madgardener here, just thought I'd holler back and throw out a ramble,
some prickly thoughts and chat about sticky pots and Springn madness
raging through me at the moment. Yesterday I went to Gloria's and
retrieved some houseplants that she was sitting for me during my
impending house and homeless situation. luckily for me we found a
place to live, now all we need is to do a job dance or hit a small
lump on the lottery! lol...........but I went to my first Sadre on
Passover at her home Saturday and took a pot of succulents back home
with the promise of returning Sunday and getting as many pots of cacti
and succulents I could cram into James "bucket" (aka Buick station
wagon). It's purely amazing how many pots one can get into the back
and front floorboard of a little squatty station wagon when one is
motivated. I took four of my Lucerne milk crates I've kept over the
last 29 years that I scrounged from the back of King Soopers in
Aurora, Colorado that are PERFECT for transporting plants and mostly
now the prickley cacti and Euphorbia's I now have collected. It was
great to gather them from her Iguana room and spare bedroom and the
few in the foyer and let James maneuver them into place.

Because he is now aware that I don't regard soil on the car's carpet
as a problem, he stopped at Lowes knows how to irritate and aggitate
and with some of the funds on the gift card I'd loaded up with
returned wall covering, bought a good reversible tarp. I'd taken
heavy construction garbabe bags for slipping over larger pots, but
left them for the last load. My 150 pound Cerius cactus, "Brenda"
will be transported with her pot in a garbage bag and lying on her
back, the two large pots of schiffeleria will be done the same. And
probably the monstrosa cactus, although it might sit quietly on the
floor board in behind me. it was great to get the Clivia home though,
they are making BUDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pen should be pleased that Gloria
knows how to tease MY clivia's into budding. LOL The yellow one made
a new leaf as well. wonder when she'll offer up a bud?? patience is
my other name, I can wait.............

At Lowes, I was distracted by the perennials........wound up
purchasing the teeny little lambs ear and tucked it into a container
that I actually HAVE at the moment. Yesterday it was three pots of
cobweb sempervivums (hen's and chicks) and the last three pots of
lemon thyme which I tucked into lava pots and sat outside.
Today..............MORE sticky pots with the dwindling funds on the
Lowes merchandise card........two pots of heirloom tomato's, German
queen which had TWO plants in each pot (I tend to look for those, more
for the money) and picked up succulent pieces on the concete
underneath the cacti and succulent racks as I looked through for
pieces. resisted the plea's and beggings and stickiness of new
perennials and old favorites as I looked and drooled and longed.
Wondered about my own Japanese painted ferns that are over at
Karols.....are they fronding? are they dead? wanted two or three pots
of not less than eight kinds of perennials, including a new wormwood
that caught my eye. ack!!!! I need to either get a job at this Lowes
or a job period or go mad! Everywhere I see Spring bursting and I
angst over all the things I could be tipping out of containers and
pots and planting around this rental we're living at. I know I should
be unpacking all those boxes, but the madness is upon me and just
having patience for things to calm down and see if I will be able to
retrieve my perennials and shrubs and assorted things is making me a
bit nutzoid.

No comforting sounds at night of peepers, I live in the center of this
little town. Granted, I'm grateful that it IS quiet. Just a few car
sounds and the occasional sound of the ambulance or such because one
of two hospitals is a few blocks away. But nothing like a busy city.
I have resolved to dig up Star of Bethlehem that is growing in an
abandoned yard a few hundred feet away before they dissolve into the
soil. I say abandoned because the house could fall over any moment
given a strong gusting wind were to rip through. I also have bulbs to
plant out front that I did bring, so there's that. and I have a most
impressive herb garden running along the west side of the house along
an abandoned part of "driveway". Oregano is lush, the Rosemary is
blooming and three foot wide and four feet tall, Spearmint, Lemon
Verbena, and soon, in the middle of the oregano, my tomato plants.
If I can find them, I have seed to cucumber and squash. I think I
also have runner beans.

Sugar dawg has settled into the life of yard dawg, but I know her
heart is longing for a good run with the cows.......Smeagol is happy
as usual as a house dawg, but now that they have actual grass to play
on he plays more with his "mama". We lost the little evil other canine
awhile back, no more OoDee (other dawg) as he ran off months ago and
saved me the trouble of taking him to the pound despite that I paid
for his neutering he had been out on his own too long and I was
catching him doing evil things that I wouldn't tolerate a dog of mine
to do. Never mind, it's enough that I describe things he did as
evil....he was a cute little bugger, but that and that he was causing
Sugar to get bad habits as well as teaching Smeagol some wrong things
was enough for me to not search for him when he ran away.

The two cats that I brought with me are happy as house felines,
although now Maggie wants to go out and terrorize the birds. Good
luck, these are city birds adn well aware of lurking mini lions
waiting for them. and there is no shrub cover for her, she's blatently
obvious as she sits underneath the thistle socks and suet that are
dangling in the back yard that I'm relocating to the eastern side of
the yard. no one is interested in the thistle socks, no titmice or
finches or even wrens to enjoy the seeds, but the suet brings the
cardinals and blasted starlings.........and robins are snobs and only
search for worms adn bugs on the ground. I miss all the variety of
flying dinosaurs. I at least have mockingbirds to amuse me and hear.

Now I have to repot tropicals and cacti adn succulents and make do
with what I have, but it's more than enough for now. Maybe I'll have
reports of perennials coming back home to me bursting out all over
soon. Lets hope so. Holler at me and let me know how things are going
for you and your gardens. If I can't do what I have done, I can
rejoice with you all in what you're doing. Thanks for listening. If
anyone has seeds or divisions of things that they're overrun with,
send 'em my way. I'm welcoming anything from anyone right now. Those
who need an address can holler at me at my yahoo account..........I
have some addresses right now but not all. things are still packed and
in whichever box it's in.............

maddie, up in the green bowl, surrounded by Cherokee National Forests
lit up with white dogwoods, pink redbuds and a wide assortment of
greens, gardening in zone 6b - 7a