Quad Cities Garden

Rain, Weeds & More Weeds

2009-06-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I love the rain! Any time I don't have to drag the house around is wonderful. As much as my plants love the moisture so do the weeds and it doesn't seem to matter how much I mulch or squeeze the plants together, weeds pop up everywhere.

After I collected the hundredth weed or so to toss in my weed bucket I wondered what it would be like to downsize? Maybe an apartment with a killer window box? It's something we talk about a lot since eventually we would like to move. Do we really want more land? The plant collector shrieks, YES! Acres! But as I'm on my hands and knees, cursing bind weed, I'm not so sure. It might be nice to have a life on the weekend that doesn't involve mulch, compost or manure.

Things Are Pop'N

2009-05-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

Outside things are really looking beautiful.

Indoors, not so much. I think I'm growing the most pathetic tomato plants ever. They stayed in jiffy plugs too long & when they finally got potted up they were half dead. Really. I'm embarrassed so I will spare a pic. I'm hoping they will perk up now that they were potted and given more light. I'll be kicking their little butts outside after the 15th. I hope they make it because I doubt I'll find any of the plants I want by then.

The plant sales are on and I haven't attended one of them yet. Sick with the flu for the last two weeks but I'm hoping maybe by this weekend I'll feel like going to a few local garden sales.

It's great to be back blogging! :)

Shhh! The Garden Sleeps

2008-12-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

If that's at all possible with Beagles running all over it. Yes, it's 7 degrees right now & the beds are blanketed with snow. I've been a bad blogger going months without a post. I had things to say but never took the time to say them, then forgot..Oh, no excuse is good but I am still here, gardening & blogging when I have time.

I had a good gardening season and have started trading & buying seeds for the next. I can't wait to start seeds.

A Little Bug Porn

2008-09-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

We seem to have praying mantis all over the garden this year. When they aren't chowing down on usually a beneficial bug, they're getting kinky with each other. I had always believed that the female praying mantis will eat the male after mating, but I guess that's not always the case.

I did a google and found this.

Although the praying mantis is known for its cannibalistic mating process in actuality it only occurs 5-31% of the time. Especially in laboratory conditions of bright lights and confinement, the female is more likely to eat the male as means of survival. "In nature, mating usually takes place under cover, so rather than leaning over the tank studying their every move, we left them alone and videotaped what happened. We were amazed at what we saw. Out of thirty matings, we didn't record one instance of cannibalism, and instead we saw an elaborate courtship display, with both sexes performing a ritual dance, stroking each other with their antennae before finally mating. It really was a lovely display". (7) There is one species, however, the Mantisreligiosa, in which it is necessary that the head be removed for the mating to take effect properly. (5) Sexual cannibalism occurs most often if the female is hungry. But eating the head does causes the body to ejaculate faster.

I wonder if the Mantisreligiosa males would really care for it to be done "properly" if they knew they were about to be beheaded? Maybe they know and it's just the price that the males pay if they want to lose their virginity?

It was an interesting read & can be found here. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1801

I'm not sure what happened to the skinny, little male. They were mating for hours and when I checked on them again, he was gone, but she looked rather pleased. I looked on the ground below for miscellaneous body parts expecting he was her lunch too. Didn't find anything so perhaps he will be one of those lucky ones to mate again.

A Place For My Trees

2008-08-28T17:08:00.001-07:00

Not a very pretty picture but a very useful space. We tilled a place for my trees. I'll have to rake the roots out, lay fabric & some sort of border before planting my trees. The trees are in pots and were basically sticks when I bought them so they should be ok in pots for awhile.

I'm still hoping that someday I'll have a place to plant them so I haven't given them away yet. I still have large pots of wisteria that I planted from seeds a few years ago. Isn't it sick? What's rather embarrassing is I find myself looking for the white flowering variety when I haven't even planted the purple yet. Since we still plan on moving ((someday)) I'll keep the madness going.

While walking around the garden I happen to run across a bunch of coral bell volunteers. This is the first time I have ever noticed them self seeding like this. I think it might be because I didn't mulch real heavy with wood chips in that particular area. I hate to pull them up so I think I'll let them stay this season and then pot them up in the spring. I'm sure I know someone that will give them a good home.

Growing Bird Food

2008-08-27T07:51:00.001-07:00

I can tell fall will be here soon since the birds have started helping themselves to the seeds. Here is a finch on the purple coneflowers. I haven't had time to read the 400 page booklet for my camera yet so the picture isn't the greatest.

