Good morning friends,
The ol' madgardener here just saying a warm hello up here in Fairy Holler
and wondering how the gardens are doing out there past the cyber borders
with all my neighbors. It's been quite awhile since I've actually HAD time
to just sit and prowl thru the posts, reading them, laughing, shaking my
head and generally making Squire think I am possessed by some strange demons
back here in my nook.

I decided after seeing some old friends names still here and a whole passle
of new names and new gardeners in the posts headers that I would just catch
ya'll up just a little bit with garden bits of news and trivialities that
make up a large portion of my life right now. I don't have to mark it "OT"
(off topic for the newbies) because there will be huge hunks of garden info
and news..........

This spring almost ripped past me in my trying to adapt and survive in the
Outside Lawn and Garden center at the Lowes where I now work. That they
call spring the "100 days of Madness" is more than appropriate. I know I
experienced spring up here, I took some good pictures of them and put them
in my PSP files. Not many, mind you, but enough that I was aware of it.
And spring this year in the hills of Eastern Tennessee seemed to stretch out
a bit more than usual and stayed cooler, longer. I appreciated it, and even
though we had the wettest spring May in history, I welcomed the moisture and
rainfalls. This comes from working outside in the nursery...g

But as we slid out of May, careened past Memorial Day and slammed into
Squire's birthday and are now barreling past into the middle of June with
the month acting like it's hell bent on catchin' up on lost days of heat, I
find that my perennials in the packed beds are doing a time lapse on me. I
antipicate the Dragon lilies and the large trumpet lilies, and as I see
their long necks reaching upwards towards the sky, they shoot past their
load capabilities and before I can stake them (distractions from working and
dragging home), they slowly but stubbornly inch back towards the ground.
Gravity works just fine here, and as I realize I need to do SOMETHING before
I am looking 4-8 trumpet blossoms open two foot from the ground, they're
starting to pop open filling the air with their intense fragrances.

I grab the green concrete reinforcing bars I scrounged and hastily shove
them in front of the thick stems and carefully, oh so carefully lay the
laden tops over the three prongs to rest and hopefully be fine until they're
thru with their show. I did this to the Dragons, then the Park lilies and
then the other trumpets I am growing but have forgotten their names who are
now announcing their presence by hanging over the bed and leaning over the
car.

I read a disturbing article yesterday in the newly arrived Horticulture
Magazine and it gave me the shudders. There is a lily beetle that has been
here for just past a decade that came over on imported lilies from Europe
that was established in Cambridge, Mass first and is now in surrounding
states. These beetles are voracioius in that they start eating the tops off
Asian and Oriental lilies as soon as they emerge, and then lay orange eggs
which hatch into nasty habit larvae who cover themselves in their own waste
to deter being picked off by birds and such and proceed to munch the lilies
to bud less stalks. I shuddered because I would HATE to lose my towering
beauties to these maurauding beetles. So I have made a mental note to not
buy potted lilies but to only expand my bulbs in the future from bulbs, and
those I will give a quick dunking in bleach when I get them in the future.

Everything around here is going faster than I can keep up with. First I
awaited the arrival of my newly planted daylilies from last years purchases
with great anticipitation. But if I don't check every day, I miss whole
colonies of them. I was lucky in that I caught the blooming of "Chicago
Blackie" and another one Virginia forgot the name of but who has my
admiration for it's beauty. My Delta Queen has emerged this year but is
pouting because she's surrounded by foliage up to her neck. The whole front
garden looks like a jungle and I now see there has to be SOME clear areas or
you'll lose the blooming of some to the sheer heights of leaves and such.

I am about to become a murderer of Zebrina's too because they are entirely
too many flopping, top heavy clumps of them in places I could have sworn I'd
pulled up completely. I must have left three or four.

As much as I adore Larkspur, I had one to return from seed and it's the pale
white/blue one and it's struggling to make the best of itself. And the 4's
are already approaching four foot so I pull them out of the loose soil
snapping many off at the soil line, others come out tuber and all and I have
a few discarded on the dogrun concrete until I gather them up and put them
in the fast disappearing compost pile.

