Yessir, spring's on the way. My wife started some flower seeds in the basement this morning, and about an hour ago we received a seed order from R. H. Shumway's. We ordered some hard to find seeds from them that we couldn't find in other places. They threw in 5 experimental packs of seeds labeled "early bird garden". Tomato, cucumber, bush bean, sweet corn, and peas were included free of charge. :thumbsup: When I saw the early tomato seeds I thought of Tom because he has such a short growing season. Can't wait!!

Ed

here (in Canada) nobodys even thinking of gardening yet. its still snowing here:cold:

- David

Spring fever has infected me early, this year. It was actually what gave me the idea for the "Green" Gallery Challenge, and that was two months ago.

I'll get in my normal boring batch of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, etc. Last year I started planting flowers for the first time in years, even a rose bush (and I know zip about roses).

Speaking of my poor, doomed roses, what's the procedure for trimming their canes? When, why, how much, etc. I didn't trim them yet. Did I miss my chance?

The only growing we are doing is icicle farming...and a poor crop it is. Driving down the road you raise a cloud of dust even though the ground is frozen. Probably wait a couple of weeks before planting the Watermelons.....Tom

Our growing season is coming to an end now. It's too hot to grow things in the summer. The sun would fry them. My grapefruit and lemon trees are so full I don't know what to do about all the fruit.
DJ

Make gallons of squash with them!! I have an excellent (and dead easy) recipe if you need one!

Dj, Package 'em up and sell the to North Dakota, just tell'em they're Oranges and double the price...they'll never notice a thing...Tom

Doug,
I'm no gardener, but the Phoenix area has a really good "Gardener Guy" on TV with a website.

"Prune roses when they are dormant, usually January or February" (for central Arizona)

his website has some tips on pruning:

http://www.gardenguy.com/learn/rose/pruning.html

Sam
I'm not sure what squash is but heck, I'll give it a try. E-mail it to me.

Tom
Funny you should say that, the lemons look just like oranges. You may have something there. :)
DJ

Squash = cordial. Sorry, don't know what you Americans call it!!!

I'll just post it here if that's okay - then others can try it out too.

Finely grate & squeeze 6 lemons. Put the grated rind and juice in a mixing bowl and add 2 1/2 pints of boiling water + 2 oz. Citric acid + 2 lb white sugar. Stir well until all the sugar's dissolved. Leave overnight. Dilute to taste!

This is a very refreshing drink.

My roses finally bloomed. An amazing feat, considering I ignored them completely. I've still got my cold, so I've no idea how they smell. But the weird thing is that I bought "peace roses", which are supposed to be a kind of peachy color, and these are unrepentantly yellow. I wuz robbed! But they are pretty.

I have little luck with much ...with the the banty's that run loose here...... with the exceptions of roses..
I ran into an old guy who once told me that they will grow anywhere (shade sun etc.) if you plant them deep enough in rich soil.....
his way which worked for me was to dig a two foot deep hole .. as well as wide ... make it like a crater... bury the rose 6 inches or so below where the ground level of the plant is now.... and over time keep filling the hole in... larger root system..
worked fine here..... Now if we could only grow lilacs and fiddleheads down here..
oh think I heard that this is also good for deep freezes ( speaking only of the southern areas) as the roots have more protection.

RonDon,

It seems that each area has it's own pluses and minuses. Here's another one you can't grow.

Ed

that is one big flower alright ed..

I haven't seen a Peony in years. That is so pretty. You must have a very green thumb Ed.
DJ

Not me. I just dig the holes! :D

Ed

Well, I don't know about Edmonton - but our gardening season is well underway here in B.C. Our lilacs, tulips, magnolias and rododendrums are in full bloom.

I planted my tomatoes (seeds), beans and lettuces last weekend. I follow a chart on the back of the seed package that tells you what time of year to plant them - depending on area and signs of no frost.

It looks like a late season for everyone here in Canada.

I have never tried to grow roses but - I might just try this year. Here is a nice link for rose enthusiasts.
http://www.rosemagazine.com/

Sam - I love squash. For those that don't know what a squash is - it's from the pumpkin family and are called winter vegetables. They are harvested late October and can be stored throughout the winter. I have a lovely recipe for Squash soup that has orange juice and cumin. If you want it, let me know I can post it to the recipe area.

