So, what have ya done so far....

Sally, it's a deal!! As soon as the weather warms up, we'll just go see our Holly and her ROCKS and maybe export some to MD and VA.........LOL

A few of the rocks that will eventually be used for rock and soapstone walk way.

More of them. I will try to get a few pictures of what he has done to the walk way so far. He is sure hard at it. We have so much to do around here. Still a bit chilly for me to be outside for too long yet. It won't be as long as it has been though.

Oh my, I am soooooooooo jealous! We had top soil delivered early last spring and I got a few smaller rocks out of the mix. I'd like to do a small rock garden out in the front by the mail box, but I may have to break down and buy some. Or maybe go up the road to the river and see what we can find. Have to get the knee to cooperate again, first. So many projects!!! LOL Come on warm weather!!

Chantell,
I will take any you want to give me... I have allot of land and if I have to will make just a cactus bed.. :-) Can these all stay out in the winter?
Hugs,
Susan

Ok...can finally report I've actually DONE something. ALL but 2 types of cacti have been removed from yard (PP's and chollas). ALL yuccas removed from both front and back yard....got tired of fighting with the yucca bugs in the front yard (that one got pitched) and the one in the back yard has gotten huge (taken up too much valuable space) - moved him to the hill behind the house. Removed 99% of pea gravel covering C & S bed. Happy to report only having to removed 3 cacti spines thus far...LOL Moved things around some and split some other things in the succulent bed...sprayed the horrible creatures (aphids) on my sedums. Notice my clematis is coming up - so whipped up a mix of water/MG starter/fish emulsion and hit the Gardenias, Clematics, Lilac (setting buds), rose bush, and items moved in bed. Dug up my Peony bush (to give to my neighbor) - another item taking up way too much space and honestly didn't smell nearly as good as I thought it would. Something smells wonderful in my back yard and i'm clueless what it is. Thinking the only thing there might be the honeysuckle but didn't have a HS scent....???? All kinds of stuff poking their way up back there...didn't realize it as I'm rarely in the back yard during the colder months. Set up some of my trellis' in the front....now I've got to get something planted!!! Noticed in my big pots out front that last year's stock reseeded itself and I've got a bitty plant with buds ready to bloom.....ahhhhhh can't wait for that!!! I guess I'll get to the seeds tomorrow....I'm exhausted now.

Ooops you posted while i was typing, Susan...all that I have pulled have been outside for 2 years.

Great.... I asked my friend when the other bushes come and she is not sure but if they come in by the middle of April I am going to send you these things now and when they come in send you the yellow also...
Hugs,
Susan

I need to find a big sturdy box for these things...some are lumped together in one brown bag...it was just over whelming how big these plants had become and their root systems. My apoligies as it won't be as organized as i like to send things but it truly was a task - at leat to avoid being covered in spines. I will probably try to send it "media mail" to you as it will be heavy. I'll just say it's books :) But will tell you when it's coming - ok?

Thanks :-)
Susan

Chantell- could there be a mahonia hiding nearby? Mine is in bloom and has a good sweet lemony scent

Bet that's yummy, Sally. I'm at a loss...niether of my neighbors plant anything in their back yards...that's whats so confusing....ugh!! I've got all kinds of stuff coming up...but didn't see buds let along blooms...the scent was coming from the one corner where I dug up the yucca....gonna check back out there tomorrow....

Oohhh! Look at all the rocks!!! I miss rocks! Here on the eastern shore of va it is flat, flat, flat land and no rocks! I've even been eyeballing the "fake" ones at lowes, LOL.

Gosh Debbie, hope you are mending now!!

I haven't stopped too much, still raking and hauling away leaves, digging, dividing and planting. I need to get rid of the pile of pots behind the shed soon so I clean up all around the greenhouse.

OOOHHHHH, OUCH, OOOOHHH, OUCH. Yes my body was not too happy this morning. But a few pain pills and outside I will go again. Have a few errands to run this morning and some seed starting chores but this afternoon I will be back out. I was outside till almost 8:00 last night. Ric came home at 4:30 and we went and got another load of rocks, then we unloaded the trailer (about 800 lbs) of coal I filled the buckets and Ric carried. I needed it to go today and get a load of wood chips. Sounds like everyone is getting a good dose of spring fever.
Chantell, your really digging in there and brave, too. I love cactus but gave them up a long time ago.
Sally, What a neet plant I'm going to have to check that one out.
Well Josh just came in and we are heading over to the Island to pick up a few things he needs. I'll take my camera always something pretty over there to see.

