Tree Peony
More from our own WaterGirl:
Spanish bluebells
My new azalea, planted last year
Ferns & pups
Peonies & allium
Peonies
Ferns & clematis from my window
Peonies close-up
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This week has been terrible in so many ways, but the pink Zepherine Drouhin and dark-red Don Juan roses have burst into prolific bloom by my front door, so I’ve got that going for me.
Just as well, since — now that the humidity is promised to drop below the ‘oppressive’ level — I’ve still got five more rootpouches to fill so I can pot out the last of the mail-order tomatoes. Only 18 plants (17 varieties) this year!
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
satby
I’ve become a peony fan too. I have seven planted though only three are old enough to bloom. Next year several more lilacs and peonies will have matured enough to bloom and it should be a nice display. Not quite WaterGirl garden level, but some day ?
I still have three tomato plants, six daylilly starts, five petunia pots, and a couple of other perennial plants to get in the ground or pots today. We’re starved for rain even as the river is still high from the last batch. I want to get as much done today as I can, because the next two days go back into the 90s and humid.
Thanks to John’s lovely review, I was swamped with orders. Think Christmas season in June, in 15 hours. So many I ran out of packaging, but it’s being delivered today and I will get all of the rest of the orders out tomorrow. I really appreciate all youse guys ?
Lapassionara
These are so lovely. The ferns are spectacular!
raven
Great flowers, spring already unfolded here, the roses are long gone but the magnolia’s at rocking!
Geminid
Yesterday I visited Millmont Nursery in Stuart’s Draft Va. and picked up 24 pepper plants. They are small, but that’s a good thing as I am behind on garden prep and they’ll stay in the 4-packs until next weekend. Milmont is a wonderful place in a beautiful setting, worth a trip for anyone in central Virginia or the Valley. Four miles off of I-64. It’s Mennonite owned so it’s closed Sunday. Everyone wore masks.
Baud
Pretty.
NotMax
Did someone say peony?
:)
Mary G
Beautiful garden, WG. Looks like a magazine article.
MazeDancer
Gorgeous garden, WaterGirl!
Evap
We’ve had so much rain this spring that everything looks lush and green. I’ve got baby tomatoes and teeny tiny green beans. I’ve already picked a few chilies and the eggplants are blooming like crazy.
Amir Khalid
@satby:
I like what all the other jackals say about your soaps and other products, and I wouldn’t mind buying some too. But woe is me: shipping to Malaysia would add 400% or more to the price.
OzarkHillbilly
My wife, and her peonies…
Every year they bloom, big and glorious. And every year the day after they bloom, we have torrential rains that absolutely drown them. This year, after the first batch bloomed and then got destroyed by a frog choker, she said, “NO MAS!” and went out and bought an outdoor table umbrella. Nope, not big enough. Took it back and got a larger one and then asked if I could put it up for her.
With great trepidation and full expectations of ultimate failure I said, “Yes Dear.” (she hates that)
So I got a good 20# umbrella base, stuck it in the middle of them, cranked the thumbscrew down as tight as I could and thought, “That’s gonna last about 5 minutes come the first big storm.” After thinking about it I went down to the shop, cut up some #4 rebar I had into three 30″ lengths, put a 6″ bend in one end of each, and then hammered them into the ground around the base with the bend over the top of it. After which I said, “Well, the base isn’t going anywhere.” still fully expecting an to find an 8′ diameter kite 15 or 20 feet up in the trees some day.
It has now been almost a month. We’ve had at least 3 good blustery storms with winds reaching 30-40 mph. The thumbscrew has held and the umbrella still stands. It did in fact protect better than half the peonies which are now finally finished. So I will fold it up and find a place to store it till next year, and then pray that the Gods of wind are again similarly kind.
Watergirl, I love the massed ferns. Beautiful.
satby
@Amir Khalid: I hope to travel again some day, and your country is on the list. So some day I’ll deliver some to you.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: But did the shade from the umbrella inhibit them blooming? Don’t they need full sun, or did you only open it when it rained?
And I love ferns too, but they’re skeeter havens here. Every time I consider them for the shady side of my house, I remember the swarms of mosquitoes that used to hide in the ferns at my old place.
Baud
@satby:
Are we going to have to bail you out of a Malaysian prison for international soap smuggling?
