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#1
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What to do.... *grin*
Anyone else sitting with catalogs and stuff surrounding them in the
evenings plotting out what they're going to do this spring? *grin* I just placed my order for seeds over the weekend with Seeds of Change. Now I have to figure out what I'm digging up in order to put more/different plants/roses in. (My excuse - the previous owner of our house put them in so they're "fair game".) The s.o. just looks at the catalogues with their post it note markers and notations and walks away shaking his head. I keep reminding him, more plants = less grass to mow. In addition, I just put in 10 blueberry bushes last week and am debating about whether I want a dwarf fig and if I do, do I want it to be a container plant or should I dig up the bradford pear and replace it with the dwarf fig? Anyone have any experience with dwarf figs in the the Triangle? *grin* Susan s h simko at duke dot edu |
#2
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What to do.... *grin*
.... i'm poring through seed catalogs, too, and just ordered stuff from park
seed and burpee; i'll send my mellinger order in soon. i'm starting with a blank slate -- (new house w/scrub grass). my challenge is to set up lush, full gardens in the front and back at minimal cost! out with the "lawn"! who needs grass when you can have flowers! pat |
#3
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What to do.... *grin*
"Susan H. Simko" wrote in message ...
Anyone else sitting with catalogs and stuff surrounding them in the evenings plotting out what they're going to do this spring? *grin* I just placed my order for seeds over the weekend with Seeds of Change. Now I have to figure out what I'm digging up in order to put more/different plants/roses in. (My excuse - the previous owner of our house put them in so they're "fair game".) The s.o. just looks at the catalogues with their post it note markers and notations and walks away shaking his head. I keep reminding him, more plants = less grass to mow. In addition, I just put in 10 blueberry bushes last week and am debating about whether I want a dwarf fig and if I do, do I want it to be a container plant or should I dig up the bradford pear and replace it with the dwarf fig? Anyone have any experience with dwarf figs in the the Triangle? *grin* Susan s h simko at duke dot edu Hello, Susan- Please use a kind eye when considering that 'the previous owner of our house put them in so they're "fair game"'. Sometimes, previous owners did the right thing and wonderful garden suprizes might appear. Regardless, the odd tree or bush was probably carefully planted and lovingly tended by the previous owners. Unless, of course, it was a Bradford Pear and then you can hire someone to come pull it up by the roots. Cheers |
#4
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What to do.... *grin*
Oh yes indeed - garden catalogs are such fun! Just placed orders from Park
Seed and Johnny's. Can't wait for spring! We're starting with a new construction yard (aka red clay heaven) so have a long ways to go, but at least there's nothing to rip up. :-) We have no grass at all and don't want it. House is in the woods, so mulch is our "grass". We're also trying to do deer-resistant plantings, which limits the selection but makes it challenging and fun to find good things to plant. So far have had success with hellebores, ferns, foxglove, garden verbena, alchemilla, iris, and lamium. The deer have munched morning glories and Japanese maples. I keep the impatiens (which I know they love) safely on the front portico, which is up a flight of stairs. I'm buying seeds for mixed yarrow, tall white ageratum, and chives to add to the mix this year, and I am sure I'll be taken in by some additional plants when I go to my favorite nursery, Reba and Roses (in Hillsborough) this spring. Have fun! Emily "Susan H. Simko" wrote in message ... Anyone else sitting with catalogs and stuff surrounding them in the evenings plotting out what they're going to do this spring? *grin* I just placed my order for seeds over the weekend with Seeds of Change. Now I have to figure out what I'm digging up in order to put more/different plants/roses in. (My excuse - the previous owner of our house put them in so they're "fair game".) The s.o. just looks at the catalogues with their post it note markers and notations and walks away shaking his head. I keep reminding him, more plants = less grass to mow. In addition, I just put in 10 blueberry bushes last week and am debating about whether I want a dwarf fig and if I do, do I want it to be a container plant or should I dig up the bradford pear and replace it with the dwarf fig? Anyone have any experience with dwarf figs in the the Triangle? *grin* Susan s h simko at duke dot edu |
#5
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What to do.... *grin*
The deer have munched morning glories and Japanese maples.
