Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread March 2

Happy March! Happy Saturday!

Well, we have some welcome signs of spring this week, but we also have some welcome photos which Neal in Israel took over the fall and winter months. Here are some of them.

Veteran plants - Brugmansia: Our Brugmansia gave a strong flower wave once fall weather began.
Clementine: I had some good results making clementine marmalade. I took the lime marmalade recipe I've used for some time, with appropriate adjustments. Replaced most of the water with additional juice. Since the juice is sweet, rather than lime tart, significantly reduced the amount of sugar. Finally, towards the end of preparation, I added a good dose of cognac.

Beautiful!

New plants - As I'm feeling the years, I'm more and more replacing seasonal plants with perennials along the garden's drip irrigation line.
Bromeliad: The plant has handled an usually cold and rainy winter quite well. Hope it will do as well when it faces summer heat.
Camelia: The nursery tag said "Japanese Camelia". Here again, hoping it can stand the heat.

Both are gorgeous plants. Good luck with the camellia.

Clivia: Winter flowering bulb, to balance my spring flowering Amaryllis. Cold and rain damaged the flowers very quickly.
Tibouchina urvilleana: I planted this for the leaves. They're large, with interesting, sculpted contours, and are covered with small hairs, which gives them a velvety feel. The detail work is enough to make you believe in intelligent design.

A wonderful observation about the plant.

I love Clivia. It is a great entryway plant for coastal areas, and it can be grown indoors in some situations.

The Tibouchina also has a bonus: It has lovely purple flowers in summer:

Princess Flower is an evergreen tropical shrub native to Brazil that is best used as an annual or house plant in zones lower than 9. In zone 8 it will die to the ground in winter but may come back in spring. This shrub can be trained into tree form and typically reaches 6-8 feet but can grow to 10-20 feet in warm winter areas. It prefers moist acidic well-drained soil. In hot summer areas, it likes some protection from the afternoon sun. It is tolerant of drought once established and has moderate salt tolerance.
The showy purple flowers appear in terminal panicles and the tree has a long bloom season. The evergreen leaves are dark green with lighter undersides and are 4-6 inches long.

How to prune it

I have a feeling that the leaves tend to grow smaller in hotter areas.

Adventure

Touring/Lupine - Good rains have turned the hills across Israel a strong green, and wild flowers are blooming. We joined a group of friends to visit, among other points, the Crusaders' Belvoir fortress, overlooking the Jordan Valley. Lupine grows wild here, as in many other locations in Israel. In the first photo, you see fish ponds down below in the Valley.

Breath-taking.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

From By-Tor:

One of four entries to the 2024 LA County Fair Culinary competition. This is applesauce, made with Honeycrisp apples, sugar and cinnamon.

Good luck, By-Tor!

Sharing the first blossoms on the Anna's apple from Southern Arizona. Got to bloom now if we're going to have apples by the 4th of July!
Nan in AZ

Love to see them!

Ah, Nature

Great video about growing a Monstera house plant. Stay with it for a little while.

Yard Planning

What do you think?

Biodiversity in the garden pic.twitter.com/2yt07XDoOD
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 26, 2024

Gardens of The Horde

I took several photos of my crocus, but this one's the best. You can see all 3 colors in the mix I bought - white, purple, and white striped with purple. This is their second spring.
-The Famous Pat*

Love them.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure 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, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 24

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this 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 01:32 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs and Ducks

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 01:33 PM (fwDg9)

2 Been a good day to get rid of dead pine trees, it's been a steady slow rain all day

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 01:34 PM (fwDg9)

3 Yard work is on hiatus, but it looks like it will be a good year to battle the crab grass. Snow is gone already, but there is still a lot of March left.

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 01:38 PM (86W+h)

4 Love the biodiversity meme. I took to saying that I was not going to let someone with a monoculture lawn give me any shit for spot spraying my icky weeds. I let the nice weeds that have flowers with no burrs or stickers alone. If they flower and don't have thorns or burrs I just call them a volunteer wildflower.

Posted by: PaleRider at March 02, 2024 01:39 PM (3cGpq)

5 >>> If they flower and don't have thorns or burrs I just call them a volunteer wildflower.

Same, but I do get pressured to mow the violets.

