Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #23

Thanks for all your work, Star . . . I hope your Dad is better today.

Well thanks ya'll - but my famousness has nothing to do with me being an expert cook. They just pull a profile each week. Hee hee. It was just funny seeing myself up there.

With all the snow we got this week - just went out and tried to paint snow flowers.....thanks SW!! Well, it didn't turn out as well as expected. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it is only 3° outside so the paint kind of balled up on the surface - couldn't "fill in". Plus the snow is so light and fluffy that it didn't soak up any paint, it just went straight through. So will have to try it on sticky snow and maybe a little warmer. ^_^ Did make cute snow angels of course - every garden needs angels.

I thought males were the only ones that pained in the snow??;)LOL

OOOhhhhhh maybe that was our problem.............we don't have the "right" experience. Hee hee

or equipment;)

Thanks Ella for all you did and the wonderful pictures of 'The Journey', my prayers are with you and your dad.

Thanks everyone for being such wonderful piggies and for all your generosity. This is one great swap, again.

LOL! Snow painting - I thought my dogs were the only ones who did that around here, but I may have to give it a try...a little squirt bottle and some colored water.....

Thanks so much for doing all this Ella - it's wonderful that you took it upon yourself to host the swap and keep the Piggy Tradition going and help us widen the circle of piggy friends. And I'm sure the folks who get new gardens will be doubly-thankful. I do hope they find the right medicines for your Dad, and that he starts to kick this thing.

Wow - 40 miles to the Post office..... I just thought I lived in the country!! ^_^ Thanks so much Ella for doing this for all of us - I am not sure how you managed to do such a massive task so efficiently, but I am thankful. Wish I had known you had to drive 40 miles I would have included a few more extra dollars for gas. Hope you had at least a little left over so that you can buy something for yourself to enjoy. Have your Dad on the prayer list (and many from the mid south forum are praying for him as well) and hope things improve for him. I know it must be difficult to be so far away when he is sick.

Thanks to everyone who so generously gave of themselves and their seeds on this swap. I have learned lots and TRIED to keep up but I know there were times I had to skip whole threads!! a talkative bunch we are......

Now, to read up on all this wintersowing ..... I think I will have plenty to keep my busy for a while!!

Thanks again Ella - and everyone!!

Genna

PS - I was telling my husband last night about all the different seeds I have coming and he thinks that we have ALL lost our mind....me for requesting them and ya'll for being willing to go to the trouble of sharing them. I told him if all goes well with just a part of them, that my flower beds are going to grow a LOT this Spring!! I am so excited I can hardly wait.

Got any good landscape design people on this thread?? I need some advice on a foundation planting design ......

Watch out where the huskies go
Don't you eat that yellow snow!

Gen, start a thread... show us a photo of the foundation area if possible, and let us know the dimensions and what kind of sunlight etc. you get there...

Gen - Nora thought I'd lost my mind last year as well, but when she saw the results in the yard she admitted it was a good idea. This time around when I told her I was in the next piggy swap she just casually looked at me and said "remember not to put the tall stuff too close to the pathways..."

Ella, that crown of stars suits you perfectly - I am so glad you got this swap going and rallied all us piggies a-snortin' around a great cause - Smiles for Millions - 'er, sumpin like dat', as Horseshoe used to say. Loved the trek to the po - the landscape looks so wide open and roomy, that it wears its blue sky proud.

Buy yourself more coffee, if any of the money I sent you is left over - but don't send it back here. If I had had a crystal ball that could have spied out the conniptions your car is prone to, I'd have rounded up a few more bucks from us all - am keeping open that possibility.

Am glad you got to talk to your dad, and hope his treatment goes well.

Karen

Hey guys, I was doing these Petal Fairies with my daughter, and realized it's the type of thing that some of you might like (Cheles, thinking of your girls specifically). If you've not seen them, they're pretty fun for little girls (ok and big one, the one on the right is mine :)

helps if I attach the photo

Here's the original directions, we've added to them with wings and hats, and pantlegs for the little boy :)

Star, what a journey of the seeds- love the documentation of their travels! Thanks so much for all your work! Its shown that you've enjoyed it and had fun with it, that makes it all the more fun for all of us :-) Glad you can finally sleep in your bed again! You and your Dad are still in my thoughts and prayers.

Gen, I agree with critter, start a thread where you'll have all the suggestions in one place to look back on easily. I'd love to see the areas you have to plant.

Robin, "remember not to put the tall stuff too close to the pathways..."....that cracked me up! LOL I used to get that too.

