What's Happening in YOUR neighborhood today pt 4

Thought I'd move us over this morning...
Would love to stay and visit but it's thundering/lightning mega time..power flicked once or twice so think I'd better be on the safe side and turn off this computer...

Love the flowers/gardens - you all sound as though life in general is keeping you busy..lol

Have some beauties myself..as soon as I'm able, will definately post photo's

Have a nice morning..talk later..

Well, I don't know whether to congratulate you or commiserate with you Linda. How nice to be getting nicer digs, but how sad to have to leave your gardens behind.

It rained and thunderstormed overnight here. When I got up at 8:30 (lazy bones!) it was a gorgeous sunny day. Now it's clouding over again. I better get out there and get some work done before the rains come again.

Later all!

--Ginny

Jo-north I'd be happy to come help you plant providing you come and help me spread 2 cubic yards of compost! LOL!

Awesome day here .. the Bridal shower was lovely .. the gifts were amazing .. some folks are so darned creative ..

The weather has been .. well .. semi nice .. semi not nice .. no rain but cloudy.

Went to a newer Greenhouse today .. WOW .. will definitely be buying my plants from this fella .. actually he is also supplying the Cemetery, so, I'll get the flats for less moola :-)
His hydropnic tomatoes were UNREAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bought DH his Kale, winter cabbage, green pepper and some Tiny Tim Tomats ..

Called in to special a patient tomorrow .. best get myself to bed .. looks early .. but .. I'm NOT there yet :-)


~M~

Greetings from Cortex, CO. We decided to nip into the sw corner of CO and visit Mesa Verde park. Got here late afternoon and spent until 7:30 in the park. Will go back tomorrow am for awhile. Then on to AZ and on Monday to Phoenix.

Ann

When out walking the dog today, the wind had this lovely scent on it..... turned out to be wild roses. Isn't that the prov. flower of AB? it sure smelt nice.

Linda

SHAZAAMMMMMM!! What an awesome day in Thunder Bay .. have been outside since 7am .. you KNOW the first morning you can sit out to have breakfast is a trip in the right direction :-)

Trimming and laundry and some planting to do .. well .. laundry is done and hung .. going to plant my Hydrangea today as well .. I think I have finally picked a spot for it ..

I do believe Linda that Alberta is the 'Wild Rose Province' .. nothing smells sweeter :-) (well . maybe Lilacs)

Enjoy your day everyone !!

~M~

Yep wild rose it is - but dont ever put one in your garden! it will be popping up all over the place forever!

About 17C here this afternoon, just taking a lunch break from planting. It's supposed to rain later on, so I'm working like mad to get stuff into the ground, even all my tender vines. Loving the spring color that I have in my garden this year; planted LOTS of bulbs last year and they're finally blooming....

Joanne

DARK DARK DARK .. within 15 mintes the sun disappeared .. the dark clouds came in .. and I do think we're in for SOME kinda ishy weather ..

Lotsa time spent outside today .. will likely have the sunburn to prove it tomorrow .. still hesitated re planting the Hosta though .. I think next weekend.

Off to get supper out ..

~M~

Previous owner planted the wild rose, here, but it doesn't do too well, and def isn't popping up all over. In fact, I think our late-blooming lilac TREE is overshadowing it and taking all the moisture - it's a pair of 40 yr old lilacs, I think, and they're really suckering around - wish the rose would bloom a little better, but I have so many others that do well, including the Waterton Mock Orange.

I can hardly wait for the Mock Orange to bloom. The bottom of it was choked by many years of leaves - about 2ft worth, and I found about 20 blooms last year (by mistake - they were hidden way in the back). I cleaned it out, pruned 50% of it (dead tangle), and this year the new growth is phenominal, and I have buds all over!! I didn't even know it was alive last year, that's how bad it was.
The buds were so pretty, I bought another one for my tiny back yard.

