Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #14

LeBug, how tall did your ironweed get? just curious...also, good luck with your mower...we're having mower issues here too!!

We got a new garden "toy", a composter. Harry put it together yesterday. Hopefully we will actually get some compost to use. I tried unsuccessfully for years with a 3 bin system in the back and it has turned into a dumping ground surrounded by weeds. I can't seem to find time to turn it, to bin 2, 3 etc. This one seems pretty cleaver and will hopefully work; the top "drawer" pulls out and drops the contents to the 2nd etc. We have it set up near the house so we can use it frequently.

Fairy, what is that? I love it

Allium Shubertii-I love it too:) I guess there is going to be an allium co-op soon and it will probably be offered-otherwise eflowergarden has them for the most reasonable prices....they get about as big around as a soocer ball?? maybe a smidge smaller, but some can get bigger depending on where you have them. I saw some @ pepsidrinker's house that were a little bigger than basketballs!!

Happy Birthday Dryad! Hope you have a good one! : )

Happiest of Birthdays' Robin!!

Wind, the iron weed really isn't that tall this year, my other ones get huge but these aren't quite 3' yet but they are blooming, I just went out and checked and one is about a foot and the other one is almost two feet, I put a marker by them so I don't pull them for weeds next year, I had some golden rod in my nectar garden last year and I must have pulled them thinking they were weeds don't want that to happen to your iron weed lol I'm hoping it will reseed too, it probably will, I planted two jugs but only got two plants but that's enough to start, I know Suzy must have thought I was nuts cause I planted two jugs of everything that I really wanted and wasn't sure if they would come up lol

I have one of those big tumblers and haven't even put anything in it yet this year lol I do have a pile going though and you are right about the weeds, I hate that part too! I keep a tarp over mine and it seems to work faster that way, I need to go turn it and add more stuff to it but it's so hot I just don't want to mess with it, I should get off my lazy you know what and get that tumbler to going lol The guy above my field is putting in storage sheds and made a ditch to put rock in and has pallets of big stones up there I'm going to ask him for the pallets when he's done and if they are good ones I'm going to make some bins and I'll probably end up like you and not want to turn them when it gets this hot, that's a lot of work!lol I've always wanted to try the drawer composter out too, let me know how that works for you, looks like a nice one!

La, my grape 4 O'Clocks still haven't germinated yet :( I have another castor bean going too lol Those are pretty plants lol I just hope my kittens don't think so and I'm going to cut the blooms off as soon as they come on so I'm hoping someone will have more seeds this year 8)

I got to cut grass yesterday and almost got it all done then my mower went crazy again! I mowed around all of the queen ann's lace in the field, I found a cat on one of them and I have a patch coming up where I transplant at I'm going to dig that up for my host garden this evening I hope, I'm feeling lazy today so don't know how much I will get done lol I keep thinking about digging some of those pussy toes up to put in there too but I never have, that is a strange plant, I didn't even know what it was until Suzy pointed them out to me, I have a lot of it in the field.

Oh, I forgot I wanted to ask, if I save some seeds to this globe allium that I have are they worth planting? Will it take forever to get blooms on them if it does I won't save them unless someone else wants to try them, I'm too old to wait for those blooms too long LOL

Does anyone remember a while back talking about germinating Hibiscus seeds. Well I was trying to germinate Moy Grande seeds that I got from my own plants and I had given up after the only one I got to germinate was ripped apart my my 1 year old dd. Well I didn't give up and toss em but I just left them with all the other graveyard seeds and now their are like 5 sprouted! Goes to show what a little patience is worth. Thank you whoever reminded us all not to give up on them right away! : )

That's great Meredith, very encouraging for me I still have a red oak tree seed for a friend of mine from last year and some Mountain Bluet from this year I had gotten two of those but I thought I would wait and see what happens lol or the cup plant, and a couple of strange weeds from Weez I can't think of the names right now but I like things like that lol. I'm glad you got your Moy Grande germinated 8) Oh I still have a few trees seeds 'on hold' from last year and this year :)

I'm finding it hard to plant some of my weed seedlings, I call them, because I'm doing away with the wild bird garden but after I get it cleaned out if I ever do, I can start planting there again with my invasives :) I planted my painters palette just the other day, I had one jug and split it and sort of clump planted it but they give me the impression they grow pretty close together anyway, hmm I just checked my spreadsheet and it says to plant further away, oh well lol I planted some mexicali mix penstemon from susybel and next to it I got one white so far out of the sightseeing mix so far, I'll plant a couple more if I get anymore white then sunny border blue veronica will be next to them for red, white and blue :) I still have barbatus penstemon that I got from Fairy or Flower, sorry can't remember and I'm dying to see that one bloom it's going against the house cause I think they are suppose to be tall, those things are going to be beautiful lol I love these penstemons and veronicas! Is red rocks penstemon and mexicali the same as red rocks, this is a mix though, I have one of the mex. penstemon getting ready to bloom I think :) I love this time of year when plants are FINALLY starting to bloom LOL My white obedient plant from the swap is blooming in the jug, it's one that is on hold for the bird garden lol They are only about 7" high and blooming :)

