Hi Steffie,

Since I'm way down here in southern Oklahoma near the Red River, I guess I'll be at home working in the yard and garden. However, if I lived even 50 miles closer to OKC, I'd make the drive. I hope you enjoy the show. I agree with you about Paul James being entertaining and informative.

We had a warm evening last night and the frogs were out singing and croaking beginning about 6 p.m. It was a lovely "early spring" sound, and I loved it.

BTW, all the little moths and lady bugs and other flying insects have been out and about this week, too. Dare we hope that the worst of the winter weather might be over?

Dawn (who knows more cold weather is probable, but is loving the 'spring-like' weather anyway)

Dawn, I went and met him. He is quite good looking and really fun. When we got home though we had 40 ft of stockade fence on the ground. The wind had knocked down power lines, old elms and oaks and broken dozen of fences in the area.
"Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains"

Did you get out much yesterday and work in the yard? I have lillies coming up all over the place, very excited and I keep checking the weather channel for night time temps. I have it bad just like you do. I tried raking leaves etc but the wind is brutal and I think I am making a bigger mess.

WEll, the lumbar yard is open I have to go buy fencing, I really had not planned on this but it happens, right?

Chat more later and update me on our progress. Stephanie

Glad you got to go, Stephanie. I would have loved to go, but I just cannot walk and stand around that much anymore without significant repercussions.

Every now and then he will appear at Lowe's or HD here in OKC, and that kind of forum would be better for me.

I have so much coming up right now in the garden!

Susan

Susan, I understand. I have the before THR and the after THR and the after is so much better. I did enjoy the show though and there were some really pretty yard ideas. Everyone in OKC seems to be obsessed with stickers in their yards. Do you have problems with that?

Dawn, it is amazing but the area of Seminole County I live in has an average last freeze date of March 25 to 31, so I get a jump start on say Norman or OKC. Have not heard frogs etc yet-----but I did have horse flies Sunday while in the yard. Does that count? Anyway, I am getting very excited about spring. I have plants stored in the garage and the beds are being cleaned out. I am more than ready for dirty hands and the smell of earth. Strange how that makes me feel better just the smell alone is worth being outside. Okay, Okay, I am kind of fruity but I love gardening and it has been so cold and I am ready to be outside as much as possible. My DH has decided he wants me to plant strawberries this year. I just looked at him like he had lost his mind, but I think I will give it a try, I did when I was a kid. Anyway, seeing the "The Gardener Guy" just inspired me more and now everyone around me is tired of hearing me discuss and whine cause it is still to cold at night.

Gotta go chat more later.

I can relate, Stephanie - nothing like the smell of good, fresh earth! I get my hands right into it.

What do you mean by "stickers"? Plants that are prickly and make their way into lawns? I leave all my weeds in the yard in the back and let them grow. One person's weed, is another person's butterfly plant! I am trying to have a biodiverse habitat for my butterflies and moths, and other insects as well. I have found that many of the so-called weeds are actually little native plants that the butteflies just love!

Jeffrey Glassberg, in his book entitled "Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East" states that a manicured lawn is a biological desert"! LOL!

I have a resident toad - big guy! Lives under my box that is for storing my hose (well, used to be for storing my hose). The box is open on the ground, so there's just a top, front, and sides to it. The toad lives under there, and I put a water saucer out for him.

Susan

Susan Hi how are you doing? Stickers, you know the kind you stepped on as a kid and had to have them pulled out of your foot. I pull them out of the cracks of my driveway and when they get in certain flower beds but other than that as long as I am not stepping on one I have never done anything about them. But some of the people in the audience were obsessed with getting them out of the yard. In fact, I have big patches of clover which I let just grow. I can just do not spray or use herbicide if I can avoid it. I do put down corn gluten meal in the front yard which does keep the really nasty weeds out of the yard. However, in the backyard I let MN take the course and have varies "weeds and junk" as some people call it growing in the back.

I have one toad who likes it under the crapemyrtles but the amazing thing I love is I have tree frogs. They love to set on the windows at night and catch bugs. It is fasinating.

