I think the worst of the weather stayed south of us. What a horrible night and now this a.m. The wind blew like crazy and it rained. The temp was 75 yesterday and todays high is supposed to be 45. If we had snow, it would have been a blizzard. This a.m. we found some water in the basement because the plug to the sump pump had been knocked loose when I plugged the dehumidifier in. I think we got 2-3" of rain. When I was leaving for work, there was a big branch down over the driveway. I thought Id just drive around it, but I got stuck in the mud. The wind was blowing so hard I had a hard time getting the car door open. The river that is a mile from our place is full to the banks. I have never seen it so high.

I picked up some primroses to plant in a container by the front door for some spring color. They were beckoning me as I drove by the store. They had so many along with pansies that I could see them from the road.

T, now those are some fabulous curvy beds. As for the shape, you can always tweak them. I do that all the time. When should we start sending plants? Seriously.

Honey, you are going to love h. Keylime pie. I got 3 last summer and they did wonderfully for me. H. peach melba though was pretty wimpy. We will see this year, I do see that it made the winter. I am zone pushing with those. Although, I can grow most zone 5 plants. We need to replace our front walk also. Id like to add a curve to it, which would make a larger planting bed between it and the garage.

Eden, I have that feeling too when it is beautiful on a work day and then rainy on Saturday.

Babs, sorry about the extra expenses.

Cindy, how nice to receive the much needed rain.

This must be the Idyll of sore backs. I hope none are anything serious.

I cant believe Sue is talking of finishing garden cleanup. I havent even been in the beds yet since its too wet.

Marie, I see on your link that Rose Marie looks great with clematis ;o) I also see that it is a zone 4 plant. Always nice to see. It reminds me of the Austin rose Shafira Asma which is a stellar performer for me.

Have a good day
Michelle

Oops-my bad. I forgot 'Snow Queen' was a divaricata.Oh well

Marian-glad you are feeling better in the schnoz; )
I must have missed what they were testing Nolon for? I hope he is OK.
Your weather sounds pretty intense-I guess that's coming up here. I sure hope we aren't going to have a tornadic kind of spring-I don't like the weather patterns that keep happening especially for you midwesterners. I do think the Great Lakes buffer us somewhat where I am.

Can you tell the weather is keeping me indoors?lol. OK I'll try not to hijack this entire thread..

~B

Well, it is a rainy day and these things do get sent to me....

A father and son went hunting together for the first time.
The father said "Stay here and be very QUIET!"

Moments passed and the father heard a blood curling scream and
ran back to his son.

"What's wrong?" asked the father "I told you to be QUIET"

The boy, bless his heart, answered "Look I was quiet when the
snake slithered across my feet. I was quiet when the bear breathed down my
neck. I didn't move a muscle when the skunk climbed over my shoulder. I closed
my eyes and held my breath when the wasp stung me, I didn't cough when I
swallowed the gnat. I didn't cuss or scratch when the poison oak started to
itch, but when the 2 squirrels crawled up my pant legs and said, "Do we eat
them here or take them with us?"

"Well, I guess I just panicked!!!"

He he he, Marie...here's the one that gave me my chuckle for the day...

THE BOX OF CHOCOLATES...

Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.

As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride.

With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.

Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman.

The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail,

Until she noticed a white bag on the seat next to Sally.

"What in bag?" asked the old woman.

Sally looked down at the white bag and said, "It's a box of chocolates. I got it for my husband".

"The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said: "Good trade."

Hi guys, a really quick drop in post here, I forgot to mention this Am that I was wondering where Babs was and she popped in. Yea!!! And do you all know why???? It is Ms Babs birthday today unless I miss my guess.
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Enjoy and celebrate!

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Babs, I thought I had mentioned what Nolon was being tested for, but it was in an e-mail to a close friend....not here.
The blood tests at his main dr's showed a highly elevated PSA. If you don't know what that means, it can be an indication of cancer. After some research, I find that in men his age, even if it should be cancer, nothing is usually done.

Happy birthday to you, Babs.

LOL, Sue. That's a good one!

Teresa, your curvy lasagne beds are looking very good!

Sorry that I am not commenting on much. But I just can't seem to focus on all that has been said. My brain is sort of drawing a blank! :-(

Happy Birthday Babs!!! Hope your day was great!!!

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Eden

Happy Birthday Babs

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It's stopped raining but is it's very gloomy out there. I hit a couple of nurseries this afternoon. The first nursery I went to had the primula tie-dye featured right at the front door. Their plants were half the size of the ones I got last week and twice the price so I guess Home Depot plant shopping is really worth it. My most interesting finds were a heuchera mocha mint, salvia purple knockout, and my second hellebore, blue lady, to go with the ivory prince I got a couple of weeks ago. I kept seeing ajugas but not black scallop. I did pick up a caitlins giant though. I was surprised how many annuals were out and picked up a few of those too. I got a nice sized fuschia gartenmeister for 5.99 and a euphorbia diamond frost, a variegated lysimachia and even some alyssum. I also got a neat fern, microsorum crocadyllus, that really looks like crocodile skin. The clerk asked me when she was ringing up my order if I realized the alyssum couldn't be put out yet and I said "maybe", lol. I think it will look great in my spring container gardens and I can always cover them or bring them in if it gets TOO cold. I will harden them off for a few days though. When I got home there was a package waiting by the door that contained the fancy leaved and scented geraniums I'd ordered. So the kitchen is looking a bit like a greenhouse at the moment. I need to get them all downstairs and mix them in with all the other plants before Brad gets home tonight. When I came home there was a dead squirrel lying in the street in front of the house and I was afraid it was Tim but I don't think so on closer expection. My heart was in my throat for a moment though. I'd really miss that little guy if anything happened to him.

Marie, I love your new rose. I have Heritage and love it but yours looks even better. I have a couple reserved at Great Lakes Roses that I have to go pick up in a couple of weeks. I'm getting an antique bourbon, Souvenir de la Malmaison and a pink knockout this year.

