Hi all and thank you, each one of you for your words of encouragement and sympathy!! I've just run in from cutting up the 'stuff' hovering, on and in my hostas, today! I do have to eat at some point!! I am very much more hopeful today, doing this work. I don't think the clean-up I'm doing will save us any money in the long run but I DO feel so much better doing SOMETHING while I wait 3 weeks + for them to come and do the work.

We have the best, most professional tree service in this area--bar none so I feel very confident they will do their best to minimize the damage. We had three different companies stop by and give their estimates and opinions!

I am VERY thankful, that upon a closer evaluation, a good percentage of my plants are in pots, in the ground. All I need are some strong-backed SIL's to help me pull them out!

As far as the stumping, the tree that has fallen has about 40% of the root ball at a 45 degree angle out of the ground. In order to get the shed back in place, it APPEARS we will need to remove it and get it out of the way! The tree is much larger diameter than it appears in that pic. because there is a trim board standing near the right side of the trunk!

Ken--I love you--in the most brotherly way, of course! And, I love your post and you are SO RIGHT ON!! I loved the 'girlie' part and yes it does stem from our visits together! LOL The time you took in your response is GREATLY appreciated and it gave me a good laugh--I can see ya talk'n to me even now!! ;^)) I absolutely KNEW you would say what you did about the Norway Maple and the other one, too and I agree with you. In fact, the Ash that fell is one I had just mentioned a week or so ago, we might want to take out eventually and I secretly wished we didn't have the Norway where it was, anyway so now it's not so dark where it stood with it's huge canopy. I didn't realize how much shade that scrawny topped Ash gave to my hosta but I know they will be fine, eventually!!

We, also have a wood chipper--and I'm toying with grinding up these Silver Maple limbs I'm pulling out of my beds and yard in general! LOTS of noise and yet--think of the compost and I agree I should probably keep what they grind up, but it will no doubt be at the street and the spot to park it will definitely be in the back part of the yard--not sure they will transport it that far for me.

Gosh--I thought my work was coming to an end as of last Saturday! I have dug up large portions of grass and mud (I know you love hearing that, ken) and back-filled with chipped red brick in the areas we HAVE to walk and where I cannot plant a hosta or feel the *Wrath of Kahn* for narrowing things up even more! Did I spell 'kahn' right? It doesn't look right but I'm rushing to get back to work!

Thank God (literally) that I am able to do this today! It was soooo good to uncover and discover so many of my hosta still smiling back! I know--'girlie' talk!hehehehe

cAROL and McT--I love you both and thank you for your emails and encouragement! I will answer each of you, later tonight when I've got lots of this under my belt! I'm feeling great!! I think I MUST love to work, afterall!

Maybe I can down-load the pix of the damage, too, tonight!!

Back to work I go--ho, ho!!

I had trees cut flush to the ground, hosta leaves grew over it. The stump grinder my tree guy team uses is a new compact tractor with a grinder in it, operated by the owner wireless with a remote.
In respect to damage by tree guys, the one I use has a well trained troop. When they cut a large maple down in the front, which grew inbetween rhodo and hollys, they used a crane to lift out 8 ft or so pieces, loaded them on a logging truck, probably sold those. No damage, except to my checkbook. He is competitive pricewise.

Since he is gone always in an hour, there is no way to disgorge the chips from all the branches from his truck.

Other maples in the back yard were cut down in pieces, lowering the pieces down to the ground via rope with a guy pulling it this or that way to avoid damaging hostas and azaleas getting damaged. Two guys carried 8 ft pieces through my 3ft gate. Branches were also carried. They raked everywhere. The owner appreciated my garden, and also the dwarf conifers. I complimented him on his team!
Bernd

Same with us Bernd,if you have the right team, it works.
Glad to hear you more cheerful today Janice, and I agree with you, work is so good for the soul, especially in regards to the earth,you go girl! I am working in the yard today as well,think of me,as I think of you.Man, that could be a song.
cAROL

Sorry about the tree. Since I am so late coming to the thread, I didn't bother to read past your initial post, but i trust the fine people here gave you solid advice.

Hope they all bounce back next year, whatever you decide to do.

Alexa

Sounds like you've received good advice already. I sure hope your experience goes as well as ours when we removed some diseased cherry trees in January.