This year has been a year of lessons as well as satisfactions and already
some bad choices and bad decisions. I now realize despite my longing to
have sunny perennials, I don't have much sun area anymore thanks to the
efforts of the Pawlonia tree, a sugar maple seedling and a very happy mimosa
tree. The Pawlonia alone has spread a new arm over the whole western yard
and changed the light considerably. And my keeping her daughter and the
maple sapling has proven my biggest mistake. They finish shading the
already struggling tomato boxes I started planting perennials in this spring
and had the boxes been at least semi shady with filtered sun, the perennials
I planted in these two boxes LOVE full sun. The mimosa tree has seen to it
that they don't get but sparce sun from even the south and west now and I
face either losing every salvia and veronica I plugged in there, along with
the daylilies I planted between those or figure out a way to open up the
space quickly.

It's now become apparent that I need to show some self control on the
purchases of plants despite the enticing ability to grab the best of the
arrivals. Were it not for the fact that there is a pond to put the canna's
into, I'd be in a world of mess. The area where the Bengal Tiger canna's and
my dad's old fashioned Indian shot canna's has survived these years has
encroaching blackberry canes, honeysuckle vines, seedling trees of
hackberry, and of course poison ivy and Virginia creeper. I don't want
anything but the canna's, and when I get the boggy area cleaned of
everything BUT the canna's, I will plug in the Tropicanna, Red Futurity,
Pink Futurity and Wyoming canna's that sit quietly in the three foot of
water in the fountain/trough up top of the yard beside the fountain that
still mysteriously leaks out water somewhere......

I stand in front of the far eastern bed beside the car and look at the
Korean spirea and realize I either give up the whole bed to this bush or get
snippy with the pruners and serioiusly give a hair cut to see what I have
and how many. I suspect there are more than seven of these bushes.

The experiment of putting the round support rings on top of the Montbretia
seems to be working. I see little cob-like buds in the sword leaves and
they're not lying prone like last year. I need to purchase a few more of
these for next year. And If I don't whack the phlox now, I will have them
towering eight foot again. And just when did those thousands of Cleome
(Cat's Whiskers is what I love to call them) attain their height?

All the pots I have planted in perennials and this year thanks to my sweet
Aunt Pearline, in marigolds, Zinnia's and Petunia's, along with a first
year's attempt at Dahalia's the little pom pom kind, and Coleus which I
haven't grown in years. The colors are welcome when it's usually more
sporatic.

The grasses I plugged into the middle of the bed have surpassed my wildest
expectations. The Heavy Metal is already seeding, and I think I will plant
the varigated one in the middle of the western ended bed to give the
Helianthus a run for it's money. What the heck. I'll regret it later.

The Colorado bed is so shaded now by the great new arm of the pawlonia that
I am rethinking the whole thing on at least the eastern and northern sides
as shade spots.

Someone give me the strength to dig up that bed and narrow it so I can work
on either side comfortably instead of tediously balancing when I need to get
to the center of it. And I am cutting the lower branches of the lilac off
this summer so that they don't root in the soft soil of the raised bed that
I wrongly put so close.......

The poppy idea worked, but the best poppies came up in the pasture on the
other side of the chain link fence, so I will have to gather seeds and sow
them back on the eastern side of the fence row. And the Diablo ninebark
that Pam sent me adores it's spot next to the fence.

I have decided that the far western Forsythia will get a hard coppicing to
open up the spot beside the fig bed. And the fig is about to lose lower
arms that threaten to shade the BBQ pit bed that wraps around the new
fountain that Squire built from the old pit.

Beverly surprised me again with something I have tried to grow for years. I
noticed lily shoots against the brick back of the pit that I used for the
taller plants like the artemesia and the Liatris and such, and she must have
plugged in bulbs of Easter lilies because I have the most beautiful creamy
white long necked "Easter" lilies ever. And I don't care that they're
blooming in June! I just hope they bulk up and give me more flowers next
year.

