Some inspirational (aspirational?) eye candy from ace photographer / commentor Ema:
***********
I finally got around to calling in my Laurel’s Heirlooms order, so with my earlier WFF list I’ve got this year’s tomato (rootpouch) garden lined up: Bear Claw, Black Bear, Bloody Butcher, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Stripes, Momotaro Gold, Mortgage Lifter, Ruby Gold, Tati’s Wedding, plus a Sun Gold and two Chocolate Sprinkles cherry tomato plants. The Spousal Unit is *very* fond of his Chocolate Sprinkles, and I’m honey-dewing him about his plan to build dollies for the rootpouches — 20″ plywood squares, and wheels built to deal with a summer on asphalt. Next step: Lining up a delivery of fresh planting mix, but that won’t be for a couple weeks yet…
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
War for Ukraine Day 780: The World Burns
OzarkHillbilly
Beautiful pics, as per normal thank you very much Ema, of beautiful orchids, thank you very much NY Botanical Garden.
sab
Naive me, in the midwest, I never thought of ultimately urban NYC as a center of great florism, but it is.
sab
My dad is “transitioning” which is hospice speak for dying. He is 99 so we have been expecting this for decades. I hope we get an open thread later because I need to vent and I do not want to further fuck up the Sunday flower thread which has been a joy to my life for years.
Prescott Cactus
@sab:
Flowers go hand in hand with death.
sab
@Prescott Cactus: Also too with life. But thank you. You are right.
Prescott Cactus
@sab:
Is it coincidence that I stopped by when you would like to vent about hospice and I was a volunteer for hospice for many years ?
laura
@sab: sending you a very big hug and handhold. Please vent as you feel necessary,
Gretchen
What are root pouches? Is that some way to grow tomatoes when you don’t have garden space?
sab
@Prescott Cactus: I have learned that we need to trust your judgment. This is my second important to me death. You have seen a lot more and know and understand a lot more. My denial comes face to face with your presentation of reality. That is an important part of what hospice does. Gently explains the real world.
We moved my dad from one nursing home to another which was a rough transition for him. Just this month. Should not have had to happen, but I am grateful he will not have to die among those horrible neglectful people.
Prescott Cactus
@sab: Peace for you sab. The days ahead will be many things. Get rest, eat well and cry.
Both my Ma in 1990 and my Dad in 2020 both were given a lot of notice of their death. I had thought, both times that the lead time would make grieving easier. It didn’t really except for some organizing and planning. As far as emotions went I was still rocked.
lowtechcyclist
For those closer to DC, the orchid display in the courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery is quite spectacular. It’s there until April 28, so if you’re in this area and like orchids, get yourself down there. I went just to keep my orchid-loving wife company, but I was really overwhelmed by it.
sab
To me orchids are the octopuses/octopi/ octopodes of the plant world. Interesting space aliens that shouldn’t be able to live amongst us but they do.
Prescott Cactus
@sab:
Having to move so close death is a shitty part of some institutions framework. It’s hard on the patient and the family. Sorry you got caught up in that.
sab
@Prescott Cactus: He is 99 years old, he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t stand alone, yet he was too violent to keep safely in their institution. Protecting the aides. Sure thing there. He had a nice room they wanted to sell to the next buyer.
The head nurse on his floor was sad when we moved him. She liked him. But her boss was the one who told us he was to dangerous to keep on.
Anne Laurie
Yep! Also known as ‘grow bags’, but I’ve had best luck with this particular brand: Root Pouch.
They must be popular — this year, for the first time, I’m seeing knockoffs from Home Depot and on Amazon.
The only sunny spot on our tiny property that isn’t already a flower bed is a strip of asphalt paving perpendicular to the driveway. (And we’re on *two* superfund sites, so I wouldn’t be growing in our soil regardless.) Used to use standard plastic pots, but the root pouches are easier to move, easier to store overwinter, and produce MANY more tomatoes, starting earlier & continuing later in the season.
sab
@Anne Laurie: That describes my property exactly. New project for us!
eclare
OMG these are beautiful!
Anyway
@Anne Laurie:
Love the Sunday garden posts. Do you have a picture of where you have the root pouches? I am thinking of trying a few this year.
Anne Laurie
@Anyway: Unfortunately, I’m worse with cameras than the Blogmaster! (I will try to snap some this year, but I say that *every* year, and somehow it never happens… )
Kristine
Beautiful photos, ema. The colors woke me up.
Yesterday I finally got around to moving two volunteer common ninebark to their new spot. I waited too long—they’re already over three feet tall and their roots were pretty extensive. But they’re sturdy natives so fingers crossed. If they don’t make it, I have two much smaller volunteers in pots that can fill in.
Today I’ll be transplanting day lilies to the same general area, the SW corner behind the garage. I’ll be moving a few more tall plants—boneset, goldenrod, milkweed if it sprouts this year—to the same area. A pollinator garden is the goal. I know the day lilies aren’t usually an addition to those but I love their orange color.
Mousebumples
@sab: thinking of you during your difficult time. ❤️
Mousebumples
Beautiful flowers, Ema!
Gardening questions for the crowd, as were probably looking to buy an apple tree this year.
Any experience with Costco plants? (the Costco tree I like is a State Fair tree that seems to have been created the the University of Minnesota; the nursery tree I like is the Zestar! tree, another U of MN creation)
Thanks!
delphinium
Thanks Ema for brightening up this Sunday morning with your lovely orchid photos!
Not much going on in my gardens yet. Hope to trim some shrubs and clean out the garden beds this week if the rain stops long enough. Still a bit early to do any planting though.
