Gardening along I-70 corridor, unknown zones and other issues

I think we should take a vote on who has the funniest heeby jeeby story to tell. Actually, these three get my vote: Lisa's story about the skunk Wild4gardens story about the tick and her husband Veronicastrum's story about the bee and her ahem cleavage * Posted by: ernie50 z7bGA (My Page) on Thu, Jun 26, 03 at 17:06 I was thinking the same. My favorites are Meadowlark's Mother of all Spiders & Marilou's snake orgy-they must be stopped!LOL. Great visuals. * Posted by: Storygardener 5/6 central oh (My Page) on Thu, Jun 26, 03 at 18:24 I've noticed a trend here...seems like only women get the garden heebie-jeebies. Don't men ever get them? Just wondering... * Posted by: Jannie z7 LI NY (My Page) on Thu, Jun 26, 03 at 19:29 My friend Angela went out for her Anniversary with DH Jim. She ordered a big salad, it came with cut-up portobello mushrooms, sliced in strips. Jim looked over, said her salad "looks like it has slugs in it," Angela went home in tears, and hasn't been able to eat mushrooms ever since. * Posted by: another_hosta_please 6 Coastal MA (My Page) on Thu, Jun 26, 03 at 20:03 lmao @jannie's story. That is priceless! * Posted by: ernie50 z7bGA (My Page) on Thu, Jun 26, 03 at 20:28 Why no, storygardener! We're much too macho and manly to...WHAT WAS THAT!!!;) * Posted by: bouncingpig Spokane z 4-5 (My Page) on Thu, Jun 26, 03 at 20:56 Here in Spokane we get these horrible spiders that look like a marshmallow after it has been roasted and is about to pop. If you squish them (poor DH gets that job!) they literally explode. Their bodies, not counting legs, are about an inch across! So creepy!!!! I also think those white plastic garden swans sold at K-mart border on giving me the heebie-jeebies, or perhaps just the "tacky-wackys". * Posted by: grrlsmom z5 IL (My Page) on Fri, Jun 27, 03 at 0:36 E had to share my fav maggot story. And by the way, I vote for another hostas story about her mom and the ground hog. LMAO! Anyway, when our 3 girls were little, they were very competitive about everything. Fixing chicken to go on the grill one night, I noticed there was an odd # of legs - not an absolutely, even, fair #, and thought, uh-oh, another fight! When dh brought them back in, one was gone and I even remarked, oh ya fixed that problem! He just looked at me. 6 wks later, oldest dd room SMELLED. I cleaned and cleaned, ripped apart the closet, everything. But for some reason, I don't remember why, I didn't get under the bed. One afternoon, I heard all the girls in dd rm. screaming their heads off - chicken leg had pretty much walked out from under the bed by itself. Maggots! The kids and friends were freaking, dh was gone, I had to bite the bullet and take of it ALL BY MYSELF. EWWWWWW! We finally figured out cat had snuck up, grabbed it before plate went out to be cooked and carted it under dd bed for a snack and then abandoned it. Thank God, none of the six I have now is interested in people food! * Posted by: Storygardener 5/6 central oh (My Page) on Fri, Jun 27, 03 at 5:44 Ah, yes, Ernie - that's what I figured...*giggle*. * Posted by: Wendy_the_Pooh USDA 2003 z5/6 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 29, 03 at 14:57 Today I found this THING growing on my straw... [Yucky fungus growing in straw] [More yucky fungus growing in straw] [Yes, even more yucky fungus growing in straw] Eeeeek, I almost touched it!! Also, my very own dog barf fungus... [Dried dog barf] [More dried dog barf] [ o ] RE: Garden Heebie-Jeebies II * Posted by: jennysrainbow z5 PA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 29, 03 at 17:34 I'm sure I'm not alone in getting that Heebie Jeebie feeling from spiders... Don't know why, but they give me the creeps. After being out in the garden one evening, I came in and saw a hidious, brown, hairy, rather large spider on my sneaker. I shooed it off and proceeded to squish it - only to realize that what I thought were "hairs" on the spider weren't... they were HUNDREDS of it's babies traveling on it's back!!! UGH! They were running all over the floor, up the walls, everywhere. My Heebie Jeebies were multiplied by 100 - literally. Had to get some spray to kill them all. Would have taken all night to track down and squish all the little ones. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. Great post - love these stories... hysterical! :) Thanks for the laughs. * Posted by: Veronicastrum z5 IL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 30, 03 at 9:35 THE WEEKEND REPORT: Friday - Went for a walk through the woods when somebody said, "Oh, there's poison ivy in here!" Yes, I was standing on it! (See my earlier post where I insist there is no poison ivy on my property. Mea culpa.) When I got in the house, I carefully removed my jeans and immediately washed them because the cuffs definitely dragged across the plant. Haven't decided how I will handle the leather work boots I was wearing! Saturday - Drove downstate to visit a friend and pick up my daughter from camp, so I was safe for the day! Sunday - worked in the garden most of the day. Took a mid-afternoon break on the porch. As I was running my hand through my hair, I felt a piece of leaf or a seed stuck in my hair, right at the part. Hmm, it was a little stubborn to get it out... Hmm again, what's that crawling on my hand now? EEUW! TICK! Thank goodness it's Monday! * Posted by: flytoxin z6a NJ (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 03 at 0:06 My story is not so much of an EEUW!!, but incredibly embarrassing. I mulch all my beds with wood chips as we have a tree service. The different variety of chips produce of course different varieties of fungus/mushrooms when they become extremely wet. Well one weekend the significant other's parents came down for a visit after a particularly rainy period. I had not been around the north side of the house for about a week and that area is heavily mulched in a wide swath. As I rounded the house giving them a tour of the various improvements we had made since their last visit we stopped dead in our tracks. There were hundreds of mushrooms, I mean hundreds. All of them the exact same standing there in full glory at complete attention. THEY EACH LOOKED LIKE A COMPLETE SET OF MALE GENITALIA. The flag pole and the two boys. It was a giant sea of white serpents. Have I told you yet that his parents are Baptist ministers? His mother was afraid to walk on the stone path leading through, she kept looking back and forth as though she thought one of them were going to jump out and bite her ankles. So what did the S.O. say to his father as he pointed at one of the shrooms, "Now you know why she likes gardening so much". AAARRGGG!! * Posted by: Wendy_the_Pooh USDA 2003 z5/6 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 03 at 0:18 Oh, my, is that funny, flytoxin. Glad I was awake for that story. Hee-hee-hee! * Posted by: Veronicastrum z5 IL (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 03 at 8:57 flytoxin, I will "witness" for you that you're not exaggerating - I had a nice "set" pop up in my own yard last summer. Thank heavens it was only my 14-year-old niece who commented on how interesting the mushrooms were. And by the way, I think your SO has the same sense of humor as my husband! * Posted by: TinaMcG Z5 Chicago (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 03 at 13:01 Hey speaking of dog-barf fungus, aka slime mold....this is the first year I haven't had a problem with it. Last year was a nightmare. I don't care if it "doesn't do any harm". It was growing all over my perennials, and if I hit it with the hose, there were poofs of black spore-smoke all over the place. It was like a Hitchcock film in our garden. Why don't I have slime mold this year? Well, the weather hasn't been that much different than in previous years, so I can only figure it's because I switched from hardwood bark mulch to a thick layer of shredded leaves. * Posted by: flytoxin z6a NJ (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 03 at 17:17 Tina McG: Could possibly be the change that did it. I do not use leaves as I found they created a slug problem for me. Dying material