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From commentor Marvel:
The bulbs are really having their way with us his year. After a warm and sunny week, Spring’s cool rainy pattern has returned to the Willamette Valley (OR) — happy to have had a chance to appreciate (and capture) some daffodils before they got too soggy. Here are a few of the coral-colored lovelies that knock us out this time of year.
… and again:
In spring an old woman’s fancy turns to thoughts of…well, baby peas, actually.
***********
Between my tree-pollen allergies and a bout of the Martian Death Cough, I haven’t been out in the yard all week, but now when I look out the back door I can see the first daffodils opening along the north fence. It’s an incentive.
Anybody got a recommendation for a blueberry variety that matures under four feet? Or a source for lingonberry transplants that will do well in New England? I took a couple of carnivorous mini-rose ferals out of a south-facing raised bed in the front yard, and would like to replace them with something more attractive. The bed’s semi-shaded by an adjacent cherry tree, and otherwise rampant with vinca, plus some random clumps of siberian irises and nameless daylilies that got transplanted “until I found a better place for them” a couple summers ago…
What’s going on in your gardens right now?
raven
Things are blooming like mad. The azalea’s aren’t just for Augusta! I moved into full “get ready for the contractors” mode yesterday so all I could manage was mowing. The princess has her back surgery Friday next so she just sat on the ground, weeded and pulled up the mustard and broccoli. I moved here 29 years ago but the spring always blows me away. We have an old dogwood in the front yard and I almost had it taken down with the other trees we had removed for the addition. I thought it might be dead but I was wrong!
JPL
@raven: How long is the rehab going to be? As long as the pain is gone, it will be worth it.
I feel as though I’m a month behind on yard chores. March was such a dreary month that the weeds took over and now I’m paying the consequences. The dogwoods and azaleas are giving me some welcome color. I have dozens of gardenias and it won’t be long that the smell fills the air.
c u n d gulag
In Upstate NY, the days are finally getting warmer, and things are just starting to pop-up.
The nights are still cold, with many near freezing, so it’ll be a while before I run out and buy some tomato plants to keep on our porch.
What we’re hoping for, is that once things bloom, there’s no killing frost like last year, when the farm down the road lost more than half of it’s apple crop. And others lost even more, driving the price of apples per pound in the fall from ‘I’m eating at least an apple a day to keep the doctor away,’ to, ‘Ok, it’s the weekend, and I’d love a fresh apple at least one of the two days. And f*ck it, the doctor’s office charges less for a visit, than a bushel of apples costs.’
Apples in the fall should not be the same price per pound, as a decent cut of steak when it’s on sale.
But, the Conservatives tell me there’s no such thing as Global Weirding, so wtf do I know?
HeartlandLiberal
Bloomington IN has burst into full bloom, so many flowering trees you can see it earns its name. I plan to take my camera out over next few clear days as the spring bloom peaks.
As for blueberries and blackberries and raspberries, after trying to start a strip next to the tree line in my backyard for four years, I threw in the tool this spring. I dug up the only three surviving blackberries, and stuck them into a patch of wildflowers I raise in one large corner of the yard. Between the droughts every summer, and the deer and racoons, I had never gotten any berries, and the blueberries just died repeatedly from drought. I could not get them established.
But 40% of garden is planted with cold weather crops a week ago (cold weather: it was in the ****** EIGHTIES here one day a few days ago); and within next week, I am starting to get tomato and pepper and other seedlings as soon as they are available, and I plan to plant them a full month before what used to be last frost here in south central Indiana.
Ramalama
@c u n d gulag: This may sound perverse but I love the phrase “killing frost”. But I hope the apples hold up nonetheless.
tt crews
Low bush blueberries rarely get over 2 ft tall if you want something small. I have a group that’s about 18″ and they’ve gotten berries since the second year.
Some great native shrubs for under trees are fothergilla, dwarf or regular. Beautiful bottle brush flowers in spring, blue-ish foliage in the summer and flaming red leaves in fall.