The Pale Scot
Does anyone have advise for growing tomatoes in FL? My plans and intentions of getting back to a temperate climate this spring are out the window with the ‘rona. I understand that the problem down here is about fungus. I’m thinking that if I bring the plants into the house with a/c that could solve that. Do tomatoes need pollinators? They’re going to be staying on a screened in patio, which will keep most of the pests at bay but bees too.
Thnx
satby
@NotMax: you never fail to surprise me with the stuff you find on the ‘net.
satby
@Baud: plan on it!
NotMax
@Baud
No soap, radio!
:)
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: They all bloomed. I think the plant needs full sun to produce blooms, but once they are formed it should not make much difference as to whether they open or not. (might delay) They all still get some sun during the day depending on where it is in it’s travels. AM and some late afternoon sun at the least
satby
@The Pale Scot: Tomatoes self pollinate. The problem in Florida, besides wilt or fungal diseases, is that they don’t set fruit at high temperatures. If they’re in pots with potting soil on a screened porch you probably won’t get diseases, but unless you can keep the temps in a range they’re comfortable at you’ll just get lovely long vines. This may help.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
rikyrah
Beautiful pictures ??
The Pale Scot
@satby:
Was planning on using Rutger’s tomatoes mostly, I’m a Jersey boy, stick with what I know. Do you know if the high temperature thing is an effect of high temps at night? I know corn has an upper limit to night time temps that it will stand to fruit properly. If they’re in A/C at nite, that should ameliorate that issue. I suppose I should look at hybrids bred for FL.
David Fud
If possible, could someone point me to the old post about proper preparation for protesting? Some I remember, but I would be more comfortable knowing I will be as fully prepared as possible. Thanks ahead.
satby
@The Pale Scot: that link in my previous comment can answer most of your questions pretty well. Even clarified some stuff I thought I knew.
Edit: the blossom drop without setting fruit is an effect of high temps both during the day and overnight. But that article describes how to compensate for some of that.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Bluebells! There was a bluebell wood about a mile from where we lived in Iowa. They came out very early in the spring. Sometimes it looked like a blue cloud floating over the greenery.
debbie
@raven:
Interesting. Here, magnolias bloom well before the roses.
Beautiful flowers, WG. And all you need to do is look out the window!
Does anyone know much about aliums? A neighbor grows them, a smaller variety. The blooms are all bright purple, and as they fade, some remain purple and some have turned crimson.
OzarkHillbilly
@David Fud:
Peaceful Assembly and Personal Security – Re-upped.
Sab
@satby: When I lived in Vegas I grew cherry tomatoes in pots on wheels. I used to roll them inside at night for the air-conditioning. It worked fine.
prostratedragon
@OzarkHillbilly: Cheater!
Aleta
@David Fud: For a start:
Michael Ahn @storysaveslives wrote this on twitter on June 1, 2 ,5
MomSense
WG your garden looks beautiful. My peonies are full of big buds so it won’t be long until J can enjoy those blooms.
I planned to spend the day in the beds yesterday, but we had thunderstorms. After some coffee, I’ll try to do two days worth in one.
mrmoshpotato
Spanish blue balls. That is all.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: @satby: I was thinking to myself “satby the soap smuggler.”
Immanentize
WG. SO NICE! Thank you. I too love ferns. I have a little fern and hosta space — full shade — where my climbing Hydrangia is rooted. Japanese and painted ladies are my current faves….
Report on the solarization project — BIG success. As you probably have forgotten, my veggie garden is right up against the house. I finally had the house painted last year, so given the forced opportunity and in light of years of wilt problems, I solarized the soil the whole summer. I used sheet black plastic (Home Depot), cut it to size, then just weighted it down with some drainage holes cut in it.
This year, I have only about 10% of the weeds I have in the non-solarized beds! Amazing. Although the weed seeds are again blowing in. And, knock on my wooden neck topper, so far — no wilt. And no cut worms yet, either. Like I said, huge success. For how long? Who knows.
NotMax
@Immanentize
Fortuitous combination of fresh paint and espresso grounds.
;)
NotMax
Meant to ask this earlier but don’t think it’s too late. Would like to have a cherry tomato or other suitable potted tomato plant (not seeds) delivered to Mom for her terrace. Someone have a reputable source? She’s on Long Island, if that helps.