I chose to move a 5' arcing section of the plants "just in case" before the trees came down. We had lungwort, daffodils primroses, & other early bloomers in bud or bloom. Hubby was certain plants would be safe, but I figured their feet could damage something even if the tree 'fell' as planned. It made me feel better to just move the plants especially since I knew I'd be adding some plants that preferred the sunnier location with the trees absent.

My son & hubby kept the stumps high enough that the arc of the falling tree + branches kept the trunk off the ground. Then after pulling the majority of the tree away from the plantings they cut it up to haul away. Then they cut the remaining stumps closer to the ground & level.

Then we dug in a lot of compost & replanted. It's taken some time to get used to the absence of those trees, but I am pleased that we won't have the leaf litter to remove in fall and it gave us an opportunity to try some new plants that tolerate more sun.

Janice, sure glad that your family and home were not harmed...your gardens are always so beautiful and you have such a positive attitude...when all is cleaned up, it'll be fun to have something new to plant...I always love tree shopping (well, after hostas, of course)
It's going to get very hot next week, do take care not to work too long in the heat...
Sounds like you've already figured out a plan, but I was kind of surprised that no one mentioned the old-timers way of getting faster growth on their field hostas....stepping on them! I'd leave them be, except for those extreme areas...you've got so much work to do anyways...

Bernd, the biggest problem for us is the size of our yard. I have stuffed all I can stuff in a small space and it is very difficult to get any kind of machinery in. It will be tight navigating the stumper in, no doubt!

Having had a very full and heavy work day, but my prayer for stamina, endurance and hope definitely was answered, but I have no energy for pix. I promise to get them eventually.

What I discovered in clearing away so much of the Maple limbs that fell even in front of the garden shed is that under the attached deck of it, is a vast network of those roots from that tree that are really lifting it up! We will have to remove the deck to be able to get at those roots that are being pulled forward and up by the weight of the tree leaning out into our yard. It is amazing how high it has lifted that shed! Groan!!! Even more than we realized, before clearing what I did today!

I have my hosta back--for awhile, and they all look remarkably well despite the squashing many of them took by the weight of the limbs on them or having brushed by them!! I'm thinking I will remove all the plantings in that area and let them have at it with the stumper so that I will have a great spot to replant them--sans the roots of that tree interfering with my plantings. I'm beginning to see the 'good' that really will come from all of this. I will miss the two trees but I'm sure in time I will get use to it. I just (several weeks ago) put a young Redbud volunteer into that area behind where the root ball is lifting so perhaps it will give me a woodsy feeling again before too many more summers are passed by us!

Again, thank you everyone, for your kind words and wishes! Those who believe in prayer, please pray that I have the endurance tomorrow as I move to the back of the yard to do the work of cutting and removing the maple limbs that have entombed our potting shed behind the gate. Steve cut a path with the chainsaw today, so we can see the shed now but there is many more limbs to be dealt with than I did today! I did come up with a way of transporting them past the hosta and leave them intact. We have a large tarp and I put it down and piled limbs on it and drug one load up the path and across in front of the octa-deck to the driveway with great success! I am very encouraged and ready to 'take on the day' and the task tomorrow, very early!

cAROL and McT--I hope you see this, as I am heading for the tub for a hot soak with some epsom salt to prevent even more soreness tomorrow---it ALWAYS works for me!!!

Thank you one and all--pix will come, I promise--I am VERY encouraged with what I got done today!!!

Sorry about your mess, Janice. Your gorgeous, artistic photos have inspired me for YEARS. My old tv antennae, with a massive Wisteria on it, came down one day in high winds. The lucky thing, it could NOT have fallen in a more perfect direction, directly between 2 beds and NOT on the sidewalk, whew! Only 2 smooshed hosta, which were only briefly ugly. I'm willing to bet your plants would have come back fine next year, for the most part. Just ugly this year. SO glad it wasn't your house or you. Yes, it's majorly frustration and disheartening, but nothing that can't be replaced, whew!! Best of luck!
Michelle

I am wondering if the roots you lose moving them won't stunt them more than just letting them get stomped on? Next year what they will be like would be what I would care about? From what I understand they will come back fine next year if left alone. As big or bigger than they are now. If you dig them up I think you will end up with smaller plants next year due to root loss and transplant shock. I had a large oak limb smash a four foot diameter hosta last year. It is big and healthy as ever this year. Given the size of your garden I might try and put boxes over them or plywood sheets on top of bricks just to give them half a chance. The same storm came through here in MN. We lost a lot of Ash also. All my neighbors lost one to three HUGE trees. I am still hearing chain saws. We lost only two small trees and had them down to kindling in a few hours. We too were amazed that none came down on homes or garages!!