Gindy51
We do container blueberries, having had the same problem as Heartland Liberal (waves from Batesville, IN). We get almost all of our gardening supplies from Gardens Alive (based in Lawrenceburg, IN) and they have a nice little blueberry plant, see link below:
http://www.gardensalive.com/dwarf-northblue-blueberry/p/3520/
We have lots of bulbs and I am headed out to mow the grassy areas a second time on Monday. The grass is growing like gangbusters and if I don’t keep it short in the places the dogs play, I will have tick city in no time. Damned rabbits.
c u n d gulag
@Ramalama:
Yeah, one wonders what you call the place where fruits and veggies are destroyed by killing frosts?
Killing fields?
tt crews
I put a soaker hose in for the blueberries and it pretty much runs on a slow drip from May to September. They really do not like getting dry. So under a thirsty tree is probably not a good idea. They do better on the edge of grass lawns where more frequent watering is done.
currants
Great idea, Anne. Thanks! I would never have thought of them (didn’t realize they grew here): now I’m thinking I might plan ahead, prep the location this fall and plant them in the spring. UMass info, lingonberries
I read somewhere in the last 10 min in a quick google search that Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland has them. I’ll see if I can find more.
chris
Blueberries in containers (in ericaceous soil) are good for smaller spaces, I do them in my London small rowhouse garden. I tried low bush and high bush, thinking I’d prefer low, but the cropping is better on high bush varieties. Its not a bad idea to mix varieties for fruiting times to spread the yield.
They can start in small-ish pots and get transplanted up to half barrels if you have space, that takes 4-5 years at least I’d say. Mine are still in 5 gallon pots and do surprisingly well. I’ll email you some pics and details, its one of my fav in my garden (along with tomatoes).
This is my UK nursery, its a good website for growing information that would apply for you….
http://www.trehane.co.uk/Blueberry_Plants_by_mail_order_s/1820.htm
Dolly Llama
Raleigh, NC: Everything’s popping wonderfully well. The pollen – which is so thick you can practically walk outside and chew it – is giving my bride fits, but I’ve thankfully never been bothered by it. I found a great deal on some rock – pretty granite, gray rocks and pink rocks – about three weeks ago and am playing around with it today.
arguingwithsignposts
Since I don’t have a garden, I will ask a food/medical question, since food is related to gardening (get it?):
My doc has given me some high cholesterol meds and told me my cholesterol was really high. I really hate taking meds (although I’m taking these for the moment), and was wondering if anyone here has been able to lower cholesterol with natural methods. I’ve read mayo clinic, and there’s a ton of stuff on the web, but just wondering if anyone has any personal experience.
thanks.
Josie
@arguingwithsignposts: I tried really low fat diet plus natural supplements with no success. I finally threw in the towel and agreed to take a minimal amount of lipitor (10 mg) per day plus eating low carb, and that has worked. My doctor claims that such a small percentage of high cholesterol is caused by diet, as opposed to genetics, diet alone can’t cure it. I questioned her about the downside of taking the meds and she said the danger of bad blood work far outweighed the danger of med side effects.
Schlemizel
out here on the frozen tundra it snowed again last night. We are forming a neighborhood watch program to warn of approaching woolly mammoths!
Garden watch my aunt fanny
c u n d gulag
@arguingwithsignposts:
Believe it or not, when I was working, I went on a sort of modified South Beach/Atkins diet for a couple of years, worked-out by riding my excercise bike, ate raw almonds (unsalted) as snacks, lost over 100 pounds, and lowered my cholestrol by over 100 points.
In the last 4 years, since I’ve been unemployed, and can’t afford anything but cheap sh*t to eat, with a lot of affordable carbs, I put a lot of that weight back on, and probably have a cholestrol level that’s only slighly lower than a wedge of gooey cheese.
If you have the money, you can eat right, and lower your cholesterol without drugs.
I hope you have the money.
Svensker
Quince bush does well under trees and will have lovely flowers before the cherry leafs out. Probably won’t fruit since it will be shaded, but the spring flowers are worth it.
We had an ice storm a couple days ago. Spring is not here yet.
jnfr
Lovely daffodils! Lovely peas!
