GARDENING

@neko nomad,

Good day Neko Nomad. Thank you for the recipe.
A picture of the Viburnum wall.
[

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq164/alex240101/BushWallfire.jpg

Begonias in front, oregano in back.

@alex240101,

Hi, Alex,
Are those viburnums on your property line? An open space
like that has, how do I put it-- capability, as Ossobuco
would say... My backyard looked like that once upon a time.
Without the woodland backdrop, of course, being in the middle
of a new (at that time) subdivision. My,um, lawn in the back
is about thirty feet square inside a sixty five foot square
yard.
Need I tell you the perennial garden is a long term commmitment.
Thanks for the pics: they come up as fullscreen size on my 19"
monitor, so I'll size mine, which have been larger, accordingly.

I believe we're in the same hardiness zone-5-so you can grow the
same perennials as I do.

1 Reply

@neko nomad,

The viburnums split the lawn on the right side of the house about thirty/seventy.(percent) Thirty in front. I ran the viburnums to continue an architectual line coming off the house. It almost sounds like I know what I'm doing. My lot is about an acre.
I just started learning about this digital camera. Should I downsize the photographs?
What state are you in?
My old house had a small lot. I planted every inch. This new plot we have is more than enough for me.
Have a nice day.
Oh, a question. Have you ever planted asparagas? If you answered yes, do you prune your plants in the fall, or spring?

1 Reply

@alex240101,

Quote:

Have a nice day.

Same to ya... I'd just let that asparagus die back from the frost and cut it to the ground anytime before spring. Farmers will mound over it to induce fatter shoots for harvest, but I assume you grow it as a floral arrangement accessory.
I'm in Kingston, Ontario, a couple of miles away from the Lake, enjoying its moderating efffect on an otherwise zone 4 hardiness environment.

300 x 400 pics are bandwidth friendly on forums such as this one, and for that reason I use that size to link to a fullscreen sized picture I may want to use to elaborate on my comments. It's a matter of consideration toward the host here.

I'm focusing on ferns nowadays, so stay tuned....

1 Reply

@neko nomad,

Good day neko nomad.
Asparagas crop is for eating.
Can't stop taking pictures with new camera. More questions.
This perennial blooms yellow flowers. What is it?

1 Reply

@alex240101,

http://tampatropicals.com/order/images/Dusty%20Miller%20.JPG

Dusty Miller

1 Reply

@neko nomad,

Hello neko nomad. Hope today finds you up to the elbows in dirt.
More pictures. The moles rearranged the gladiolla bulbs to the lavendar.

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq164/alex240101/100_0156.jpg

The cosmos last hurrah.(Fourth morning frost)

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq164/alex240101/100_0151.jpg

Question time. I dug one of these out of the marsh a few years back. It has spread, and flowers. Any clue to what specie?

1 Reply

@alex240101,

Can't tell what it is from your photo; what you need is
one of these:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QA0K743SL._SL500_BO2,204,203,200_AA219_PIsitb-sticker-dp-arrow,TopRight,-24,-23_SH20_OU01_.jpg

Picture links to Amazon.com, where I buy my books.

1 Reply

@neko nomad,

Two dollars well spent. Thank you.
I rescued six rhododendrons Four types. Buddy ole pal neko nomad, do you have any knowledge or experience with them?
What's going on with the Filicophytas?
Have a nice day.

1 Reply

@alex240101,

I've been picking some up over the years as I'd
come across any at Home Depot or at the supermarket's
gardening tent. More later.....I just got in from doing the
backyard. Like, tired.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/nekonomad/nekonomad0100A.jpg

Disposing of leaves by mulching mower.

0 Replies

Mulching complete and compost applied around the trunk to
bed down some ferns next year:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/nekonomad/nekonomad0105A.jpg

A likely candidate for that bed around the foot of that flowering crab will be

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/nekonomad/nekonomad0106A.jpg

Glade Fern Diplazium pycnocarpon , a native I found at Home Depot just this year. Assuming, of course, that it can be divided by then .

1 Reply

@neko nomad,

Beautiful landscape. How old is that tree? Just gorgeous.
Sunk the six rhododendrons, I rescued from Lowes. Purple Gem, Hardijzers Beauty, and a P.J.M. Two of each. Pictures to come.
In the sevenys today,..again. Michigan. Still getting roses.
Until another day neko nomad.