Michelle, oh no about the water in the basement. So did you get out of the mud and ever get to work?

Sue and Marie, thanks for the jokes!

Cindy, have a safe trip.

Honey, my snowfairy dies all the way back and shows up very late. So how'd you plant a peony and a delphinium in the same spot? That's some trick. Forgot to say how cute Timmy is. He reminds me of Bud but with longer curly hair. He's got the same graying face too.

I've got some housework to do that I've been putting off all day and if I don't do it now it won't get done today. So off I go.

Eden

Happy Birthday Babs!

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Happy Belated Birthday Drema!

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Happy Birthday Drema!

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Eden

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABS!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREMA!

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Took these yesterday, it's spring! I've had a weird, wild and wonderful week! But I don't have time to tell you about it right now! Hope to get some idyll time to both catch up and post a bit this weekend, and hope all are well...

Check out this place! We're going for a 2nd look tomorrow..

T

Renamed the album and lost all the links. Try that again...

Taryn, your link takes me to a photobucket error page...eager to hear about what is happening in your life!

:o)

Taryn, WOW! Link is working now. I've gone through 1/2 the pictures and it is FABULOUS so far!!! Eager to hear more!!

:o)

T.

Happy Birthday Babs!

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Happy Birthday Drema

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Nothing like a few BD's to drag all the idylls out of hiding. I guess we need a new BD police now that Cynthia is gone :(. T, I nominate you...lol.

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Taryn, where do you keep finding all these great houses? What happened to the last one-the architect one? This one is better actually because it already has some cool garden hardscapes.

BTW, for those of you who were asking, Chelone has been posting a little on the New England forum so maybe she'll pop back in here again soon.

Tonight I got an e-mail from the coordinators of my rescue group. They have decided to allow us to place these dogs before the spay/neuters with an additional clause in the contract that requires the adopter to have the surgery done within 30 days. We'll either take a deposit or reduce their adoption fee. I was really pushing for this because it was taking so long to get all the vet appointments that it would be mid May before the dogs could go to their homes. In the meantime the dogs are bonding to their foster homes but worse than that, our foster homes are all full right now so it would be almost impossible to accomodate other dogs if the need arises. I actually have a possible home for Mackenzie right here in town with a retired woman who uses the same vet as I do. We've been back and forth on the phone a few times and I think she'd be a great home for any one of our dogs.

It sounds like everybody has back problems but me right now. Now that's a switch. The main reason I don't want to totally toss out the workouts, even though I could use the extra garden time right now, is I truly believe my back is OK today due to the stretching and Pilates I've been doing religiously since the end of October. Given the choice I'll skip the free weights before the Pilates.

Eden I planted an Ivory Prince hellebore last year and it is just gorgeous right now. Many hellebores leave me cold-they usually languish here but not this one. One of the plants on my list for tomorrow is the new purple leaf variety of Harry lauder's walking stick-Corylus avellana var. contorta 'Red Majestic'. Consider the possibilities. I'm also hoping to finally get my mitts on a Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey'. Ah, I just love plant shopping.

OK, it's been a long week. The dogs are all chilling with Tom in the TV room-a perfect opportunity for me to sneak upstairs and get into bed.

"See" you all tomorrow.

Sue

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I've been cleaning the bathroom the lazy way all evening. I'm the only one home so I'll clean the tub, then take a break, put the rugs in the washing machine, break, clean the sink, break, etc. All I've got left to do now is wash the floor.

Taryn, WOW! Another really cool house. Can't wait to hear what's been going on with you.

I'll second the nomination for T being our new birthday alert person. BTW, I'm loving all of the birthday cards.

Sue, it was too rainy to scout out any trees or shrubs here today. Indoor nursery crawling only. I've got to get out and look for a stewartia and a couple of japanese maples. I would also love to run across a cersis hearts of gold. The purple leaved HLWS sounds interesting. I haven't heard of that one. I've about given up on h. little honey. The Avant order didn't pan out. They sent out an email that these plants didn't turn out to be little honey after all. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't a good reason no one has them. I'll be interested to see how yours does if you find one. Good news on the foster dogs. Hope the home for McKenzie works out. I'm glad to hear that about Ivory Prince. I've never been a big hellebore fan either. They always look ratty to me. I'm just going to try these two and see how they do here.

I hope Drema drops in.

Back to my cleaning. I want to be done by 10pm. I still haven't had any dinner now that I think of it.

Eden

I have 4 paint colors on the wall of the guest room. I'm not sure any of them will work.

Taryn, another fabulous house. Nice lot size too. Weird, wild and wonderful week, huh? Youve got me very curious.

Eden, we left the car where it was and I took the other car and Rick took the pickup. H. mocha mint caught my eye on the PW website. You guys have me keeping an extra window open when I read here so that I can check out all the plants you are talking about.

T, I absolutely love those birds.

Nite
Michelle

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Good morning! 4:30 here and I'm disappointed not to log on and see all of you perky east coasters online & sharing what your weather & garden prospects are looking like.

It is just beginning to rain here, the day's forecast is rain....and no chips magically appeared yet. :o\ I've been told I'll be babysitting while DH & DD help out with a church clean-up activity later today---which is just fine with me and that is my day. Exciting times. ;o)

I hope the weather is kind to everyone who is itching to get outside & work in their gardens! I also hope we get to hear more about Taryn's new house prospect.

Later,
T.

Good Morning T, Boy you're up early. It looks like it would be a good day for gardening here today, the sun's shining, but I have Bella today so I'm shooting for gardening all day tomorrow. Have fun with Jamie. I got Bella a little pink poodle purse yesterday that reminds me of Kenzie in her Halloween costume. Also picked up a Little People set for her with Cinderella, Prince Charming and even a little carriage. Oh and Prince Charming has a white horse too. Very cute! So we'll be playing "Once Upon a Time" today. I'm going to have to live vicariously through you all today so make sure you check in and talk about all the fun things you're doing in YOUR gardens! Have a great Saturday!