Janice, so sorry to hear about your tree situation. I have also enjoyed seeing your peaceful serene photos during the past several years; it must be devastating to have such damage.

I have a very wooded lot and have had situations with large tree branches falling onto my gardens, crushing plants in full bloom. Fortunately, the plants always come back the next year without any sign of distress, so I have learned to accept the situation and move forward. Some tree crews are more careful than others, and I agree with others' suggestions to talk with them before they start in order to minimize the damage. But I personally wouldn't go through the effort of digging up plants as I'm not sure it's warranted.

Good luck . . . .

Janice, what Ken said, but I also always have water and sodas available for the workers and tell them to help themselves! They always appreciate it and maybe they'll put in that little extra effort for you!

Good luck. No matter what, I bet the garden comes back beautifully next spring!

Hi Janice,
I'm so sorry to hear about the damage to some of your trees. I lost four trees in my front yard to disease a couple of years ago. My front yard looked like a logging camp during the removal process (my hosta lived under those trees). I removed most of the plants, however I left some that I thought would not be touched. Some logs dropped on a couple of plants and damaged the crowns. Three years later, the plants just petered out. There was no recovery. Therefore, if I were you, I would try to move or pot up your favorites. Good luck.

Just checking in on you to see how things are coming along. Hope the weather is holding out for you, and when all is said and done, all of your lovelies survive, and your worry becomes a chuckle ;)

janice...just had a massive boxelder taken out of a small space in my backyard w/ my finest woodlands beneath. these guys were like surgeons and although a few things were damaged (um yeah...guess they actually needed one square foot of ground to stand on lol), they did an amaaaaazing job.

everything that was obliterated is growing back...doing just fine- plants of every kind.

also, if you have something in the ground you want to protect, throw a rubbermaid tub over it before they start cutting..works wonders!

Janice...you've gotten great advice, so I don't really have much to add but to add my condolences! (((hugs))) You will know just what to do when the time comes...you didn't get that gorgeous garden by luck. I do esp. like the idea above about covering up whatever you could with upside buckets or large tupperware crates...whatever you have available. Good luck.

Thank you, one and all, again for checking in and asking how things are going! I've finally sat down and downloaded the pix and uploaded them to Photoshop. Choosing which ones out of about 50 to post was a chore but here are a few that will give you an idea at least of how it looked to us when we woke up! Oh, and please let me know if these pix are too large for any of you and I will reduce them. Some I got reduced some I missed taking that step.

Don't remember who I was on the phone with, probably our oldest daughter, but here I am 'bed-head' and all taking it all in:

Looking back, parallel to our house at the mess in front of the upper deck:

Leaning back and looking up:

View from upper deck (attached to the house as opposed to the octagonal deck in the middle of the yard):

Looking over the upper-deck railing at one of the many 'Silver Maple' limbs that apparently sailed from about 60 ft. above the ground, blown 'south' from our neighbor's tree, one to hit our Ash and knock it forward:

From the deck and up:

This is the center of the 'Silver Maple' branch (from in front of deck, across the path to the shed and to short of the window) The shed was raised up in the air about 2 ft. on the left end of it, by the root-ball of our Ash, rising out of the ground:

The other end of that branch, stopping 4 ft. from hitting our bedroom windows (thank You, Lord). You can see that this limb took a swipe at our 'Rose of Sharon' tree, too and it is also leaning with the root-ball out of place:

View from where I started, but the back-side of the large Ash in the middle (holding the other Ash suspended) and
walking around with my back to the 'octo-deck' looking back at the house and the shed:

And swinging to the left:

Looking back toward the middle deck we call 'Octo-deck', slightly over the top of it to see the neighbor's tree limbs(bigger than they look here) broken and laying on our potting shed and our poor 'Norway Maple' with it's canopy wrenched off:

From the middle of the path, right side of 'octo-deck' looking behind it to the lattice fence that divides the upper back from the lower-back portion of our yard, where we have a play set for the grandkids and the potting shed that is COMPLETELY buried in Silver Maple limbs:

Turning back around, from the path on the right side of the 'Octo-deck' to look back toward the house again:

Well, that's the back yard mess we had! We also lost an ash (blown south) to fall through our 6 ft. lattice privacy fence between our other neighbors and ourselves. It fell into their driveway so at 11:30 p.m., we were outside chain-sawing the tree and moving it so he could go to work the next morning!