When I first started gardening I spent a lot of time deadheading spent blooms so everything looked real tidy. Then I happen to catch finches all over my coreopsis and started reading up on the flower seeds that birds love to eat. Now everything pretty much looks ratty from late summer to fall. I love watching the birds though.

Here is some purple millet that a few sparrows are feasting on. I guess fresh millet is the way to go since nobody seems to like it in the bird feeder mix. We now only serve black oil sunflower seed which is as pricey as black oil. The prices are soared this year so next year its very likely that we'll be growing more food for the birds.

Tight Squeeze

2008-08-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised that my Clematis heracleifolia attracts so many bees & butterflies because its tight little flowers seem to aggravate the pollinators. Still they are very attracted to it including the hummingbirds but I have yet to get a picture.

Today its ~~raining~~ drizzling, but I'm happy to get any moisture for the garden. At least things are being dusted off.

A Garden Cat

2008-08-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Since we've been at this house we've had garden cat. These cats are wild. Probably dumped by their owners or abused until they run off. They are quiet observers and often go without a name. The current garden cat has been with us 7 years. I guess I call him Sweetie sometimes but its been more of a generic greeting I say to everyone, not a name. The cat won't let anyone within a foot of it, and often ducks for cover like it expects us to throw something. It doesn't trust us, but he follows me around the garden. He probably wonders who I am talking to since I talk to everything in the garden; plants, bees, might as well add a cat to the list.

Unfortunately, through the years our garden cat will disappear and we'll know that it probably victim to one of the busy streets or who knows. Then another cat will appear. We've never had more than one at a time and I always think its funny that one is prepared to fill the position so quickly. I know what you're thinking, there are tons of strays everywhere! We've had strays come & go and its not the same as these quiet souls that visit the garden. They aren't hunting, taking a poo in my flower beds or begging for food. Does it sound stupid that I feel like its a soul that is suppose to be close to me, but takes many forms in different cats? Yep, as I write it, it sounds silly, but that's the way it feels.

In other news, another bed is finished. Looks kind of puney but it should start to fill in nicely next year. Yes, that's a stump I threw in there. I want to do something artsy with it. My MIL asked me if I expected it to grow. Towards the left (tied to a post) is my mini ginkgo that has been sickly since planting it this spring. He did much better in the house. I'm hoping the new location will be more to his liking.

Ground is Dry

2008-08-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to move a couple hostas and I was surprise how hard the soil was around their rootball. Like a hard rock. Then after looking at the corner bed I noticed that the ground is real dry & cracking. So this morning I lugged the hose around to water my shade plants that really don't care to be so dry. Of course this means that since I spent an hour wresting with that hose it will rain this afternoon.

My dwarf delphinium that I started from seed this spring is blooming. Such a nice array of blues. I really like this one and its so short that it can be towards the front of the bed. Hope it overwinters.

Kids!

2008-08-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

I know there are good kids out there. I have heard stories so I think they exist but yesterday we were visited by three little monsters ages 10, 8 & 3.

It was late when dh came home, almost dark but he was able to make out three little bodies dancing about my hosta garden. So after he grabs our mail & his cell phone from the car, he walks back to ask them why they are in our yard. They lost a puppy they say but they continue to climb the fence & jump all over our landscaped beds. You need to leave, he says.

So he opens the gate of our fence and helps the little one down the slope and the other two follow. "Thanks Sir", the little monsters say repeatedly as the scamper down the street. Dh turns around to see that his cell phone is gone. He had put it down with our mail when he unlatched the gate for the kids. He turned his back for only a few seconds when he had helped the youngest through the gate. Had they taken it?!?

He bolts after them and demands, who took my phone. All of them deny it over & over. Dh told them to check their pockets and the 8 year old boy pulls out the phone. He says, "Oh look. I guess it is in here."

Later I noticed a few things missing so I wish he would have demanded they check their pockets a little harder. I have small collections of rocks, crystals and insulators that I have clustered around the yard. I think some of them are missing but maybe they just relocated them. I expect those kids will be back though. Meanwhile there is one more lock on our gate to make sure the puppy area isn't opened. I wouldn't want to lose my dogs. :(

Still Working On The Patio

2008-08-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

The patio is really coming together. We've started backfilling around the patio with a new flower bed. Well, actually it will be more of a rock bed with a few plants. The dogs don't leave many plants alone, but we'll try to find something to add.

Then my Aunt had a nice idea of adding window boxes to either side of the gate which really helped add a lttle charm to the fence. Also they are high enough that the dogs can't dig in them-always a plus. I have a few planters that I would like to add to the patio but I'm having trouble finding annuals this late in the season. Next year it will be full of color. It was alot of work but I really love it.