My tomato and eggplants seedlings are up and growing and looking good. The Legal in Colorado pot plants are gangbusters too.
It turned chill and rainy again so I haven’t yet set out the lettuces and spinach into the Earthbox I got for them.
We got a Havahart trap to get rid of the rabbit that was hanging out in the yard and I swear that the day it arrived, the rabbit suddenly vanished. Haven’t seen it again. I did find that the tricksy little squirrels had figured out how to dismantle my birdfeeders though, so I had to take them down until I can get some baffles. Damn rodents.
JPL
@jnfr: Once I made the mistake of rigging a feeder for the squirrels and filling it with peanuts. It solved the problem until the darn squirrels told friends about it.
PsiFighter37
My apartment faces north, so I never get enough sunlight to grow anything on my balcony. It’s a shame, because I really would like to grow some herbs and have some vegetation in general.
My fiancee is running a half-marathon this morning, so getting myself awake after partying at a wedding last night. We also have brunch with wine coming up today…not really anticipating having too much time to relax. Yippee.
dp
I am so jealous of you people who can grow things! Maybe someday ….
raven
@JPL: Hey, back from the morning rounds. This surgery is “minimally invasive” Microdiscectomy and recovery should be fairy quick. What she is going to have to do is to become MUCH more mindful of what she is doing in the garden and elsewhere. I always have characterized her as a pack mule, the woman loves gardening so much that she just has has no off switch. It will be a challenge.
Honus
And the Pirates have taken the first two of three with the Reds. We may never lose again! (ht/Bob Prince)
keestadoll
@arguingwithsignposts: I have some experience on the blood pressure end of it, and since the diets and supplements are similar, I thought I’d share my success: in lieu of steak, eat more oily fish (salmon is great, black cod also great); raw walnuts (great oil for c/v health) on a bed of spinach with some drizzled olive oil and a dash of lemon juice; cinnamon, garlic, CoQ10 as Ubiquinol (I take these in capsule form), and a teaspoon of cod liver oil. With cholesterol (and hypertension ps) it’s not so much about cutting fat (and many by doing so, cut out the beneficial oils), but selecting the good fats (read: good oils). It’s also about staying clear of processed foods and eating s many fresh fruits and veggies as possible.
bemused
AL, Zone 3-4 here in NE MN. I ordered 3 lingonberry plants from One Green World a couple of years ago that I plan to transplant to a different spot whenever spring finally gets here. It will take awhile for the two feet of snow we have now to melt and it was 16 deg this am.
One Green World has a large section of many berry plants, including 4 types of lowbush blueberries specifically for northern regions.
pat
We eat a mixture of oatmeal and sunflower seeds and raisins (uncooked oatmeal) with non-fat Greek joghurt, 1% fat milk, and orange juice for breakfast every day, and I think the oatmeal helps lower cholesterol.
And fish, chicken breast, very little red meat. Lots of veggies. Oh, and of course wash it all down with red wine. (Not the oatmeal, of course.)
Cholesterol is fine for both of us, but we are on BP meds.
pat
Oh, and here in western Wisconsin it is snowing.
Arrgghhhh.
jurassicpork
A desperate plea for help from a blogger facing eviction.
keestadoll
The only issue I’m facing right now is the odd unavailability of onion sets. I started asking our local (Humboldt County, CA) nurseries back in late February and no one had any at all until two weeks ago and were bought out almost instantly due to demand. I’ve got 180 of them in the ground now, but had planned for double that to interplant with my tomatoes. I’ve got all my berry bushes (blues and raspberries) all nice and secure from birds as of last week and just in time too as the blueberries are almost done with flowering and will start to set their fruit soon. I’m going all out with companion planting this year so the raised beds are a riot of interplanted veggies. Example: around my pole beans I have carrots, cucumber, and summer savory going. In another area, I have sage, bunching onions, kale, and garlic going. Fun stuff!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@arguingwithsignposts: Did your doctor do a CRP as well as a cholesterol test? Inflammation is a much better predictor than cholesterol level.
