any gardeners?

“Here in the chilly north, we are still enjoying daffodils. About three more yet to put out blossoms, while the rest are showing off. Reino put in the first annuals yesterday along the front walk (brave soul) -- red impatiens (sp?).

After a night of soaking its roots, I put in a honeysuckle vine where our lattice fence meets a trellis by our garage. That will add some color to that corner of the yard. We were worried that the siding crew had destroyed our gorgeous ferns that border the north side of the garage, but fiddleheads have been poking through the last several days and are quickly unfurling. A few open spots, but it may prove to have been just a temporary thinning.

The day lilies and peonies on the south side of the house are really charging ahead and have sent forth buds already -- at least 10 on the peonies. The day lilies in the front bed are well up, but no flower stalks yet. The peonies in the same bed are more than twice as thick this year, and more than a foot tall so far, but well behind those near the nice warm foundation. The phlox in the other corner of the front bed are also coming in well.

The varigated iris blades in the newer bed are about a foot tall. Can't wait for some blooms. The day lilies and iris from sirpete are holding their own, but the dahlias that are interspersed had just shown about a half-inch when we had a frost a few nights back and they got bitten. But, the damaged tips have withered and new green is showing now just at the surface of the mulch.

Four new goldenflame spirea bushes were the big change out front. We had to excavate a lot of old plastic sheeting, gravel and roots out of the area below our living room window, sift all the dirt (about 6 wheel barrow loads), and then do the planting. But they sure do look nice with their reddish orange spring foliage.

The alpine current bushes we put in last year are filling out nicely -- can't wait until they create a hedge -- and have just put out dainty little flowering stalks. The dwarf honeysuckle hedge along the sidewalk has its flower buds in place and should burst into sweet bloom any day, while the lilacs look about a week from blooming.

Man, didn't realize just how much stuff we have going on -- and I forgot about the hostas in front, and the digitalis, hollyhocks and poppies in the backyard garden. Gotta love perennials.”

“All the spring flowers are in full bloom here already.

But, we've already had to water a lot. We had one of the dryest April's on record and already temps are pushing into the 90's. We usually don't get that till August.

With a six month daughter in the house getting out in the yard is sometime hard. My wife and I have been improvising. Last week we were out in the gardens with our headlamps on while Brenn slept.

Just the other night we out on the patio again with the headlamps on wiring in new patio lights till about 10 p.m.

Oh, the things you'll do when you have children.

I have a headlight on the riding mower, but I'm afraid mowing at night might piss off the neigbors :-)

Looks like I'm going to get a good crop of plums and peaches this year too. The blooms survived the late frost we had this year.

I know this isn't a gardening board, but maybe I'll post a few garden pics. I'd be interested in seeing others gardens too. I love playing in the dirt!”

“"I know this isn't a gardening board, but maybe I'll post a few garden pics. I'd be interested in seeing others gardens too. I love playing in the dirt!......."

IJ - Post'em! I think that they would be very apprap- O. I'll be posting once everything gets in and snuggled. I'll have before and after pics.


BTW - Check out this site:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

Welcome to Mecca!”

“Nice link! My wife will be in heaven!”

“i put in

yellow onions
scallions
lemon cucumbers

already started the herb garden a few days ago.

i will plant more in a couple of weeks.”

“OK, here are a few. Someone could make a link?

http://community.webshots.com/album/144446612ikLFjG

I'll post more later.”

“WoW - IJ, You have a real nice piece of the Earth there. Your time is really paying off.


I'm in here fer a break, I decided that due to lack of funds (read- I'm real close to going over budget = 200.00 for everything), I used some old brick edgers that I once had in use as my front of house beds. It's all in, save a section left ou for me to get the wheel barrow through; which is next.

The boy is working hard as well! He is part of the reason I'm doing this in the first place. We found all kinds of cool insects for him to observe. He's real respectful.

I'm taking pics, I hope to have something up later on!”

“Indiana John, nice pics and garden(s). I think, for some of us, the attraction to gardening is related to the attraction to backpacking/hiking: getting outside amidst natute's glory. While our gardens are not wild areas by any means, the interaction with the plants and soil brings us face-to-face with a very sensuous world, just as backpacking allows you to envelope yourself with different environments.”