When I consider that the our two trees, both fell south, it could be that a 'Silver Maple' limb was not responsible for the big 'Ash' falling, afterall! Weird!!!

We're very thankful it was not so much worse and I have dug out and find most of my hosta look fine right now, though the sunlight being directly on some are frying their leaves, so Andrea (monkeybuttface) I know what you're experiencing too, but I'm sure mine ar not nearly so badly exposed as yours are--poor things! BUT--next year all of our over-exposed hosta will be leaping out of the ground, I'm sure!! :o)

I will post more pix, later to show you why 'the work' has paid of for me, mentally and emotionally though my body is exhausted--really it is!!!

Thank you again, and I hope I didn't bore you all to death with all the pix!! I just couldn't figure out where to stop (and what to leave out of the 50 I took) and still give you a sense of what happened!!

As I said, more updates and pix are coming--maybe after a well-earned nap! :o)

HOLY MOLY!!!!!!!

Deanna

Pretty amazing and a miracle that your house doesn't have a tree sitting on its roof. Glad you are all safe and I look forward to the post-work pictures.

Steve

Wow Janice, you certainly do have your hands full.What a lot of work, are you getting the heat we have here in Illinois, reached 98 today, it is still 82,at 8 :30 p.m. I hope not, it is way to hot, for working out side.
My heart goes out to you, as I know what you are going through.
Sounds like you have decided to leave your hostas as they are, is this correct, I think they will be just fine,next year if you do.
Thinking of you, and sending you positive vibes,
cAROL

ugggh that is a MESS - poor girl. :( i know it will be beautiful again soon though! praying it all goes well!

love,
monkeybuttface lol

Janice, that is just so overwhelming. I can imagine how you felt looking at it all. Amazing how the ash fell short of hitting your home.

Gesila

Thank you again and still for all your comments and rooting-us-on prayers and wishes!!

Hubby and I tried to go out today and work on breaking up the root-ball of our large Ash, BUT, it's too darn hot!!! So, I'm inside sorting through the *after-I-cleaned-up-a-bit* pics!

Here's what I found when I dug out of the debris:

Hmmm, I wonder what's under that deck?

I leaned over and looked closely...

And, closer still...

Okay, that's bad! Let's look at more of what I've accomplished and come back to that later!

From the right side of the shed, outside our bedroom windows, it's looking better:

Here's another 'before' from our bedroom at a slightly different angle:

Let's look from the other side of the shed, from the middle of the yard from the right side of the octo-deck when looking back at the house:

Standing from the left side of the octo-deck looking back at the tree:

You might be wondering about that large unpainted rectangle--it's a love note to hubby to be found years later (supposedly) if and when anyone were to remove the closed shutters that are to look like a window, but is not! ;^)

Oh, and here is the top end of the fallen Ash, leaning 'waiting' to come down on our pond, chimnea and hosta--but, we're not going to let that happen if we can help it:

And here we are, a long shot, before the end of the day, Friday:

Notice anything especially different in this pic (taken at dusk on Saturday) from the previous one?

The "Leaning Tower of Hosta" isn't leaning. That is progress.

My prayers are with you...for strength...for perseverance.

tj

Janice, you leveled that hut, and generally the landscape looks neater.
That's the way I did it 2 years ago after an ice storm in December, with all hostas asleep. I went to HD, bought a chain saw and cut branches, carried them to the front and made a 15 ft long wall from them. The tree guys came later to straighten out trees. Good luck, and stay cool.
Bernd

Wow, if I hadn't seen your yard, I would have no ability to put those pics together to get a true idea of how bad it was. Your yard is small and that was a lot of debris in a small space.

I'm glad you're finding your way thru it all.

Please continue to be safe with all this!

Janice...I don't usually post but love reading and seeing the pix on here but after seeing the destruction of your beautiful yard wanted to say how sorry I am for you. Yes, the hosta will come back and yes you will put the gardens back together but it still hurts us to see them as they are now. I have so enjoyed your gardens and they have given me inspiration on creating mine. Know all us out here feel your pain and are rooting for you. Lou

Janice, I have een following your saga with total respect for your situation, and your feelings of loss. At about the same time, and perhaps even the same series of storms, I had 2 large branches from my huge Norway maple come down and clip the corner of my house and taking down my power line. Ripped the eye bolt right out of the house. The two branches by some miracle fell parallel to each other and IN BETWEEN my hostas. Neither tore out a whole plant but some lost at best half of their leaves. I trimmed off the damaged ones and made sure the crowns were covered with a thin layer of soil after hardening off a bit.