omigod! don't they realize how expensive japanese maples are?! pat |
#6
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What to do.... *grin*
"Patskywriter" wrote in message ... The deer have munched morning glories and Japanese maples. omigod! don't they realize how expensive japanese maples are?! pat Heheh...fortunately mine were free ("volunteers" from a large tree of a friend's), and they are not decimated, but the deer do take off all the new little sprouting branches and keep them very well pruned. Funny thing is, my "Deer Proofing Your Yard and Garden" book (by Rhonda M. Hart and very good), calls Japanese maples and Morning Glories deer-resistant. Tell that to my local neighborhood deer! ;-) Emily |
#7
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What to do.... *grin*
omigod! don't they realize how expensive japanese maples are?!
come to think of it, i remember reading somewhere that if you hang bars of soap among the branches the deer will go elsewhere ... ? does that work or is that just a "wives' tale" ? pat |
#8
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What to do.... *grin*
mgeost wrote:
Please use a kind eye when considering that 'the previous owner of our house put them in so they're "fair game"'. Sometimes, previous owners did the right thing and wonderful garden suprizes might appear. Regardless, the odd tree or bush was probably carefully planted and lovingly tended by the previous owners. I've lived with the plants I'm taking out for a year and a half now, carefully observing the beds at all different times to see what's what. I'm of a different mind when it comes to landscaping - if I don't like it, I really don't have to live with it as tastes do vary. Just like we painted the inside of our house to suit our tastes, I'm now crafting the outside to better suit them also. OTOH, I will also admit that I've left most of what was done by the previous owners alone and simply expanded upon it. For the most part, I tend to relocate things when I dig them up as I don't believe in wantonly killing plants. Well, maybe except for the mums I have my eye on now. (I really don't like mums that much.) Besides, the spots are simply perfect for roses (one spot is right outside one of our living room windows - imagine the fragance with the window open!) and I *love* roses. The other upside is that the beds will get more care as I tend to not give them the attention that I give the other beds that are more to my taste. Unless, of course, it was a Bradford Pear and then you can hire someone to come pull it up by the roots. Actually, the bradford pear may last another year. It does have one advantage - the birds love the little fruits on it during the winter. Anything that encourages birds into the yard can't be all bad. (We have seven feeders in the yard with five different kinds of food.) *grin* Besides, it's been pruned to reduce the deep Vs and is well away from the house so any limb that does go will not hit the house. *grin* Susan s h simko at duke dot edu |
#9
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What to do.... *grin*
"Susan H. Simko" wrote:
Anyone else sitting with catalogs and stuff surrounding them in the evenings plotting out what they're going to do this spring? *grin* Aaaaah, my favorite time of year--the dreaming season. For ten years now I've been working on my five acres. I started with four acres of trees, a few siberian irises and azaleas and now have eleven flower beds and a 50 x 60' vegetable garden and about three and a half acres of trees (much thinned after the ice storm, of course). Even though I don't particularly like them, I admit that I plant mums because they are excellent cut flowers for the office and my daddy always taught me to share the garden bounty. I only pull up the poison ivy (I'm finally winning!), baby sweetgums and the ever present honeysuckle. Each year I faithfully divide and transplant and now have more than just "garden bones" with the last of the hardscape going in (paths through the woods and a new bridge crossing the stream). Each year our office has a massive plant exchange on Earth Day and so I get new things for only a trade-in of what I have an abundance of myself. Thus gardening is fairly inexpensive when I can resist the seed catalogs and nurseries. I've also found out that this group is very giving and people here love to share what they have. I share my hostas with the deer that frequent our neighborhood and they have left my two new Japanese maples alone. Though my pet ducks did a number on my newly started ivy cuttings and a some pansies, while the goats decided that my three rosebushes were quite delicious when I let them out while I fixed their gate last weekend. My ponies continue to contribute an excellent amount of free compost material and there is plenty to share if people would like some. My four birdfeeders need filling nearly every day now with so many winter visitors. I spied a couple of brown-headed