The 2019 Gardening Thread.

[catapault]

Norachan, hosta are native to Japan. The green one in your cat-yard looks like Hosta ventricosa.

MoochNNoodles corrugated cardboard is even easier than newspaper and longer lasting weed suppression too. Cut it to necessary configuration with a matt knife. As for where to get it - go to any appliance store and ask for boxes from refrierators / stoves / washing machines / clothes dryers, etc.

If you do use newspaper let me suggest you soak it in a sheet rock bucket of water before placing it on the ground, then mulching. If dry newspaper is put down, then mulched, it can be difficult for rain to soak through to the ground. Also, wet newspaper will conform to the shape of the ground better than dry. Make sure all the newspaper is covered with mulch. If any is exposed to sun and air it can act as a wick and pull moisture away from the ground.

 

[Norachan]

That is a hosta.

Norachan, hosta are native to Japan. The green one in your cat-yard looks like Hosta ventricosa

Wonderful news! I love the way things are working out this year. We talk about rhododendrons and I find a little one growing out side. Someone suggested Hosta and a bunch of them appear in one corner of the enclosure, as if by magic.

Did I mention I want a million dollar tree?

 

[NY cat man]

The big hosta is now about half-grown Eventually this hosta will be lemon yellow I'm not sure of the proper name for this hosta, as Michele just calls it mouse ears

 

[DreamerRose]

Did I mention I want a million dollar tree?

I don't know about the tree, but you could put out some Chinese money plants.

 

[mama africa]

Some bad news ; my lilac bush/tree has fallen over, due to the combination of strong winds and thunderstorm during the last few days.

This is the last photo of the tree



The weather is dreadful, but the butternut, zucchini and pumkin plants are doing fine.
The raspberries are ripening too.

 

[NY cat man]

Some bad news ; my lilac bush/tree has fallen over, due to the combination of strong winds and thunderstorm during the last few days.

This is the last photo of the tree

View attachment 287995

The weather is dreadful, but the butternut, zucchini and pumkin plants are doing fine.
The raspberries are ripening too.

My, but that had to be one heck of a storm!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

“It looks like all the varieties I looked at get about 5 feet tall” The emerald green arborvitae gets 10-15 feet tall, with a 2-3 foot spread. Remember too that they also have to be pruned so you don’t get dead centers.

Oh I meant the hydrangeas. I'm hoping for some privacy as well as pretty blooms. I'll have to have DH look into how to prune the arbor vitae. Pruning makes me nervous.

MoochNNoodles corrugated cardboard is even easier than newspaper and longer lasting weed suppression too. Cut it to necessary configuration with a matt knife. As for where to get it - go to any appliance store and ask for boxes from refrierators / stoves / washing machines / clothes dryers, etc.

I'll see what I can get this week. I had my DD helping me put down the newspapers in the garden and we kept wetting the layers as we worked. Th wind was working against me otherwise. Then I wet it all again before mulching. Hopefully that works!

We rented a truck today to bring home 6 of the arbor vitae. We will need more eventually. But a little at a time is ok too. That means less holes to dig at once.

I ended up with 4 hydrangea. Good thing I do have the space. One is a smaller variety though. It's only supposed to get around 3 feet tall. They must have gotten in a new shipment since I was there earlier this week. One of the varieties I was looking at was gone. But the new ones....they were so pretty!! I've been debating what to do with that corner of the yard for years.

DH also got some deck stringers and boards to build me a planter like I've been asking. We figured it was good to just grab the big things while we were renting the truck anyway. My flowers are taking over the back steps so I do really need it. We've got plenty to keep us busy now. Adding to the hosta garden can wait.

Some bad news ; my lilac bush/tree has fallen over, due to the combination of strong winds and thunderstorm during the last few days.

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that!

 

[rubysmama]

Some bad news ; my lilac bush/tree has fallen over, due to the combination of strong winds and thunderstorm during the last few days.

Oh no. Are there any salvageable parts?

I ended up with 4 hydrangea.

Good for you! Your first hydrangea! And second, third and fourth.

 

[NY cat man]

Now that the weather has turned, things are really coming along. In checking the plants out this morning, I saw at least a half- dozen buds on the oldest clematis, and the Coral Craze coneflowers are getting ready to bloom, as the buds are well-formed. Yesterday, Michele had me plant some butterfly weed seeds, so we shall see how that turns out. I may end up enlarging the present beds or building another one- meaning that much less grass to cut.

 

[mama africa]

My, but that had to be one heck of a storm!

The Lilac tree could not resist the strong wind and the successive thunderstorms from the last two days.