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 01:42 PM (86W+h)

6 The bluebirds have discovered our feeders. I counted eight on one occasion. My wife has seen a dozen at a time.

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 01:45 PM (86W+h)

7 Yesterday at kitchen table wife found a tick, killed it of course but surprised it somehow got there, it's been mostly below freezing every night

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 01:47 PM (fwDg9)

8 I ordered a dwarf fig and a marionberry plant. Would love to have a full sized fig and Burpee had a cold hardy one. 25% off plants there this weekend.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 02, 2024 01:55 PM (yeEu9)

9 The bluebirds have discovered our feeders. I counted eight on one occasion. My wife has seen a dozen at a time.
Posted by: fluffy
---
My cousins gave us a bird feeder as a house warming gift. I've never been all that interested in birds, but after I did the work of setting it up, I've started watching them almost as enthusiastically as the cat does, albeit with no predatory intent. We've been seeing lots of cardinals - mom's favorite. No bluebirds though.

Posted by: screaming in digital at March 02, 2024 01:55 PM (1eY81)

10 I am moving my "finished" compost heap to the garden to be tilled under. The wire fencing I am using is about ten feet long so it makes a 3-1/2' enclosure, about 4 feet tall. I moved and turned it twice while adding leaves, old apples and weeds to it for a year and a half, and I am done with playing with it.
Moving it is on hold since it is raining and snowing, and moving around too much in the yard will make a mud pit.

I made a worm bin out of an old bath tub a couple of years ago and I have been using it also for compost, mostly for vegetable scraps from the kitchen. I topped it off with chips and coffee grounds, and planted taro root in it and button mushrooms to see if it will give me either one.
I never get anything out of the taro, I just like planting it because everyone tells me we can't grow it around here.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 02, 2024 01:56 PM (D7oie)

11 The high winds and torrential rains have knocked all the blossoms off my roses.
I haz a sadz.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at March 02, 2024 01:56 PM (MeG8a)

12 Anyone have any lucky with Lemon Verbena...either seeds or potted from mail order?

Nobody carries it around here, and I love the stuff! I saw some in the Connecticut River valley, so I know it grows around here!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 02, 2024 01:56 PM (gSZYf)

13 I usually will put compost in garden before planting

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 01:57 PM (fwDg9)

14 Biodiversity doesn't show any ants, I all BS.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:02 PM (6aE2W)

15 The birdies are back! Got a new birdfeeder because the other one was wood and made the seed mold almost immediately. CatTV is on again and the oldest cat was enjoying laying on the door mat and yelling at the birds this morning.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 02, 2024 02:02 PM (nC+QA)

16 >>> My cousins gave us a bird feeder as a house warming gift.

Our in-laws bought us a feeder and we have since expanded. Bluebirds are reputed to go for mealworms. We put out mealworm suet, which may have prompted them.

My favorite draw is Orioles, which have a specialty diet.

Hummingbirds are easy to draw in, but cleaning the feeders is some work.

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 02:03 PM (86W+h)

17 Speaking of lupines, our own local lupines, Lupinus Texensis (bluebonnets) are starting to bloom. I've never seen them bloom this early before, but except for one very cold week it was a mild winter so that's probably why. We also have had an end to the drought--well, sort of--and that helped, too.

Forecast is for an above-average-to-excellent blooming season this year. I sure hope so. We've got a nice, big mound of plants in our yard and I'd love to see it look like a big, blue bouquet! Bonus for husband: less yard to mow.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 02, 2024 02:04 PM (FEVMW)

18 I left my lemon verbena plant with my stepson. It grows well innthat part of the world. It is frost sensitive. I might try some this year in a pot. I used to get it from local nurseries in the PNW

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 02, 2024 02:06 PM (yeEu9)

19 It is frost sensitive. I might try some this year in a pot. I used to get it from local nurseries in the PNW

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 02, 2024 02:06 PM (yeEu9)

Yup...I don't expect it to survive the winter, but I do love how it looks and smells and attracts bees and such....

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 02, 2024 02:08 PM (gSZYf)

20 I'm going to take the frost protection off the plants out front. That strong wind really beat it up. Looks like I have plants that made it through the winter. Will need to start fertilizing things.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 02, 2024 02:08 PM (yeEu9)

21 Those are very pretty flowers from Neal.

Congrats to Nan on her apple tree blossoms! I read that if you plant a 'Dorsett Golden' as well you have larger yields.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:08 PM (6aE2W)

22 Grape hyacinth are starting to flower, and we have a daffodil already open in a particularly warm spot.

I thought I could check my nature journal from last year to see when those had bloomed before, but it turns out I wasn't dating the entries yet when I drew those. I can make a guess, based on when I started the journal and when I did start dating the entries, and it looks like they are blooming a little earlier than last year. Which may be because the bulbs are more established now.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 02, 2024 02:09 PM (nC+QA)

23 >>> I saw some in the Connecticut River valley

Are you living near said river these days?