Eden

Good wet morning!

T, I'm up, but no so perky yet. I need the sun to really wake up. Your curvy beds are looking great! What a lot of work you have done. The pic from the attic window made me dizzy though - I'm not a fan of heights. BTW, where was that pic of the stones in the water taken - it is stunning.

It looks like a gray, damp day here - it rained last night. Tomorrow will be sunny, but we are going to a family dinner. The weather next week looks nice, just in time for back-to-work. Can't complain about the weather though, nothing like what Michelle has been dealing with! Glad everyone is OK there.

I think it is too wet to be outside until later. The ground is very squishy in the backyard, to the point of leaving footprints when we walk. We let our lawn go "dormant" back there during the drought and water restrictions last year, I hope it will wake up! I'm thinking of checking out a couple of local nurseries - Sue is right, less crowds on rainy days.

That PW site is great, I love looking at the plants and dreaming up combos. Some of the new heucheras are very tempting!

Marian, good thoughts to you and Nolon, hope his test results show nothing serious.

Marie, it looks like you had a great trip. I like the bridge picture too, but my DS's favorite was the armadillo. He was impressed that you saw one in the wild. He is a real animal lover. He calls woods behind our house his "squirrelarium" and he is trying to catch one so he can pet it.

Sue, I enjoyed the box of chocolates story - will have to pass that along to my married friends. That MacKenzie is awfully cute, too bad we aren't in the market for a dog. Glad that the extra member hasn't disrupted your household too much. Deanne sent me a ticket for the Dan Hinkley lecture; I have to work until 5 so I'll miss dinner (Wah!) but I'll meet you guys there.

Taryn, what has been going on with you - you've aroused our curiosity. Updates on the house saga please!

Well, I should see if I can get something done in this house before I run off. "God made snowy and rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done..." or go plant shopping!

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Wendy

Morning all, it is a chilly 43 degrees this morning and isnt supposed to get much warmer until tomorrow. It is also supposed to rain later on so Im guessing there isnt going to be a lot of gardening around here today. Ive got a ton of stuff to pot up indoors so maybe Ill get to that today. Yes, you all knew it, I have to pot up a couple dozen fuchsia cuttings that are rooted and ready for soil. I also have three varieties of plectranthus, some coleus Plum Frost, Pineapple Wizard a couple iresine and various other odds and ends that I couldnt throw away when I pinched them. Maybe Ill just go to the gym, pot up the babies and then finish that painting I sold last week. Oh yes, wouldnt hurt to clean the fish tank either.

So we missed Dremas birthday and we really do need a new person to be the birthday police. Im adding another vote to make T the new keeper of the Birthdays???

So Sue, did you take those photos today or are they from your archives? If they arent last years photographs you are light years ahead of us up here in the frozen north. I LOL with all the crocus pics for Babs birthday because I did a crocus photograph last year for her birthday. ~~ So where is your Hellebore Ivory Prince planted? I might just need to find that variety. Im thinking Im going to add some to the gardens in the back yard where we could see them from the dining room. Did you mulch yours in any special way? Im wondering if I made a cage and mulched them with shredded leaves if theyd look better in the spring here. ~~ I agree with you about your pilates, Im sure that is why you arent having any back problems anymore. That is one of the reasons Im fanatical about my ab/back/core muscle workouts. ~~ Oh yes, is there anything in particular you want from my baby plant stores? Im going to get a couple boxes of plants ready for you to take home after the Dan Hinkley lecture in a couple weeks. Im assuming youd like to have the Alabama Sunset, Sedona and Mt. Washington coleus. How about Brugs? Were you able to save all yours? Ive also got a Fuchsia Firecracker with your name on it and any other cuttings from here you want.

Wendy, ditto what I said to Sue about your taking some plants home if you want. I can get a box ready and have it in my car when we meet at the lecture.

Taryn, great to hear from you. Im wondering what is going on with the house sale/purchase? Hope you find time to post this weekend. That new house looks amazing.

T love your Rainbow Lorikeets pic. Is that your hand they are sitting on? And is that your coastline in Babs pic? Beautiful!

Eden, your plant shopping day sounds like it was a lot of fun. Neat that you found a large Gartenmeister for $5.99. Babs sent me cuttings of hers and Im going to wait for them to get bigger as they seem to do around here. I LOL about your mixing all the new plants in with the old ones before Brad got home. Tooooo funny! I have Ajuga Caitlands Giant and that is another really great plant but I do like the Black Scallop better. I think I might have found the patch where I stuck it in the garden last fall so Ill dig some when it gets some size back onto it. The Black Scallop just was the most vigorous plant and I loved how it was so accommodating and draped over the sides of all my pots that it was planted in. In fact I gave a ton of it away last fall because it made such luxurious growth in the containers Id just snip off a runner and hand it to visitors who admired it.

So Mary, how does a visit the last Sunday of the month sound???? Doug has reserved the airplane and if all goes well well be up for a visit. Sue, are you still interested in joining us? I wish you lived closer so we could drive if we cant get the plane but well have to just cross our fingers and hope the weather cooperates.

Babs of course you can have some of the Black Scallop. Hope you had a great birthday. Did you guys do anything special?

Michelle, I sure hope your day today starts out better than yesterday. What a pain to get stuck in the mud. How are the gardens dealing with the deluges? Ill bet you are going to need several days of sunshine to dry things out enough to work outside.

Marian, hope all is well there. Those were some awful storms that went through down south yesterday. Were you affected by any of those? That hail storm must have been terrible the other night. Seems like youve been in severe thunder storm and tornado warning areas a lot recently.

GB that rose is just gorgeous and will look great with any and all clematis. The color reminds me of my Sally Holmes. Speaking of which, I need to try that rose again. So did you get your house cleaning done?

