Upper Midwest Coffee Break # 12

Continued from http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/594490 Here we go. I was just thinking the same thing yesterday Marie. Thanks for the reminder.

Kelly

Good glorious morning! What a beautiful holiday weekend! How is everyone spending it? My goal was to have all the seed/plant planting done and all mulch put down. I think I'll make it! Just some transplanted siberian irises to do today and finish the mulching. :-)

We have a family graduation party this evening, and then we plan to lounge around the pool tomorrow.

Kylee

Kylee,

I wanna lounge in a pool,,,,,instead I'm sweating my rear off in the oven outside,,,,was out for 1/2 an hour and soaking wet. Whew,,,glad I don't have to be around anyone today,,,lol I should rephrase that,,,,No one would Want to be around me today,,,lol

I'm going to do some more potting of things to bring to the RU and get some other things planted. I wasn't going to plant anything in the front gardens until I get the new gardens in,,,figured why move everything that many times,,,but my deck looks like a nursery and I can't stand it anymore,,,so, I'm breaking my own rule and will be planting as much as possible. By the end of the day, I should be intolerable to be around until after I have a nice cool shower.

Back to the oven,

Kelly

I've been digging out stray Russian Sage, little ones and potting them, do you think anyone would want them at the RU?

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me Yippeeee

I've been thinking of putting some Russian Sage out by my mailbox.

If the offspring are anything like the main plant, you will never see your mailbox again, the parent plant grew to about four feet wide and just as tall..... be careful what you wish for!! I'll be glad to bring them along.

I am trying the Filigran this year to see how it behaves.
I found some Smoketree seedlings I'll bring.

Too hot to work outside until now today.

oooo, Russian Sage (I have lost 2,,,don't know why they hate me?) and Smoke Tree,,,,I Need those,,,lol

Oh we did do some work today, before the graduation party, and yep, like a sauna out there today. In the 90s. Same forecast for tomorrow, when I will be doing NO work.

I have to check our forecast. I'm not sure if we're supposed to cool down a bit or not,,,I sure hope so. If Not, I'm working outside anyway,,,,I can come in and cool down when I need to. Have too much to do to not be out there. Had to cut my planting in the front garden short cause the kittens,,,,hope Mom has them moved tomorrow.

Are there any extra Russian Sage left? If so, I would enjoy having them again.
Lost them a couple of yrs. ago, after having them grow in the garden for many yrs.

Maxine

Ill see how many I can rescue, they look pretty limp at the moment although all had a good main root. Little rooting hormone should help them get started. If there's not enough, we can stage a duel.

I just have to tell you guys this. You know how Sam Hornish, Jr. won the Indianapolis 500 race yesterday? Well, he's from Defiance, Ohio, which is near me, and where our oldest daughter works and will live after she's married in August.

Last month, SHE FIXED SAM'S CELL PHONE!! She is the office manager and director of marketing for Millennium Digital and he came walking in the store with a broken phone. She fixed it for him. I asked her if she got his autograph and she said, "No, I wouldn't do that." Of course, she now says she wishes she would have. LOL.

Too bad she didn't get that autograph.

We spent the weekend at our lake cabin. We went there Friday morning and came home late yesterday afternoon. I did relax some, but there was so much garden work to do. I am trying to establish a native flower garden. We have been leaving the floor of the wooded area covered with leaves for the past 3 years so there aren't very many weeds getting through. Last fall we uncovered a part sunny area and spread a seed mix in November. Dandelions and a few other unwanted plants worked there way in there so I was pulling weeds and trying to ID a lot of things. I decided that I just can't ID without flowers so if I didn't know for sure it was a weed I left it. I had also brought along 80 plants from my winter sowing to get into
the ground.

Yesterday we went out for a boat ride with one of our neighbors and she was telling me about the great plants she had brought with her and especially a wonderful ground cover with purple flowers that her daughters neighbor had given her. I would be very wary of that neighbor. She had a big box full of creeping charlie. She is leaving it in the box until it dries out and then is going to burn it. They have an immaculate lawn. Right next to our very natural lawn. They keep trying to get us to cut our trees down and put in grass. We just smile and politely say no.