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 02:12 PM (86W+h)

24 The 'Angel's Trumpets' are quite pretty - but in 1980s New Orleans, they were the Exit Door for many kids who 'heard' that if they dried 'em and then rolled 'em into 'paper' (you know, like that used for joints), they provided an unmatchable 'high'. They may have - but the 'high' always ended with a toe tag and a hole in the wall of the Coroner's office. Hopefully, that rumor won't make a return visit, 'cos fentanyl and other competing Insta-Death mechanisms are quite enough, thankyewberrymush. The blooms, however, are still very pretty.

Posted by: Dr_No at March 02, 2024 02:12 PM (ayRl+)

25 I thought I'd lost the gardenia to the cold snap, but when I broke off a twig it still had a nice green layer under the bark so I left it alone. Looks like it's starting to get tiny leaves now, so I'm glad I waited.

I'm very excited that the fig I planted last fall is also getting new leaves. I need to make sure I water it plenty once it gets warm so it doesn't go the way of the camellia it replaced.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 02, 2024 02:13 PM (nC+QA)

26 KT can attest to all this rain we're getting here in the CA central valley. Currently mix of rain with sun, feels almost like Hawaii.
With all this moisture we have a ground cover ivy in a section next to the house we have't seen in years suddenly sprouting up along a walkway. Had no idea it was sitting dormant down there.

Posted by: Son of Dad at March 02, 2024 02:13 PM (8JB5s)

27 Posted by: Dr_No at March 02, 2024 02:12 PM (ayRl+)

Yeah, I won't have those no matter how pretty they are. Datura renamed is still datura, and no less deadly than before.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 02, 2024 02:14 PM (nC+QA)

28 I found a number of articles on the weed that seems to have taken the low desert by storm "Stinknet" is what I found it named, close to the 'Stink Weed' we named it.
An invasive species from African.
I've been mixing up 2gal of roundup (from dry) every day and spraying; but, there is a whole lot of it and some of it I have to spray twice.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:15 PM (6aE2W)

29 I'd like to add some more bird feeders, especially one outside the window where the cat tree is.

But my more immediate priority is figuring out yard maintenance. So I'm off to buy a wheelbarrow, maybe buy a lawn mower, and ask someone to put me some knowledge re: storage sheds and the site prepping and setting up thereof. Not that I'll try to actually do that myself.

Love all the flowers today. I've never been able to successfully grow anything so I admire and appreciate those who can.

Posted by: screaming in digital at March 02, 2024 02:15 PM (1eY81)

30 Spring is on the way here in WNC. Gonna be in the 60’s all next week! Woohoo!

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 02, 2024 02:16 PM (8e0w3)

31
My crocus and other bulbs are popping, shrubs are budding, grass is showing a hint of green, so meteorological spring has arrived in my corner of SE PA. Seeds are sprouting indoors, at first in egg cartons, then to be transplanted to big red Solo cups, then outdoors in about 10 weeks. Zucchini, cantaloupe, Big Boy tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, arugula (first time attempt), corn, pumpkin, and spinach to name a few.

Spring 'clean up' is progressing, but the weather is not being helpful. So much rain this past winter, good thing it was not snow. Whatever disease has hit the trees in this area is bringing on a lot of power outages as 80 to 100 foot tall trees - for no apparent reason - simply snap at the roots and tumble to the ground and take power lines down.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at March 02, 2024 02:16 PM (RKVpM)

32 I think I have identified my prolific yellow plum tree as a Peshore plum, or they are also called Yellow Egg. They look like Brooks prunes, but smaller and yellow. They don't have that "plum" bitterness at the skin, so I love them

I can them and dry them, and this tree is lovely fresh eating too.

I dug some rooted suckers up and gave them to my niece, since they have room for extra fruit trees.