First year successes for some yarrows, but they're flopping about like
tantrum children so I know the soil is still too rich for their toes. The
Coronation gold is wonderful, and now that the Paprika is finished, the
Terra Cotta is now starting in the same concrete planter box I plugged in
small pots last year. I couldn't have planned it better. And since they
were three foot tall and threatening to flop, those car support springs came
in handy. I stood on one and flattened it out first and then curled it back
around into a girdle and shoved the straight ends into the pot and the stems
were held at the perfect height.

I don't have any sign of Sungold tomato's this year which really saddens me,
so in desperation I bought three tomato plants from work, filled up a pot
with some horrible bagged "topsoil" which turned out to be badly composted
chipped stuff adn sand thrown in and after planting the two vining plants
against the outer edge of the deep pot, the bush one I plugged into the
other side and fashioned a wire cage from old dogwire that's been here for
as long as I have. I just took wire cutters and opened up the narrow
squares more so I can get my hand into the area when there's fruit. I think
I will steal some of the rare compost out of the old pile and top dress the
pot the rest of the way. And the two vining plants I will let them dangle
over the deck towards the ground below which is about ten foot off the
ground. That should be interesting to see if it works.

Shoulda cut the butterfly bushes back this spring. Now their blossoms are
well over 10 inches long and I don't have the heart. The Black Knight is
incredible. The purple one I suspect is Nanho has equally huge blossoms.
And the tri-colored one I plugged into the hole where the Amsonia Montanai
used to be seems to be settling in, but the double Althea will be crowded
once the Buddelia takes off. I'll deal with them when it happens.

There is enough cleaning and clearing up to keep four people busy for the
rest of the summer. And since I am in this alone, it will take me forever. I
see now what happens when you just go about your business and leave the
garden to it's own defenses. Unless one uses their hands, the whole thing
will change radically.

The Black Cherry tree bed is interesting. I have plugged in pots of white
Dicentra, and they're very grateful for the spot to grow in. And the extra
clump of Epimedium that Mary Emma gave me has apparently taken, but I seem
to have forgotten there was a root of a tiny Japanese painted fern in the
soil and disturbing the soil to plant the Eppy was enough to get the
jealousness of the fern into sprouting. Beverly's old fashioned hyacinths
with the bulbs that so look like 'taters' have finally melted their leaves
on the soil and I know I have to resist the urge to plant shady loving
plants in the bare spots. I do have an astilbe that might co-exist if I
carefully tuck the roots of the plant amongst the bulbs. These were powder
sky blue and I hope next year the richness of the soil will lean a bit so
that the flowers stand up better.

The Bluebells have melted back into the soil, and the oak barrel now stands
open faced and naked. But I don't dare disturb that soil at all because the
clump is so happy inside the wooden planter. I would love to tuck a
bleeding heart into the soil, but that would disturb what's inside the soil
resting.

The apple tree I threatend to cut down has given me the go ahead by
splitting in half during a storm so maybe up the road you will be reading
about how I have opened up the whole eastern area around the out building
and have sunny spots to put the surviving perennials. Lets hope so. But one
can only cut down so much by theirself. And I need a new chain for the
chain saw, and I so despise burning limbs when I could grind them up. but
that option isn't available to me, so burn it will have to be.

The lessions I have learned from burning has come back to me quickly. When
Squire and I cleared the pasture next door of the scrub and debris that had
accumulated, we burnt most of it over the period of a day. This year, what
is in the cleared ground is deep rooted perennial weeds, nasty thistles that
hurt like hell when they touch you, poke weed and of course, honeysuckle.
And some wierd weed that looks like a thorny version of a dandylion but has
spiny leaves and bristly stems. When you pull them, the hollow stems snap
off and the sap is milky, but the root resists pulling out of the soil.
Apparently fire only succeeded in germinating a horde of weeds. And
damaging the cedar we had limbed up which lived against the chain link fence
on the eastern side and sheltered the Oak Leaf Hydrangea.