I don't mind working in the heat if only the sweat wouldn't run down my face and mess my glasses up. The heat rash isn't much fun either, I didn't notice that until last night. It is diaper rash cream rather than deodorant for a while.

Oh yuck, we just found a big patch of it in the way back corner of the yard. KILL KILL KILL !! Nothing seems to touch it...tried the borax and boiling water a university site suggested....it came back. Don't know what we'll use this time.

You won't believe what I did. I was nosing around another nursery last week (plant therapy you know) and was trying to come up with the right mix of plants that I wanted to put into this totally shaded planter. They had some large planters made up with double impatiens, this interesting variegated foliage plant that trailed down the side, and some other things. Well, I have a pot.....and I wasn't going to pay their prices for pre-planting for me. So, I got a couple of the impatiens and a 4" pot of the foliage plant. It only had the botanical name on it, and I did ask the person working about it. She said that it was the first year that they were carrying it. Well, you know it looked kinda familiar......and I've since found out that Glechoma hederacae variegata is also known as variegated ground ivy....better known as variegated CREEPING CHARLIE !! Well, it is much more attractive than the yard full of the common stuff that I have. Much larger leaf with the white highlights and all. I can't believe that they are selling that stuff. I am going to stop back and tell them that what they are doing is very wrong.

Marie, What did you do with what you bought?

The correct answer would be; "I bagged it and threw it in the garbage." Actually, I planted it in a different planter than I had planned; one which is surrounded by deck and near the garbage can. After the storm last night, I found a piece of it lying on the deck.....and promptly deposited it in the garbage can. I know that I'm playing with fire, but......it's hard for me to trash a living plant, especially if I PAID for it. Let's hope that I don't keep on paying for it.

I kill weeds for a living, and they do actually sell a decent herbicide to homeowners "Speed Zone" by Gordon's will work on it. Spring or fall is best.

So....'Speed Zone' will kill my creeping charlie lawn and leave what little grass that I have left alone? Where do I buy it?

You know I don't even know where Augusta is LOL. Do you have a Fleet Farm by you or the alternate universe Farm Fleet?

What does Speed Zone do to the environment?

Within 30 miles we've got a Fleet Farm, Farm & Fleet, Menards and an assortment of Hardware stores. (True Value, Ace, etc.)

Pauline.....you had to ask. I was going to get to that. I'd hate to pollute my own well water, or the lake that I live on.

Broadleaf herbicides have no residual effects in the soil. Actually sunlight breaks then down fairly fast. I would not spray them within 20' of water to be safe. I have not heard of them making it down to well water.
Broadleaf herbicides I would rank behind crabgrass preventers and before Roundup as toxicity goes.

Thanks Al.....I'm going to have to consider this.

There are several that we use here when we don't have a reasonable alternative, and I'll ditto what Al said. They break down quickly. We're over a natural aquifer and we have a pond on our property, so we are pretty careful. There are some that are specifically designated for use around bodies of water, especially those with fish, etc, but they are very pricey (Reward is the one that we've had the best luck with and it's ok'd by our local DNR office here).

Well, I just bought "Creeping Charlie" today, too. And I love it. It's for a hanging pot. Mine is a Proven Selections called 'Dappled Light' Glechoma hederacea. I'm not worried about it taking over, and I'll probably plant it in my garden in the fall, so I can replant it in the spring in my pot again.

Pauline, go to Walgreens and buy a cheap set of wide headbands. They come in packs of three I think. Black, navy and white and they are not terrycloth. I use them as a sweat band on my brow. Whenever I've actually went out looking for sweat bands, I can never find them, so this is a cheap alternative and they wash up pretty good. The only problem I have now is I can never find a clean one! Buy several packs. I think Cub carries the same brand too. I have tried using the thinner, terry ones and they don't last all day in the garden and they lose their shape.

