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I miss my summer garden

Franc, have you ever tried green onions? I was cleaning some, and thought....well, the bottoms already have roots. I just stuck some down around the celery plant, and they already have some small green shoots. I figure if it doesn't work, no big deal.
 
Ceee said:
Franc, have you ever tried green onions? I was cleaning some, and thought....well, the bottoms already have roots. I just stuck some down around the celery plant, and they already have some small green shoots. I figure if it doesn't work, no big deal.
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Well that actually makes sense. They are bulbs that when you plant them they grow. If all you want is the greens that works until the bulbs get "tired." Chives would be a comparative example.

A herb garden for the kitchen would do well with your idea.


thanks

franc
 
Yesterday we discovered something new in the garden. I've had issues with moles and voles so when I saw underground activity in the bark mulch area around the chopping block, I got worried. I was also worried as we haven't seen Appleton, the pet Missouri three toed painted box turtle for two days.

She has more than once been found on her back having tumbled off a rock wall. She usually comes out in the morning when the wife goes out with a blackberry (the fruit not the device silly, What would a turtle want with a phone?) We haven't seen her for over two days. Putting two and three together I still had no answers so,,,

So I got on BING and asked if turtles tunnel.

And yes, they do. If they get hot or plan to lay eggs, they will tunnel into the dirt to do so. The first sounding plausible and the second leaving me to wonder what our young lady has been up to whilst we were not around. I mean is there some painted up three toed stud messing around with my little girl?

We'll see.
 
FrancSevin said:
The first sounding plausible and the second leaving me to wonder what our young lady has been up to whilst we were not around. I mean is there some painted up three toed stud messing around with my little girl?
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Probably, and good for her :). I'm sure you already know this, but turtles carry salmonella.
 
Ceee said:
Probably, and good for her :). I'm sure you already know this, but turtles carry salmonella.
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Actually it is a problem with wild turtles. Most breed and captive ones are safe.

That said, this one is a rescue from the wild and yes we handle it with gloves or wash after.

I'm told we can have a reptilian vet clear the animal but I prefer to leave it be and we don't touch it unless we have too.

However, this girl has put herself on her back three times since I found her. Possibly because of her missing hind leg. So I will have to handle from time to time. I must be extra cautious however because I do all the cooking.

so....;
Thanks for the warning.
 
Appleton was out today so all is fine. I approached her, Blackberry in hand, but she went in her shell. The wife came out, called her name and she ran to her. (Yeah turtles can run) Took the blackberry right from her fingers. Me, I am the ugly mug that saved her @ss but Cathy gets the credit.

Story of my life.
 
attweev said:
Oh, how I understand you. Well, it's not that I miss my garden, but if I were deprived of the opportunity to be in my garden for at least a week, I would surely miss it. After all, it is my very favorite hobby; I put so much effort into setting up my garden. So many things planted, so much weed I've removed with the help of a walk behind brush cutter from https://trimthatweed.com/best-walk-behind-brush-cutter/. How much time I killed to build a gazebo, and she it is summer and winter. And the side of the garden, even made a bathhouse myself. In general, a whole entertainment center is straight😀. We spend time with our family only in the garden, all on birthdays and holidays too. I am sorry there are no pictures now, but later I can make and show you)
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Building it over time organically is the best.
 
This is not summer garden talk. It's only December, but I am so ready for spring. It's beautiful outside today where I live. This is the best thing that I've got going right now.



You have anything growing/blooming right now, Franc?
 
Ceee said:
This is not summer garden talk. It's only December, but I am so ready for spring. It's beautiful outside today where I live. This is the best thing that I've got going right now.



You have anything growing/blooming right now, Franc?
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I do have pansies blooming. Sorry no pics.. They love cold weather. I was able to keep some alive all summer. They hate summer heat and generally pass away.

My Poinsette of about the last five years was forgotten this fall. i did not put it in darkness to force blooms by Christmas. It bloomed spontaneously on it's own, much to my surprise. Again, no pics. I don't super feed it so the blooms, which are actually just bracts, are smaller and more natural. Also, natural growth is not a green foliage bottom with a crown of red bracts but pyramidal like a Christmas tree. The bracts are all over the plant like ornaments.

I'll try to get pics.

That is a lovely rose. I have yellow ones for Cathy as that is her favorite. They are all bedded for winter now.
 