I'm going crazy trying to keep the weeds out of all of the beds and still fighting the violets at the same time and have made another bed, am I addicted or what? LOL I started my orange garden, just started it with some silky gold milkweed (1) I figure it will reseed and one bloodflower or whatever I forgot which one I planted last year some grass in the very back that gets 5' around I have a name but not sure which one it is I have a few to plant this year and I planted a Purpurascens that will turn purple in the fall, some little joe pye weed from Suzy in the swap, my holly hocks are coming up there now :) And I did a crazy thing but it will bloom way before anything else in that garden I planted my sensation lilac there lol What the heck right? Lol I still have one more empty bed down by the shade garden that I haven’t even started on with leaves on it still that should be some good dirt! lol Maybe this fall lol

Yes I need to get my camera to going I want to show you my gardens LOL I’m enjoying all of the pictures of everybody else’s flowers and gardens so much they are all so pretty :)

Morning all!

LaLa, I'm not sure if those corn cockle seeds will ripen and be viable. They look quite young! But don't worry: I've got seeds of the pink and als the white variety which I will put in the next swap.

I sowed datura inoxia this year. It didn't grow very big (only knee hight) but it had really huge flowers. Dinner plate size. Pity they only last such a short time!

I did away with 4 o'clocks because they always tumble when it rains (which it does often here in summer!). However, they keep coming up in the strangest of places, like cracks in the pavement.

Remember I mentioned using the seeds of the swap to make a cutting garden? Well it's in full bloom by now and looking absolutely fabulous. May of these plants (but not all) I owe to you lot!

Here you will find some pictures: http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb270/AnkeFreese/Slideshows/691dfbd2.swf
And more pictures: http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb270/AnkeFreese/Slideshows/690b8853.swf
This is the nectar bar: http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb270/AnkeFreese/Slideshows/18b53318.swf

Besides me, also the critters would like to thank you for your contribution. Here are some of them:
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb270/AnkeFreese/Slideshows/15178c36.swf

CAn't wait to get home and look atthose Tuink!! I loved my Datura last year-didn't get a chance to plant any this year:( I have purple, inokia, pinkinsh, yellow (dbl I think) and a triple white i wanted to plant in the back-I have a russian sage in the middle and porcupine grass on the sides-thought the yellow, green, purpole and silvery of those ones would look great with the colors of the datura-sure hope the seeds are still good next year:)

Man! I guess I'm the only one that can't download Tunik's pictures, that really bums me out lol Tunik my datura in the part shade is only knee high right now but it will get bigger before the summer ends, is your summer about done? I have one in the shade that I moved to that spot earlier but it's not growing, just though it was worth a shot lol The one in my middle flower bed I think I got with the weed killer because it's not coming up this year and I've had it for a long time so now I need to find another spot for such a big datura lol That one was the first one I had. I did cut the one out of the front bed again.

Fairy datura seeds stay good for a long time about like morning glories. I had some russian sage seeds to plant too but didn't get around to them this year but I already have three out front and one in my herb garden, I've never figured out how to save those seeds on my plants or I have always missed them. I wanted to plant some in the sunny part of my shade garden but I never have gotten to that garden yet this summer, that poor garden needs a lot of work too lol I have foxglove to plant there too from the swap so I need to get that garden weeded! I have purple tansy, double yellow and tripple datura blooming down by the cedar tree now, I love the yellow daturas!

Sorry I missed your birthday, dryad! I just picked up my computer from IT - After owing computers since 1980, I finally managed to fry a hard drive!

Now I have to remember where I put all my backup stuff . . . .

OMG Tuink-I LOVE it!! I wnat sedds from it all that I don't already have!!LOL It is gorgeous-a real thing of beauty!!

Fairy - I just noticed that you are the bestest fairy! Was this an award, or something? ^_^

hi, I just enjoyed your photos Tuink :)))
Your gardens are really beautiful. I love the photo of the doves on your fence. I also, loved that butterfly with the circle design on the wing tips (I forget what kind it is?). I saw the little red snaps in one of the photos...were they the ones from Suzy? Mine just started but I only have one little bloom on each so far, not a cluster.