and a soft environment to slither over. They seem to resent the rougher texture. Last years chips were predominately maple which produced the serpent army, this year it's birch and it's crop are like the Japanese Shitaki mushrooms. Birch chips are my favorite as they smell great (just don't work with them too long after freshly being cut as you can actually be overcome by the fumes, smells like being in a giant soda factory). Like other chips they will dry out but a rain will bring on the fragrance again. I also find that the insect level seems to decrease in the beds when I use them. (Unfortunately I'm at the mercy of whatever is on the trucks when they come home and many times it's something else). * Posted by: littlebug5 z5 MO (My Page) on Wed, Jul 2, 03 at 17:38 Still laughing at flytoxin's anatomically correct shrooms. Well, I had a heebie-jeebie, and I still have chills up my back just remembering it: I was home alone, mowing my yard on my big noisy riding mower. On the side of my house, near the woods, I was mowing along when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned around on the seat and just caught the sight of a BIG blacksnake disappearing into the woods. About 4 FEET of him!!!! Well, I am a snake-phobic. I just about had a heart attack. Then, I thought, well, I can't let him get away! So I stopped the mower, went around to the garage to get the hoe, and come back looking for him. Well, I saw him all right. He raised his head up out of the weeds under the trees, looked at me, then KEPT RAISING UP OUT OF THE WEEDS TO A HEIGHT OF ABOUT 4 FOOT AND CLIMBED A TREE!!!! He stretched out along the branch that hung over my yard. About 6 Feet long! AAAAUGGGHHHH! So, methinks, I'll get you yet! So I go back to the garage to get my son's .22 and some shells. So I come back to shoot him and he's gone. Naturally! So, after I calmed down a little bit, I got back on my mower to finish the yard. (Hang with me here.) I had to mow under that branch, several times, and each time I was craning my neck to make sure he wasn't up there and ready to fall down on me. Unbeknownest to me, DH and DS (who is 13) returned home. DS brought me a cold pop (how sweet, you think). Well, he thought he would be clever and sneak up behind me and surprise me with it. Well, you guessed it. As I was making a pass under that fateful branch, DS tapped me on the shoulder. I thought I was going to die! As we say in Missouri, I nearly "had a cow." I screamed, I cried, I nearly wet my pants. DS thought it was extremely funny. And we haven't seen the snake since. * Posted by: Chris_ont 4-5 Ont (My Page) on Sat, Jul 5, 03 at 22:54 Littlebug, I can only say I'm glad you didn't still have that gun when your DS startled you! I had a moment today. There was this thing on my crocosmia. Round, grey, pea-size and shape. In some sort of web. I figured it for an egg or eggs of some sort. Because I can't leave well enough alone, I used my finger to poke at the very edge of the web, to see if it was a spider with its legs pulled in or something. SPROINGGGGGG. The thing took a gigantic leap, hit my finger (I think) and disappeared. It was just gone. I never even saw what it was. Of course, I was convinced that it landed somewhere on me. I ran in the house, removed all of my clothes and shook them out. I'm STILL convinced it's in my hair or something. I never learn... * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B (My Page) on Sun, Jul 6, 03 at 1:17 flytoxin, ROTHLMAO, hehehe! Hope the MIL loosened up some after her 'encounter' with the 'mushrooms' hehehe! * Posted by: Radagast US east coast (My Page) on Sun, Jul 6, 03 at 15:35 Here's a few, and yes, I am a guy, so you can snicker if you want to... --- The Medusa Pine: This one happened a bunch of years ago back when I was in college. My family has a modest-sized pine bush on the east side of the house. Well, one day I was out there trimming the grass or mowing it or something, and I kept hearing a rustling sound... I turned around and my eyes wided in horror at the pine bush. The whole thing was covered with pinesaw worms (or something like that) - these long, green caterpiller like things would cover the stems and sorta blend in, but they'd all squirm and wriggle at the same time. The result was as if the whole plant was a Medusa - a slithering, ghastly mass of snake-like worms. HORRID!! Fortunately, a good dose of insecticide kills the dang things, but it was a pretty revolting sight to see. You just don't expect to see that many bugs on a plant, and they were all green so they blended in... until they moved... --- Spiders: Normally, I don't mind them, but there's a particular kind that I've seen around on the east coast that gets in houses now and then... it's large and black, and while not one of the dangerous, biting types, it is still nasty and bold. Unlike most spiders, if you try to crush it, it will jump at you, or run away with astounding speed. Just a real pain in the neck, especially when they jump off walls and such. --- Mushrooms: I just hate mushrooms. I don't know why, exactly, though my family always had a problem with mushrooms and gross toadstools growing in the soggy, shady area of the yard near the drainage ditch. I just hate nearly all of them. They're nothing but decay, feeding upon death, and they have all sorts of gross and unnatural behavior... puffballs that unleash clouds of spores, bloated, revolting mushrooms that kill all the grass around them, etc... and the big ones STINK! when cut with a lawnmower or whatever. UGH!! * Posted by: odonata_va z7-8VA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 6, 03 at 16:17 I dont gross out over stuff but my husband does... I was in the garden. My husband (who hates nature as much as it hates him) is complaining to me about the tomato plant I pulled out (virus) He is standing with his back to the bluebird house. I can see the house entrance over his shoulder. He is standing only a foot away. I see something move. I think "oh the baby birds are moving around in the box" (they were getting ready to fledge. At this point, everything goes to slow motion. The cute little baby bird sticks its head out of the box. But wait, The head is black and reptilian not blue and feathery. Interesting, I think, Should I interrupt my patronizing but oblivious husband and alert him to the fact that he is about to get up close and personal with Nature?.... Nah, Said blacksnake came shooting out of the box, landed on his neck and dropped down and got caught between his t shirt and under his armpit as he did the fourth of July blacksnake on your neck dance. Best strip act I have ever witnessed in my front, back and side yard, clothes all OVER the place. Said snake was released in the woods with my blessing and Said hubby retired to the house in his jockey shorts. Neighbor lady said she felt she should have tipped him five bucks. I told her he was good at it because in 14 years of marriage, this has been the 4th time that a snake has dropped down on his neck. * Posted by: Wendy_the_Pooh USDA 2003 z5/6 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 6, 03 at 21:47 Chris_ont, It's probably still in the house. Have you imagined lately (while you're half-asleep) that you've felt something crawling on you? :) I know, I'm bad... * Posted by: Taryn S Ontario Z6B (My Page) on Sun, Jul 6, 03 at 23:11 odonata va, ROTHLMAO again! This is a very funny thread! * Posted by: Vicky60 z5 WI ) on Wed, Jul 16, 03 at 13:41 Oh my. My co-workers must think I am crazy. These are hilarious. Thanks for sharing. I especially love the snake stories. I can fortunately say that I've never had a close encounter, but I can imagine that I would do the, as odonata called it, Fourth-of-July blacksnake down your neck dance. I just don't think they (snakes) have evolved yet. * Posted by: Cris 6b RI (My Page) on Wed, Jul 16, 03 at 15:02 Maggots hands down. I was scarred as a 10 year old finding a dead rat in a heap of tack in our barn. < Ticks come in a close second. There's nothing more gross than a tick. < I freak out if I find one of me....jumping around...screeching...the whole nine yards * Posted by: Leslie6RI (My Page) on Wed, Jul 