Lisa

Lisa,

Do you normally plant tomato seeds this time of year? We always start ours indoors about 6 - 7 weeks before planting, which we did the day before yesterday (a little late this year). We're in zone 5. Are you in 5 or 6? About the soup recipe...go ahead and post it. We want to satisfy everyone's pallette.

Ed

The greatest gift of the garden
is the restoration of the five senses.


Just received this quote in an email and thought I'd share... :)

The quote was great! But the new avatar cracked me up!!! :lol:

Ed

New avatar??? What's new about it?? Just a pic of lil' ol' me...
:D

My already-bloomed yellow roses are turning to their peachy color. This is so cool, I didn't know they could do that :)

I knew you wouldn't be disappointed. :) The peony I posted a pic of is now at least 50% larger! Rain tonight, so it will probably be done for tomorrow. The garden is really pretty now. Here's another of my wife's flowers.

Ed

I bought my place from a lady who must have spent a small fortune on plants and flowers. I am still discovering things a year and a half later that I didn't know were there as they bloom and flower.

What is this? I have seen it somewhere in one of my flower books but I can't find it. Do you know what it's called? It wasn't there last year, but now it has bloomed and I think it is just so unique...
:wavey:

wow... almost looks altered... went right into my flowers file... ok to use it in a pic now in then ?

Originally posted by rondon
wow... almost looks altered... went right into my flowers file... ok to use it in a pic now in then ?


Only if you can tell me what it is! :D
:wavey:

Oh Looky - I just had a senior moment!

~becomes a Senior Member - plays the obligatory "pomp & circumstance" music in the background~
:wavey:

BK - I wish I could tell you what it is, but I don't think we have that kind of flower out here in CO - and I can't seem to find it in my "wild flowers of N America" book (I don't even know if it IS a wild flower). Hopefully there is someone who is more informed than I.
Jeanie

Thanks for trying. I guess now is as good a time as any to take a computer break and look through my books once again. I KNOW I have seen it before!!
:wavey:

BK - I've seen both Dahlias and Daisies with that petal pattern. Here are some photos of Orchid Dahlias that are similar.

http://www.dahlias.freeservers.com/p211.htm

The bud and plant itself in your photo looks more like a daisy though. I have been racking my brain trying to remember which type of daisy has that particular petal pattern, but I just can't seem to get the ol' gray matter to cough up the info...

If you look on the page above at the Honka Dahlia, you'll see a bud there. Dahlia buds almost always look like that. If that's what you see on your plant (hard to tell exactly from your photo) before the bud ever starts to open, I'd say you've got a Dahlia. If your plant never gets buds that look round, smooth and glossy like that at the early stage before starting to bloom, then I'd say it's probably some sort of daisy.

You might take one of the blooms down to your local nursery and see if they can tell you...

BK - I've seen both Dahlias and Daisies with that petal pattern. Here are some photos of Orchid Dahlias that are similar.

http://www.dahlias.freeservers.com/p211.htm

The bud and plant itself in your photo looks more like a daisy though. I have been racking my brain trying to remember which type of daisy has that particular petal pattern, but I just can't seem to get the ol' gray matter to cough up the info...

If you look on the page above at the Honka Dahlia, you'll see a bud there. Dahlia buds almost always look like that. If that's what you see on your plant (hard to tell exactly from your photo) before the bud ever starts to open, I'd say you've got a Dahlia. If your plant never gets buds that looks like that at the early stage before blooming, then it's probably some sort of daisy.

You might take one of the blooms down to your local nursery and see if they can tell you...

Too bad this isn't the GardeningPRO site...then I would know!

I turned it into a kaleidoscope! (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=22053#post22053)

:wavey:

I just took a photo of the garden a couple of days ago and thought I share "baby pictures" with you all...

:D

your garden is looking great Jak! it looks like a really beautifull place to live.

