From commentor Japa21:
We concentrate on container gardens, but they were just planted and haven’t really reached their potential yet. However, we also have roses and what we call our purple garden. The latter is nice because we have plants that bloom at different times. Currently our false indigo is in all its glory as is the clematis and a few others. Later, we’ll have, among our variety, some gorgeous purple coneflowers.
44 years ago, when I proposed to my wife, I promised her a rose garden. It took a few years but I did fulfill my promise. These pictures represent 3 of 8 roses we have growing.
I did miss the opportunity to send pictures of our peonies, but maybe next year.
***********
Here in New England, two of the rose bushes I put into pots last year survived through the winter even though somebody defaulted on his promise to make room for them in the garage. Since one of them was in a 16″ self-watering planter, I celebrated by ordering another half-dozen similar pots, and enough roses to fill them plus the bare spots in the front beds. Of course, the roses arrived Friday, we had other commitments Saturday, and today the temperature is supposed to reach the mid-90s…
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
SiubhanDuinne
Lovely!
Lapassionara
Beautiful photos. Thanks.
JPL
What a lovely story and beautiful pictures. Thanks!
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone ???
rikyrah
Beautiful flowers ???
ThresherK
Our rental has a “purple garden” also. The bottom and third from bottom flowers look familiar.
The flowers were there when we moved in and we leave them alone. That’s the only way they’ve survived 2.5 years.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
satby
Beautiful garden japa21! I love roses, and my Joseph’s Coat just bloomed. It looks like two of the roses that I got so cheap from Menards died (figures) but two are thriving;since I forgot which I planted where I’m waiting for blooms to identify them for sure.
My iris are done, my veggies are all planted and doing very well. It’s going to be hot here too, all the way until Thursday, and I have peonies, a Japanese maple, and another hydrangea to plant and then I’m done… Except for the hanging baskets that I need to buy potting soil for. Then I am really done!
For this year anyway.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning?
satby
@Baud: hey you!
raven
Nice pix, our roses have been gone for a month!
satby
@raven: Hi raven! I got back to the morning thread too late to wish you luck with the blue light treatment. My younger sister has had skin cancers (squamous) for the last 5-6 years on her face and hands. She gets that and it’s been pretty successful in pre-treating areas of sun exposure, so I’m hoping the same for you.
JPL
I have knock out roses, and with minimum care, they bloom most of the summer. Yesterday I worked outside most of the day, and did not encounter the dreaded snake. Wahoo! We’ll see what happens today.
raven
@satby: Thanks, I need to find out if I had little reaction because there was not much cancer or what? The last one, a few years back, was fairly uncomfortable but this one isn’t bad at all.
JPL
@raven: I also saw your note, and I assume that you wear a good hat when outside. nag,nag,nag Duluth Trading Company has a nice selection, just sayin
Aleta
Promising someone a rose garden, that’s so beautiful. AL’s Sunday morning garden is kind of like that too. No matter what’s going hard, these photos are like a gift I wake up to every week. I really appreciate it.
Aleta
@raven: And here, no roses yet. Lupin in the last two days, which means the peonies will be out real soon. I like to put lupin and peonies together in a vase.
Baud
@satby: wassup.
satby
New rescue Smokey the cat (details here and continued downthread) is giving me the stank eye in the bathroom, which is my only isolation room left. But he lets me pet him and is just a bit skittish, so he’s at least not feral. I’m going to be blegging for a home for him once he’s vetted.
Aleta
Nature photo:
Dan Hicks
@ProfDanHicks
The archaeology of privatisation. A BT KX100 phonebox (introduced 1985) in Dorset; not quite yet abandoned to nature.
Raven
@JPL: I always wear baseball hats but I’m wearing my boonie hat for a couple of days.
Aleta
(Photo)
JPL
@Raven: Good. Maybe you’ll get use to wearing the boonie hat when doing yardwork.
Raven
@JPL: they gave me this huge, goofy looking thing to wear right after but I 86d that.
Iowa Old Lady
“I beg your pardon.
I never promised you a rose garden.”
