i got one bed done n ready, started some flower seeds, got one of my pampus grasses halfway cut down, i dont work this weekend so i can bust but in the yead! TGIF!

none today, but tomarow or maybe monday if the weather holds we will be finishing working on tilling her fairy garden. i'm sure the other stuff will have come up with all the rain that we got. :')) i'm with Kathy!! coulda delt w/o the winds, we got hail also, ugh!! and like 1 1/2 hr of rolling thunder last night. too loud too!! the kids and i were snuggled all tightly!! its cold and very windy today also. the cool news is that my seedlings and theirs are all fine!! Medo

Not much in the yard today, had a scare with MIL and had to drive an hour to the hospital after working last night. When we finally got home I had been awake some 38 hours so was incredibly tired. Problem was I couln't sleep! After laying in bed over an hour I got up and decided to take lots of cuttings off the geranium I overwintered in the house and stuck those in some water. Finally got to bed but had some terrible nightmares...oh well those long hours do that to me. Today is a new day so I think I will start digging up some raspberries I am sending out. Hope the storms hold off for a while. Kim

Well, it is cold and raining here BUT I did BUY some plants, gosh I am SOO addicted..I bought some lily of the valley ( for a friend that wants it), some more Iris, some Japanese Iris, 5 wood anemone ( went back to get more, ha ha), hubby bought 10 berry bushes, a columbine, a daylily, and a few more...BUT they were only a dollar or two a plant AND the money went to the school..good reason to buy, right ??

Hubby is planning on putting up my GH today even in the bad weather, I hope he does, I cant wait to use it ! I sure could use to room too, my kitchen is FULL...blush.

Kim, hope your MIL is ok now. get some sleep :)

i had to come in n take a break so hubs can run in town, its raining out, i dont mind working in the rain but dont want my bb out in it, i only have a small part of the p-grass to clean n cut then i can dig n chop it up,

the tarp thing blew off the gh again! my seedlings are getting watered from the rain, guess thats a pluse? lol, think i need cinder blocks to hold the tarp down,

found this beauty in my yard, smells just awesome!! {{gwi:30557}}
we saved this from the creek, actually dug a whole BUNCH of these from the creek last year, it was sosoo fun!! and now they are starting to grow-{{gwi:30558}}
{{gwi:30559}}these are my solomans seal that i dug up in the forest last summer, it was really fun!! i'm waiting to see if the monarda will come up or not!! LOL
wonder what the monarda seedling looks like?? mine havent come up even in the cups or anything else!! hmmmm. LOL Medo

looks like iris ya saved by the creek? nice pics:) its so nice seeing the green after this winter! i didnt think spring was ever gonna get here!
im drinkin my coffee waitin for the sun to warm up before i start on the p-grass again, got some choped off n i found a praying mantice egg in there! yippy! it hasnt flaked out yet so it hasnt hatched yet :) i watched one hatch last year n it was awsome to see the lilins crawl out n hang then go their own way :)

Let's see..... today I'm digging up some spearmint for Kathy (I could go to the neighbors yard and get it, but then she'd know where the invaders in her very "just so" English garden came from), planting in my perennial garden and once again spraying a few stubborn spots in the lawn. That grass WILL die this week!!!
Then, when it gets cooler this evening, I'm coming indoors to do some research on all my new seeds (don't want to plant the sunlovers in the shade), and hopefully do some more confessing for all my wonderful fans who've been begging me to do so! LOL! You guys are wonderful!!! And, should I get too big of an ego, my friend (and yours) the bellydancer (you know who you are!!!) will be sure to find me a big hat to go with my big head! LOL!!!

see you all in the funny papers!!!

-dAn

Today I'm kinda being lazy so far. Yesterday I sowed another mini greenhouse with 120 cells of seeds for my front yard beds. This was after the landlord came over and cut down a 10ft long trailer mounded with limbs from the trees surrounding the yard. this was brought on by having several limbs fall during the storm we had the other night. Now my front two round beds get a little more sunlight and so does the half moon one right up against the house, but not as much as the two round ones further out in the yard. Limbs bruised a couple of my plants coming down, so I'm gonna baby them for a few days.

