I am exhausted from all I did today.....
G.

Hi Lisa, glad you made it and enjoyed!

I'm a pine needle nut as well. My neighbor lets me harvest 4-5 trash cans full, as much as I can do. This year I may have to beg Mark to help, with my new work schedule. I mulch three blueberry bushes, and another two beds near there. Love them! Cam I will happily take any you'd be nice enough to bring, anytime, but that's really asking a lot.

Drizzling when I left work at 9 pm...

I'll ask my neighbor if I can come over to her side of the fence and rake up more of them. Of course, she has a compost pile and enjoys gardening herself so I'm not sure if she uses them or not.

SSG, thank you... my style of gardening is to be organized and think out every plant, shrub and flower and I know many don't do it that way but glad you liked it. :)

Yeah I can still appreciate that organized style but I can't conform to it. It's not in my nature. When it comes to plants, I want whatever fancies my eye and don't want to be restricted by uniformity or a 'plan'...LOL

Most of my Viburnums are 1st or 2nd years so they aren't very big yet but they will be very pretty when they get bigger. I'm going to have to fence a TON of shrubs this year to keep out those wascally wabbits.

It's funny how in my mind, when I try to plan out my garden, it looks like CAM's -- all organized, orderly, and color/bloom-time coordinated.

But in reality, I just find an empty spot (where something else has died) and plop in whatever is most root-bound at the moment. :D

Haha, nice SSG. It's pretty clear in my gardens there was no plan going in because there are some tall things in the middle, blocking view of some shorties in the back. Oh well, I don't care if no one else appreciates it, you garden for yourself right?

I am really bummed that we missed Cam's garden. I had to clean the house instead....not fun.

I'll host again in the future, Holly... when my plans are all done and the stuff I've recently planted are mature... you'll see my yardening at it's best then. :)

That would be wonderful Cam.

Jeff---

SO???? What will you do with all the BES I grew for you???

Yesterday--I pulled out most of the BES from my small front bed. Gone!
There are other things in that bed that just get obliterated. Like a whole azalea bush!
I also planted flowers in this bed--most of which got choked out.

i LIKE a few BES in the background--if they just would not multiply so much...:o(

Question---
The little plants in the water bottle bottoms---you told me that I should just put them
in pots for the winter. How big pots? Where should I keep them for the winter?
I just looked at them--and there are 2 different ones.....?????
P. Digitalis and a "Ratiba" (?)... I thought thy were both the same. The Ratiba is bigger!

Would you have a picture of what these......PLEASE?

Thanks, G.

OoHHHHH, sag...I can relate to having a plan like CAM in mind, but the reality is SOOOO different. I tend to get one of to see if I like it. But, drifts look so much better.

Sally----
THANK YOU for bringing that "Gnomes" book! I know it was from you, as it had the
Library sticker on the back. Did you know that I have done oodles of crafts and artworks
that are of the Gnomes? Big and small--and lots of them painted on chip boxes.

If you have looked through my "Brag Books"--you have seen most of them...

I have the 3 smaller "Gnomes" books--well used.....but this one is in a pristine condition.

I looked through it last night--all the pictures are familiar. Maybe the text won't be...
I did not read anything...just the intro by the "new Guys"...


Here are some of the hundred or so Gnomes I have made--(4" tall)...

Also their buddies--the Brave Vikings---(3" tall).
Their headgear are painted silver Acorn caps and hand-made from Fino clay horns...

AAAHHH--how I want to get back to finishing up a lot of this stuff!
Life, and playing on the Computer, always interferes!

Gita

Gita I'm keeping the tray of little BES seedlings but I gave away all the potted ones as well as the bagged DLs and a couple others. I also wanted to give my neighbor some of the other DLs because he said his wife likes them. Darcy's brother and his g/f moved into a new house recently so that's where most of the plants went. I knew you had a bunch to get rid of, which was great because I knew a few people who needed plants. The tray of small BES will be easy for me to fit in here and there in my garden.

As far as what you got from me: I would suggest planting those plants in a quart container and feeding them. Winter storage can just be outside. They should do fine. They are Ratibida pinnata and the Penstemon digitalis. If you copy and paste the names in Google, you will find all sorts of info on them. I have a bunch more that I potted into quarts a month or two ago so if yours don't make it I might be able to give you a better one of each in the spring. I had so many to pot up that I filtered out the best ones and brought the less good looking ones to the swap rather than pitch them.

jeff--
I potted your little plants today--in the bunches they came in--in 1gal. pots.
Did not separate any.
I will tuck them somewhere protected for the winter. Not sure I have the kind of
garden to accommodate 4' tall , spreading prairie Cone flowers.

I can always ask Olga if I can plant them in her BIG bed with nothing in it....:o)

G.