Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, April 11

The famous Pat* reminds us that it is spring!

I caught our forsythias at peak, early last week.

Forsythias just say "Spring"!

And

Tulips from the dump at Holland, MI after their Tulip Festival, courtesy of my nieces - these are my favorites because of the "flame" effect. They tend to get redder as they go.

Spectacular! And such a bargain!

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

I planted 10 tomato plants in this raised bed last year - Terra Cotta, Black Strawberry and San Marzano. Here you see the volunteers - there are a lot of them. I think I'll just use these instead of planting seeds. Who knows - maybe I'll get some interesting hybrids!
Miley

Well, I think all those varieties are open-pollinated (not sure), so you may not get hybrid, since tomatoes generally self-pollinate. Let us know ! Don't try this with melons.

Your volunteers will have a jump-start on seeds planted now.

Puttering

Up for some gardening by moonlight?

Victor Borge plays it straight for once.

Gardens of The Horde

New buds on existing plants: orange cannas, red and yellow flowering yucca and the water irises have popped out. Put in a red and a purple verbena, and a blue delphinium.
Gotta get after the weeds and the sprouts from the bird feeders!
Respectfully,
Dave K

Some great things growing there! Anyone jealous?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. Sorry I deleted part of the post this week. It was like magic! Or Microsoft.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, April 4

I closed the comments on that post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 02:20 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 HELLO!

Posted by: Denny Crane - Does Anyone Else Miss Charlie Sheen? at April 11, 2026 02:22 PM (dmDsy)

2 I'm still not sure what happened to my first draft of this thread. It disappeared! We have a little content left over for next week.

Posted by: KT at April 11, 2026 02:23 PM (7vIsy)

3 Bring it on, KT!

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at April 11, 2026 02:24 PM (dmDsy)

4 Greetings garden peeps. Enjoying the sun before the week o’ storms headed this way.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:25 PM (3Ope8)

5 I'm still not sure what happened to my first draft of this thread. It disappeared! We have a little content left over for next week.
Posted by: KT at April 11, 2026 02:23 PM (7vIsy)
----
That happened to me once with the Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Very strange.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at April 11, 2026 02:26 PM (ESVrU)

6 I love those water features.

Posted by: toby928(c) at April 11, 2026 02:28 PM (4NO2D)

7 Maybe the hamsters have been infiltrated

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at April 11, 2026 02:29 PM (fE6HJ)

8 Rain forecast overnight in van nuys

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little at April 11, 2026 02:29 PM (Kt19C)

9 5 I'm still not sure what happened to my first draft of this thread. It disappeared! We have a little content left over for next week.
Posted by: KT at April 11, 2026 02:23 PM (7vIsy)
----
That happened to me once with the Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Very strange.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at April 11, 2026 02:26 PM (ESVrU)

I don't understand anything I don't understand.

Posted by: Denny Crane- I Believe I Am Correct. at April 11, 2026 02:29 PM (dmDsy)

10 Beautiful sky now, mixed clouds

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little at April 11, 2026 02:29 PM (Kt19C)

11 I have been adding fruit trees. I will not be buying anything else from Tractor Supply as I just discovered the prach has a sowbug infestation. I've been really happy with the ones from Raintree. My favorite fruit now is Asian pears and they have a good selection. I would really like to have a quince.

I did get started planting veggies. The local store is starting to get sets. The eggplant starts looked awful although the one I bought perked up inside. We have a forecast for freezing lows next weekend and it's just too early for this stuff,even though we have highs in the 80s next week. Strange weather.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at April 11, 2026 02:30 PM (gQ15S)

12 Nice. It's a nice day in my part of Canada and I saw one person mowing the lawn. First one of 2026.

And so it begins.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 02:30 PM (Sco7b)

13 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Found out need to replace a gas control on grill but doesn't look like that is a possibility

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 02:31 PM (Ia/+0)

14 We have a couple of wrens at the feeders now on a regular basis along with the blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and white wing dove.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:32 PM (3Ope8)

15 Things were getting a little dry here in the NE corner of Land of the Red Man, but then we got a nice drenching day-before-last. Everything went really green. Yay.

