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ingrid_vc

It Feels Good To Be Done

Today we planted the last two roses we ordered, two bushes of Souvenir de la Malmaison. Even though a good part of the garden looks like a young rose nursery there's something satisfying about seeing that all the empty spaces are filled, which gives the garden a finished look, even if many of the roses are hopeful juveniles. I'm letting one bloom open on Duchesse de Brabant and one on No 92 Nanjing as a special treat even though I normally disbud the young roses. Unfortunately quite a few roses have lately begun to mildew, young and old alike, but since I don't spray I'm just going to ignore that, although I've been spraying them with water in the morning the last few days, so far with little effect.

Please tell me what's going on in your gardens, at least the ones that aren't buried under ice and snow. So sorry about you in the frigid zones where winter has begun so early this year.

Ingrid

Comments (44)

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    Ingrid ... Mildew = stress ... And maybe given current conditions ... Stress related to thirst. I wouldn't worry about it over a much right now, but give em all the water you can.

    All that said, SdlM was terribly mildewy here.

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    Well, it's been a cold few days here, but thankfully no snow. We had a few rainy days (the last of the warm days), but the frost came when we were dry. I've been gathering fallen tree leaves and piling them in the beds. I know they SHOULD be shredded first, but I never got around to getting a shredder, so....

    And yes, I know that they can form into soggy sheets by Spring, but I'm countering that. Every day for the last couple of weeks I've been taking a little walk to the Starbucks in town with an empty kitchen garbage can in my "tank-like huge Granny-cart", swap the empty can for the one I left with them the day before, and walk home a full can of used coffee grounds.

    Before the frost, I would dump this into a wheelbarrow, pull out the filters and tear them to bits, then sprinkle the grounds and filter bits over the leaves in the bed. They've been gradually filtering down among the leaves and will HOPEFULLY prevent the leaves from forming sheets in the Spring.

    But since it's been going down to the 20s at night -- and not quite going above freezing during the day -- I've been dumping them into the wheelbarrows and waiting for tomorrow, when it'll get into the 40s and the pile of coffee grounds will defrost. The next few days will continue to warm up again, and with Sunday hitting the mid 50s, I'll be able to finish putting leaves in the last parts of the beds.

    The leaves and grounds are NOT meant for Winter protection. I simply wanted to add a few inches of material now, in the hopes that it will start breaking down by late Spring. Leaves are available only in Autumn, so I'm collecting them now while I can. But if I put them down this heavy without shredding, I need to mix in the grounds before they get smashed flat. And using so much grounds at once means I need something to prevent THEM from forming a crust-sheet that blocks air and water from the soil below. I think they will complement each other -- leaves are prevented from becoming a soggy mess, and the grounds are prevented from forming a dry impermeable crust.

    Yes, it's not as glamorous as going out and seeing lots of blooms, but it's a way for me to extend my season of gardening chores. I look forward to picking up all that free food for the critters in my garden, knowing that life will be teeming in the soil's surface in just a few months. And, after either dumping the grounds in a wheelbarrow or sprinkling it over the beds, I take a little walk around and visualize all the bulbs I planted just a few weeks ago which will be giving me much-anticipated color beginning in March, rather than having to wait for the roses and perennials which don't get started until May. Oh, and all the lilies which will come into their own right after the main rose bloom....and I see 'Orfeo' has one cane reaching at least 15' straight up into the Callery pear with others wrapping around nearly as high -- yes, it might be over now, but just wait until next year!

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • buford
    9 years ago

    Christopher, I use a leaf blower/vac by Toro. You can vac up the leaves and it shreds them. Saves a lot of work. I lost most of my trees that used to supply me with leaves, but I still have some saved from last year (and possibly 2 years ago....). I usually put them around the roses and then cover with compost or bags of composted manure.