My wife got me some Korean black grape cuttings from a friend of her's so I could take a second stab at rooting them. No roots so far, but the buds are swelling on them.
With luck I can get some more plants in the ground next winter.
There is very little gardening that I can do this time of year, the ground is wet and nothing is growing except the tulips starting to pop up, and the daffodils.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 02, 2024 02:18 PM (D7oie)

33 The blooms, however, are still very pretty.
Posted by: Dr_No

I was told about getting high with those flowers when I was in HS.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:19 PM (6aE2W)

34 >>> someone to put me some knowledge re: storage sheds and the site prepping and setting up thereof.

There are outfits that specialize in such and would be glad to handle those details in return for payment. No idea how much.

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 02:20 PM (86W+h)

35 Datura renamed is still datura, and no less deadly than before.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette

I just checked the images for Datura. I have seen them in the back corner and across the street.
I'll hit them with roundup when I see them this year.
Thank you.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:21 PM (6aE2W)

36 Love all the flowers today. I've never been able to successfully grow anything so I admire and appreciate those who can.
Posted by: screaming in digital at March 02, 2024 02:15 PM (1eY81)

Plant daffodils and crocuses, grape hyacinths and tulips, and you will always have spring flowers.

then buy a climbing rose, and plant it where you don't really want it, and it will give you masses of roses forever out of spite. Oh, and plant honeysuckle. That takes a lot of killing.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 02, 2024 02:22 PM (D7oie)

37 I called the Datura 'Jimson weed', further reading shows that I was right, Jimsonweed is a common name for Datura.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:23 PM (6aE2W)

38 I called the Datura 'Jimson weed', further reading shows that I was right, Jimsonweed is a common name for Datura.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 02:23 PM (6aE2W)

I didn't know that! I just knew datura was supposedly a favorite for young (dot) Indian wives to get rid of old husbands.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 02, 2024 02:26 PM (nC+QA)

39
>>> someone to put me some knowledge re: storage sheds and the site prepping and setting up thereof.

Depends on your need. I have a small Lowe's purchased 'Rubbermaid' storage shed which is about three foot by five foot by six foot tall that was about $125.00 on the back side of my house where I keep a lot of stuff. I laid it down on bricks over a sand base close to the house, the prevailing winds will keep it there. Gas can, oils, weed whacker, leaf blower, tree trimmer, two chain saws, shovel, rake, and other small stuff fit inside. It took maybe an hour to assemble and is 'good enough'. That's probably as cheap as you can get.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at March 02, 2024 02:31 PM (RKVpM)

40 Would at minimum put crushed stone as a base for a shed, brick pavement would be better, concrete best.

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 02:38 PM (fwDg9)

41 So ready for Spring!!!

Posted by: zooomzooom at March 02, 2024 02:40 PM (rfnUk)

42 Someone up here was thinning their bulbs so I got a bunch of them to put out front. Iris? Tulip? No idea. We'll see if they make it to flowering before the elk rip them out the dirt.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at March 02, 2024 02:40 PM (dZVON)

43 Good to see Neal in Israel posting. Glad he is okay.

Posted by: JTB at March 02, 2024 02:43 PM (zudum)

44 Gardening-related: sprayed Roundup on my weeds Thursday evening. No evidence yet of it taking effect, but it will.

Currently bodging on trim around the kitchen window. Taking a lunch break soon. Bacon sausages, and eggs.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 02, 2024 02:44 PM (tkR6S)

45 I ordered a dwarf fig and a marionberry plant. Would love to have a full sized fig and Burpee had a cold hardy one. 25% off plants there this weekend.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 02, 2024 01:55 PM (yeEu9)

Marionberries are tasty, but the cocaine needed to make them grow gets spendy.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 02, 2024 02:46 PM (tkR6S)

46 There is hope for an early and mild spring this year in our area. Our neighbors across the street, sadly passed a few years ago, always had a ring of daffodils around a tree in their front yard. Fortunately, the new owners haven't messed with them and the daffodils are up with those deep golden flowers showing. That spot gets the full brunt of north winds so when they appear before the end of February or early March it usually means a nice spring season. Here's hoping. Had enough of icy conditions this winter.

Posted by: JTB at March 02, 2024 02:50 PM (zudum)

47 Marionberries are tasty, but the cocaine needed to make them grow gets spendy.

*snort*

Posted by: Da Mayor at March 02, 2024 02:51 PM (dZVON)

48 Hiya

I was awakened by the sound of NO rain !

But its STILL a light drizzle.

