Commentor Jeff G:
Planted these for last year. A lily type tulip called Marilyn.
Also did them in a pot that I brought in once they had opened.
(I think they look rather like candle flames… )
***********
If Candlemas brings snow or rain, old winter shall not come again.
There hasn’t been much winter so far here in New England, which means everyone’s half-expecting six weeks of bombogenesis storms, culminating in at least two feet of snow during the first part of April.
Since it was the third-warmest January on record, I’m half worried my bulbs and lilacs won’t get enough sustained freeze periods to flower properly in the spring. Pretty certain the extra hyacinth bulbs I set aside in the unheated garage won’t be ready for forcing in time…
What’s going on in your garden (planning / memories) this week?
Steeplejack (phone)
My brother and I have started plotting a pictorial of the grounds at Sighthound Hall, possibly for early spring.
I don’t have insomnia! I got up to feed the housecat and then got sucked into Twitter.
NotMax
Speaking of the natural world…
Watch the
skiesbeaches. To be filed under What Could Possibly Go Wrong.Steeplejack (phone)
And let’s honor the birthday of jazz saxophonist Stan Getz (1927-1991): “Wave.”
Baud
@NotMax:
Jellyfishnado.
JPL
Beautiful pictures.
OzarkHillbilly
I’m not much on tulips but those are beautiful.
@NotMax: Jelliminator
Steeplejack
Okay, I’m up for real now. Just gave the housecat her first real breakfast and am now trying to get across to her that she can’t go back to sleep on the notebook keyboard because Daddy needs to see the screen and doesn’t want her butt-typing all over the place.
I’m going to try to hit the grocery relatively early, before the crowds. I’m making my queso blanco cheese dip for a “not really watching the Super Bowl” party at Sighthound Hall. Other than that, lying around a lot to loosen up my back, which is getting better but is still tight.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: I for one welcome our new jellyfish overlords?
mrmoshpotato
@Steeplejack (phone):
Plotting, eh?
satby
Good morning all ?
supposed to get up to 50° today, so we’re getting six more weeks of winter for sure. We’ve had cold enough temps for the spring bulbs even though the ground isn’t frozen hard, and after tomorrow the weather gets back to being below freezing at night and just above during the day. As much as I look forward to spring I hate to see it come too early because late frost inevitably kills the flower buds on the fruit trees.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: my Baker Creek seeds came! Ohboyohboyohboy!
mrmoshpotato
@satby:
Not my fault I read that in Shaggy’s voice. I hope you enjoy your gardening more than Shaggy and Scooby enjoy their ridiculous sandwiches. (And they really enjoy their ridiculous sandwiches.)
satby
@mrmoshpotato: I totally wrote that in Shaggy’s voice. And I’ll hate myself in July when I’m trudging around in the heat managing twice as many plants as I intended to grow ? But right now getting them started and under my grow lights will satisfy my spring fever.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: I finally got my flower seeds from Baker Creek on Friday. Got the wildflower seeds that need it in a jar for scarification. I think I’m just gonna stick them in the freezer tho: 69 today, 65 tomorrow. The snows return on Wednesday. I got all my veggie seeds ordered too. I should have them all by the 15th.
Steeplejack
@mrmoshpotato:
Why, yes. Do you have grounds for a complaint?
JeanneT
I’m trying to decide if I really have the gumption to do a veggie garden this year or if I will just fill my 5 raised beds with zinnias, sunflowers and marigolds and take the summer off. Last year my dogs devoured all my broccoli and kohlrabi plants and stripped my beans and cherry tomatoes, so if I want to do veggies this year, I should build some effective garden fences to avoid the veggie raiding. At least they didn’t figure out how to dig up the carrots yet.
Quinerly
@Steeplejack (phone): ?
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: well, I just counted days and I should really wait a few more weeks until I even start my veggie seeds because it’s dicey putting them in the ground before May 15, though I do and greenhouse them overnight with my plastic dog cookie bins. I’m thinking of getting some old storm windows from the Habitat ReStore and making a cold frame.
mrmoshpotato
@Steeplejack: No, but Pictorial Assault on Sighthound Hall is going to be much different than Assault on Precinct 13.
Quinerly
@Steeplejack: sounds like you got a plan! I have no interest in the Superbowl. Think I’m going to check out the live music and food at the new to me Lamy Station outside of Santa Fe. I have yet to find any great live music on these trips to New Mexico. Mostly, probably because of my timing because I don’t like to be out on my own much past 8:00pm. Daytime music is a real treat for me.