Some Bloomers & Pups

2008-07-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Summer is going by way too quickly. I'm trying to enjoy all the blooms and the playful pups because soon the blooms will be gone and the pups will become couch potatoes for the winter.

Daylilies have really been putting on a show. I've added a few here.

Got Power!

2008-07-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

94 mph winds played havoc on our garden Monday. We were without power for a couple days but luckily nobody was hurt, unless you consider Cliff when I handed him a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for dinner. My plants however are squashed from downed trees and limbs. Hopefully the plants will perk up now that we've hauled out all the limbs.

Other news - Ate my first red tomato today. Yummy!!! Sorry no pics as I was too in a hurry to taste it.

Squirrels

2008-07-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

This winter it seemed our area hawks were going to wipe out the neighborhood squirrels, but apparently the hawks moved on after nesting because we've been experiencing an population explosion of squirrels. I know there are many gardeners that hate these little tree rats but I find them rather comical & entertaining at times. Not so much when they ate all my lily bulbs but I do enjoy watching them at the feeders. Yes, we actually have platform feeders for the squirrels and squirrel houses. I've coaxed several to approach me when I walk back to the feeders, which is really exciting when I actually have something to give them, but darn right scary when I am empty handed & wearing flip flops. I really need a video camera.

Anyway, here is one of my little squirrels. Now picture about 20 running around your exposed toes.

Will To Live

2008-07-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

This daylily I got from Wild. I don't know the name but I think it was one of their bonus plants. Anyway it was kind of a small division when it first came but I planted in the back part of my yard hoping that it would make it. Well, something got a hold of it and dug it up. I found a piece of it many days later when I was mowing. No leaf on it but a root the size of the tip of my pinky. I was going to toss it but decided to plant it. I walked around my flower bed and removed a small rock so I could have a bit of ground to plant it in. Yeah, my garden is that stuffed. Then I stuck a little cage around it so I could keep tabs on it. Well, that summer two little leaves emerged but no blooms of course. 2nd & 3rd year, still no blooms but the leaves were growing well. This year I have blooms!!

I think this plants will to survive is amazing. I wish the hybrid coneflowers were just as good. Personally I think they are bred with issues and are very suicidal.

Hostas Love The Rain

2008-06-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

The last two summers I've been dragging the hose around to water all my shade plants so all the recent rain has been great in that aspect. Of course we haven't had to deal with all the horrible flooding. Hostas seem to florish with all the rain.

I have added a couple more to my garden.

Hosta 'Green Eyes'
Hosta 'Imp'
Hosta 'Chartreuse Wiggles'
Hosta 'Limey Lisa'
Hosta 'Marilyn Monroe'
Hosta 'Rock Island Line'
Hosta 'Little Sunspot'

Rose 'Hot Cocoa'

2008-06-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Two years ago we bought a Rose called 'Hot Cocoa' to put on our pups grave. It's blooming now & I am so happy that we went with this color.

Rose 'Hot Cocoa'

The garden is wild with weeds & bugs. All the wet weather has really jump started the germination process of weeds from years past. It's such a mess.

Steamy Day

2008-06-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

It's very humid & hot today. The plants don't seem to mind but the dogs have decided that being indoors, in front of a fan sounds good for the rest of the summer. So much for them being an outdoorsy sport breed.

Except for the humidity, the conditions are great for pulling weeds because the ground is still soaked from all the rains we've been getting. I've been pulling millions of maple seedlings since the spinners covered my beds. I think its kind of interesting that some little culprit (earthworms maybe?) grab the spinners and suck them down into the earth in bunches.

I have so much to do in the garden but I think today I'll get some computer work done.

Dry Creek Bed

2008-05-30T18:40:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of the dry creek bed that wraps around the patio. Why this is called a dry creek bed and not a rock garden? I dunno it was the plan I worked with but at any rate it's starting to fill in. Since we've gotten so much rain though it also started to fill in with a lot of little weeds. I think I should have laid some fabric down before laying the rocks because its a real pain in the butt to weed among rocks. I still have space among the rocks so I'll have to find some new treasures to include.

Linda's Peony

2008-05-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

After three years what is left of Linda's peony has decided to bloom for the first time. She sent me such a large division but it wasn't happy in the location I planted it and soon I only had a bit of the root left. I was thrilled to see it sprout a leaf last year after I replanted it. This year it has bloomed even after being knocked down by a groundhog. Now I have a cage around it....the peony.

Holiday Weekend Rush

2008-05-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

I had a big to-do list but didn't get as much done as I would have liked because of the weather. I'm not about to gripe about rain though. The dogs pen is really coming together or maybe apart is a better phrasing. The only thing we have left to do is lay the turf. Right now it is a large compacted mud pitt.

