The Gardening & Puttering Thread [TRex]

Good afternoon and welcome to the big beautiful Gardening and Puttering thread. Your usual host is still recovering from medical maladies, so you're stuck with a dinosaur with a small brain and short arms for this week. We wish KT the best and eagerly anticipate her return to do this properly.

As per usual Gardening thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to gardening and puttering. Politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

Lots among the Horde bearing heavy loads these days. Please know that we collectively lift up our Horde family and those adjacent in prayer. We also stand ready to help whenever and however needed.

In the land of TRex, the flowering trees and azaleas are done blooming, the daffodils have welcomed spring and disappeared, and the rhododendrons are about done with their splash of color. Roses are in full bloom. Hydrangeas are next up in the cycle of blooming. What's popping with color in your garden or around your yard or neighborhood?

Geography and climate have a vote, but this website says eleven flowers are commonly in bloom in May:

1. Peony - In many cultures, the "Queen of Spring" symbolizes a happy life, good health, and a prosperous marriage.

2. Tulip - For better or worse, tulips will always be associated with the market bubble in the 17th century called Holland.

3. Lilac - The flower of love due to their color and fragrance (sorry, roses).

4. Poppy - A symbol of remembrance but also known for it seeds.

5. Petunia - Apparently the name "petunia" comes from the word "petun," which means tobacco. Petunia has a close relationship to the tobacco plant. Who knew?

6. Gardenia - The choice for corsages and boutonnieres (but don't mix them up with hydrangea).

7. Delphinium - Popular garden choices because of long-lasting blooms and wide color varieties.

8. Rose - Check in Texas for a rose in yellow.

9. Magnolias - Fragrant with big bloomage.

10. Snapdragons - They were believed to offer protection from deceit, making them a popular choice in medieval gardens. Who knew there were gardens in medieval times?

11. Zinnia - crucial pitstops for butterflies, especially monarchs.

There you have it.

According to the Farmer's Almanac for our zip code, we should be busy getting seeds in the ground for the Spring planting windows. This planting window is theoretical because we're not doing any planting this year. BUT you may be. Does anyone still start seeds in their basement during the colder months and then transplant seedlings into the garden for the rest of the journey?

There must be others but Burpee is the only name I know for seeds. Until I looked, I didn't know that Burpee company history dates back to 1876 in Philadelphia. The company is now located in Bucks County.

In the spring of 1876, W. Atlee Burpee, a young medical student, visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The 18-year-old Burpee gravitated to the halls dedicated to agriculture and horticulture, where he made a decision that would change American gardens forever.

Atlee was born in 1858 to a well-established family in Philadelphia, where his father and grandfather were prominent physicians. At just 14, Atlee demonstrated a passion for poultry-breeding, devising experimental breeding programs, writing scholarly articles, and corresponding with prominent European breeders.

On leaving medical school in 1876, Atlee established his own mail-order poultry and livestock company. He began by breeding and selling chickens, dogs, and sheep. When his livestock customers told him that they needed a reliable source for quality seed, he was quick to oblige. By 1877, his second year in business, Atlee set about reshaping his enterprise into the celebrated seed company we know today.

This risks getting perilously close to material for the hobby thread, but do any among the Horde press flowers?

April showers bring May flowers. What do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!

Weather rules everything in the mid-west. You start by looking to see what the weather will be later in the day, tomorrow or later in the week. Then you continually look out the window to see what weather is happening (because weather might change). You do this regardless of your plans. Kid's graduation? Check the weather. Staying in to hibernate? Check the weather. Does. Not. Matter.

The most important thing is to see how much it rained after weather arrives. After all, you have spent all that time anticipating and monitoring. You want to be able to measure what actually happened.

Does the Horde use rain gauges? We have a simple plastic tube in a metal holder here. Did some casual interwebbing and found a billion different models and designs. This is the only square one I saw:

This one is clever - the tube floats and rises to show accumulated water. Makes it easy to read.

Is it a weed? Is it a flower? Dunno. Happy gardening and puttering. Best wishes to KT.

Comments

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1 Hey there!

Posted by: Doof at May 24, 2025 01:01 PM (UQakJ)

2 1 Hey there!

Posted by: Doof at May 24, 2025 01:01 PM
***
First! on the garden thread?!!? You win a penny!

Posted by: TRex at May 24, 2025 01:03 PM (Eaoic)

3 Been getting garden ready for a not great upcoming season. Turned over soil and adding 2 years ago compost on top. Have cucumbers and Anaheim peppers but no tomatoes so far.

