Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, April 2

Hi, everybody! Has spring sprung where you are? It seems to have sprung in Northern California. The lovely freesia photo above is from a NorCal Sierra Foothills Lurker. Can you smell them? There seems to be a lot going on in her garden:

I took this picture Thursday and forgot to send it to you before this week's gardening thread, the highlight of my Saturdays! Thank you so very much!
We have been seeing a ton of hummers at our two feeders lately. That includes a gorgeous orange rufous now and then, which makes the fights sooo entertaining!!
We also hear them doing their air dive chirp thing too. I wish I had the slo-mo video camera to film that. They fly high up and DIVE. We can't even follow them with our eyes, they go so fast. . . Sometimes at the end of the season in the fall, we will get praying mantises that try to catch one. . . Thankfully we have only see them catch one but the hummer got away!

I can imagine a lot of hummers in the Sierra foothills, along with some praying mantises.

Plant Genus of the Week: Rockroses

Jake sent in the beautiful photo above of a rockrose, up close. Lovely, isn't it? If you wanted to make tissue paper flowers, rockroses would be good models to start with.

They grow on perennial shrubs, usually woody to some extent:

Thought I would show you the rock rose by the pool.
The thing next to it is Finn (Huckleberry)
We are in Murrieta California

Finn (Huckleberry) looks contemplative. And there is garden art, too!

Rockroses (Cistus) are great flowers for hot, dry locations that don't get too cold in winter. Some of them have resinous leaves with a sort of balsamic smell, which may be flammable, yet they are known for surviving in wildfire areas.

Some species also form associations with fungi on their roots, including truffles. I don't think this is a commercially exploitable relationship. But some cultivars are used in the parking island landscaping at Home Depot stores near us.

Some species tolerate salt spray near the beach.

Edible (and not so edible) landscaping

Robert in San Diego could probably grow rockroses. He has sent in a lovely Edible Landscaping photo of a nectarine tree in bloom, however. Given that truffles from rockroses are probably not practical, this tree is a nice choice:

40 Miles North has a combination of edible and non-edible landscaping in his yard. These irises are not edible, to my knowledge:

Get the water flowing, because nectarines are on the way:

Under the tree, the Vinca major has been blooming for weeks:

This is real Vinca. Pretty, but potentially invasive. Be careful! Definitely not edible.

Adventure: Wildflowers

New Mexico Magazine has the details on the best spring wildflower hikes in the state. It describes how to get to the hiking destinations, what to expect and some of the flowers to look for. Nuttall's violet (left) and Western columbine (right) start appearing in May and June.

Puttering

A brief history of linoleum and why it's actually cool again

Gardens of The Horde

An update from badgerwx:

Another weekend, another cold front on the way. But this one won't be an arctic front like last weekend. I had hard freezes last Sunday & Monday nights but no real plant damage. The early spring plants can take the cold and my lilacs and other later-blooming plants aren't far enough along yet for the flower buds to freeze. My early daffs are done now but the later-blooming daffs are starting their show. I also have grape hyacinths (muscari) colonizing my yard, not to be confused with the real thing.

I like these hyacinths with the looser flower forms.

On the puttering side I have to be careful working along the side of my house, so I don't disturb my new tenant. A mourning dove is nesting in the juniper at the corner of my house. The same thing happened last year, but that dove never laid eggs because it would take off from the nest as soon as it saw me in the side yard. I hope these eggs will be hostaed by the time I have to start mowing the lawn.

Awwww . . .

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

Posted by: K.T. at 01:19 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 01:20 PM (2JoB8)

2 Beautiful!

Posted by: Eromero at April 02, 2022 01:21 PM (/RDPd)

3 Hi, Skip!

I like that little short, late daffodil behind the hyacinths.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 01:22 PM (0ghg2)

4 Took the time to read. Never take the time to gawk at flowers and birds.

Posted by: Eromero at April 02, 2022 01:22 PM (/RDPd)

5 But they are beautiful, KT.

Posted by: Eromero at April 02, 2022 01:23 PM (/RDPd)

6 So far only chives growing, used them a few times already.
Need to turn over garden soil, with shovel, but as do it every year it's not bad. Also have always pulled out rocks so it's only roots that are issue.