Tallulah ;Joanna banana and I hacked my mock orange off to the ground last year ( she is a fiend with the electric saw!) It was almost 8 feet high and badly tangled, I had already taken about 4 feet off. By the end of the summer it was up about 3 feet and now is about 4-5 feet and I am hoping it will bloom this year.

I actually had a wild rose growing in the roots of an old lilac and when they took out the lilacs I 'rescued' the rose and replanted it and am sure sorry I did - I have several areas with suckers and I cant dig them out - just have to keep cropping them off several times a year.

A nice day today although it clouded over this afternoon the threatened showers did not happen at least in my part of town. I was doing a volunteer stint at Lougheed house today so not much gardening done although I g ot one of the veggie beds ready to plant, hope to get the other done and planted tomorrow but I have to get the gates up ( 3 of them) into the veggie area, otherwise Fancy runs in and hops thru the raised beds to get to the back fence when somebody passes by! Dont know why she cant use the paths like everybody else!

I got a few more plants in since I got home and compost spread on one small bed. I have 2 cubic yards to spread.and it pretty well has to be done by the handful because the plantings are dense.

I was hoping for a sunny day but it was cloudy and looked like it might rain. I spent quite a bit of time in the community gardens making sure everyone had access to water, knew that compost was on the way, etc. I'm still processing images and adding them to PF from Seattle Arboretum and some are looking pretty good. Planted a few annuals in my planters.

Hope yer all well
Rhododendron 'Lem's Cameo'

Doesn't 'Mock Orange' have a very fragrant bloom ? Have always had it on my "Gotta get it lst" .. which I ammend almost hourly it seems .. and NEVER end up acting on purchasing anything !!

Growin .. that Rhodi is lovely !!!

Today is the beginning of 2 'crazy busy' weeks for me .. company arrives by air on Friday for 10 days .. while they're here (this is the elderly parents of my landscaper bud they hale from King City, ON) I am having a BDay party for both DH and my bud .. mix all this together with contractors and countertops and sinks and taps and light fixtures and you have a rather frantic ME !! However .. I think I'll just take it one thing at a time ..

Hope everyone enjoys their day .. looks to be a nice one here :-)

~M~

Morning, well almost afternoon...

Although the weatherman forcasted rain for Sat. & Sun. he was partially right, a few hours on each day and then sunshine..great for the gardens...ooooohhh you talked me into taking that wild rose that is all bush no flowers OUT..you are correct, it sure is growing and I saw a 2nd plant, quite a size and wondered why..perhaps I'll transplant to the back of the property..do you think I'll EVER get a rose???

Talking of roses..Laura (Wonder down Under-Australia) sent me a rose book, OMG it's huge, the bible of roses for sure, will have to take a photo to show you..so far I've not read, I've just looked at photo's...so many varieties...lots to learn...

Did make it to the Church plant sale, over 40 plants so yesterday was 'planting day' for me...wonder if I'll have any lawn left as the years go by because every time I plant I start to clean up the edges and by the time I've finished I've planted more and added 1 foot...guess you are all the same right...lol...

Should be 30 here today, sunshine, light breeze, to show how much I wanted to be home working in the garden, we stopped at Tim Hortons on our way to work, got my breakfast first, while waiting for Suzanne out I was picking weeds in their flower beds..people were finding it quite amuzing...another 10 minutes and the bed would have been 'weed free'!

So here I am, trying to put in the day longing to be outside or rather in my garden..

There is nothing in this whole world that is more peaceful than to take that cup of coffee/tea and walk amongst the flowers and shrubs...starts the morning with a smile..

SHEW !!! It has been A DAY !!!