Except Japa did! Pretty flowers.
satby
Checking the weather here, the 90s are going to last all the way through until next Sunday. Ugh! And it’s dry as a bone out there now. I better get dressed and get to work before I have to leave for my job at 10:15. Everyone have a good day!
MomSense
@satby:
Oh god. I fell asleep last night so I missed the part about the kids and elderly couple. Nightmare.
debbie
Is that top picture a Peace rose? My grandmother grew them, and they’re still my favorite rose.
Quinerly
???
japa21
@debbie: Yes it is. Just past its prime.
Immanentize
Satby — I am trying your garden in a box idea for heirloom yellow pair tomatoes because my garden soil has will in it. I thought is was a brilliant compostable idea. But the first box I used has bowed out of shape when I put the soil in and watered. Is that what happens? Do they last the season?
debbie
@japa21:
Thanks!
ArchTeryx
At last, a garden thread!
I wanted to ask hardscaping advice from the BJ gardeners.
I’m planning a (roughly) circular shade garden under a big maple tree for a friend, and I’d like to put a path around the outside. I’ve done some research, and the two main options seem to be: A cut-paver path (requiring a concrete saw, diamond masonry blade, or similar) or a path with pavers or stepping stones ‘floating’ in a sea of gravel or greenery. I wanted to query the gardeners here about other options as well. What do you do when you need to hardscape a curved path into a garden?
tybee
@ArchTeryx: stepping stones
Oldgold
Q: How badly did the ravenous rampaging rabbits ravage West of Eden in prior years?
D58826
So far OT that it is on another planet but saw this article on twitter today entitled ‘the president’s secret air force’. All about what it takes to move Potus from point A to point B. AF 1 may not have a ramp for Harrison Ford to kick people off his airplane but it does have a few tricks that the average 747 doesn’t have.
‘he following is expanded and adapted from Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die (Simon & Schuster, 2017).’
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/02/the-presidents-secret-air-force-215091
MomSense
@ArchTeryx:
I’m afraid of doing too much hard scaping around a tree because you don’t want to damage the root system. I did a shade garden using moss and placed a bench there. You can do a garden but too close to the tree and you will be fighting with roots. I’d go with moss around tree. Small bench and then well in front of the bench andnout of the root system you could plant a garden with a large stone or sculpture.
satby
@Immanentize: they should last the season but they’re going to look pretty sad by the end of it ? I used shipping boxes, so mine are fairly sturdy, but they have some warping and the base will be almost disintegrated by September or October, which is what I want anyway.
Faster decomp if it’s a wet season. I didn’t line mine because I want the drainage, but if you lined yours make sure not to overwater.
satby
Planted my three peonies, 7 red border lily bulbs, and watered everything. Now back inside with an iced coffee to relax for an hour before work!
Immanentize
@satby: thanks! I want them to decompose as well…. No lining, they just kinda tubby looking. I used packing boxes (18X16X16) but not the really heavy duty shipping boxes. Maybe I will double box?
I still think it is an idea too cool for school. Thank you!
satby
@ArchTeryx: second the stepping stones, but don’t use gravel because it ALWAYS migrates into the grass even with border edging. Use sand (with edging) or something that won’t make you crazy when you mow.
satby
@Immanentize: That’s exactly what I used, they’re not super heavy duty. My main soap material supplier double boxes everything and I have a never ending supply of them. My recycle people are starting to hate me, as does the UPS guy.
Edit: I only single boxes them, with the flaps folded inside.
Amir Khalid
@D58826:
The Donald must be so disappointed.
Oldgold
A: The bunnies ate so many leeks they developed bunions.
satby
@ArchTeryx: @MomSense: Arch, MomSense has a really good point, because maple roots stay fairly close to the surface and will compete with plants for water (and win). Unless you did a circular raised bed setup, you might have problems even planting stuff.
satby
@Oldgold: Aaaargh!
Jeff
My garden is poised to be spectacular this week. Lots of things are just about to bloom. Unfortunate a heatwave is rolling in turning the deep frier on which will burn up a lot of what is going to bloom.