    Right now, this is what's going on in my yard:

    {{gwi:314755}}

    A nice blank slate. They have finished grading and sodding the yard. We had a nice rain on Sunday/Monday which has softened up the clay underneath the mulch that was put down. Unfortunately I did get some frost heave because of the cold:

    {{gwi:326257}}

    Before I start planting, I am going to till the beds and get some good top soil delivered. I am also going to do an edge of stone 2 deep to raise up the bed a bit and help keep the grass out. Then I can plant. Hopefully by the end of the year. We are also going to take advantage of having loose sod to get a sprinkler system installed in the front. I will then add drip systems in the rose beds.

    I have SO many roses in pots. The ones I dug up from my yard. Some that I had before that I had to wait to place until this project was done, Some I ordered or got from plant swaps and raffles and now I have 15 from a fellow rosarians yard that we dug up, he is going into assisted living and didn't want to leave his roses alone. For those, I will wait for spring to see what they are (many had no labels). I know I have a Madame Hardy, a Reve d'Or and a Ballerina. The others are HTs, but I'm not sure which ones, or if they are root stock. Time will tell.

  • mendocino_rose
    9 years ago

    What I'm really happy about is "The Garden of the Gods" where most of the ramblers live. I can say that we've planted all the ramblers that we received from Anne Belovich and The Friends of Vintage roses. There are around 300 ramblers plus some other climbers. We have built many structures and some planted freestanding. We bought a mechanized wheel barrow so we can get rock down on the pathways. The other day we received a shipment of a 6 foot round pool that will have a fountain statue that I have made in the middle. This has been several years of work. There are always a few more roses. Nothing is ever done in this crazy garden.
    We have had satisfying rains. If they just keep up I will be so grateful.

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    300 ramblers...oh my goodness I wouldn't know where to start... that will be some sight to see...

    I like those properties in buford's photo above... I would have to dig up the lawn though...

    ..pleased you have completed your plantings Ingrid...always so satisfying to get that done... we wish you well with your roses for next year of course...

    ..not much to do for me now other than to offer protection to the newly acquired...although I still have 3 roses on order awaiting delivery from Beales.... I do enjoy watching for any signs of new growth..just a little bud...a leaf..?....give me something...I inspect nearly every day....

    ...it gets to you...

  • rosefolly
    9 years ago

    Alas, we have not had much rain yet, just a kind of dampening of the surface of the ground -- less than a hundredth of an inch at a time. I remain optimistic.

    I do have a few roses blooming lightly here and there, no heavy flushes. without going outside to check, Buff Beauty, Generous Gardener, Pope John Paul II, and Munstead Wood come to mind. Oh, I take it all back. Rozette Delizy, Edith Perry, and Le Vesuve are simply covered with roses. Now I understand why people love teas so much. I'm looking forward to seeing the young teas in the Pine Tree Garden show their stuff, though I think it will be another year or two, and will require some better mulch. The soil there lacks good organic matter. I'm also seeing my first roses on Cl Madame Caroline Testout. What a lovely rose that is!

    The late sages still have some color. The hellebores were getting ready to bloom but I dug them up and discarded them. Our new puppy was showing too much interest, and they are toxic. I have two baby trees and two roses to go in the ground but I ran out of steam. I have a chore I really do not want to do, so I have spent much of the week doing another chore I also do not want to do, but not as badly - sorting and putting untidy stacks of a few papers in order. The throwing away part is fun.

    Rosefolly

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    I would so like to see that Garden of the Gods, it must be incredible in spring. And a tremendous amount of work in getting that garden ready for them.

    Susan, I have never seen frost heave, that is really cool looking.

    Christopher, I have broken down leaves using an old trash can and a cheap electric string trimmer, maybe that is an idea for you?

    I hope to run up and take a couple of pictures of the tea garden at moms. It is about done other than a couple of loads of horse manure and mulch to cover. Last weekend I made 5 or 6 trips up to the free mulch pile and got the slopes covered on my berms, I am ready for the roses to grow and the rains to come. And last night I scored a "new" glass top table and 3 chairs for the tea garden, much better than the table I had put there before.