Her handyman usually gives her one or two annually but I don’t think that’s a-gonna happen this year.
Immanentize
@NotMax: Lord knows we have coffee grounds here. The Immp has taken to prefer George Howell coffees. Blowing his inheritance, as meager as it might have been, on fresh roasts. He is a mad scientist of brewing. Even bought a little heat sensitive sticker that tells him when the group head is at the right temperature (that’s the thick part of the machine that holds the portafilter — which is the strainer with the handle). Yikes! So much new vocabulary in my head.
SiubhanDuinne
The garden is glorious!
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
No love for Spanish flea?
;)
NotMax
@Immanentize
The brownish sludge at the college commissary will come as a shock.
(Or is that mansplaining? I can’t tell anymore.) :)²
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Immanentize:
Are you talking about a coffee maker? I got “fresh roast,” but after that things went awry.
Immanentize
@NotMax: The Immp has plans for that time (should it ever come)! He has a beautifully machined hand grinder (because it seems, electric grinders are not accurate enough), and a Japanese two-cup V-60 drip w/Hario filters and he is asking for a temperature regulating water kettle for his room as a going-to-Uni gift. Problem solved. At least he has a
habithobby.Now that was some serious mansplaining!
J R in WV
Our moss is doing great on the big boulders around the house, and even though we had heavy thunderstorms last night the roof didn’t leak. I have a jack pole on the front porch lifting the depressed corner of the porch roof back up to level, slowly. After the tree was removed, it didn’t bounce much when you stood on that corner and jumped up and down, and nor did it make crunchy noises as if serious supporting beams were broken inside the roof.
The autumn ferns between the front steps and the house are doing great, knee high on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, thick and abundant foliage. On the other side of the steps we have a patch of ostrich ferns, they’re still pretty new, but doing well — down inside those ferns are some painted Japanese ferns, smaller but very pretty leaves.
Got home with Coo-Coo puppy last night about 11:30. He had a wound of unknown origin on his belly, back near his boy dog parts, which has been stapled up. He’s on anti inflamatory drugs and antibiotics. Over night in a big crate he managed to remove the bozo cone, much whimpering, too. Right now he’s sleeping on a dog bed beside me, where I can keep an eye on him to keep him from licking his parts and tearing up the staples.
We have a larger crate loaned out to neighbors, I don’t think they’re still using it for their big dog, who is now aged and not prone to need to be in a crate, so he may be more comfortable in there. Plus the cone of shame won’t be as awkward. They had it on his neck with a strip of gauze, I have a nylon collar to use which will be sturdier than their attempt to keep the cone on around his neck.
He’s sleeping soundly, must have not rested last night. I sure slept hard until his crying woke me up. Once I take him for a walk, hoping he will quickly learn to excrete while on a leash… not really trained to walk on a leash, I wind up dragging him along mostly.
Blue Spider-wort is in bloom, they are pretty interesting, the flowers close up at night, clumps of little blue balls on stalks of green. False Soloman’s Seal have bloomed and are now just interesting stalks of foliage. Garden news to be on topic, dog news for what is on my mind today.
Curb-side service at the Vet ER was well organized, after months of doing it.
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Oh yes, the Immp has a fancy espresso maker that he bought sorta broken and very cheap on Craig’s list in the before times. He performed a total rebuild with some mechanical and tech upgrades. The machine is now Borg. He is the Dr. Frankenstein of baristas.
J R in WV
@Immanentize:
Perhaps he could earn his way through college by selling high-end coffee to well-heeled fellow students during periods of intense study… You know, mid-term and finals cramming and paper writing, fueled by $12 cups of great coffee/espresso at 2 am. Plus the joy of taking money from dorm mates!
debbie
@Immanentize:
And I thought I was exacting!
Gvg
@The Pale Scot: Tomatoes grow great in Florida. Everything likes improved soils, so if you can find a local source of free or cheap horse manure, improve the soil. Plant varieties suited to Florida of course. Read recommendations from local branch of extension service or ask a local master gardener. IFAS https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1189
florida tomato seed company http://www.tomatogrowers.com/ their catalog teaches a lot about growing here but they seem to be out of paper copies because with everyone stuck at home for months, mailorder gardening suppliers are having their best year ever. All my sources of all kinds of gardening report this.
water till they are established. Sometimes blossom end rot, solved by calcium sprays.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@J R in WV: Poor doggy.