After I planted the mini greenhouse and about 20 pots and baskets, I planted some chocolate mint for my oldest son's young lady friend and we looked up several of the seeds on the internet so she could see what I was growing. She now has an interest in growing, and the chocolate mint is my first contribution to fostering a new addict! :) She's a collage student here in town, living in a dorm room and works as well, so, we'll take it slow and do several containers for her :)

Then I grilled some Italian marinated steaks and made baked potatoes and salads for dinner. Not lettuce from my garden... needs about another week.

I think this afternoon, I'm gonna work on a couple more floral arrangements for my wedding (20 days and counting! WooHoo!) and then fry some catfish and French fries for dinner :)before I water my beds and containers. Tomorrow I'm gonna get some weeding done and spread some coffee grounds, egg shells, potato peels and shredded cardboard in my veggie garden and work that into the soil.

Kathy

we just put a bunch of cages around my moms roses and peony's cuz the guy who my dad has mowing, always cuts into her roses and chps her peony's down. cuz that's what his mom did. so we put cages around them. she has told him tht she didn't want him to do that to them. this time she came home and her "baby face" rose had a huge gash in it, and died, she's not happy at all. but of course she won't say anything. i would say something and have him replace it!! that's for sure, and tell him to keep his d**** weed eater away from my plants!!!! "hopefully" we get to go back to aces so i can get some plants!! now that would top off a sunday and make it perfect!!! LOL HEE HEE :'))

Fm went well Sat. Sold lots of tomato plants,herbs,most of my ferns,all of the hostas but only 1 of the Sunburst coreopsis. Forgot to take my eggs so now I'm up to my eyebrows in eggs until next trip to FM Thursday.

Yesterday,leveled off the one new flowerbed expansion with a mix of peat and top soil the sewed tons and tons of zinna and cosmos seeds.Can't plant anyting permanant until fall after hub's lay water lines. Trying to fill in spots w/ annual color and get the weeding done so yard will look nice for the garden swap party on the 17th.Oh yeah,planted a dappled willow too.

Granddaughter and I planted 4/36 count trays of watermelon and cantalopes.Later that afternoon,we picked strawberries,sat out on the patio while GD ate them.

Not a very productive day yesterday. Didn't get much sleep over the weekend because some jerk was out on the lake till the wee hours of the morning running an airboat at full throttle all night until daybreak.Can't believe the Corp. or game warden didn't do anything about it.Offices will get swamped with phone calls today complaining about it because EVERYONE on my street is up in arms over it. Can't imagine anyone living right on the lake edge got any sleep either. We're about 3-4 city blocks off the lake and it was really loud for us.

Today,I have to go assist a friend w/ a container garden program. She walks mostly w/ walker,cane or wheelchair so I'm her heavy duty lifer...brain and the brawn,guess you'd call it.

Hope to get some mowing done when I get back and more veggies planted. Four 36/cts of okra and another 50 or so 'maters.

PP

Wow Bigred... you must do fleamarket big time.

Medont...what is the beauty in your yard that smells awesome? The pic is too small to tell.

Today was a planting day for me...getting some trades into the ground. Tomorrow will be a digging and packaging day, and then Wed another planting day...and so the plant trading cycle goes at this time of year.

It sounds like everyone is sure keeping busy.

Dan, who is the bellydancer...I don't know...and being resident busy body, it is my job to know.

Sue...calling it a night early tonight.

well im all proud! lol got my 2 boxes mailed out,n e-mailed the C#s on time. my very first plant trades whoohoo :)
started weeding n got some wild onions growing in my alliums drumsticks so i dont know whats what, guess ill wait till they bloom, think ill direct sow some seeds tomarro, when the tarp came off the gh n it rained it washed off markers, so i dont know whats planted in what,

{{gwi:30560}}

this is the bigger pic i hope, but i'm not sure what it is. i just love what it is!! LOL i do know its going in with the fairy flowers!! :'>> want some?? we have alot of them!!! they are in the shade though.

well i found out its garlic mustard, so you probably don't want it, its the dreaded horribly invasive garlic mustard. but its always stayed in the same spot. so i think its cuz its in the shade. it loves the tree's. i read that its actually edible. hmmmm... LOL