I got a butterfly book out and started going over butterflys in OK. I have several of the varieties that I recognize from last year but this year I will be much more aware.

Oh, one of the questions----how do I get rid of ants. PJ even acted suprised someone would actually want to get rid of ants in the yard. His statement was that the only ant you really need to worry about in OK are fire ants. Most of the pests we fight in OK are imported anyway since there are no natural preditors so they have free rane.

Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of snakes I could probably handle gardening a lot easier.

Enjoy the week-end did you notice the temps next week. Looks absolute fantastic! I will certainly enjoy after I get off work. I have so much to do!\

Visit with you later. Stephanie

I don't know how to rid your yard of ants, Stephanie. I have them too, but just leave them alone. I worry more about them when they are on my milkweed and other butterfly host plants because they carry off the eggs and sometimes tiny caterpillars shortly after they hatch.

I definitely let my clover grow and I encourage it to grow by watering it. People and their lawns. If they only knew it's much harder to maintain a lawn than a patch of wildflowers.

Snakes don't scare me too much, and I have seen small garter snakes in the yard. They are good for eating insects and stuff. I'd be more scared if I ran into a copperhead or rattlesnake, believe me!

I ordered a bunch of native plants and trees this week from Mail Order Natives. They are very reasonably priced and their S&H is lower than most mail order sources. I got some amsonia (it blooms very early spring), vernonia (Ironweed that the butterflies love to nectar on), a couple more Aristilochia tomentosas (I have A. macrophylla, A. serpentaria, and A. clematitis), another hibiscus coccinea (a red flower with maple-like foliage, that the sulphurs and hummingbirds love to nectar on), and spigelia (Indian Pinks) for my shade. Also I ordered an Aesculus parviflora (bottlebrush buckeye-nectar), another asamina triloba (pawpaw; host for sphinx moth and possibly zebra butterfly), a cephalanthus occidentalis (button bush; great nectar plant), crataegus aestivalis (yellow mayhaw (larval food for Red Spotted Purple butterflies); two more lindera benzoin shrubs (host for spicebush butterfly); magnolia virginiana (host plant for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail); persea borbonia (Redbay; host plant for spicebush butterflies); ptelea trifoliata (host for Giant Swallowtails); rhus aromatica (sumac; hosts many sphinx moths); sasafrass albidum (host for spicebush); and viburnum nudum (host plant and nectar plant for hummingbird clearwing moths).

Hi Y'all! Yikes! I can't believe I haven't been back on this thread in so long. I don't know why either...too busy babying tiny tomato seedings (now mostly about 10" tall) by carrying them out to the screened-in porch every morning and then back inside at night!

So, Steffie, I am glad you enjoyed the show. So sorry to hear about your fence. We had the same fierce windstorm over that particular weekend and I was out with the fire dept. all weekend, so couldn't do much at home...not that the wind would have allowed me to do anything, any way. We had gusts to 60 m.p.h., power lines down, grass fires, etc. It was just a bad weekend. The more recent weekend that just ended was an improvement, but kinda cold.

Sticker in their yards? Like grassburs? We have a minor problem with that, but I am in such a rural area that I don't fret over it much. I use corn gluten as a pe-emergent and it seems to help.

Steffie, our last average frost date is about the same as yours in Seminole County and I am way down south in Love County near the Red River. And, yes, I think horse flies count. If they are out and about, can spring be far behind?

Oh, tree frogs! We have them here also and they do love hanging on the windows. I love seeing them around.

Are your ants fire ants? Spinosad or Citrex are good organic controls, but do not completely eliminate them.

Copperheads and rattlesnakes, Susan....well, welcome to my world!!!!!! The only thing good about those snakes is that they scare me to death and I run into the house to get away from them!!! This is good because it forces me to stay inside in the air conditioning for a little while and have a cool drink. Otherwise, I tend to stay outside too long in the heat and make myself ill. :)

Last year was actually our best snake year ever (as in hardly encountering them at all).
I had a bad problem with poisonous snakes for a week or two after we had 9.25" of rain in one day in April. Then, about July when it was REALLY HOT, they popped up everywhere again. Then, nothing for the rest of the summer or fall. Our electric co-op guys and county road maintenance & mowing guys said they saw the fewest snakes last year ever....and we all thought that was great!