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 01:24 PM (2JoB8)

7 Dig the Irises. Ours are similar... if/when they bloom. Hard frost this morning.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at April 02, 2022 01:25 PM (BFigT)

8 Nice to see blooming things. Our grape hyacinth and daffs are blooming here. Of course we have snow coming over the mountains to the west and a few flakes of snow swirling. It's MT so we're having 3rd Winter. Hopefully third Spring arrives soon.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at April 02, 2022 01:26 PM (2NHgQ)

9 Skip at April 02, 2022 01:24 PM

Weren't you worried about your chives in the fall?

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 01:26 PM (0ghg2)

10 hiya

Posted by: JT at April 02, 2022 01:29 PM (arJlL)

11 Hiya, JT

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 01:31 PM (0ghg2)

12 Lovely flower pictures. I have leaves sprouted up from the tulips and other bulbs but no flowers yet.

I puttered this last week or so burning up the cardboard boxes I had laid down over the flower beds for winter mulch. It is hard to tell if it helped, I think the grass was a bit set back, as I intended. I may have also really set the irises back but they didn't bloom for me last year while the tulips were great and after I spent a bunch of time separating the irises 2 or 3 years ago so no loss if they did die from lack of winter sun when they were so fickle for me.

Posted by: PaleRider, simply irredeemable at April 02, 2022 01:33 PM (3cGpq)

13 Beautiful pics.

It's been snowing like crazy here for about 3 hours. Sticking to the grass and trees.

Daffs are only up a few inches, not blooming yet.

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at April 02, 2022 01:33 PM (Z/jzm)

14 My grape hyacinth and spring lilies have bloomed well. For the rest, I'm not raking out the hostas until Ohio decides if Spring has sprung yet. Effing yo-yo weather here again...

Posted by: exdem13 at April 02, 2022 01:33 PM (W+kMI)

15 "Some of them have resinous leaves with a sort of balsamic smell, which may be flammable, yet they are known for surviving in wildfire areas."

There are a lot of plants with this property, which encourages the fire to move along instead of consuming the entire plant, thus enhancing their survivability.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 01:33 PM (Mzdiz)

16 Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 01:33 PM

Well. That's fascinating.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 01:34 PM (0ghg2)

17 A brief history of linoleum and why it's actually cool again

I didn't look at the vid, but let me take a stab at it...

Sustainable?

Posted by: kallisto at April 02, 2022 01:37 PM (DJFLF)

18 I can't recall where I learned that little tidbit, but it was a cool thing to know, and somewhat counterintuitive, which is probably why it stuck in my mind.

Has anyone noticed that in recent years, we are more likely to believe something the weirder it is?

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 01:37 PM (Mzdiz)

19 Hiya KT !

Happy Saturday !

Posted by: JT at April 02, 2022 01:38 PM (arJlL)

20 Also need to trim the rosebush, which is showing signs of recovery from last year and becoming aggressively handsy.

Posted by: exdem13 at April 02, 2022 01:38 PM (W+kMI)

21 Spring here is about 2 - 3 weeks behind normal. This winter wasn't so hard, but I think the Great Freeze last year reset all the internal clocks, and none of them are coming out until they're really sure it's safe.

But at least I finally got to break out the mower and do the lawn again today. Grass isn't so long, but there's an amazing amount of little wildflowers that come up, and the front yard is full of these beautiful little African violets. At one point I had to mow down a bunch of spearmint that had jumped its bed into the lawn - smelled wonderful! Well, mixed with the mower exhaust. I thought a bit about the idea of mint-flavored gasoline, but probably not a big seller.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 02, 2022 01:38 PM (evAgx)

22 Did some "tractoring" this morning. Collected downed branches and limbs from the trees around the edge of the property and dumped them into the growing pile of brush in the woods. Then, hitched up the land plane and re-worked the gravel driveway. That thing is a pain in the ass to get hitched up. 2 of the 3 hitch arms line up with the pins... one of course doesn't.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at April 02, 2022 01:38 PM (BFigT)

23 Sustainable?

Posted by: kallisto at April 02, 2022 01:37 PM (DJFLF)

And edible, apparently, although not recommended.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 01:38 PM (Mzdiz)

24 Yes, often chives here in a mild winter grow throughout being a grass, totally died off it looked this year. Should have Greek Oregano soon too but it seems to kill itself off as woody parts don't come back.