Jordan and I got her garden weeded and turned over at their mobile home. It will be 16'x2' and on the east side of the home. It will be easier for her and her mom to upkeep since it is bordered by the mobile home and a sidewalk. They will only have to pull any new weeds in that area with nothing invasive (such as grass)able to come at them from the sides. Of course with a 3 year old helping out, it takes MUCH longer but is way more fun. We put up a small trellis area for her pumpkins and melon along the wall. The rest of the area will be planted in the square foot method and will have some herbs, bush beans, a dozen popcorn plants, peas, lettuce, a broccoli plant, some dwarf sunflowers, and a few other odds and ends. We planted plenty of marigolds and the sidewalk will be lined with them. Right before we got done it started raining long and hard so we had to go SHOPPING! Got the kid some summer shoes and a new rake...a kid after my own heart LOL. Kim

hi Kim!! how did them seeds i sent ya turn out?? like the ppurple beans?? ummmm all my markings got lost so i'm kinda hoping yours did great so i can see some and i can see what they look like!! LOL all my winter sowing stuff is gonna be fun to uhhh decide what goes where!! LOL it will definately be interesting for sq ft gardening!! LOL i guess the first thing would be to get the beds made@!!! LOL found some more stuff in that one bed, geez another hosta, and someting i just don''t know what it is, but i hate to leave it there!! LOL so i just removed it, i think i'm gonna send it in the fairy swap, cuz it's in the shady area, and it has alot of the stuff that fairy's like, LOL but befor sue say's Medo first ya should find out what it is, yes i'll do that!! LOL
i sent some frieds some garlic mustard with some other plants and then i asked what it was, now i know and immediately emailed them and told them what it was and what they said. so geeez!! LOL i do have some solomans seal (false) and i think it's monarda, i'll have to check it out. i nknow we did dig some up!! LOL

You all sure have been busy! Now that the weather has warmed up a little, I've been wandering around the garden desperately looking for places to plant out. I did manage to create a new little bed by digging out a Salvia greggii that was in too much shade and didn't bloom much. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and think it will be pretty. There's a Korean Beautyberry from last year's winter sowing, surrounded by 'Brazilian Carnival' and 'Madam Butterfly' snaps, Lopezia 'Pretty Rose', Scabiosa atropurpurea 'Beaujolais Bonnets' and Purple Perilla from this year.

I also managed to find a small sunny spot between the pond and the fence where I could set up my 'Mexican Garden'. I've got a few Tomatillos, Mexican Sour Gherkins (Melothria scabra) and Bird Peppers going in there. Ummmm...Salsa.... I also managed to squeeze in some Apricot Cosmos and some Cerinthe major 'Kiwi Blue' around the pond.

Planted out a Campanula that was traded to me as 'unknown with purple spots' that looked beautiful in the pics and can't wait to see it bloom; hopefully, next year. Also planted out a Foxglove I'm really excited about, 'Candy Mountain'.

Today, I'm planning on putting out more Foxgloves and getting a start on my Columbines. I went a little nuts and started 13 kinds this year. There's a long strip between the fence and the sidewalk where there's probably room to squeeze them in. I also went a little nuts with violas, but it's always easy to find a place for them. -'Bilbo Baggins' and 'Penny Orchid Frost' are already in the ground, and 'Tiger Eyes', 'Brunig', 'Blue Perfection', 'Bingo Purple Clear' and 'Fuji Dawn' are waiting in line.

My big news is that I've started volunteering as a propagator at the U.C. Berkeley Botanical Garden, and yesterday was my second day. I am working with their tropical/house plants, which is something I don't know much about, so I get to learn something new. The garden has 2 big sales each year to raise money, plus they have a small 'plants for sale' deck year-round, and all the propagation is done by volunteers. It's really interesting to see the inner workings/behind the scenes parts of the garden. -There's even politics! Anyway, enough from me....

Have a happy day in the garden,
Susan

Soil is still just a little too cold for too many beans Medo but Jordan did plant a couple in a pot and they are getting flowers. I am telling you that kid has a green thumb, or maybe it gets watered well since she sucks it when so sleeps LOL. Her pot of peas is already almost 3 ft tall while mine is only about 1 ft. Maybe I need to play with my plants more and pretend they are trees and such while driving my little cars around the bases.

Although will will brag about my first from seed tomatoes. They are about a foot tall, the stem is as thick as my finger and a couple are getting flowers. Hope to plant them out late next week. I keep watching the weather and it is dipping into the 30's and last week we had a hard frost so I am keeping them under protection for a while longer.

Today I spent most of my time digging out a stump...what a pain in the keester! Of course the darn thing is right where I want to move my roses to. Good thing the kid wasn't around today because the things she would have heard even made my trucker husband blush.