16, 03 at 16:18 I want to grow some of those mushrooms that flytoxin had. I don't know why... And I've never been concerned in the least about moths. UNTIL NOW! And I'm wondering what would happen if I dropped a snake on my husband's neck. Maybe I could charge the neighbors for the floor-show... This has to be the funniest thread I've ever read. * Posted by: momofthreeinzone4 Z4NY ) on Wed, Jul 16, 03 at 17:13 i got my son a bug catcher last year and he had a great time with it - he left it on the porch during the winter snow and when the snow thawed we found Cheez-its and the remains of a mouse in it. * Posted by: flytoxin z6a NJ (My Page) on Wed, Jul 16, 03 at 18:36 Are we allowed another EEEWWW! story? Please, please, it's a bonafide one that I just remembered. When my brother and I were young our little sister was a real pain in the ____. The type of kid that would sneak up behind you when you were watching TV, rip a hunk of hair out of the back of your head and then run and tell your parents you were beating on her. Which resulted in you getting smacked! Well one day when my brother and I were playing out in the front yard she was really harassing us so of course we started to chase her. She was so busy running while looking backwards that she had not realized she had cleared our property line and was now entering the neighbors. The neighbors with the really really big dogs.Well before you knew it she hit the biggest, juiciest, pile of St. Bernard's crap you ever saw. That poor dog must of had alot of grease that night as man was it loose. As soon as she hit it she went down like a baseball player sliding into home plate. Too this day I can still see it in slow mo in my mind. My brother and I started laughing so hard, she cried all the way home and we presented her to mom with us still laughing our butts off. What was mom's response? "Oh you think it's funny, well lets see how funny you think it is when you clean her up!" And we had to. EEEWWWWW!!! She stunk so bad! The hair on the one side of her head was slicked back like some greaser from the 50's, she even had it in her ears. Man it was horrible. My brother wanted to throw her in the pool but we remembered she still couldn't swim that good. Seriously we were pondering the thought but were afraid that if we had to fish her out in an emergency move we might not be able to get a good grip on her because she was so slippery. (Heh the minds of a 10 & an 11 yr old). We opted for the complete strip/garden hose technique as we were in enough hot water. So if any of you ever cross paths with my little sister and she starts to get on your nerves just use this little question "Is it true your nickname as a kid was stinky?" To this day decades later we never let her live that one down. * Posted by: BronwynsPetalPatch Z7/6b NJShore (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 1:38 Its so funny I found this post... I just went outside to 'right' my patio umbrella that fell over, table and all(had a rain storm) and stepped on a slug! :P Yik!!!!! (there really are no words to describe!) :O) * Posted by: SunnyDay2day mid-MI. zone 5 (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 15:30 Man, you guys are hard on my bladder! Thanks 10 million for the many many ROFL laughs! I can't remember any heebie jeebies since I got a bloodsucker on my foot as a girl of about 10 or 11. Then it was my mother's turn to laugh till she cried when I did the help-I'm-dying-get-this-monster-off-my-foot-can't-you-seeI'm-hysterical dance. Talk about disgusting...they rank right up there with maggots! * Posted by: Meig z5a IL (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 16:09 Most of these stories make me want to run and take a shower...my skin literally itches thinking about some of it...bleh! Others are making me laugh so hard I am crying. * Posted by: cadence 8b (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 17:50 You all have literally got me paranoid now. I just poured myself a nice cold coke and when I put the glass up to my lips, I stopped dead cold. Had to look into the glass first. LOL * Posted by: Yondertree Oregon coast (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 22:32 Yikes, I don't know whether to laugh or cry, like the time I was standing out in front of the place I work, talking to my boss, and a seagull dumped all over the shoulder of my coat. I never saw him laugh so hard, sadistic fellow, but it was one joke I couldn't laugh at. But this one still gives me chills: Once out in the garden, bending over, I felt a light touch of something softly running up my back. I looked up to see a hawk flying away, with a recently caught ground squirrel dangling from his talons! He was having trouble making his altitude fast enough, and that squirrel tail had brushed along my spine. * Posted by: Cleo1 6b (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 03 at 23:33 I always leave a 2 foot pail on the side of the house to collect weeds/garden cuttings. I threw stuff in the pail a few weeks ago and a mouse jumped up about a foot from inside the pail. Nearly gave me a heart attack. While I was pondering how it got in there and what I was going to do about it, my husband came home (HEHEHE). Told him I had a problem with my garden pail and stood back. It's ok, he does not have a heart problem, at least not that I know of. LOL... I never throw anything in the pail now without peeking first. * Posted by: sowngrow 8 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 03 at 0:14 Wow-I'm sitting here with my feet on the rung of my desk chair (don't know what might crawl over them) laughing 'til I'm crying. I was intermittently feeling like I have something crawling on me and then scratching my arms during the entire thread! flytoxin you are TOO much! And Sandra, I have a frog phobia also. Of course people don't take that seriously when they are told. One day a neighbor boy who knew full well of my phobia, actually threw a frog, as hard as he could, at me while he stood in the street and I stood by my garage talking to his mother. Fortunately for me and that da*# kid, the frog missed me. * Posted by: butterbeanbaby z5 MO (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 03 at 9:07 Oh my God, y'all need to put a disclaimer on this "Do Not Read While Pregnant"... I'm laughing so hard my eyes are running, my four year old thinks I've lost it, my skin is crawling, I can't breathe and either my water just broke or I may have wet my pants!!!!! I can't read about flytoxin's sister or odonata's hubby's blacksnake boogie again or I'll have to go to the hospital for sure! My hubby goes absolutely bezerk if he sees a wasp... big ol' 250 lb man doing the heebie jeebie dance, then he grabs a shoe and dances around practicing killing it for about ten minutes, hits the wall and the floor and the furniture before I get tired of watching and walk up and smack it for him. He also tries to kill wolf spiders with the hammer. City raised apartment boy LOL. Not long after we moved to MO from CA, our cat was sitting behind the TV one day just hissing her brains out... hubby and I were both going "what the *heck* is wrong with that stuipd cat" so I looked back there... big ol' grass spider had cornered my 14 lbs kitty and she couldn't get away. Anything to do with maggots or snakes is bad enough, but those *gigantic* Missouri slugs pretty much do me in. First time I saw one I started screaming "SNAKE SNAKE" at my hubby. Those suckers are so big, you can't step on them. I can't even bring myself to salt them they so nasty. I need to go take a shower! * Posted by: prussell z6 TN (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 03 at 17:31 why, oh why, has no one mentioned possums yet?! * Posted by: odonata_va z7-8VA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 03 at 19:59 Possums? live ones, dead ones or ones playing dead? * Posted by: odonata_va z7-8VA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 03 at 20:24 I think I?m going to charge admission to the greatest show on earth.... My husband against the world of nature... I?m going to take him out in the woods, release him and then film his epic and panic filled run back to civilization... I kid you not, the gods of nature hate this man... What follows are true accounts: 6 mind you 6 counts of blood poisoning in 14 years from mosquito bites. Snake falls off the top of the screen door onto his neck. Snake falls out of a tree onto his neck Snake pretends to be a garden hose and gets picked up Snake lands on neck from birdhouse 9 snakes + 1 log + 1 stuuuuck canoe on log + two newlyweds (the male newlywed is rocking the canoe and the log and the snakes and screaming I quote "I SHOULD HAVE NEVER MARRIED YOU! YOU SHOULD HAVE MARRIED A PARK RANGER!)