I live in Rumford and work in Bethel. This is only my second year gardening. I mostly stick to veggies but I'm trying some flowers this year since we just bought a new house and there is zero landscaping. I have 2 horses so I have a steady supply of manure for the garden. All my new neighbors dump all their lawn clippings over the banking at the corner of my lot so I will give composting a serious try.

Annpat, I haven't been to a contra dance in a long, long time since I moved from the Hudson Valley in NY north to the mountains. I'm in West Paris now. Mechanic Falls isn't far from here. Are there regularly scheduled dances there that are ok for beginners (or clumsey old second-time beginners?)

On the garden front, the garlic is up. So is the horseradish. The crocuses and daffidils I planted at the front corners of the garden are doing far better than I hoped. The thyme I planted last summer overwintered, something that never happened in the bitter Adirondack winters. The lupine I brought here as seed from my old garden back "home" in the Adirondacks is in it's second year and I'm looking forward to seeing their blooms again.

My small flock of chickens are laying up a storm and a couple of weeks ago, I started a small herd of meat rabbits with 4 New Zealand White bunnies. They will start breeding in August but until then, they're proving to be pretty efficient pooping machines and are already feeding the garden.

That's the report from the homefront!

Wayne

Ann is that you, from the old soil/compost/mulch forum? Yes it has been inactive here unfortunately.

I am in Saco and just finished pruning about 60 roses, that has become my new addiction the past few years. Yes I have a japanese beetle fest in my yard each summer. I sitll grow lots of perennials and vegetables, and collect leaves and pine needles as a secondary hobby.

I live in Vinalhaven and also frequent the winter sowing and greenhouse forums. I have a new 8X10 GH off my kitchen that I am loving. I also have 60+ milk jugs next to it which are busily sprouting now with delphinium, candytuft, lupine, lavatera,and other lovely things. In my garden, which can be as much as a week behind Rockland, my hyacinths are just coming out, forsythia are just beginning to show color. My delphiniums all survived the winter as did my butterfly bushes. I often only get a year from my buddleia. The winters that we get a lot of snow cover seem to protect them more. Unfortunately I just found the first lily beetles that I've seen here. The lilies are up only about and inch or two, but are already being munched. Since I garden organically as much as possible, I squished them and put down some DE. I hope by treating them early it will help. I love my lilies and would hate to have to stop growing them. I've planted my cole crop, peas, spinach, carrots, beets and lettuce in the veg. garden. Tomorrow will be sweet peas and transplanting two Kousa dogwoods.

Hi there. Anyone know of a plant exchange in southern maine? I started too many seedlings for my small space, also have a few things to get rid of from the previous homeowner. For instance, 3 hydrangeas that never bloomed last year- thinking they're in the wrong location (complete and total shade) but no where else to move them. Hate to just...euthanize the poor things! About me: new to the site and to gardening. I'm a first time homeowner and embarking on the journey of sprucing up the yard. Previous owner made a good start, but a little boring for my taste - your standard design of little plants spaced evenly along the foundation. I wanted more dimension so I dug the beds out a couple feet, added some curves, and moved some of the interesting plants forward, now working on filling in the back space. It's been exciting learning about plants and gardening for the first time, especially the shade plants. I never realized how many shade tolerant perennials were available. Hopefully I can manage to keep everything alive! My husband is in charge of coaxing some life into the dirt patch we jokingly call a lawn...

Oh whoops! I thought no one was going to talk to me, so I went away. Veilchen!! Yes, it's me! (I've taken up exclamation points since last we spoke.) I'm surprised to hear of your rose addiction.

I think of you every time I go skating on the lake. I always remember your story about the dog. I think that cautionary story saved Ellen. Do you remember Miss Ellie (from here)? You might remember that I hosted 7 Garden Web women here five years back---I tried to get you to come---well, we've gotten together every year since and one of the Garden Webbers from N.J. bought a camp on my road.

Adirondack, I know you (from here, of course). There are a lot of contra dances around Maine, evidently. I wonder if you know Hayseedman (from Garden Web)? He's the fellow we all go dancing with. I'm pitiful at it and the people are very kind. It appears to me that the people travel to all the contra dances. I've been to them with Hay and a Garden Webber from north of Quebec and the faces are often the same. The next time we go to one, I'll get your attention beforehand. The one I went to in Mechanic Falls was a little different---really a bar that had dancing. It was called the Silver Spur. I'm not sure that you'd enjoy it.

indy, I went to Gould Academy very briefly as a teenager. I have a good friend in Bethel.

martha, I'm stunned that you have J. beetles this early. I always assumed my early damage was from slugs. I just planted grapes recently and when I remembered how ravaged my grapes get in Brunswick, I regretted it.

newmainegardener, I don't know of any swaps. I know that my Garden Webbers in Maryland are having theirs soon. I'm in the same boat. I have about 75 marigolds that I'm trying to keep alive and a ridiculous amount of heliotrope, since I'm not that crazy about it.