Hopefully I will get outside for a little while. It is my dad's surprise 60th tomorrow and I need to sleep as much as possible before the party since I have to work again tomorrow night. I am sure I can find a little something to do though. Kim

Cold (48)and raining today, so good news, I dont have to water. Bad news, tomorrow Im going to need to go out and pick up a gonkzillion silver maple seeds because I know that EVERY SINGLE one of them is going to germinate in the garden beds.

Anybody want some? hee!

congrates susan!!! i would love to work in a green house doing anything! i bet you'll be having all kinds of tropicals in your house before the year is up ;)

LOL same here with the silver maples doris i musta missed a few last year cause i had to dig up a couple baby mayples n replant else were.

nothin but cold rain the last few days, brrr! so i been painting plant markers with my bb, just need to seal them with clear spray.
hope all you mothers had a good mothersday!

well i just came in from diggin some plants up. coffee break time :)
holy smokes i didnt know shasta daisys roots were so tough! lol had them for a few years n its my first time dividing them, my hubs went to work with my soil still in the back of the truck, big sigh!
my sons home cleaning house wile im out getting muddy lol lifes good right now

{{gwi:30555}}
{{gwi:30556}}

been weeding done lots more to weed, the more it rains the more i have to weed! started more seeds, did a walk around to check on everything, columbines are bloomin, :)

very pretty columbines!! we found some more stuff in the fairy garden bed. its really weird how much stuff keeps popping up!! i even have one columbine!! LOL it'll sprout next year. today we've been digging a rectangle area in between the tree's on the north side so we can go ahead and plant some hosta's out there. and some shade flowers around them. LOL uhhh once they start to grow anyhow!!! LOL once everything is done i'll have to post a pic :'))

Well, the last couple days, between getting stuff done for the wedding (meeting with the photographer on site, going to get our marriage license and finding out we were a day early, going BACK to get our marriage license, shopping through antique and consignment stores and finding Cliff's bolo tie and belt buckle,etc) getting Cliff's van to the shop for some work (yeah, the brand new one- seems someone didn't replace the caliper last time them thought he could "little woman" me GRRRRRRRRRRRRR I am NOT mechanically handicapped, ignorant,or just dumb just because I'm female, thank you very much!!) And spring cleaning the house and yard for all the guests coming in this weekend for Jarret's graduation and the wedding next weekend, I did actually manage to get some gardening done!

I've got lots of seedlings growing and soon big enough to graduate to the beds. Then Cliff got outside with me (my non-gardening fiancee) and we put the weed barrier on the area for the fairy garden (that it was HIS idea to make) and get everything laid out and some irish moss, moss rose, and begonias transplanted to it. The other things are seedlings growing away. Gotta love a man who doesn't garden that comes up with the idea to make a fairy garden and house around a tree stump. Then gets out there and helps you put it all together! Including seashell walkways, a fragrance oil warmer for a gazebo, artificial strawberry plant and grapes so they have food even after growing season, teeny basket of flowers they've gathered, a tiny Pegasus to pet and ride, and an adorable lolling dragon. And sparklie stones scattered everywhere.I'm starting to wonder just where I'll put more fairy flowers and plants!

All I did was mention I wanted to finish putting it together so it didn't look like just a jumble of stuff in the front yard with all the guests coming in! Now it looks like a planned bed that's very busy! I took some pictures and hopefully will get to post them today :)

Next on the agenda- the Gnome garden, after that, the Toad village! Err...well.. actually the next thing is to get some kind of table or shelf or something today for out back so I can get all the seedling trays off of my gazebo table so we can use and enjoy the gazebo with our guests!

Kathy

Yippee!! Enabling some more folks with some extra confederate rose seeds that I had left over, and a few red cedar seedlings. Then picking up a couple of red garden amaryllis from a freecycler that wanted to trade for a rooted confederate rose. Then to one of the box stores to pick up a mini-tiller that my wonderful daughter emailed my from Iraq to tell me that she wanted to get for me for a late mothers day gift. Then to the thrift store to see if I can find more pots and other containers to hold my WS seedlings as they grow, until I can make beds for them. Isn't God and life good??!!

you said it!!! GOD is great!! hmmmm well i went out and tilled two lines with my mom's mantis i borrowed 3 yrs ago, LOL i have two more lines to do, they are about 100 ft long. it makes a perfect width for your rows!!! LOL but i wanta really get a tiller, the bigger ones! LOL now all i have to do is find the green beans, peas and turnips :'))

the weather thinks its fall here, cold n raining, i got sick n didnt do much, i did plant some lily of the vallys i got from diana_noil !! lol i shouldnt been out in the rain but couldnt help it :)
thanks medo :) im gonna try to take pics of all my flowers this year to put them on seed pks.

