Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Old 25-10-2003, 03:22 AM
madgardener
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

There HAS to be a twelve step program out there for terminally addicted
perennial junkies. Thank the fairies it's the end of October and the garden
center is starting to look like an "EVERYTHING MUST GO GO GO"
sale...........yesterday was a total bust. I had plans to put down the 10
bags of 40# humus (cheap cheap stuff) where the tree peonies are going to
go. Zip, nada. Didn't happen. I was going to pull up the false coreopsis
aka Swamp sunflower.....zip doodle didn't happen..........was gonna PLANT
some daisy mums into bare spots in the beds.........all together
now....nada....................

Weeeeeelllllll, TODAY as I was moving and compacting landscape pots up
closer to the front of the garden center's cash registers and main entrance,
I was told by the plant specialist that "these three tables are half off".
And he pointed to the Pieris (Dorothy Wycliff) and said "yew aught tew git
yew sum of thaem Parises cuz I gut me tew of 'em myself fer a landscapin'
jub, it wuz tew fer the prize uf won" (I just love his accent, he's so
smart and sounds SOOOOOO Kuntry.......G) It'd make Jim Varney proud of
him if he were still drawing a breath. "know whut I mean?" GBSEG

Well, since I apparently have KILLED two Chinese almonds or something has
offed them and we no longer have them, I decided I'd take a chance and get
two Peiris. Then I got two burning bushes. And a red Rhododendron, which I
will plant next to the pink one that has died 3/4's back that I am
relocating to a better spot. And a spider mum that was whispering my name.
I even remembered the starter fuses for the aquarium light! It was a GOOD
thing Squire wasn't home when I pulled up to the ongoing removal of one
forsythia. I tucked the pots amongst the foliage of the emerging Zebrina
malvacea, the Pieris almost totally hidden by the large scalloped leaves.
The burning bushes I placed near the deciduous magnolia that was the
inspiration for the removal of at least ONE Of those 30 year old
forsythia's. The mum was tucked next to the quarter barrel that is planted
in Eye of the Tiger Dutch iris bulbs and thread leaf coreopsis.

As I unloaded the car, I gave myself a firm chewing out loud as there was no
one to hear me but me and remarked that the Itea was still in it's pot just
a glowing red orange leaves and begging for a spot somewhere, please. I
pulled down the driveway and turned around since I was the only one home and
as I circled around the black cherry tree, the ten bags of soil jumped out
at me and reminded me that there was something else I needed to do. Not to
mention just making a mental note to WATER everything.

I hopped outa the car once I parked in front of the almost flattened
Frakartii asters (they got wind whipped by wind sheers last week of almost
40 mph and now lean to the EAST and still are loaded at the top with those
perky oversized blue aster/daisy flowers with the yellow centers) and went
inside to let Sugar out of the cage Mike had placed her in before he left
for work. She was grateful I was home and I decided immediately that if I
was going to get anything done it was now or never as I'd had quite a
physical day today.

Rose opened the screen door and went out with Sugar hot on her heels to
avoid the door hitting her in the face, and I was behind them and encouraged
them to go thru the gates and "pasture". Bad news for me and worse for
Sugar....apparently son had let her out unattended and she had dug up the
newly planted BLOOMING yellow and white iris that I had gently and
successfully planted last week from Mary Emma's. Now it won't bloom for me
for three years as the whole rhizome was up and the dirt ball was gone. I
mumbled my aggrivation at the pup and stood the rhizome upright near the
Stokes aster plant she missed (I woulda had to kill her.....) and decided
while I was down there, I'd yank out the Bermuda grass that has snuck into
the bed. It was almost a grass bed........

Once I got the fishing line grass out of the dusty dry soil, I decided this
was a good spot to sink the spider mum and went and got the shovel and the
mum. The soil was loose and easy to spade up, making the placement of the
rootball easy. THAT will be a neat surprise next year when it returns.

Then I decided I'd at least water everything from the west edge all the way
to the eastern boardwalk that leads to the nook. I had noticed those yellow
daisy like plants (tag was lost, and if they aren't perennial, I enjoyed
their perpetual blooming all this time) that looked suspiciously like lemon
yellow pyrethrums but the leaves were wrong were drooping in the concrete
planter that I constantly tuck things into when they don't set down invasive
roots. Eventually something will take to these pots, including the one with
one end missing to sort of seal up the open end and I will be happy. Or I
will stretch a pantyhose over the end to hold in the soil and get it over
with.........

Did I tell ya'll that I had one of those whacky moments last week? A
customer came in last week looking for me and wanted to know if we had
planting bags for mailboxes. ummmmm noooo, we didn't and I kinda knew what
she was talking about, but she had seen them at some overpriced nursery
somewhere and wanted to do something like it herself only not pay the
exorbant price for doing it and thought mums would look neat draped over her
mailbox. I thought that was a neat idea too and I decided to give her ideas
of alternatives. How about an old pillow case sewed up on the end, slit
open to slip soil and plants into the ends and draped over? No sewing
machine. Ok, how about a polyester laundry mesh bag that was just cinched
tightly with the rope at one end, two cuts on either end to allow soil and
plants to be slipped into and it wouldn't rot and the water would leak out
but the soil would stay....she wasn't keen on that either but we were
getting close. In the mean time we had walked to the households aisle and
were looking for laundry bags, mesh bags, something to plant mums into and
drape over a mail box when we came across polyester clothespins bags that
had rivet holes with wire hooks for hanging onto the line and the bags were
rectangular, the openings stayed open because they had support in the
edgings and the wires from the two rivetted holes could be removed and a
nylon rope could be threaded into these holes, knotted and hung across the
mailbox.

she was game. I liked the idea too, and picked up two bags of my own and a
length of nylon rope I cut after I cut her some. We then made our way back
to the nursery and she wanted me to help her pick out some mums for the
bags. I picked colors she wasn't into (she was going for matching the trim
on her house) and settled on some beefy plants that were a beautiful rust
orange and a deep burgandy that somehow complimented the rust orange. I
choose white and purple myself and placed my stuff in my stash place for
when I clocked out and bought stuff.

It was a good idea, but it doesn't quite work the way we wanted it to. But
that's not to say it doesn't totally work, because despite that my ropes
would be too long and could just be shortened up with knots, the long bags
DO hold the soil and roots of the plants very well, they're just LONGER than
we anticipated and the holes turned out to be in the wrong place. they're on
the side, and for the bag to hang right the holes would need to be at the
front or back of the bag. After I put soil into the bags and slipped the
mums (white and purple into each bag, making two bags of white and purple
mums sticking out all obvious) into them, and watered them, I realized there
was nowhere to hang them.

They wouldn't hang right over my huge mailbox, and I liked the idea of a bag
of flowers so much I did something insane. I draped one set of ropes over
the bars on the gate on my side of the driveway, looping the ropes over the
bars and hung one bag over one bar, then I looped the other bag over another
bar on the gate and adjusted the two bags on the gate and decided it was
alright. Kinda OBVIOUS, but hey, I live on a deadend and no one hardly would
notice. And next year since the mums won't have a prayer's chance of
returning from exposure this winter, I will yank them out by their roots and
compost them, and plant WAVE petunia's in the bags and THAT will look wild
once they start growing..............

Now fast forward to now. A few days ago I was bouncing around under the
scratchy leaves of my fig tree harvesting the most incredibly sweet figs I
have ever in my life eaten or tasted. These have hung quietly for a few
days in the cold nights and pleasant days and gotten a sweetness that is
almost unreal. Even the wasps haven't discovered them and I was bending the
limbs down to gently pluck them from the leaves they grew next to when I
heard my girls barking. I peeked thru the leaves (you couldn't see me as
the limbs of the fig were bent to where they obscured me from the driveway)
and saw it was just the farquahar that lives across the driveway making his
daily walk up the driveway to check his mailbox. He didn't see me but since
his evil little rat terrier was walking with him, Peanut is such a little
shit when he's around his "master" he tries to bite Rose or Sugar and acts
all protective and jealous despite the neglect this guy puts on this little
dog.