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 01:39 PM (2JoB8)

25 True linoleum, not fauxloneum, anyway.

When I first bought my house I had my heart set on a kitchen with linoleum checkerboard floor, just like the one I grew up in. I got samples of a product called Marmoleum. if you want designer linoleum, they're the go-to.

Posted by: kallisto at April 02, 2022 01:39 PM (DJFLF)

26 Also made charcoal from my sycamore tree branches, seems more dense than the maple.

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 01:41 PM (2JoB8)

27 The way that dove is framed, my first thought was "baby dear".

Giant daffodils across the pond are blooming, nothing else yet. Aquila and Priscilla (the pair of Canadian geese that hang out here every year) have their nest in a better place, still by the pond. Priscilla has been on it all the time now, for a couple days.

The wood duck pair that had their babies all eaten shortly after leaving the nest last year, seem to have moved on to a better place ... unless they are well hidden.

I planted 3 crab apple trees, and a Purple Robe locust, trying to get more color around here. cheers to the growers.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 02, 2022 01:42 PM (Cus5s)

28 Then, hitched up the land plane and re-worked the gravel driveway. That thing is a pain in the ass to get hitched up. 2 of the 3 hitch arms line up with the pins... one of course doesn't.

We've got to do that as well. Or rather, Publius does. We'll need a few tons more of gravel, too. The drive is about 500 ft long.

We also need to build up the area where the drive meets the road. The Mustang can't negotiate it.

Plus, we've got to prep for a lawn.

Right now I'm planting seeds and weeding the mulched areas.

Question: what would you recommend for plantings on the east side of the house, which is in shade for the entire afternoon? He wants shrubbery to break up the monotony of the brick. I don't know which ones would be happy with a shady afternoon.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 01:43 PM (Mzdiz)

29 18 I can't recall where I learned that little tidbit, but it was a cool thing to know, and somewhat counterintuitive, which is probably why it stuck in my mind.

Has anyone noticed that in recent years, we are more likely to believe something the weirder it is?
---------
Thanks to the increased idiocy and mendacity of the self-appointed rulers of the Republic, what was once thought incredible and impossible is now commonplace. Alex Jones is the new Isaiah.

Posted by: exdem13 at April 02, 2022 01:49 PM (W+kMI)

30 >> [PaleRider] the irises back but they didn't bloom for me last year

Bearded irises are fickle for me as well. Most of them, I think, prefer wet climates - KT would know for sure. The drought-tolerant irises do well well in California.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at April 02, 2022 01:51 PM (uWF4x)

31 Charcoal is my green energy, grows every year.

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 01:52 PM (2JoB8)

32 21 At one point I had to mow down a bunch of spearmint that had jumped its bed into the lawn - smelled wonderful! Well, mixed with the mower exhaust. I thought a bit about the idea of mint-flavored gasoline, but probably not a big seller.
=============
You're not avaricious or mendacious enough to have a go at it yourself. However, we have professional marketing agencies for that sort of thing.

I think minty exhaust gasoline would be exactly the sort of thing to sell to the former Californian wine moms newly infesting Butler County, Ohio. (It's a sign of the times that I would rather have border-jumping illegals as neighbors than legally-categorized citizens of Californistan.)

Posted by: exdem13 at April 02, 2022 01:54 PM (W+kMI)

33 Nice to see blooming things. Our grape hyacinth and daffs are blooming here. Of course we have snow coming over the mountains to the west and a few flakes of snow swirling. It's MT so we're having 3rd Winter. Hopefully third Spring arrives soon.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at April 02, 2022 01:26 PM (2NHgQ)
***

My grape hyacinths are going like gang-busters! But my daffs have failed me big time.
One damned flower.
One!
And it mocks me!

Posted by: Diogenes at April 02, 2022 01:54 PM (axyOa)

34 "That thing is a pain in the ass to get hitched up. 2 of the 3 hitch arms line up with the pins... one of course doesn't."

yeah, always a hassle for me. I try to set heavier implements on tires, so I can wiggle them a little (and not have them sitting in the dirt). Helped a lot when I found the lower arms can be slid out a little, just have to be sure to back up to click it back in before pulling away.