WaterGirl
Japa21, those are beautiful flowers! Is the second photo of what you are calling false indigo? That kind of looks like what I call baptisia.
Satby, I can’t believe you actually planted something this morning before work. It’s going to be unbearably hot here this week, sounds like you have the same weather. Ugh. I was excited for a moment because they just added 3 days of thunderstorms to the weather forecast, but now I see they are only talking about .05 or .15 of an inch of rain. It’s always the fine print that gets you!
WaterGirl
@Jeff: Do you live in the midwest, too, or is this heatwave more widespread than that?
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: Heatwave is hitting the Northeast too. Here near Boston it’s going to be in the 90s until a front moves in Tuesday or Wednesday. Too hot too early!
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: And I haven’t been around here as much. Is work better?
Oldgold
The failure of the rabbits to ravage West of Eden this year and thereby expose me to the horrors of eating killer kale cupcakes and zany zuchinni salads may be a wage issue.
satby
@Jeff: Keep em watered and they should be ok. Can you rig p up some shade with a sheet for the hottest part of the day for tender stuff? It’s a pain, but faster and easier than replacing dead plants. But sufficient water should get them through the worst.
satby
@WaterGirl:@Immanentize: heat is going to last here until it breaks next Sunday, but no rain shows up in the forecast that I have at all. Much toting of water buckets will ensue.
Edit: and I planted early because I’m not even going out after I get home from work except to bring the dogs out.l
satby
@WaterGirl: BTW, we missed you!
Oldgold
This might be all about their dissatisfaction with the celery I am offering.
Of course, that doesn’t explain, my neighbor from the bowels of Hell, Deedee Plorable’s missing cats!
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: Hello and thanks for asking!
Let’s see, in the last installment of Crazy Sally, we left off with my having written a letter (cc: to the president of the board) saying the job is not doable by one person, suggesting that they engage another bookkeeper, saying that I would agree to stay on and continue to do points 1-14, providing that I am treated with professionalism and respect.
The meeting, cliff-notes version: When I mentioned that the yelling and door-slamming was unacceptable to me, she she said, and I quote: “This is my building and these are my doors and I will slam them when I please.” That should pretty much tell you what you need to know. I wish I had had the presence of mind to stand up right then and say “I won’t take up any more of your time.” But I did not.
Fast forward through two 75-hour work weeks to an email message from her, written in a tone I would never accept from anyone, stating the ridiculous scope of what she expected me to accomplish in 40 hours during the coming week, also stating that she would not pay me for any time I worked on Saturday because “here at ***, we start our work week on Sunday.
This was my message to her on Monday morning:
It took me a week to completely disengage and it got pretty ugly, but I am happy to say “ding-dong, the witch is dead!” And just like that, I get my life back.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
I’m sorry to read this, but yay! you have your summer!
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: Exactly what Debbie says –. I am so sorry AND so happy for you!
Did the Chair of the Board say nothing when your evil boss trotted out the “these are my doors” line? Don’t they know what legal liability that creates? I know, I know. I have worked in non-profits my entire career (ending with University non-profits) and their good mission covers some of the most abusive behaviors.
So, good for you! And please keep us up on your next life chapter. (And I missed you too! So I hope this new life will allow time for us jackals).
JPL
@WaterGirl: Good for you. I’m so sorry that the work environment was such that you had to leave though. It’s their loss.
Now you have time to post more often, at least until your next adventure begins.
WaterGirl
@debbie: @Immanentize: @JPL: Thanks, guys!
I still have my other clients, but this will feel like a summer off! This was my work schedule just for this client alone:
I have really missed Balloon Juice. I have no plan to look for another client until late fall. Yippee!
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: Oh, and the response of the board president: “We don’t have time for feelings.”
It’s funny, I was REALLY angry for the 3 days it took to disengage, and she is still holding my final check – am I allowed to call her a total fucking bitch, or would that be unprofessional?
My birthday is Tuesday and I gave myself until late Monday to feel angry, then I wanted to put it behind me because she has owned enough of my life as it is. But this morning I woke up and felt much more calm. I don’t have to have any feelings about her, she is in my past*.