I hear Peanut attacking Rose, then Sugar and then hear my neighbor laughing
at it all when he literally gasped and said "where the hell did THESE come
from?????!!!??? She's got FLOWERS hanging off the GATE????? Good gawd the
woman is totally flower insane" and I took that as my cue and stepped from
out of nowhere and scared the bejezus outa him and said "why you KNOW you're
living across from the madgardener.........and since I've planted up to the
edge of the driveway much to your horror, I figure I will plant vertically
now.........soon you will see all sorts of things growing almost out of
midair.... PEANUT, get away from my Rose and Sugar!!" and I growled at the
little bastage and ran at him and he booked off because he knows my foot is
close behind his cahone's. I will drop kick the little shit for his biting
and mean ways on my good girls. But I got a surprise. Sugar was RUNNING at
Peanut and teasing him. I almost fell on the ground in laughter.

After Jerry got over his shock of seeing me appear outa nowhere, he grumbled
towards me and I disappeared again, which unnerved him again. ahhhh I've
discovered his Achilles heel!!!

He waddled on up the driveway, Peanut snarling and chasing Sugar back
towards the gate until I called out to her to come to me, and I put the figs
on the railing of the deck and went back to yard stuff. Fill up the trench
with water that is along side the BBQ pit fountain, scoop out the pawlonia
tree leaves and pods from the water. Then water the garden around the
perimeter of the fountain. Pull the hose and water the Wide Brim hosta
under the Vitex bush, water the Little Sweetie solidago I planted at the
edge of the western lilac bed. Water the Diablos ninebark, the Wine and
Roses weigelia, the Lorepedilum, the tired pot of orange zinnia
angustifolia's, the crape myrtles I plugged under the other crape myrtles
and zebra grasses. Drag the hose more and water the huge pot of mums that
are finally opening up and wowing me. Water the magnolia and the pots of
stuff I unloaded again.

Drag the hose around the fig tree out to the driveway and start watering
things that are crispy. I have planted too many things and see it's
overwhelming. Water the asters first. Then the other plot of Little
Sweetie, and the Crispa spirea I moved. (which was a good thing or I would
have lost it), move down a bit, tugging the 300 foot of hose out further to
make it easier and water all the pots in the thinning jungle of Cleome and
Helianthus that I can pull and cut down now. Water the pot of Tequila
Sunrise coreopsis that has three flowers on it. The pot of Gaura, the pot
of achillea, the broken pot of mums that are peeking out of the dry
soil.....water the pot of sedums (yes, even they're dry) and the huge pot of
three lilac's I planted together that sits quietly waiting until I cart it
to a perfect spot next year and plug them all into a good hole and hope they
all three grow into a strange and beautiful bush with three colors in
it......

Drag the hose down the drive and water the concrete pot that was incredible
this year. Water the fiberglass pot that has black eyed susan's in it still.
Move past the car and water the containers and pots that line the sidewalk
that leads to the wooden walkway. Find the peony that I forgot about from
Mary Emma's, stop what I am doing (I am SOOOOO spacy!!G) go find the
shovel, duck under the foliage of the Glory Bower, Sorbaria, Cornelian
cherry, baby dogwood and Blue Egnima salvia and chunk a spot next to the
other peony under all that and plant the rootball.

Go back to the hose and water the newly planted peony. Drench the bare spot
where Sugar has dug out so much I fear the poor pulmonaria is long gone and
won't ever return. Water the Pink Panda strawberry plants still in their
pots. Find the varigated Weigelia that is hidden by newly sprouted Cleome
and water it. NOW I am distracted and drag the hose back down the driveway,
and stand looking at the tangle of fallen false coreopsis. My mind is made
up.

Rose has long abandoned me as I'm obviously intent on messing with the hose
and the water much to her dismay. Sugar has long abandoned me to do
dastardly things that I should be watching out for to reprimand her, but I
am now focased on the debris in front of me. I started pulling out the dry
eight foot stalks of false coreopsis, hearing hundreds of seeds falling in
the dry and crispy bed below. Oy vey, I will have millions of them
sprouting next spring......... Now I am intent on just removing these
things. ALL of them. I pull, bang their little fat roots against the
landscape timbers to loosen any soil and lay them on the concrete sidewalk
behind me. I find tired, red, knobby stems of 4's hiding under the tangle
of these plants. I pull them out too and pile them up.

Discover a woody, resistant vine of trumpet vine, and it almost tears me in
half pulling it out of the soil. I hear a sickening thunk deep in the
raised bed, I have not removed it, I've only stimulated it for next
rains.........sigh....Keep pulling and thunking soil and piling. Then I
find the Korean spirea has shoots further into the eastern bed than even I
realized and with a quick decision, I pull at the stem. GOOD LORD!! A
runner root reveals itself and I get three seperate stems rising up from a
root that lies just inches beneath the loose rich soil. This will take
longer than I thought.

My hair has started coming down around the neck, and seeds and debris has
begun attaching to the wisps. My hat is inside as I didn't feel I needed
it, and the sweat is stinging my eyes. Ok, gather my faculties about me,
step on the four foot pile of debris behind me on the dog run and see that a
portion of the bed is bare. A HUGE portion of the bed. So I stop, gather
up the pile of stems and branches and carry them to the pasture just past
the fence and throw it into the weeds. There will be false coreopsis to
spring up there next year and 4's..........good. They'll give the thistles
and possible poppies (I doubt it as the poppies were all pulled up when they
were thru) a run for their money next spring.

Grab another fig from the upper branches I missed and pop it into my mouth,
drink some icy cold water from the hose and decide I've done enough for now.
It's almost dark.

Sugar has gotten tired of her tirade and I hope she hasn't done any damage
to beds in the back that I am working on right now. She comes inside
without any pleading and begging, Rose looking at me like I'm insane and
darting in front of us both almost causing us to fall onto each other. I
look like some wild woods woman.....seeds, crispy leaves and twigs are
entwined in my hair and braid and my face is streaked with dirt. I had to
laugh. but now the bed has started to reveal that I have more room for
plants than I would have figured, and I have decided to do something I
haven't done in years. I am going to clean out the debris this year, and in
the cleaned spaces, plant the asters that are in pots, up front. I am also
pulling up on half of the Korean Spirea, checking on the life of the two
Chinese almond bushes, rip out the spent stems of the Cleome, and after I
move all the pots into the driveway, mow everything up to the edges of the
raised beds. I am also relocating the stepping stones and rearranging the
pots of dianthus and phlox and starting on the wisteria extension. When I
am finished, I will have a pile of debris that will amaze even me, the beds
will be naked for the first time in 8 years and I will have a better idea of
what I can and cannot do from here.

Only then will I put those ten bags of soil in. I might even have room for
the tree peonies up front once I clean out all the mess. This is going to
be fun. I will keep ya'll posted on progress as it occurs. And there's
still the hilarious episode that will reveal itself to me when I bring in
the tens and tens of cacti, succulents and tropicals before the frost comes
next week. Everyone has endured cold evenings and mild days, but the
forecast for next week appears it might finally frost up here.

thanks for allowing me to ramble and talk about what I love.
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36




  #2   Report Post  
Old 25-10-2003, 06:02 AM
JNJ
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

There HAS to be a twelve step program out there for terminally addicted
perennial junkies. Thank the fairies it's the end of October and the

garden
center is starting to look like an "EVERYTHING MUST GO GO GO"
sale


MG -- Get help now, before it's too late!