= Everyone in the water including 9 snakes. (Ever seen someone levitate before?) Beaver attacks boat, but only stern of boat where husband sits. (He wouldn?t let me steer the boat anymore once he figured out I steer towards the snakes) Husband on hike goes to pee off the side of the trail into a ditch and a deer runs out of the woods and knocks him over. Mountain lion follows us up trail Mountain lion follows us down the trail until a BEAR shows up. Tiger swallowtails at a 'puddle club' fly up and circle his head and manage to stick a butterfly foot into his eye.. you guessed it, eye becomes infected. He bought me walkie talkies for Christmas so we can stay in contact......... * Posted by: flytoxin z6a NJ (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 03 at 21:57 To Sowngrow: My oldest son was a small creature collector and had a habit of sticking them in his pockets and forgetting to take them out once he got home. Bet you didn't know that the majority of frogs can't make it through the laundry from start to finish. The rpms in the spin cycle literally rips them apart. Found that out a few times. Totally gross! Although tree frogs are a bit more durable wash wise, it's the dryer that finishes them off! You find them shrink wrapped like some ancient Colorform on the drum wall (and they don't peel off easy). It was the gifts from my son that finally taught me to check pockets before doing a load. To odonata: Put that poor husband of yours in a bubble, he's been through enough. * Posted by: lavatera 5/chgo (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 11:03 What a relief to read about so many others that have similar heebie jeebie triggers despite wanting to be outdoorsy or even gardeners! It was especially a relief after having spent yesterday morning at my sister-in-law's, in her fabulous garden as she casually picked off beetles from various rose bushes and other plants and proceeded to smash or vivisect them in her BARE HANDS! EEEWWW! And she was doing it like it was nothing. Of course so many times I've read gardening experts say that before you resort to using chemicals you should try the hand pick method. But besides her, I've never actually SEEN someone doing it and with such gusto. I stop at using a hose and then I just give up on an infestation figuring que sera, sera.... * Posted by: Chris_ont 5a Ont (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 11:16 So I'm happily dead-heading this morning. The earth smells heavenly after this rain, the robins are following me around hoping I'd unearth a worm or two, hum, whistle, happy sigh, pretty pretty garden. Clipping some damaged violet leaves, I put my finger into something squishy and fluffy. Poked it right into a big clump of spider eggs in the process of hatching. My hand was instantly covered in tiny baby spiders. I now know why dogs roll on the ground when they've encountered something unpleasant. * Posted by: Talamorgan z6 PA (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 12:08 Chris_ont, I would have DIED right there on the spot. I am absolutely terrified of spiders! * Posted by: ccsuzy z6 IN (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 12:15 Yesterday I walked out in the yard and was standing looking at our new backdoor and realized my foot was becoming covered in ants. Last night after turning off the hose (which the teenagers left on the day before when washing the car) I was sitting on the couch and tried to swat the fly on my leg - it was a slug, YUCK. Then this morning I found a reddish black thing on the back of my arm that looked like a scab, rubbed it and it stood up on end, yep, it was a tick.... * Posted by: Wild4Gardens 6 PA (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 17:36 OMIGOD, Odonata.. I am crying from laughing so loud! * Posted by: wingnutdad620 z6 RI (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 20:18 Ok, no funny story to go with this one but those BIG PINK YUCKY IRIS BORERS ARE GROSS! * Posted by: Triple_Creek z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 03 at 21:23 Some of you people are just to funny. Thanks for the laughs. My garden Heebie Jeebies has to do with snakes. I used to be terrified of them, but since we built our house in the middle of 50 mostly wooded acres, I figure they were here first and am trying to cope. I can handle most of them but when it comes to the poisonous copperheads I draw the line. One day i decided to divide a daylily that had ajuga growing all around it and reached down to pull some of it back so I could see what I was doing. Well I guess the little copperhead under there thought I was trying to pick him up, and it bit me on the left pinkie.(they are poisonous) Can you say PANIC! Since I was home alone, I called the nearest neighbor. She said she would take me to the ER , but since her little ones were asleep, I decided to drive myself to where my DH was working not knowing if I was going to get sick or what. He took me on to the ER. I didn't die . LOL, just had to get a tetanus shot and had a swollen and painful hand for about a week. So I figure I can survive a bite but I still don't like them. This summer I was in the garden with my dog Keebler ( named for the Keebler Elves because he was a stray born in a hollow tree). Anyway, he gives his ?someone is here? bark but with a low growl at the end, so I come to check it out and there is a LARGE Shiny copperhead on the front walk. I went to get the hoe and when I got back I couldn't see it, but figured it went under the bush next to the walk. Couldn't flush it out with the hoe, so went for the 22. Still couldn't see it but shot into the bush anyway. It pops it head out and I shoot it. Sure I killed it with the first shot. But since snakes have a habit of wiggling for a while after they are dead. I target practiced for a while. When I related the snake story to my DH, he asked if I shot it in the head. My reply was, yes and everywhere else. He chuckled. I know they are gods creatures too, I just don't like them in such close proximity. * Posted by: ernie50 z7bGA (My Page) on Tue, Jul 22, 03 at 6:58 There's something admirable about a woman who shoots her own snakes. Kudos TC(and Keebler)! * Posted by Alex_z7 7 AL (My Page) on Tue, Jun 29, 04 at 11:43 Somehow, while doing a search on the whole site last night, the FAQ Gardening Heebie Jeebies showed up. It didn't have what I was searching for, but I can't tell you the last time I laughed that hard. I was telling my h about it when we got into bed last night, and I kept telling him stories as I remembered them. We were lying there, only 1 lamp on across the room, peacefully giggling about the creepies in the stories when suddenly something small jumps up and is flying for us on the bed! I screamed and yanked the covers up, trying to fend the creature off...... Just then I realized it had made a noise just before landing on my husband. Gee, it sounded like our cat. Now, our cat is not allowed in our bedroom because of my allergies. She has the upstairs of the house to herself and our big dogs have the downstairs. (She hates them. They love her and don't understand why she doesn't like them.) But she apparently gets lonely and feels left out so she crept across the living room and was sneaking into our bedroom. Once we finished laughing hysterically, I told her she needed to announce her presence BEFORE jumping on the bed like that. No response. I called her and cooed for her, no kitty. She had been so scared by my screaming that she had turned and run back through the living room (dog territory) and back upstairs! My h went to check on her and she huffily informed him that she was not amused, that she had lost one of her 9 lives to my scream, and that she was NOT going to grace us w/ her presence again tonight. Of course, tomorrow is another day.....