Went to a local Greenhouse not far from us .. DH got new Crocs and I got a pair as well only not the 'usual style' .. quite 'cutesy' :-) Of course .. while he was picking out veg seeds (he's found the ribbon seeding just awesome) I headed into the Perennial part of the complex .. talk about un nerving !!!!! I was bout ready to grab one of everything .. but .. settled on 3 Daylillies, Mardi Gras Parade .. sorta medium pink outer petals with a vibrant purple centre .. like Betty it's a case of 'now where do I put'em' ? Also purchased a beauteous hanging basket as well as a fairly large ceramic FROG LoL !!!
DH saw my cart and put up the RED FLAG !!!!

There MUST be a forest fire near TBay as the air is heavy with smoke .. can say I have never seen it quite this bad .. missed the local TV news at 6. :-(
Otherwise the day amd the temps were stellar .. but .. the weather folks are calling for frost tonight :-( So .. hanging basket IN and plastic over the Hosta and veggie plants not yet planted ..

Betty .. breakfast outside on the weekends is just awesome .. or doin a walk about with a cuppa ...

Enjoy your evening everyone


~M~

Cool cloudy morning but great for working in the garden, sunny afternoon and then, as usual this time of year, the dark clouds rolled in and we had some thunder and now it has been raining about half an hour.

Got more things planted - still have to find a home for two Heucheras - I had not realized I ordered seven from Floral and Hardy! Got most of the last fron bed cleaned up , a bit more to do tomorrow and dig out some lily of the valley which has appeared in one corner of the yard and then I can start spreading the compost.

Oh well I guess I should get the annuals in all those milk jugs planted too!

Lawn cutters were here this afternoon, another tomorrow project is to get the pee kill areas seeded and fenced off.

Carter and Katy, shelties of one of our foster homes arrived this afternoon to stay for a week while their mum is out of town.

ah gardening - something I started dreaming of in Feb, and now has come to fruitian! Glad it didn't rain yesterday afternoon, and got my planting all done (do we EVER get it aaaaaaaaall done?!?!?!).
I got a couple of large round planters, all planted, and of course had to pull 'em out to put in MY window box planters. They're the cast iron ones, with the shredded matting thingie in 'em. I put one under my window, in front of where I park (nice to come home to!), and the other one hung on the inside fence of my deck.

And of course I HAD to try Cleome in my front berm, and in front of where my DH parks. It faces south, and is a very protected area. I always found, in Winnipeg, that as long as you watered them well to get them established, Cleome are very hardy & I love that they self-seed!

I finally found a Datura - but it was very expensive - $35/plant! They didn't have any smaller than 6" pots, and my seeds didn't germinate, so it was pay the price or not have 'em. 2 neighbours were asking if I were going to plant them again, cuz they're SO striking. I couldn't refuse 'em LOL

Well, it sure is raining today - perfect for establishing the plants, eh?! I'm looking forward to my late-blooming lilacs to finally Bloom......... everyone else's seems to be in full riot, but I know from last year that I just have to be patient & it will be in riotous bloom soon :-)

-S-

Tallulah41 - glad you got a Datura, but what a price! Did your seeds get a cold treatment? I put the ones that I pinched and the ones I was sent into the freezer for a few weeks. I hope you have better luck with seeds next year.

We are now back in the Phoenix area. The Primrose competition is already on and there are meetings tomorrow. The Viola Congress http://www.violacongress2008.com/ starts on Wednesday. That will keep me quite busy through Sunday and we fly home on Monday.

We drove from Holbrook to Phoenix this morning. Decided to take an"interesting" road, but found the section from Payson to Phoenix was lovely divided highway.

Had dinner with a friend (and her husband) who kep my viola while we were travelling but whom I had last seen at our wedding nearly 40 years ago when we was a bridesmaid.

Ann

BRrrrrrrrr (right now) from Thunder Bay .. when the furnace came on at 5am I KNEW I had done the right thing by bringing in and/or covering the plants .. we did have frost .. how bad it is I can't tell at the moment .. it wasn't a heavy frost though .. not really feeling like going out onto the lawn to stare at the roof of the house .. have to slug back my coffee first :-)

Ann .. I love the Payson area .. that's where I saw my very first Yucca plant in bloom :-) Course .. I wanted to stop and get seeds .. didn't matter that it was almost 100F .. never did do that ..