OK I really have to get to the gym and get my day started here. Have a great day everyone!
Deanne

Belated Happy Birthday Drema!
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Did anybody else get gobbledy gook a little while ago when they tried to read this idyll?

Deanne, the pictures are from last year. Right now there isn't much in the way of photo ops in my garden. I cut last years tatty foliage off Hellebores when they start blooming. Ivory Prince is in the foundation bed right next to my front stoop. I'll take whatever you're giving away for pot plants.

All my Brug cuttings rotted but believe it of not I got the mother plant of Charles Grimaldi sprouting. The only part that withered was maybe the top foot or so of the main trunk. New leaves are coming out all along the trunk and from the base. I think I'll plant it directly into the ground this year and let it grow into a tree...lol.

OK, I must run and clean up for my nursery crawl. Tom went into work so I'm not sure I'll lunch at the Vanilla Bean as I've never been one to sit and eat at a restaurant by myself. It's raining lightly here now-perfect plant shopping weather.

Sue

Hi everyone

Yes, can I second or third T as the keeper of the birthdays;0) We are obviously in need. Hope both our Birthday gals had a lot of fun celebrating.

The last couple of days were rather hard for me as it was the household sale at Susan's house. It was necessary to do, but I hated the thought of strangers picking through their possessions looking for bargains. I took different routes to avoid driving past the gathering of cars. The house goes on the market today.

Deanne - a visit the last Sunday in April would be fabu fabu!! DH has arranged his travel so that he can be here that day too. It will come after our week's vacation from school, so I'll have some time to get the house in shape, or at least remove the worst of the dust bunnies!! I hope Sue can join us too and will keep my fingers crossed for clear calm weather. What fun.

Taryn - another gorgeous house. Have you had a good offer on yours?

I've loved all the b'day cards and hearing about plant shopping. I'm still focused on seedlings rather than new purchases but some of those new Proven Winners sound very tempting.

I need to get going as I only have today to finish the baby hat and booties I'm knitting for our neighbor to give at her shower tomorrow. They are done in a suede wool and have white fluffy trim, making them look like shearling. I'll post a pic if they are finished on time.

Have a good day and take care of those backs! Mine is just plain weird right now and the pain has moved down to my right elbow. Can't figure it out.

Mary

Greetings! One chaotic job + one chaotic son getting ready for final Japan application + one good chance to get into the garden in two weeks + one major painting overhaul of our entire house has left -0- time for Idylling. I've missed you all!

Happy birthday Drema and Babs. Love the curvy bed. Hope everyone not feeling well is better. And most importantly: HAPPY SPRINGTIME! We got some snow and good rain so I'm staying off anything dirt this weekend, but am putting in the 6-8 week seeds and taking cuttings.

Tomorrow is the seed planting party with kids and we're down to only 13. Rich and Ky have eagerly "agreed" to go in search of the best mulch source and to get the first pallet of bluestone.

Cloched and containered spinach and lettace gave us an awesome salad last night of teeny 1" baby greens. The herb garden smells divine cleaning out last year's gross stuff. Bulbs are popping up in places I forgot I'd planted them and all in all, garden life is good.

Am making a concerted effort to stay away from nurseries -- a hard thing to do when there's one every five miles or so. The deal I have with Rich is that anything "free" can come home but $$ need to go into hardscape. Doing things in the "proper" order has never been my strong suit, but I'm not going to be doing much of the heavy labor so I'll play along.

Must run out for birdfood and more vermiculite. Have skimmed on and off. Where are you, Wendy????

Martie

Its a chilly morning at 26 when I got up. The sun is shining though. The water seems to have stopped coming in the basement and we aren't supposed to have any chances for rain until Tues. The gardens are wet but no standing water. This rain is good for the subsoil and trees. We have to go to the annual fundraising auction at the school today anyway.

Eden, I'm sure Bella will love her pink poodle purse. Kenzie loves to carry purses around. Last time she was here I gave her DD's old Sesame Street lunch box and she carried that around and then took it home with her. (My way of cleaning house)LOL

I must get going and get a few things done.
I hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world.

Michelle

Good morning again....

I still have hopes that Cynthia will miss us enough to come back and resume being our birthday alert person (hope springs eternal) :o). I miss her and the other Idylls who are absent. EP said she tried to get here again to post but just cannot get the system to work right so she's over at TGF and has been in contact with many Idyll friends there. I will attempt to keep up on the birthdays a bit better, (until Cynthia's return).....I feel badly when one goes by without us knowing. My list (from Cynthia) doesn't show any more birthdays this month....if it is wrong, let us know, so we don't miss celebrating with anyone.

Rain has increased along with some wind. It is a very good day for indoor activities, I think.

The coastline photo for Babs is in South Australia, the rock formations are a portion of the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road. Beautiful area!

The Rainbow Lorikeets photo (on my hand) were in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney....both photos taken in September 2004. There was a man in the gardens feeding the birds some bread. The Lorikeets and Cockatoos were flocking around him. When I asked if I could photograph him feeding them, he offered me some bread so I could feed them also. It was one of the many highlights of my time in Australia.

Well, guess it is time to begin the day in earnest. :oP

Well, I'm freezing my nose and other body parts off. I've been trying to work outside but with 44 degrees and a wind and occasional spitting rain I think I'm going to cry uncle and try again tomorrow. 40 feels a lot colder when the sun isn't out.

T thanks for the info on the Great Ocean Road. Beautiful drive. Reminds me of the Pacific coastal road between Mendocino and San Francisco.

Hi Martie, great to hear from you. It sounds like you are as busy as ever. YOu'll have to let us know how the seed planting day goes.

Michelle, glad to hear the water in the basement problem is getting better.

Sue, can't wait to hear what you scored at your nursery crawl today. Wish I lived closer and I could have joined you. It would have been a more productive day than what I'm doing here.