“Tru-dat pekka!”

“Aaaack!!! natute's = nature's, envelope = envelop; I've got to watch myself, here I am grading the last set of English papers and I don't proof my own post before hitting submit.”

“Whelp, my new neighbors up the road decided the St. Augustine grass (an invasive weed imo) wasn't up to snuff so they rototilled it and bagged it all up. Their next statement? "Hey! There's nothing but sand here!" Duh! You're living on a sand dune that used to be covered with coastal hammock oaks, Dude! They've put in a bunch of inappropriately chosen perennials, and lots and lots of pine bark nuggets for mulch. First heavy rain, they'll all float down to my ditch. They're re-turfing tomorrow. Hah!”

“MAN! What a busy day/night!

I smell like cow chit, I need a bath, but most of everything is in, save the Cantaope, Watermellon, Peas, and Pumkin.

Looks like I'll need to build a little trellis for these buggers. I have a little idea. We'll see.


I'm beat; I hope it turns out.”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/144674025KlJezU


Please excuse the high grass. The Michigan Spring has been realwet and believe it or not, I've hadto cut it three times already this year.

I hope to get everything else in today. I have a problem with coming up with something to "trellis" the Watermellon and Pumpkin, but I think a piece to lattis framed out and A-framed off of the "non-fenced" side would work.

I'm also going to put in some boxed areas for more watermellon, squash and catalopes.”

“Laqtis,

Did you do all that yesterday? Nice job! All you need now is a little water and some TLC.

Your little one is cute too. What's his name?”

“IJ - His name is Mason. His first B-day is Saturday. Thanks!



Nope, that was between two day worth of work. The first two pics were one day, the day I tilled (which I didn't get pics of) and laid down one side of the edgers. Then yesterday, I moved 2 square yards of topsoil, with four bags of cow crap and Peat Moss. It was a BIG day yesterday, to say the least. My back is killin` me!


It'll be worth it. I'm addicted!”

“LQ, you have more toys in your backyard then I do. can I come over and play on the see-saw?

cool pics. its a lot of work, but all worth it in the end.”

“laqtis, you look like you have a similar situation as we do -- our backyard garden patch goes right down the middle of the yard since that's where there is enough sun between the big trees.”

“So far this year I've planted:
Tomatoes - Cherry, Roma, and Better Boy

Bell Peppers - Red, Yellow, and Green

Jalepeno Peppers - my 8 year old loves 'em and there's a perpetual bowl of fresh salsa in the house once the tomatoes start to ripen.

Red Onion sets

Cucumbers - Burpless and Marketmore

Pumpkins - the kids get a kick out of growing their own.

Our herb garden is once agin growing with fervor, too. Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley, Chives, Lemon Thyme, Spearmint, and our favorite, Cilantro. Salsa just aint "right" without fresh cilantro!

My nutty wife tends her roses, too, something like 80 of them now. She's addicted to those varmint weeds.

Ordin”

“pekka - Yep, it sure does, but I don't mind. I have plenty of room for the kids to play back there.

I don't think anyone could tell, but right behind that swingset, a 12x12 patio is going in.

Everything is in that can be in. I can't take a pic right now. My wife has the camera and they're both on their way to Chicago for a couple of days (school field trip).

I'm gonna work on boxing in an area for the Cantalope, Watermellon and Pumkin. It gonna be BIG!”

“Looks great Q! You've really done alot of work. Something to think about....you'll have to figure out some way to support your melons once they start to get big if they're on a trellis. Maybe K has some old bras? ;)

I fnally got our pepper and tomato plants in the garden today. Poor babies should've been transplanted about two weeks ago. They're probably stretching their roots out and sighing with relief right now.”

“FLMAO ~ Sass!

I can imagine it now --------



"What ARE you doing!?!?!"

"I need'em for the mellons, sweetie."”