The pictures are gorgeous. Love tulips. Just never have any luck with them.
Steeplejack
@Quinerly:
Another favorite version: Ahmad Jamal, “Wave.”
satby
@JeanneT: yeah, critter fencing helps. My dogs left the tomatoes I grew outside of the fenced bed alone, but the squirrels didn’t. I always grow too many for just me though, so I try not to let it bother me. Pulling the tomatoes a little early and letting them finish ripening on a windowsill helped too.
The raised beds that were here came with hoops installed, so I’m also considering putting a cover over one of them. One is mostly flowers, the other is where I put the blueberry bushes, so that’s the one I would cover.
eclare
I may have to look into those, I love lilies but since I have cats they are a no-no. Beautiful flowers.
satby
And apologies to Jeff G because I should have complimented him on his very pretty tulip pictures from the start. Those tulips are lovely! My favorites are always unusual colors / bicolors.
Steeplejack
Music for waking up: Lemongrass, “Sunrise on Fujiyama.”
Too early on the Coast? Nite Flyte, “4 a.m.”
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: In years past I have started mine on the 15th but last year I did a couple things a little different and BOOM, so I think I’m gonna wait until at least the 21st before I start. (I transplant at 6 weeks or there abouts)
I told myself that this year I’m gonna get my pepper and tomato growing under control. Yeah right.
With the peppers I’ll succeed. The only sweet peppers I’m growing this year are the Italian Heirloom mix from Renee’s. They’re very productive and tasty, I really don’t need anything else. As far as hot peppers, I am going to try the NuMex Joe E Parker, but other than that it’s just poblanos and jalapenos.
Tomatoes on the other hand… I think my count is up to 28 plants if I just plant the bare minimum of each type I want. Sigh…
Sab
Whatever the woodchuck predicts, it always snows at least once on my daffodils.
ETA those tulips are gorgeous
My hanging planter pansies are still alive and blooming, outside in NE Ohio in February.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: I restrained myself because I still have a few seeds from the four varieties I planted last year, so I only ordered four more ?. I’ll start four of each of the eight types and end up giving at least 1/2 the plants away. And this year I’m growing a scarlet kale as well as the Black Beauty tomato. I like colors. Not sure I even have any plain old red tomatoes in the entire lot.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: My wife thinks tomatoes “have to be red!” I try telling her, “Honey, you can’t taste color.” and she will try all the other colors I plant, but she eats with her eyes first and red is the fallback. That’s OK, I don’t have to share my green zebras with her.
eclare
@mrmoshpotato: Now I have an earworm of a reggae song by Shaggy. Aargh!
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
Movie starring James Norton (not that pitiful role he had in Little Women):
satby
@Steeplejack: oh, I really like 4am! Thanks.
Amir Khalid
I’m a city boy, and I don’t know from plants. But for those waking up on the other side of the planet, I offer a video of a squirrel doing likewise.
satby
@zhena gogolia: whoa, that’s going to be good.
mrmoshpotato
@eclare: See if you can replace it with this.
Steeplejack (phone)
Flash mob in the birdbath.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Today’s date is a palindrome: 02022020
Very appropriate for Candlemas, when we’re more or less halfway between the solstice and the equinox.
Quinerly
@Steeplejack: ??
Immanentize
@Steeplejack (phone):
Corcovado (Oh How Lovely)
Steeplejack (phone)
@zhena gogolia:
I saw the preview for that in the theater. It looks like it could be good.
Kristine
Lovely tulips ?!
It was warm enough here in NE Illinois in early January that my daffodils and sedum were sprouting. Then Winter decided to put in an appearance. I hope flower and leaf tips aren’t too badly damaged.
No prep for me. I’ll start my yard work in the Spring.
Ken
@NotMax: “We’ll take creatures that already use a distributed neural network, and add radio transceivers. What can go wrong?”
eclare
@mrmoshpotato: Think I’ll stick with reggae, but thanks!
Immanentize
Great tulips, Jeff G. Like others, our winter has been inconsistent and on the warm side. I always watch my forsythia for blooms. That is the sign of a screwed up spring if they come before March.
I solarized my garden soil all last summer. Now I have to rebuild and hope that I can once again plant yellow pear tomatoes without risk of wilt and squash without borers.. I will let you know in July!