Of course the top link can be screwed in or out. But if the implement isn't level, can be a challenge. I imagine you know all those tricks, but for the novice, there it is.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 02, 2022 01:54 PM (Cus5s)

35 shrubs - don't know what zone you're in. I've used Cleyara Japonica for a medium hedge, but it only thrives in zones 7 - 10.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 02, 2022 01:55 PM (evAgx)

36 My new gardening tool is a machete, $6.99 from Harbor Freight. The new redbud & honeysuckle saplings on the lot have a date with the Masked Killer.

Posted by: exdem13 at April 02, 2022 01:56 PM (W+kMI)

37 > I try to set heavier implements on tires...
_____________

Huh... interesting. I have a gravel pad next to my garage/shop that's sort of level. I ended up getting the car jack and lifting the one side about 1/2" to stick the pin in.

It was this > < close. Freaking thing weighs like 400lbs and I ain't lifting that.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at April 02, 2022 01:58 PM (BFigT)

38 In other news, Dad got a pole saw, and he wants me to come over tomorrow and do some tree-limb pruning for him. As an erstwhile landsknecht re-enactor, I have proficiency in polearms. So I'll go give him a hand. (Dad's had some additional trouble with stretching since his hernia surgery last year.)

Posted by: exdem13 at April 02, 2022 01:59 PM (W+kMI)

39 Gardening tool? Is money an issue? If not I'd go with a skidsteer track type loader with ALL the quick-attach stuff. And a siutable equipment trailer and dumptruck.

Posted by: Eromero at April 02, 2022 02:01 PM (/RDPd)

40 "That thing is a pain in the ass to get hitched up. 2 of the 3 hitch arms line up with the pins... one of course doesn't."

yeah, always a hassle for me. I try to set heavier implements on tires, so I can wiggle them a little (and not have them sitting in the dirt). Helped a lot when I found the lower arms can be slid out a little, just have to be sure to back up to click it back in before pulling away.
-------

Publius is just amazing - he backs the tractor up and almost always connects the first time.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:02 PM (Mzdiz)

41 Well seen it all now, a werewolf riding a motorcycle.

Posted by: Eromero at April 02, 2022 02:05 PM (/RDPd)

42 "It was this >

just put something under that side before you sit it down? I have some play in the lower arms, to lift up or down that much.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 02, 2022 02:06 PM (Cus5s)

43 I have a machete, often carry it in case a jaguar or grizzly bear attacks me, guess in Pa not too much of a chance but never know.

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 02:09 PM (2JoB8)

44 >> 41 Well seen it all now, a werewolf riding a motorcycle.

Was his hair perfect?

Posted by: 40 Miles North at April 02, 2022 02:11 PM (uWF4x)

45 From Boise area: Lows 28-48 F, highs 60-72 F. Freezes predicted this coming week. Asparagus - a few stems up, but they've wilted in the cold already. A few radish sprouts are up. Weed spraying has started. Box elder bugs proliferating. Daffodils showing around town. A few flowering trees out too; our redbud and apples are waiting a bit longer. First few tulip buds showing. Our hyacinths just passed their peak bloom. Our lilac buds are showing color. We lightly pruned our new pear trees.

I'm shifting compost - we did the "bin 1 to corn bed" shift; I'm currently on the "2-to-1" shift. I'm also planning to dig up a clump of fireweed and penstemon growing by the shed; they've gotten invaded by lawn grass, which bugs me no end. I'll put them in a pot for a season, and get all the grass in that zone killed. I moved a lot of those blue shale landscaping rocks out of the way of this project yesterday. Given the cold snap coming, I'll wait a week and check weather again.

No news on HOA irrigation water yet, so I'm carrying water to the garden in buckets.
(post 1 of 2)

Posted by: Pat* at April 02, 2022 02:11 PM (2pX/F)

46 "Publius is just amazing - he backs the tractor up and almost always connects the first time." Posted by: Miley, the Duchess

Nice. It's an art.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 02, 2022 02:12 PM (Cus5s)

47 > just put something under that side before you sit it down? I have some play in the lower arms, to lift up or down that much.
_______________

I had a piece of wood under it when I set it down last year. The wood got wet, got soft... and it was just a half inch off because of that. My tractor is a Kubota BX and the hitch has only 2 linkages that are adjustable... that one wasn't (of course.)