And here you are so much later and are just beginning to be able to assess the extent of damage. WOW!

With my glass is always half full attitude I decided it was a good time to expand that garden, putting more space between hostas, since it was a mess anyway. As you work your way out of this mess, the light at the end of the tunnel is the new opportunity to right some wrongs you may have felt needed fixing anyway. Pain now-fun later!

I can tell your attitude is good although I am sure it is being tested. I hope it all works out well for you.

Les

You're all such a good hosta-support team and I am very touched that you, (Lou) came out of lurking to posting with your kind thoughts and words. I hope that now that you've made the transition, you'll definitely be posting more--please? The more the merrier in our little community and you are definitely a 'type' we'd love to have hang out with us more!

Yeah, Melissa--you know how tight it is in our space as it was, add to it total (almost) coverage of Silver Maple debris, plus one big Ash and it was almost impossible to navigate around in it. The only really clear areas were around the firepit and (the hosta over there were not touched much except Parhelion in the barrel) and the driveway area and the end of the upper deck near it! I've not shown pix of what is behind that long lattice privacy fence (between neighbor north and their chain link fence) that is about 20' wide and filled with MORE Silver Maple, almost 30% I'd say! And, behind the gate down at the backside of the Octo-deck and the potting shed and the playhouse area---even worse! I'm about to run out of steam I think.

I do have more pix of those areas but I don't want to drag this out and take up more bandwidth than I have already! You know, wear out my welcome here!!

I have to focus on the task as being no more than one limb at a time piled on a heap on the tarp and drug up to the driveway and cut to 4' lengths, squashed and piled into our small trailer to take to the yardwaste place about 8 miles away! It's do-able but not today with the high temps and HIGH humidity we have this morning! It's already 81 degrees at 10:30 a.m. and the humidity is 53%! It's rising very quickly--both aspects!

Thank you, also, Bernd, and tj (REALLY appreciate your prayers) and Les you sharing your experience and your out-look which is like mine--make the most of it and I already have PLANS and am excited about them.

What we really need help with dealing with right now (any advice is very welcomed) is tackling the roots of the leaning Ash. I'd say they are about 8-9 foot in breadth and about 4 ft. deep! Very tangled, still packed with clay dirt that is now wet! We were pecking away at them yesterday and being dry the clay could be removed with some work. I'm thinking we may need the 'stumper' to just remove them from the trunk and to make a dent in them. It's a big deal for us at this point!

Here's a closer look at that root-ball:

My Rose of Sharon *tree* was apparently swiped by the Silver Maple limb that held it bent over! We removed the heavy limb (the one that came short of our windows by about 4 feet) but the R of S remained in a bent posture. Looking at the stump, I found it has been wrenched up slightly, and forward. The bent of the tree is precarious but I'm hoping I can water it very well and maybe I can get some of the 'tree crew' to pull it back up and stomp around the base of it and we'll put a turn buckle on it and anchor it to the corner post of our lattice fence about 12-15 ft. behind it until we feel it is set! Any other ideas and advice are welcomed here, too!!

I did take some weight off of it yesterday. It broke my heart because of the multitude of yet to be opened blooms. This is a particularly beautiful R. of S. (to me) as it's a deep fuscia and doubled bloom type:

It has been so helpful to me, emotionally and mentally to be able to share our 'little' adventure with folks who can feel my pain. Again, I have to keep reminding myself, it COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE--I do know that but it does help to be reminded that it is small potatoes on the whole scheme of things in our lives and by comparison to the many REAL disasters across our country and the world at at large! Boy--that does make me feel ashamed for *crying in my milk* at all!

Today--the plan is to get our new 'hosta-dog' groomed! She's never been to a groomer as I've scissor-clipped her to this point, but she's getting to be quite the little girl growin' up and needs it done *proper*!!!

You're all such a good hosta-support team and I am very touched that you, (Lou) came out of lurking to posting with your kind thoughts and words. I hope that now that you've made the transition, you'll definitely be posting more--please? The more the merrier in our little community and you are definitely a 'type' we'd love to have hang out with us more!

