Chit Chat... Everyone welcome. Part 20

Can someone tell me what this plant is? It came with the house.
Thanks...............

Here is the front garden, after I removed all the 4' hedges that ringed it and the huge clumps of day lillies.
There is another garden, about the same size in the back that is even more sparse.

Now I just need to decide what to plant.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/116839/ or http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/643/

BBL for a real chat. Dark in here and can't see

Qwilter -- I like pine straw (bales of pine needles) better than pine mulch or other mulches. The pine straw settles down nicely, doesn't float away in a heavy rain (like the wood chip/bark mulches will do), and the needles compress enough to make a nice mat that will keep out most weeds. The only drawback I see is that pine straw needs to be replaced about every 3 - 4 months, but as it breaks down, it is adding a lot of good organic nutrients to your soil. We use pine straw by the tractor trailer load at the zoo and usually go through a truck load about every 4 months as we are continually replacing it (and we really pile it on heavy, about 8 inches deep, when applying it, but that settles down to about 3 - 4 inches with water and sunlight). Pine straw bales are available at HD and Lowe's, but you have to ask for them. They keep a trailer load parked somewhere outside the garden center and will get the bales for you.

For the areas you want to replace the sod (or where it was before), the optimum method (but it involves a lot of time, effort, and patience) would be:
1. Use "solarization" --Cover the sod areas in clear plastic for a month or two. There are landscape fabric "staples" available at hardware/garden centers, but you can also make your own "U" shaped staples out of old coat hangers. The plastic cover will have two benefits -- the solar heat caught under the plastic will cook the weeds and possibly get hot enough to kill weed seeds that are close to the surface, and it will kill some of the nematodes that are in the top few inches of the soil (most Florida soils have nematodes, though not always in quantities that are hazardous to plants)
2. When you can't bear to have plastic covering parts of your garden any longer, take up the plastic.
3. Till up about the top 6 inches of the soil (if you have a little Mantis or Honda tiller, they work great, or see if a neighbor or nearby DGer has one you can borrow). Before tilling, add a good layer of organic matter to the top of the soil (manures, oak leaves, compost, etc.) The recommended amount is 1 inch of organic matter tilled into the top 6 inches of soil, but the more organic matter the better, I think. If you have had the soil tested for pH at your local Extension Office and it is not in the 5.5 - 6.5 range, you can add lime to raise it (to make more alkaline) or sulfur to lower it (make more acid), as per the instructions on these products. You can also incorporate some fertilizers -- a good well-balance 15 - 0 - 15 for lawns would be good, if you think the soil needs an additional boost of fertility. If you want to go organic, you can add blood meal or Millorganite (reprocessed human poop) for Nitrogen, and charcoal ashes or wood chips for Potassium. Florida soils are usually rich in Phosphorus (the middle number on fertilizer labels), so you probably don't need to add any, but it wouldn't hurt to sprinkle a box of Bone Meal on the soil for some added Phosphorus. A friend of mine tells me Blood Meal attracts raccoons, but I've not had any experience with this.
4. After tilling, I would probably try to get a good quantity of wheat gluten to spread over the soil (wheat gluten suppresses germination of weed seeds), or if you don't mind using chemicals, spray the area with a pre-emergent herbicide. If you use the herbicide, wait a week or so before putting down your sod.
5, You should now be ready to put down sod and have a lush, green lawn. I'll have to go back and check the reference manual for the best turfgrass for a shady location in your part of the state. Any information dealing with turfgrass usually won't settle for long in my brain because I'm trying to get rid of every blade of grass in my half-acre so that I have nothing but flowerbeds and walkways.

The above steps can also be used when preparing any planting bed. It is especially important for annual beds as nematodes and weeds can sometimes out compete the annuals.

I agree with Lucy -- trim your hibiscus whenever you wish. I don't prune some of my hibiscus and they are now on an equal height with my mimosa trees. The hibiscus are all naked legs for about six feet up, but I love looking out my 2nd floor window and seeing hibiscus flowers floating high in the air.

Jeremy

Good morning!

Elaine, I've got you covered for the last packet of Y's salvia. In my crazed mortaring adventure yesterday, I missed the mailman's pickup, so the seeds will go out tomorrow. I figured my little project setting flagstones around the pond would take maybe an hour, of course it stretched into almost 3. And it's not quite done :-( It will have to wait to next weekend. So many things to do, so little time.

Will be heading up and over to Valrico a little later to help pack for the Tropical Coop, that will be great fun! It will be nice to take a peek at Buried Treasures' setup. I had no idea they were so close... probably a good thing.

Jeremy, good luck in your job endeavors. You are mighty talented, and something wonderful will come your way.

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

Cathy

Jeremy you can be my live in Gardener ill post a picture of the Gardeners Cottage later Paul

If the cottage is bigger than a bread box and slightly more spacious than a dog house, I'll take the job, Phicks!

Jeremy

Jeremy

The cottage is bigger than a bread box and more spacious than a dog house. Has its own door too only problem with the door is when you are in for the night it locks from the outside. It's made out of cinderblocks, has openings on the top for ventilation. No windows so you can have a restful nights sleep without any interuptions. Has a freezer and small refrigerator too. P.S. You will have to share it with the mice I raise for my snakes.

Let me know if interested.

Paul

Morning, everybody. : ) I plan on working in the yard all day, today. : )

So sad, my mockingbirds 4 little babies are all gone. Something ate them She only had them about 3 ft off the ground in a Mexican sunflower bush. She's not a happy camper, and is sitting on the feeder chasing all the other birds away.