The last is my Lace Cap hydrangea has come to age and has blessed me with
the most beautiful blue flowers that turn over a few days into an unusual
purple. And my Oak Leaf Hydrangea this year almost seems to be begging me
to go cow pie picking and I can't this year. The cows are hanging out in
other spots this year........oh well! Give me time and I will find courage
to pull up to one of the many barns when someone is there and ask for a few
buckets to take home. Or grab up the truck from Squire and ask to shovel a
truck bed full g

I will stop this rambling madness and thank you for your time. I hope I see
you up the road this summer over the fence here in the newsgroup and that
you all are doing well. I will keep in touch as I am able. Holler at me
and tell me what's going on with your gardens. I'd love to hear about them.

madgardener up on the humid ridge, back in Fairy Holler overlooking English
Mountain in EAstern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36

Hi Mad, great to hear from you . . .

" I read a disturbing article yesterday in the newly arrived Horticulture
Magazine and it gave me the shudders. There is a lily beetle that has
been
here for just past a decade

These beetles SUCK! I have been in an ongoing battle w/them for years, but
the lilies keep coming back, which is great. You have to pick the
fire-engine red beetles off the plant and drown them in soapy water (my
method anyway) and you have to inspect the undersides of the leaves as
that's where the 'slugs' are - the babies covered in poop - oh yuck, I
didn't know it was poop, how gross (but an impressive mechanism devised by
Ma Nature!). I squish them and I scrape eggs. I think it's the larvae that
do the most damage by, what appears to be, sucking the life out of the leaf
they reside on. This is the only area of my yard that I've actually
resorted to poison in - we'll see if the stuff works - I hate having to use
it.


First year successes for some yarrows, but they're flopping about like
tantrum children so I know the soil is still too rich for their toes.

I have a plant that is popping up all over my yard and I believe it is a
yarrow of sorts, something like achillea milleflora (sp?!?!?), very
invasive -- so be careful what you plant, lol.

LeeAnne,
zone 5, north of Boston, MA


madgardener up on the humid ridge, back in Fairy Holler overlooking
English
Mountain in EAstern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36

wait, wait..............................these beetles are FIRE ENGINE
RED??????????????????????????????????????????????? ????? Are they about the
size roughly of fireflies? My son's friends who call us "Ma and Pa" and
whose two boys call us Granny and Paw Paw bought a new house just five miles
away and the front of their house is CRAWLING with these screaming red
beetles......anyone out there got PICTURES:???????????? If this is them, I
need to know NOW so I can be on the look out!!!! (holy shit, this freaks me
out, I ADORE my lilies, if you wanna see why I don't want these, holler at
me and I'll send you a pic I took today.....)madgardener
"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
Hi Mad, great to hear from you . . .

" I read a disturbing article yesterday in the newly arrived Horticulture
Magazine and it gave me the shudders. There is a lily beetle that has
been
here for just past a decade

These beetles SUCK! I have been in an ongoing battle w/them for years,
but
the lilies keep coming back, which is great. You have to pick the
fire-engine red beetles off the plant and drown them in soapy water (my
method anyway) and you have to inspect the undersides of the leaves as
that's where the 'slugs' are - the babies covered in poop - oh yuck, I
didn't know it was poop, how gross (but an impressive mechanism devised by
Ma Nature!). I squish them and I scrape eggs. I think it's the larvae
that
do the most damage by, what appears to be, sucking the life out of the
leaf
they reside on. This is the only area of my yard that I've actually
resorted to poison in - we'll see if the stuff works - I hate having to
use
it.


First year successes for some yarrows, but they're flopping about like
tantrum children so I know the soil is still too rich for their toes.

I have a plant that is popping up all over my yard and I believe it is a
yarrow of sorts, something like achillea milleflora (sp?!?!?), very
invasive -- so be careful what you plant, lol.