We're concentrating on making my almost Mother in Law's already beautiful gardens even more gorgeous for my wedding on Saturday!!!!

But I'm not doing any digging or weeding or anything. Gotta keep the hands pretty for the pictures! I'm just setting stuff into already dug holes and helping with the pruning :)

Kathy

i get to do some more tilling tomarrow, i have some more plants that need to go into the ground!! uhhh weather permitting, as in rain!! LOL if it rains, then i have some baskets that i will work on. that's my plan for tomarow! :'))

I'm heading to "Winton's Iris Hill" today...in fact leaving here in about an hour to pick up a friend.

here is what I know so far......

I'm so excited, yet scared I might lose control. I imagine their season is a little later than mine, so the majority of the TB may not be in bloom. I just talked with the growers hubby, and he said she probably had 1,000 irises, 1000-2000 Daylilies, and about 500 Hostas. Though he is not active in the business, he did say the irises start at $2 and maybe some for $1. He said a price list was available, so I'm hoping I won't buy too much on the spot, but instead, ponder the list at my leisure, making my future selections.

The place was recommended to me by a friend who used to have her own garden center. Here is the scoop I found on line.

WINTON'S IRIS HILL
7131 E. 550S
Franklin, IN 46131-9237
812-526-9237
Many varieties of bearded iris, daylilies, and hostas. Price list $5 refundable.

Watchdog had 3 good reviews on them.

I am so excited to be going and picking some things out 'in person'.

The really scarey part is that I have absolutely no place prepped for them at the moment...sigh.

Hopefully I will have some EYE CANDY to share, and will start a post on a Gallery...likely the Iris Forum Gallery.

A flower loving GF is going with me (though she is not addicted yet), and we are also stopping by a wonderful nursery that usually has tone of herbs and perennials at very reasonable prices. I may get to add to my Dianthus collection. Whoo-Hoo!

Sue...off to get ready for a Big Day

have fun sue :) the one good thing with iris is ya dont have to plant em lol, many times i forgot a few n left them by the bed, they planted themselfs lol
i may get out n do somthing this weekend!! cant wait! all my seeds are comming up. first time i ever collected n started impatience seeds n they sprouted whoohoo! cant belive i never tried it before! i think back to how many flats i bought every year n could smak myself lol

i havent done much today, dug up some plants n shiped out. i kicked butt on my seeds yesterday! i had to make my annual beds bigger n planted 40 somthing seeds, then i watered them n dont ya know it started to rain after! lol
i still have more to plant, then wonder were to put my seedlings, i may pot some just in case i get to go to the plant swap. i need to go to goodwill n get some pantyhoes lol, i want to put them on the dogwood in hopes of collecting seeds :) and hope no one notices pantyhoses hanging off the tree! lol

Used a 30 gallon long fish tank to set up a propagation chamber on my back porch...going to try rooting roses. I have never seriously tried to root roses before, so I am excited to try. I had a wonderful older lady give me clippings from about 6 different roses, to work with. I still have sprouts coming up in my winter-sown containers, and lots of spring sown seedlings popping up as well. My first seed grown datura is almost ready to bloom. Some of the bushes that I thought I had lost due to last years severe drought are starting to green up...looks as if I actually only lost a few of them. There is a tiny sqirrel right outside my window eating sunflower seeds....so cute.

that would be cute daffodil lady, i once had a coon on my windowsill eating the bird feed, lol
i so want to try winter sowing this year!!!

seen my first snake of the year. a copperhead, some one ran him over down by my driveway, im hopin he dont got family around lol, took my first tick off me, lil sucker was crawling up my arm! yikes!
i got all the vegie seeds planted :)

Since it is so hot, I'm re-arranging to covered porch/patio. I've got a little ladder and some plants and things to set up in one corner. I've got some seedlings to thin and some seeds to sow (indoors)

I have two snakes right now, one is actually on top of my entertainment center, Bella (she's shedding today... so she's rubbing on everything in her tank and moving it all about).