Wait a sec -- it might already be too late. You aren't going to buy at the
end of this season and then overwinter anything in pots are you? Cuz I
mean, if you DO overwinter things in pots that you buy at cut-rate
end-of-season prices, then it might be an indication that this is beyond any
levels of professional assistance. I'll tell you the REAL sign of being
beyond the assistance of a 12 step program or other such systems -- it's
when you drive around your neighborhood, looking for bags full of leaves to
toss in the back of the truck and add to your compost pile. Of course, just
HAVING a pickup for your gardening hobby IS the same as a foot and a half on
the other side of the line, you know.

If any of this applies to you, then there is only one solution -- you must
move to a major metropolis where the only things green are the traffic
lights, where the sun can be looked at directly due to the protective layer
of smog, where "alive" is used to describe drinks... er, ahem, well, you get
the idea.

James


  #3   Report Post  
Old 25-10-2003, 07:42 AM
Shell91
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

I wish I had your garden. And your gardening talent

Shell


"madgardener" wrote in message
...
There HAS to be a twelve step program out there for terminally addicted
perennial junkies. Thank the fairies it's the end of October and the

garden
center is starting to look like an "EVERYTHING MUST GO GO GO"
sale...........yesterday was a total bust. I had plans to put down the 10
bags of 40# humus (cheap cheap stuff) where the tree peonies are going to
go. Zip, nada. Didn't happen. I was going to pull up the false

coreopsis
aka Swamp sunflower.....zip doodle didn't happen..........was gonna PLANT
some daisy mums into bare spots in the beds.........all together
now....nada....................

Weeeeeelllllll, TODAY as I was moving and compacting landscape pots up
closer to the front of the garden center's cash registers and main

entrance,
I was told by the plant specialist that "these three tables are half off".
And he pointed to the Pieris (Dorothy Wycliff) and said "yew aught tew git
yew sum of thaem Parises cuz I gut me tew of 'em myself fer a landscapin'
jub, it wuz tew fer the prize uf won" (I just love his accent, he's so
smart and sounds SOOOOOO Kuntry.......G) It'd make Jim Varney proud of
him if he were still drawing a breath. "know whut I mean?" GBSEG

Well, since I apparently have KILLED two Chinese almonds or something has
offed them and we no longer have them, I decided I'd take a chance and get
two Peiris. Then I got two burning bushes. And a red Rhododendron, which

I
will plant next to the pink one that has died 3/4's back that I am
relocating to a better spot. And a spider mum that was whispering my

name.
I even remembered the starter fuses for the aquarium light! It was a GOOD
thing Squire wasn't home when I pulled up to the ongoing removal of one
forsythia. I tucked the pots amongst the foliage of the emerging Zebrina
malvacea, the Pieris almost totally hidden by the large scalloped leaves.
The burning bushes I placed near the deciduous magnolia that was the
inspiration for the removal of at least ONE Of those 30 year old
forsythia's. The mum was tucked next to the quarter barrel that is

planted
in Eye of the Tiger Dutch iris bulbs and thread leaf coreopsis.

As I unloaded the car, I gave myself a firm chewing out loud as there was

no
one to hear me but me and remarked that the Itea was still in it's pot

just
a glowing red orange leaves and begging for a spot somewhere, please. I
pulled down the driveway and turned around since I was the only one home

and
as I circled around the black cherry tree, the ten bags of soil jumped out
at me and reminded me that there was something else I needed to do. Not

to
mention just making a mental note to WATER everything.

I hopped outa the car once I parked in front of the almost flattened
Frakartii asters (they got wind whipped by wind sheers last week of almost
40 mph and now lean to the EAST and still are loaded at the top with those
perky oversized blue aster/daisy flowers with the yellow centers) and went
inside to let Sugar out of the cage Mike had placed her in before he left
for work. She was grateful I was home and I decided immediately that if I
was going to get anything done it was now or never as I'd had quite a
physical day today.

Rose opened the screen door and went out with Sugar hot on her heels to
avoid the door hitting her in the face, and I was behind them and

encouraged
them to go thru the gates and "pasture". Bad news for me and worse for
Sugar....apparently son had let her out unattended and she had dug up the
newly planted BLOOMING yellow and white iris that I had gently and
successfully planted last week from Mary Emma's. Now it won't bloom for

me
for three years as the whole rhizome was up and the dirt ball was gone. I
mumbled my aggrivation at the pup and stood the rhizome upright near the
Stokes aster plant she missed (I woulda had to kill her.....) and decided
while I was down there, I'd yank out the Bermuda grass that has snuck into
the bed. It was almost a grass bed........

Once I got the fishing line grass out of the dusty dry soil, I decided

this
was a good spot to sink the spider mum and went and got the shovel and the
mum. The soil was loose and easy to spade up, making the placement of the
rootball easy. THAT will be a neat surprise next year when it returns.

Then I decided I'd at least water everything from the west edge all the

way
to the eastern boardwalk that leads to the nook. I had noticed those

yellow
daisy like plants (tag was lost, and if they aren't perennial, I enjoyed
their perpetual blooming all this time) that looked suspiciously like

lemon
yellow pyrethrums but the leaves were wrong were drooping in the concrete
planter that I constantly tuck things into when they don't set down

invasive
roots. Eventually something will take to these pots, including the one

with
one end missing to sort of seal up the open end and I will be happy. Or I
will stretch a pantyhose over the end to hold in the soil and get it over
with.........

Did I tell ya'll that I had one of those whacky moments last week? A
customer came in last week looking for me and wanted to know if we had
planting bags for mailboxes. ummmmm noooo, we didn't and I kinda knew

what
she was talking about, but she had seen them at some overpriced nursery
somewhere and wanted to do something like it herself only not pay the
exorbant price for doing it and thought mums would look neat draped over

her
mailbox. I thought that was a neat idea too and I decided to give her

ideas
of alternatives. How about an old pillow case sewed up on the end, slit
open to slip soil and plants into the ends and draped over? No sewing
machine. Ok, how about a polyester laundry mesh bag that was just cinched
tightly with the rope at one end, two cuts on either end to allow soil and
plants to be slipped into and it wouldn't rot and the water would leak out
but the soil would stay....she wasn't keen on that either but we were
getting close. In the mean time we had walked to the households aisle and
were looking for laundry bags, mesh bags, something to plant mums into and
drape over a mail box when we came across polyester clothespins bags that
had rivet holes with wire hooks for hanging onto the line and the bags

were
rectangular, the openings stayed open because they had support in the
edgings and the wires from the two rivetted holes could be removed and a
nylon rope could be threaded into these holes, knotted and hung across the
mailbox.

she was game. I liked the idea too, and picked up two bags of my own and a
length of nylon rope I cut after I cut her some. We then made our way

back
to the nursery and she wanted me to help her pick out some mums for the
bags. I picked colors she wasn't into (she was going for matching the

trim
on her house) and settled on some beefy plants that were a beautiful rust
orange and a deep burgandy that somehow complimented the rust orange. I
choose white and purple myself and placed my stuff in my stash place for
when I clocked out and bought stuff.

It was a good idea, but it doesn't quite work the way we wanted it to. But
that's not to say it doesn't totally work, because despite that my ropes
would be too long and could just be shortened up with knots, the long bags
DO hold the soil and roots of the plants very well, they're just LONGER

than
we anticipated and the holes turned out to be in the wrong place. they're

on
the side, and for the bag to hang right the holes would need to be at the
front or back of the bag. After I put soil into the bags and slipped the
mums (white and purple into each bag, making two bags of white and purple
mums sticking out all obvious) into them, and watered them, I realized

there
was nowhere to hang them.

They wouldn't hang right over my huge mailbox, and I liked the idea of a

bag
of flowers so much I did something insane. I draped one set of ropes over
the bars on the gate on my side of the driveway, looping the ropes over

the
bars and hung one bag over one bar, then I looped the other bag over

another
bar on the gate and adjusted the two bags on the gate and decided it was
alright. Kinda OBVIOUS, but hey, I live on a deadend and no one hardly

would
notice. And next year since the mums won't have a prayer's chance of
returning from exposure this winter, I will yank them out by their roots

and
compost them, and plant WAVE petunia's in the bags and THAT will look wild
once they start growing..............