I'm really loving the purple majesty millet. It has the fuzzy plumes coming out of it now.

I spotted a monarch butterfly near LeBug's tropical milkweed today, but by the time I ran for the camera, it fluttered off to the next stop!!!

I have all 3 Nicotiana blooming right now and LOVE them-all different dhades on fink and the TInkerbell lokks like little bells at about a 4:30 positon-not facing all the way down...I will have to get poics!!

Wind,
The red snaps are "dark prince" who didn't turn out to be overly dark but beautiful nonetheless!

In English the butterfly is called "peacock caterpillar" (Inachis io). In Dutch we call it "peacock's eye" which I like better!

I was going to plant some nicotiana in the host garden for the aphids to try and cut down on them on my butterfly weeds but I have no aphids, milkweed bugs, or cats!!! I don't like this summer!!!

Have any of you seen or do you have this candy liliy? I have one that doesn’t have spots that’s orange, I’ve never noticed it before and the yellow doesn’t have spots either so I’m curious to see if pamsue gets spots from my yellow seeds I sent her. Reading from this site some reseeders can come out like these, I think they are pretty! I had no idea that candy lilies could cross pollinate. I found a site that was talking about it then I lost that part and here is the part where they are cross pollinating them:

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Perennials/P-Q_files/P-Q_Images/pardancanda_lss_dandy_candy.htm

and here they are in the plantfiles, bare with me folks I'm just tripping LOL:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=Pardancanda+&Search=Search+PlantFiles

We only have the orange candy lily with spots.

Also, we don't have any milkweed bugs or cats either...strange...none, not even on the fennel or parsley. I was thinking it was just all the birds we had around here, but if others notice it too...interesting. A friend told me she had plenty of hornworms this year...maybe there is a natural cycle for them? Last year, or the year before (I forget without looking it up), we had a huge invasion of milkweed bugs. I definitely do not miss them! Cats yes, them no.

LeBug....how are you doing with your new camera...any luck?

I've had way too many milkweed bugs for the last two years but I've only seen about five this year so far and they are gone to bug heaven lol I'm having an awful time with blister beetles right now on all of my tomatoes, clematis and my pasque flower! I spritz them in alcohol and that kills them I try and not get it on the flowers not sure what it does to the butterflies that we don't have :) I do have swallowtails and zebras I think, I don't take the time to id them. I saw a couple of monarchs earlier this year and three cats so far and that's it :( Oh I have those pretty brown butterflies too not the painted lady but one that looks like that one.

Next year if I don't grow so many plants lol I want to raise butterflies if there are any cats around I wanted to start this year but just too busy planting when I can. I have several screens that go into windows that I could put together for a cage, I hope they are alright to use, I'll have to ask in the butterfly forum first. I so hope not to be so busy planting for next year I want to stop and smell the roses I'm not getting any younger LOL I want to make some garden art not sure what yet but I need some things for height in my gardens.

I'm going to town today and when I do I'm getting a disposable camera I give up!!! lol Now I have a lady that is trying to figure it out and she isn't around much, Katie moved to her grandmothers :)

I just started my purple majesty so they are only about 5" tall, but they will grow fast lol Pretty tassel Wind ;)

Check this link out about the butterfly population if you haven't already:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/863971/

Lea-I HAVE to take pics of my candy lily for you-mine has kinda morphed since last year-some are shall we say variegated-every other petal is a deep orange and the other petals are golden...then I have some that are a sherberty orange w/ sopts and the salmony ones w/ spots:) I have the biggest buttload ever, so if you want some this fall-have at it-I have to move them as they multiply MUCH more rapidly than I had initially starts-the one pic if you look of the DSS Candy Dandny is mine form last year-that big group was 2 plants when I got them!!LOL

Actually-here's one I forgot I took about 2 weeks ago:)

sorry-not the greatest pic-you can't see the spots:( I was just trying to get all the color varieties in it-I wil try to get a better pic for ya:)

Oh, those are very pretty, Fairy. : ) I wonder if those will grow down here. If so, that is another, ....need to have. : )
~Lucy

If they do, LMK and I will send you some plants this fall:)