“Sass, we have about a dozen hostas feeling the same way as your peppers and tomatos -- if not more so. They have been in pots since last summer when our friends in Madison thinned their beds. Survived all winter outside, then reviving this spring. This afternoon, we gave them the choice spot along the house's one southern exposure.

Also have put in some Salvia and Dianthus, with more Salvia to go in tomorrow.”

“Planted the melons, summer squash, zuchinni,pumpkins and more spinach tonite, Also spent over an hour weeding. I am am bummed,our beans didnt come up well. I planted about 20-30 seeds and 4 came up, they look rough. I may have gotten a bad packet of seeds.

Q, its great to hear how much fun your having. I love this time of year for the garden. I hate late summer though the fun turns into work...”

“Thanks, birch!

I really do dig it.

I'm trying to time my harvast. Book sez that if I do it right, I could lettus and spinish all the way up to frost!

I saw some Strawberries pop up tonight.”

“Came home today to find the honeysuckle in full bloom. Had spinach again tonight. Snapdragons started blooming. Coreopsis is continually blooming and looks great. I just noticed the strawberries putting out fruit now also.”

“Two things will give you lettuce till frost. Plant new stuff every two weeks and setup a sunshade to prevent a premature "bolt" in the heat of july and august.”

“87 degrees for a high today. I'll be irrigating tonight no fail. We haven't had measurable rain levels in 3 weeks now. Glad I don't have a lawn, it'd be crunchy now.”

“Lawn? Did somebody say lawn? I'm going to be working here again this weekend. The plan for this weekend is to get the sprinkler system re-done to fit the new shape of the lawn-to-be. Glad those dang junipers are gone, although the roots are still causing havoc....”

“Heh heh heh, we have about the same sized yard. Only difference mine's filled with trees. My entire property is 50 feet wide by 102 feet long. That's it.”

“I finaly got the rest of my garden in too. It's been the wettest spring I can remember in the 19 years we've been here.
Been eating tons of asparagus, a few radishes, and a little spinach. Looks like we might have a good year for strawberries.

Where the heck can I get fruit tree spray for my apples? They don't sell it at Gurneys online anymore, or at any of the nurseries local. Has this stuff become restricted or something?”

“treebait - I wish I could bottle this stuff up fer ya and send it down.

We're about to get pounded yet again as I type this. Last night was wicked!

How y'all fair over there, Sass/birch? I was up late last night, watching the funnel clouds on TV come rolling past yer area.

My neibours are wondering if I'm growing veggies, or wheat in the backyard!”

“I'd love to get in some pictures of my new place. The garden is pre-existing and in much need of a rototilling. I planted 4 cherry trees a couple of weeks ago and they are doing great. so are the australian willows I planted out in the pasture. (for shade and somewhat of a windbreak for the Hellgate winds we get in the winter from the south.

Don't plan to get much in but I will experiment w/ sweet corn in a week to see how the deer do. I hope the elk don't get brave enuf to wander up to the yard.”

“must be the indiana soil cause I just harvested a cart load of radishes the size of beets...so good, yummy! I have been eatting saldas strait out of the veggi patch, I cant keep them picked fast enough, yikes! Strawberris are good right now, though my plants are new so I havent gotten many fruits off of them. Our wildflower garden is finially starting to bloom now also. Cant wait untill it becomes a big show!!”

“Hey Free, untie Crazy Mike and let him post, willya?”

“er...I lost the key to the chains bit.....


He's still at work LOL”

“Some people are asking where he's been...they want to hike with him, ya know?”

“He's been more interested in um..nesting in the house then backpacking lately. Are you coming out for the wolves in wisconson trip?”

“Nesting? Did you get him pregnant?

Nope, looks like I'm going to North Carolina that weekend.”

“Free, let my people go!”

“Go to www.gardensalive.com. They have lots of good stuff for fruit trees and gardens.”

“Well I'm glad I don't live in southern Wisconsin today (and it has all headed straight to everyone I know in southern Michigan) as the heavy storms blew through. We just got off and on light rain/sprinkles.