Yeah, Melissa--you know how tight it is in our space as it was, add to it total (almost) coverage of Silver Maple debris, plus one big Ash and it was almost impossible to navigate around in it. The only really clear areas were around the firepit and (the hosta over there were not touched much except Parhelion in the barrel) and the driveway area and the end of the upper deck near it! I've not shown pix of what is behind that long lattice privacy fence (between neighbor north and their chain link fence) that is about 20' wide and filled with MORE Silver Maple, almost 30% I'd say! And, behind the gate down at the backside of the Octo-deck and the potting shed and the playhouse area---even worse! I'm about to run out of steam I think.

I do have more pix of those areas but I don't want to drag this out and take up more bandwidth than I have already! You know, wear out my welcome here!!

I have to focus on the task as being no more than one limb at a time piled on a heap on the tarp and drug up to the driveway and cut to 4' lengths, squashed and piled into our small trailer to take to the yardwaste place about 8 miles away! It's do-able but not today with the high temps and HIGH humidity we have this morning! It's already 81 degrees at 10:30 a.m. and the humidity is 53%! It's rising very quickly--both aspects!

Thank you, also, Bernd, and tj (REALLY appreciate your prayers) and Les you sharing your experience and your out-look which is like mine--make the most of it and I already have PLANS and am excited about them.

What we really need help with dealing with right now (any advice is very welcomed) is tackling the roots of the leaning Ash. I'd say they are about 8-9 foot in breadth and about 4 ft. deep! Very tangled, still packed with clay dirt that is now wet! We were pecking away at them yesterday and being dry the clay could be removed with some work. I'm thinking we may need the 'stumper' to just remove them from the trunk and to make a dent in them. It's a big deal for us at this point!

Here's a closer look at that root-ball:

My Rose of Sharon *tree* was apparently swiped by the Silver Maple limb that held it bent over! We removed the heavy limb (the one that came short of our windows by about 4 feet) but the R of S remained in a bent posture. Looking at the stump, I found it has been wrenched up slightly, and forward. The bent of the tree is precarious but I'm hoping I can water it very well and maybe I can get some of the 'tree crew' to pull it back up and stomp around the base of it and we'll put a turn buckle on it and anchor it to the corner post of our lattice fence about 12-15 ft. behind it until we feel it is set! Any other ideas and advice are welcomed here, too!!

I did take some weight off of it yesterday. It broke my heart because of the multitude of yet to be opened blooms. This is a particularly beautiful R. of S. (to me) as it's a deep fuscia and doubled bloom type:

It has been so helpful to me, emotionally and mentally to be able to share our 'little' adventure with folks who can feel my pain. Again, I have to keep reminding myself, it COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE--I do know that but it does help to be reminded that it is small potatoes on the whole scheme of things in our lives and by comparison to the many REAL disasters across our country and the world at at large! Boy--that does make me feel ashamed for *crying in my milk* at all!

Today--the plan is to get our new 'hosta-dog' groomed! She's never been to a groomer as I've scissor-clipped her to this point, but she's getting to be quite the little girl growin' up and needs it done *proper*!!!

This was taken the day we finished the shed deck! It was hard for her to keep up with us--apparently! LOL

Again, THANK YOU--ALL!!!

I sure messed up that posting didn't I! I had several 'interruptions' so I apparently didn't realize where I was in my posting and posted twice and in the middle---gak!! What a mess I made of it! I copied part of my response into a 'new message' format in case I lost my posting window and when I pasted it I must have hit 'paste' twice--WHATEVER--I apologize for taking up EVEN MORE SPACE than I should have! Sigh! Must be the humidity--you think? Groan!!

Wish we could edit our postings after the fact!! (Blushing profusely)

Cute dog,Janice! Reminds me of our late dog 'Bandit',who lived for 18 years.He was a cockerpoo,and quite a bit smaller than your hosta dog,but he had the same curly black hair. He trained me to take him outside when he had to go potty. We'll keep you in our prayers as well,for your overwhelming task ahead to fix up your garden. Phil

Janice Even though I on't know you each time I have gone out into my yard since that storm I think of you. I look up at the branches of my tree and think about how it always amazes me how much larger and full tree branches are when they fall to the ground than what the appear to be while attached to the tree. I think of what sad and disheartening and immense chore you had in front of you. Now the heat is here and you will need to take a break from the clean up. You have done so much work and the love of your garden shows.
Kathy

No need to apologize for your post, if I was in your shoes my mine would be traveling a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out where to go next. Do take it easy and do as you are doing taking baby steps in getting things cleaned up. Again as I type this tears come to my eyes seeing what has happened to your place. Lots of prayers that things will go well for you. If I lived closer would be there helping. Lou

Aww, Lou, you've helped a lot already, just by coming on board with your kind thoughts--really you have! If you lived closer we'd no doubt be talkin' hosta all the time!
BTW--WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!! :O)

Kathy--you, too--thank you, too for commiserating with me and your thoughts for my garden! I feel I need to welcome you, too, as I don't recall seeing you post before, but then I don't check every single thread on here, usually, so I may have missed seeing you on one of the ones I missed! Glad you stopped by mine, for sure!