Susan, you know how much I love native plants and I'm glad to see you found a good mail order source for them. I have Ironweed on the edge of my veg. garden....it came up on its own and I was glad to see it. Also have hibiscus coccinea and button bush (which grows naturally on the edge of my swamp) and I have been intending to plant spicebush and Aristilochias too. I planted some of the white-flowered swamp hibiscus on the edge of my large pond and am anxious to see if they survived last summer....as the entire pond dried up and the plants were too far away from the house (about 400 feet) for me to water them. I do think they have naturalized, though, as there were some near the lagoon last year and I didn't plant them!

Susan, when I was tied up with the wildfires last year and was hardly on gardenweb at all, did you experience health problems? I was surprised when I saw you mention that walking and standing a great deal are now a problem for you. I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you are OK and have prospects for improvement!!!!

I am a lazy butterfly gardener, and you know it is because I have 14.5 acres of native habitat for them and I do get lazy and neglect planting stuff around the house for the butterflies and moths. You are, however, inspiring me and I am going to rework and improve the neglected butterfly bed I planted when we first moved here.

There are so many things to do, and so little time! And, I am a spoiled stay-at-home wife and mom and you'd think that being home all day would leave me with lots of gardening time! Actually, it does give me lots of time to garden, BUT...with a property as large as ours, I could be outside 24/7 and still never finish my to-do list.

We have moths and a few butterflies around already, but haven't seen any craneflies yet!

Headed out to the garden now!

Dawn

Dawn, ants are not my problem, there just seemed to be people who dont want ants in the yard. You cant have good peony blooms without ants. Fire ants? NO not yet but anymore you have to watch. My neighbor lady tells me she has termite colonies in her yard and is trying to get me to have my yard sprayed. I am really not excited about that and dont like chemicals in the yard. My house is okay, so what difference does it make if they get in yard? Could someone tell me? Stephanie

Having never dealt with termites, I don't know if your neighbor is overreacting to their presence in her yard.

Most termite treatments have a long life in the soil and some toxicity and you might not want them used on your property.

We use chemicals on our propery only as a drastic last resort. IF I had a termite problem, I'd probably use the best organic remedy available.

Some friends of ours in Texas has a huge termite problem, but it turned out that they had a "slow leak" under their bathroom and that area was probably wet for years before they found the termites. Since most home foundation areas are treated for termites when a house is built, your home is probably protected from the termites anyway.

Perhaps she is afraid that if you have termites in your soil, they'll move back into her soil later on? Our wooded areas have termites, but we've never had them around the house, barn, chicken coops, sheds, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: OSU termite information

Dawn - yes, I have been on disability since last year. I just couldn't do it anymore at work. Law offices are notably stressful anyway, and it was getting so I couldn't multi-task anymore or handle the stress of getting things out last minute. Plus my back and neck problems (I have stenoses of the lower spine and cervical spine, and herniated discs) made it extremely difficult to sit at a computer all day, and to stand at the copy machine, etc. So, I went on private disability and just qualified last month for SSD - after applying just 3 months earlier. I had expected to appeal a non-approval, and was totally floored with they approved me first time around. My neighbor gardening friend was shocked. He had to wait 2 years for his.

I found, after I gave away my H. coccinus, that the Cloudless Sulphurs ignored my garden this last summer. They LOVE red flowers, and especially the swamp hibiscus. So, that's why I ordered another one. The hummingbirds love it, too.

Dawn, where do you live in Oklahoma? The reason I ask is because a nursery in Oklahoma called Wild Things (Marilyn owns it), goes around to various Farmer's Markets, selling her native plants for butterfly gardening in particular. I got two Aristolochia macrophyllas from her last year. She sells numerous host plants, like false nettle, species of milkweed, sennas for the sulphurs, and plants for the swallowtails and other butterflies. She even brings her caterpillars and chrysalises to the market with her!