So we managed another trip to the nursery for some more dianthus and a couple geraniums -- and ended up adding in some herbs and wooden tubs for a little herb garden set up -- three types of mint, oregeno, dill, basil. But the capper was stumbling across the garden art to fill in some space between/beneath our big cedars that frame the front walk and the bushes to either side. We finally have our garden Buddha, and we have about a two-foot high Japanese "temple" structure, both in glorious cast concrete. Each can be graced with a candle for pleasant evening lighting.

Once those were set up, I turned my attention to chopping out the rest of the stump from the maple we took down. The stump grinder guy did a pretty crappy job, but he was facing a chit-load of gravel that had been dumped around the tree and said he was afraid he'd break the front window with a stone kicking up from the grinder.

So with my new ax from Menards, I chopped the remains to sufficiently below surface level, screened as much gravel and shredded maple out of the soil as I could, used the gravel to fill some low spots in the neighbor's half of our shared driveway and saved the shredded maple to mulch the refilled hole for the time being. Dirt covers a multitude of sins. Let whoever buys this house someday discover why I've decided to lay a small patio over the spot.

Still gotta get the other salvia in.”

“You be a very busy boy!

Yes, we have been getting pounded down here, and like I just told Buddur....more is on the way.

Don't worry, treebait. No need to send it yer way; we'll be floating down there any minute....


I don't have the guts to go out and see what Mother has done to my beds. One more Black and Tan.....”

“Good luck, laqtis, with the weather effects. More is going through southern Wisconsin now and looks to follow the same track as the band that went through earlier.

Good grief, the Weather Channel said Ann Arbor notched an "unofficial" 95 mph gust this afternoon.

Yeah, a lot of work, but since I got my grades in Wednesday and finished up my other paperwork on Thursday morning, I''ve been basically free in the afternoons the past couple days and all day today. Depending on the rain picture over the weekend, I'll continue removing sod and putting in more perennial beds out front. Reino said it is starting to look really good. While I can appreciate the stuff that's in place, I can't help but see what still needs to be done to fit with what I imagine it will be when done.”

“I guess I shouldn't tell ya that they (Jerry Hodak) were telling everyone in that area to take cover....

I was a little tense. I was up "making sure". Everything pasted south of me, tho.



Looks like the lot made it threw round one.”

“Q, according to my buddies rain gauge we got 1,25 inches in the past 24 hours. Last night we had crying kid and nervous dogs as the air raid siren sounded mixed with the thunder. Today the rain was worse, the sky turned a crazy green. We sustained no damage though.

LeSubtil, I agree about the rain. This may has been crazy wet. April was dry and I was kinda worried about being too dry. Not any more... The local NPR affiliate was talking about how the may rains have substantially brought up the levels of the great lakes, that is great news!”

“I believe ya, birch. I just got done cutting the lawn; the wheelbarrow was half full. All of my other transplants were soaked!

Man! Wunderground is showing a chit load headed our way.

Kerry is coming in from Chicago right now......on a bus....with 1/3rd of the 7th grade from her school. She's just ahead of the storm!”

“Rain envy. I sure wish it would rain here in the Seattle area. This is such an incredibly dry spring here.”

“Last night I planted my strawberries that I have been growing. There was a large annoying insect on my balcony and I ran inside because I was afraid that it was one of the hornets that have been hanging. I went back outside and didn't hear it buzzing anymore so I thought good, its gone. I happen to look down on the ground and I see this spider attacking this insect. It was not a hornet, I'm not sure what it was. The spider was fighting it and sat there and watched it to make sure it wasn't moving. It was the coolest thing! I went back out there this morning and the spider was gone but the insect was dead. Thank God for spiders!!”

“What a discovery this thread is for me! Working in the yard/garden seriously competes with walking, which is how I get/stay in shape for backpacking. Nice to know I'm not the only one.
My current project is converting about 200 linear feet of weeds to a border bed of flowering shrubs. Yesterday, I spent the entire day pulling weeds. Today, I plan to weed around the rhodendrons.”

“Hiya gal, been a lawng time! That Chinese flowering quince of yours is a regular in the bonsai world.

Lovin' y'alls gardens.

Pete you treehugger! Ha!”