Now fast forward to now. A few days ago I was bouncing around under the
scratchy leaves of my fig tree harvesting the most incredibly sweet figs I
have ever in my life eaten or tasted. These have hung quietly for a few
days in the cold nights and pleasant days and gotten a sweetness that is
almost unreal. Even the wasps haven't discovered them and I was bending

the
limbs down to gently pluck them from the leaves they grew next to when I
heard my girls barking. I peeked thru the leaves (you couldn't see me as
the limbs of the fig were bent to where they obscured me from the

driveway)
and saw it was just the farquahar that lives across the driveway making

his
daily walk up the driveway to check his mailbox. He didn't see me but

since
his evil little rat terrier was walking with him, Peanut is such a little
shit when he's around his "master" he tries to bite Rose or Sugar and acts
all protective and jealous despite the neglect this guy puts on this

little
dog.

I hear Peanut attacking Rose, then Sugar and then hear my neighbor

laughing
at it all when he literally gasped and said "where the hell did THESE come
from?????!!!??? She's got FLOWERS hanging off the GATE????? Good gawd the
woman is totally flower insane" and I took that as my cue and stepped from
out of nowhere and scared the bejezus outa him and said "why you KNOW

you're
living across from the madgardener.........and since I've planted up to

the
edge of the driveway much to your horror, I figure I will plant vertically
now.........soon you will see all sorts of things growing almost out of
midair.... PEANUT, get away from my Rose and Sugar!!" and I growled at the
little bastage and ran at him and he booked off because he knows my foot

is
close behind his cahone's. I will drop kick the little shit for his biting
and mean ways on my good girls. But I got a surprise. Sugar was RUNNING

at
Peanut and teasing him. I almost fell on the ground in laughter.

After Jerry got over his shock of seeing me appear outa nowhere, he

grumbled
towards me and I disappeared again, which unnerved him again. ahhhh I've
discovered his Achilles heel!!!

He waddled on up the driveway, Peanut snarling and chasing Sugar back
towards the gate until I called out to her to come to me, and I put the

figs
on the railing of the deck and went back to yard stuff. Fill up the

trench
with water that is along side the BBQ pit fountain, scoop out the pawlonia
tree leaves and pods from the water. Then water the garden around the
perimeter of the fountain. Pull the hose and water the Wide Brim hosta
under the Vitex bush, water the Little Sweetie solidago I planted at the
edge of the western lilac bed. Water the Diablos ninebark, the Wine and
Roses weigelia, the Lorepedilum, the tired pot of orange zinnia
angustifolia's, the crape myrtles I plugged under the other crape myrtles
and zebra grasses. Drag the hose more and water the huge pot of mums that
are finally opening up and wowing me. Water the magnolia and the pots of
stuff I unloaded again.

Drag the hose around the fig tree out to the driveway and start watering
things that are crispy. I have planted too many things and see it's
overwhelming. Water the asters first. Then the other plot of Little
Sweetie, and the Crispa spirea I moved. (which was a good thing or I would
have lost it), move down a bit, tugging the 300 foot of hose out further

to
make it easier and water all the pots in the thinning jungle of Cleome and
Helianthus that I can pull and cut down now. Water the pot of Tequila
Sunrise coreopsis that has three flowers on it. The pot of Gaura, the pot
of achillea, the broken pot of mums that are peeking out of the dry
soil.....water the pot of sedums (yes, even they're dry) and the huge pot

of
three lilac's I planted together that sits quietly waiting until I cart it
to a perfect spot next year and plug them all into a good hole and hope

they
all three grow into a strange and beautiful bush with three colors in
it......

Drag the hose down the drive and water the concrete pot that was

incredible
this year. Water the fiberglass pot that has black eyed susan's in it

still.
Move past the car and water the containers and pots that line the sidewalk
that leads to the wooden walkway. Find the peony that I forgot about from
Mary Emma's, stop what I am doing (I am SOOOOO spacy!!G) go find the
shovel, duck under the foliage of the Glory Bower, Sorbaria, Cornelian
cherry, baby dogwood and Blue Egnima salvia and chunk a spot next to the
other peony under all that and plant the rootball.

Go back to the hose and water the newly planted peony. Drench the bare

spot
where Sugar has dug out so much I fear the poor pulmonaria is long gone

and
won't ever return. Water the Pink Panda strawberry plants still in their
pots. Find the varigated Weigelia that is hidden by newly sprouted Cleome
and water it. NOW I am distracted and drag the hose back down the

driveway,
and stand looking at the tangle of fallen false coreopsis. My mind is

made
up.

Rose has long abandoned me as I'm obviously intent on messing with the

hose
and the water much to her dismay. Sugar has long abandoned me to do
dastardly things that I should be watching out for to reprimand her, but I
am now focased on the debris in front of me. I started pulling out the

dry
eight foot stalks of false coreopsis, hearing hundreds of seeds falling in
the dry and crispy bed below. Oy vey, I will have millions of them
sprouting next spring......... Now I am intent on just removing these
things. ALL of them. I pull, bang their little fat roots against the
landscape timbers to loosen any soil and lay them on the concrete sidewalk
behind me. I find tired, red, knobby stems of 4's hiding under the tangle
of these plants. I pull them out too and pile them up.

Discover a woody, resistant vine of trumpet vine, and it almost tears me

in
half pulling it out of the soil. I hear a sickening thunk deep in the
raised bed, I have not removed it, I've only stimulated it for next
rains.........sigh....Keep pulling and thunking soil and piling. Then I
find the Korean spirea has shoots further into the eastern bed than even I
realized and with a quick decision, I pull at the stem. GOOD LORD!! A
runner root reveals itself and I get three seperate stems rising up from a
root that lies just inches beneath the loose rich soil. This will take
longer than I thought.

My hair has started coming down around the neck, and seeds and debris has
begun attaching to the wisps. My hat is inside as I didn't feel I needed
it, and the sweat is stinging my eyes. Ok, gather my faculties about me,
step on the four foot pile of debris behind me on the dog run and see that

a
portion of the bed is bare. A HUGE portion of the bed. So I stop, gather
up the pile of stems and branches and carry them to the pasture just past
the fence and throw it into the weeds. There will be false coreopsis to
spring up there next year and 4's..........good. They'll give the thistles
and possible poppies (I doubt it as the poppies were all pulled up when

they
were thru) a run for their money next spring.

Grab another fig from the upper branches I missed and pop it into my

mouth,
drink some icy cold water from the hose and decide I've done enough for

now.
It's almost dark.

Sugar has gotten tired of her tirade and I hope she hasn't done any damage
to beds in the back that I am working on right now. She comes inside
without any pleading and begging, Rose looking at me like I'm insane and
darting in front of us both almost causing us to fall onto each other. I
look like some wild woods woman.....seeds, crispy leaves and twigs are
entwined in my hair and braid and my face is streaked with dirt. I had to
laugh. but now the bed has started to reveal that I have more room for
plants than I would have figured, and I have decided to do something I
haven't done in years. I am going to clean out the debris this year, and

in
the cleaned spaces, plant the asters that are in pots, up front. I am

also
pulling up on half of the Korean Spirea, checking on the life of the two
Chinese almond bushes, rip out the spent stems of the Cleome, and after I
move all the pots into the driveway, mow everything up to the edges of the
raised beds. I am also relocating the stepping stones and rearranging the
pots of dianthus and phlox and starting on the wisteria extension. When I
am finished, I will have a pile of debris that will amaze even me, the

beds
will be naked for the first time in 8 years and I will have a better idea

of
what I can and cannot do from here.