You have a green thumb. I've never known anyone to get a poinsette to bloom for years and years like that (y)
 
Spent the morning wasting time watching our family of birds and squirrels enjoy the sanctuary of our garden back yard.

Today we have seen Junco's, Bluebirds, Mourning doves, Cardinals, Downy woodpeckers and Red Crested sapsuckers. Of course, the usual house wrens, purple finches and a mockingbird. We also have a host of Eurasians, which are sparrows from Germany, and exist only in the St. Louis MO region. A pair showed up at our place about 10 years ago, a bit out of their range. However, they have settled nearby and account for about fifty to sixty birds that descend on our feeders three or four times a day.

We refer to them as the "Polka Band." More like Polka Bandits if you ask me. :yum:

A Cooper's hawk comes by once or twice, and sometimes scores a meal of poultry, mice or a vole. Meanwhile the squirrels scamper about in careless disregard for altitude or structural integrity of the mini forest which comprises our wildlife sanctuary. And even on cold days like today, the birds bathe in the goldfish pond.

Because we have a turtle hibernating in the pond, I have a floating heater keeping it ice free. The goldfish swim on sunny days, even in winter.
 
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Weather is beautiful today, so I did a little piddling. I got tired of looking out to the patio and seeing the brown sticks on the rose in the container. I replaced it with a Southern Nandina. It's supposed to be evergreen and cold hardy to -10 in my zone. We'll see.

 
We had thought Appleton, our resident Missouri three toed turtle, had spent the winter in the pond. I kept it relatively warm with a heater. Came home one day and it was dry, empty. And the temperatures were in single digits. So, the concern was that Appleton could freeze and die.

I filled it immediately, but the heater was shot.

Later, say two weeks ago, I was raking leaves and discovered Appleton burrowed in under a big pile of them. She had burrowed into the mud and was fine. So today, we pulled back the leaves and checked on her. Yep, she is alive but still asleep in her winter hibernation.

The birds are consuming about five lbs of seed daily. The squirrels account for some of that. But we have a continuous stream of songbirds from Bluebirds to Carolinas to cardinals and Eurasians. Hundreds of 'em all day. The heated pond is a hot tub and the activity is lively.

Today's warm weather made working outside a pleasure. I got a lot done with some new arrivals. Columnar Arborvitae,& pussy willows, which I purchased at Home Depot. Plus a few volunteers got potted up including a Japanese cherry. I moved some Tropicals and exotics outside under a canopy.

But mainly I got to finish the deck rebuild with the carpeted seating area. Pictures on Monday.
 
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Ceee said:
Weather is beautiful today, so I did a little piddling. I got tired of looking out to the patio and seeing the brown sticks on the rose in the container. I replaced it with a Southern Nandina. It's supposed to be evergreen and cold hardy to -10 in my zone. We'll see.

Click to expand...
I have one Nandina, AKA heavenly Bamboo, growing under an American Holly tree (deciduous holly). The rabbits eat it darn near to the ground in winter. But it always comes back.
Yes, it is cold hardy. And lovely as a specimen or low hedge.
 
I bought three columnar Arborvitae trees last week. About 6 feet tall in pots . They will go behind the waterfall/creek when I get the time.

I had left the Christmas tree stand next to one of the bird feeders. Birds seemed to like it as a roost. A lovely Frazer fir it is however a cut tree and therefore dead. So one of the Arborvitae will go there.

I have put some exotics and tender's outside hoping the weather would stay warm. However, tonight goes to32F and Saturday will go colder. Therefore I must bring them back in.

Going to the Springfield bungalow this weekend so I will be off line until Sunday night. No real work planned unless a trip to the sailboat exposes a problem. The poor thing has spent two years in the slip. Between COVID and other passions, we have been unable to sail.
 
Finally, a good weekend ahead and since the Crossfire club has a wine tour going on Sunday, we are staying home for the weekend.

I'll be doing some work on the deck/room addition. But my main focus will be the lawns and garden.
The lawn needs a refresh so fertilizer and seed. I'm hoping to bring it back from the oak tree felling of two years ago. The oak sawdust was so acidic it killed much of the blue grass lawn I've had for 40 years.

So, some lime and fresh fertilizer should bring it back. I'll add some seed to help it along.

Cathy likes yellow roses, so I plan to put some in the ground where we used to store firewood. Also need to plant the columnar evergreens I bought two weeks ago.

