gc

gc,

How goes the Fuschia? Saw one at the nursery today.

Hey Kimberly, The fuchsia is doing pretty good. Two of the three plants have made it. I check on both, like you check on a baby, everyday to see if there are new leaf buds ;) The section I've made into a standard seems to be stronger and it looks like there are two young shoots comming up from the roots, which really surprised me. The second one, which I put into my herbaceous bed, is not doing as well as the standard. I'm hoping that it is just taking a little longer to sprout leave buds. Both seem to have at least one branch that is completely bare still. Fingers crossed!

gc

Praying here too. Yeah, will pray for a long healthy life!

gc

Happy Birthday Roy! I hope you are doing well.

God's blessings to you.

gc

I love living near mountains. Probably my favorite place to be is in an alpine meadow in early summer when all the wild flowers are in bloom.

I do love alpines. I have a purple flowering one growing over a garden wall and a beautiful white one out of a pot of heather. An alpine meadow must be beautiful!

leafy, I'm almost ready to plant out my tomatoes. I've grown two types this year, one is called Money Maker which is supposed to do very well in the garden. I can't remember the other seed I bought, but it does better in a green house, and ok in the garden.

Rum, I don't think you mentioned what you are growing this year?

gc

Hey Rum, when I move back to the south I'll have to ask you what to do with bulbs. I'm know I'll remember that something can be done, just not what can be done. Thanks!

Bramble, Is it absolutely beautiful living in the Rockies? I can't image!

gc

Bramble, which bulbs do you have in bloom? I love bulbs, put them in the ground and the following year they are up and making a show :) In the South of the US I had trouble with most bulbs, if they bloomed, then they would rot before the next year. My tulips and daffodils gave me a beautiful show this year and my lilys and irises are greening out nicely.

Sorry to hear you just had snow, when is your last frost usually?

gc

Mister P-Mosh, I saw the nutella on the shelves here. I'll have to pick some up and try it. You aren't the first that has suggest I try it. Thanks!

gc

Twinky, I think the chard is a good idea. if I don't grow it this year, then definately next year.

I've had loads of insects flying around my yard also, but not wasps. At first I thought they could be hoover flies, but not that either. Between the bluebells, tulips, violas, cherry blossoms, flowers on fruit bushes, violets and primulas they are having a hayday! I have to watch my dog with the flying insects, he is the fastest fly catcher around. No idea how to get rid of them without killing them.

gc

At last, I have my first vegetables down in part of my raised bed! We aren't finished filling it with soil, but did manage to fill 1/3 of it. So, in that 1/3 I planted some parsnip and beet seeds (or beet root, as my husband says :)), lettuce, yellow onion and spinach. All of my young cabbage have died and most of my cauliflower too. Even my brussels sprounts had a tough time of it, I lost two of those also. On the other hand most of the broccoli has done well, but in anticipation of loosing that too I went ahead and planted more of all four. They have sprouted and are looking good and healthy.

I'm almost tempted to grow my tomatoes inside, there are times I would love to have a greenhouse. The bell peppers are healthy, but I hate to condemn them to death by eventually putting them outside.

gc

I loved her in Golden Girls. My mom watched the show every day when she was alive. When I think of Golden Girls, I think of my mom. :)

gc

I like that shrub! :) Not it though, both the flowers and leaves are different. When it blooms I'll get a picture of it, though it really resembles a fuchsia in leaf and flower.

Could it be WIEGELA?

It's not evergreen but it only blooms once.

gc

Is it Trumpet Vine?

I have scads of them growing all over my yard. They're so attractive, I have to remind myself they are weeds.

I looked around the net for the particular shrub but couldn't find it. It looks similar to a fuchsia, but its evergreen and only flowers once, which is a shame. It is similar in flower to your pretty trumpet vine but isn't a vine and hangs more like this fuchsia. I do have a fuchsia that has smilar blooms and my neighbor says its is indeed a fuchsia, but I don't think so.

I love this!!!! Folks sharing with and helping one another.

me too!

gc

Twinky, are they flowering shrubs you are putting in that border? I'm guessing they are, so what kinds are they? I've just widened my border also. I have a rose bush, 2 young Helleborus and one shrub that the flowers look like a trumpet flowered fuschia (not a fuschia though). I've put in a small sage and another rose which is only a year old, grown from a long stemmed rose a year ago, which is hidden behind the tulips. Once the tulips are finished I want to put in a few flowering perinnials, not sure what else yet.

That rain was very gentle here also, but did you get all that wind too? It knocked down my Peris about 4 times and ended up breaking off two young branches. Everything got a wonderful soaking!

RumRunner, the copper I was talking about is a copper tape. It doesn't poison the slugs it give them an electrical shock without killing them.

gc

Kimberly, maybe that is why my corn was knocked down by the wind, I didn't build up the base of the corn stalks.