Nice to hear from everyone.

No, not japanese beetles, red lily beetles. I guess I assumed that the damage is from the lily beetles. I have a terrible slug problem, but they have never (yet) touched my lilies. The damage is holes in the tender leaves of the shoot. The shoots of this particular one are about 4-5" high.
Any of you going to the Fedco sale next weekend?
Martha

Sorry, I meant red lily beetles. I don't usually see red lily beetles until the lilies are quite tall. veilchen would know.

Fedco sale? Where is Fedco?

The Fedco warehouse is in Clinton, north of Waterville. Their pre-order pick-up was this weekend. The public sale is the 8th and 9th.

Hi Ann!! (two exclamation points!) Yes veilchen knows beetles, both of the red lily and the japanese. Martha, I have found that if you can keep up on eradicating the red lily beetle this early in the season, it really does reduce the amount of beetles you have later in the season, when it seems nearly impossible to get rid of them.

Wow Ann, look at all that I've missed out on since I didn't go on the GW adventure to your camp that year. If you ever have room for one more in your get-togethers, let me know. Our dog Sophie is well-healed from the skating accident and is 9 years old now.

I have been fighting the red lily beetle for too many years now but I refuse to give up lilies. I not only squish but I wrap my hand around the base of the stem and drag my hand upwards trying to be gentle but firm on the leaves. If there is any red eggs or stripes, I take a further look for these. If you can deal with these (and I used to hate touching bugs but I love my lilies), you will greatly reduce the adult population and will have minimal leaf damage as it is the eggs and larva that cause the leaf damage.
The eggs and larva can also be suffocated using a horticultural oil which is organic but then the leaves are sticky.
I have almost eliminated the japanese beetles using milky spore, it is costly but well worth it.
newmainegardener, I would be happy to take one of your hydrangeas off your hands, I also think that if you post on freecycle or contact your local boy or girl scouts, they may use them for a fundraiser.

veilchen!!! I'm taking a break from hosting it this summer, but it will be back on next summer and you can consider yourself invited. It's always the last full moon in July. I'll remind you, though.

Martha, you've got me kind of interested in the Fedco sale. I may go on my way back here from Brunswick. It would most likely be on Fri. Every time I pass someone, I'll say "Garden Web" under my breath and see if they turn their head. If they do, I'll say, "Martha, is that you?"

Hi, I've lurked on this site for years, but have never joined in the conversation. I live in Windham, and had my first real vegetable garden last year. I also grow perennials. I'd love to see the Maine forum used more, and be able to connect with fellow gardeners. I know they're out there!! It's nice to have someone who shares the passion.

I think we need to make an effort to make it interesting. Toward that end, you need to start posting more, cindyrose. ~
I'll try harder, too.

I'm another frequent lurker and infrequent poster. I would love to see this forum become more active too! I'm in Richmond (about 20 miles south of Augusta). I moved to my current place three years ago and have a vegetable garden and many (expanding) perennial/shrub gardens. I have bought trees, shrubs, bulbs and seeds from Fedco and have been quite pleased with everything. Do go to the sale if you have the chance, they have a nice selection of healthy trees and shrubs (mostly bare root), a small greenhouse with herb and vegetable seedlings, seed potatoes, and all kinds of growing supplies. I really enjoy the annual trip to their sale, it's a no frills warehouse atmosphere.

Martha, I went to the Fedco sale yesterday and didn't have the nerve to say "Garden Web" to people I passed. Were you there? I was a little disappointed to find a lot of trees gone and the ones that were left were too small for me to enjoy in my lifetime. I only bought two Astilbes and one orange day lily. I walked from my car near a woman I thought might be you. Was it you? I have shoulder-length, very curly hair---the color of blond dishwater---and I was wearing an orange sweater. Did you see me? :^]

I didn't make it to the Fedco sale, so my mother in law offered to go in my place, since she lives in Central Maine. She bought me a dwarf honeycrisp, and a wolfriver apple tree. Also, 5 blueberry bushes, 3 different types. I am so excited! I planted the apples trees this morning, and will plant the blueberry bushes tomorrow. She said it was wild; I really wish I'd asked for the day off. Maybe next year.........

Hi, I'm in Belfast. I am a long-time, avid, yet sloppy gardener. I've been lurking on the compost forum, with a sprinkling of postings here.

I am trying to reform. I made my dh mow the law Saturday, while I made holes in the ground with the electric trimmer. I'm trying to mulch all my veg garden rows. Looks pretty neat now, especially the sliced-up carpet! I am afraid of harebells, and have let them take over my front garden. That garden in a neater time is on page 66, top, of Gardens Maine Style Act II, by Rebecca Sawyer-Fay and Lynn Karlin. A lovely book.