1 Reply

@alex240101,

Alex, that tree is about thirty five years old, judging from how much
I remember its size when it was set out in 1977.
Now I have a fern here which I set out last year,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/nekonomad/nekonomad0108A.jpg

and goes by the name Tassel Fern, whose potential as a groundcover shown
in this site I found on Google,Polystichum polyblepharum
encourages me to give it a try in that spot I mulched, sharing space
with tulips and a hosta.

And thanks for the compliment for the tree; a bit of pruning work went into it over the years.

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The Tassel Fern was intended to become a companion to
this peony:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/nekonomad/nekonomad0109A.jpg

but I've
now decided to have the Ostrich Fern, shown in this photo, intermingle with it and the
other neighboring plants,as I've learned recently that it's a vigorous spreader. That peony, by the way, is called Edwin C. Shaw(click for its description).

1 Reply

@neko nomad,

Your landscape is outrageous.(that is in a good way) I'm a bit envious, but, I do enjoy the developing process, so, I'll just have to be patient.
The different depths, or dimesions of the foilage surrounding the peonies give the peonies, a valley look. Did that make sense?
Sunk a bag of crocus bulbs. One of these days, I'm going to actually write down where I sink what. I forget, till, then discover.
Good day neko nomad.

1 Reply

@alex240101,

I've had a bag of crocus I never got around to planting last year.

It's been in my vegetable crisper all year.

Do you think they are still viable?

1 Reply

@chai2,

Hello chai2.
If your bulbs aren't dried out, shriveled, and don't collapse to the squeeze, then I'd say their good to go.....or toss them in a salad, and let me know how they taste.
Neko nomad,..or chai2. Are the peonies the species of flower that attracts, and requires, a small army of ants to help it bloom?

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Chai, just dig a hole and plop the croci in (you can fix the arrangement in anothr year.They may be viable, they may not. Just plant em and youll find out.

ALEX-Certain varietals of peony (the super fragrant and old fashioned ones) produce a lot of nectar at the petal tips. Andt eat sweets and are attrcted to the smell. They dont hurt or help the bloom process. Heres a FAQ from the HEartland Peony Society

Quote:

Ants on Peonies
Question:
I was visiting a friend today who has many varieties. The buds were covered with ants. She commented that she needed to spray them with an insecticide. I thought I had read that ants were beneficial to the peonies. Is that correct and if so, just how do they help?

Answer:
Do not try to get rid of the ants on your peonies. This is a natural and temporary activity. It is believed that peonies produce small amounts of nectar and other ant attractants to encourage ants to help in opening the dense double flower buds found in many peonies. The ants may be found covering certain varieties and avoiding others, this is totally normal.
Once the buds have opened the ants will disappear - also normal.

Some people think ants are REQUIRED to open the flowers, but this does not to appear to be true.

It seems a debatable question whether ants are beneficial or harmful. I think they are neutral.

Should you spray a pesticide to get rid of the ants? That is a definite no. Since the ants are not harmful and some pesticide residues are harmful, why endanger yourself, the plants or the peony's pollinator (good insects) with poisonous sprays?

Just don't spray.

Instead just enjoy the unique interaction of ants and peonies; an evolutionary effect thousands of years in the making and posing no problems in the long run.

Our gardens are all buttoned up and the rye has been growing nicely on the mulched veggie plots. The use of rye grass has been a restorer of soil tilth in our normally clay rich environment. I reccomend it for people with hardpans and caliche. (Just keep it watered until the grass pops and starts growing)
Rye will grow for a brief time even after the ground freezes. Then it just sits there dormant till spring when the N in the snowmelt just superfertilizes it and itll be the first grass shooting up. Then we plow it under (we only use it for its dense root structure in amending soils)

Im building several new hot beds where I can plant my garlic bulbs just after thanksgiving. (You plant garlic on the shortest day to dig it up on the longest day)

1 Reply

@farmerman,

Thanks Alex and farmer, I'll just do that.

I'm also gonna toss in a few more tulip bulbs, I planted a lot last year, but not as many as I'd have liked came up....damn squirrels.

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Thank you farmerman. I think the ants, do serve a purpose.
I see that your a rock man. Have you ever come across pyrite and quartz together. The perfectly square shape of the pyrite has me scratching my head. So beautiful.

chai2. I was wondering if moles have bulbs as a side dish with their grubs and worms.

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