13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

The levee or dike as we call has done a great job! Actually before we had the dike, between 1996 and 2000 there were 4 times that we had to put up sandbags to keep the water away from the house. Before we purchased this house in 1993, there had only been 1 time in the prior 30 years that there was water in the yard here. But there has been a lot of ditching and water diversion, and now it is more likely to come our way!

As for the penguin, he is still around somewhere, a bit banged up for some reason. I want to think that he was hit by a vehicle, but I really don't remember.

Very entertaining story. To start with, so interesting that you had a hatchery. I love the thought of baby ducks and chicks going out around the country through the mails every spring I assume. It gives me a very cute and sweet image in my mind. (g) And what a solution for your flooding problem. I love that man made pond. And the penguin...well, I just think it's refreshing that you and your husband still had a sense of humor after the flooding, the sand bags, having to dig a football size hole and build a levee. lol

Thats because their at my place! I'm also in northern Illinois. Actually not to bad yet (knock on wood, fingers crossed,ect.) just enough to mess up the roses. Hope they leave soon.

North Chicago suburbs. I've seen a few. They are late: they normally arrive with the flowering of my persicaria polymorpha, which becomes a plant full of bugs normally. I've had lots of dragonflies, some butterflies, and a good assortment of bees ( several kinds).

The furry guy is a hummingbird moth. That Bee Balm pretty much fills an 8 foot round bed. Put 3 plants in 4 years ago and let it spread. I love it for color and for all the creatures that love it for food.

Japanese beetles are here but not nearly as many as the past couple years. The only plant that they have swarmed on is a particular geranium leaving other geraniums next to it untouched.

I love that hummingbird moth. Aptly named, too, because I was looking at it and at first I thought it was a hummingbird...but then not. I've never seen one of those around here in the PNW, although we might have them. Certainly none in my garden.

I haven't seen any Japanese Beetles this year either. There's a little black beetle that's giving me fits, though. That and I seem to have earwig issues this year.

I've always lugged all of my pots back inside into the basement for the winter (about 25) just to see what will survive and come back. The spikes come back to life with careful fist exposure in the spring (I've burned a few), and my 7 foot oleander tree does fine with no care or water and low light from my tiny baement window. Never had luck storing bulbs and tubers, so I left the cannas in the pots to die on their own...What a surprise to have them come back to life when I brought them back outside and started watering them! I also had a heliotrope come back to life after a winter with no care. This year I invested in a datura and cestrum nocturnum and want to put them in the basement (I have no room upstairs for these large pots). Do they need water or will they go dorment? I will take cuttings of the cestrum to be safe but would like to save the plant as it is a good size (2ft) and will be much larger come October. My basement gets fairly cold as I am in zone 5 in Massachusetts, so I'm afraid if I use artificial light and provide water they will just die as they are tropicals...Has anyone overwintered these in a cold basement?

I've always lugged all of my pots back inside into the basement for the winter (about 25) just to see what will survive and come back. The spikes come back to life with careful fist exposure in the spring (I've burned a few), and my 7 foot oleander tree does fine with no care or water and low light from my tiny baement window. Never had luck storing bulbs and tubers, so I left the cannas in the pots to die on their own...What a surprise to have them come back to life when I brought them back outside and started watering them! I also had a heliotrope come back to life after a winter with no care. This year I invested in a datura and cestrum nocturnum and want to put them in the basement (I have no room upstairs for these large pots). Do they need water or will they go dorment? I will take cuttings of the cestrum to be safe but would like to save the plant as it is a good size (2ft) and will be much larger come October. My basement gets fairly cold as I am in zone 5 in Massachusetts, so I'm afraid if I use artificial light and provide water they will just die as they are tropicals...Has anyone overwintered these in a cold basement?

I pot up many seedlings, but usually do this in the Spring. Sometimes I pot up the winter-sown seedlings to let them put on some size before planting in the garden. This seems to increase their chance of survival. I just planted out some nice 6 inch Foxgloves yesterday and the day before, that I had potted as tiny seedlings and let grow on for 4-6 weeks.

I think you can pot up some Rudbeckia seedlings now if you want. If they are growing in a crowded littIe bunch they are probably competing for resources and won't grow optimally anyway. I would keep them some place easy to tend, where they only get a half day of sun (so they don't fry), and keep them well watered. Use a diluted liquid fertlizer about once a week.

Or you could thin them out in the patch, pamper a little, and transplant in fall.

I do it all summer long. If I see and recognize a seedling that I'd like elsewhere, I'll pot it up and stick it in the shade for a few days. Most of the time, they rebound just fine.

I yanked up 2 common milkweed sprouts that were in a bad spot & stuck them in a pot. They sulked for about 10 days, but finally started adjusting and started standing tall. And they HATE to be moved...

david - I checked the Dwarf Allegro and according to what I found the flowers are 6 inches across, but the plant grows from 16-20 inches tall. It's a pretty color though.

Kevin

there are many non-flopping oriental poppies developed here in Europe in recent years. They are beautiful, but the blooming season is shorter than anything else, so I regret I bought so many. All from Paris-series are non-flopping(a.o. Place Pigalle, Clochard), Karine and others.

Wieslaw, that is an elderberry called "Sutherland gold" Right now it's about 5' tall, the window and clematis are taller!

Beautiful arrangements and I love your Dining Room!

I think you are right about the book, it's not by Tasha Tudor, but by Tovah Martin who wrote books with Tasha Tudor. Sorry about that. Nice book though.

I've seen a few Monarchs here, but not as many as in past years. One of my butterfly bushes has not bloomed yet, which I would have expected, but the Monarchs were all over the Echinaceas.

a2zmom, that looks like mine! isn't it gorgeous?!!