Garden report: new rose is dead, as usual, Madame Hardy is the only rose survivor. I'm still sad over Henri Martin, my moss rose, who lived just 5 years. Chard,peas, spinach, cilantro, mesclun, sunflowers are up. Three tomatoes are in the ground, protected, as an experiment. Lots of tomatoes in pots inside, clawing at the air. rain' to go. Active compost 88º. Wish list: more sun, more land, greenhouse, roses! Vielchen, you are an inspiration!

Thanks Annpat for bringing this up!! It would be lovely to meet some more gardeners, share some knowledge. Our garden season is so brief, and my summers are sooo busy!

New to this forum and have been lurking with little to read, so am glad to see some activity! Hubby & I are gardening novices, but motivated. Bought a house 1 1/2 years ago with a weed & grass-filled yard that's basically a blank canvas. Did the bare basics last year, including raised veggie beds. Not a spring-flowering bulb on the property, so planted a bazillion last fall. Now branching out into larger areas this year, but economics dictate a baby steps approach - watching for plant sales, divisions from friends, infant perennials, etc. Slowly but surely! And we have moles...sigh.

Hello Maine Gardeners!

Nice to have this forum. I usually follow the New England forum.
NewMaineGardener, I also have been asking if there are any plant swaps in southern Maine, I'm in the Kennebunks.
There is a Plant swap near Manchester NH on sunday June 7, 2009. You can find it on the New England Forum, under NH plant swap. A women named Annie has hosted them for eight years. Has anyone ever gone to it that is on this Maine forum?
There is another one in Billerica, Masachusetts, saturday June 6, 2009 But other than that I don't know of any. I wish we could have one here in Maine!

I have been trying to do private swaps. The only problem is I only know two other people who garden in this area!

If anyone knows or hears of a plant swap, please share. If there is enough interest maybe we can get a plant swap going here in Maine?

Blake

Hi Fellow Mainers!

I'm sandwiched right between Veilchen & Cindyroseob. I'm giving up on roses because of the JBs. =( The roses that are doing well can stay. But anything doing poorly will be SP'd and replaced with hydrangea. I'm done fighting them. Last year they were here from June-October. That's just sick.

Loving walking around O'Donals this spring. There's a ladies' night coming up (I think 6/10?). I'm thinking of going. It's my fave garden center.

Hope we can get this board moving.

I'm Dan. I haven't been active here for a while. I'm in Brooksville. I'm starting to do some volunteer work to help get our elementary school gardening, and I just sent in a job application to be the after school garden program guy at another local school.

Hi everyone!! Hope all is well so far. I am in Ellsworth. So far everything looks great here. I fought with the red lily beetles already but I think I have them under control. Keep the news coming. Take care.

Hello All,

Dan,I don't know where Brooksville is but that is great that you are working with elemenatry schools learn to garden?
What are you going to do, have a program for them over the summer?
Cosmoslover, I too am in battle withg the Red Lilly beetle.
Is it too early for slugs? I have seen many of them around so far! I hope it stays that way!

Blake

Blake, thanks for the info on the Manchester swap. Maybe I'll check it out though a bit far for me. Diene, sorry didn't see the post about the hydrangea- I've rehomed one and relocated the other 2 since I last visited the site since I was anxious to re-do the bed they were in. Funny how I love them in their new spot in the re-vamped side yard which I wasn't planning to tackle this year - can't wait til they blooom. I just filled their old bed with some different varieties of hosta from NH Hostas - I could have spent an entire day looking at their plants! So what perennials are blooming in your yards right now? I was so sad that my rhododendrons and tulips lost their flowers last week at the same time, and now I have no flowers except for the tiny dianthus I just planted. I'd like to plan something to take care of that for next year! Any ideas?

Newmaine;
No problem about the hydrangea, I just hated the thought of them not having a home. I have several that were given to me two years ago by a southern GW person because they were not thriving in her yard. I cannot say they are thriving in mine but they are still alive so I am hoping it was just an adjusting period. My yard is alive with color, I have late spring tulips in full bloom, my cherry tree is still blooming, several small leaf rhoddies, some pansies that I picked up at Lowes for 47 cents a flat as well as some volunteers from last years crop. I have a canary yellow weigelia in full bloom as well as a peach quince and a red quince. I also have a few poppies and anemones, it is a bit early for them but...
Most of my Irises are ready to bloom but have not started yet.
I have eliminated at least 24 red lily beetles and more than one hundred eggs. I have not had the larva on my plants that I can tell. Most of these adults I believe are grown on my neighbor's plants and travel here on the wind. I find them on windy days. Bayer does make a product that will eliminate them but it is toxic so I will not use it. I used to have a well at my old house and could not use anything I would not want in a glass of water from the tap. That mind set seems like the right thing to do even though I am on city water now.
On my endangered list is my oak leaf hydrangea that I brought with me from my old house. I have one stem with leaves but the main branch seems to have not survived the winter. I am hoping to save the plant.
Roses are always a challenge but my DH loves them so I allow him to bring home bushes from places like Reny's and Marden's and I plant them. Most of them are one year wonders but we do have a few that have survived more than one year.
I would love to get together and I may try to make it to Annie's swap. I have thought about that in years gone by but have not made the trip.
Let us try and keep this not so inactive.
diene