Only then will I put those ten bags of soil in. I might even have room for
the tree peonies up front once I clean out all the mess. This is going to
be fun. I will keep ya'll posted on progress as it occurs. And there's
still the hilarious episode that will reveal itself to me when I bring in
the tens and tens of cacti, succulents and tropicals before the frost

comes
next week. Everyone has endured cold evenings and mild days, but the
forecast for next week appears it might finally frost up here.

thanks for allowing me to ramble and talk about what I love.
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36






  #4   Report Post  
Old 25-10-2003, 06:02 PM
Valkyrie
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

The only Twelve Step program I have found to be successful is;
Six steps with the plant to the car.......
Six steps from the car to the garden......
anything else is just an exercise in futility.

Val



"madgardener" wrote in message
...
There HAS to be a twelve step program out there for terminally addicted
perennial junkies. Thank the fairies it's the end of October and the

garden
center is starting to look like an "EVERYTHING MUST GO GO GO"
sale...........yesterday was a total bust. I had plans to put down the 10
bags of 40# humus (cheap cheap stuff) where the tree peonies are going to
go. Zip, nada. Didn't happen. I was going to pull up the false

coreopsis
aka Swamp sunflower.....zip doodle didn't happen..........was gonna PLANT
some daisy mums into bare spots in the beds.........all together
now....nada....................

Weeeeeelllllll, TODAY as I was moving and compacting landscape pots up
closer to the front of the garden center's cash registers and main

entrance,
I was told by the plant specialist that "these three tables are half off".
And he pointed to the Pieris (Dorothy Wycliff) and said "yew aught tew git
yew sum of thaem Parises cuz I gut me tew of 'em myself fer a landscapin'
jub, it wuz tew fer the prize uf won" (I just love his accent, he's so
smart and sounds SOOOOOO Kuntry.......G) It'd make Jim Varney proud of
him if he were still drawing a breath. "know whut I mean?" GBSEG

Well, since I apparently have KILLED two Chinese almonds or something has
offed them and we no longer have them, I decided I'd take a chance and get
two Peiris. Then I got two burning bushes. And a red Rhododendron, which

I
will plant next to the pink one that has died 3/4's back that I am
relocating to a better spot. And a spider mum that was whispering my

name.
I even remembered the starter fuses for the aquarium light! It was a GOOD
thing Squire wasn't home when I pulled up to the ongoing removal of one
forsythia. I tucked the pots amongst the foliage of the emerging Zebrina
malvacea, the Pieris almost totally hidden by the large scalloped leaves.
The burning bushes I placed near the deciduous magnolia that was the
inspiration for the removal of at least ONE Of those 30 year old
forsythia's. The mum was tucked next to the quarter barrel that is

planted
in Eye of the Tiger Dutch iris bulbs and thread leaf coreopsis.

As I unloaded the car, I gave myself a firm chewing out loud as there was

no
one to hear me but me and remarked that the Itea was still in it's pot

just
a glowing red orange leaves and begging for a spot somewhere, please. I
pulled down the driveway and turned around since I was the only one home

and
as I circled around the black cherry tree, the ten bags of soil jumped out
at me and reminded me that there was something else I needed to do. Not

to
mention just making a mental note to WATER everything.

I hopped outa the car once I parked in front of the almost flattened
Frakartii asters (they got wind whipped by wind sheers last week of almost
40 mph and now lean to the EAST and still are loaded at the top with those
perky oversized blue aster/daisy flowers with the yellow centers) and went
inside to let Sugar out of the cage Mike had placed her in before he left
for work. She was grateful I was home and I decided immediately that if I
was going to get anything done it was now or never as I'd had quite a
physical day today.

Rose opened the screen door and went out with Sugar hot on her heels to
avoid the door hitting her in the face, and I was behind them and

encouraged
them to go thru the gates and "pasture". Bad news for me and worse for
Sugar....apparently son had let her out unattended and she had dug up the
newly planted BLOOMING yellow and white iris that I had gently and
successfully planted last week from Mary Emma's. Now it won't bloom for

me
for three years as the whole rhizome was up and the dirt ball was gone. I
mumbled my aggrivation at the pup and stood the rhizome upright near the
Stokes aster plant she missed (I woulda had to kill her.....) and decided
while I was down there, I'd yank out the Bermuda grass that has snuck into
the bed. It was almost a grass bed........

Once I got the fishing line grass out of the dusty dry soil, I decided

this
was a good spot to sink the spider mum and went and got the shovel and the
mum. The soil was loose and easy to spade up, making the placement of the
rootball easy. THAT will be a neat surprise next year when it returns.

Then I decided I'd at least water everything from the west edge all the

way
to the eastern boardwalk that leads to the nook. I had noticed those

yellow
daisy like plants (tag was lost, and if they aren't perennial, I enjoyed
their perpetual blooming all this time) that looked suspiciously like

lemon
yellow pyrethrums but the leaves were wrong were drooping in the concrete
planter that I constantly tuck things into when they don't set down

invasive
roots. Eventually something will take to these pots, including the one

with
one end missing to sort of seal up the open end and I will be happy. Or I
will stretch a pantyhose over the end to hold in the soil and get it over
with.........

Did I tell ya'll that I had one of those whacky moments last week? A
customer came in last week looking for me and wanted to know if we had
planting bags for mailboxes. ummmmm noooo, we didn't and I kinda knew

what
she was talking about, but she had seen them at some overpriced nursery
somewhere and wanted to do something like it herself only not pay the
exorbant price for doing it and thought mums would look neat draped over

her
mailbox. I thought that was a neat idea too and I decided to give her

ideas
of alternatives. How about an old pillow case sewed up on the end, slit
open to slip soil and plants into the ends and draped over? No sewing
machine. Ok, how about a polyester laundry mesh bag that was just cinched
tightly with the rope at one end, two cuts on either end to allow soil and
plants to be slipped into and it wouldn't rot and the water would leak out
but the soil would stay....she wasn't keen on that either but we were
getting close. In the mean time we had walked to the households aisle and
were looking for laundry bags, mesh bags, something to plant mums into and
drape over a mail box when we came across polyester clothespins bags that
had rivet holes with wire hooks for hanging onto the line and the bags

were
rectangular, the openings stayed open because they had support in the
edgings and the wires from the two rivetted holes could be removed and a
nylon rope could be threaded into these holes, knotted and hung across the
mailbox.

she was game. I liked the idea too, and picked up two bags of my own and a
length of nylon rope I cut after I cut her some. We then made our way

back
to the nursery and she wanted me to help her pick out some mums for the
bags. I picked colors she wasn't into (she was going for matching the

trim
on her house) and settled on some beefy plants that were a beautiful rust
orange and a deep burgandy that somehow complimented the rust orange. I
choose white and purple myself and placed my stuff in my stash place for
when I clocked out and bought stuff.

It was a good idea, but it doesn't quite work the way we wanted it to. But
that's not to say it doesn't totally work, because despite that my ropes
would be too long and could just be shortened up with knots, the long bags
DO hold the soil and roots of the plants very well, they're just LONGER

than
we anticipated and the holes turned out to be in the wrong place. they're

on
the side, and for the bag to hang right the holes would need to be at the
front or back of the bag. After I put soil into the bags and slipped the
mums (white and purple into each bag, making two bags of white and purple
mums sticking out all obvious) into them, and watered them, I realized

there
was nowhere to hang them.

They wouldn't hang right over my huge mailbox, and I liked the idea of a

bag
of flowers so much I did something insane. I draped one set of ropes over
the bars on the gate on my side of the driveway, looping the ropes over

the
bars and hung one bag over one bar, then I looped the other bag over

another
bar on the gate and adjusted the two bags on the gate and decided it was
alright. Kinda OBVIOUS, but hey, I live on a deadend and no one hardly

would
notice. And next year since the mums won't have a prayer's chance of
returning from exposure this winter, I will yank them out by their roots

and
compost them, and plant WAVE petunia's in the bags and THAT will look wild
once they start growing..............