Amir Khalid
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Today’s date is not only palindromic, but also looks the same in international and American date formats; the day and month numbers are the same.
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Question — did you get much writing done on the cruise?
MomSense
I have serious ? ?????envy. Only way I could attempt tulips would be if I surrounded them with an 8’ electric fence.
mrmoshpotato
@Ken:
Well, we can’t wire them for YouTube right away. The amount of content would overwhelm them.
Steeplejack (phone)
@eclare:
Thank you! You knocked something loose in my head. Ever since the music thread the other night I’ve been trying to think of this one reggae song that was by [someone] “featuring” I thought Sly and Robbie. But you made it click that it’s Maxi Priest featuring Shaggy: “That Girl.” Closure!
mrmoshpotato
@MomSense:
Tulips are notorious escape artists. “We’re busting out of here! Ya see! Nawh!”
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Immanentize:
I got no sustained writing done on the cruise. I jotted down ideas and drafted two poems but that’s it.
It would be possible to write. There’s time and space. I just didn’t want or need to.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Amir Khalid: I didn’t even notice that. Cool.
MomSense
@mrmoshpotato:
Ha!!
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I want to, but I’m not sure I need to so I probably will not.
eclare
@Steeplejack (phone): It wasn’t me :)! Love that voice.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Immanentize:
A classic!
Brachiator
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Ah, you beat me to noting Palindrome Day.
I guess it’s only fair that 02022020 be mentioned in a post about 2lips.
mrmoshpotato
@eclare: “Boombastic, Mr. Fantastic.”
Spanky
Amir Khalid
Today’s English Premier League matches are Burnley-Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur-Manchester City. The former is interesting only because Arsenal, one of the “big six” richest EPL clubs, are trying to get from 12th (almost relegation-battler territory) to ninth. Burnley are a promoted side who will be happy to finish above the relegation places i.e. the bottom three. Spurs and Man City are both aiming for places in European competition next season — with Liverpool too far ahead in the title race to catch, that’s all that’s left to play for.
rikyrah
Good Morning , Everyone ???
rikyrah
@Spanky:
Don’t believe it??
rikyrah
@Amir Khalid:
How’s your computer? Working ok?
Amir Khalid
@rikyrah:
She’s been fine since I deleted the unwanted plugin that hijacked my Google Search results.
Steeplejack (phone)
@rikyrah:
Good morning. ?
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
debbie
Beautiful tulips!
It’ll be in the 50s for the next few days and the sun’s just come out for the first time (literally) in about 10 days, so I get to start taking daily walks today. Sunset’s not until 6pm so I should be able to fit walks in after work. I’m hoping to find some snowdrops blooming or beginning to. That’s the real first sign of spring in my book.
I know it’s wrong to wish for, but I’m hoping this winter will never get worse than it has been.
Baud
@rikyrah:
Phil lies like Trump.
Immanentize
@Baud: No he doesn’t. He only has a chance to lie once a year.
zhena gogolia
@satby:
It looks great to me. I hope it makes it to my little burg.
mrmoshpotato
@Spanky: Ned Ryerson?
zhena gogolia
Adam Parkhomenko tweeted a couple of clips from SNL. I don’t have time to watch right now but it looks funny. Pete Davidson as Hunter Biden.
eclare
@mrmoshpotato: Seems like I read Bill Murray is going to be in a Groundhog Day themed commercial tonight.
mrmoshpotato
@eclare: Hopefully he doesn’t punch anyone.
Dog Mom
Good Morning – those are some beautiful tulips. I am ashamed to admit that I let most of those that were originally in my yard become squirrel snacks. I do have a question for any of you more knowledgable about the bulbs. A friend gave me a beautiful vase full of tulips in a special vase with the bulbs in water. This was a few weeks ago when my beagle Dottie passed. The beautiful blooms kept till late last week and I cut the stems off the bulbs – they still have some roots. What can I do to either plant them in soil – pot or ground? Or even just get another bloom in this vase?
WaterGirl
Those Marilyn tulips are beautiful!
@Steeplejack (phone): That’s great.
Sab
@MomSense: I had to buy some chickenwire fence to save our red cedar from the rental goats. I may try it out to block squirrels and chipmunks this year. Most of our tulips were planted by squirrels pilfering from the neighbors. Wouldn’t want them moving things in the opposite direction. They did major damage to the planters and strawberry pots, burying stuff they had scrounged. Dig in the yard, guys, not the pots and planters.