Posted by: JT at March 02, 2024 02:52 PM (T4tVD)

49 "Marionberries are tasty"

I read manberries. My bad.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at March 02, 2024 02:54 PM (w6EFb)

50 That marmalade looks fantastic. As a marmalade fan, I should learn to make my own, especially if I can reduce the sugar.

Mrs. JTB makes a sorta apple sauce more like an apple puree, when we have apples getting past the crisp eating stage. It is heaven for my taste. Just the peeled, chopped apples, a touch of vanilla extract and cinnamon, cooked down until soft. No added sugar. It is great on top of oatmeal and mixed into yogurt. Homemade apple sauce, like By-Tor's in the post, is always a treat.

Posted by: JTB at March 02, 2024 02:58 PM (zudum)

51 Hey man lets party with those flowers by smoking them at the Iron Maiden Concert in Gaza next week sponsored by the DOD.

Posted by: Jeff Spicoli, Acting SecDef at March 02, 2024 02:58 PM (rcLES)

52 From Boise area: lows 27-45 F, highs 41-63. The first crocuses are fading already, so I caught them at peak - which is good, since this week has been cloudy and drizzly. It even tried to snow Monday and Tuesday, but never really managed to.

Last Sunday was OK, so we burned the spring burn pile, and I dug up part of the old strawberries we're removing, so we can replace them with the ever-bearers some bird pooped out under our lilac row.

Due to the drizzle, all I got done this week was cutting up and freezing butternut squash. We'll need to rake at least some leaves into the trash before Tuesday night.

(Any other blood donors out there? I donated lifetime pint #94 on Tuesday. When I get to #100, I'm gonna wear a party hat and a lei to the donation center!)

Posted by: Pat* at March 02, 2024 02:59 PM (td6Vu)

53 Are you living near said river these days?

Posted by: fluffy at March 02, 2024 02:12 PM (86W+h)

No...just visit a lot. But the plan is to get the hell out of the Peoples Republic of NJ and abscond for America!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 02, 2024 03:01 PM (gSZYf)

54 Mrs. Dall fancied Clivia she saw at a nursery, so she ordered some seed (5 for $5) and grew a couple plants. Now, 35+ years later, we still have progeny in the house, and until retirement last year, several at the office. She's given away plants and seed to Civia's admirers.

Posted by: Hal Dall at March 02, 2024 03:01 PM (q/9ws)

55 Report is rain through until tomorrow
Still getting rid of pine logs

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 03:02 PM (fwDg9)

56 Marionberries will happily sprawl and refuse containment like any other self-respecting blackberry.

Posted by: Hal Dall at March 02, 2024 03:05 PM (q/9ws)

57 We haven't used the bird feeders for a couple of years for various reasons but we plan to put up one that we can see from the front window. Safflower seed has been very good for attracting the chickadees, titmice and similar along with wrens and and finches. The tiny songbirds are my favorites. And any seed that falls to the ground the doves clean up. Time to dig out the 7x50 binoculars.

Posted by: JTB at March 02, 2024 03:07 PM (zudum)

58 fancied Clivia

Izzat the day streets are open to bicycles only?

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the Struggle to maintain Moron standards at March 02, 2024 03:07 PM (Blz2Y)

59 49 is a troll, he tried to troll me in the previous thread, and he broke the rules of this site, by going into the gardening thread just stir things up. He’s going to be banned, but it should be now not later after a bunch of other crap posts..

Posted by: Quint at March 02, 2024 03:07 PM (yDe4s)

60 We haven't used the bird feeders for a couple of years for various reasons but we plan to put up one

Squirrel Boss!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vKcruJ36BfM

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the Struggle to maintain Moron standards at March 02, 2024 03:10 PM (Blz2Y)

61 Posted by: Quint at March 02, 2024 03:07 PM (yDe4s)

I read that as toll. How much?

Seriously you need to take a break and come back later.

Posted by: Burnt Umber at March 02, 2024 03:10 PM (MNhXM)

62
Marionberries are tasty, but the cocaine needed to make them grow gets spendy.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 02, 2024 02:46 PM

B_tch set me up.

Posted by: The Real Marion Barry at March 02, 2024 03:12 PM (RKVpM)

63 I don't think I have either jimsonweed or stinknet here at my place, but I have certainly seen the latter.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 02, 2024 03:13 PM (tkR6S)

64 61, I need to do that why exactly? What did I do that was wrong? I think the guys are troll that’s my opinion time will tell the truth.