Now fast forward to now. A few days ago I was bouncing around under the
scratchy leaves of my fig tree harvesting the most incredibly sweet figs I
have ever in my life eaten or tasted. These have hung quietly for a few
days in the cold nights and pleasant days and gotten a sweetness that is
almost unreal. Even the wasps haven't discovered them and I was bending

the
limbs down to gently pluck them from the leaves they grew next to when I
heard my girls barking. I peeked thru the leaves (you couldn't see me as
the limbs of the fig were bent to where they obscured me from the

driveway)
and saw it was just the farquahar that lives across the driveway making

his
daily walk up the driveway to check his mailbox. He didn't see me but

since
his evil little rat terrier was walking with him, Peanut is such a little
shit when he's around his "master" he tries to bite Rose or Sugar and acts
all protective and jealous despite the neglect this guy puts on this

little
dog.

I hear Peanut attacking Rose, then Sugar and then hear my neighbor

laughing
at it all when he literally gasped and said "where the hell did THESE come
from?????!!!??? She's got FLOWERS hanging off the GATE????? Good gawd the
woman is totally flower insane" and I took that as my cue and stepped from
out of nowhere and scared the bejezus outa him and said "why you KNOW

you're
living across from the madgardener.........and since I've planted up to

the
edge of the driveway much to your horror, I figure I will plant vertically
now.........soon you will see all sorts of things growing almost out of
midair.... PEANUT, get away from my Rose and Sugar!!" and I growled at the
little bastage and ran at him and he booked off because he knows my foot

is
close behind his cahone's. I will drop kick the little shit for his biting
and mean ways on my good girls. But I got a surprise. Sugar was RUNNING

at
Peanut and teasing him. I almost fell on the ground in laughter.

After Jerry got over his shock of seeing me appear outa nowhere, he

grumbled
towards me and I disappeared again, which unnerved him again. ahhhh I've
discovered his Achilles heel!!!

He waddled on up the driveway, Peanut snarling and chasing Sugar back
towards the gate until I called out to her to come to me, and I put the

figs
on the railing of the deck and went back to yard stuff. Fill up the

trench
with water that is along side the BBQ pit fountain, scoop out the pawlonia
tree leaves and pods from the water. Then water the garden around the
perimeter of the fountain. Pull the hose and water the Wide Brim hosta
under the Vitex bush, water the Little Sweetie solidago I planted at the
edge of the western lilac bed. Water the Diablos ninebark, the Wine and
Roses weigelia, the Lorepedilum, the tired pot of orange zinnia
angustifolia's, the crape myrtles I plugged under the other crape myrtles
and zebra grasses. Drag the hose more and water the huge pot of mums that
are finally opening up and wowing me. Water the magnolia and the pots of
stuff I unloaded again.

Drag the hose around the fig tree out to the driveway and start watering
things that are crispy. I have planted too many things and see it's
overwhelming. Water the asters first. Then the other plot of Little
Sweetie, and the Crispa spirea I moved. (which was a good thing or I would
have lost it), move down a bit, tugging the 300 foot of hose out further

to
make it easier and water all the pots in the thinning jungle of Cleome and
Helianthus that I can pull and cut down now. Water the pot of Tequila
Sunrise coreopsis that has three flowers on it. The pot of Gaura, the pot
of achillea, the broken pot of mums that are peeking out of the dry
soil.....water the pot of sedums (yes, even they're dry) and the huge pot

of
three lilac's I planted together that sits quietly waiting until I cart it
to a perfect spot next year and plug them all into a good hole and hope

they
all three grow into a strange and beautiful bush with three colors in
it......

Drag the hose down the drive and water the concrete pot that was

incredible
this year. Water the fiberglass pot that has black eyed susan's in it

still.
Move past the car and water the containers and pots that line the sidewalk
that leads to the wooden walkway. Find the peony that I forgot about from
Mary Emma's, stop what I am doing (I am SOOOOO spacy!!G) go find the
shovel, duck under the foliage of the Glory Bower, Sorbaria, Cornelian
cherry, baby dogwood and Blue Egnima salvia and chunk a spot next to the
other peony under all that and plant the rootball.

Go back to the hose and water the newly planted peony. Drench the bare

spot
where Sugar has dug out so much I fear the poor pulmonaria is long gone

and
won't ever return. Water the Pink Panda strawberry plants still in their
pots. Find the varigated Weigelia that is hidden by newly sprouted Cleome
and water it. NOW I am distracted and drag the hose back down the

driveway,
and stand looking at the tangle of fallen false coreopsis. My mind is

made
up.

Rose has long abandoned me as I'm obviously intent on messing with the

hose
and the water much to her dismay. Sugar has long abandoned me to do
dastardly things that I should be watching out for to reprimand her, but I
am now focased on the debris in front of me. I started pulling out the

dry
eight foot stalks of false coreopsis, hearing hundreds of seeds falling in
the dry and crispy bed below. Oy vey, I will have millions of them
sprouting next spring......... Now I am intent on just removing these
things. ALL of them. I pull, bang their little fat roots against the
landscape timbers to loosen any soil and lay them on the concrete sidewalk
behind me. I find tired, red, knobby stems of 4's hiding under the tangle
of these plants. I pull them out too and pile them up.

Discover a woody, resistant vine of trumpet vine, and it almost tears me

in
half pulling it out of the soil. I hear a sickening thunk deep in the
raised bed, I have not removed it, I've only stimulated it for next
rains.........sigh....Keep pulling and thunking soil and piling. Then I
find the Korean spirea has shoots further into the eastern bed than even I
realized and with a quick decision, I pull at the stem. GOOD LORD!! A
runner root reveals itself and I get three seperate stems rising up from a
root that lies just inches beneath the loose rich soil. This will take
longer than I thought.

My hair has started coming down around the neck, and seeds and debris has
begun attaching to the wisps. My hat is inside as I didn't feel I needed
it, and the sweat is stinging my eyes. Ok, gather my faculties about me,
step on the four foot pile of debris behind me on the dog run and see that

a
portion of the bed is bare. A HUGE portion of the bed. So I stop, gather
up the pile of stems and branches and carry them to the pasture just past
the fence and throw it into the weeds. There will be false coreopsis to
spring up there next year and 4's..........good. They'll give the thistles
and possible poppies (I doubt it as the poppies were all pulled up when

they
were thru) a run for their money next spring.

Grab another fig from the upper branches I missed and pop it into my

mouth,
drink some icy cold water from the hose and decide I've done enough for

now.
It's almost dark.

Sugar has gotten tired of her tirade and I hope she hasn't done any damage
to beds in the back that I am working on right now. She comes inside
without any pleading and begging, Rose looking at me like I'm insane and
darting in front of us both almost causing us to fall onto each other. I
look like some wild woods woman.....seeds, crispy leaves and twigs are
entwined in my hair and braid and my face is streaked with dirt. I had to
laugh. but now the bed has started to reveal that I have more room for
plants than I would have figured, and I have decided to do something I
haven't done in years. I am going to clean out the debris this year, and

in
the cleaned spaces, plant the asters that are in pots, up front. I am

also
pulling up on half of the Korean Spirea, checking on the life of the two
Chinese almond bushes, rip out the spent stems of the Cleome, and after I
move all the pots into the driveway, mow everything up to the edges of the
raised beds. I am also relocating the stepping stones and rearranging the
pots of dianthus and phlox and starting on the wisteria extension. When I
am finished, I will have a pile of debris that will amaze even me, the

beds
will be naked for the first time in 8 years and I will have a better idea

of
what I can and cannot do from here.