Posted by: Skip at May 24, 2025 01:10 PM (ypFCm)

4 Hey there!

Posted by: Doof at May 24, 2025 01:01 PM
***
First! on the garden thread?!!? You win a penny!
Posted by: TRex at May 24, 2025 01:03 PM (Eaoic)

Hahaha! ISWYDT

Posted by: Doof at May 24, 2025 01:10 PM (UQakJ)

5 Too hot to garden here already, but I think I'll restart my indoor herb garden this weekend.

Posted by: LASue at May 24, 2025 01:14 PM (lCppi)

6 The Shakers actually came up with the modern day way to market seeds. They started selling their seeds in packets.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at May 24, 2025 01:14 PM (AcTAo)

7 Something is eating my fig tree.
Finally got my Aglaonema to live.
That is all.
Oh,
That music at space affairs makes me dizzy.
It's horrible.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at May 24, 2025 01:16 PM (wYTRi)

8 I have (slightly) failed as a parent.

Youngest daughter was walking her dog and said that one of the bushes in our yard had a powerful, awesome fragrance from the leaves, but she couldn't figure out which one.

I went out to help her, and it was honeysuckle in full bloom climbing up the back of some of our other shrubbery.

She said she had never heard of that flower ... but really liked them!

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at May 24, 2025 01:19 PM (HlyYF)

9 8 I have (slightly) failed as a parent.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at May 24, 2025 01:19 PM
***
Just wait until she asks about rocks!

Posted by: TRex at May 24, 2025 01:20 PM (Eaoic)

10 7 Something is eating my fig tree.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at May 24, 2025 01:16 PM

You probably need to fence the camels out of your yard!

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at May 24, 2025 01:21 PM (HlyYF)

11 The Burpee catalogue usually arrives in December. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Posted by: huerfano at May 24, 2025 01:27 PM (n2swS)

12 Our oldest daughter liked to press flowers for a little while when she was about 10.

We got her an inexpensive pressing kit.

I think it was mostly just two wooden plates with screws and wingnuts to act as the press. It also had some special paper. It was thicker than normal. I think it was like acid-free blotting paper? to imbibe some of the initial fluid from the flowers.

She did a great job with it for someone so young. Some of her pressed flowers still look good after 15+ years.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at May 24, 2025 01:27 PM (HlyYF)

13 9 8 I have (slightly) failed as a parent.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at May 24, 2025 01:19 PM
***
Just wait until she asks about rocks!

Posted by: TRex at May 24, 2025 01:20 PM

My wife AND all of my children know better than to fall for that one a second time!

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at May 24, 2025 01:30 PM (HlyYF)

14 In spite of our crazy weather (unseasonably hot, then unseasonably cool) my gardens are doing very well.

Replaced the two dead tomato seedlings in my veggie plot with Hillbilly and Striped Roma, and squeezed in a Blue Chocolate as well. Temps are supposed to warm up soon so I expect explosive growth, if everything is doing this well while it's cool.

In my pollinator bed I added two kinds of Hairy Beardtongue (!) and three kinds of Bee Balm. It's going to be a butterfly, bee, and hummingbird orgy.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at May 24, 2025 01:31 PM (kpS4V)

15 She said she had never heard of that flower ... but really liked them!
Posted by: Pillage Idiot
---

https://youtu.be/_PMB-wgHM4Y?t=98

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at May 24, 2025 01:34 PM (wYTRi)

16 A rain gauge here would be sort of a comical statement (average 8 - 12 inches a year), but I have thought of a weather station (temp/humidity), outside, wireless, so I could know those things. The new thermostat for the heat inside the house shows the internal values. Replaced the AC with a whole-house fan, so some small value in knowing external temp, as you turn on the fan when the outside temp falls below the internal.

Any suggestulations? As always, gotta be cheap, gotta be simple. I guess wireless (phone-readable) is both practical in this case and a minium concession to the way things have gone 1,000% wireless in all things.

Posted by: rhomboid at May 24, 2025 01:35 PM (1m82a)

17 "it was honeysuckle"
when we were kids we'd pick the blossoms and suck the nectar from the tube.
also blooming in may: violets and lillies of the valley, the latter is most fragrant, for days.
been trying for years to propagate chile manzana seeds (the only black chile seed). this year they threw taproots and then died... a first!