- David :)

Thanks David. :)

It is really pretty out here. The only drawback is nothing is convenient - the closest "convenience" store is about 12-15 miles away. When you decide to just "run to town" you'd better make sure you have a list and get everything because that only happens about once a week. :) The peace and quiet and country life (I lived in a huge city for 28 years) more than make up for the lack of 7-11 stores. :lol:

The garden has changed a lot just since I took that shot a couple of days ago even. It's amazing how fast it grows! Now, the tomatoes are staked, and today I plowed the right front quarter (where the compost cage is) to transplant suckers from the corn rows in the back/right.

Oh, and here's a picture of the best spot on the whole place - the front porch. There's usually a huge plant sitting right under that window but I'd moved it to sweep and forgot to put it back before taking the picture. I'm standing about midway on the porch to take the shot, so there's as much porch behind me as there is in front of me.

The building you see beyond the porch is just the Grange Hall...

:)

Wow Jak,
that must be a great home even though it's fairly remote. I'm sure being away from the noise and everything of the city makes up for that.

- David :)

P.S. that's a great shot of the hummingbird in there!!

Jak,

The garden looks like it's coming along well. Are those "walls-o-water" I see by the tomatoes? We have something feasting on our bush beans now. They look like a bunch of moths got hold of them. :( But the pole beans look pretty good so far.

Ed

I like the garden too. Is that good rich soil, looks red, which I usually associate with deserts or clay. My relitives have farms in MN and their soil is almost black.

Do you live out there alone or with husband, who's idea to live in country. I love the country but the closeness of hospitals and retail markets sorta traps me to the city.
I bet it's great at night with the stars and frogs and churping and quiet.

Originally posted by fugitive
I love the country but the closeness of hospitals and retail markets sorta traps me to the city.

We moved from the city atmosphere to a small town of about 100 people. We lived there for about 5 years, but we moved back because of the extremely poor medical care in the area. When my wife became ill, her problem was diagnosed as Meniere's disease, but we couldn't find a doctor anywhere nearby who could effectively treat it. Once you get to the 45 - 50 year old range, that becomes a major concern.

Ed

Just curious, did anyone ever order from Garden.com? If so, did you have a good experience?

Originally posted by Blacknight

What is this? I have seen it somewhere in one of my flower books but I can't find it. Do you know what it's called? It wasn't there last year, but now it has bloomed and I think it is just so unique...
:wavey:

It's an Osteospermum, common name African Daisy. For more info check out <http://www.osteospermum.com/>
Under Photo Album see Spooned. Yours may be one of those pictured.

Originally posted by Irene


It's an Osteospermum, common name African Daisy. For more info check out <http://www.osteospermum.com/>
Under Photo Album see Spooned. Yours may be one of those pictured.
It is indeed! Thank you so much! Now that I know the name I can research it and find out what it needs and what it likes and maybe get it to multiply. :) :) :) :)
:wavey:

After my roses bloomed, and changed colors (which was cool), the flowers wilted and fell off, which is normal. But that was it, no new roses. Is that the way roses work? A week or so of blooms, then nothing the rest of the year? The canes are getting enormous, though, almost taller than me.

Roses like to be cut. You have to deadhead roses to encourage more blooms. It's also good to harvest some for bouquets, which also encourages more blooming. If spent and wilting blooms are left on the canes, energy that could be used to produce new blooms will be spent trying to revive the dead ones instead.

(and if the bush is new, it may not hit it's blooming stride till the second year...)

I probably shouldn't be posting here because I know *very* little about roses. But I think it depends on the type of roses you have as to how and when they bloom. We have some roses that bloom, die down, get deadheaded, then new ones come on. We also have different roses that I think bloom throughout the whole summer. Some roses don't even look like what I think roses are supposed to look like! Nature and Photoshop --- so much to learn. :)

Ed

Hmmm. Maybe the geographical area has something to do with it too then.

When I lived in Portland, OR I had 35 rose bushes of various types. With the exception of the climbing rose I had, which was a spoaradic bloomer until it was about 3 years old, they all bloomed insanely all summer long... All I did was feed them monthly and keep the dead blooms cut.

Of course, Portland is the rose capital of the world... But since I've moved to Ohio, I haven't put in any rose bushes yet, so I'm not sure if they perform differently in this kind of climate.