Sally, I love that plant. Is that some kind of yucca?
Holly, I've pulled the OSP shoots off and started more in some jars. They are still going great guns. I should have plenty of "starts" to fill a nice sized container. I just love the color! Thanks again.

Chantell, Are there Honey Locus trees in bloom? Maybe that is where the scent is coming from, look up.

Holly & doccat, I took out double insurance for my OSPs lol. I started 2 cutting from each verity last fall, and also followed Holly's instructions. Here is a pic of the one pot I wintered over the cuttings.
I hope to plant some in my beds as a ground cover, I seen a few pictures and it is really pretty.

Here are the ones started in water. Not big enough to harvest starts at this time.

ladygardener1, those are lovely.

These are my OSPs I got from Holly at the Round Up on Bokashi juice. I need to get some new pictures, but I'm having problems with getting things to download correctly. Lord know what I did or didn't do to the thing. Got a friend who's a computer geek coming over to have a look. It's really cramping my style!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

OOPs operator error here (blush)

Doccat, Thanks, I'm posting a link to the pictures that show it growing as a ground cover, It would not be invasive at least in my area. But it really lights up the garden spot. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/92903/

Looks like you have 2 healthy ones. Bokashi Juice?

Chris

Wow, They all look so good. They used them a lot for ground covers down south. They looked especially nice with the cannas. I thought I would put a few in my canna bed this year.
Just got back from the river, just a quick trip to pick up some camping gear that was stored over there. I'm going to work on my seeds next and then move outside a little later. The extra strength Tylenol kicked in. Silly me came home with a small bucket full of round river stones, I need some of those for another project. This fellow was there to greet us as we pulled onto the island.

He wasn't very friendly and wouldn't stay for a visit.

Ohhhh ground cover.....OSP....never thought about that...hmmm...
Holly you crack me up...I was thinking the same thing as I squatted down to get soemthing this AM...my thighs yelled NOOOOOOOOOOO more....so sad

That White Heron is gorgeous, nice shots!
I guess I better get off my duff and get something done today. Catch you all later.

ladygardener1, Bokashi is a soil additive that contains beneficial bacteria. You can use it in combination with your veggie scraps to make Bokashi mix. See the thread on it in the soil and composting threads. It really is a fascinating and complex subject. It was developed in Japan and has been used to help soil all around the world. So interesting. I know we have "good" soil. We've been using organic methods only for over 20 years, but I'm always looking for ways to improve my soil. I've use the mycorriah (sp?) on my magnolias and black walnuts to improve their ability to increase their nutrients with good success. The Bokashi is another end of the spectrum. I'm very impressed with what it has done for my houseplants. Holly's OSP included. That's highly diluted juice I was using. They "jumped" and began multiplying more rapidly in 3 days. I have 4 Christmas Cacti in my front bay window that are blooming like crazy right now. They started rebud about 2 days after I watered them, again using the highly diluted Bokashi. Even the succulents are showing new growth.
I don't do a lot of container gardening, so I wasn't real sure this would work, but figured it was worth trying.
I have a banana pup that I got from critter at the RU in my back bay window, I'm afraid to use it on that! The window's not that tall.........LOL I'll wait till I can get it outside and try it there.
The "real" Bokashi bucket is fairly expensive, so DH improvised with some 5 gal used buckets we had gotten from the local laundromat. They had contained soap, I just gave them a good washing out and we found spigots online. DH was able to use his hole saw and punch an opening for the spigots. Works wonderfully for under $5.00n LOL Now have 6 Bokashi buckets, 2 "curing" in the garage right now. And 4 working like the dickens. I want to do the whole yard, my veggie plots and fruit and nut trees with this stuff. Got to get this computer/camera download thing working, as I want to take pictures for before and after for my journal.
Whew! I need a coffee break...........Btw, I love the pictures of the greenish looking OSP as a ground cover. Those are so pretty!!

Speaking of the Ornamental Sweet Potato vines.....I am really jealous of any of you who have or will have them planted in your yards. I had two very lovely ones planted two summers ago and John said he wasn't crazy about them. For some reason he doesn't care too much for ground covers and I love them!!! Since I tend to pick and choose my battles with him, I let him win this one for now. If you all keep talking about them, I might have to put them somewhere this summer despite his not caring for them. ha-ha I really love them.

Ruby

Ruby I have plenty of the Blackies to share and they look very nice in my window boxes or maybe pot up a canna and put one in the pot with it. That might solve your problem.