Only then will I put those ten bags of soil in. I might even have room for
the tree peonies up front once I clean out all the mess. This is going to
be fun. I will keep ya'll posted on progress as it occurs. And there's
still the hilarious episode that will reveal itself to me when I bring in
the tens and tens of cacti, succulents and tropicals before the frost

comes
next week. Everyone has endured cold evenings and mild days, but the
forecast for next week appears it might finally frost up here.

thanks for allowing me to ramble and talk about what I love.
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36






  #5   Report Post  
Old 26-10-2003, 01:32 AM
madgardener
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

James, it's already too late..................I have been driving around
neighborhoods looking for bags of leaves for my compost pile since my boys
were teenagers and they're 29 and 31............I used to stuff as many bags
as was humanly possible, with the boys in their perspective spot in the old
blue box (Dodge van with a 318 engine) and you'd see a van fulla windows
with a smashed white haired kid in the shotgun seat (that'd be Damon, he
never played fair with sharing the shotgun seat) and Mike behind me mashed
against the window behind me. I'd be steering with bare foot propped up on
the window by the rear view window, pigtails flying and unable to see out
the rear view window because of the bags up to the ceiling. I've gone over
the edge a few times and taken egg shells from the school cafeteria on days
we had boiled eggs for breakfast for 289 kids, or carrot sticks and they
made us peel the carrots........I'd bring home a couple of pounds of
peelings. I remember there was a lesson I learned about burying old cottage
cheese............the holes that it was in rose about a foot and exploded
one day. I wasn't thinking, but knew not to put it into the working compost
pile, so I dug a hole and dumped the quart of cottage cheese into it and
topped it with the dirt. Four weeks later, I checked it and it was still
cottage cheese...........forgot about it and noticed these wierd plugs of
something at the back fence and when I went back to investigate, I
remembered just about the time the last hole "popped".

I did this in Nashville....and I have had a truck now since
1994...........................gbseg
madgardener
"JNJ" wrote in message
...
There HAS to be a twelve step program out there for terminally addicted
perennial junkies. Thank the fairies it's the end of October and the

garden
center is starting to look like an "EVERYTHING MUST GO GO GO"
sale


MG -- Get help now, before it's too late!

Wait a sec -- it might already be too late. You aren't going to buy at

the
end of this season and then overwinter anything in pots are you? Cuz I
mean, if you DO overwinter things in pots that you buy at cut-rate
end-of-season prices, then it might be an indication that this is beyond

any
levels of professional assistance. I'll tell you the REAL sign of being
beyond the assistance of a 12 step program or other such systems -- it's
when you drive around your neighborhood, looking for bags full of leaves

to
toss in the back of the truck and add to your compost pile. Of course,

just
HAVING a pickup for your gardening hobby IS the same as a foot and a half

on
the other side of the line, you know.

If any of this applies to you, then there is only one solution -- you must
move to a major metropolis where the only things green are the traffic
lights, where the sun can be looked at directly due to the protective

layer
of smog, where "alive" is used to describe drinks... er, ahem, well, you

get
the idea.

James






  #6   Report Post  
Old 26-10-2003, 03:32 AM
JNJ
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

Aw heck, MG -- I was really hoping there was SOME way to save
you...something to be done to bring you back into the fold of the common
citizen, but it looks like it truly IS too late for you. I mean, the whole
thing with picking up leaves in the neighborhood was bad enough but even
raiding the school cafeteria for food morsels to add to your compost pile?
Forget it -- you're so far gone that a 96 step program wouldn't help! LOL

Hey -- wasn't it you who was telling me there's lots of land in Tennessee at
good pricing? We're looking at moving in a few years (we DESPERATELY want
to get away from the city!) and we're starting to look, get pricing ideas,
area demographics, and so forth. Acreage is a prime factor, with cost being
important of course, and although we want to be remote we'll need reasonable
access to a city so at least one of us can work (I'm voting for my wife to
work -- let ME stay home with the kids Grin).

James


  #7   Report Post  
Old 26-10-2003, 05:32 AM
madgardener
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................


"JNJ" wrote in message
...
Aw heck, MG -- I was really hoping there was SOME way to save
you...something to be done to bring you back into the fold of the common
citizen, but it looks like it truly IS too late for you. I mean, the

whole
thing with picking up leaves in the neighborhood was bad enough but even
raiding the school cafeteria for food morsels to add to your compost pile?
Forget it -- you're so far gone that a 96 step program wouldn't help! LOL

That was when I worked at the school cafeteria in Nashville for 9 years. I
had compost piles to drool over..............
here I just go cow pie picking.....g

Hey -- wasn't it you who was telling me there's lots of land in Tennessee

at
good pricing? We're looking at moving in a few years (we DESPERATELY want
to get away from the city!) and we're starting to look, get pricing ideas,
area demographics, and so forth. Acreage is a prime factor, with cost

being
important of course, and although we want to be remote we'll need

reasonable
access to a city so at least one of us can work (I'm voting for my wife to
work -- let ME stay home with the kids Grin).


I'll give you an example of what's behind me up on the ridge behind where I
am now. There is an older brick house, about 20 years at the most, has a
driveway I'd sell my body for, it goes up thru woods with dogwoods, redbuds,
ferns, tulip poplars, cedars, maples, pin oaks, etc... and hooks back and
the house and 8.7 acres is on top of a ridge that has faces south. Well
it's isolated. It has the top of the ridge. The house is five bedrooms,
four bathrooms, two fireplaces (one is downstairs where an extra kitchen
area with counter and chairs are). A garden shed that is huge, one car
garage, enormous deck sits off the kitchen and master bedroom on a gently
rolling hill top that has peach trees, apple, pecan, plum and lord knows
what else. I'd sell my grandmother to have this house. They're asking
$248,000 for the whole thing. The acreage alone usually sells for $10,000
per acre. Some of it (prime) goes for up to $15,000.

There are very nice subdivisions popping up all over the place around here
because the older people with land and pastures and farms are dying and
their kids are selling the land to be divided up into acre, 5 acre and such
tracts. The Hammer farm has split the 104 acres of their family homestead
into five acre tracts, with the house sitting on seven. A family from up
east bought it and have almost finished renovating it and they didn't have
to do much as the Hammer boys kept the house in top shape.

The people around here are nice, and things are still pretty good around
here. We have crime, but so does everyone. Not on the scale of city. I'm
from city. I don't miss it. I compare here to what I lived and grew up in
and it doesn't compare. I even lived in Denver for five years so I KNOW
when it's time to start moving. I feel secure and safe. There are plenty of
churches, if you need to go "to the city" there's Knoxville 46 miles west
with everything you'd want, including the airport. (McGee-Tyson), but the
larger towns are closer, Sevierville, Morristown, Newport, Maryville.
Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg are tourist oriented as it sits
nestled against the Smokies. Cost of living is a bit more and the houses
aren't cheap but since lots of people are moving in there, there are good
schools. Huge amounts of people are moving to Dandridge and Jefferson City
and Morristown. No state taxes, although the sales tax is high.....we just
passed the lottery. Good roads pretty much, and it will still take a long
time to fill up all the land around here with people. If you can't get cable
or local t.v. then your only chance is DTV and little dish. I've had a dish
since 1993 when RCA came out with the little one.

When I NEED city I run to Knoxville. But to make me appreciate what I have,
I sometimes drive back thru Nashville when I visit my mother and the
remainder of my family 5 hours drive away. I grew up in Nashville, so I
don't miss city. I'm trying to get my daughter to move out of south
Nashville now. I hate that the four girls are growing up there...........

If you want an idea as to what it's like here, look for the Knoxville
Sentinel or even check out The Tennessean for real estate ideas and such.
The Tennessean is Middle Tennessee, The Sentinel is the Eastern portion.
I'm unsure about West Tennessee.

I also think you'd do well to check out the Western Carolina's, near
Asheville, Charlottesville, and the like. I think property is still
reasonable and you still have good land everywhere. I wouldn't mind living
in North Carolina at all..........I hope I didn't overwhelm you about this.
But I wouldn't wait years to decide about this area. The word is out and
property is raising in price. I've seen it double and triple since I've
lived here and we moved here in 1992.
madgardener



  #8   Report Post  
Old 26-10-2003, 10:42 AM
Janet Baraclough
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................