Gvg
@Mousebumples: with fruit trees, you need to look up your chill hours and match the hours with cultivars. It’s more significant than zone. Then you look up its pollinator needs. Some are easier than others. A pollinator needs to be blooming at the same time in your zone. Not sure how far away it can be.
Next rootstock. I try to push zones in Florida. All fruit trees need unusual rootstocks to make it in Florida, so that limits me. Exception is Citrus, since citrus is common here, getting the right roots this pretty easy.
Your local extension service should be able to recommend. Rootstocks are picked for resistance to the local soil insects and soil types. They also can impact how soon a tree will bear fruit and how big they get. Dwarfing rootstock is usually a better idea because of space and much easier to pick fruit or treat for disease. A few rootstocks may be incompatible with a certain cultivar which will kill the tree in a few years.
you need to connect with local experts.
the best variety is found in mail order, specialist nurseries.
BenInNM
Beautiful photos ema – thank you.
Not much for me in the garden today. It’s been a busy week and today is my first completely free day this week so I think I’ll just do a little watering but otherwise just chill. Having my coffee and watching the birds at the feeder right now.
satby
@Mousebumples: 1. yes, a crabapple is sufficient for cross pollination. You can also self-pollinate them with feather. 2. No experience with Costco plants as I’m not a member; it sounds like it’s just a younger plant as well as a different variety. I’d gamble on the Costco one though, assuming it fits other aspects of what you want in an apple tree (height, variety) because doesn’t Costtco offer a warranty on purchases too?
satby
@sab: You and your dad have had a hard few months, hoping his passing is gentle for you both.
Mousebumples
@Gvg: yeah, being in Wisconsin, Minnesota cultivars seem appropriate, but I’ll double check. Thanks!
@satby: true! Not sure on plant warranties, but probably worth asking about. Thanks!
O. Felix Culpa
@sab: Wishing you and your dad the best under the circumstances. It’s been a rough ride, but it sounds like you did the right thing in moving him to a better facility.
As for my garden, the COVID booster I got on Friday afternoon knocked me out for much of yesterday, so all I managed was a bit of watering. Thankfully, I’m feeling MUCH better this morning. Might tackle assembling another raised bed, so I can get my planting setup more or less finalized for this season.
For those with Costco memberships, their large potting soil bags are currently on sale. The best price for bagged potting soil anywhere, IMO.
MomSense
Gorgeous photos. This year will be bittersweet. I’ll tidy up the gardens and then leave them behind.
schrodingers_cat
I went to the Smith College Spring bulb show a few weeks ago and it was spectacular. I still have to send AL the photos. Smith College in Northampton, MA has a great botanical garden complete with greenhouses. They have 2 big shows, one in the spring focusing on bulbs and one in the fall on mums
ETA: My Twitter header is photo of hyacinths I shot there.
oldgold
Ahh, Spring has sprung in the outer rim of the Twilight Zone of gardening. So bizarre are the conditions that it has never been assigned a number.
My lawn, formerly know as the old West of Eden Weed Patch, is flourishing. The 2000 pounds of glechoma hederacea seed sown last autumn has produced a dark green carpet extending from border to border of West of Eden.
Unfortunately, my red capped neighbor, Dee Dee Plorable, has not seen the wisdom of my newly adopted Lao Tzu inspired lawn care practices. As such, she has initiated chemical warfare along our mutual lot line. But, even in that there are benefits as I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Some may ask, particularly given the beautiful photographs feature in Garden Chat this morning, “ OG, are you serious or chidding?
WaterGirl
@MomSense: You had a bad gardening year last year, right?
Hopefully this will be a chance to garden in a new place?
JAM
Thanks for the beautiful photos, Ema. Today, I hope to move a bunch of bricks into the front yard where they will begin a mowing strip around my beds. I need to do it today so I can use the wagon the bricks are on to moved bagged compost to the backyard. Fun times!
JAM
@sab: I am so sorry and I hope your father passes peacefully.
ema
@OzarkHillbilly:
@eclare:
@Kristine:
@Mousebumples:
@delphinium:
@BenInNM:
@MomSense:
@oldgold:
@JAM:
Thank you all!
kalakal
@sab: So sorry to hear that. Vent all you need, I didn’t vent for months when my father died, bottled it up, that was not a good thing, I thought I was handling it well, I really wasn’t
kalakal
Beautiful photographs, I love orchids
ema
Thank you all!
schrodingers_cat
@sab: Hugs to you at this difficult time. Take care of yourself.
StringOnAStick
Lovely orchids and the one bromeliad, plus a think a impatiens?
This last week I disassembled a 16′ by 12′ deck, the remaining 14′ by 12′ addition is getting started on today. Rained 0.5″ last night, a good storm for here in the Oregon high desert. Best of all, I planted my Reliance peach yesterday, which is why I had to remove that deck. I have a Conference pear coming, and got the juniper posts for making it a combo step over/short espalier. This is my last big landscape project here, and then the entire property will have been completely transformed over the last 3.5 years. Next year: enter the city garden show.
@sab: I’m sorry you and your father are in this situation, but take comfort in the fact that moving him was the right thing to do.
Jeffg166
@oldgold: Not a big fan of ground ivy. I have lots of invasive things in the garden battling it out. I have one bed I am making an attempt to keep the ground ivy out of. It never knows when to quit. Like the rest of the invasive stuff in the garden. I imagine I will lose the battle.
oldgold
@Jeffg166: As Lao Tzu gardener I have chosen to avoid the battle.
Lao Tzu: ”Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow. naturally forward in whatever way they like.”