Phil--Callie is at the groomers as I'm typing! She'll be a new dog for sure. There ARE eyes in there somewhere and they are as dark as she is! Thank you for you and Diane praying for us--we're really doing okay--except for this abominable heat slowing us down! I hope it passes quickly so I can get back to hauling branches with caution as so many of you have warned me to do!

You all are so wonderful--I am deeply touched by you taking the time to encourage me--seriously I am!

Janice,
Soooooo Sorry about your beautiful yard. Phil just showed me the pictures. Glad you and family weren't hurt. Does this mean there is more room for hostas? Phil keeps clearing out space and moving his around so that he can have room for some more.
Have you been having this bad heat up in Ohio? It's hot here for North Carolina.
Diane (Mrs. Hosta Freak)

Hi Diane! How wonderful to see YOU posting here!! How sweet of you to pop in! You need to push Phil off that computer chair more often and do more of the posting yourself! LOL

Oh yeah, I have plans! With the Norway Maple out, there are more possibilities and even that Ash--the roots were always competition for the hosta in that area and now, when it's finally out, roots and all there will be even better results with my hosta in that area!!

The heat has been awful here in Ohio, like everywhere and I heard today that it could get up to 110 later in the week. I guess this project will be on hold for awhile! I'm not taking any chances with either of our healths!

Thank you, again Diane (Mrs. Hosta Freak), so nice of you to check in with me like this! You and Phil are welcome back to our home ANYTIME!!!! We enjoyed you both!!

Thanks for the invite, but it is your turn to come to North Carolina. Come in the spring about the end of May that's when Phil garden is really pretty. Did he tell you that he had the "garden club" out to view his garden. One gentleman that was here with the "club" comes into the office supply store where I work and tells me how beautiful Phils garden was. Since I wasn't home that day, he thinks I don't know what the garden looks like.
I don't grow hostas, but I am growing the tomatos that Jack (jack and the bean stalk) could climb on. I'll have Phil email you the pictures (i'm not any good at that stuff)Here is the Earth Box of tomatoes.
Stay cool. Diane Mrs.HF

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Oh, Diane--there's surely nothing like home-grown tomatoes (beans and corn)! I remember my grandparents and Mom and Dad would have these wonderful vegetable gardens and we'd go out to pick the tomatoes and such with salt shaker in hand, sampling the tomatoes to sustain us ;^) for the 'pick'! We just don't have a sunny enough spot in our yard to grow such things!

Thank you for the invite! The next time we head south we'll try to swing by but we'll give you plenty of warning we're coming, to be sure!!!

Okay--I HAD to show you the 'after' grooming shots! If I had not taken her in and KNOWN she was ours having watched them work on her, I would not have recognized her at all!

In fact, our Papillion Mix (Barney) did not and he was all over her in a very aggressive and dominating fashion. That is not his habit as she was the more dominating female in a litter of 12--not mean just imposing, I'd say!

It wasn't until I shampooed her again this morning that he'd ease up and not be snarling and barking at her, demanding she submit! Funny animals!

Hosta Dog, all prissied up:

She has red in her thickest coat because she is going to be what they call a 'blue' when her coat finally clears and settles, in another 18 months. Funny how that transitions--black to brownish to blue, a steel gray color not silver!
She is the sweetest thing--and they loved her at the groomers!! Said she was the nicest Standard they've had in a very long time and this was her first grooming experience (will be 7 months old on the 22nd) --I was so worried--worked at getting her desensitized to her muzzle being held and moved about and her ears messed with, scissor clipping noises around her head and her feet messed with. She got A++++ (much to their surprise--and my relief) especially with it being her first time!! I'm a proud 'momma' can you tell, even if she's not show-quality, she's perfect for us?

Now--how bout them hosta!!!

