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Post by Mari on Apr 28, 2021 14:31:36 GMT
That Kenilworth ivy seems lovely but very prolific. Is it like ordinary ivy or can its spread be managed? I see you keep it in pots. I'm looking for good ground coverage without turning to a weed. The previous owners planted Lily of the vale and wild strawberries which I now have trouble managing. Their root systems3are horrendous for managing.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 28, 2021 17:19:15 GMT
That Kenilworth ivy seems lovely but very prolific. Is it like ordinary ivy or can its spread be managed? I see you keep it in pots. I'm looking for good ground coverage without turning to a weed. The previous owners planted Lily of the vale and wild strawberries which I now have trouble managing. Their root systems3are horrendous for managing. At it's peak, it can be pushy in that it spreads fast. The thing is, it pulls out easily, so it's fairly easy to 'prune back'. It won't take foot traffic, if that is a concern. It trails quite well, if that is sought.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 28, 2021 17:28:44 GMT
And, we have a winner. The first iris of the year, on April 28, 2021: From another angle: And, yet another angle: Meanwhile, just a stride away, the first rosebud is preparing to open, shown here curling away the first sepal in preparation: Normally, the first rose of the year is in late May or early June. We have had a warm, dry, sunny spring.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 28, 2021 19:53:20 GMT
At one point a year or two in the past, I was uprooting iris which were in places I did not want and, not having an adequate place to replant them, I carted them down to what is referred to in these parts as 'the parking strip'. It is a narrow strip of soil between the public walkway and the curb and street surface. Residents are required to keep up this strip, even though it is legally public property. There are two 'street trees', the katsura and the hideous wineleaf sycamore maple, in this strip in front of my property. I placed the excised iris rhizomes next to the central step through paver. They were light purple blooms on plants which had all survived where other iris had disappeared. I didn't think about it at the time, but looking at them this year, with their tall, slender stems, relatively small flowers...they're different than my iris germanica, the standard tall bearded iris. They're also different from the iris siberica and iris japonicas. The leaf and rhizome look like germanica, but not the bloom. I think I have a selection of iris pallida. They are happy where they are, for the time being. I've five tall stalks with buds about to open.
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Post by whollygoats on May 1, 2021 1:58:15 GMT
Place in the iris race: Iris pallida, at curbside.
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Post by Mari on May 1, 2021 15:03:10 GMT
That Kenilworth ivy seems lovely but very prolific. Is it like ordinary ivy or can its spread be managed? I see you keep it in pots. I'm looking for good ground coverage without turning to a weed. The previous owners planted Lily of the vale and wild strawberries which I now have trouble managing. Their root systems3are horrendous for managing. At it's peak, it can be pushy in that it spreads fast. The thing is, it pulls out easily, so it's fairly easy to 'prune back'. It won't take foot traffic, if that is a concern. It trails quite well, if that is sought. That ssounds just what I need. I'll keep an eye out for it
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Post by whollygoats on May 1, 2021 20:57:45 GMT
At it's peak, it can be pushy in that it spreads fast. The thing is, it pulls out easily, so it's fairly easy to 'prune back'. It won't take foot traffic, if that is a concern. It trails quite well, if that is sought. That ssounds just what I need. I'll keep an eye out for it Here.... here is the wiki on it. In the process, I found out something I did not know. Ivy-leaved toadflax is edible and considered high in vitamin C. You can toss it in to the salad!
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Post by whollygoats on May 1, 2021 21:00:03 GMT
And, in the iris race, this is 'show': Iris germanica, aka 'tall bearded iris', variety 'First Interstate'.
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Post by whollygoats on May 5, 2021 2:30:53 GMT
Another lovely day and the iris are about to explode.
I did another run to the nursery and picked up a climbing hydrangea, more ground covers (mostly fairy thyme), and several bags of composted soil additives.