Posted by: Martini Farmer at April 02, 2022 02:15 PM (BFigT)

48 Man, I hate the character limit on this comment thread.

We bought 10 baby Austrian pines, which are heeled into a garden bed for now, till we get to planting them. Across the canal behind our property is a horse pasture, and the owner is trying to get it developed. We'll plant the pines out back, outside the canal maintenance easement. With the wild rose hedge, the 2 old apples, the 3 Tatarian maples, and the new pines, there should be plenty of sight line blockage... in time, when the pines grow up. They're supposedly fast growers.
(post 2 of 2.)

Posted by: Pat* at April 02, 2022 02:15 PM (2pX/F)

49 Cold this spring in No. San Diego county. Had 2 nights that hit 28 degrees. Fruit trees, especially the Babcock peaches and the plums, are late to break dormancy this year. And the pears have been hit hard by fire blight. Tongan volcano?

Posted by: Yobobbyb at April 02, 2022 02:18 PM (et0yP)

50 Great gardens! And a dog, too!

Like exdem13, I'm waiting on solid proof that spring is here. Sleet came down early this morning.

Crocuses are up except for the ones I planted in the fall. Fingers crossed on those. Daffodils have been up for a couple weeks but waiting their own sweet time to bloom.

I was looking for a new garbage can and came across a galvanized composting can on sale for $12 (most likely because the lid is jammed into another lid and won't come off for love or money.) It will nice not to have vegetable peelings and melon rinds scattered across my lawn.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 02, 2022 02:22 PM (/+bwe)

51 They are starting on the retaining wall on Monday. Still getting overnight low 30's temps here so to early to plant anything. The old chives are going great though.

Posted by: Infidel at April 02, 2022 02:26 PM (ou23q)

52 Skip, I just got done watching The Survival Gardening channel with David the Good, back in February he did a 45 minute video about burning charcoal (biochar) in a large pit.
I don't know if you have the room to dig a Taurus Station wagon sized hole to burn charcoal, but it is interesting none the less

Posted by: Kindltot at April 02, 2022 02:26 PM (xhaym)

53 I ordered a few more seeds from Adaptive Seeds. It dawned on me that it would be good to have some grains and seeds. I already ordered flax seeds from them. I ordered two kinds of seed poppies. Also ordered wheat, purple barley and oil sunflowers. I might plant a bit of the grains in a grow bag.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 02, 2022 02:28 PM (YynYJ)

54 40 miles north @ 44- I think it was Steppenwolf, looked kinda German.

Posted by: Eromero at April 02, 2022 02:28 PM (gktX6)

55 We bought 10 baby Austrian pines, which are heeled into a garden bed for now, till we get to planting them.

Posted by: Pat* at April 02, 2022 02:15 PM (2pX/F)

I have some baby trees, twigs really, from the Arbor foundation. I have them in pots and they're leafing out. Hawthorne, dogwood, readbud, crepe myrtle and crab apple. The clay is a bitch to dig (they scraped the topsoil here to lay the slab). Would heeling them be a better option? I know I have to keep them evenly moist when they're in pots.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:28 PM (Mzdiz)

56 I ordered seeds last night from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds. rareseeds.com - I highly recommend them There's fabulous stuff there, and beautiful photography. Some very attractive arrangements in the photos; the photographer does lovely work. Real garden pr0n. I was lucky to get away with a shopping cart under $50. Free shipping, too.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:33 PM (Mzdiz)

57
I had assistance from our two gKids for about two hours this morning for gardening tasks. Digging up parts of beds and removing old foliage were what they did best, although they did require close watching. Both of them love to get outside and dig and explore. I'm thinking of creating an elevated bed for them to do some vegetable gardening this summer.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at April 02, 2022 02:36 PM (pNxlR)

58 KT,

My 'looser' hyacinths are second-generation. If they do well enough to start propagating, the new ones always have that more open flower form. I also have a few bunches of daffs with just one or two blooms. I think they need more elbow room so I'll break up those clumps once they die back this summer.