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I feel as though I need a long rest after reading about some of these strenuous activities. However, I'm sure it will all be worth it and look forward to seeing the results next spring and summer.

    Jeri, it really is all about location. My SdlM is clean as a whistle while two feet away Souvenir du President Carnot is covered with mildew. Strangely, its sport, Mme. Cornelissen, routinely gets mildew if there is any of it around. That's one of the reasons I bought two more SdlM, in addition to its nice bushy shape and the almost constant blooms, which don't ball, for practically the whole year.

    Ingrid

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    You're right.

    Location, location, location. :-)

  • mendocino_rose
    9 years ago

    I enjoy hearing about your work Ingrid and everyone else's
    I hope you get more rain Paula. The front that went through here today should bring you a good rain.

  • boncrow66
    9 years ago

    Ingrid I'm so glad you are done planting and I hope all the roses do well. I can't wait to see pics of everything in bloom.

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    Sorry no photos from me today I had the camera with me and then.... Rain! Well just a but but more than my grandson would like on him

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the shredder ideas, but there were a couple hindrances to me getting one this year. First was that my income dropped during the Summer, and enduring this a second time convinced me to stop spending money on anything for the yard and instead saving for a car -- then looking for a better job that doesn't have to be within walking distance.

    The second thing is that my landlord still hasn't fixed the garage door, so I don't want to buy any power equipment until I can store it when not in use. So for now, it's just whole leaves covered (eventually) with coffee grounds, and then topped with some fresh mulch in Spring.

    Today I nearly finished gathering leaves for the beds (just one section left) before the big shredding truck from the city came by and sucked up the pile I was harvesting. Thankfully, there's still enough scattered around to finish, but no nice-n-easy big pile. It'll be above freezing for the next few days, so I'll be able to get more done after today.

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • Brittie - La Porte, TX 9a
    9 years ago

    I'm not done. I still have around 30 ish (I haven't counted) roses that need to be planted, and at least 7 of those are going to wait until Spring. I feel badly that I didn't get more done, but I'm not totally sure that would have been possible. We started a brand new garden this year on a blank slate, and had to do so much. Created 13 garden beds and already put in about 150 roses and other plants. The beds are more formal than I originally intended, but my youngest child is only five, so we decided to put the gardens along the perimeter of the backyard and leave the middle to her. Still lots of work to go. It's hard to keep moving along, when all I really want to do is re-arrange stuff that I've already "finished" because I keep finding things I want to change. Oh well, lol.

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    brittie, creating 13 garden beds and planting 150 roses is a feat that most of us would be thrilled with. Creating a new garden is back-breaking work and I'm impressed by how much you've achieved.

    If you've planted a lot of antique roses, your formal look will probably soon be lost or at least softened by the spreading and informal habit of many of the roses. I'm sure it will be lovely.

    Ingrid

  • Brittie - La Porte, TX 9a
    9 years ago

    Thanks Ingrid. :) I have to admit that writing it out like that really shifted my perspective. I need to focus more on the good work that's been done, and less on work still to come. New Year's resolution. :)

  • titian1 10b Sydney
    9 years ago

    Late Spring here, and lots flowering. Octavus Weld (Angel's Camp Tea?) seems to have forgiven me for moving him - 2 years ago - and is finally putting out some healthy new shoots. Comtesse du Cayla continues to burn, and I may move her to the vegetable plot next Winter, as there is a gum tree shading a patch from the hot afternoon sun. The hydrangeas are looking very thirsty,esp James Veitchii, so will have to water tomorrow early, as it's forecast to be very hot (100, fairly normal for you, Ingrid).

    I had a go at Mutabilis, Ingrid, and when I lay on the ground hacking away, I saw that most of the limbs are horizontal, so will wait till Winter and do a severe prune. It will no doubt survive! A sewer pipe leaked and it fell over in a storm last year, as the ground was so boggy.