Critter, I owe you an apology, you were absolutely right about my weird succulent. A DG member who volunteers propagating succulents and cactii for the Berkeley Botanical Gardens, set me straight. After reviewing the same photos I posted here, she said, "Your plant is called Kalanchoe tubiflora. Synonyms are K. delagoensis and K. verticillata. Common names are Chandelier Plant and Mother of Thousands."
Somehow, it makes me happy to know that we share a plant in common. I can propagate those plantlets? Now, I'm wondering how? Thanks Critter, your knowledge astounds me. : )
'Chele, lovely!: ) Your snow flower looks more like a cherry tree in bloom! : ) Fascinating! klstuart, if only I had a girl to play with! Love your little petal fairies! Thanks for the instructions! : )
Am working on the container for bottom watering my WS containers, but wanted to apologize to critter, and I needed a break anyway. Still have to move the containers out into the WS bottom waterer, but I am taking photos of the process. Right now, I'm filling with water to see how well it holds it.
More soon!
WIB,
SW

SW ,
I too have several types of the ''Mother of thousands''
Just watch the little plantlets on the leaf tips they will start to show small root hairs , remove them from mom and drop on some moist soil.
They do all the work

SW, I'd like to see that! Im not sure about bottom watering so many large things... seems hard to get them wet all the way to the surface. Beginning to think my soil was lacking a wetting agent or something.

heheheh Them mother of thousands. are pretty but a pain. Need to get a pic of mine. Think I have different leaves on mine. I talked a clos efriend into buying one. Man did I get a chewing out when they was goign around for years trying to pull babies out of every pot in the gh.

KL Love the fairy petals. Somethign else to play with and make. They cute looking.

Dryad. Laughign my head off. heheheheh

I didn't know ya could paint in the snow. Now I want just a little to give it a try. : )

gardengus, I'll give it a try and see how it works. : )
I don't think they'd be invasive here, because if's it's green I have to water it most of the year. Exceptions being the cactus and the California Live Oaks. Take a photo for me star, please! That is what threw me when trying to identify them with critter's, mine have different leaves. Cool looking though.
There was a really cute article a couple of days ago about painting in snow here on DG. I don't deserve the credit for the idea. Adina told me to check out the weather forum to see some snow sculptures too, really pretty! What people will do when they are bored and missing green growing things! : )
dryad, had to giggle, but will try to remember to not plant the tall things where I'll be walking. ; )
klstuart, I live in a desert. Am sending a photo of my bottom waterer. Probably filled too full, but it seems to be holding, and with our unseasonably hot temps. will probably need it . Still in the low 80's today.
More soon!
WIB!
SW

Ok, as you can see, DH built the form out of recycled 2"x4"x8's boards. I took a piece of black plastic, (also recycled. Measured it out so there weren't any holes in the area going inside the boards, folded the excess plastic under all the four sides. Then I filled it full of water, it isn't quite level, but I think it will work out fine for me, as long as the puppies don't fool around with it before I complete filling it full of my winter sown containers. You should have seen me with my pant legs rolled up, stomping around inside of the container, stomping out the air bubbles under the plastic. As you can see there is plenty of room left for my Piggy seed. I won't have to fill it if we get enough rainwater, so far they have stayed nice and wet, but they were in the greenhouse and not exposed to the Santa Ana winds. We are still facing a drought, and they have resumed the Fire Watch because of the winds. I'm going to see how long it takes before it dries out. Right now, I'm a little worried it might make the soil too soggy. We'll experiment and find out! : )
WIB,
SW

SW, I forgot to tell you I was delayed getting your Lupine seeds in the mail, but they're on the way now. Sent them out either Monday or Tuesday, but I can't for the life of me remember which day. I remember having a brain, seems like I kinda liked it, LOL.

No worries, gemini, my brains are scrambled. I forget to turn off the water, OOPS! I've DH trained to follow behind me and make sure I turned it off. : )
Your reference made me think of the scarecrow from the Wizard of OZ, but I feel more like Alice in Wonderland! : )
Speaking of water, some of plants need watering. Better get to it!
WIB,
SW

Clever! I'll have to see what I can rig up. Right now I don't even have anything to properly corral them together, except a few old seed flats, which only hold 3, and I'm not willing to poke holes in to let them drain slowly :)

Got some containers from a neighbor, 1lb salad greens containers from Sams, like a tall clear plastic shoebox. Should be great!

I'm scavenging looking for more containers. I guess that it helps that we have plenty of room to put stuff, even it doesn't look tidy. I'm regretting all those Ice cream cartons I threw out!: (
Did you notice all that green already sprouting?
DH burnt up the tractor electronics and has been trying to find replacement parts. He'll probably need to get a new tractor. It really helps to have a DH who has not only a tractor but a forklift to move stuff around for me!: )
See how happy he is on that poor tractor. This was taken a couple of days before it caught fire.
WIB,
SW

Sorry to hear about the tractor -- hope it's easy to fix!

No apology needed... your plant looked different from mine; I sure wouldn't have been able to guess the right species for it! My plant pretty much propagates itself by dropping those little babies around.