The last trip to the grocery, I had garnered three pairs of veggie sets: eggplant, red bell peppers, and jalapenos. They got plugged in to three of the cannabis pots. I also picked up a larger pot of crooked neck squash
I'm still looking for Minnesota Midget cantaloupe sets.
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Post by whollygoats on May 5, 2021 15:58:30 GMT
Finally took on my 'composter row' along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was vastly overgrown, but a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, as it was only four major loci for the invasive woodbine nightshade that had taken over. Wow...I gained a new staging area for my incoming bagged compost and it looks a mite more 'civilized', or will once I clean up the consequences of my actions. I prolly should follow with some surgical strikes with boiling hot water, just to assault any enterprising root stems.
The iris are in full array. I can see tips of color on the buds. The deep purples will open first, with the Graphic Arts and City Lights right behind. Elsewhere, Sudden Impact has produced four exceedingly tall stems and the rose it is paired with may actually produce blooms while the iris is still abloom....a pairing. Fortuitous, if it comes to pass.
Today is expected to be our first day of real summer temperatures (~85 F), followed by a twenty degree drop in temperatures and rain the following day. I've a few items to plug in, but I've got the rest of the day. If only I could get myself to sit down and fill out the tax forms for my preparer.....**sigh**
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Post by whollygoats on May 5, 2021 17:54:27 GMT
I put my order in with March Biological for my annual ration of green lacewing eggs.
ETA: And, they refused me. They now only provide way too much for a commensurate charge.
Damn. Now I have to find another source for beneficial bugs.
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Post by whollygoats on May 5, 2021 19:12:19 GMT
View from the balcony.
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Post by Sarah W. on May 6, 2021 15:22:00 GMT
Wow - that first iris that bloomed is a show-stopper. Love the color!
Thanks for all the garden updates. I get a lot of vicarious enjoyment from your garden (and I don't get sunburned or have to weed it!)
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Post by whollygoats on May 6, 2021 21:43:19 GMT
Keep that up and I'll have to post more. As for that first bloom. I'm waiting for the others in that pot to bloom. I thought this would be a rhizome I 'saved' from another bed, where it was being out competed. But, what I thought I was saving was more blue, while this is violet (and a very lovely violet it is, particularly tricked out against its own white fall centers). If I get something different, then this is likely an errant rhizome of 'Graphic Arts'. We'll compare when I know I have 'Graphic Arts', too. It is about to happen...the big 'fireworks' display here at Wellington Gardens.
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Post by whollygoats on May 6, 2021 21:47:07 GMT
Rain today, and maybe tomorrow. Then, a protracted dry spell. That's better than the rains hitting after the blooms open. Then, I have to stake like mad after the storm.
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Post by whollygoats on May 9, 2021 2:33:05 GMT
A look out the back door - What's happenin' out in the gardens? These 'Sudden Impact' iris has very long stems. Very tall bearded iris, I guess. The 'First Interstate' stem is still blooming. Stepping back to get a look at that dark corner and the columbine and woodland hyacinth volunteers. Did y'all see this in the previous pic? It was hiding behind the columbine. My second rosebud; 'Summer Fashion'. While out at the crossroads, in the shadow of the rhubarb, is another volunteer columbine - Another 'hidden treasure', a potted delphinium, hidden back in the corner with the gate to China Beach, which, for the time being, is experiencing invasive wygelia from across the fence, and will soon be overshadowed by Cecile Brunner, seen budding out to the right: But, of course, the big news is that the leading edge has broken and the first deep purple heritage iris has bloomed.... And thus it begins. It will be three weeks of iris blending in to the first bloom of the roses. We'll see what else plays in along the way...
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Post by JoeP on May 9, 2021 10:50:21 GMT
I still can't see any of these pictures but I assume they are lovely.
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Post by whollygoats on May 10, 2021 16:52:37 GMT
I still can't see any of these pictures but I assume they are lovely. Well, since I am most definitely NOT any kind of an 'IT guy', I am no help whatsoever. This is not new for me. Am hopeless boomer. I would note that they were all posted here from F******k, which is essentially serving as my photo archive. If you see my postings on my F******k feed, then you will see the highlights of these pix. Those posted here are about five times as much content.