I asked my wife about the blooming characteristics of roses. She is not an authority on roses, but she does know gardening pretty well. She told me quite a bit about roses, but I didn't retain it very well. :( She is from the school that (for the most part) it is better to improve the soil than to fertilize. She feels that with good soil, it isn't necessary to fertilize except for certain types of roses like tea roses (which we don't have). She mentioned that the midwest is not the best place for roses, and she did mention that Oregon was great due to the more stable temperatures and being relatively drought free. In her opinion, cold temps in winter, and hot temps in summer along with wild fluctuations in rainfall and snowfall combined with soil conditions have a lot to due with how well roses will do from year to year.

If she knew I posted this, she wouldn't be a happy camper because there have been times when I didn't listen --- I just heard her talking! But since she knows flowers pretty well, I thought I'd try to get it right. Now I'm goiong to do something really bad. I'm gonna hit the "submit reply" button. :)

Ed

Your stories about you and your wife just crack me up, Ed.

I'd agree with her about the soil improvement in lieu of fertilizer, but along with being the rose capital of the world, Portland is also the aphid capital of the world. The rose food I used also had a systemic pesticide that eliminated those nasty li'l critters.

She is also very correct about Portland having the perfect climate for roses.

Here are way more facts than you ever wanted to know about Portland and roses:

Portland is nicknamed "The Rose City" or "City of Roses"

Portland is home to the International Rose Test Gardens

The Portland Trail Blazers play at the Rose Garden, which is in the Rose Quarter District (near where I used to live - I could walk to the games)

Portland is the site of the Rose Festival, a month-long celebration, part of which is the Grand Floral Parade - the second largest parade of floats made from flowers after the Pasadena Rose Parade.

It is the first year for these roses, so I'll give them another year before I rip them out and put down sod :)

And I live here, amongst all the roses, and rain. I got 2 mini roses last summer, and 2 more this, but I killed one already. I'm thinking of putting them in the ground, as life in a pot is hard.

Here's some pretty good info about roses

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/roses/rose.html

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1172.htm

One thing I just read is that there are everblooming roses and then roses that only bloom once or twice a year. If I read correctly, it's more common for the once/twice blooming ones to be climbers.

Just to mention a few points made in the above articles:

The amount of light and the drainage are also important. It says that roses need 6-10 hours of direct sun every day, and that the morning sun is the most important since it drys the leaves which reduces the risk of leaf mold. It also says that roses hate "wet feet" and that good drainage is also important.

Also, "Roses need lots of water. If roses do not get enough water they will wilt, drop leaves, grow smaller leaves or stop blooming."

Roses like less frequent, "deep" watering which promotes better roots (shallow watering causes roots too near the ground surface)

Thanks Jac, I did learn some things from the sites.

This one blooms all summer.

Ed

Shade garden pic#1

Ed

OO! Hostas, or as well call them here in the great northwest, Slug bait. I have some really lovely hostas, but I can't enjoy them for very long because the slugs (a snail with no shell - like a sea slug if you'eve ever seen one of those) eat them full of holes.
:wavey:

Yes, hostas! She has quite a few different kinds. Here is a pic of the largest, which I think she called "Summer Substance". We don't have much of a problem with slugs in the northern part of the state. Drive about 100 miles south, and it's a different story!

Ed

We have hostas here too - and yes, slugs... :(

If you don't want to use slug bait, which can harm other animals, dig a few shallow holes in the flower bed and set bowls of beer into them. Slugs love beer and will crawl in and drown....

Raspberries! :tongue:

Whoever wants some just stop on by. They're just starting to get ripe. Sampled a few already, and they're just SOOO good! No seeds like blackberries, and the bushes that bear them have soft thorns, so it's so easy to pick them.

Bring your own baskets. ;)
:wavey:

Originally posted by Jakaleena
We have hostas here too - and yes, slugs... :(

If you don't want to use slug bait, which can harm other animals, dig a few shallow holes in the flower bed and set bowls of beer into them. Slugs love beer and will crawl in and drown....
I have heard of some natural products, one called Sluggo and the other Escar-go, which slugs love more than hostas, supposedly. They are not harmful to pets or the environment, or so the advertisements say. Have yet to go searching for them, but it's on my list!
:wavey:

I for one am not throwing away good money to get slugs drunk! They can bring their own!