Posted by: cmeat at May 24, 2025 01:36 PM (8HmRF)

18 16 I have thought of a weather station (temp/humidity), outside, wireless, so I could know those things.

Any suggestulations?

Posted by: rhomboid at May 24, 2025 01:35 PM
***
Good question. Interested in feedback. Maybe a feature subject for a future thread.

Posted by: TRex at May 24, 2025 01:41 PM (Eaoic)

19 In the category of Staggering Home-Built Accomplishments, I finally built a new sieve (can use it fairly often to clean up decomposed granite areas, return gravel to paths, etc around the estate). The old one - built by my dad in the mid-60s - finally was too wobbly (real plywood, finally dried out).

Noticed I had some 2 X 4 in the rafters of the garage. used that. Salvaged the rabbit wire screen, which is still 100%, also salvaged the two little "handles", which were slight modified pieces of floor molding.

Too lazy to do it right, drill and use wood screws, so just pounded in long nails, awkwardly, and of course got one corner off-square so it definitely looks home-made. Works perfectly though and very heavy-duty, which is nice.

Posted by: rhomboid at May 24, 2025 01:42 PM (1m82a)

20 Any suggestulations?

I have had good luck with the Ambient Weather brand, but just upgraded to a Weatherflow Tempest that has no moving parts.

Posted by: BunkerintheBurbs at May 24, 2025 01:45 PM (Ety6T)

21 Hairy Beardtongue (!)

Big Mike?

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at May 24, 2025 01:47 PM (1BL3C)

22 got one corner off-square so it definitely looks home-made. Works perfectly though and very heavy-duty, which is nice.
Posted by: rhomboid

I offer my yard of desert for extended thorough testing!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at May 24, 2025 01:54 PM (P25Vw)

23 For the fifth day running, continuing to dig out periwinkle that has taken over the back yard. On a happy note, I did scare up two different, beautifully marked sneks. They're harmless enough and just slithered off.

But wow, were they gorgeous.

Posted by: Tonypete at May 24, 2025 02:07 PM (cYBz/)

24 Gonna help Dad with his garden tomorrow. It's what I do some times.

Posted by: exdem13 FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT at May 24, 2025 02:08 PM (XjTSo)

25 gorgeous

Snek? gorgeous? Not even as cowboy boots.
NO SNEK.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at May 24, 2025 02:10 PM (1BL3C)

26 We are getting our first rain in two weeks.

The yard needs it.

Posted by: toby928 at May 24, 2025 02:22 PM (jc0TO)

27 >>Does anyone still start seeds in their basement during the colder months and then transplant seedlings into the garden for the rest of the journey?
-------

*raises paw*

No basement, but I have a south-facing patio door, so there's plenty of light in winter. I plant tomatoes, mainly. Sometimes hot peppers too. Usually in the first days of March, for planting out by mid-May.

Plants are over a foot tall and have flower buds, while I *still* haven't got the garden bed prepared! Almost done, though. They'll go into the ground this weekend.

Posted by: JQ at May 24, 2025 02:22 PM (rdVOm)

28 I have a pot of Tiny Tim tomato, and a small tropical hibiscus (about 15 inches tall) also in a pot. The nights have been surprisingly cool for the end of May, near or in the 50's recently, and I've been bringing them in every night. First time in a long time I've been wishing for warmer weather!

Posted by: Lirio100 at May 24, 2025 02:22 PM (zS4/f)

29 From Boise area: I owe 2 weeks of notes, so this will be long...

Yes, I still start seeds early. Indoors, we use the kitchen table, some cat litter trays, a grow light, and heating pad - outdoors, a mini greenhouse. At this point, we're at our Last Frost Date and are starting to plant things out in the beds - I just planted 4 tomatoes today (and 4 went into potato bags yesterday).

What's flowering? Here in the Banana Belt of Idaho, long gone by are crocus, hyacinth, tulips, daffodils, forsythia. Fading: lilacs, lily of the valley, my Siberian Iris and bearded iris, any flowering tree. (Although my linden is budding!) What's happening now: our new peony 'Bowl of Cream', my marigold starts, and the Johnny Jump-Up pansies by the shed.

What's new? bought the peony - also 2 lavender 'Provence' that I've been wanting - bought some new bearded iris 'Dusky Challenger' from a local iris specialty garden. Husband bought shelving to attach to the shed walls, which let us get lots of small clutter off the floor - small fertilizer bags, 6-packs for seed starting, and so on.