Hopefully, she will build another nest in a better place, next time. Last year a snake got her babies that were in a ligustrum tree 10 ft up. I saw him by the nest. Oh well, nature, I guess. : (

Here she is guarding the feeder.

Sorry about your bird babies BlueGlancer. I had 5 little chickadees leave the nest yesterday. One I saw when it left and it flew a long way high into a tree. Pretty impressive for a first flight I thought. Now some Eastern bluebirds are building in the same box. It's as if they were just waiting for it to get empty.

I had a bluebird box here last year, nobody used it. I took it down to our pasture, and it's already in use. I think it's just alittle too busy with traffic, around here.

I have to pairs of cardinals, but I don't know where they are nesting, yet.

I just cant get bluebirds. We have too many trees and they just dont go for that. Im still working at it tho. I know they are in the area.

Well, Paul, your gardener's cottage looks very royal and comfortable -- do the cracks between the blocks provide the air conditioning or does it have central heat and air? I'm not sure the light is right for painting, but maybe I can begin the au pleine series and paint outdoors.

Since I just began my job search to be an estate gardener, I think I will entertain a few more offers, but if that doesn't pan out, then I'm sure the mice and I will make good roommates.

I found a VERY ritzy/elegant domestic help agency with a beautiful website, which includes positions for live-in gardeners/horticulturists. The agency doesn't charge anything to the people seeking work, the client seeking someone to employ pays an application fee and also pays the agency 30% of what the first year salary for the employee will be. Sounds like the right place to send my resume.

Jeremy

Jeremy

Jeremy, that's what the cracks in the blocks are for central air in the winter and central heat in the summer....lol

Paul

Just picked up another 100 3 gallon black nursery pots for free today. Anyone want them? I am overflowing with pots. Paul

Linda, I done forgot what the name of that flower you gave me today. Tell me again. lol : )

Lorine, one of my Amaryllis, finally bloomed. 3 flowers are open, and one to go. I have no clue what the name of it is. They have been here for years.

This message was edited Apr 27, 2008 7:24 PM

Looks a lot like Red Lion. One of the more common ones, sure is pretty! Mine are done. Lorine

This message was edited Apr 27, 2008 9:23 PM

Never too late for an amaryllis! I wish they would bloom year-round! Some of the ones I grew from seeds (actually, Christina's sister germinated the amaryllis seeds and then gave them to me as seedlings) bloomed this year. They were all fairly closely matched -- probably reverting back toward the original amaryllis genes. The ones from seed were a greenish white with pink stripes. It probably took about 3 years to go from seeds to flowering plants. I would never have thought about growing a lily from a seed, but I tried some amaryllis seeds myself after I saw it could be done. There are lots of detailed instructions online about placing the seeds between wet paper towels with lots of special treatment. I just broadcast sowed the seeds on a tray of moist potting soil. They came up like lawn grass! The biggest problem was separating all the little bulblets and potting them up. They were going along fine, and then the lubbers hit last year. Ate them all to the ground and below to chew up the bulb.

I am writing a DG article about the annual Lubber invasion. I have come to detest these grasshoppers and am using chemical warfare this year to stop them early before they eat everything again!

Jeremy

Lucy that plant i gave you is a white Phillipine violet.
Phicks I would love to have some of those pots.

Lucy look in plant file under Philippine Violet

OK, thanks, Linda.
When will your DH need the truck? Has he said?

No he has to check on the sod tomorrow

Oh, ok. I need to give my DH alittle warning, before I jerk it out from under him. lol : )

Got all my plants planted that we bought the other day. I love that salvia.

Lucy it probably would not be this week as we have a pretty full schedule this week.

OK, where is he putting sod? Is he making you a golf course? lol I think I am gonna come down and take pictures of him working in the garden with you tomorrow, so I can show my DH how it's done. lol : )

Crazy woman. The sod is going between the house and the river. We need a rotertiller.Why don't you go buy us one.

I have a rotertiller. Want me to bring that too? It's pretty big, probably will take 2 men to load and unload it. You are welcome to borrow it.

wow I didn't know you had one is it a garden one?

Yes
Here it is.

Wow Lucy I may need to borrow that for real!!! Did you run out and take a picture of it?

Yes, and I turned the dark into light while I was out there. lol : )

Well knock me down I didn't know you had that kinda power!!!

I thought you had seen it out by the dog pen, before. I got it last year. You didn't think I dug up my flower beds by hand, did you? lol

Actually, I have only used it about 3 times. I have to get DH to help me with it. I can do it by myself, but he handles it better than I do.

Well now i guess if i get a wood chipper we will have it made.

Yep, put that on your birthday list. I need mulch, bad. Can you get your present early? Like a month ahead? lol

I told DH today thats what I wanted for my BD and he thought i was crazy. He said if thats what i want.

He is so good to you. I eventually get what I want, but not that easy. lol

Oh, that BF we saw in your yard today, I didn't get a good look at. I think it was a Pipevine swallowtail, tho. If so, you need a pipevine in your yard for it to lay eggs on. I just grew 2 from seeds, you can have one if you want it. It's still little, but if you set it out, it will grow fast.

twist my arm and i will take one. Wonder what horse power chipper i should buy/

Hmmm, I don't know. One that will take things bigger than sticks tho. Ron will probably know about what to get. You reckon?