nuthatches shyly picking up seeds. I've always had bluebirds that stay year-round, but this year they discovered the woodpecker mix in my squirrel-proof feeder and make quite a show of eating in the mid-morning sun (available at Family Home and Garden and worth every penny!). I originally bought the mix for the woodpeckers, and now have flickers, downy, piliated, red-headed and yellow-bellied ones that feast each day. Of course the huge flock of bluebirds are spoiled with the meal worms I put in four places when I feed my domestic critters every morning. For those of you that don't know about it, Fitch's Lumber in Carborro sells bluebird boxes for $5 at this time of year and I encourage all of you to get some if you haven't. I have bluebirds that take turns with my six houses with the chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and Carolina wren's--which help with garden insect cleanup each year. I noticed that my daffodils are sprouting, so it is time to rake off the leaves and put down fresh mulch and find some spare time to plant those last couple of bags of bulbs I couldn't resists buying on sale. sigh A gardener's work is never done! Bye for now, Judi |
#10
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What to do.... *grin*
On Wed, 15 Jan 2003 12:36:30 -0500, "J. Fleming"
wrote: For those of you that don't know about it, Fitch's Lumber in Carborro sells bluebird boxes for $5 at this time of year and I encourage all of you to get some if you haven't. I have bluebirds that take turns with my six houses with the chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and Carolina wren's--which help with garden insect cleanup each year. Thanks for the tip. I have been meaning to get some. I saw a pair of bluebirds last week checking out the one bluebird house I have, but the flying squirrels seem to be permanent residents. (I would like to clean it out, and secure it better to the tree, but those little shiney eyes peer at me every time I open it up to check if it is empty.) Kira |
#11
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What to do.... *grin*
Kira Dirlik wrote:
Thanks for the tip. I have been meaning to get some. I saw a pair of bluebirds last week checking out the one bluebird house I have, but the flying squirrels seem to be permanent residents. (I would like to clean it out, and secure it better to the tree, but those little shiney eyes peer at me every time I open it up to check if it is empty.) I don't think I would evict the flying squirrels. I think they're more uncommon than bluebirds in the area. I know I've only ever seen one in the fifteen years I have lived here and it was dead. I had to get out my mammal field guide to identify it! FYI, everything I have read recommends that you don't put bluebird houses up too close to one another. I've got two currently in the backyard, about thirty feet apart. Both of them are housing multiple bluebirds right now as they tend to get together (or so I understand) for warmth. I'm planning on asking my neighbors in the next few weeks if I can put up houses on the trees in their backyard so we can have a true bluebird "string". Amongst our feeder in the backyard, we have a bluebird feeder station with bluebird treats in it, suet baskets and black sunflower seed feeder that I see the bluebirds hitting heavily. They also seem to like home made bread scarps and home made pancakes. *grin* There's usually four or five in the backyard at any time and I love watching them. I'm really kind of surprised as we live in a development (though on the edge across the street from some major woods that house a pair of owls) and only have a small lot. Susan s h simko at duke dot edu |
#12
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What to do.... *grin*
"Susan H. Simko" wrote: I don't think I would evict the flying squirrels. I think they're more uncommon than bluebirds in the area. I know I've only ever seen one in the fifteen years I have lived here and it was dead. I had to get out my mammal field guide to identify it! How sad! I too would leave the box for the squirrels. When I first moved to my current house some ten years ago, I heard strange noises at the bird feeders at night. So night after night I patiently waited at my bay window with flashlight ready. Raccons and possums and an occasional fox, but many nights without the noise. After much patience, I was rewarded with the sight of a family of flying squirrels leaping from tree to birdfeeders and back again. With a mated pair of barred owls and a resident pair of red-tailed hawks on my property, I was afraid they were gone for good (like the one and only fox squirrel that took to sunning on the slates). Then no sightings of them for years. But the last couple of evenings there have been some very squirrel-like rompings across the roof after dark and before dawn. I'm hoping they are back again! FYI, everything I have read recommends that you don't put bluebird houses up