Hey mehearty, thanks for letting us know about ladies night at O'Donal's on June 10th. I just may go, as it's pretty close for me. It sounds like fun!

Blake, we're still figuring all of that out. I keep wondering where/how to start. I think the first thing needs to be confirming a site. The best site for gardening would be further from the school (far side of the ball field) than the teachers want. I don't think they're thinking about how permanent a school garden should be in order to get the benefits of soil improvements. Once we have the site, we can till it up and start planting things. And there are several greenhouse ideas.

Brooksville is on the Blue Hill Peninsula, coastal western Hancock County, just east of Penobscot Bay.

I've been busy in my greenhouse and garden ever since I posted last. One of those days from 8AM to 7PM was spent moving a cute old shed into my garden, and one was moving two kousa dogwoods that I had planted "temporarily" in my veg garden 3-4 years ago! ARRRGH!! Never again!

AnnPat- Sorry you didn't have better luck at Fedco. I got there around 8:50 and they had already opened! We rushed in to try to get the bluberries and raspberries I wanted, but the varieties I wanted were gone. However, we were happy that lilacs and buddleias were 2 for one! I took my husband with me for the first time. He kept saying "look, this is a great deal, we should get some of these!" So I came home with more than I usually do. We got four regular lilacs (2 James MacFarlane, which I have been wanting to stretch out my season, a Japanese tree lilac, 2 Donald Wyman crabapples, and 2 buddleias. I also got more Fort-V potting soil, which I love but cannot get anywhere else except Johnny's, some bean seeds which were recommended to me recently and some other incidentals. I'll pre-order the bushes I really need next year.

huisjen-Kudos to you for working to get a school garden going. Have you looked into the Master Apprentice Gardener program thru the extension service? It is aimed at the 3 & 4th graders and is an excellent place to start.

Paulaj-looks like you may be the closest to me. I can't find my GMSII book, drat! It isn't Muriel Kragar's is it? I heard she moved.

Back outside I go. What a day yesterday, eh?

"Master Apprentice"??? What about Journeyman? Can we somehow throw that in there too? ;-)

It's been a busy spring! It's good to see all the replies here, lots of great info. But I still need to weed the front, so this message will be short.

Marthacr yes Muriel K moved. Her garden was in the first Gardens Maine Style book. I'll have to walk by it and see what has happened to it. It was beautiful.

Back out before I have to work. Rain coming!

Oops, sorry huisjen, it's Maine apprentice, NOT Master Apprentice.

Wow, there were so many people posting last year, what happened? It seems so odd that with all the gardeners that must live in the state of Maine, that this forum is not more active. is it because you are all too busy, or does it have something to do with this forum?

Just a curious Massachusetts resident. [g]

prairiemoon, it's most likely that we are busy in the garden, especially considering the early spring/almost summer weather we've had. Just not enough hours in the day this time of year and, speaking for myself, getting online takes a back seat to getting outside and in the garden. And that's not a bad thing. :-)

I suppose you are right about that seachanged. I like your screen name too. Yes, it has been a long season of good weather this year and I can hardly believe it is not even Memorial Day yet. I've been getting out a lot more than usual too.

Okay, I'll come back in the winter. [g]

jumping in to say hi. I'm from southern maine and my vegetable garden is going great this year! I also planted some raspberries this year and blueberries as well. A honeycrisp, redfree, a redhaven peach, a bartlett pear, and a stanley plum went in this year as well. yippie! what fun!

Hi, I'm Jennifer. And I love garden web too! I'm pretty active where I live (Los Angeles). I grew up in Maine. My mom is in Veazie, and my stepmom in Augusta. Both garden.

I am so glad to meet you all, b/c I'd like to give my mom some plants, but I need a little guidance on zone-hardy choices.
I have no clue what perennials do well. What are some of your favorites? I remember lilacs, bleeding heart, rhubarb and fiddleheads, but that's about it. Is there some sort of ornamental blueberry? Juniper? I think I see hostas in various pictures... My mom's house needs some major greenscaping, and I'd love to start sending her some plants. (Or show up with some!)

What are your favorites?

My grandparents lived next door to the Veazie cemetary.

I would say that all native blueberries are ornamental, but they're short, and are groundcover plants.