    Julia Child - planted in late August - is already a nice looking shrub, and on her second flush. Always think of Nanadoll when I look at her, and silently thank her for raving about her. I never see her post anymore.....?

    So nice to hear what others are up to. Well I ought to get back to cooking now. Stupidly let my son persuade me to do Indian for guests. Sooooooo much work.

    Trish.

  • summersrhythm_z6a
    9 years ago

    It's nice to see some of your rose gardens are still going in Nov. My roses are all in the snow, we got 8.5" snow last week, that's nothing compare to South of us 10 miles away got 7' of snow last week, on top of that, some of them lost power with no heat, the temperature was around17ðF (-8.3ðC) with high wind 30-40mph...... now they're dealing with possible flooding in the next 3 days.....hope it won't be too bad for them. I love snow, but 7' of snow is just too much. I was hoping for 1' or 2' of snow, so all the roses can be covered-rabbits can't eat them. I have a huge rabbit problem every winter, they have a nest under my garden shed, trapping rabbits this weekend, relocating them to a park. I'd be so happy if I can catch them. :-)

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Trish, I've pruned Mutabilis severely when it seemed to be declining, which is how I found the gopher hole whose occupant was causing the decline. It bounced back beautifully and I hope that will be the case with yours too.

    I feel your pain about the Indian cooking. Been there, did it a lot, and never want to do it again.

    Summerseve, not many people would go to the trouble of live-trapping and relocating wild rabbits. We have a few that we feed and water because the drought has been so hard on them but the local coyotes keep the population in check.

    Ingrid

  • floridarosez9 Morgan
    9 years ago

    I planted seven new teas and two Chinas in already dug and enriched holes that I had allowed to age for awhile. I did add some additional kitty litter when putting in the plants.

    My two Weeping China Doll standards went into two huge pots to stand on either side of the driveway. I don't know how long I will be able to keep them there before having to put them in the ground. I missed out on two Pope John Paul standards that were the most mind bogglingly beautiful plants I have ever seen. They were covered in buds and blooms and the plants were bushy with healthy leaves. Smelled heavenly.

    I still have a bunch of climbers and ramblers to plant and many more teas. The weather has not been cooperating, plus I'm getting too old to do the heavy work I used to do. Planting roses is not simply digging a hole here due to the sandy soil and nematodes, although clay is probably even worse.

  • zeffyrose
    9 years ago

    I love to read about all the work everyone is doing---Can't wait to see the pictures when everything is in bloom---
    At this time I have to be content with pictures----

    Florence

  • Vicissitudezz
    9 years ago

    Ingrid, I hope your new plants of tried-n-true SdlM will lose the mildew soon, and all will flourish and prosper. I still think you need a Desert Willow!

    Christopher, I've been gathering oak leaves and dumping them in beds and pots, only I am mostly doing it for winter protection. A nice layer of oak leaves does insulate plants pretty well, and we have several different varieties of oak whose leaves break down at different rates, and I haven't had the leaves form an impenetrable mat to prevent water/air getting to the plants. But then, these are fairly small leaves- if you've got big, thick leaves your mileage may vary.

    Another benefit of having lots of oaks in the yard? This morning I saw at least three (and possibly four if one didn't double back) Pileated Woodpeckers flying through the front and back yards, checking out the trees. I've seen the occasional PW in the yard before, but never more than one at a time. Just as an aside...

    Virginia

  • floridarosez9 Morgan
    9 years ago

    Virginia, you are so fortunate. I used to have a breeding pair down by the creek but haven't seen them lately.

    Florence, I'm glad to see you're still posting. I can't do the things I used to do either, but I keep trying.

  • Vicissitudezz
    9 years ago

    Yes, floridarose, I do feel fortunate that they showed up when I was outside to see them. I hope this means that we're part of their territory now, and we'll see them a bit more often.

    I hope you see your PW family again soon- my understanding is that they've got extensive territories and don't usually nest in the same place twice.