My Lilacs have yet to bloom .. but .. they're getting close to poppin .. lets hope this cold night business doesn't make them wither and die off (it has twice before)

Nice to hear about what you're all planting and doing with your gardens .. since I am going to be WAY behind ya !!
My perennials .. Iris and Tiger Lillies .. Delphinium, Phlox and Oriental Poppies are doing very well ..

Hope everyone has a wonderful day .. grooming day for Lilly today ..

~M~

Morning, 60 on my way in, raining heavily, calling for a storm and by the looks of the sky they could be right..the only good thing about this is I'll not have to water all those new plants...lol..must look on the bright side..

Was out in the garden early this am..saw a 'hops' plant about 1' high that should be where it was, so transplanted it at one of the new arbors, there were 2 babies as well, lost 1 of them while walking and couldn't find it in the grass...so, might just grow! Found 3 packages of seeds I'd missed so put them into the ground..yep, if all these packages take root I'll be making more beds..

Played lazy last night, dropped into $$ store for 3 more pkgs of glass globs..purchased at the re-use it store a large glass globe used as a light fixture, but I'm attaching the glass globs, then will grout and make a garden art piece of it..wanted to put the last of the globs on, but put my feet up and fell asleep...wasted evening..don't you just hate it when you are not constructive..I do!

LoL Betty !! I think REST is so important .. I never feel bad if I have a 'nod off ' moment :-)

Planted a buncha (non named SURPRISE perennials) from a bud today .. gonna be interesting ..

Lilly's grooming went well .. good thing as I got a call to get me butt into the hosp as the C Diff red flag is on its way UP the flagpole. Seems over the last 3 years this vicious little bug has gained strength and the drugs we have used to fight it are not working :-(
As I am on the Infection Control Team, I was expected to get in on the 'ground floor' with regards to our 'strategy' .. needless to say .. there really isn't ANY !! Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands !!!!

Dinner is late as my stove has now decided to have a life of its own :-(

Enoy your evening


~M~

Ann - no, I didn't put the Datura seed in the fridge..... I'd left the pods out all winter, so thot that would have done it, as per Mother Nature........ I really didn't expect anything from them as I'd never planted from that particular plant. I'd done it with the self-seeding Cleome, but that's another story lol

Seems every other type of seed I've tried has worked, so I won't give up on the Datura either :-)

Susan

Oops. I didn't know datura seeds need stratification. I just soaked them for 24 hours in a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water solution. I had decent germination for: Lilac Lefleur Double, Blackcurrant Swirl Double, and Ballerina. Not a single sprout from Golden Queen. Blackcurrant Swirl took the longest to germinate: over a month.


Joanne

Jo - I gather these are all Datura names? Last year was the 1st time I planted, and when I looked this year, they had seed packets, and said it would take 21 days to germinate...... They were called Angel Trumpet and were white.
I was surprised to see the royal purple ones for sale @ Sunnyside. I didn't know they came in any colour except white.

This was my first year to have no germination from datura. I have always soaked mine, but have never given them a cold treatment. Interesting.

Joanne, do you still have any extra?

Marilyn sorry to hear the f word here! LOL. So far we haven't had that problem, though with the May snows the garden seems quite behind.

I have most of the plants I started indoors in the ground, though I am holding the most treasured cannas in the greenhouse a little longer just in case. But the wintersowin! I have 80 more jugs to plant! I took out a tree though so there is lots of room. Theresa

You bet Theresa, though I'm ashamed to say that some of the leaves are a bit sun scalded I think. Guess I wasn't careful enough about how much sun they were getting initially. They're still young though, they should be fine. I'll be out and about this weekend; I can drop a couple off for you. If you're busy teaching, I'll just leave 'em on your doorstep.