Mad, you mentioned loripetalum in there somewhere? Have you got any
advice? How big does it get, what kind of soil and location suits it?

I'd never seen one until very recently when a DIY "shed" put some out
in the plant section which often has cheap lots of doomed plants but you
know how it is, sometimes you just can't resist. It's got pretty purple
red leaves and the label pic shows little red spikey flowers like
hamamelis.It also says "requires some winter protection" .

I've planted it in a nooky sort of corner between two huge rocks, with
sun, but it could be moved.

Janet

Isle of Arran Scotland.
  #9   Report Post  
Old 27-10-2003, 03:02 AM
madgardener
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................


"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

Mad, you mentioned loripetalum in there somewhere?


Yes I did. 4-6 foot tall and 4-5 foot wide when mature. It IS a member of
the Witch Hazel family and blooms heavily when the azalea's bloom, and then
on and off sporatically. It says it benefits from partial shade, but I've
had people tell me theirs is fully exposed to sun. Mine is near the west
chain link fence tucked between the Diablo nine bark and the Wine and Roses
weigelia (hmmmmm you see a pattern of colors here???G) It's hardy to zone
seven. It likes rich humusy soil and kept moist until established. Pam
told me that mine might do better since we have more heat and it can get
woodier for me than it does in the Pacific Northwest. I just want it to
make it thru winter here for me. I LOVE those little string like blossoms!
And the burgandy round foliage is awesome. The shape is going to be
fantastic too, as it seems to have a character all it's own. If you have it
planted in a southern or western spot, I'd say mulch it this winter if you
think you're going to have a cold one.

Have you got any
advice? How big does it get, what kind of soil and location suits it?

I'd never seen one until very recently when a DIY "shed" put some out
in the plant section which often has cheap lots of doomed plants but you
know how it is, sometimes you just can't resist. It's got pretty purple
red leaves and the label pic shows little red spikey flowers like
hamamelis.It also says "requires some winter protection" .


if you think it's going to get really cold, why not put a couple of hay
bales around it like a straw cold frame? I know it's not hardy past the
cooler zone six. I had someone in North Carolina who has a zone 7 as well
to tell me theirs is doing fine, so hopefully I will be able to report this
next spring that it's healthy and leafing out for me!

I've planted it in a nooky sort of corner between two huge rocks, with
sun, but it could be moved. That actually sounds like you've given it a

warm micro climate. I'd leave it for now and see how it acts where you've
got it. I'll keep you posted if mine makes it thru winter or not. g
madgardener

Janet

Isle of Arran Scotland.



  #10   Report Post  
Old 27-10-2003, 11:22 AM
Janet Baraclough
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

The message
from "madgardener" contains these words:


"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

Mad, you mentioned loripetalum in there somewhere?


Yes I did. 4-6 foot tall and 4-5 foot wide when mature.


oops...:-)


It IS a member of
the Witch Hazel family and blooms heavily when the azalea's bloom, and then
on and off sporatically. It says it benefits from partial shade, but I've
had people tell me theirs is fully exposed to sun. Mine is near the west
chain link fence tucked between the Diablo nine bark and the Wine and Roses
weigelia (hmmmmm you see a pattern of colors here???G)


LOL. I love purple leaves and flowers too.

I know it's not hardy past the
cooler zone six. I had someone in North Carolina who has a zone 7 as well
to tell me theirs is doing fine, so hopefully I will be able to report this
next spring that it's healthy and leafing out for me!


I'll have to go and look up zones. Thanks for your help.

Janet





  #11   Report Post  
Old 27-10-2003, 08:42 PM
Gloria
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................


"madgardener" wrote in message:


" I LOVE those little string like blossoms!"

It's also called 'fringe flower bush', I adore mine!

Gloria


  #12   Report Post  
Old 28-10-2003, 02:12 AM
MLEBLANCA
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

In article , Janet Baraclough
writes:

Mad, you mentioned loripetalum in there somewhere? Have you got any
advice? How big does it get, what kind of soil and location suits it?

Loropetalum chinense is becoming one of my favorite shrubs.
I have Monraz, and it loves the heat of the Northern Central Valley in
California. ( We have many 100+ degree days in summer.)
It is in its third summer, and seems to be quite drought tolerant.
It is in full sun and is 6 feet tall and about 6 feet wide, with a definite
horizontal branching habit.
It's blooming right now, but the bloom is nothing compared to its spring
bloom, in March, which just about covers the entire bush! Gorgeous..
I just won another one, Fire Dance, at the garden club meeting. I think
I will try this one with a little afternoon shade, and see what, if any
difference it makes.
Enjoy your new addition , Janet.

Emilie
NorCal zone 8
  #13   Report Post  
Old 29-10-2003, 02:02 AM
loonyhiker
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

I LOVE reading what you write. The vincas had me down in the dumps,
its rainy and cold and I had to pay bills, so I was really down in the
dumps and then i got to read your message. It was truly inspiring and
now I can't wait to get in my yard and work. I did pick up 2 purple
cabbages and threw them in the ground as it started to rain. Guess I
will need to join your 12 step (or 96 step as someone suggested)
group!

loony
  #14   Report Post  
Old 06-11-2003, 02:32 AM
madgardener
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

On 28 Oct 2003 01:09:50 GMT, (MLEBLANCA) wrote:

In article , Janet Baraclough
writes:

Mad, you mentioned loripetalum in there somewhere? Have you got any
advice? How big does it get, what kind of soil and location suits it?

Loropetalum chinense is becoming one of my favorite shrubs.
I have Monraz, and it loves the heat of the Northern Central Valley in
California. ( We have many 100+ degree days in summer.)
It is in its third summer, and seems to be quite drought tolerant.
It is in full sun and is 6 feet tall and about 6 feet wide, with a definite
horizontal branching habit.
It's blooming right now, but the bloom is nothing compared to its spring
bloom, in March, which just about covers the entire bush! Gorgeous..
I just won another one, Fire Dance, at the garden club meeting. I think
I will try this one with a little afternoon shade, and see what, if any
difference it makes.
Enjoy your new addition , Janet.

Emilie
NorCal zone 8


this is a little late in responding Janet, but that's because I never
saw your reply FIRE DANCE??? that sounds awesome. Pictures next
year??? I just hope mine gets thru the winter. I may mulch around it
if we get bitter weather. I'll keep you posted. It's just a little
whipper at the moment g
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler overlooking a foggy
English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee where we got three inches of
rain today!! zone 7, Sunset zone 36
  #15   Report Post  
Old 06-11-2003, 03:22 AM
MLEBLANCA
 
Posts: n/a
Default There HAS to be a twelve step program out there..................

In article , madgardener
writes:

this is a little late in responding Janet, but that's because I never
saw your reply FIRE DANCE??? that sounds awesome. Pictures next
year??? I just hope mine gets thru the winter. I may mulch around it
if we get bitter weather. I'll keep you posted. It's just a little
whipper at the moment g
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler overlooking a foggy
English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee


Hi Maddie
It was not Janet who has Fire Dance, but mle.
Cool name, huh, 'Fire Dance'. I do hope it is somewhat
different from Monraz.
We too had rain, 1 inch Sunday early am. and 6-8 inches of
snow in the mts down to 2000 feet.
Will let you know about Fire Dance.
Emilie
Norcal
Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Gardening Step By Step Guide [email protected] Texas 0 05-05-2008 02:18 PM
Gardening Step By Step Guide [email protected] Edible Gardening 0 05-05-2008 02:17 PM
There HAS to be a twelve step program out Cheryl Isaak Gardening 0 25-10-2003 02:02 PM
step by step bonsai Terence Bell Bonsai 0 10-02-2003 08:25 PM
FA: Decking A Practical Step by Step Guide ripper United Kingdom 0 28-01-2003 09:31 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:55 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 GardenBanter.co.uk.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Gardening"

 

Copyright © 2017