Mary, that is pretty strange that you are now having pain in your arm from the back thing. I've heard about it radiating down your legs but not in your arms. Hope you are feeling better soon. I was able to do my ab workout today without making anything worse. I think I might have set mine off when I was tossing yard waste bags at the dump on Monday. Probably the twisting with a heavy object is what did it. When I'm feeling good I forget to be careful. Maybe this was a good thing before I started slinging compost bags around. ~~ We are really looking forward to our visit. Glad to hear your DH will be there as well.

Sue, I've got four good sized cuttings from the pink brug in the above photograph if you want one of those. Neat that your Charles Grimaldi is coming along too. My mother plant that was a cutting from Mary is sprouting away in the basement right now too - also the Charles Grimaldi cutting you brought me last fall is actually going to bloom in a couple days. What a hoot! The plant is only 18 inches tall or so and has about seven or eight flowers on it. ~~ I can't wait to see what yours does in the ground this year. I'll bet it gets fifteen feet tall with the way you grow tropicals.

OK I guess I'm going to go and do a bit of potting up in the basement and save the outdoor work for tomorrow.

TTYL
Deanne

Here! crabby some days, content on others. Busy, in general. As "radical" and "wild" as ever. Someone has to be, afterall! ;) (no tatoos, though)

Crocus have gone by. Narcissus are just beginning. Perennial favorites are beginning to emerge from winter hibernation. I'm still wrangling urine every day... . Work is becoming increasingly hectic. Know what? I don't care. There is no way to predict where the mess will wind up when the s--t hits the fan, hehehe.

Just T, tell me about those glorious parrots.

"Wrecks" is doing really well. He goes into the bank with us, into any business establishment that permits dogs; we "push the envelope", too! He minds his Ps and Qs and has become a bit of a celebrity locally. I hate dogs, though... you needed reminding, of that, I'm quite sure.

Haven't done much reading but suspect things are as usual?

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Sue, what did you buy at Quackin Grass Nursery? Were were planning on going tomorrow b/c we had carpet and tile shopping to do today and most places are not open on Sunday. Otherwise we would have been there today. BTW, I bought a Hydrangea quercifolia Little Honey at Broken Arrow Nursery last w/end-we were there the day they opened LOL! They had quite a few small pots of 'Little Honey'. I had called Wayne at Quackin Grass yesterday to ask if he had Hydrangea Quickfire and he had 3. When I read that you went today, I called tonight and left a message for him to call me back as to whether any of them were left b/c my friend Sue was coming by :o) He hasnt called back yet, but I would hate to go all that way for one plant and they are all gone. Of course, lunch at Vanilla Bean is on the itinerary of course. We went to Lenny & Joes today for a lobster roll, grilled salmon and salt potatoes. Yum.

Hubby won the Biggest Loser contest at work-he lost the most weight percentage-wise. The loot was $200 and he lost 20 lbs. I lost 10 lbs but would like to lose a little more or at least firm up. Weve been following Weight Watchers and counting points-it really cuts down on our portion sizes mostly.

T-just love all the curvy beds!!! Youve done a great job designing them-isnt it fun?

Taryn-the new house looks fantastic-how much land does it have?

Marie-Ill join the others in saying that the photos were wonderful. Ah, crepes-one of my favorites. We went to one of our regular lunch stops last w/end and both got the seafood crepe special then our usual Sweet Rachel crepe with lemon, butter and sugar. The crepes are so light that I didnt feel too full when I left-just right. What crepes did you have at your French Club social/meeting?

Marian, hope Nolon is okay and you feel better soon so that youll be in the garden again full blast soon.

Deanne, most of the plants you gave me are doing fine so far. Im trying to water everything at least once per week-sounds awful doesnt it? However, I put your plants in a closed tray and the water stays a bit in the bottom so it must be getting water from there b/c they are not drying out. I do have some other plants in the other room-2 rosemary plants, variegated fuchsia, Mandevilla, 3 Rex Begonias, Strobilanthes, etc that are alive from plants or cuttings from the fall. Amazing! A bunch did die though, Im not that good. One of the plants I bought from Logees died-a Hibiscus. The other 3 (2 Gardenias and 1 Rex Begonia) are alive still. So, you should have a plant sale in another month or so? You could fund your additional plant purchases for this year. BTW, your photos of Helianthus Lemon Queen were outstanding!!! Glad youre enjoying it.

Hi to everyone else!!! Have a great rest of the w/end!

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Happy Belated Birthday girls. I am late as always, but don't feel slighted I miss a lot of family ones too. Its just because I am a procrastanator. sp?
Anyway I hope you had wonderful days.

It was pretty darn chilly here today. I wasn't feeling very perky and DH wasn't either.
I finally decided to get out of the house and do something different for a change. So I went to some antique shops to try to find a couple more iron wheels. We used a couple I already had to make trellis between the post on the swing arbor we made. One above the other. Now I need two more for the other end. I have two smaller ones but would have to make some kind of frame around them.
I didn't find any at the shops today, but saw a lot of interesting stuff.
It is supposed to go down to 30 degrees tonite so I covered most of my hosta that are just starting to leaf out and a few other things.

Mary, I can only imagine how hard it has been for you to see Susan and the girls life disolve away from you. I know I would have a hard time losing a dear friend.
How fun for you to get idyll company though.

Hi Chelone, thanks for droping in. I miss your posts and Cynthias and many others too.

Sue do you have a picture of your Ivory Prince?

Eden where are you going to squeez all these new plants into your garden? From the pictures I've seen it looks pretty full already.

Martie I wish you could share some pictures of the seed starting party.
Thats all for now. Norma

Evening all, Hi there Chelone, great to hear from you. Monique, love your birthday photos!!!! so pretty. Glad to hear you are doing well with all the cuttings and indoor plants. Neat! Congratulations to you and Les on your weight loss. Fantastic!

Look who dropped in today in range of my scope

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Martie, I'll be posting a list of what I have for the CT plant swap on the message thread at the NE forum. Just say the word and all get you all the free you want in the way of plants.