Posted by: Quint at March 02, 2024 03:15 PM (yDe4s)

65 I don't think I have either jimsonweed or stinknet here at my place, but I have certainly seen the latter.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon

Say but the word and I'll supply all the seeds you need so you too can have a stinking weed which puts out prodigious numbers of seeds as it takes over your yard!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 03:17 PM (6aE2W)

66 I think this year I'm going to get a few bales of actual hay from the farms around and scatter them all over the back yard. The last time I did it I got all kinds of cool stuff, the star of which was a thistle almost 12 feet tall.

Posted by: LenNeal at March 02, 2024 03:20 PM (9yXr+)

67 It is snowing again .. ..

I also dug up some lilac shoots and gave them to a friend, she had a spot in the yard she wanted one of them. I have had luck in the past for transplanting them, but I have also lost them due to not watering them in the first year.
Fortunately I have more available since the lilacs spread.

I stratified some serviceberry seeds this year and I think I am getting some of them to sprout. Those will get potted up under the filbert and hopefully I can get them to full height. My goal is to get them to replace my arborvitae hedge that neither I nor my neighbors are fond of.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 02, 2024 03:20 PM (D7oie)

68 Posted by: Quint

Don't feed the troll, skip his posts even if they are in answer to yours.
You'll starve the beast of the attention it desires.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 03:21 PM (6aE2W)

69 Nood Pets!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 02, 2024 03:22 PM (6aE2W)

70 I think this year I'm going to get a few bales of actual hay from the farms around and scatter them all over the back yard. The last time I did it I got all kinds of cool stuff, the star of which was a thistle almost 12 feet tall.
Posted by: LenNeal at March 02, 2024 03:20 PM (9yXr+)

Yer yard must be Yuge !

Posted by: JT at March 02, 2024 03:23 PM (T4tVD)

71 61, I need to do that why exactly? What did I do that was wrong? I think the guys are troll that’s my opinion time will tell the truth.
Posted by: Quint at March 02, 2024 03:15 PM (yDe4s)

Quint, are you OK? Your posts this morning have been really out of character for you, full of typos and missing punctuation. At first, I thought it might be caused by a new device with an uncontrolled spellcheck, but now I am genuinely concerned you may have had a mild stroke or something like that. Understand that I am not trolling you; I have always regarded you as a voice of sanity and reason, but you just do not seem to be yourself today.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 02, 2024 03:23 PM (tkR6S)

72 68 , you’re right there, it’s not personal because it’s the Internet I know you guys and if it was cared about it would be personal. I just think he’s a troll. I just wanted to make that point, but I didn’t want to make a big thing about it but I guess I did sorry about that.

I still say that one point he’ll be banned as a troll. But you are right water off of ducks back. I’ll leave you guys to your gardening because I legitimately suck at gardening. I can do herbs for cooking, but that’s about it. The only thing I know is slugs, love to rip up cilantro.

Posted by: Quint at March 02, 2024 03:23 PM (yDe4s)

73 *I read that as toll. How much?*

Twenty bucks. Same as the art thread.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 02, 2024 03:24 PM (NBVIP)

74 I also dug up some lilac shoots'

I have lilacs in the front, but they breed those horrible little ants. Most of what I have are day lillies and some spectacular Chinese ones that last year got near record size: nearly 8 feet tall.

Posted by: LenNeal at March 02, 2024 03:25 PM (9yXr+)

75 71, i’m not sure how to answer that. I guess it’s time for a break if everyone thinks that’s the case. My apologies.

Posted by: Quint at March 02, 2024 03:26 PM (yDe4s)

76 59 49 is a troll, he tried to troll me in the previous thread, and he broke the rules of this site, by going into the gardening thread just stir things up. He’s going to be banned, but it should be now not later after a bunch of other crap posts..
Posted by: Quint

Dude. You need to go and take a walk.

Posted by: nurse ratched at March 02, 2024 03:27 PM (CNS/9)

77 Yer yard must be Yuge !
Posted by: JT'

I've told this story before but 20 years ago when I moved in, the back yard was totally dead. Cars parked on it, fluids, etc. it was bare. During moving dirt around in the back had a Dirt Guy (?) tell me the entire back yard was dead. The wife read up on Chernobyl and saw they planted native plants that leached toxins out of the soil. We we went to en elk farm West of town and got two? Three? bales of hay from them.
Two years later that yard was FULL of plants.