Let the little beasts use the squirrel feeders to feed. That’s what they are there for.
OzarkHillbilly
@Sab:
If it is 2″ mesh you will have limited success with it. 1″ is better.
debbie
@Sab:
I remember an episode of Victory Garden where they recommended building chicken wire boxes, burying them, and planting tulip bulbs inside them (before closing the lid) to keep the squirrels from getting to them.
Gvg
We are having a warm winter in Florida, as in it’s not supposed to be this mild. Really no cold weather yet and we should have had several weeks of coats. I hate cold weather but I am concerned about what this will do to my plants and the wildlife. The farmer I talked to at the farmers market said February was predicted to be colder which will cause problems because all the plants haven’t winterized themselves and have lots of tender green growth. If we get frost with no cold warning, it will cause a lot more damage than it should. Azaleas and trees blooming already and the pollen is bad.
i have been buying seed, starting cool weather plants etc. My 1st round seeds from North American Rock Garden society came. I scored a bunch of rain lilies and Dierama’s to try. I have also been getting back on garden catalog lists now I own a house again. Gardening cheers me up.
chris
@Amir Khalid: @Dorothy A. Winsor:
OzarkHillbilly
@Gvg: It is therapy for the soul.
Immanentize
@Gvg: Sounds like I should short orange and grapefruit futures.
Immanentize
@chris: You didn’t read the thread before posting, did you, Padawan? See Brachiator at 57.
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: Who was in turn beaten to the punch by Dorothy!
We are totally on the palindrome case today! What’s funny is that I had read the first part but had missed the whole “333” part until the final comment here.
Reading comprehension! Does anyone else remember those little tests in grade school where you had to read a little story and then answer questions about it? I used to love those, but I can’t recall the name.
MomSense
@Sab:
My tulips bloom – and then the deer or moose come along and eat every flower.
frosty
@Quinerly: Check out Cactus Slim and the Goatheads. They’re around ABQ. We saw them one afternoon at a Mexican restaurant and they played a gallery opening for my BIL a couple if years back. They might fit the bill for you.
frosty
@Steeplejack (phone): The only pictorial I can plot this year is the “before” pix. We’ll be on the road during planting season this year.
Speaking of which, my veggie garden is two 4×4 squares. I was thinking of covering them to keep the weeds down. Black plastic? Corrugated cardboard? Other ideas? It will have to last from February through June.
ziggy
@frosty:
I’d suggest a layer of straw or leaves. A la Ruth Stout–she is a heroine to me. Other materials inhibit oxygen and moisture transfer and turn into garbage. You can leave organic matter in place and just make a hole for planting.
Tulips don’t do very well in our climate, but they work much better in containers–away from animals, and can be tucked out of the rain for much of the year.
opiejeanne
@Steeplejack (phone): Since you’re the guy talking about and posting jazz recordings this morning, do you know who recorded an album called “More Moon”? I’ve had no luck googling because the word “moon” brings up all the references to space exploration.
I just can’t remember the artist and I should. I think it came out in the 1970s and was, of course, even more exploration of and riffing on “How High The Moon”.
opiejeanne
Beautiful tulips! Good idea to plant them in a pot and bring them inside when they bloom.
It snowed here in the wee hours, only a couple of inches, but it was pretty as the sun was coming out behind the birches around 8am.
Steeplejack (phone)
@opiejeanne:
Woody Herman, maybe? I don’t see an album, but here’s a song with that title. If you get on YouTube and search for “Woody Herman more moon” you’ll get a lot of hits.
I’m going out, but I’ll check back later to see if that is not what you were looking for. In the meantime here’s one of my favorites: Lola Albright, “How High the Moon.”
opiejeanne
@Steeplejack (phone): … maybe? I thought it was someone like Miles or Bird, but I can’t find it under their names.
Mary Ellen Sandahl
Here in northern NJ, Candlemas started out bright and clear, then there was a brief passage of snow flurries turning to light rain in the later afternoon. What the old proverb would let us infer from that, I don’t know!
Walking the dog past a front yard that always has a nice little display of bearded irises, I saw that new foliage is starting to appear. Sheese! I have snowdrops that have been up for 2 or 3 weeks, but they’re hardy as hell, and if the weather turns, they will just hunker down under snow, ice, whatever, and bide their time. Not so sure about irises; does anyone know how they’ll do under these circs?