One word I have for today...BRRRRR. I was in northeastern CT and it was sleeting and in the mid 30s. I wasn't the only customer at Quakin' Grass but let's just say the place wasn't crawling with people...lol. I forgot to bring gloves so carrying an umbrella and hauling a nursery cart around was not fun at all. We were joking that all the lightweights would be there tomorrow when it's supposed to be sunny and upper 50s. At least I scored some cool plants-Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic', Cornus stolonifera 'Arctic Fire', Hydrangea paniculata 'Quick Fire', and a pot of Cornus canadensis. Good for a start. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get a few more things shuffled around and planted.

For lunch today I did go to the Vanilla Bean and sat at a table and ate by myself. As it turned out a few people were doing this-some with laptops so they must have wireless internet. I had a Southwestern turkey burger and a piece of Creme Brulee cheesecake. Next time I'm out that way and plan to eat I'll bring my laptop.

I also went to Comstock, my local nursery and turned in enough receipts from last year to earn myself a $50 gift certificate. That will surely be spent in the next couple of weeks and I still have enough receipts left to be halfway towards another $50 gift certificate. Nothing caught my eye there today but like most local nurseries they seem to be slow in getting stock in and out for sale. Next weekend should be better.

Here is the latest picture of Mackenzie...isn't she cute?

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I updated her "bio" at our website today so maybe that will generate some interest. Right now she's curled up with Nick on a chair. I wish I could get a picture of them but I know if I get up to get the camera they'll wake up and move. She seems to be very happy here but as Tom says, "What dog wouldn't be?" lol

Deanne I may have trouble placing a pink Brug but I'll certainly try. I'd love to go with you to Mary's-what fun! The last Sunday in April should be fine. Can you pick me up at Brainard field? I wonder what the poor people will be doing that day? hehehe

Tom went hot tub shopping today. He got some good info and found a place with better prices than where he had been previously inquiring. My guess is we will start the required site work tomorrow. I want to draw it all to scale first. The plan is to build a level pressure treated wooden platform for the tub that will be basically flush with the ground and install a small bluestone patio around that. For privacy we'll install an 8 foot section of fence on the side of the tub that faces the street and our neighbor's house. We plan to do all the work ourselves to keep the cost down. You gotta have projects, right?

Hey Chelone...good to hear from you. Drop in more often.

OK, time for bed. Tomorrow needs to be a productive garden day. Sweet dreams.

Sue

Monique, so funny. I was teliing Wayne that I was surprised I didn't bump into my friend there today. I told him you were looking for H. 'Quick Fire' Then I told him the story about you buying all the Daphne caucasica 'Summer Ice' in the state. he said, "Your friend's name isn't Monique?" LOLOL! He remembered you calling. There should be plenty of Quick Fire for you tomorrow-I only bought one. I can't believe you got 'Little Honey'. Wayne has three but told me he wouldn't sell me one for about another month. The usual-shades of the Summer Ice indignities all over again. I really don't have time to go to Broken Arrow tomorrow...but to get a 'Little Honey'...hmmmm

How in the world did Les lose 20 pounds? Will a strong wind blow him away now?

Norma, funny you should ask about the Ivory Prince. Here is a picture from today-not great because of the gloomy weather and I haven't cut off the winter foliage yet but you get the idea.

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Deanne, those poor Mourning Doves-they aren't the sharpest tools in the bird drawer. Before I let the dogs out I usually scan the ground around the patio to make sure there aren't any lounging around. Dead doves I don't need. They sure are pretty though.

OK, now I'm really gone.

Sue

Sue, I KNEW you were going to get that 'Quickfire'! Wayne didn't call me back so I hope one is left for me tomorrow. Too funny. Broken Arrow said they won't have 'Quickfire' until June. I also got a variegated climbing Hydrangea (H. anomola ssp. petiolaris 'Miranda') at BAN-they had quite a few pots. We should have coordinated this better-you could have bought me a Quickfire and I could have gotten you a Little Honey and we could've done the exchange thing :o) I wonder what's going on with Carol's Collectibles-the website hasn't been updated yet this year. Also, Variegated Foliage hasn't listed new plants yet. Uh-oh. I just checked VFN and he says that the new prices will be up soon but they will not be doing mail order this year due to severe illness. Hope Stan is ok. BTW, where is the hot tub going again?

Good morning all, well it didn't get down to the predicted 28 degrees last night and is 35 out so the plants in the garage are fine. I did take the two coleus from the flower show in though. They were shivering outside in the garage last night and I just love that Gays Delight and dont want to lose it.

Sue sounds like you scored. How cold tolerant is that H Quickfire? Sounds like a great plant. Im insanely jealous of your Ivory Prince. That is one fabulous Hellebore and is definitely on my must have list. ~~ That McKenzie is one cute puppy. I sure hope you find her a great home soon. ~~ Ill bet Doug would love to come down and help you guys build your deck for the hot tub. He did a great job on ours and always loves a building project. ~~ Brainard it is as we probably cant get the airplane down your street. LOL

Monique where are you planning on putting your Quickfire? You guys crack me up with who is going to get first to the nursery and scoop the best plants. WE should coordinate another May Idyll dinner get together in CT? Weve really enjoyed our roving dinner parties with you and Sue. I was hoping to zip over to The Mixed Border today but they arent opening until April 24th. Soon, soon. Im determined to buy and Picea Skylands this year. Im still not sure where Im going to put it but I must have that tree.

HI Norma! pretty birthday pics. Great to hear from you. I'm better at getting birthday cards out to people on this forum than I am at getting them out to friends and family snail mail.

OK Time to refresh my French Roast and get to the gym. Enjoy the day all. Today is going to be primo gardening time so Im outta here.

Deanne

Happy Birthday, Drema!

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Happy Birthday, Babs!

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Im running behind this am. I want to get crackin in the garden. So Ill catch up on the last couple posts later.