New gardeners, or experienced gardeners who move to New England from very different climates, often ask for recommended books that are appropriate to our region. This is a compilation of three related threads that were posted on the New England Gardening Forum. Some of these books are of most interest to New Englanders; others apply to gardening in general. Additional recommendations will be added as they appear. The first thread discusses whether books are still relevant in a time when the internet teems with information, some of it much more current than any publication can carry. There are also some book recommendations in this thread. The second thread is the main listing, with comments, of books New England Garden Webbers consider worth reading. The third thread concerns Thalassa Cruso, an Englishwoman who moved to New England, wrote many useful books, and hosted a TV show remembered with delight by many of us. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Mon, Jan 18, 10 at 14:39 I'm wondering if people think an FAQ on recommended gardening books would be useful. This could be either general gardening books or those specific to New England Regional gardening, and an easy format would be to just copy a thread like this so that individual comments would be included. What do people think? Please post your recommendations on the other thread, but just comment here or there if you think it's a good idea. Claire Follow-Up Postings: RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by bill_ri_z6b (My Page) on Mon, Jan 18, 10 at 16:20 Claire, I have lots of gardening books. One of my first and favorites is a two volume set called "Exotica" by Dr. A. B. Graf. I bought it in the 70's for $75.00. A few years later I bought his book "Tropica" for $100.00. Now that's some serious money in those days! And although I did learn a lot from them many years ago, I find that browsing the internet is far more up-to-date. First of all, there are always changes in the taxonomy. I see many cases where the genus, species or even the family has been reclassified. Another thing is that seeing one single photo in the books gave me an impression of what I thought the plant looked like. Now, seeing some of the same plants online, with many more angles, perspectives and lighting conditions, etc. I have a new concept of many of them. Some are more attractive than I had thought, while others not so much. So I guess what I'm saying is that books are kind of old school where so many new plants and new ideas abound. Finally in these tough economic times, I don't know if people would care to spend money on books when the latest information is available for free. I know that some people still don't have internet access, but then again they wouldn't be on the forum anyway. RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by corunum CT 6 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 18, 10 at 16:23 Yes! It's a great idea! And, good of you to do it. Read the other thread and saw that that was where I discovered Stein's "Noah's Garden". Without that posting, I would have missed that book. Also from the other thread,  "For general ambience of gardening and idiosyncratic gardeners, read anything by Thalassa Cruso, or anything by Beverley Nichols, or anything by Henry Mitchell.". I have already ordered a one cent copy of Cruso's "To Everything There Is a Season: The Gardening Year". As if that were not enough, I also discovered that I am an idiosyncratic gardener! That now replaces the moniker whacko eccentric.  Thanks, Claire. Jane RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Mon, Jan 18, 10 at 18:04 Bill: I understand what you say about browsing the internet rather than reading books. However, you started browsing with a solid background gained from excellent reference books. I'm a happy browser, but my problems with the internet are always 1. Where do I start?, and  2. Who do I believe? I love my books, even the ones I haven't gotten around to reading yet. The information in them is already assembled and digested by someone who has some expertise in the field. I can read about a plant and then go and google for more pictures and more opinions and maybe interesting new cultivars. Believing everything on the internet is like believing everything in some of the more disreputable catalogs. I give preference to .edu or .org or .gov sites, and take .com sites with a varying amount of salt. Also, not everyone is equally comfortable searching the web or has the patience to dig through all the information available. Besides, it's fun to read about a gardener's personal experience - I discovered Thalassa Cruso about the same time I discovered Julia Child (they both had great TV shows). People still post questions on many forums about what books are recommended for gardeners, so the interest seems to be there. Whether it's worth doing a FAQ is another issue. Claire RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 5:37 I had a smile on my face reading your three posts. I could agree with all of you. First I have to say Claire, that was the funniest line I've read in awhile. [g] "I love my books, even the ones I haven't gotten around to reading yet." What is so funny is that I completely understand what you are saying. :-) I've been horrified by the interest in Kindle. Just as iPods are quickly replacing CDs, I can see it won't be long before book publishers are going to be absent from the landscape. I think that's very sad. I grew up with books and they have a lot of value to me that is hard to put into words, above and beyond the obvious. And Bill, I see your side of it too. When I want information, the internet has become the first place I look more often than not. But despite that, I've often been disappointed with the information I've found. And there is too much of it, so it is hard to gather it all together and it's time consuming. I love information that has already been assembled and edited as Claire mentions, by an expert. But then again, I really value hearing many opinions about other gardener's experiences. So I do need both. Now I browse the library catalog a few times a week online and have books on reserve continually. So access to the internet has actually increased my use of the library. And Bill, your point about seeing many different photos on the internet, really struck a chord. A picture is worth a thousand words and multiple photos of something you have never seen, is even better. One book I would have really missed seeing was 'The Garden at Highgrove.' by Prince Charles of Wales. I love his garden and he and his gardeners grow organically. English gardens are my very favorite and his is amazing on a grand scale. He is coming out with a book on the environment this year, called 'Harmony' that evidently will include criticism of big business. Not that I am an admirer of him personally, but I do find his interest in organic gardening and the environment surprising and refreshing in such a prominent figure. Another English gardener, whose garden I greatly admire is Beth Chatto, who has a few books out. She has 'The Dry Garden' and The Damp Garden' but my favorite is'Beth Chatto's Woodland Garden: Shade-Loving Plants for Year-Round Interest'. Her book was the first time I found myself intrigued by her winter gardening choices. I love the way she has managed to combine cultivating plants in a natural setting in a seamless way. She elevates it to an art. See link to an interesting interview with her below. 