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Post by Moose on May 12, 2021 0:40:05 GMT
I can see them ... these are gorgeous. I love the rose especially. Hmm, we should have a virtual BBQ in your garden one day. Though not on the flowers.
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Post by whollygoats on May 12, 2021 0:40:10 GMT
Today's new blooms... Graphic Arts City Lights Blueberry Bliss The hidden rosebud, 'Summer Fashion', two days later. View through the clump of 'Sudden Impact' blooms toward the fenceline iris bed. The 'Sudden Impact' blooms are practically at face level. I'm not sure that is clearly conveyed by this photo:
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Post by Moose on May 12, 2021 0:57:44 GMT
Beautiful *looks wistful*
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Post by whollygoats on May 12, 2021 1:04:55 GMT
I can see them ... these are gorgeous. I love the rose especially. Hmm, we should have a virtual BBQ in your garden one day. Though not on the flowers. It sounds like we're going to have to find a way to get JoeP back to the garden.
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Post by whollygoats on May 13, 2021 17:28:01 GMT
For Marit....A follow-up on the toadflax...aka Kenilworth ivy: When I cleaned up along the Ho Chi Minh trail, I exposed the composters to more view: Note the growth out of the vents. That could all be torn away in less than a minute. No thorns, no stubborn roots. If you're slapdash about it, it will prolly grow back. (It looks rather 'pubic', doesn't it?)
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Post by whollygoats on May 14, 2021 1:30:43 GMT
Today's new blooms: I think this is 'Lady Friend'. 'Cherub's Smile' Rudies already! Normally, I don't get these until early July. This is not my usual 'Goldsturm' rudies, either. I think it is 'Tiny Stars'. The fenceline iris bed from its north end, looking south-southwest. The same bed, with the view directly east from the crossroads. 'City Lights' proliferating blooms in that bed. Elsewhere, 'First Interstate' continues to brighten up its dark corner in the stairwell rosebed. And, my gargoyle keeps close watch over it all....
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Post by whollygoats on May 14, 2021 3:18:08 GMT
Another stroll? I came home from the grocery this morning with this: It's a hanging fuschia basket. It is hanging over the shed porch bench. Miz Hummer approves. She's been all over it since I lugged it to the back garden. It looks like this: Then, there is a better lit photo of 'Lady Friend': In, and next to, the 'mater patch is this tableau: In the dark corner of the stairwell rosebed: A ninety degree turn from that is this: Across in the fenceline iris bed are this cluster: Next to this cluster: And, across from them, is: I'm thinking big happenings for tomorrow.
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Post by whollygoats on May 14, 2021 18:42:02 GMT
Is anybody looking at this stuff?
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Post by whollygoats on May 14, 2021 18:44:54 GMT
New today: Tulip Festival Cherub's Smile Lark Ascending
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Post by JoeP on May 14, 2021 19:49:03 GMT
Is anybody looking at this stuff? If I could I would But not if it means signing into facebook here...
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Post by whollygoats on May 17, 2021 1:01:04 GMT
It seems that one of the crows I have been providing snacks has taken to using my birdbath/bee beach & bistro as a meal prep center. I first noted it when Jill (the presumed female crow) started taking her dried bread bits directly there from the crowbar to 'soften it up'. Then, I noted that she also washed some of the bits of meat (franks cut up) I provided. But, the real surprise was to watch her show up with a chicken bone she'd acquired elsewhere, left it to soak for ten minutes or so, and returned to 'gnaw' at the bone, picking off bits softened dried meat still adhered to the bone. Jill, obviously, has made herself at home in my garden. For the other bird's sake, I've taken to refreshing the bee beach & bistro more often.
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Post by JoeP on May 17, 2021 10:25:15 GMT
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