You know Fairy, I would like to have some seeds to those but I have two jugs of seedling from the candy lily :) One jug was suppost to be rocky mountain penstemon and it turned out to be candy lily so I'd rather get these in the ground to see what color they are going to be and I have already planted four of mine that were in pots for the last three years lol I planted some seeds of mine last year but can't remember what color I planted, I think I planted some of the yellow but I'm not sure anymore lol I didn't write them down just threw them in the jug, I like the plants. I think I'll plant a few around a grass that I just planted that's suppose to get really big, there's a lot of space around it until it gets big and I won't mind if it takes over the candy lilies later on and they will look good until that happens and multiply I hope. Your Candy Dandy look really pretty! That would be a good color for the garden where I'm planting my extras by my orange garden I'm planting :) You know my darn kittens just love those flowers on the candy lilies, that's one of the first plants they head for when we go out to work in my middle bed, those and a red hot poker that is huge and needs to be divided but I won't divide it because it's a distraction from the rest of the plants for the kittens, and the mommy LOL

I need some black holly hock seeds :) Anyone have any left? I planted the burgundy and the black out by my orange garden for height and they have been planted for two weeks and have been thru two rains so I don't think they are going to germinate and I would really like to see the black ones there, I put screens over them and can still see a few seeds but they just won't germinate :( I would send a sase for them if anyone has any black ones left :)

How do they reach them?? Mine are over 4' tall?? I am more than happy to send them to you:) I want to get rid of about 75% of what I have and agree that they would alook lovely in your orange garden-the one that is diff colors and the sherberty ones:)

I think I have a few black HH seeds left over if you want them-can't guarantee how many, but I think I at least have a few....and I wouldn't need no stickin SASE;)

Lea, When I did the hollyhock seeds they were very sporadic and germinated over at least a month. You might still get germination from them. I think even long after I had forgotten about them I was finding new ones popping up.

Well I hope these do pop up Meredith, maybe I'm just being impatient, the last time I sowed HH I put the seeds in a pot and they germinated in three days so I just figured they weren't going to, thanks for telling me that but I think I'll still get those from Fairy, thanks Fairy and plant them in pots just incase, I have the room to plant more there. Just a few seeds is all I need Fairy, that's so nice of you :)

Fairy, the kittens and the mommy cat jump in the middle of the candy lilies then grab the stem to the flowers and bite the flowers lol I have a big coreopsis out there too and they get in the middle of it and chase eachother back and forth thru the middle! I can control the kittens a little and my gardens don't look as bad as the lady in the trailer that I got them from but she didn't try and teach them to stay out of the plants so I consider my other plants lucky that the cats don't play in them lol I have some SI seedlings planted out there and when those start growing more I'm sure they will be in those I finally tied the older ones I have up and they stay out of them better now in my nectar garden lol I've been working on a bed off and on for the shade by the garage so they quit going in their litter box and started going in the garden I'm working on cause I've been working it up and adding compost, the neighbor said they like to go there because of the compost, the same thing with under the holly tree lol Litter box, what is that??? LOL This is a whole new experience for me and some of it I really don't like! LOL I just grit my teeth and bare it and hope the plants will be alright for next year and they will leave them alone for next year, there is always next year lol How long will it take them to get out of this stage? LOL

I've got to get ready to go to a wedding, have a good weekend you all 8)

See-my cat wants nothing to so with anything unless it is grass-if it is tall she likes to pretend she is a lion and hide in it stalking birds!!LOL And if it isn't, she eats it!! She doesn't bother anything else and I have never had to say anything to her-now the grass on the other hand-she gets yelled at all the time for that!!

I am sending you some candy lilies w/ the other things this fall!!! Don't wanna hear it-just take em and say"sweet Stac-thank ya";)

Sheesh... I guess I got left behind. So glad I decided to come hunting the thread. Took forever to catch up.

LaLa. I just harvest some Husker Red seeds too. Will check, but think I sent out all the Salmon Geranium seeds I had, but if I didn't may have a couple can send ya.

Seandor. Please , if ya can make some brug seeds. I would love to have as many as I cna get my grabby hands on.

Beautiful pics everybody.

Meridith. Paw Paws take alot of time to germinate and they slow growers too, but boy they make beautiful trees and fruit when they do come into their own.

I am so amazed how you all are still planting stuff. We are in the dog day sof summer and ya don't dare plant anything cuz it wil burn up in a heart beat.

With all this unbearable heat finally gettign the house cleaned up and walls scrubbed and such to start some fall adn winter sowing in a couple weeks. Need room to work and had put it off for as long as I could. gettign everythign back in its place all nice and neat, so I can make a mess again.

Anybody know what is the best way to save some strawberry seeds. I have these Fragoo strawberry plants. I can't find seed for them any more. They made beautiful pink flowers and then berries and the other Fragoo made white ones. I got th eplants propagating, but want to try and save some seed off the few berries I getting.

Any ideas on when we gonna have the next piggy swap????? The neighbors pigmy pig running aroudn the yard all the time has got me to thinking about it.