We had a touch of frost on the 18th-19th - some fingerling potato tops got bit. (part 1)

Posted by: Pat* at May 24, 2025 02:23 PM (hdoQS)

30 Some grape growers I know use Ambient Weather brand stations. They need them for the alarm to wake them up if it freezes so they can go out and do frost protection. The Avocado guys use them too but I'm not sure which brand they use.

Posted by: CaliGirl at May 24, 2025 02:33 PM (MFuOv)

31 Everything here is waterlogged/thrashed by our nonstop downpours. Lost 3 hibiscus plants, and most of my petunias are badly damaged. Lantana and begonia are ok. Salvia might have been ok, but the little girls tore them up, so they're toast at least for now.

I'm just hoping for some recovery in June at this point.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 24, 2025 02:35 PM (BI5O2)

32 Boise again: I'm harvesting lettuce, spinach, radishes. Planted more radishes, carrots, lettuce. There's one good broccolini start in the raised bed and 7 small ones. The 3 cabbage seeds sprouted. Just dug up all the onions I planted last winter (they look like giant green onions) - I needed that space for my tomatoes. I "up-potted" some tomato starts as backups to the ones in the beds. The strawberries are nearly ready to pick!

I still have starts of poblano pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, pickling cucumber, 1 butternut squash, cantaloupes, basil, parsley, cilantro, and thyme. They'll all get planted in the next week.

Garlic was an experiment last fall - all 10 look healthy. Still hoping to be able to do sweet potato slips but it depends on when the garden store gets them in.

Forgot to mention the irrigation leak - pipe versus root of huge tree, pipe lost. We found a "water bubble" bit of floating lawn!, by walking on it - felt like a waterbed. (Do those still exist?) Husband had to dig up an area near a sprinkler head - fortunately turned out to be an easy fix.
(part 2/end)

Posted by: Pat* at May 24, 2025 02:35 PM (hdoQS)

33 JQ - if you're still here, can you drop me an email? thx.

Posted by: TRex at May 24, 2025 02:38 PM (Eaoic)

34 Thanks dino. Our yard is filled with blooming nasturtiums and apple blossoms.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 24, 2025 02:43 PM (RIvkX)

35 Thanks for the weather station recos.

Posted by: rhomboid at May 24, 2025 02:44 PM (1m82a)

36 You'd think being three stories up and on a balcony would shield the rose from some stuff, but when I went out to prune it a bit this morning, something had chewed some holes in the leaves. Not a lot, but I will need to get some spray.

I have not grown one in about 12 years, but I was right on this balcony being perfect for the amount of light it gets. The bush overall is going gangbusters.

Posted by: Aetius451AD workphone at May 24, 2025 02:45 PM (zZu0s)

37 Wife is the rain gauge checker in this house. It's a tradition she inherited from her dad.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 24, 2025 02:46 PM (hoCmQ)

38 We're two weeks past our frost free date, but still don't have soil temps, so maters and peppers are treading water.
Okra is out of the ground. Beans are leaving the cotyledon stage. Carrots and parsnips are coming along.
Radishes and turnips are too hot to eat (we think inconsistent watering).
Asparagus has been exceptional.
No serviceberry this year here. 3rd year in a row.
Buckwheat is coming up. About 1/2 acre for the bees. Makes an interesting honey.

Posted by: MkY at May 24, 2025 02:49 PM (cPGH3)

39 I've been experimenting with "Hairy Beardtongues," i.e. Penstemons. Here's a report on my findings thus far: https://shorturl.at/TgXuM .

Posted by: Don at May 24, 2025 02:49 PM (W5AfR)

40 No rain gauge, I guestimate based on how much water is in the rubber feed pans the morning after a rain.

Posted by: PaleRider at May 24, 2025 02:50 PM (CKOCg)

41 We have an Acuweather system. It's ok.

Posted by: MkY at May 24, 2025 02:51 PM (cPGH3)

42 Tulips, jonquils, alliums and peonies are finished blooming here. Our Yoshino cherry and weeping willow trees were gorgeous this year. Only roses blooming currently.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 24, 2025 02:52 PM (hoCmQ)

43 Great writeup, Don.

Posted by: MkY at May 24, 2025 02:52 PM (cPGH3)

44 Buckwheat is coming up

Buckwheat say Otay.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at May 24, 2025 02:56 PM (1BL3C)

45 This one is clever - the tube floats and rises to show accumulated water. Makes it easy to read

That's the exact type we have. Works great. We got about 4" in central Iowa in a 24 hour period earlier this week. Very soupy.