Since the turtle is not hibernating in the pond, I'll rake it clear of leaves and add some nice round stones imported from India.

Appleton is still asleep under a leaf pile. I'm hoping she wakes soon as I need to clear that area. She must be a teenager in turtle years as she will not wake up. I know she is alive because I tapped her shell a few weeks ago and she sorta moved and went back to sleep. Exactly like my grandson when I try to wake him, about noon, on Saturdays.
 
What do you think about these? Again, I'm looking for something evergreen that I can put in a container for my patio.

Pink Purple Daydream Dwarf Loropetalum Accent Shrub​

 
Ceee said:
What do you think about these? Again, I'm looking for something evergreen that I can put in a container for my patio.

Pink Purple Daydream Dwarf Loropetalum Accent Shrub​

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These?
Daruma Loropetalum


They are stunning

very durable plants. drought resistant and often bloom all year in your area.

We don't see them here much. Nobody carries them.

I did see them in Springfield MO at LOWE'S

Pricey devils. But maybe worth it.
 
Thanks :)
Yep, that's them. Evergreen and drought resistant makes me smile. I'm kind of getting tired of doing annuals every year and just having to rip them out and having to do it all again the next year.
I think I'm going to try one.
 
Ceee said:
Thanks :)
Yep, that's them. Evergreen and drought resistant makes me smile. I'm kind of getting tired of doing annuals every year and just having to rip them out and having to do it all again the next year.
I think I'm going to try one.
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Thant's what I told the bartender. One wasn't enough LOL
 
We've started our broccoli and onions indoors. They're a couple of inches high and I take the broccoli out in the garage every day to expose them to some cool air to stimulate trunk growth and bring them indoors for the nite.
 
I didn't start a thing this year. My green house is usually full of young sprouting stuff in big flats.

No time.

My vegetable garden is next to our manufacturing plant. Not even tilled yet.

I hate to say it but this year I will be buying annuals at the store. Veggies from the garden, likely not at all.
Between the new house construction and the overload of work at the plant, I don't have the time.

I did do some new evergreens and plan on a new rose garden for the wife. That's it. There's always next year, right?
 
Ceee said:
Weather is beautiful today, so I did a little piddling. I got tired of looking out to the patio and seeing the brown sticks on the rose in the container. I replaced it with a Southern Nandina. It's supposed to be evergreen and cold hardy to -10 in my zone. We'll see.

Click to expand...
Our resident white tail rabbit (wild) ate the Nandina to the ground again this winter. it is, however budding out.

She's fat as a hog so I guessing she was messing with a buck or two. Lot's of little bunnies chewing on my violets and inpatients this summer.

My granddaughter's Hava-pooh puppy will have playmates. Yeah.

Appleton, the turtle, is still not out yet. She is alive but every time I check she just pulls the covers back over her head and goes to sleep. Just like my teenage grandson does on Saturdays and Sundays.
 
I received a 2.5 quart of this today. It looks pretty good for having stayed in a dark box for 7 days. It even has some blooms on it, not many though.
I could only find a 2 gal locally, so I ended up ordering it. I'm going to let it get some sun and some regular watering for a while before I put it into its final pot. When I get all that done, I'll show you a pic.
I have a plan for where I'm going to put them :mrgreen:. It looks nice alongside the Nandina, so I'm probably going to end up getting another one.

Pink Purple Daydream Dwarf Loropetalum Accent Shrub​

 
Ceee said:
I received a 2.5 quart of this today. It looks pretty good for having stayed in a dark box for 7 days. It even has some blooms on it, not many though.
I could only find a 2 gal locally, so I ended up ordering it. I'm going to let it get some sun and some regular watering for a while before I put it into its final pot. When I get all that done, I'll show you a pic.
I have a plan for where I'm going to put them :mrgreen:. It looks nice alongside the Nandina, so I'm probably going to end up getting another one.

Pink Purple Daydream Dwarf Loropetalum Accent Shrub​

Click to expand...
Break it into the sun gently. And Loropetalums like partially shady spots
 
I couldn't stand it, had to re-pot it. I think it's doing really well. The blooms on there are hard to see, but they're there.


FrancSevin said:
Break it into the sun gently. And Loropetalums like partially shady spots
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It has been really cloudy for the last few days. When it gets really sunny, I'll watch it. Thanks for the info.
 
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