Posted by: LenNeal at March 02, 2024 03:28 PM (9yXr+)

78 Anyone have any lucky with Lemon Verbena...either seeds or potted from mail order?

Nobody carries it around here, and I love the stuff! I saw some in the Connecticut River valley, so I know it grows around here!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 02, 2024 01:56 PM (gSZYf)

I got one from a nursery, and potted it up but never got it into the ground last year. No idea if it will come back.

Lemon balm, OTOH...like mint.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at March 02, 2024 03:32 PM (w6EFb)

79 Kindltot, you gave away your location when you used the term 'filbert'.

Posted by: Hal Dall at March 02, 2024 03:32 PM (q/9ws)

80 To continue the saga of The Dead Back Yard, it seems it's kinda failing again, so I think it could use another infusion of WI plants to re-invigorate the soil.

Posted by: LenNeal at March 02, 2024 03:32 PM (9yXr+)

81 Yer yard must be Yuge !
Posted by: JT'

When the two (three?) bales of hay came in, the back yard was genuinely just dirt. Packed down, dead, dirt. So I just took that delivery and threw it all over the back yard however it went. It wasn't straw, it was weed-infested hay and honestly there are still some unpleasant plants near the fences. But my... slightly failed municipality doesn't get too worked up about what they can't see so the back ground grew, and grEW and GREW

Posted by: LenNeal at March 02, 2024 03:35 PM (9yXr+)

82 Massimo: "Biodiversity in the garden pic.twitter.com/2yt07XDoOD"

Yep. That's the way to go.

It helps if you kinda know what you're doing, though, unless your intent is to let things go feral. There's biodiversity and then there's chaos. You probably don't want chaos.

Posted by: AnonyBotymousDrivel Remembers Babbitt and Perna at March 02, 2024 03:39 PM (aXxgO)

83 I hope Quint isn't referring to MY #49. Or maybe it was deleted. I'm not trolling.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at March 02, 2024 03:42 PM (w6EFb)

84 fluffy: "Hummingbirds are easy to draw in, but cleaning the feeders is some work."

If you're in Zone 7+, I'd highly recommend:

Hummingbird Bush (Flame Acanthus) Anisacanthus quadrifidus var wrightii

It's like Hummingbird crack cocaine and it's an all summer bloomer. I have lots of Hummingbird friendly plants, and Flame Acanthus is their favorite by far. And I don't need to maintain feeders which is nice.

Posted by: AnonyBotymousDrivel Remembers Babbitt and Perna at March 02, 2024 03:49 PM (aXxgO)

85 IN spite of the high winds and rain, my yard is popping out with all kinds of plants. The problem is I have no idea what most of them are. Fortunately I sprang for a phone app that does a pretty good job identifying them. So I pull up what I know is a bad weed, especially ones toxic to pets (tees up for the pet thread). The one I am pulling up are mostly nightshade and thistle plants.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at March 02, 2024 03:50 PM (MeG8a)

86 Wife has lemon balm I think, looks like tea

Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 03:52 PM (fwDg9)

87 Kindltot, you gave away your location when you used the term 'filbert'.
Posted by: Hal Dall at March 02, 2024 03:32 PM (q/9ws)

My great-grandfather probably called them "tuckwillows"

Posted by: Kindltot at March 02, 2024 03:55 PM (D7oie)

88 Wife has lemon balm I think, looks like tea
Posted by: Skip at March 02, 2024 03:52 PM (fwDg9)

I dry lemon balm to use as an herbal tea. I also dried catnip this year, and when I spilled a cup of the tea the cat came by to roll in it.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 02, 2024 03:58 PM (D7oie)

89 Our latest "Atmospheric river" has been intermittently acting like a river for short periods of time (including when we were on the road in a construction zone - not fun) and then suddenly clearing to sun.

Dire warnings of 12 feet of snow and high winds in the mountains northeast of us.

Posted by: KT at March 02, 2024 04:17 PM (rrtZS)

90 Hi.
Just wanted to post that peak cherry blossoms are scheduled for 3/23-3/26 here in the DMV. I expect to have photos as I live just a couple of blocks from the Kenwood area, famous for its displays. Horses will descend but they literally block off the streets and it beco,es a pedestrian area.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 02, 2024 05:37 PM (t/2Uw)

91 I did a little weeding and have dirt underneath my fingernails.

THE SEASON HAS BEGUN!

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at March 02, 2024 05:38 PM (w6EFb)

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