I knot my hair in back and put the band under the knot, over my ears and across my forehead. Not the greatest look, but very functional.

I sounds as if I will make a trip to Walgreens. I have short hair so no need to knot it back, I couldn't if I wanted to. I have been thinking of cutting it to about 1/2" in this heat.

I do a ponytail with a light colored baseball hat. I hadn't thought of headbands, but that's a good idea!

I use a regular old bandana rolled up for sweatbands. They really work well. Which reminds me,,,I need some more,,,lol

It's a small world...check this out: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/606285/

I'll bet you guys thought I'd totally disappeared, didn't you. LOL

Well, I'm still here!

I can't remember where I left off with my "conversation" but I think I was still in the sewing room. Probably making those 4 nice big pillows I sent to my MIL for Mother's Day which got me NADA in the way of "brownie points" or "praise" for *thinking*. It's the old "I can't understand why MILs have to be such a PITA" routine...I'd tell you that I'm now making plans for getting a funeral wardrobe made up so it was ready when the "time" came, but you'd probably think I was a *little* vindictive, right? LOL

Here it is nearly the second week of June and I'll bet I haven't walked through the gardens more than half a dozen times all year. I'm still amazed that I did such a good job with all the work last year that I'm satisfied to just stand in the kitchen window and LOOK at it. hehehe No wait! I *did* do a lot of weeding a few weeks ago, do you suppose I need to do it again? :-D

I just had to stop in and tell you how much I enjoyed all the stories about the TV, the husbands mowing down the "in the way" plants, and ALL the ways you guys have found to "control" the situation. ~VBG~ I can identify with ALL of it...except the part about getting in control. My DH is unshakable! After nearly 43 years of marriage (nearly 25 of it with him 24/7) you'd think I'd get used to him, right? WRONG!!!

Well...I'll try to get this thread on "watch" now.

Y'all have a good one!

~julie~

Glad to see you are still dropping in once in a while to check our pulse. Can you squeeze in the Janesville RU? I think it's kind of far for you, but it would be nice to see you there.

This has been a quiet place lately, thanks for starting it up again Julie.

I am drinking that cup of coffee and then out to the garden. I still have winter sowing to get into the ground. It is amazing how sturdy the plants are, they don't skip a beat when they are moved. Next winter someone please remind me not to plant so many seeds.

Julie,

So good to see you again. Now don't be gettin' all excited at the prospect of the MIL's funeral,,,lol. She's libel to last a long time yet.

I didn't shed a tear at my first MIL's funeral, and doubt that I will for this one either. The first was the most self-righteous, bigoted, judgemental, daily church going person I ever met. I did more for her than her own daughters, and got nothing in return,not even courtesy. The second is not a part of our life (DH's preference) and I doubt I will need to whip up any duds for her last day above ground. I have a special little box I hold grudges in....it's not large but it's very durable!!

LOL & LOL & LOL & LOL (=ROTFLMAO!!) Sheila! You just described MY MIL...are you sure we (THEY) aren't related? Can I borrow your grudge box? Or maybe you caould send me the *pattern*. hehehe It was the "courtesy" that fried my behind this last time. Can you believe that she had the audacity to THANK my *husband* for those pillows? ...and all HE did was *mail* them. sheeze! That woman is unbelievable.

Kelly...I know, I know. I've already thought about the fact that the dress I'm making may be the one SHE buries ME in. LOL In which case maybe I should make it RED instead of black...with lots of flowers and stuff. :-D

Zenpotter...thanks for the invite to the RU in Janesville. It really wouldn't be too far for me to travel *if* I could plan on going anyplace more than 15 minutes from home. And sometimes even 15 minutes is too far. (It's a physical condition that limits my get-aways). You guys have no idea idea how much I *wish* I could meet you all. Maybe someday we can have a campout in my backyard or something. ~grin~

~julie~