*as soon as she gives me my check. :-)
Baud
@WaterGirl: I’m glad she was so horrible to deal with because it means you are back with us sooner. Yay!
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: Whew, congrats to you on finally escaping what sounds like a hellish situation!
And I realize now why I have been avoiding the garden threads – it’s a combination of guilt and envy when I see the ravishing photos! Like, “I should be out there slaving away during the ridiculously short growing season up here at 9,000 feet in the central mountains to produce something this beautiful, but there are horses to ride and trees to chop and lines to memorize for the play and then work on top of it all and GAAHHH maybe I should just get some potted flowers to hang up somewhere!”
WaterGirl
@Baud: Thank you, Baud!
On the plus side, I learned a lot about myself. It is possible to push WaterGirl too far. Who knew? :-)
Baud
@WaterGirl: That’s something I would never consider attempting. I wouldn’t want to see you when you’re angry.
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: There’s a lot to be said for hanging baskets! Plus, gardening is supposed to be a labor of love, not just labor. I stopped growing vegetable altogether for years because I spent July & August feeling guilty all the time because I needed to weed.
Now I grow my vegetables in containers and raised beds. (except for my beloved zucchini!)
WaterGirl
@Baud: Anger isn’t really my thing, so you’d probably have to quit your day job just to have enough time to push me past my limit. Pretty sure it wouldn’t be worth it; you are wise as always. :-)
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: And up here it would have to be hanging baskets because the deer would munch anything in containers they could reach down to the roots!
It’s a little weird this year, because up till the end of May we were getting snow and we’ve been getting a lot of rain, so the wild raspberries and currants are likely to be amazing, and the weeds are exploding everywhere! The wildflowers up in the high hills are also likely to be amazing
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: Yep, who knew weather could be such an adventure…
We had an amazing amount of rain, until we didn’t, and then all the plants and flowers started saying “hey, where did the water go? I’m really thi-r-r-sty.”
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Someone says that to me, and I would reply, “Which speaks to your management skills.”
WaterGirl
@debbie: Furiously writing that down for next time…
Damn, I hope there is never a next time like the last time! And if there is, I will surely be able to balance my “but I don’t want to leave them in a lurch” side with my new-found “this is not my problem; she did this to herself” side.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Well, I’ve been through your situation a couple times over the years, though I never quit (so hard not to!). But you have got to stand up for yourself. And now that you’ve been through this, you’ll be your own best advocate next time!
WaterGirl
@debbie: It’s funny, my other non-profit client is as no-drama as you can get, but my 30-years ago experience with a non-profit was that it was like a dysfunctional family. That’s what this was like, too. After the fourth friend (independently from all the others) said that my dedication was enabling her bad behavior, I could see that they were right, and then it was just a matter of time.
I’m actually grateful for the “I’m not going to pay you for Saturday” and the “you have to get all this done in 40 hours even though I told you yesterday in front of witnesses that you could have up to 75 hours to accomplish these things” bullshit because taken together that was so far over the line that I couldn’t even see the line anymore.
I am so grateful to be out of there.
Jeff
@WaterGirl: I’m in Philadelphia Pa. the last 7 years we get to mid June the rain stops the heat cranks up until September or later.
WaterGirl
@Jeff: I never would have guessed that our temps in central Illinois would be higher than yours! Looks like you will have highs of 82-72-72 for W-Th-Fri while we will be at 94-93-96. But at least we usually get rain during the summer!
Carolineblue
Hi everyone. I’m a long time lurker/gardener, and I’d love to share some pictures from my NC garden. Can someone be so kind as to tell me how I might do that?
WaterGirl
@Carolineblue: I’m sure we would all love to see your photos from North Carolina!
You will want to send your photos to Anne Laurie, the front-pager who does these Sunday garden chats.
Her email address is annelaurie at verizon dot net – I presume you know how to change what I’ve written into an actual email address?
Anyway, just send her an email message with the photos attached – be sure not to send too many photos attached to a single email message like I did earlier this week! It didn’t go through so I had to send multiple messages in order to get the photos to her.