Interesting tip though.

:lol: Greg...

They don't have to have the good stuff - just go to the 7-11 and get 'em a 40 ouncer... ;)

I guess their carnivorous too, as I sometimes put out a chicken part out on the patio for the can, and guess who comes to dinner, a damn slug, so I gave him some salt to go with his meal.:D

Hi all!

Last year we had an invasion of Purple Loose Strieff.(sp?) Very pretty but invasive stuff. Pulled it all out and planted a wildflower mix. Usually it takes two years for density but this is from just a planting last fall. We are so thrilled!!! Plus it smells great.

I guess you cant beat Mother Nature's designs.

Bob

That is beautiful Bob. Mother Nature sure knows the right mix. :)
DJ

Very nice Bob. We took a short trip to Michigan a few weeks ago. We went to Fernwood Gardens, which has several easy hiking trails. Your pic reminds me of some of the stuff we saw there. It's a nice place to relax and enjoy nature.

Ed

when you look out the window and see a deer standing in the middle of your (supposedly) fully fenced in garden?

I still have no idea how the deer got in there, but luckily I'd already made the mistake a few years ago of startling a deer that had gotten through our less-well-thought-out barriers and new that would not be a good idea to try again. (The deer bolted and completely tore down the "netting" that we'd put up as it ran straight through it.)

Also luckily, I seem to have noticed the deer before she did too much damage - just chomped the two lettuce that were left to the ground and was just starting on the green tomatoes (preferred over red tomatoes from past experience.) I don't know how I did it, but I convinced her to leave by "talking" to her from the porch and informing her that it was my food every time she went towards a plant to chomp on it. All the plants but one bean plant seemed to survive her stomping around as she tried to decide what to do. She finally jumped through a "hole" in our barrier that was possible for her to jump out of, but should(?) have been impossible for her to use to get IN.

Needless to say, now that the deer barriers had been compromised, I had to add reinforcements everywhere I could think of. I still don't know how the deer got in, so I was pretty much reinforcing the "weaker" areas. Funny thing is, I was just thinking to myself this past weekend, "Well, it's about time to see a deer in the garden." It happens about this time every year. You'd think by now we'd have the situation under control. But, the green veggies in the garden must just be too tempting for the deer compared to the dry grass/brush everywhere else and they get very bold about "going for it".

Jeanie

Jeanie, we have antelope here called Kudu (http://users.mweb.co.za/a/al/alancarr/Antelope.htm) which are probably around 6' high to the top of the head (and then the males have huge horns above that). These animals can clear 8' fences from a standing start. You need pretty high fences to keep them out. Fortunately however, they are browsers, so your veggie garden is usually safe but your fruit trees are not!!

Al, We've also had an elk (about the size of your kudu, I think) and her calf running through the neighborhood and confusing the heck out of us - since she seems to eat things that the deer won't touch. We couldn't figure out what the heck was going on until we saw her chomping away! It's neat to have her around since it's unusual for her to be in this area, but it made for an interesting time trying to figure out how to save the plants/trees that are "deer proof" but apparently not "elk proof". ;) I saw her clear a 5' fence like it didn't even exist.

Lucikly, she never found our garden (she seemed to keep to the street and just off of it. Strange to see an elk walking down the middle of your street.) We just need 8' fences to keep the deer out. (Some neighbors have 7' and they seem to work). And in reality, there just needs to be the "appearance" of an 8' barrier, so we have 4' of chickenwire on the bottom and another 4' of "netting" above that with some string woven through horizontally to make it more visible - both for the deer and birds. We've never had a deer try to jump over the chickenwire and into the netting, but I'm waiting for that day. (That will be a mess! :( )

Jeanie

I wouldn't want your garden problems Jeanie. We have two large dogs, but a two foot high fence is enough for them even though I saw one of them jump over a four foot high fence a couple of years ago. Day before yesterday I saw a squirrel roaming around the yard with a small tomato in his mouth (and it was red). :)

Ed