That said, some of the statins do reduce overall inflammation.
chopper
@arguingwithsignposts:
leafy greens. lots. the magnesium in chlorophyll is good for cholesterol.
Uncle Ebeneezer
We are struggling with two issues.
1.) Trying to find some sort of vine or climbing plant that can manage against a wooden fence where there is very little sunlight.
2.) We have these little flies in our yard that are not mosquitoes, are not house flies, gnats etc. They are a bit bigger than gnats and more round than mosquitoes. They don’t bite and don’t seem to be attracted to any plant in particular, or our dog. They just swarm/fly around in an annoying fashion, mostly in the sun. We got a fly trap but that only seems to catch regular house flies. Any ideas on what these little critters are, and if there’s anything we can do to keep them away? We have a tiny, fenced in yard with very little plantlife (couple vines and some roses that haven’t opened yet) but these bugs are driving us nuts.
If anyone else out there is from SoCal (we’re in Altadena) and has any suggestions we’d love to hear them.
Side note- one of the neat things about my wife is that she has really made me aware of the splendid flowers here in California. It’s pretty amazing the variety of colors etc.
currants
@keestadoll: Ah! Do you have a good (short, preferably internet) reference source for companion planting? (Or do any of you?)
satby
@arguingwithsignposts: Echo the dietary advice on good fats and low carb. Cut out all processed carbs and anything with transfats and you should see improvement. High cholesterol means nothing by itself, what is the balance of HDL to LDL? Because that ratio is more important. Transfats and processed food with lots of empty carbs shoots bad LDL way up.
jnfr
@JPL:
I have a neighbor who feeds them peanuts. They come to my yard and dig up all my garden beds planting peanuts in them. I hate the boogers. My husband calls them “rats with better PR”.
arguingwithsignposts
Thanks for all the suggestions. My bad cholesterol is way high, as is my overall cholesterol. I should have written down the numbers. I have been eating a lot of processed foods recently, but I’m trying to eat more green stuff (never actually made a salad myself in my life!), but it’s a challenge as a single person living alone. I’m on Crestor 10mg for the moment, and spring means I can actually get outside and exercise more, so hopefully all that will help. I just don’t like taking pills. Also, do vitamin supplements help at all?
Maude
Al, I’d go with a Huckleberry low bush. Blueberry bushes should be labeled low or high.
Huckleberries grow well in NE and are sweeter than the blues.
@JPL:
Squirrels are despicable. Purple Martins chase them, good on the Martins.
Mnemosyne
@arguingwithsignposts:
G has genetically high cholesterol and has been eating oatmeal and tuna every day for about 6 months now to try and lower it. So, basically, what everyone else is saying: high fiber and lots of omega-3s.
@Uncle Ebeneezer:
I don’t know what those gnats are, but they seem to thrive in our area (I’m in Glendale/Burbank). They hang out in our parking lot at work and occasionally I’ll accidentally ride my bike into a cloud of them — ugh!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@arguingwithsignposts: Your doctor didn’t give you a copy of the lab results? Call him and ask for it.
How do you feel about juicing? I can’t stand the taste, myself, but if you can, it’s a great way to get lots of the micronutrients we lose in processing vegetables.
Kristine
Spring is a struggle here in far NE Illinois. 40s/50s and rainy like whoa–over 2 inches fell last week. The grass is finally greening and the daffs are a couple of inches high. Crocuses opened. But another sweep of chill and rain is headed here this week.
All the tomato and basil seeds have popped up in the indoor seed tray, and the mesclun seeds I stuck in the raised bed two weeks ago are just starting to sprout.
At least all the snow has melted.
ruemara
I miss having gardens and dirt. I was planning to put in some potted plants but, so far, I can only appreciate other’s gardens. A friend keeps sending me updates on all the seeds I had saved from the house and while it’s nice to know things are growing well, I don’t have the stomache to keep hearing about the things I had planned for being fruitful for her. Maybe someone will let me weed.
Pete Mack
That book review on 19th century abortions is fascinating. Of course the book is by a professor of “women’s” “studies”, so it must be full of crap… It’s a shame that this can’t just be called “history”, but “history” was never about details this interesting…