'Meadows'by Christopher Lloyd is another favorite that has some memorable photos in it. Meadows like I've never seen in my life. Made me really long for a landscape that had meadows. Jane, I have not gotten around to reading 'Noah's Garden' yet, but I have heard many people mention it as one of their favorites. Thalassa Cruso is another author I haven't tried yet. Is she from New England? Here is a link that might be useful: Interview with Beth Chatto RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 11:36 PM2: Thalassa Cruso was a young Englishwoman from a horticultural family who married an American and moved to New England. She immediately began to set up gardens here and had to deal with a new climate, new zones and new plants. Her books relate how she dealt with the new problems, the mistakes she made, and how she learned from them - all this with great humor and intelligence. A good read. Claire RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 14:02 Claire, that sounds like a book I would find very interesting. Thanks RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by idabean 5A (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 23:32 wonderful idea. I would contribute titles and read the recommended. Since I saw "Its complicated" I was thinking about rereading the Secret GArden. I don't think I've read it recently with the eye of a gardener. idabean/marie RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by bill_ri_z6b (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 5:45 Claire and Prairiemoon, I used to watch Thalassa Cruso ("Making Things Grow") all the time. From some of your comments, I'm thinking that maybe because I have a solid background about gardening in general, which I acquired from such shows, as well as from the great old reference books that I had and I suppose from many years of gardening experience, that my interest has now shifted more to the "What?" rather than the "How?" do I grow. So, at least for me, the internet is the best source to find those new and exciting plants. I am particularly interested in finding lesser-known species of a familiar genus that is hardier than it's better known relatives and worth a try here in my zone 6 garden. Also, there are newer hybrids of more tender genera that have been bred for cold hardiness. And finally there are some plants that are seldom grown (for reasons unknown) that are perfectly hardy here but just aren't used. I certainly don't know everything (Can any of us ever?) but I do know the basics. So for me, the internet is the tool of choice, but I can see how good books might be best for someone who is starting out with gardening. And there aren't any TV programs that even come close to Thalassa's. Even with HGTV and all the other channels, the shows are almost ridiculously vapid when it comes to actual identification and culture of the plants themselves. They're geared toward the "WOW!" factor of the before and after yard makeover. They all seem to take place in California, in a flat suburban yard, neatly fenced or walled in. It goes from a scruffy, weed infested messy yard to a trendy but uninspired one.........must have a gravel patio, pergola, fire pit and water feature. Then the homeowner is required to say "Awesome!" a minimum of six times. I sit and wonder how long before the plants are dead and the pergola falls over.......... RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 11:35 Bill, I never gardened at all until the early 1980s when a friend of mine introduced me to vegetable gardening. I loved it and still do. I used to watch 'The Victory Garden' show. HGTV has really reduced their programming in the area of gardening. One show I have enjoyed is 'Gardener's Diary' which spends a whole episode visiting one person's garden of interest. Very worthwhile show which you can still catch reruns of, once in awhile. Sorry I missed 'Making Things Grow' I am sure it was interesting and educational. So, the FAQ on gardening books wouldn't be something you would use too much, maybe you could start a thread to share some of your favorite links to internet sites that have been helpful to you? I'm always looking for a good internet reference too. There's so many out there, it's hard to weed through it all to come up with the best sites. RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 11:45 Marie (idabean): Please post your recommended books on the other thread (or here if you prefer). My intent is to take these two threads and combine them loosely so that each post is retained in each entirety. That way all the comments will be available on the FAQ. I did something similar to that with the How do I keep deer and moose from eating up my garden? FAQ although I may leave the dates in. Once I get the FAQ on the FAQ page, I can always add more recommendations as they come in. Claire RE: Proposed FAQ on recommended books Posted by bill_ri_z6b (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 12:26 Prariemoon, I had forgotten about "A Gardner's Diary" but I did watch it all the time. It was a last remnant of the type of programming that we should see more of. Intelligent and educational with nice photography. I have noticed that even the video talents of whoever does the shoots for some of the newer HGTV shows are sorely lacking. Underexposed or totally blown-out videos are common. I just don't think they want to spend the money for a real professional, just as they don't want truly experienced hosts. It seems the shows are more for good times and laughs during the makeover rather than to demonstrate good practices to us, or introduce us to some interesting plants, trees or flowers. I will post links to some internet sites that I find useful. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Recommended gardening books? Posted by ctreynard ) on Wed, Jul 23, 08 at 6:02 Hey, all! Looking to read some gardening books (perennial and botanical) that have knocked other people's sox off, or given you "aha" moments.... Any suggestions? Follow-Up Postings: RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by arbo_retum z5 ,WinchstrMA (My Page) on Wed, Jul 23, 08 at 15:37 The Well Tended Perennial Garden RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by amysrq 5 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 23, 08 at 17:27 Oh, that's nice to hear....my copy just showed up on the doorstep this afternoon! I also orderedYour House, Your Garden on the advice of a very experienced gardening friend. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by thyme2dig 5 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 23, 08 at 20:34 Another good DiSabato book is The Well Designed Mixed Garden. Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs, and his Viburnum and Hydrangea books are good resources Time Tested Plants, Pamela Harper The Collector's Garden, Ken Druse Newcomb's Wildflower Guide is very helpful for identification RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by davidinct (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 0:39 If the logistics, history and economics of world flower trade interest you "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers" by Amy Stewart is worth a look. Starts with the somewhat tragic story of Leslie Woodriff who bred the "Stargazer" lily, touches on one of the last sweet violet growers in America, growers in South America, importers in Miami, the Amsterdam auction houses and high line florists in New York. For humor and some history of rose breeding, pick up Aurelia C. Scott's "Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening" RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by ctreynard ) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 17:32 Wonderful suggestions, all! Keep them coming! :) RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 18:04 For general ambience of gardening and idiosyncratic gardeners, read anything by Thalassa Cruso, or anything by Beverley Nichols, or anything by Henry Mitchell. For beautifully written and effortlessly informative books about native plants, read anything by William Cullina (formerly of the New England Wild flower Society). He wrote the best explanation I've ever read about why some plants grow well in acidic soil and others in alkaline. Claire RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by emily06 72 (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 19:18 In addition to those already recommended: The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch Color Echoes: Harmonizing Color in Your Garden, by Pamela J. Harper The Damrosch book is a compendium which has helped this newbie gardener avoid big mistakes countless times. The newest edition also stresses organic practices.  