@Immanentize: I raise my cup to Immp. But there’s k-cup coffee in it so best not to tell him.
Immanentize
@J R in WV:
1). I love moss — and so did my wife. She photographed interesting moss and seaweed everywhere we travelled. We have a few of her photos up including a poster-sized print of a moss- covered thatched roof in Sweden.
2). Poor pup! Fighting or climbing injury perhaps. Bigger crate sounds like a good idea with the Cone of Shame adjustments. (Just thought of a great political cartoon with Esper as a pooch wearing a CoS sitting next to Trump)
NotMax
@Immanentize
Obligatory?
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: He is a very kind young man and not judgmental about others’ coffee choices. He is mostly only critical of his father — as God meant it to be.
Gvg
@satby: some set fruit at higher temps than others. Generally I get best results from the varieties bred by the University of Florida for our conditions. Some heirlooms also work, from hot climates.
satby
@J R in WV: aw, hope the poor guy heals up fast.
One of my more recent rescues (porch kitty from Nov. 2018) is showing signs of an ear infection upsetting her balance or worse, a possible brain tumor. We’re going to have to go to the vet as soon as they can get us in. She’s not uncomfortable or running a fever, but she’s falling occasionally and knocking herself over when she is startled. Hoping for an ear infection is weird, but it’s the least bad likely thing she could have.
The Pale Scot
@satby:
Oopps, didn’t see the FAQ section, thanks
@Gvg: Great! thanks, that’s encouraging, I’m not doing a Forlorn Hope
Immanentize
@NotMax: A T-shirt of that would suit my SF loving, coffee addicted son.
Searching….
satby
@Gvg: yeah, not a hot climate girl, that’s why I included a link to an article about it.
Immanentize
@Gvg: To add — lots of cow patties in Florida. I had friends in Miami who used to seek them out in the fields on the off chance of finding psilosybe mushrooms….
Immanentize
@satby: Poor little kitten. Ear infection it will be! (If I can will it)
JPL
Bunnies have taken over the back yard and I hope they tire of their hopping around before Finch goes out.
Immanentize
Ok. Now I am sufficiently caffeinated (with inferior machine drip brew). Off to maybe put in some more plants….
Thank you all, especially A.L., for these Sunday morning garden threads. Always brings me a smile and hope.
O. Felix Culpa
@J R in WV: Depending on how long your pup needs his cone of shame, you might want to try an inflatable doughnut collar instead. Worked pretty well on my little guy after he had his…little operation. I’m linking to this product as an example, not as a specific recommendation.
Beautiful flowers at the top, by the way. I’ve lived in the arid southwest for five years now, and nearly forgot how refreshing the green can be.
BruceFromOhio
WG your ferns are awesome! Nice pics!
MrsFromOhio is planting a bunch of stuff I don’t know the names of. The iris exploded in beauty and then vanished in the ridiculous heat last week. The peonies are going in shifts, the dark purple ones came and went, and now the pink ones are getting ready to pop. The herbs are going crazy, with a fresh wave of basil just gone in. I’ve been building a 2-tier terrace for the side garden and digging holes where directed. The mulch we put down last week is doing it’s thing, but soon there will be weeding. MFO says things she thought were gone are coming back to life, one is a small viburnum in the front side garden that got attacked by some pest years back and looked like it was dead.
It’s dry, we could use a little rain. Perfect protesting weather!
WaterGirl
@The Pale Scot: Have you received my email messages?
SkyBluePink
Such a lovely yard! Love the variety!
WaterGirl
@O. Felix Culpa: I will second the inflatable dog collar advice. I had to get one for Henry when he had his ACL surgery, but I think everyone should keep one around for every dog size at all times.
After the experience with Henry, I do. The trouble is, as I type this, I am trying to remember where I put them!
WaterGirl
@Lapassionara: @OzarkHillbilly: @satby: @Immanentize: @BruceFromOhio:
I appreciate all the fern love! I was going to say that they are about 4 feet high at this point, but I didn’t want to exaggerate so I measured. 47 inches.
I started with 7 ferns that were a gift from my realtor, dug up from her yard when I bought the house. I knew nothing at that point, so I dug 7 holes at the back of my house, planted the ferns, and then put river rocks in the strip where the ferns were planted.