LeeAnne,
zone 5, north of Boston, MA


madgardener up on the humid ridge, back in Fairy Holler overlooking
English
Mountain in EAstern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36

"madgardener" expounded:

wait, wait..............................these beetles are FIRE ENGINE
RED?????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????? Are they about the
size roughly of fireflies? My son's friends who call us "Ma and Pa" and
whose two boys call us Granny and Paw Paw bought a new house just five miles
away and the front of their house is CRAWLING with these screaming red
beetles......anyone out there got PICTURES:???????????? If this is them, I
need to know NOW so I can be on the look out!!!! (holy shit, this freaks me
out, I ADORE my lilies, if you wanna see why I don't want these, holler at
me and I'll send you a pic I took today.....)madgardener

Look like red fingernail polish? That's them. The beetles don't do
as much damage as their feces covered larvae, those are the little
*******s that do the damage. Yuck! I just don't have time to hand
pick them, there's too many of them.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

"madgardener" expounded:

I read a disturbing article yesterday in the newly arrived Horticulture
Magazine and it gave me the shudders. There is a lily beetle that has been
here for just past a decade that came over on imported lilies from Europe
that was established in Cambridge, Mass first and is now in surrounding
states.

Marilyn, I've been posting about those damned beetles now for three
years! They are horrible, they've destroyed my lily collection, they
eat frittilarias and solomon seals, too. They are working on a
biological control, hopefully soon! I was out in the western part of
the state at a woman's garden and she had wonderful lilies still but a
friend three miles away had the dreaded beetles. Nasty!
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

go to www.google.com and do an 'images' search for 'lily beetle' you'll come
up w/a ton of pictures of the little b*st*rds

LeeAnne
"madgardener" wrote in message
.. .
wait, wait..............................these beetles are FIRE ENGINE
RED??????????????????????????????????????????????? ????? Are they about
the
size roughly of fireflies?

I just looked them up in Google, and I'm really not sure if the ones at Mary
Ann's are lily beetles but I think I will drive over there tomorrow and take
a picture of them anyway. Thanks Ann. Solomon's Seal????????? I have
varigated SS~ according to one article I read, Bayer has a Neem product
that seems to control them, but I think I will watch for the bastages
(especially since Beverly brought me Easter lilies from Suffolk and so far
they're clean.........) and if I see anything resembling a red beetle, out
come the gloves and I will do a massive squashing and possibly some
insecticide much as I hate to. I will NOT lose my lilies!! (or my
Solomon's Seal.......)
madgardener
"Ann" wrote in message
...
"madgardener" expounded:

I read a disturbing article yesterday in the newly arrived Horticulture
Magazine and it gave me the shudders. There is a lily beetle that has
been
here for just past a decade that came over on imported lilies from Europe
that was established in Cambridge, Mass first and is now in surrounding
states.

Marilyn, I've been posting about those damned beetles now for three
years! They are horrible, they've destroyed my lily collection, they
eat frittilarias and solomon seals, too. They are working on a
biological control, hopefully soon! I was out in the western part of
the state at a woman's garden and she had wonderful lilies still but a
friend three miles away had the dreaded beetles. Nasty!
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

"madgardener" expounded:

I just looked them up in Google, and I'm really not sure if the ones at Mary
Ann's are lily beetles but I think I will drive over there tomorrow and take
a picture of them anyway. Thanks Ann. Solomon's Seal????????? I have
varigated SS~ according to one article I read, Bayer has a Neem product
that seems to control them, but I think I will watch for the bastages

They will eat anything in the lily family, although they haven't
started on my hostas at all. As for the solomon seal, they nibbled on
it a bit, but they really go for just plain lilies. They seem to use
the frittilarias for breeding grounds. I used to have tons of them,
especially the meleagris (sp??) but they're dwindling, too, under the
onslaught. As for neem, I found it very ineffective, but others have
had good luck with it.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************