The new fruit trees leafing out, the pears flowering, the oaks have lovely spring-green leaves, new azaleas around the front porch look healthy, various flowers and herbs on the South side of the house are thriving. The lawn was getting a little ragged but got a cut just before the rain. So, everything looking good. More rain due soon. Spring!!
💚

Posted by: mindful webworker - then there's the bugs..... at April 11, 2026 02:36 PM (C2uPD)

16 Gardening/Home/Nature thread is up

Posted by: SciVo at April 11, 2026 02:39 PM (Sy6m/)

17 OOps

Posted by: SciVo at April 11, 2026 02:39 PM (Sy6m/)

18 I grow strawberries. It started out as a novelty, and has grown into an infatuation. They, of course, are perennials, but after about 3 years, their fruit production craters, so you have to start new shoots.

So this year, I decided to plant same "Early Dawn" strawberry shoots a little early. I'd usually wait until the first week of May. The weather has been cool, but pretty consistent for the last few weeks. "Early Dawn" are early producers. So, I took a chance and put them out last week.

The other night the temperature decided to dip down to 22 F. I ended up buying three boxes garbage bags to cover them, and it looks like that did the trick. But, we shall see.

Posted by: Orson at April 11, 2026 02:43 PM (dIske)

19 And just got most of other replacement gas tubes. Putting ghem in found a gas control also is needed..

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 02:43 PM (Ia/+0)

20 Miley, I love getting freebie tomato plants like that. I like to think there's a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" thing making them stronger.

Oh, and I have Black Strawberry seedlings coming along nicely, thanks for the recommendation.

In fact all my tomato and pepper seedlings are looking fabuloso.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 02:44 PM (kpS4V)

21 Got some portulaca and marigolds in this morning. All I have to do to finish the pond area is transplant a daylilly from the front.

Gotta rehab a couple of areas in the front, next.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:44 PM (3Ope8)

22 Absolutely gorgeous spring day here. Sat out on the back porch for the first time this year. The feral kitties kept staring at me waiting for that kibble.

I spotted a purple pansy on the hillside that must have been carried over by the flooding rains. I repatriated it to my flower garden.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 02:47 PM (kpS4V)

23 Seems like all the veggies I’ve tried to grow here get taken by critters and birds.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:49 PM (3Ope8)

24 I have some hosta tubers to plant but I'm feeling lazy after a day cleaning up my garden spaces. Maybe tomorrow after the rain.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 02:49 PM (kpS4V)

25 Dave K., I am covetous. I would hang out in that garden all day.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 02:51 PM (kpS4V)

26 5 I'm still not sure what happened to my first draft of this thread. It disappeared! We have a little content left over for next week.
Posted by: KT at April 11, 2026 02:23 PM (7vIsy)
----
That happened to me once with the Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Very strange.

-----

I remember that something similar happened to J.J. once, too.

Posted by: KT at April 11, 2026 02:51 PM (7vIsy)

27 What type of hostas, Eris?

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:52 PM (3Ope8)

28 I have plenty of plant starts, but all indoors. There remains about a foot of snow over just about everything out there. It has been above freezing for a couple of weeks during the day, but there was a lot of snow to start with, so it will be a bit before the ground is warm enough to till and plant.

Posted by: tcn in AK at April 11, 2026 02:54 PM (DwqWV)

29 23 Seems like all the veggies I’ve tried to grow here get taken by critters and birds.
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:49 PM (3Ope

_______________________

You can usually keep the rodents at bay by outlining your garden space with mint or lavender. Mint, especially, is a good choice because it will spread pretty fast for you, and comes up every year.

Birds? You're on your own. It's a pain to put netting up. However, depending on what breed of bird is the biggest problems, you can sometimes set up a more appetizing alternative for them. I used to have Bluebirds picking my tomatos looking for worms....and it stopped when I put out a meal worm feeder across the field.