I actually planted a few things out today .... i do not have much left ... i think just a ton of shasta daisies ... but i'm still digging anew spot for them.

today i planted, Chocolate Daisies i got from Jan [gram], surprise seeds that turned out to be Cone Flowers, so i'm not sure on the color yet. and another plant that i have forgotten was it is.

I still have my cute lil hosta babies .... but they are fine where they are, and i'll find them a spot some time in the fall. [maybe take them to Wisc, where i have a lot more room, and the ground is easier to dig, to sink a whole pot in the ground for them]

back to Huskers .... i keep checking that lil seed pod, which is as hard as a rock .... each time i slice it open with a finger nail and the seeds are still green and wet.

how long will it be until the are ready for harvesting?

and while we are talking seeds... one plant i have been trying 2 yrs to germinate is Joe Pye Weed ... so if anyone has some spare seeds - I'd love to give them another try. oh, and tips on getting them to germinate.

I got two throw away cameras at wally world, I got the sports kind it said outside and that's where I'll be lol Besides I might want to take a picture of the few butterflies that I have :) Give me a week to take pictures then get them developed on a cd and I will have proof of my labor LOL

Star, that's funny about the piggy lol I have seeds sitting everywhere and even in a cardboard box outside because there were bugs in some that I collected I just hope they are still there because of these darn cats! I Noticed my pink milkeed seeds are ready to pick tonite :) I'm waiting patiently on the orange, I sure hope we have more butterflies next year, I'm going to be ready!

Sorry, don't know how you would collect strawberry seeds, I probably wouldn't even be able to see them to collect them lol

Fairy, you are so sweet I'll save a spot for them, I didn't know you were sending me plants did I? lol I've been so wraped up in trying to get all of these plants in the ground haven't been able to think about much else, I was a total mess today, had my mind on planting and lost my bank card and sungalsses, I found them but I would have rather been home planting today it really wasn't that bad out today lol Isn't that bad I'm always at home and don't even want to leave, no wonder I'm crazy lol

I'll be soo glad when those kittens get to the stage they just sit and watch something, now they want to go straight thru everything at full speed too, I had to put fence around my caladiums, they don't look right fenced in, and they broke an elephant ear off while I was in town! My tallest one! dad's not a very good babysitter and I was thinking of giving him a raise lol

OOO OOO I want pink milkwed:) One of mine is just about to bloom-totally excited!!!

WHO WANTED SEEDS FROM THIS PLANT-I remember someone asking for them...I harvested them tonight:)

tcs, on the JPW I just throw some in a jug sprinkle a small amount of dirt on them and let them go almost all of them germinate, I'll be saving seeds for the JPW, I'll save you a bunch, do like me if you have something you really want plant two jugs lol I missed out on a few seed because of doing that but I got some good plants :)

On the HR, the pods will crack open when the seeds are ready :) Or when the tips of the pods start to crack open you can take them then and let them dry a bit and they will open a little more. I'm going to save some of those for the swap too and I have some babies that reseeded I'm waiting for them to get a little bigger to plant them in my middle garden.

I don't want any seeds but what is that Fairy, it's really pretty, if you sow the seeds will it take forever for it to bloom? If not I might want some lol No, I can't, I don't need to sow a lot of seed this year I have got to get the house painted on the inside :( You all keep reminding me of that, I have enough seeds left from the last swap but I will need annual seeds I've alowed myself to get some of those 8)

It is an allium schubertii and no clue as to how long it would take to bloom-I am guessing a couple years like lily seeds....

Yes, I have one of those purple globe outside, it has seeds on it now but I asked on here if anyone wanted some so I didn't collect any of the seeds I figured it would take longer than that to bloom though. It sure is pretty and different I really like it :)

Oh, I'm sorry I sent that and forgot to tell you I'll save you some pink milkweed seeds, I better go get them they are about to fall from the pods lol

BTW, everyone save their milkweed silk, the baltimore orieols (Ican't spell lol) like it to make nests with!

This message was edited Aug 2, 2008 7:22 PM

The baseball team???;)

hehehe

hi starlight :) no idea on the next piggy swap...haven't heard from Suzy much this summer. I'm hoping all is well.

Fairy, It may have been me, I would love to try your allium :)))

tcs, the chocolate daisies sound interesting. I think critter has those too. Also, I had the same problem with Joe Pye weed, I winter sowed seed of the regular and "little Joe" and if I recall they did germinate but the seedlings died off so I ended up with none.

LeBug, I think I spotted completely yellow tropical milkweed buds...is that possible? I'm excited, never had total yellow before.

red/burgundy okra, is still in the growing phase (~ 3' high), no okras yet