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Post by beth on Sept 22, 2012 9:51:14 GMT -5
Sounds in pretty good shape to me, mouse. Surely the blooming plants can go another week or two. I'm going out tomorrow to buy a couple of new mums ... yellow and white, I think. I think kids have been taking a short cut through my side yard because they scatter their granola bar wrappers . I am going to try fencing off a little area for the mums so it will be slightly more trouble for them to go through there than go around. It's still too warm here to get into winter prep. Won't be long, though.
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Post by mouse on Sept 23, 2012 3:00:52 GMT -5
yes they can wait...but the weather can change in a day here in the hills hope the mums do the job we have managed to collect enough blackberries for a pie...so blackberry and apple pie for afters this evening
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Post by mouse on Sept 30, 2012 2:49:21 GMT -5
still some clearing up and cutting back to do...the rain and wind have taken their toll on the plants still in flower..but its unlikely we will be able to sit outside again this year so no great trauma... have moved things in pots to a more sheltered spot and taken rootings of one or two plants that were getting a bit old and put them in what i call my baby area...which simply means they get more nurture as they grow and if by spring they are healthy plants they will replace the mother plant and so the cycle goes on the lawn is a disgrace but will leave work on that for next spring still have a few plant pots to scrub before storing the japanese maple[in a pot] is a joy to see..i shall move it to a more sheltered spot..i would hate to lose it
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Post by mouse on Oct 27, 2012 3:25:56 GMT -5
all work in the garden is now ended except for the gathering up of leaves..but i shall leave that untill the trees are finally through with shedding have planted all the bulbs..cut flower stalks back...done a final hoe..picked out the lingering weeds and re tied the roses and clematis...all the logs are stacked so come on winter do your worst its a cold fresh morning after quite a hard frost..but the sun is shinning and the remaing leaves are glowing gold am just a little worried as to where our toad has gone..havent seen him for a little while..i hope he is under the shed and settled for hibernation[a friend hasnt seen her toad or the frogs for a while either which is worrying after the lack of spawning earlier in the year
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Post by mouse on Nov 28, 2012 6:17:56 GMT -5
there is nothing to do in the garden.. mine is just a mushy swamp thanks to all the rain.. the green tips of crocuses are just pushing through although the frosts will hold them back untill spring but the months roll on and come january it will be time to seriously think of summer plantings think i shall concentrate on seeding wall flowers and antirhinums and buy some garden centre plants as i go along its too early to tell yet what the winter will kill of...but am expecting a few loses due to the amounts of wet we are getting..things will just rot in the least well drained areas
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Post by maggie on Nov 29, 2012 5:09:06 GMT -5
Can you still plant Cyclamen or is it too late? The gardens centres are selling them off half price!
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Post by mouse on Nov 29, 2012 5:44:20 GMT -5
Can you still plant Cyclamen or is it too late? The gardens centres are selling them off half price! plant??? do you mean out side??[they wouldnt last the winter out side here] i should if i were you buy and keep it in a pot....and never water the corm with mine i let them flower and then put them out side in the plant pot some where sheltered from about april /may and just leave them alone ..then bring them into the house again late september before the frosts have had one of them for over five years and the other for three yrs..and only repot when the corm out grows the pot is in
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Post by maggie on Nov 29, 2012 5:46:44 GMT -5
Can you still plant Cyclamen or is it too late? The gardens centres are selling them off half price! plant??? do you mean out side??[they wouldnt last the winter out side here] i should if i were you buy and keep it in a pot....and never water the corm with mine i let them flower and then put them out side in the plant pot some where sheltered from about april /may and just leave them alone ..then bring them into the house again late september before the frosts have had one of them for over five years and the other for three yrs..and only repot when the corm out grows the pot is inI've got one under a tree and it stays there all winter. I thought they could be planted outside if they were protected. I might buy some to put in a pot and bring the pot in when it's frosty like you say.
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Post by mouse on Nov 29, 2012 6:18:25 GMT -5
plant??? do you mean out side??[they wouldnt last the winter out side here] i should if i were you buy and keep it in a pot....and never water the corm with mine i let them flower and then put them out side in the plant pot some where sheltered from about april /may and just leave them alone ..then bring them into the house again late september before the frosts have had one of them for over five years and the other for three yrs..and only repot when the corm out grows the pot is inI've got one under a tree and it stays there all winter. I thought they could be planted outside if they were protected. I might buy some to put in a pot and bring the pot in when it's frosty like you say. and if they are going cheap..why not buy and then you can experiment inside or out side..let me know the results in spring its been sunshinning all morning but the frost is still thick on the fields so i dont think i would dare take a chance here i brought mine in...will take a photo when they flower...be a few weeks till then i think
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Post by beth on Dec 6, 2012 16:55:49 GMT -5
Garden's asleep now, except for one big mum who seems to be a night owl and is still deep yellow in his sunny corner. There is also something very pretty down from the side door that has green leaves and lots of bright orange berries (not holly).
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Post by mouse on Dec 18, 2012 3:31:35 GMT -5
i can see a weeny green tip where the snowdrops are......they wont really get going for a few months...but its a sign of life its gone milder[no freezing] so not as many birds around
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Post by mouse on Jan 4, 2013 4:54:04 GMT -5
have two snowdrops out in a pot i keep near the front door....and there are small green buds on the honeysuckle and the green of other bulbs ie the crocus and the hyacinths is pushing through and one rose has two buds..two small pink buds on a stem weak and spindly no sighns of life on any thing else yet....am hopping every thing doesnt rot the amounts of rain have been horrendous
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Post by mouse on Jan 10, 2013 6:25:22 GMT -5
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Post by mouse on Jan 10, 2013 7:32:51 GMT -5
""The bright orange or reddy-brown slugs""" i came across a couple of these last year...and sent them off to the slug heaven but now i know what they are i shall wage real war upon them..have enough problems with snails thing to do is go on a hunt and destroy the eggs before they hatch where ever possible...they lay eggs mostly near the edges of pots and beds and around the roots of plants..where the soil is broken up and its easier to deposit eggs in soft soil..the eggs come in a clutch and look a little like tiny white balls...changing to yellow before they hatch out the slugs and snails love to hide in thick clematis stems and under stones in stone walls etc so every spring i set out with a plastic bag and collect every one i can come across..also do slug hunt early morning and at dusk i recon daughter and i lift well over a thousand a year...and prevent hatchings of at least a couple of dozen egg groups which have been laid its a never ending task...especially when other people dont do the same or they can escape into nearby fields etc when i first moved into this house we were really over run with the slime.....and used to collect in old washing up bowls..litterally hundreds per week...it better than it was but they do so much damage and can ruin a plant over night
incedently they are a good indicator of the weather...when you see numbers of snails on the undersides of leaves..its usually goning to rain
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Post by mouse on Feb 22, 2013 4:41:42 GMT -5
the buds on the trees are gradually filling out ready to burst forth when spring arives while i have been incarceratedhave been using binoculars to watch the birds..and take note of chanches going on buds filling out and birds galore two woodpeckers walking up the large douglas fir trunk..its unusual to see 2 together along with sightings of nutchatch..various finches and tits and to my delight a wren...and i think theres a blackbird nesting by the guttering too...as a female blackbird keeps darting past the window....if its the same one as last year the babies when they hatch will will awaken me with their chattering early mornings not heard the owls though for ages..since their favorite tree was cut down and i havent heard any foxes either for a long time now
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