Posted by: Orson at April 11, 2026 02:55 PM (dIske)

30 You know the quirky of this place is what gives it charm

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 02:57 PM (Ia/+0)

31 Our hosta has started to come up

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 02:58 PM (Ia/+0)

32 What type of hostas, Eris?
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:52 PM (3Ope

----

I can't remember -- they're in a box in the garage -- but it's a hosta collection from Breck's. With any luck some of last year's hostas will also return.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 02:59 PM (kpS4V)

33 29>> I had several types of mint before I excavated the pond. That stuff was EVERYWHERE…. Out of. cfukin. control. Never again.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 02:59 PM (3Ope8)

34 I just love all of the rocks in that garden. I got a thing for rocks, always have.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:06 PM (w6EFb)

35 Still only low 60s today and tomorrow, warmer next week they promise.

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 03:06 PM (Ia/+0)

36 We have three hostas, two under the fig tree and one under the bedroom window by the climbing rose. They’re in the third year in the ground and seem to be fairly robust. It froze shortly after they emerged but they came through ok.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 03:07 PM (3Ope8)

37 From Boise area: Making the Top of the Report is even better than being First!

Lows 39-51 F, highs 64-72. Rain yesterday. Took a yard walk to catch what I've been missing - redbud is already dropping flowers and starting leaves, dogwood is flowering, crabapple has lovely scent and is showering petals like snow, oak is flowering, Tatarian maples are fully leafed, silver maples are starting to leaf, one of the older apple trees is heavily flowering and the other only lightly, the newer Golden Delicious has more flowers than the other 2 newer trees, the Seckel pear is blooming more than the Warren, the forsythia are faded now, wild roses leafing, and the 4 Annoying Sycamores are still ugly skeletons.

The peony from last year is a foot high - tulips starting - lots of midget Johnny Jump-Ups by the shed - a few early buds on the lilies of the valley - the strawberries have a few flowers - we only have a few tiny asparagus stalks coming up (do we need to replant? give up? wait to see what happens when irrigation water comes on?).

Indoors, I'm about to put the tomatoes out in the mini greenhouse, but will have to watch nighttime temperatures. Peppers stay inside for now.

Posted by: Pat* at April 11, 2026 03:07 PM (thFLS)

38 taken by critters and birds.
_-_
Here, if you don't cage it, you don't own it. Even with my whole garden surrounded by hardware cloth (even under the raised beds) the mice get in and munch on sprouts. I found that a 5 gallon bucket with 4 inches of water in the bottom helps with the mice, though.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at April 11, 2026 03:09 PM (2TPZH)

39 34>> That’s a ton of small Arizona cobble, moved by a wheelbarrow full at a time. It changes color when it rains or when the garden gets watered.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 03:11 PM (3Ope8)

40 Finally got asparagus established here. Harvested twice so far and another handful later today for supper.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at April 11, 2026 03:12 PM (2TPZH)

41 Miley, I love getting freebie tomato plants like that. I like to think there's a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" thing making them stronger.

Oh, and I have Black Strawberry seedlings coming along nicely, thanks for the recommendation.

In fact all my tomato and pepper seedlings are looking fabuloso.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 02:44 PM (kpS4V)

I'm really into Darwin-in-the-garden. Volunteers are almost holy to me. Last year I didn't plant tomatoes until very late, and they would not grow. They remained frozen at about 2 1/2" under the growlights and I was like WTAF. I ended up popping them into the raised bed and basically told them it was fight or die. Yes, I did water them occasionally. But I mostly ignored them until late summer. They became a tomato jungle because I didn't bother to pinch off new shoots.

I ended up doing a harvest once a week (just tossed them into freezer bags after washing them). Got 24 lbs that still needs to be turned into marinara and canned.

Anyway, I'm going to have to isolate 10 plants. I'm pretty sure the Black Strawberry plants have some purple on the stem. Can you confirm?