Here is her schedule for this summer:

April 7, 2007, Norman Farmers Market 8:00 - 12:00

April 14, 2007, Herb Day in Brookside 9:00 - 5:00, 41st & Peoria, Tulsa

April 21, 2007* Sand Springs Herbal Affair* 9:00 - 5:00

April 28, 2007* Jenks Herb "N" Plant Festival* 9:00 - 5:00

May 4, 2007* Wildflower Workshop, Ardmore * (for information call 405-521-4037)

May 12, 2007* Harn Homestead, Oklahoma City 10:00 - 3:00

May 19, 2007 Norman Farmers Market 8:00 - 12:00

May 26, 2007 Edmond Farmer's Market 8:00 - 1:00, 26 W. 1st.
June 2, 2007*

Ponca City Herb Festival * 8:00 - 4:00, Cann Gardens -
June 9 & 10

Audubon Garden Tour, Tulsa check with the Tulsa Audubon Society website for home locations and times.

I highly recommend her plants if you can make to one of the markets.

Susan

I am not going to spray for anything, weeds included. I told the DH, weeds are not always bad things and I dont want the chemicals in the yard. My house is not infested but termites are natural and if they are in the ground that is where they are suppose to be. I saw her this afternoon after working in the yard. She is still questioning me on when I am getting my weeds sprayed and when the termite guy will be here. Needless to say, I am not having anything sprayed with chemicals that they tell you not to walk barefoot on or let children, dogs, cats on or you should quit feeding the birds for a while.

Guess what, the DH mowed for me cause I was cleaning out flower beds. He must want something, he probably wanted dinner come to think of it.

I heard the frogs last night, got very excited and today it was perfect outside. Everything and I mean everything is coming up and looking fantastic. Just need some rain. I have my fingers crossed for all of us. However, it seems i read somewhere weather goes in 7 yr cycles. We will be a desert if it does rain this year. City water and rain water are not the same thing. Thank goodness I have a lot of drought tolerant plants.

I am literally exhausted tonight so I will read a little, take a long shower, and call it a night. I am thinking rain,rain,rain.

Chat more later, Stephanie

Hi everyone!

Susan, I am way, way down in extreme southern Oklahoma in Love County, out in the middle of nowhere, between Thackerville and Marietta. By car, I am about 15 minutes from Texas, but as the crow flies, I am only about 1/2 mile away from the Red River.

So, I usually do my plant shopping in Texas, partly because I grew up there and know all the nurseries, and partly because DH and DS work in Dallas, so we're always going down there for one thing or another. I am about 20 miles south of Ardmore, so maybe I can catch her May appearance there.

I'm sorry your health has been giving you trouble, and I am glad you were approved for SSD so quickly.

Stephanie, Uh oh, it looks like you have one of those neighbors who thinks that chemicals are the answer to everything. :(

When we moved here in 1999, I got lots of 'chemical' advice from the local farmers/ranchers. It took a while for them to see that organic gardening can work. And I 'won the battle' by sharing my yummy, organically raised vegetables with them. Now they can be shameless beggers once stuff starts getting ripe! :) I don't mind, though, as they always share their stuff with us too.

I was working in the yard today, and was surrounded by dogs, cats, guineas, chickens, tons and tons of wild birds, and lots of bugs. THAT, in a nutshell, is why I don't use chemicals. I want for all of us to exist in a healthy environment. Not everyone agrees with us, though, and that is a shame.

Spring is busting out all over here today. The peach trees, Mexican plums and redbuds are blooming. The wild purple vervain is blooming and blanketing fields and yards with those tiny purple flowers. More purple martins are arriving daily and new growth is appearing on the water lilies. The bermuda grass is really greening up big time now, and the hollies are about to bloom.

Big old dark storm clouds are gathering, but we've only had a couple of raindrops so far. There is a lot of rain west of us, and I hope it comes our way.

If we are on a 7-year cycle....can anyone remember the weather 7 years ago? I think it wasn't too bad. Seems like it was a slightly rainier year sandwiched in between two drier years. But the grasshoppers were awful that year.

I am tired. Spent too much time outside. Now that I am sitting in front of the computer, I am not going to want to get up, go downstairs and cook dinner, but I guess I'll have to do it anyway.

Dawn