Janice, Callie is adorable, both before and after!!
Karen

hey_j She is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Yeah,she looks more like the poodles most people see,but I still prefer the "puppy cut" to the foo foo style. Just my preference,you understand. I understand how your other dog felt,she looks like a stranger. This pic of our tomatoes is relatively old,as the plants are now taller than me! I wish they would produce more tomatoes,though. They have set very few,so far. These were 'heritage tomatoes' given to Diane by an acquaintance,and they were about 4 inches high when we got them! Hard to believe,looking at them now! We have a penchant for growing tomato plants that are huge,with the fertilizer that is in there. The trouble is,they seem to produce few tomatoes? BTW,the hostas here are doing very well,despite the intense heat,and no rain. Last night,it thundered,somewhere,but no rain ever came around here. They give us 30% chance every day,but that is just a CYA prediction,if you ask me! Believe it or not, they say we are not in a drought situation,but my property says different! Well,that's all going on here. Phil

Great looking dog (but aren't they all?). Chocolate Standards are awesome and seem to be all legs when young. A neighbor has one too with that typical poodle demeanor. It's a pity dog shows make them into foo-foo pets instead of the retrievers they are.

tj

P.s. We have Minnies ourselves.

Janice, post your sweetheart pup on the pets post on the conversation side! I`m going to post my cats when I get around to uploading the pics.
Too hot, forget the hostas for now!!

You're right, Michele--I took your suggestion and have started a thread and will put some pix there when we get back. I've been gone all day, came in for a couple of mins. and we're out again to meet friends for a late dinner!!

Too hot to eat (early) and too hot to hoe hosta so lets talk pets!!

Holy cow!

Hey, Heaven knows my heart goes out to you. All the damage represents much time and energy lost.
However, yours is one of the most beautiful hosta gardens I have seen and one I strive to achieve, but miss by a mile. I love your variety of plant size, form texture and color. It is glorious and will be again in the spring - only about 8 months away.
I don't see it as an all or nothing situation. I am not sure I would trust that small limb supporting that big tree. If you do, I would remove my very favorites and leave the rest to nature.Best of luck in the K.P.
gramma jan

hey-j. All of our dogs are show quality in our eyes. My GSP looks just like the one that won Best of Class at Westminster a couple of years ago - from the highway. Callie is a beautiful dog and I am sure she has helped you get through the terrible ordeal you have been going through. Our gardens and pets are really extensions of ourselves, and to have these destroyed or seriously damaged is very personal to us. I have been silently following your ordeal but my heart has been with you.

Les

Have I missed an update on how you are progressing?
I got a small taste of what you're going through when a large section of my mountain ash came down. The rest is being removed right now actually. I'm afraid to go out there. The arborist assured me he wouldn't damage my hosta, but I'm concerned.

Wow, jan, you make me blush! I'm glad you like my gardens and I'm sure that photo selectivity makes them look even better than they really are. I love my gardens but have always thought it was more a beauty as in *the eye of the beholder* more than anything else!!

I have much to report but no time just now. We are set to take our grandboys to see the latest 'Winnie the Pooh' movie tonight! I have taken a lot of update pix and it will take me some time to upload them to Photobucket, but don't give up on me!

Les--I agree with you, all our dogs are show quality, even if it's our own *show*!! And thank you for your kind thoughts coming my way about our small trauma this summer!

north53, please let us know how your hosta fared with the Ash coming down!! I bet your arborist did do a good job, afterall!!

Just have to add, tj, (I became off-topic with our dog pic) I agree with you--Standard Poodles should not be presented as foo foo dogs at all. We are amazed at Callie's agility and speed and predatory inclinations! Wow--this is NOT a foo foo or froo froo dog, although she can be quite the prissy, I must say! The froo froo cuts were originally designed to insulate the joints of the dogs as they dove into the cold waters after the duck kills! The shaved down areas were to facilitate fast swimming but the joints needed the protection of the longer coat. I prefer the puppy or lambs' cut myself, but we needed to 'clear' her coat to allow the steel-gray color to begin to be more apparent. They go through a brown or chocolate color stage first, then gradually the 'blue' that becomes their final coloring at about 2 yrs.

More later...

Hi Janice,

Callie is so pretty-love standard poodles! What a face!

I know I am late since I hadn't seen all those horrifying pictures after my first post, but wow! What a mess for you. Hope you have some cooler weather and the clean-up is coming along.

I am green with envy that you are getting to see "Winnie the Pooh" with your grandchildren-wonder if they'd let me in with my grandpuppy..ha.

hang in there!