The other, Charlie is actually going to live on the porch for the summer, in his "house" of course. But I'm putting his tank in with a bunch of plants and things so he blends. I think it'll look kind of neat, disguising the tank and displaying him at the same time. Since he's a native species its easier to keep him outside and still happy/healthy... so til the cool weather returns out he goes!

I've got lots of trading to do (I'm addicted!), and the mail mystery to attend to.

Did my housework early this morning so I could get to the fun stuff... yay!

Oh... I am contemplating my first lasagna beds being put in this weekend. I'll update if I do... off to make the world a prettier place!

Kim

Lets see 4 seed trades went out in the mail. And then I cut the side yard and I got another 10 gallons of gravel out of the sidewalk I am redoing. That's a chore.

Plans...don't get me started I'm not sure there is room enough on the entire internet for all the plans lol. I wonder which ones will actually come to fuition.

Well the bulb foundation bed did get planted and it looks pretty good.

Well, we got some nice rain yesterday, so today I plan to pot up so many wonderful plants I rec yesterday, and maybe actually plant a few in the ground if it isn't too wet.

I also plan to do some major weeding (cutting brush is more like it), and some lighter weeding in a bed.

Then...if I'm still energetic, I may stake off some areas to spray with (generic) Round-up once the rains seems to have moved on out for a few days....oh...and dig and package some thing to get mailed out too.

tk...I'll bet that is a big job getting the gravel out of the sidewalk...be careful of your back when lifting...said by someone who has had back surgery.

Sue

Thanks for the warning Sue. I know what you mean. I take a bunch of small loads rather than any large loads and work up from there. By the end of the growing season I should be several pounds lighter and much stronger. Already my pants are so loose that I can't stick my pruning shears in them any more. That is unless I want to moon my neighbors.

Today I got 3 evergreens out of my drainfield. Since I had a good soaking rain yesterday it was best to do the digging projects in the clay so that's what I did. I guess that's what happens when a place is vacant for 2 years. Even though the owner tried to keep it maintained. He wasn't a gardener. I'm so excited. the portulaca and my blackberry lily both have buds. I'm so looking forward to them blooming.

lol tk well it would give your neighbors somthing to talk about! hee hee :)
i hope i loose some pounds!
i havent gotten much done its one thunderstorm after another. dose make weeding easy:) i pulled out so much crab grass today ugh!

I know what your saying about thunderstorms. We have at least one a day here. Very odd but the little bit of rain usually cools it off so I'm not complaining.

Today I updated my seed exchange list. And finished cleaning out my seedbox.

I'm all prepared to plant just about anythng I have that will accept being planted in the summer. I have maybe 8 to 10 things in that catagory. And I'll looking forward to getting that done.

Then it's all weeding and composting. I don't think I could possible make all the compost I'm going to need for next spring but I'm going to give it one heck of a try.

tk just checked out your list, you might try asking our friend tonya for Amaryllis i think she has some, dont know what kind.'yesterday was her birthday:)'
its raining again today, yep were getting them every day. seems like everytime i can get outside it rains, that n the bear, lol i herd a loud crash in the woods n took off back inside peekin out the windows LOL! to loud to be a deer, coulda just been a dead tree falling down from all the storms.but im not takin any chances, lol im to much of a chicken butt lol
think im gonna go ahead n cut down my alliums, let the energy go to bulblets, their faster to grow than seeds.
i hope the rain lets off some, i so need to finish the vegie garden, im still double diggin it!

Finally got the lawn cut today. I planned on cutting for the past week but every morning when I got home from work (I work midnights)it was raining or too wet/soggy from raining. Good part of the rain though was I had a blizzard or edible pea pods. Ate a few, saved a few for dinner, ate a few more LOL. Every day I go out and stare at the tomatoes looking for just a tiny hint of ripeness...so far LOTS of greenies but none turning yet...boohoo. Pulled the few weeds I have and am looking at where the next raised bed will be...dh doesn't know it yet but I am looking to expand!!!

I really, really want to start digging a new flower bed but my shoulder injury is acting up so I must resist. Unfortunately, I still NEED to work as I have yet to win the lottery.