    Virginia

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    I love the woodpeckers! There is a family of them that visit the jacaranda trees in the neighborhood and the telephone poles at moms. We have a big family of them out by me too, in the palm trees of all things.

    Right now the garden is busy with birds, hunting for the last bits of persimmons, bugs in the fallen leaves etc. There is a Phoebe that follows us in the garden, not sure if it is the same one, but for the past few years we have one escorting us as we work in the yard or when I was working in the garage, it sat on a post all day outside waiting for me. Last week it would sit on the solar lights by the new teas.

  • floridarosez9 Morgan
    9 years ago

    Kippy, one of my hens used to follow me everywhere when I was working outside. She also used to lay her eggs in the pots up on the deck, which was pretty smart, since the varmints didn't go up that close to the house. Alas, between the chicken snakes, coyotes and red winged hawks, I have not a single chicken left out of the 300-plus that I incubated. I really miss my chickens and their delicious eggs.

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    Today I finished putting down leaves in the back yard beds, and emptied the wheel barrows of coffee grounds. I collect a kitchen garbage can's worth every day, but often I make the trip there on the way to work and bring it home late at night -- so on those days, it goes into a wheel barrow. Today the last of what was once frozen solid had finally thawed, and with today's collection, I've ALMOST finished one section. Looking at the rest of the beds, I'm guessing it'll be about two more months of daily collection to finish putting a half- to one-inch layer over all the tree leaves. Of course, if we get a snowstorm, that would put things on hold...

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    We don't drink coffee but I do put tea leaf bags to use as a mulch around my roses...also banana skins... I didn't know coffee grounds were beneficial....maybe I try that next time I get a visitor who drinks coffee...

    I'm buying another obelisk...I have 4 already and want a fifth.... all 4 have Austin's on them, so I shall have to get another one of these otherwise it will be out of sync.... Austin's need to be together I feel...they have a unique look... don't know which one I'll go for but the obelisk will be around 7 foot tall...so need one suitable for training...

    ..maybe Generous Gardener or Shropshire Lad...

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    I get my used coffee grounds from Starbucks -- it would take me over a month to fill one can from my own coffee drinking. I bought two kitchen garbage cans, leaving one with them and bringing the other the next day to switch out. I dump the grounds in a wheelbarrow to pull out the filters, then scoop the grounds into a bucket to spread around. I was throwing the filters down in the beds, to be topped with tree leaves. Now that I finished covering the beds with leaves, I'm putting the filters into a big leaf pile I'm using to start making compost.

    Used coffee grounds are somewhat comparable in terms of N-P-K to the Bovung dehydrated manure I was buying from Home Depot to incorporate into my potting soil mix. They're about neutral pH -- most of the acid goes into the brewed coffee, and what little acid is left is organic, and will therefore not last very long in soil. My plan was to put a thin layer of it over the leaves I put down, thinking that as it rains it will gradually filter down between the leaves and speed their decomposition. Plus, it's like candy for earthworms. And why let all that good stuff go into the trash?

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • damask55linen
    9 years ago

    We couldn't figure out what was growing in the flower bed, a bunch of cute little sprouts that looked like alien heads. All i had been throwing out there was tea and coffee grounds.
    I imagined a coffee plantation to pay for my rose buying...
    After a few days of the compost container sitting on the counter, the mystery was solved; fenugreek tea seeds.The aliens got the shovel.
    Loved the woodpecker picture!
    When we had a ranch in Tonasket Washington, the woodpecker came every morning and rang the metal bucket that hung down by the creek, and there were the sweetest smelling pink wild roses

  • summersrhythm_z6a
    9 years ago

    No coyotes here, have bad rabbits only. I'd love to have some hawks to eat rabbits. Some kind of big bird killed two rabbits months ago, waiting for it to come back.

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    FloridaRose, hens are so fun sorry yours are gone. We have a problem predator now. A bobcat came and killed a pair of our hens and just came and took the neighbors last hen as well. We are not letting the girls out early or alone. A bobcat attacked a lady up in the hills for her sandwich, so mom is not bringing food in the garden with her either when she sits with the hens.