Ruby,

I know I have said this before--but the lime green SP makes awesome, red potatoes underground and they are DELICIOUS!!!!! I eat every one of them! Just wash--nuke--and eat with a but of butter on every bite.....YUMMY!

Holly or Happy--which one of you have me a couple maroon SP starts and also a small, finger-sized tuber? The starts are doing great, but nothing is growing out of the small tuber. I have one end of it in a glass of water. Should it be laying flat, maybe?

Thanks, Gita

Hey doc...do you have that link...please?

Gita, They came from me. It doesn't really matter if the tuber is flat or upright. You may have gotten one that isn't going to grow. Some of mine do and some don't. If you would like more of the Blackie (maroon SP) I could easily send you more.

doccat- here's the plantfiles on the bush I posted above-Mahonia
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1898/
I may have read it is becoming invasive--that's a possibility since mine was a volunteer and I did find one more volunteer year before last-- but still, that is the only one I've found in my half acre in fifteen years, can't be too bad.

Thanks Sally, I've had a "close encounter" with morning glories and in no way enamored of the little thugs!!! I checked out the files and I think I have a spot that would be perfect for it. If it wants to be invasive it can go for it!! LOL Thanks for the information on it! ;) Appreciate it greatly, since I am a novice when dealing with perennials.

The site I checked said may be invasive in southern woods, so maybe our zone 7 is nt as conducive to sprouting up. This is a full frontal of my bush. I grew it from a seedling found at Moms house -its probably 15-20 yrs old, rarely fertilized

Sally,

Is another name for the Mahonia--Grape Holly? I think so......

Yes, Gita, or Leatherleaf Grape Holly

As I was looking at the pictures I was thinking that looks like a Holly. Very pretty. Love the blooms.
It wasn't near as nice yesterday as it was on Sat. Just not as sunny. After I got home from the river I ended up staying inside for most of the day. Did a few houseplant chores and a little seed planting. Spent a little time down behind the barn raking. Ric was down there working on the trellises and I went down for a little and raked and talked, didn't take me long to skedaddle back in the house. Went out for a little to keep him company and lend a hand with the leveling while he was installing the trellises. They look very nice and I am just so happy with the way this bed has come together. While he was digging the post holes for the trellises I spent a little time arranging the walkway stones. I've been collecting large flat walkway stones for some time now and almost have enough to finish the walkway.

Here is a picture from last summer. See how the walk is just single spaced stepping stones and the bed is pretty narrow.

Chantell, I'm not sure which link you're looking for. The one on Bokashi?
There are 2 and here they are
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796403/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/821756/

Loaded with great information, and very useful sites. This a lot more complex than I first realized. The more I read the more fascinating it becomes.

If I can get my "issues" with picture downloading to my picture suite fixed. I'll see if I can get DH to do one more homemade Bokashi bucket and takes some how to pictures. The bucket are a bit steep in price, so we figured out how to make our own.

Here is the new walkway. Of course these haven't been set in yet, I think I need about 10 more nice sized stones and then I'll put them in. This is wider and more like a walkway. I've also moved it out a little and gave it a curve. You can see the bare dirt along the edge of the bed where I took up the old stepping stones. Of course with all these enlargements the fun will really start soon. The planting.

You are doing some great rock work Holly and Ric. It will be very nice, once set. No one commented on our mountain side of rocks that I posted the other day. Even though we had some quite extensive excavation work done a few years ago that produced loads and loads of rock, John still goes to a neighbor's place from time to time to get more rock. He says that the ones on our land break apart too easily when trying to place them.

Holly, I would love to have some of your black OSP. Would you mind mailing to me when the time is right for planting and I will gladly pay for postage. I would love to have more "life" in my yard that reminds me of you when I take my morning walks. Planting in a pot sure would fix my problem with John not caring for ground cover types of plants. Why the heck didn't I think of that? ha-ha

Gita, a couple of years ago I went in to the local grocery store and bought several regular ole sweet potatoes and starting them rooting in a jar of water. When summer arrived, I planted one of them and it also produced some yummy edibles. Maybe I should think about growing some sweet potatoes since my doctor has been telling me that I am very low in potassium and the SP have lots of potassium.
I try to eat them once or twice a week these days and producing my own is a great idea. Thanks for mentioning it.

Have I mentioned how grateful I am for all of you Mid-Atlantic Gardeners? It seems that all a person needs to do is mention something here and the next thing we know, it shows up in the mail. Can't beat that.

Have a great Tuesday everyone.

Ruby