Posted by: badgerwx at April 02, 2022 02:37 PM (cL7E+)

59 My plums are blooming and my apples are starting to peek pink out of their buds, so Spring is really here.

Last Fall I took some apple seeds and packed them in planting soil in a ziplock bag and put them in the crisper in the fridge. Last week I pulled it out and it looks like I got almost complete germination. I have no idea how they spout at 34 degrees F.
I have put them in a couple of plastic tubs, and when they shoulder out of the dirt and start putting on leaves I will plant them in pots. I hope to use them as root stock for grafting. My two sprouted cherry pits I dug out of the compost are looking vigorish too.

I dug over my compost heap last week, that is I moved the wire enclosure over a couple of feet and shoveled the pile back into it. I could have gone without doing that but I had some very rotted sticks in a pile there that I could either put into the yard debris bin, or cover with a compost pile and see if I could rot them down better.
It was cold, anoxic and stinking in the middle so turning loosened it up so it could continue to compost. Yesterday morning I was out at sunrise and noticed that it was steaming again.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 02, 2022 02:37 PM (xhaym)

60 Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 01:43 PM

There are lots of shrubs or small trees that do well in morning sun. Evergreen or deciduous. Climate?

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 02:38 PM (0ghg2)

61 I also have an old friend who is getting into growing mushrooms, and he asked if I knew where to get oak logs to start Shitakes in, so next week we will be off to fall a couple of oak trees that were topped by the ice storm winter before last, and need to come down.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 02, 2022 02:40 PM (xhaym)

62
Our crocuses and snowdrops have come and gone. Forsythia, ground vinca and daffodils are blooming now (we have a lot of yellow showing). Too cold temperatures overnight earlier this week took out the blooms on our flowering magnolia just as it was coming into its prime.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at April 02, 2022 02:42 PM (pNxlR)

63 Both of them love to get outside and dig and explore. I'm thinking of creating an elevated bed for them to do some vegetable gardening this summer.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at April 02, 2022 02:36 PM (pNxlR)

That's awesome! Childhood is when the love of gardening take root (in my case it was in my 20s, though).

Unlike so many youngsters, they'll know that you can't dumps some bags of dirt on top of cardboard on top of asphalt, and expect anything to survive.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:45 PM (Mzdiz)

64 Linoleum went out with high button shoes.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at April 02, 2022 02:46 PM (VwHCD)

65 And I am out to trim dead branches off of my plum. I didn't mark them last fall, and I couldn't identify them this winter.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 02, 2022 02:47 PM (xhaym)

66 40 Miles North at April 02, 2022 01:51

Bearded irises don't require a particularly wet climate, but they're not prime desert plants. They like good drainage better than heavy clay and should not be mulched or planted deep. Soil should barely cover the rhizomes. In heavy soil and warm climates, part of the rhizome can be above ground.

They require frequent lifting and dividing to combat iris borers in the older parts of the rhizomes (which will not bloom again).

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 02:49 PM (0ghg2)

67 No, only my small batch charcoal pit, have a few batches saved already.
Cleaned out mini greenhouse and pulled some weeds. Should get dill in month or so self sewing

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 02:50 PM (2JoB8)

68 Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at April 02, 2022 02:42 PM

Hate to hear about your magnolia.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 02:51 PM (0ghg2)

69 There are lots of shrubs or small trees that do well in morning sun. Evergreen or deciduous. Climate?

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 02:38 PM (0ghg2)

7b, I think, in upstate SC. Clay soil, muggy and hot in the summer.

Evergreen, I think. We'd prefer something that doesn't grow TOO quickly. Hollies and some other things, too. We may bring them around to eventually hide the propane tank on that side from the road. It's unattractive.

I'm going to plant some banana trees. There's a guy down the street we call The Banana Man. His front yard is filled with stands of bananas. He sells them, too.

At some point we have to plant a palmetto, because it's SC.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:52 PM (Mzdiz)

70 Walked out this morning to a perfect Spring day.

The redbuds and hawthorne are blooming, pretty pink and white flowering trees planted close (probably too close) together.

Daffodils have been sprouting. The wild garlic is growing.

Last night I walked out and heard - besides what seemed to be coyotes howling in all directions - the first peeping of the frogs.

Yard care looms. Starting with picking up all the tree debris from the winter.

Spring has sprung.