    I hope this critter finds better hunting grounds soon.

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm afraid the drought has made it very difficult for the larger predators to survive. I've noticed that the coyote population has really decreased, right along with the rabbits. I haven't seen a mouse or rat in well over a year and a half where before they turned up regularly under the kitchen counter and live trapping in the house was a daily occurrence.

    Virginia, that's a great picture of the woodpecker. They are the neatest birds.

    Ingrid

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    Thank you Christopher...I didn't know that about the coffee grounds formula...

  • summersrhythm_z6a
    9 years ago

    Not a farmer, but I think you'd need a closed fence area for chickens, the top needs to be closed too. Like this one:
    http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=chicken+fencing+with+top+guards&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=6DA76EF996DCC9C02579321AA3ED3E77AAF4891F&selectedIndex=71
    It looks pretty easy to build. I can't have chickens, miniature donkey in my yard, have a lot of rules in the suburbs. I think miniature donkey is so cute! :-) It's about the same size as my dogs.

  • floridarosez9 Morgan
    9 years ago

    Mine were put in a coop at night, but I let them out to free range during the day. Unfortunately, with 300 of them they were easy pickins for the varmints. I had a hawk swoop down and take a hen not three feet from me one day.

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    The chainlink roof coops are extremely expensive but would probably work to keep the bob cat out, of course the bobcat climbs chainlink so the roof would have to be steel pipe frame not wood like the photo so the chainlink is securely attached.

    But in a garden setting in a city, not sure how one would both have a tall enough chainlink cage to accommodate fruit trees and still be allowed to construct the cage given heights, set backs etc.

    Our hens have a covered run, but like all hens, their favorite thing to do is scratch and kick in the dirt in the garden hunting for bugs and weeds. Our garden has a 4 foot fence

  • kittymoonbeam
    9 years ago

    Look at you ready for the holidays!

    I've got so many to plant that I grew from bands and I'm once again doing the ' wonder if I should move this one and plant that one' routine.

    Kippy, your new garden looks so good. It won't be long until it's grown in and lush. I need to mulch again. I collected the debris from the wind and spread it around and want to top it off with some manure and mulch.

    Here's a link to a story for Thanksgiving that will make you all smile

    Here is a link that might be useful: Good dog finds good people

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Kitty, I read that story earlier today when my husband saw it. Arthur is a prince among dogs and he deserved only the best. I was so glad when this story had a happy ending.

    Ingrid

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    I nearly cried over that story...I do hope he's not in quarantine for long...
    ..thanks for sharing it...

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    Doing yardwork is actually something I crave during Winter, so I'm happy to be able to still find things to do. I finished putting down a layer of leaves, and today I finally finished covering one section of the garden with coffee grounds -- and started the next section. At this rate it'll probably take another month or two -- or longer if we get enough snow to impede my daily walk to Starbucks. So here are some pics of the main beds in the back yard -- nothing glamorous, just the garden being put to bed. I didn't take pics of the two side beds or the front. After putting down fertilizer in Spring, I'll put a thin layer of fresh mulch on top to hide whatever leaves have risen up from below the coffee grounds. And I'll have to do more work on the "lawn"......

    :-)

    ~Christopher


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  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    Wow that looks great Christopher and like a lot of work

    I got two more planted today and a small section added to the drip system. All the newer roses with growth on them got a light fish fertilizer feeding too

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    I'd like to see photos of all those roses when in flower... should look good...

    I like low maintenance...so I would probably have to dig up that lawn, what's left of it...and lay something else down...like decorative stones and/or pavers...

    but best of luck with your endeavours there, whatever you choose...

    I got 2 obelisks arriving soon with some Austin roses, so that will give me plenty to do...

    ...I wonder if there is anyone else like me, who just might go out and garden on Christmas Day...? I'm afraid so...lol.