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:15 PM (w6EFb)

42 37>> I’m jealous …I’d like to have four seasons…..and be able to grow tulips and peonies.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 03:16 PM (3Ope8)

43 love all of the rocks in that garden

Me likey.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little at April 11, 2026 03:19 PM (Kt19C)

44 We are having an amazingly fertile spring here in the East Tennessee Appalachian Mountains. Everything is coming up roses. My rose bush has branched out considerably, my white azalea is going crazy, my pink azaleas have put out a few shy balloons and now I have about a dozen volunteer cherry plum tree seedlings in the side yard and I don't know where they came from! If I let them just grow, they would be a virtual Grove about 15 by 15 ft. I'm thinking of saving one and cutting down the others. They're about 10 inches tall.

Posted by: Beverly at April 11, 2026 03:19 PM (reMys)

45 Miley, I just checked, and yes, the Black Strawberries have dark purple at the bottom of the stems. Never noticed that.

So do my Chocolate Miracles. Do all dark 'maters?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 03:21 PM (kpS4V)

46 Hasn't rained enough and been too warm for my hyacinth patch in the front to bloom. Looks like weeds, the neighbors love it.

The kalanchoes are staying in they like it vs the vagaries of outside weather. One thing I learned
they like a lot of water but like drunks when they've had their fill they lay down (propagating habit) then when they hit that happy spot all the stalks are up.

Haven't successfully propagated the anglonemea yet.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 11, 2026 03:21 PM (vl6og)

47 Our hosta has started to come up

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 02:58 PM (Ia/+0)

It's funny how they all come up at different times, even if it's the same kind and they're next to each other. My Blue Angels were like that. The Empress Wu was on the late side, and Paul's Glory was pretty quick. Fire and Ice was on the slow side, and Frances Williams is only now furling out.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:26 PM (w6EFb)

48 Anyone jealous?
====

Yes.

*kicks dirt*

Posted by: San Franpsycho at April 11, 2026 03:30 PM (RIvkX)

49 Rock garden rocks.

Posted by: Eromero at April 11, 2026 03:30 PM (LHPAg)

50 I love hostas and have killed several.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at April 11, 2026 03:32 PM (RIvkX)

51 39 34>> That’s a ton of small Arizona cobble, moved by a wheelbarrow full at a time. It changes color when it rains or when the garden gets watered.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 03:11 PM (3Ope

My brother has been scavaging all of the rocks that are liftable (and a few that really aren't) from the edge of the woods where Publius and his daddy tossed them years ago. He wants to line our extensive borders with natural rock, but it seems we have run out.

He got a few more from a friend down the road. They were a good size and had lots of lichen and moss on them. I'm looking at them right now. I've got a little gnome (Kristi Gnome) and a few crystals next to them.

Then of course there are the bags of pea stone and whatnot that have been incorporated into the plan.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:34 PM (w6EFb)

52 Ours is the Green with white center kind

In front have Rhododendron of different colors, they don't come out exactly same time

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 03:35 PM (Ia/+0)

53 I looked up Kristi Gnome thinking it was a kind of garden gnome.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at April 11, 2026 03:36 PM (RIvkX)

54 I use the rock I dig up as protection against the weedeater for the vines and the desert willow on the upper terrace. The cannas are pretty resilient. If I whack’em, they come right back.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at April 11, 2026 03:40 PM (3Ope8)

55 Miley, I just checked, and yes, the Black Strawberries have dark purple at the bottom of the stems. Never noticed that.

So do my Chocolate Miracles. Do all dark 'maters?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at April 11, 2026 03:21 PM (kpS4V)

I think so. Most purple vegetables like beans release the purple color when cooked, and turn dark green instead of bright green. Those dark colored tomatoes probably have some purple in their stems, and darker green leaves. But that's anecdotal only.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:44 PM (w6EFb)

56 I looked up Kristi Gnome thinking it was a kind of garden gnome.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at April 11, 2026 03:36 PM (RIvkX)

If you search for "girl gnome" on Amazon, you'll see it. She's holding a leaf over her head.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:47 PM (w6EFb)

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