 

[mama africa]

Oh no. Are there any salvageable parts?

I left two trunks, but I'm not sure if they will survive.

Missy was very interested in the cutting and the sawing of the branches and loved to play hide and seek.

 

[NY cat man]

You might be surprised at how tough a lilac can be. My in- laws had a hugely overgrown bush that was dying in the middle, so I laid waste to it with saw and lopping shears, removing over half of it. The next year, it had more blossoms than it had had in years, so don't give up on yours.

 

[mama africa]

You might be surprised at how tough a lilac can be. My in- laws had a hugely overgrown bush that was dying in the middle, so I laid waste to it with saw and lopping shears, removing over half of it. The next year, it had more blossoms than it had had in years, so don't give up on yours.

You've given me hope, N NY cat man .

 

[NY cat man]

You've given me hope, N NY cat man .

As long as the root system is intact, there is always a chance

 

[rubysmama]

As long as the root system is intact, there is always a chance

That's what I was thinking. Lilacs are always sending up shoots all over the place, so there may be some hope yet, if not for the original tree, but a new one.

 

[Norachan]

I hope your Lilac survives mama africa It was sweet to see Missy helping you clear up.

My gardening has been put on hold while the monsoon passes over. It's been raining solidly since Thursday evening. The hosta is looking all green and shiny, I think it's getting bigger by the day.

 

[mama africa]

I hope your Lilac survives mama africa

I cross my fingers. It's the one and only Lilac I have.

It was sweet to see Missy helping you clear up.

She keeps me motivated

I hope your Lilac survives mama africa
My gardening has been put on hold while the monsoon passes over. It's been raining solidly since Thursday evening. The hosta is looking all green and shiny, I think it's getting bigger by the day.

I hope the rain will not be too heavy during the monsoon.


The zucchini plant is blooming.

 

[foxxycat]

Are they pumpkins? They look happy in those tires. My compost heap Kabocha are looking pretty good. Won't it be ironic if the only vegetables I can grow are from seeds I toss into the 'post?





I love the leaves, they look like umbrellas. I was hoping last years lupines might come back, but no sign of them.



I just googled them, beautiful colours. I wonder if these are the same thing? I buy them every year, they last for ages and they do really well even in our soil.

View attachment 287882
Here's my hosta.
View attachment 287883 foxxycat what do you think this is, could it be some kind of wild Hosta? We have about half a dozen of them in one corner of the enclosure.
View attachment 287884
A few pics of the deck. These were taken about a week ago, everything has come on a bit more since then.View attachment 287885 View attachment 287886

The monsoon started today, that usually turns the enclosure into a jungle.

Yes those are hosta, the other leaves I believe are called Elephant ears and I think those are in the family of the Hosta.
Sorry been busy this weekend trying to sell the plants.

Flea market waste of time. Everyone wanted plants with flowers/fruit already. Eyeroll. In reality you don't want them to flower in temp pots-too much stress on the plant-you should have them permanently planted before they flower. There was a guy there who had tomato plants with tomatoes on them already-in gallon jugs but they didn't look as green as my plants. They looked anemic. Almost like they were pumped full of fertilzer and just rush growing...hard to explain.
One guy said the plants I had looked like they had scoliosis. I said we got a really windy day for 2 days and I tried to keep them out of the wind unfortunately this formed a crink but in reality it doesn't matter if they have a kink=that particular area is going to be buried by dirt so it doesn't matter. Eye roll. He says he never buries them deep-I said if you bury it up to the first top stem leaves then the plant will produce twice as much fruit because the root system is bigger and more energy gets into the plant...sounds like he won't listen to me and plant them shallow then complain next month that they won't grow. Some people really annoy me!

Anyways I got to buy more dirt-I have some ideas but bagged dirt is expensive when there's more than 5 big pots involved. Thinking of ordering 2 yards of screened loam and start another project...

 

[foxxycat]

I cross my fingers. It's the one and only Lilac I have.


She keeps me motivated


I hope the rain will not be too heavy during the monsoon.


The zucchini plant is blooming.

View attachment 288188
View attachment 288189

your lilac will come back=my dad used to wack them down to nubs every few years and they always came back. It may take a few years but it will come back. They are very hardy buggers. Just make sure there's adequate water at the roots and they will come back.

 

[NY cat man]

I saw a method of planting tomatoes that looked intriguing.Instead of digging a hole, they dug a trench, stripped the lower leaves off of the plant, then laid the plant on its side in the trench and curved the upper part of the stem upward. The idea is to give the plant more area to grow roots. Too late for this year, but something to consider for next year.