Posted by: mindful webworker - in a garden of life at April 02, 2022 02:52 PM (Ae/sO)

71 The trees are budding and leafing out in an array of greens, reds and yellows. I love this time of year - the spring and summer lay before us. My favorite time of the year.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:58 PM (Mzdiz)

72 Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 02:52 PM

I'll give it some thought. There may be a few camellias that work, believe it or not. We have hot summers here, and heavy soil. There are some survivors.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 02:59 PM (0ghg2)

73 Notsothoreau - look forward at April 02, 2022 02:28 PM

That will be good experience. You might also look into sprouting grains. Check techniques for pre-treating so you don't get bacterial growth.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 03:01 PM (0ghg2)

74 Notsothoreau - look forward at April 02, 2022 02:28 PM

You can make unleavened bread from sprouted wheat. It starts to develop some sweetness when roughly ground.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 03:03 PM (0ghg2)

75 PET NOOD

Posted by: Skip at April 02, 2022 03:03 PM (2JoB8)

76 My dad said I should mention that in addition to the migratory birds going high-decibel in the morning, there are turkeys courting in the wooded lot across from me. There's not much woods there after the construction of a cul-de-sac and new houses, but the toms are making the most of it.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 02, 2022 03:06 PM (/+bwe)

77 I'll give it some thought. There may be a few camellias that work, believe it or not. We have hot summers here, and heavy soil. There are some survivors.

Posted by: KT at April 02, 2022 02:59 PM (0ghg2)

Nice! Thank you.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at April 02, 2022 03:56 PM (Mzdiz)

78 I got inspired Thurs and moved some tulips, while it was lightly snowing. No wind so it wasn't too bad.

These tulips used to be around a big old maple tree in the front yard. Well the tree died about 30 yrs ago and the area grassed over. The tulips struggled through the turf but we seldom got blooms. Some yrs one or two poked through lately.

This yr must ideal weather for tulips, due to temps and rain. We had 4 clusters of tulips struggling through the sod. I decided to reward them by transplanting them to the flower bed in front of the house where they didn't have to fight the grass and would add to our tulip plantings there.

They popped up after 2 warm days here, but it's been colder since so they are fairly dormant, good time to transplant. I can find them easily versus later when they die down and it would maybe more optimal transplant time.

Time will tell if this worked, actually it will be next year before I know for sure. And since I'm an old guy I'm still hurting from the adventure, but I feel like I have given them a better chance of survival after their ca 30 yr struggle.

Posted by: Farmer at April 02, 2022 04:48 PM (55Qr6)

79 55 Miley the Duchess, "heeled in" is almost a misnomer for those baby pines, more like "temporarily fully planted". I planted them perfectly vertically, dug a trench around the straight line they're in, and I'm watering them using that trench. It's also what I did when we got 51 baby lilacs a few years back. The soil in my garden beds seems to be good for keeping nearly any plant happy. I'd say, if the soil is better in the pots, leave them there. You can move the pots as needed, and it's extra work to heel them in if you've already got them in pots with decent soil.

Posted by: Pat* at April 02, 2022 06:33 PM (2pX/F)

80 Lost my macadamia tree of 35+ years. Thought a freeze got it, or maybe some disease, but pretty sure now that it was lightning. Used to get 800-1000 nuts a year on it (I didn't get but a few most years, as the tree-rats cleaned it out months before the nuts ripened.)
We are living in cursed times...

Posted by: the last to post at April 02, 2022 06:38 PM (rfAA4)

81 I was listening to KT's neighbor Victor Davis Hanson's "A War Like No Other." It is about the Peloponnesion War in about 430 BC. The Spartans thought they would show up around walled Athens and destroy the crops, vineyards and olive groves. It turns out that's a lot more difficult than people realize.

Sawing and chopping hardwoods like olive is really hard. The wood will dull a chainsaw in seconds. Come back a month later and suckers are all over. You can burn a vinyard if the weather is just right, but the vines will come right back. And burning a wheat field, even when the wheat is ripe, just doesn't work either. There's a lot of moisture in the stalk.

Thanks to the robustness of nature, Athens held out for years until the Spartans got enough triremes together to invade from the sea.

Posted by: Gordon at April 02, 2022 06:44 PM (Cs2Rr)

Posted by: MANA DRUEWY at April 03, 2022 09:33 PM (/XqPE)

Posted by: Mama lucky at April 04, 2022 01:55 AM (k7dRd)

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