Kim

Transitioning from pots to new flowerbed; still don't have it filled up yet with plants. Have zinnia and canna seeds sprouting. Have had a lot of rain lately. Also have Summer Snow rose cuttings rooting. Will have around 16 if they all root. It has been about 2 weeks now and they are showing some leaf development at the tops of the cuttings. Planning 2 more flowerbeds; one for roses and one for roses and bulbs. Still in the learning stages of hip collection. My larger Tiffany rose is a no-brainer, but my miniature rose I am finding a bit more complicated when it comes to collecting hips. Am still collecting portulaca seed, marigold seed, and petunia seed. A gardener in the next town over told me that they have had good success at planting daffodils and the squirrels Not eating them, so I think I may plant some daffs this fall. Planted some hens and chick leaves today. Would like to collect more varieties of hens and chicks. Having problems with frogs digging in my flowerpots! LOL Really annoying. Keep having to remove it from the pots and it's messing up some of my baby plants, aloe and my mother-in-law's roses (she does not have a green thumb so I end up raising all her plants). Waiting on my iris seeds to sprout. Made an excel spreadsheet today to better organize my trades as I have previously been keeping track on a notepad which is beginning to get full. Am trying to keep a journal of when I plant things this year and just learning as much as I can about collecting seeds off of my plants. My garden is in its beginning stages and now that I have one flowerbed in place (27 cement blocks around the bottom of an oak tree) things are beginning to take shape. :-)

Happy gardening and best to you,
Quiltingfox

Been praying for a good soaking rain, and a break in the humidity. Also I have started picking bowls full of the blackcaps...yummmm our first really good berry season.
I keep hoping that the zuchinni that I planted, because the package swore that you could get a ton of squash even if you dont get many bees, would start getting fruits. Oh they get the little females, but they just fall off after a few days waiting for their knights in buzzing armor to come by and rescue them from maidenhood.

Also starting to see little greenies in the tomato patch....can not wait for that first vine ripened mato.

getting a greenhouse put up, transplanting some stuff into a 6x10 bed. and maybe doing some more on that greenhouse that my brother started putting up. LOL i have the base and some of the sides put up. and now that my mom is in, they get to go spend some time with her and dad. but its started :')) ~medo

Well, my roses cuttings all died, but I learned a lot from my 1st serious attemp at propagating them. I am looking forward to trying again another time. I did get some double gardenia to root during that same time, both in water and in the propagating chamber. Yesterday I potted those up, along with a bunch of dixie gardenia seedlings, that I had winter sowed. I have three varieties of canna blooming and have several brugmansias and daturas with buds. I have eaten several tomatoes from my seed grown tomatoes. I sure am blessed to be able to enjoy my garden...and I appreciate everyone here for thier seeds, plants, information and encouragement for this not-so-new newbie!!

To be specific... today I am doing as little as possible due to the heat and my now premature old age, thanks to gardening. After ambitiously creating all new big flower beds around our house and yards, moving MANY tons of compost and mulch into these beautiful sweeping mounded beds, I realize too late that I was a short-sighted fool, since each summer my wife goes away for a month to visit her So California family. I realize too late that NOW I won't be able to go to my lake and drink beer with my brother, because all this beautiful new flora needs watering every day in this oppressive summer heat. Good bye Old Milwaukee and fishing. Hello hostas and coneflowers, plus hundreds of other perennials.

I can ostensibly hide soaker hoses under the mulch and use those watering timers I bought last year... but it seems a bit risky to rush into another project when it's 95 degrees. Now when I go to our little neighborhood grocery store, all the nice ladies working there gather to make fun of me, and (baiting me) ask how my wife has been treating me through all my insanely ambitious garden and home projects that I have underway? I tell them that I pretend to be working but that I'm doing nothing more than softly singing negro spirituals and avoiding her.

Now don't get me wrong about my wife of 37 years. We started dating when 16 years old, and I love her in a way that's sound as any forever bond or steely weld. I just wish she'd retire before 60 like me. She's a too organized 2nd grade teacher, and I'm a very bad boy it seems. As a result, she keeps putting my name on the refrigerator. Women... I swear they are fussier than an orchid at times, and meaner than a weed.

Our yards now look fantastic and have commercial landscape lights... but Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen.

jim Palmer

LOL you poor man!! :') we are getting my barrels today so i can start composting today!! YAY i am soooo happy!! ~Medo

LOL poor jim *hugs* keep a look out on your weather if you get rain in a week go to the lake your brother then :)

i hide in my gardening from my hubs too hee hee! and my kids but my kids always find me lol

i weeded out one of my beds down at the bottom n found flowers in it!! whoohoo lol after having sun poison the sun scares me lol, so i go out early morns or evening now