Sue, thanks for the info on "Snow Fairy". I thot that was the case but didnt know. Hows the foster puppy doing? I cant imagine you being able to give him away after youve bonded and spent so much TLC on him. As for how I managed such unexpected plant combos, I moved almost everything in my garden last fall. Ive never divided or moved the bulbs in the back sine they were planted many yrs. ago. Many were so jam- packed that they had nowhere to grow but deeper in the soil. In some cases, some were as deep as 18-20" and I still missed some. As for the delphinium in the peony, I moved the delphinium and must have left a small piece and planted a peony on top of it.

Deanne, youre my enabler, lol. Ive admired your Heliopsis Loraine Sunshine for years and never saw it at any of our nurseries here. I was going to get one by mail order this spring, so when I saw it at a nearby nursery, I just had to indulge. I cant wait to see how it does for me. And you know Ive been in love with Heuchera Peach Flambe since I saw a pic of it last year. It looks to be redder than Peach Melba so Im anxious to see how it does, too. Oh dear, that Ajuga is incredible! Yep, I have to have some of those, too!

Re your question, Bullet has a hissy fit when Timmy visits. Timmy ignores Bullets "No other animals allowed" rule for our deck. So theres all manner of growling, hissing, spitting and batting the doorwall when Timmy visits. Timmy only wants to be friends.

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Marian, Im so glad youre feeling much better. I worry about you being so far out in the boonies. Do you have friends and neighbors to check on you? A gal from the senior center calls to check on my Mom every day. Do you have something similar thru your town or church. I hope so.

Mary, hope your back is feeling better, too. Sheesh, back problems do seem to be the ailment of the season.

Hi Cindy, Norma, Martie, Wendy, Eden and everyone else. And,

Babs, I feel so badly for poor Ryan being afraid of storms. Honestly, Im a wreck during t-storms and tornado watches/warnings. Michelle, I cant imagine how bad that storm had to be to get hail thru the roof! OMG! We didnt have them where I grew up out east so they just terrify me. Its all I can do to keep from hiding under the bed with Bullet!

Thanks for the encouragement re Toms job. I think this is going to be a long drawn out saga. Whats so scary is that so many folks are also looking for jobs now and there are fewer and fewer of them. About the deer, Ive decided not to let them dictate what I plant. Ruth and I spray monthly with Liquid Fence and the deer mostly leave us alone. Occasionally, one will take a bite or two and spit it out. Theyre pretty much trained now. And LF also deters wabbits and groundhogs. However, a the home show yesterday, we saw these really neat battery run unobtrusive posts that lure the deer in with a great smell and then shocks them when they touch it. See link below. Theyre powered by 2 AA batteries and are placed every 20 or so. I might try them.

Later, friends. Honey

Everyone must be out in the garden today. That's a good enough reason for me for lack of posts here on the Idylls.
I'm posting now because I'm so tired that if I wait it won't happen. I'll be turning in early tonight. Highlights of the day were that I got a beautiful stewartia this morning and I uncovered my musa basjoo. It looks good and the stem feels firm but time will tell. I'll be so happy if it survived the winter. I asked around at 2 nurserys that would be the ones to have h. little honey if it WERE to be had around here and so far no luck. Very frustrating! I did see a very cool shrub that I hadn't seen before. It was a yellow twig dogwood. The branches are a bright crayon yellow. Very different. It was so great to be able to work outside all afternoon. Couldn't have asked for a better day and the next 2 are supposed to be just as good if not better. I have so much to do but am trying to just take things one step at a time and ENJOY the process. I'm fading here so night all. Eden

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Wow-GREAT bday pics! Sorry I haven't had time to thank everybody for thinking of me. It's been crazy these last few days. Fri my actual bday was pretty quiet but we spent Saturday at Cleveland's West Side Market for all kinds of produce and meat. We also visited a nearby fish market to get some king crab legs,scampis,and bay scallops which we had for my bday dinner Sat. night. The market excursion took up half the day plus for lunch we went to a great place for Cuban sandwiches. Overall a fun day. Get this,I recieved a pedicure kit as a gift: ) Now our IU3 toenail painting party will be less scary~I'll have soft and supple feet. LOLOL.

On Fri. for some out of the ordinary reason I happened to catch Martha Stewart on the tube and she brain washed me into making a white cake but I opted for cupcakes-still it was all from scratch. Ryan(Mr. Independent)helped and made his own version that somehow were even edible!(he added raisins to his version).

Today was Aj's first track meet-this was the bigtime. He's in an older division and these meets last several hours(today's was more than FIVE hours!!). He did well and even finished third in one of the heats.Still,it was a L-O-NG day. So that's why I wasn't here sooner to comment.Funny how the idylls come out of the woodwork for bdays...we need to keep pics here for more than just bdays. Glad to see so many of you!

I smiled at all the crocuses-Taryn & Wendy-I love purple! Wendy that is a really neat shot.
Deanne & Michelle-gorgeous butterflies(michelle what kind of butterfly is that?)

Eden-I like the contrast of the fern and bright caladium in your pic!
Mary so...have you been to Hawaii?; )Those leave variegations are so striking!

T thanks for sharing Australia! At first I thought that was near your home. Just a soothing feel to that pic.(fun parrots too!)

Sue-Is that tree blooming now? Hey it's PINK! I thought you didn't do pink.: )

Nice to see you Monique-such pretty daffs.

Norma-hi! I really like those blooms-that pic almost looks like it's a painting! What is the name of that one?

Honey-thanks for the deer info. I use homemade egg repellant that does a great job so I'll probably still get a heuchera. OK guys what's the best performing heuchera??
I love those peonies(the traditionalist in me; )what name is that one? It's just beautiful.

Well guys-I need to run...the deer repellant reminded me-it's time to do it.

TTYL~those of you who have reappeared need to stick around we do miss you!