Yes, Susan, those seed names I mentioned are all datura cultivars. They definitely come in colors other than white. This is my first time growing them from seed.

Joanne

Hi folks,

Went to the Desert Botanical Garden here in Phoenix this morning - at least until I thought I was going to have heat stroke. Lots of very interesting cactus - many in full bloom - and succulants. When the heat drove us out of the garden, we went shoe shopping and in the afternoon I had meetings with the International Viola Society eecutive.

A friendly dinner at a Japanese restaurant attended by violists from Canada, USA, Spain, Britain, Germany-Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand. The Congress gets underway mid-day tomorrow and concludes on Sunday though we are possibly thinking of coming home on Sunday rather than Monday because of the heat.

Ann

No 'F' word this morning :-) although .. the furnace did come on a few times ..

'Datura' .. somewhere along the way I am sure I have heard it can be a ? hallucinogenic ? ... if placed in the WRONG hands. As well I think I've heard it called 'Angel's Trumpet'. Can't say as I have seen any growing here in Thunder Bay .

Ann .. isn't the heat in Phoenix just THE worst !!!! I always chuckle when people say it's bearable because it's a 'dry heat' .. heat is HEAT !!! I found Phoenix to be unbearably warm the few times I have been there, it's also one of the reasons my relatives moved north to Flagstaff/Sedona.

On with VCARS today .. got lotsa other 'stuff' to keep me busy while waiting on a call .. company arrives on Friday and it seems I am still WAY behind with house cleaning and grocery shopping.

Hope everyone enjoys their day :-)


~M~

Everyone is busy/busy..think when I received seeds from USA (don't tell) some were purple datura's..I set them in wet paper towerls, into ziplock bags and was successful in germinating, however, we've had a few cold nights, wouldn't doubt some got done-in, know I lost most of my sunflower seedlings...

Yes, it must have turned quite cold last night, woke up this morning freezing, of course I still don't have it registered in this brain of mine that if you leave furnace at 60 it doesn't come on unless it's lower than 60..always had a problem with playing with the thermostat..as soon as it's hot, off it goes...will teach me, turned it up so when I get home tonight it will be cozy..of course it's so damp out, gloomy, dark and rainy..let's get it over with and have a 'bright sunny weekend'..can only hope..

Ann, my youngest son worked for American Express in Phoenix..didn't enjoy all the heat..but you are visiting so enjoy!

"M" is the birthday party this weekend? was 'birthday' right?

Joanne, had a nice coleus I purchased last week, set it out near the muskoka chairs I painted as it looked so pretty against them, looked last night and think I cooked it...should have been in the shade..so will try to revive..

The party is June 14th .. and I am busily trying to get 'stuff' done BEFORE company arrives so I can spend time with them.
Bombarded Dollarama and WalMart as well as Home Oufitters .. was doing well with my LIST .. when I got a VCARS call ..
I am not sure if TBay is the only city suffering through the 'choking game phenomenon' or not .. it's quite upsetting to say the very least !! Feel bad for the parents left behind.

Rain in spits and spats was the order of the day here today .. and cool !!! Tomorrow is 'pedal to the metal' in the housekeeping dept .. countertop guy called .. he'll be here next Tuesday at 9am .. YAHOoooooooooooooooo .. my company will have to find an activity to keep them away from the house .. or .. HELP out LoL !!! The thought of ME , let alone company, helping with ceramic tile makes me chuckle .. NO .. actually HOOT!!!

Off to work magic with leftovers ..


~M~

Jo - you have daturas? Could I have 1 plant, please? If it grew from seed, then the new seeds from IT would be fertile.
I'm wondering if the angel trumpet I grew last year was sterile....... I'm supposing the White ones are angel trumpet cultivars.

my, my....... I'm using big words now......... cultivars......... kinda rolls of your tongue, doesn't it, eh? hahahaha

Betty - my sympathies for your poor coleus. I've nearly murdered a gorgeous one that I have called "Combat". I think it was just too cold and wet for the poor guy to be out. Amazing how I could both drown & freeze one plant and sunscald others, all in the same couple of weeks. That's just Calgary in the spring... ;)

Hi Susan, I should have an extra datura you can have, if they survive the upcoming deluge.