Big surprise, planting ferns on the SOUTH side of the house, with river rocks, did not turn out to be the bet idea!
After a couple of years, I moved them to the shady corner of the yard under the shade of 3 huge evergreens planted just on the other side of the fence in my neighbors yard. They were so happy, and multiplied. If you noticed the words “neighbor’s yard” you may already know where this is going.
Years later, I came home from work to find my shady corner was not shady at all – my neighbor had all three HUGE evergreens cut down while I was at work. The ferns were screaming in agony in the blazing sun.
So I moved the ferns to the only location I had left, to the east side of the house. Which is where they are now. They have been here a very long time. They are much more impressive than they show in the picture, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t get an angle that shows them in all their glory.
WaterGirl
Thanks for all the kind words about the flowers! It’s been a good spring, and my garden and flowers have been the biggest, possibly only, source of joy as we are all stuck in this timeline.
Vince
Lovely flowers, but the “peony” looks more like a Matilija poppy, native to southern California. Very rare in the wild, but they have a cultivated variety that you can plant in your garden. Called the “Fried Egg plant” for its white crepe and yellow yolk. Native varieties only sprout after a wildfire.
JAM
@J R in WV:The last time my dog needed a cone, we bought an inflatable device that looks like a life preserver instead. It attaches to her collar, which needs to be tight enough not to slide off her head. It worked really well and was more comfortable,plus no running into doorframes, etc. She could eat wearing it as well.
When I typed this, I didn’t notice that others had already recommended inflatable collars, so I guess I second their opinions.
Yutsano
He shall return this technology to the collective. And by collective we mean this adjunct unit. Hand it over immediately or you will be assimilated*.
*This is a joke between me and my friends because I have two artificial hips and a spinal cord stimulator. But I am basically a cyborg.
Mike in Oly
Such a lovely garden!
Cowgirl in the Sandi
I love these Sunday morning garden chats – just wish they weren’t almost over by the time I get to them (west coast). I love the peonies WaterGirl. My great grandmother used to grow them so they always remind me of her.
I am fighting the moles, voles and squirrels in my yard. I hate them with the passion of a million suns. After coffee, I’m going to plant my last attempt at a flower garden in the front – everything else has been eaten from below. If the verbena get eaten, I’m giving up.
WaterGirl
@Vince: Interesting!
I have two peonies that are similar in style, one in white with the yellow inside, and one in magenta. I have no idea how it is that I didn’t manage to take a photo of the magenta one this year!
I bought them both 20 or more years ago at a peony farm – they sold only peonies – so I assume they are peonies. ?♀️ Either way, I love them!
O. Felix Culpa
@Cowgirl in the Sandi: We have ground squirrels and mice. I share your animus against those creatures. My garden has become my battlespace, with no quarter given. Traps abound and the coyotes who roam our perimeter get occasional dead rodent treats. And now back to the peaceful garden chat. Ommm.
The Pale Scot
@WaterGirl:
Sorry, I did some partition swapping and now I can’t get into that box, I know the password, the bastards won’t stop trying to get a ph# attached to it. My nom de plume? bugger off. I bought a burn phone to do it, I’ll try tonight
WaterGirl
@The Pale Scot: I’m not sure exactly what you’re saying there. You can’t get to your email?
In any case, I wrote to you because I have found you on the banned list twice in the past week or so. I deleted you from the banned list, and then found you there again!
So I deleted you from the banned list a second time, and I see that you can now post again, but please let me know ASAP if you are unable to post again.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
They’re Japanese peonies. I asked the owner of these.
The Pale Scot
@WaterGirl: Yeah I can’t get in, maybe once I my post didn’t publish I just figured FYWP. Thanks. How am I getting on the banned list? I save my obnoxiousness for Naked Capitalism. This happens not too rarely. I figured the dopy dude from “The Pale Scot Affair” was still tracking me.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: You are too kind!
WaterGirl
@debbie: Oh, that’s really good to know, thank you!
WaterGirl
@The Pale Scot:
I do not know. If it happens a third time, I am going to think that someone is spoofing your IP address.
If/when you get my previous emails, you will see that it’s always your IP address but with a different email address.
I don’t believe you are being banned intentionally, so not to worry about that!