~Babs

Hi all, I'm with Eden, I'm pretty tired tonight but it is a good tired from being outside in the garden most of the day. I finished cleaning out the front of the house today which is a realy pain and a job I absolutely hate doing. Anyway, it is done and I finally was able to start spreading my compost this afternoon. Here are some pics from today.

The driveway garden is cleaned out and waiting for compost. The crocus put on a nice show this year. I planted a grass I'd gotten from the Keene flower show with some pansies in my big urn for some interest until I can do the big summer arrangement.
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Here are some of my plants from the flower show a couple weeks ago. Can you believe I only paid $2.00 per plant for most of those huge fuchsia? too cool!
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This is the Fuchsia 'Golden Marinka'. I just love this plant and can't wait to see the flowers. I wound up with four of these. (No idea where I'm going to put them yet)
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And here is the coleus 'Gay's Delight' I keep talking about. What a beauty!
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More 'loot' from the flower show. A Plectranthus 'Lemon Twist' and Iresine
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And here is one of my groups of hyacinth that has been here for more than ten years.
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OK I'm fading fast so I'm going to turn in for the night. Hope everyone had a great garden day.
Deanne

Well, the afternoon was a great one for being outside enjoying springtime. I didn't get a lot done, but what I did do made me feel good. DH had me come out and run the excavator while he sat on the backside of the bucket. I lifted him up into the air so that he could cut off branches with the chain saw.

Yep, you read that right. The man perched on the backside of an excavator bucket, with a running chainsaw while his wife (better known as "The Klutz who fell down the church stairs this morning")lifted him up into the branches of a very tall fir tree. Sure, why not?! I couldn't believe he asked me to do it. I couldn't believe that he was willing to do it. I couldn't believe I agreed to do it. An amazing happenstance all the way around. End of the story is that all went well, he tied himself to the boom of the excavator in case his wife, who had really never worked the controls before, threw him off with a wild move. The wild move never happened, miracle of miracles. He cut off all branches that he wanted gone, I did a perfect job of lifting him up, moving him over, driving forward, driving backwards and bringing him back down. He needed those branches gone because he didn't like seeing them when he sat in his chair in his hobby room.........

Okay................

LOL

Thankfully we did move slowly, carefully and were fully aware of how quickly this could turn into a nightmare. Imagine how I explain to the medics what he was doing perched on the bucket and how I moved things backwards of what he was expecting which tossed him into the tree or onto the ground. I probably shouldn't even admit to anyone that we did this.........they'll come lock us up. Intelligence! :oP Not.

Yep, I was also some of the coffeetime entertainment at church today. Going down the stairs and my knee decided to keep bending instead of holding me up. I was holding onto the handrail, thankfully, so all that happened (all?!) was that I ended up on my knees on the bottom step with my toes a step or two higher and my shins taking the brunt of my fall. Sugars but that hurt! I wanted to cry and everyone was looking at me. Gee, look at that lady..wouldn't you hate to be her right about now? I made some quip about liking to do something to get attention when I enter the room and tried hard to squash the tears that wanted to flow. Tears more from embarrassment than pain at that point. My son in law helped me up and I made a few more jokes about seeking attention then made my way to the coffee table. Mortified. Oh well, it was one of those moments where others were glad they weren't you.

So......that was my day. ;o)

Quite a nice weekend here. We were gone quite a bit though. I did clean out one area and do a little organizing in the garden shed. I ordered the book "The Potting Shed" I thought I might get some ideas. Its supposed to have great pictures. We did a little touch up painting on the house with more to do.

Babs, Im glad you liked the butterfly. Its a Red Admiral, which is fairly common in my garden. Sounds like you had a good b-day weekend.

Deanne, the coleus Gays Delight is a beauty. Id seen it for sale on some websites, but it didnt look as impressive as it does in your photo. Looking at the picture of your driveway, I thought I was seeing a nursery. LOL

Chelone, good to hear from you. Dont be a stranger.

Sue, I may have to look for Hydrangea paniculata 'Quick Fire' as it appears to be fairly hardy. Your picture of Ivory Prince is quite nice. I havent grown any hellebores.

T, great job with the branch cutting. I never like running the controls. I envision dumping Rick out. It makes me terribly nervous. You guys arent the only crazy ones. We use our tractor or skidloader bucket to paint the house, trim trees and shingle. Bummer about the fall. Good to hear that nothing was hurt but your pride.

Ive been enjoying all the fabulous pictures the last couple of days. Im needing the garden to get going as I seem to be running out of pictures for birthdays.

Have a good night

Michelle

Babs those flowers are ,
(Phlox subulata 'Candy Stripe' (Thrift, Creeping Phlox)
Zones 3-9 full to mostly sunny
Flowers early spring)
Did Ryan mix his own cake or just add to your dough.LOL
Congrats to AJ for doing so well at the track meet.

Sue thanks for showing Ivory Prince. I think that would be a good one for me to start with.
Mackenzie is cute and looks perfectly at home in that chair.

Deanne, nice shot of the dove. Yours look more brown than the ones we have here which are a light grey.
Nice score on the plants from the show. I do like Gay's Delight.

I wonder how well some of your cuttings would ship this far.

Ouch T, that had to hurt. Glad you are ok.
Good job on not droping DH.
We have done simalar dumb things. Dh is not afraid of heights but I certainly am.

After a very cold night it warmed up decent this afternoon. So I weeded until almost dark. DH cooked and cleaned up. I can live with that. He has a cold and didn't feel like being outside today.
I also cleaned up the patio area where I had pitched all the pots of things I had brought in for the winter and didn't make it.

I really need to start dividing some daylilys soon. And I want to move several things. So I hope I get done weeding soon.

I can still smell the lemon thyme on me from where I was weeding today. I love that smell.

Need to do some research , so will catch you all later. Norma

Good morning! Couldn't sleep so am having a cup of coffee to soothe my sore throat and thinking of putting this Idyll tydll to bed so that we'll start Monday with a fresh one.

See you at the other one.......

T.