It rained all weekend for me. But, I still managed to get the small section of my raised vegetable bed filled in and ready for planting. Since it rained and it plans on raining through Tuesday, the bed will be well watered. Metcheck says there will be sun on Wednesday, which will be perfect for planting YEA!! I have white onions, green onions, lettuce, spinach, courgette, beets, parsnips and Tomatoes (third try is the charm, right?) growing and ready to go in! Of course not all of this will fit into the small section, but it will be wonderful to get some in the ground. Next weekend we tackle the large section. I can't wait Then onto our next project!

Has anyone every tried copper to keep slugs and snails out of your borders?

leafy, I WISH there was room for chickens! My husband and I are talking about getting a hedgehog for the garden.

gc

edited to say something to leafy :)

gc, I might be down your way sometime soon. We shall have to see if we can swap some "babies".

Sounds like a plan :)

watered garden, they are beautiful shrubs, even the leaves are pretty!

waysider, :)

"What is that beautiful bush with the white flowers?"

It looks like it might be an ABELIA.

waysider, That isn't the shrub I have in the picture, BUT I'm rooting a few pieces of a pretty flowered bush that I snagged from a neighbor's yard that looks like that. It has small pale pinkish white trumpet shaped flowers all over the bush when its in bloom. I wondered what it was called. :)

I think I found my white flowered shrub. I believe it is one of the Sprieas.

Leafy, I'm originally from the New Orleans area and its not a windy city, normally. But a couple of times a year it is not unheard of to get a very windy day. One time the wind was so strong that it bent my car door back on its hinges and it wasn't hurricane season! Where I live now the wind comes straight up the hill into our back garden and sometimes it is a gale force wind.

gc

Leafy, thanks for the link :)

The first time I grew corn the stalks were blown down by wind. I was so disappointed! Some of the corn was harvested before the wind blew them down. They were beautiful standing so tall in the middle of my back yard. and they were so delicious. Neighbors used to stop and ask me about it all the time.

gc

We live in the Rockies where the growing season is short. We plant our garlic in the fall and mulch it heavily. During early spring(which is pretty much winter weather here) we will water it during thaws, when the temps are in the forties. We get a really nice crop in late summer.

Moving here from the midwest, we heard all kinds of dire warnings about the difficulty of gardening here, but we have found it best it ignore most of that. We do have to start plants early in a home made greenhouse( mostly peppers, tomatoes and broccoli), and we mulch alot due to high winds and dry air, but we've been able to grow most things we love. We finally have asparagus established, and this year we are trying a big bed of quinoa. I'm also doing a three sisters hill, just for fun (corn, pole beans and squash planted in the same hill.)

We also have lots of tarps for those awful hail storms!

We've decided to take all the lawn out of our back yard and replace it with raised beds, fruit bushes(elderberry, chokecherry, gooseberry) and wild flowers. The lawn requires alot of water here, and all we do is mow it and look at it, the kids really don't play in the back yard now they can drive.The quinoa is supposed to look much like a wild flower patch so I'm excited about that.

Bramble, What is the deal with the three sisters hill? I've never heard of that before, and it sounds fun and interesting. How's it doing and do you have a picture of it? I'd like to grow corn here, but the wind is horrible. I thought of staking the stalks, not sure if that would work. I've done a similar thing with my back garden; replace the grass with raised beds. One of mine is a perinnial bed, it has fruit bushes and the hope of asparagus for next year. I've only done this to one side, the other has lawn and a border. My dog likes the grass, my husband's cat likes the clutter :) It would be nice to see how your back garden looks with the raised beds, fruit bushes and wild flowers, or is it still a work in progress?

gc

Its nice to know that you are smiling! You've been waiting for something positive to happen, I'm glad to see that it has happened. Hoping for many more positives!

gc

Thanks! :) I've always loved stone walls and they are all over the place in England. So, I tiered the top part of my husband's slopped back yard and built the stone wall. I'm very proud of it! I am going to tier part of his front garden next and build my second wall soon :)

Kimberly, I have no idea what that shrub is. A couple of years ago I helped someone clear out some raised beds, my payment was that I could take any of the plants I wanted. This shrub was part of the payment. It has branches of beautiful white flowers with yellow centers every spring.

gc

testing

Thank you for the kind words, hugs and continued prayers, we need them. Life has be very tough for my family the past few years. Also, I am not able to go home to be with them at a time when we should all be together.

gc

My sister died yesterday. There was nothing more her doctors could do for her. The infection was just too bad throughout her body. I am told that she went peacefully and she was in no pain, that's something I guess. Thanks to you all for praying, it is appreciated my than I can express here.

gc

I think about you and your grandson often, and pray for you. With everything you have been going through its not surprising that you are tired. God's blessings on you and may he give you comfort.

gc