You are so gracious critter! : )
I think DH is just looking for an excuse to get a new tractor with more gadgets. LOL! Besides, a local organic farmer is looking to buy one like his. : )
Since they are urbanizing our area, it's hard to find tractor supply places. The closest one is in San Bernardino, (45 minutes to an hour's drive from here depending on traffic of course). Our friend the organic farmer has been looking locally for a tractor for a while. I told DH to look around while he is up in Bakersfield. Lot of farmers up there still. He might even be able to get an enclosed cab with a/c. Then he'll really be styling! : )
WIB,
SW

Gimini loved your comment I remember having a brain, seems like I kind of liked it. Can I use it?

Singingwolf Also what you said about having your husband trained to follow behind you and make sure you turn it off. Somehow that makes me feel better about all the training I have had to put into that DH

Thanks y'all for making me laugh

Honest, it wasn't hard to train DH, especially since he likes hot showers. No water pressure means I forgot to turn off something. So he checks around on his way in. : )
Glad you are back Indynanny, haven't heard from you for awhile.
I used to have muscles. I miss them. Going to make some new ones with all this gardening! : )
WIB,
SW

It's -11 degrees and hours before sunrise. This proves the new hardiness zone maps that put all of Ohio in Zone 6 are wrong. I didn't believe they were right so I didn't let the charts change my planting habits. I hope everyone is keeping warm.

KL-thanks for sharing those-they are adorable!! I will have to download the directions!!

C-C-C-Cold. Minus 16 degrees real temperature, -°40 with wind chill...and I had to stand outside in it for 4 hours. Come on spring.

This message was edited Jan 16, 2009 7:03 AM

whyn were you outside for 4 hrs??

Can anybody spell the word shiver? I don't need to knwo how to spell it cuz that what I doign this morning. Man it got down to 15F this mornign here and with the wind it down in the single digits. High today in the 20's if I lucky.

Haven't dmailed confirmation stickers numebrs. Was busy tryign to save plants and get some underpinnign braced up against traielr and wrappign pipes. if ya want yours dmail me and wil be glad to sent it. Gotta try dn save mroe plants today that wont be able to take two nights of bitter biter cold.

Anybody been brave enough to brave the cold and check mail boxes yet. Can't wait for the first piggy to arrive. Hopefully some some might arrive today but alot more should be ariving by tommorrow.

AnI anxious, ya you bet. it was fun to do the hardest part and the part I worried the worst over was trying to find things folsk might like through the extras. There as lots of seed i didnt knwo and had to try adn look up. But was good cuz learned soem new names and seen some new plants.

man I wish I had a tractor, would even take a tiny one. Singing Wolf better watch out, I got to go for ride in some of them new tractors with the gps and other trinets and toys that men love to play with. They awesome and you can set, and be with in an inch of the previous row, and take a nice nap and let the tractpr drive itself. Course the price tags will make your eyes rool back in your head from sticker shock. But to dream, ahhhhhhhhh so nice.

Can we get a new thread soon, please. Know I hogged a bunch of space up withthe pics and gettign hard to load now.

Star-I wouldn't worry about dmailing the DC#ers unless someone doesn't get theirs-just keep the slips and toss them as peeps get them and dmail them in the case of a long running package or no arrival one.... hope I have mine today!! Will make sure to freeze my patootaties off after I get home to check the mail-was -11 this am w/ -26 windchill:((((

Brrrr.....-2 degrees this morning here, I was so meant to live in a warmer place! I did some preparations for seed starting yesterday which was a nice diversion from the bitter cold. My plant room stays cool, so I've set up a spot in my bedroom with lights where I can get things started in the warmth and then move them down to the plant room. My bedroom is actually a 2 room "suite", so the light set up is in the sitting room part where I spend lots of time (where the computers are) and can watch them closely. I feel like a parent setting up the nursery in the bedroom, LOL.

SW, I meant to tell you, the member who sent me the Lupine seeds said they do best direct sown because they don't transplant well. She said to sow them while its cool and just push the seeds about an inch into the soil. I was excited to find out that some members in the Ohio River Valley region have been successfully growing Lupines- I just may see Lupines blooming in my yard! That big tilled area makes me salivate! What ya planting there? Of course I'm envisioning it covered in colorful blooms :-)

I have to get another set of shelves B4 I can even think about seeds!!:(

-20° right now.... thankfully, not high winds.
and i do not think we even went out to our mailbox yesterday.
it's nice when we get a package... then he comes to the door.

I do have to go out today... my bestest friend is taking me out to lunch... unless she calls to change the date to May or july, when it's warmer.

...so, i just may check the box.

Star, I was going to say the same thing Fairy did, no need to worry with dmailing all those since they're only needed if one gets lost.