The other area is stuffed full of all the plants I had to move from the plant eating girls.

Things are really popping with color.

Ornamental Grasses

2008-04-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

My shipment of ornamental grasses arrived packaged very well and looked great, but then Haley managed to run off with one. It was badly chewed, all dirt shaken from its roots but I planted it anyway. She's such a little monster.

The List of Ornamental Grasses

Acorus gramineus Variegatus
Calamagrostis acutiflora Avalanche
Calamagrostis acutiflora Overdam
Carex elata Bowles Golden
Carex morrowii Ice Dance
Carex oshimensis Evergold
Deschampsia cespitosa
Miscanthus sinensis Bluetenwunder
Miscanthus sinensis Gracillimus
Miscanthus sinensis Kaskade
Miscanthus sinensis Little Kitten
Miscanthus sinensis Little Zebra
Miscanthus sinensis Malepartus
Miscanthus sinensis Morning Light
Miscanthus sinensis Mysterious Maiden
Miscanthus sinensis Nippon
Miscanthus sinensis Puenktchen Little Dot
Miscanthus sinensis Purpurascens Autumn Red
Miscanthus sinensis Rigoletto
Miscanthus sinensis Sarabande
Miscanthus sinensis Silberfeder
Miscanthus sinensis Strictus
Miscanthus sinensis Super Stripe
Miscanthus sinensis Variegatus
Miscanthus sinensis Zebrinus
Panicum virgatum Shenandoah
Phlox paniculata David

Of course the Phlox isn't a grass but we lost our phlox a few years ago and that particular one has an amazing aroma, so I bought a replacement.

It looks like a pricey purchase but I actually bought these last fall during their year end sale when all the grasses were so discounted it came out to only a couple bucks per grass. I opted for the spring delivery because at the time I was too busy with other stuff. I feel like a stinker because of that option I got their spring inventory at the fall price. Very happy with the roots on these wonderful plants.

My garden is now full of ornamental grasses!!

On another note: Yesterday I finished spray painting the layout for the new walk way. For days Cliff has been saying, "This is BS. Blah, Blah It won't look good." After he could visually see what has been in my head he admitted that it looked pretty cool. At this point I'm really surprised he still doubts that I know what I'm doing. tee hee hee I guess I can't fool him, but it is turning out rather well. :)

Related Links

University of Illinois Extension - Ornamental Grasses - Understanding Ornamental Grasses, How to Plant, Care and Maintenance, and Types of Ornamental Grasses.

Some Bloomers

2008-04-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's overcast and 53 degrees right now, which is probably as good as it's going to get today. I started moving rocks around to the new beds but I got sidetracked by a few bloomers. So instead of working on the new beds, I took some pictures. I don't know if we'll see a frost so better shoot the flowers before they are mush, since the lows have been in the 30's.

Large tulips that we bought from Brecks 9 years ago.

A miniature thrift that is in my miniature conifer garden.

Here is one of my favorite bleeding hearts with yellow foliage.

Rock Island Horticulture Club

2008-04-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

or perhaps I should say Rock Island Horrorticulture Club? One of the many things I have learned about gardeners is just because you love gardening doesn't mean you're necessarily a wildlife lover, nor does it mean you're exempt from moronic behavior. This morning I was excited to attend the Rock Island Horticulture Club spring sale but soon I was an unwilling audience member to barbaric and inappropriate behavior. A bucket containing two mice was dumped onto the entrance and a dog was gleefully allowed to playfully, slaughter the animals.

Now I understand that mice cause havoc in a greenhouse but the disposal was so inappropriate!! News flash - torturing and killing small animals at the only entrance/exit isn't usually good for business. The lady in front of me had to look away in disgust & she made a comment about the poor mice. I can honestly say that the Rock Island Horticulture Club has lost at least two long standing customers.

Satan's Kiss & Wet Dog Smell

2008-04-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

I started a bunch of peppers this year, but I forgot to write down a row so now I'm not sure what was written down correctly and which line was skipped. I'm sure it was the pepper, Satan's Kiss, that wasn't included ( i think) so I'll end up planting them all. Maybe once they start bearing fruit I'll be able to tell what is what by a pepper line up.

The one year I grow enough pepper plants to share and I don't have a clue what I am offering. Ughh

It's raining here and temps are starting to cool down. The dogs weren't in a hurry to come in so they are now drenched and the kitchen has muddy paw prints stamped across it. The smell of wet dogs should be bottled and used as an interrogation technique.