Posted by: Intercepted DU Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at May 24, 2025 03:01 PM (ycI94)

46 I propagated runner bean seedlings in our bathtub, over winter in the bathroom with a skylight and they did great.

The bugs ate all of them save 3 down to the ground within days of transplanting.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at May 24, 2025 03:01 PM (RIvkX)

47 I wonder if bugs fart after eating beans?

Posted by: Aetius451AD workphone at May 24, 2025 03:04 PM (zZu0s)

48 Another cart of compost sifted out, at least 1 more to go if not 2

Posted by: Skip at May 24, 2025 03:09 PM (ypFCm)

49 thanks Pat*

i always look forward to your posts!

Posted by: cherries in season at May 24, 2025 03:13 PM (N+i4e)

50 Already cut down some tent caterpillars a week ago but see more on my trees

Posted by: Skip at May 24, 2025 03:17 PM (ypFCm)

51 Posted by: Don at May 24, 2025 02:49 PM (W5AfR)
---

I had no idea there were that many variants. I love the intense royal blue penstamons.

I got a true blue and a Barbie pink. I could look at the tags but that would mean getting up off the couch, and that is not happening my friend.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at May 24, 2025 03:50 PM (kpS4V)

52 We have a couple of gopher "sneks" in our neighborhood. They keep out of my way, and I try not to bother them, although occasionally I will need to be where they are. In that case, I just let my presence known, and after a minute or so (I guess to make sure I'm not just passing through) it will.just slither away. They help.keep the rodent population in check, so I provide winter den space under the hot tub deck - at least that's where I saw one emerging from last spring. Two weeks ago, we had a little pr0n in the neighbors yard. The two of them looked like the end of a twisty-tie. For snakes, "wrapped up in each other" is literal.
Unfortunately, they didn't get whatever it was that cleaned out all of the tomato starts in the garden. Our neighbor put in a new fence, which involved removing the part of our garden fence between us to replace it. One night with the fencing not continuous was all it took.

Posted by: buddhaha at May 24, 2025 04:26 PM (l2fXB)

53 When I lived in the east, we used a propane weed burner on tent caterpillars (Japanese Beetles).

Posted by: buddhaha at May 24, 2025 04:32 PM (l2fXB)

54 Japanese beetles come from grubs in your lawn. They arrive in
my locale on July 1st, so the last week of June is spent hacking my roses down. There's a drench from FertiLome that works well if one remembers to use it, but, ya know.

We move back to our house soon. I'm honestly not sure if I'm going to continue fighting the deer ( and the chigger, ticks, snakes, rabbits, groundhogs, armadillos, Bermuda grass, white clover, nut sedge, poison ivy, humidity, ) to keep my flowerbeds going.

It's am enormous amount of back-breaking work, which gets harder every year as my various medical issues worsen. My sweet husband is almost 70, and still feeling the effects of his prostate surgery, so I don't want to ask him for as much help.

On the other hand, it's about yhe only thing that gets me outdoors and away from Mama a few hours, which I do need.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 24, 2025 04:49 PM (Vvh2V)

55 Gardening-related: fired up the pickup, and took some bags of trash to the dump. On the return leg, I cruised by a bunch of the limbs and boughs trimmed off trees and caraganas, and loaded them in the pickup box. Got a full load, and I am not done. Backed it up to the burn barrel. Going to start a fire with waste paper, and then slowly feed in tree parts. Maybe get on the riding mower and do orbits while waiting for the wood to burn down.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at May 24, 2025 05:06 PM (FamhF)

56 My bride went to the Chelsea Flower Show today. Big fun, especially looking at all the tremendously creative gardens people make. She bought a couple of snow globes for our grandchildren and lusted after the garden stuff.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at May 24, 2025 05:17 PM (ERbou)

57 I went to the Tate. It was Turner Time, and I loved it.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at May 24, 2025 05:19 PM (ERbou)

58 Being able to burn is a pleasure not to be taken lightly.

Posted by: MkY at May 24, 2025 05:24 PM (cPGH3)

59 I like that rain gauge - literally a box of rain (deadhead reference).

Also in tenths of inches. Publius would like that. Ours froze and cracked.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at May 24, 2025 05:44 PM (w6EFb)

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