too close to one another. I've got two currently in the backyard, about thirty feet apart. Both of them are housing multiple bluebirds right now as they tend to get together (or so I understand) for warmth. I'm planning on asking my neighbors in the next few weeks if I can put up houses on the trees in their backyard so we can have a true bluebird "string". Yes, yes! They do huddle together for warmth in the boxes. And the the bluebird trail is a wonderful idea! My neighbors sometimes think I'm strange when I show up with a bluebird box for free and encourage them to put it up. I'm only half-way up the 1/2 mile cul-de-sac, but progress is being made. An important point on placing the boxes: 30 - 50' apart is right if they are all out in the open and placed 4-6' above the ground level. If they are at wood's edge or in the woods, please only expect nuthatches, chickadees, Carolina wrens and titmice. Although last year I did have a pair of bluebirds nest in the box that I put up for the Carolina wren that insists on nesting inside of my garden shed (until I screened her out). This particular box is placed under the eaves--where I have the hay for my ponies and next to the dog run under trees. I can't figure why it was so appealing to them, especially when I walk past and get things there a minimum of twice a day. The wren was sure glad when they fledged their group and could move in for their traditional two broods. And back to more gardening conversation... Does anyone else have daffodils poking up four or five inches like I do? This weather sure is going to confuse some of my plants! Oh, and one more thing that is just a charming description. A friend of mine said that when she was little, her younger sister picked up a feather from the ground as they were walking in a park and explaimed "Oh! What a pretty bird leaf!" Their whole family still call feathers "bird leaves." Only kids come up with something like that. Judi |
#13
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What to do.... *grin*
On Tue, 21 Jan 2003 10:55:42 -0500, "Susan H. Simko"
wrote: Kira Dirlik wrote: Thanks for the tip. I have been meaning to get some. I saw a pair of bluebirds last week checking out the one bluebird house I have, but the flying squirrels seem to be permanent residents. (I would like to clean it out, and secure it better to the tree, but those little shiney eyes peer at me every time I open it up to check if it is empty.) I don't think I would evict the flying squirrels. I think they're more uncommon than bluebirds in the area. Oh, I have no intention of evicting the squirrel. It has used the house for 3 years now, but I'm afraid the box will fall down if I can't secure it better. Anyway, that is why I was saying I need to get more boxes... so the bluebirds can also have some to use. I did see one more flying squirrel other than my resident... while walking my dog in the woods at night... he was scuffling around all frantic. I shined my flashlight and this tiny little beastie scurried up a vine and away to safety. They are nocturnal, so a lot may be around but you never see them. Kira |
#14
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What to do.... *grin*
Crazy weather and daffodils !!! We've got daffodils popping up all
over. I think this is the third year they've come up too early and get their little heads nipped off by the cold. Any suggestions on how to keep them from doing this? Are the bulbs planted to shallow maybe? On the subject of flying squirrels and bluebird boxes...make sure your blue bird boxes are on poles that are protected from critters... the flying squirrel is mighty cute but they love to make a tasty meal out of bluebird eggs and little bluebirds too. It's a cruel world out there. Not to mention the black snakes and racoons that lust for baby blue birds in the springtime... |
#15
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What to do.... *grin*
i put about an inch of mulchsoil on top of the daffodils and haven't seen
them since. I'll let you know how they do this year. every year they have come up in February and this year i thought i would bury them a little deeper so i put an inch or two of soil cause i didn't want to dig op hundreds of daffy's "ncstockguy" wrote in message m... Crazy weather and daffodils !!! We've got daffodils popping up all over. I think this is the third year they've come up too early and get their little heads nipped off by the cold. Any suggestions on how to keep them from doing this? Are the bulbs planted to shallow maybe? On the subject of flying squirrels and bluebird boxes...make sure your blue bird boxes are on poles that are protected from critters... the flying squirrel is mighty cute but they love to make a tasty meal out of bluebird eggs and little bluebirds too. It's a cruel world out there. Not to mention the black snakes and racoons that lust for baby blue birds in the springtime... |
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