Joanne

Happy Thursday everyone ..

Dull and dreary seems to be the flavour of the day here in Thunder Bay ... throw in a little bit of smoke from forest fires burning in Manisnowba, and we're lookin at a GREAT day to stay inside and do whatcha put off doing a few days back !!!

Did a quick walk about this morning and am literally amazed at how well the perennials are doing !! Even the Mums I planted last fall for some October colour have come back gang busters ..
I patiently await the day I can put in my annuals .. the last couple of nights have been OK temp wise .. but every so often we get a 'WHOOSH' of cold air that'll knock the plants down way fast !!

One more day til the company arrives .. sitting here looking around the kitchen, I can see I have my work cut out for me !

Have a splendiferous day !!

~M~

Joanne you sound much as I..I either drown them with kindness or forget they need water, more so the inside plants which thank goodness are now outside..another problem I have, is when the did the rood last fall I had them put a wide 4' overhang and then water troughs so as I see the rain has watered most of my gardens I tend to forget that the ones underneath get no water..must start being more organized in the watering dept.

Am axious to see if the seedlings of Purple Datura will take, went looking for them (about 40) now don't tell me they grow 3' because I did not research, just got seeds from friend in USA, got them going and planted but I can't seem to find where I put them and unless they grew to quite a size in 1 week, don't know??? lol quite the gardener..

the difficulty with your datura seeds may not have been an infertile plant but not a mature enough pod. in my experience the seeds pods have to be on the plant until they split open in order for them to be viable

lots of times in our climate if we don't let the first flower of the season form a seed pod, they don't get enough time to mature. if you are ever short of a datura or anything post first before paying such an outrageous price - the dats at our greenhouse in 4 inch pots in bloom were 6.99 this year (both white and black currant)

well i finally finished planting on thursday last week - the house the farm and the restaurant - now all i have to do is water, weed, water, weed,.......

when i was planting at the restaurant (wearing my usual gardening sartorial spendor - ripped jeans, soiled long sleeve T, hair tied any way i can to get it our of my face and ages old shoes) an older gent came by and handed me a toonie, with a 'you take this dear' - i just about cracked up. he must have thought this poor grey haired thing still has to work to make ends meet and she probably needs all the help she can get

I hope you accepted it graciously!

I have twice been given tips in my role as Historical Interpretor at Lougheed house. The lst time I didnt really see it coming and I was quite startled. The 2nd time I realized it was coming and the poor guy was trying to be subtle about it but because of talking with others in his party it was a problem. I finally gave him my full attention and he gave me a handshake and thanks and the money was slipped into my hand! Learning to accept tips ( which is never expected) is a new skill!

Sunny day today and I am due downtown at Olympic Plaza to volunteer at the Hort Society Booth at 'First Thursday' - something new the city is doing on the first Thurs of each month. Lots of special activities apparently. I am there to look pretty (LOL!) and answer gardening questions!
Anybody in Calgary working downtown come and visit on your lunch break!

Raining today, not much to do outside. The high light of my day will be (having been invited for this meeting) to attend an AA meeting for a friend of mine. Today he celebrates 55 years of continuous sobriety. He's really quite amazing and will have 2 friends coming from the Vancouver area, one of them was at his first meeting with him back in 1953.

And yesterday my sister had her first of 25 radiation treatments. everythings AOK at this time.

We get the key to our new place and start the schleping.

LOL, as I was typing this, the fellow with the 55 years called me to say his 2 friends might be late, as the BC Ferry had to stop and make a rescue. Never a dull moment around here!

Linda

Anyone know how to cook colarabi tops or what to do with them??