The Harper book was truly "aha!" for me. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by terrene 5b MA USA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 19:29 I love William Cullina's books and just ordered the one about Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses. Claire, why do you say that Cullina is formerly of NEWFS? Their website says that he is the nursery director. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 19:46 I've taken out a few of Cullina's books too. The library system even has that Ferns and Mosses book and I've borrowed it already. Barbara Damrosch has a wonderful garden! She and her husband Eliot Coleman hosted a gardening TV series called 'Gardening Naturally'. So I know she is a great gardener, but I took her books out and never warmed up to them. Sorry. Eliot Coleman wrote, 'The New Organic Grower' and'Four Season Harvest'. He is very innovative about organic growing methods and growing vegetables in New England. I have taken out 'The Garden at Highgrove' which was to me, a mesmerizing coffee table quality book about Prince Charles' efforts to renovate their royal property using organic methods. Gorgeous photos. I always mention 'Meadows' by Lloyd Christopher which is quite delicious to me. I find the photos again, very inspiring and satisfying and make me wonder how there is a gardener that exists that could create some of these landscapes. I have a real love of many gardens created by Piet Oudolf who has four books in our library system. 'Dream Plants for the Natural Garden' was a great one. I wish someone would invite him to come to Boston and design some of our public spaces. I'm sure I am forgetting some of my favorites. I did take a minute to see what was new in the library system and a couple of titles...looked interesting that I have not read yet.... 'The Authentic Garden: five principles for cultivating a sense of place', by Claire Sawyers 'The Magic of Monet's Garden: his planting plans and color harmonies' by Derek Fell If I remember the one I am forgetting I will come back. Have fun... pm2 RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 20:40 terrene: I don't remember where I read it, but he's moving to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay, Maine. He talks about the move on his web site. Claire RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by diggerb2 z5oh (My Page) on Fri, Jul 25, 08 at 17:21 my aha book was sara stein's Noah's Garden. I just so enjoyed it after checking it out of the library 3 times, i had to go and buy it for myself. but its more about the philosphy of the garden that actual gardening. But nopw i know how to get lightening bugs in my yard and the neighborhood kids come to my house to catch them all of june and july. yes the book by HRH Charles about Highgrove is just lovely  and full of information on a grand scale. I liked the Botany of Desired by Michael Pollan. the book about growing Giant Pumpkins was a good read. i refer to it as backyard biggies-- but i think the title is Backyard Giants-- its a new book in the past year or so. Buried Treasures-- its a book about rare/exotic bulbs  was interesting to read. but i always suggest Noah's Garden. Diggerb RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by moccasinlanding z8B AL/z5b MA (My Page) on Sat, Jul 26, 08 at 21:41 One of my very favorite books is by Roy Guste, SECRET GARDENS OF THE VIEUX CARRE. Long out of print, it recently came out in second edition. Having such a lovely series of photos and text showing the courtyard gardens of New Orleans has provided me much inspiration. Another one I liked for years, THE SCENTED GARDEN by Rosemary Verey, is OOP but Amazon has some for sale. I am awaiting delivery of HYDRANGEAS which was recommended on this forum or on the hydrangea forum. So much variety I never imagined in these over-achieving plants. One of my favorites was lost in Katrina, MONET'S GARDEN...don't recall the exact title. But it is the source of inspiration for my mass planting of nasturtiums which grow with reckless abandon along the drive and patio at our house in MA. It is way to hot to do that in south AL. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by davidinct (My Page) on Sat, Jul 26, 08 at 22:49 Cornell has 1,849 "agricultural texts published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century" on line below: Here is a link that might be useful: Core Historical Literature of Agriculture RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by jackied164 z6 MA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 27, 08 at 22:09 The Well Tended Perennial Garden would be top on my list and I was happy to see it was the first to be recommended. I have many other books I got to to find out about plants but this it the one to go to to find out how to really grow perennials. My asters no longer flop, my hellenium is much more to my liking and I am much better at fall and spring garden chores. A great read is Margery Fish's book "We Made A Garden". I love forces of nature and she was one. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by carl18 z6 NJ (My Page) on Mon, Jul 28, 08 at 20:22 Three cheers for this post! You've already tipped me off to a couple more books I need to look for. . . Let me echo the recommendations for Pam Harper, Michael  Pollan (almost everything he's written) and most definitely  HRH Prince Charles's Highgrove book. . .glanced at it in  the PHS library in Philadelphia thinking it was just another "photo-op" coffee table book and ended up tracking  down a used copy on Amazon. . . Other favorites, especially about gardeners and the pursuit  of gardening: - "Two Gardeners: A Friendship in Letters" a remarkable  exchange between Elizabeth Lawrence, the noted  southern garden writer, and Katherine S. White, the  legendary New Yorker writer;  - "A Gentle Plea for Chaos" by Mirabel Osler, a  charming gardening memoir;  - "Duck Hill Journal", my favorite of the Page Dickey  writings, partially because I've visited her garden  in Connecticut and this just helped you understand  how it all came to be;  - "Deep in the Green", a collection of some of Ann  Ravers best columns for The New Yorker and the the  NY Times;  - Two splendid Piet Oudolf books: "Dream Plants for the  Natural Garden" and "Designing With Plants";  - "On Garden Style" by Bunny Williams (another CT garden  I've visited) but oddly enough, I found the book  more interesting than the actual garden. . . Carl RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by ellen_s z5 centralMA (My Page) on Tue, Jul 29, 08 at 9:55 Reader's Digest Organic Gardening for the 21st Century, by John Fedor is one of the books that changed my gardening outlook when I was given it as a gift. It is one of those books where the photos draw you into the text, and explains the concepts of organic gardening in an easy-to-understand way. Highly inspiring. And its reference section on growing vegetables is one that I still regularly turn to. The Cullina books are also must-have for anybody growing native plants and learning about natural-style gardening. I love his books and his writing style is so enjoyable. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by natgreeneveg 6 (My Page) on Mon, Nov 2, 09 at 12:41 In case anyone missed the PBS special The Botany of Desire which premiered Wednesday, October 28, 2009, you can still watch the entire program online. It's incredible. BOTANY OF DESIRE is a documentary which tells the utterly original story of everyday plants and the way they have domesticated humankind. An interpretation of the relationship between plants and people. This two-hour documentary explores plant evolution and takes viewers from the potato fields of Peru and Idaho, the apple forests of Kazakhstan, and the tulip markets of Amsterdam. View online in it's entirety: here This is another related program by the same presenter on LINK TV (a cable access channel) which is timely: Deep Agriculture  Traditional methods of agriculture in most developed nations have long ignored environmental concerns. Factors such as soil erosion, water shortage and the impact of chemicals on bio-systems have been overlooked in favour of massive crop yields and cheaper food. But what impact does this have on our health and our environment? View online in it's entirety: here __________________________ Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and witness the evolution of an Organic Kitchen Garden. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Mon, Jan 18, 10 at 14:32 I'm wondering if people think an FAQ on recommended gardening books would be useful. This could be either general gardening books or those specific to New England Regional gardening, and an easy format would be to just copy a thread like this so that individual comments would be included. What do people think? ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Below is a post I clipped a while ago for possible inclusion in this kind of FAQ. In any case, it belongs in this thread too. RE: Porcelain berry --worry or not? (Follow-Up #7)  posted by: carl18 on 09.02.2008 at 11:32 am in New England Gardening Forum Let me attempt to brighten your frame of mind: My feeling is that Mother Nature really DOES have it all under control (how many millions of years has it been?). . .for example, with any luck, one day you'll find one of those nasty hornworms on your prized tomatoes and, lo and behold, it has a pack of tiny parasitic wasps glued to it's backside. . .once these little predators turn up, you'll have no more hornworms that season. Bottom line:  we're the one's who are out of line, not M. Nature. . .  sigh. . . Appropos this subject, I am HIGHLY recommending a remarkable book (discovered here on GW on someone's book list) titled "Noah's Garden" by Sara Stein. . .it's all about understanding the complex ecology of our (very  unnatural) gardens, and trying to go native. . .which she freely acknowledges is tough (given how extreme our gardens have become), but possible in moderation. I found an inexpensive copy at used books. . . Carl RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by corunum CT 6 (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 11:57 Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition Author: Robert Pogue Harrison Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 19:22 So many books and so little time... :-) I would really love to just sit and read all of these books. Anyway, since you are going to do the FAQs Claire, I dug up the book I was trying to remember the last time this thread was circulating. I don't know if any of you like fiction, but this is a novel about an Englishwoman who was a horticulturist during World War II and was sent to a country estate to manage 'land girls' to grow vegetables as part of the war effort. I loved it! It had all my favorite themes, the English countryside, gardening, garden restoration and WWII. Link below to Amazon. The Amazon review is not that great, but read the customer reviews. I would have given the book 4 stars. It's called' The Lost Garden' by Helen Humphreys and it is available at the library. Here is a link that might be useful: The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Thu, Jan 21, 10 at 10:23 Claire, I visited some of the book websites this morning, trying to remember some of the titles I've enjoyed on the subject of New England Gardening and then I went to the library database when the bookseller sites had more new books than old. At least at the library, I was expecting to see many titles that I had read, because I have taken a ton of gardening books home over the years, but I was quite surprised to find so many titles that I hadn't read and stirred my interest. So here is an account of my morning book browsing..... 'The New Hampshire Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide to Gardening in the Granite State. ' I have not read it but the customer reviews gave it 5 stars. 'The Massachusetts Gardener's Companion: The Insider's Guide to Gardening in Massachusetts' I saw one for Vermont and Rhode Island and I assume they also have one for Maine and Connecticut, too. I enjoyed 'The New England Gardener's Book of Lists' by Karan Davis Cutler And it looks like there is a new book out just this year...'New England Gardener's Resource: All you Need to Know to Plant and Maintain a New England Garden' by Jacqueline Heriteau & company Another new book just out in 2010...  'Roses for New England: A Guide to Sustainable Rose Gardening' by Mike and Angelina Chute Here's one for Tree Oracle and ego45...  'Republic of Shade: New England and the American Elm' by Thomas J. Campanella I was surprised to see a music CD in among the books on the Barnes & Noble website called 'Nights in the Gardens of Maine' by Paul Sullivan. He also has one called 'Sketches of Maine' And here is a book I want to read, called...  'Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities!: Notes from A Gloucester Garden' by Kim Smith. It is written by a woman who is a professional decorator and lives on a quarter acre seaside property. She crams a lot in, even apricots, which made me think of Bill, trying to push his zone. On the Amazon website, there were rave reviews for the book. See link below. Another book that I also want to read....  'On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening Without Boundaries' by Reynolds, Richard. "....this lighthearted guide is a seriously silly romp through the adventurous pastime of gardening other people's plots. Reynolds, after five months living in a 10-story tower block in London, missed gardening and began surreptitiously cultivating the planters in front of his building, gardening in the dead of night to avoid interference. He started a blog to share his delight in illicit gardening, and discovered he was part of an international movement." Has anyone read 'Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening & Conservation' by Donald Joseph Leopold? That sounds like it's right up your alley, terrene. Or...'Gardening at the Dragon's Gate: at work in the wild and cultivated world' by Wendy Johnson. I've heard other recommendations for this book but haven't read it yet. Did anyone mention 'Tasha Tudor's Garden' by Tovah Martin, yet? She lived a 19th century lifestyle in a hand hewn house in Vermont, and kept a lot of animals from parrots to Nubian goats. She illustrated 'A Child's Garden of Verses' by Robert Louis Stevenson and has evidently written a lot of children's books. And....... 'Once Upon a Windowsill : a history of indoor plants' by Tovah Martin And here's one for Ginny....  'So Fine a Prospect: Historic New England Gardens' by Alan Emmet Did someone mention they were planning to build stone walls? 'The Granite Kiss: Traditions and Techniques of Building New England Stone Walls' by Kevin Gardner I read 'Island Garden'by Celia Thaxter last year which was an enjoyable read. She gardened on an island off the coast of New Hampshire. I have not read the 'Arrows Cookbook' by Clark Frasier and Company...but we did eat there once and the food was wonderful. They have their own herb garden. I came across a book that looks fascinating and I hope to read soon. 'Tales of the New England Coast'compiled by Frank Oppel. It is reprints of magazine articles from 1884 to 1910, giving you little glimpses of New England history. I know it's not gardening but ignore it if it doesn't appeal to you. :-) That's what I found on the subject of New England gardening. I did begin to scan a long list on the library website, but I guess I started with the most recent books and those I would have read would be older. I will try to look at it again soon. I don't think I have read a lot of books specifically focused on New England, for some reason. I skipped over Vegetable Gardening. Aside from Eliot Coleman who I've already mentioned, I've read 'The Victory Garden' and not much else, that I remember. Maybe someone else has read others? If anyone has read any of the above titles and could add their opinions on them, it would be great. Here is a link that might be useful: Oh Garden of Possibilities RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by jackied164 z6 MA (My Page) on Thu, Jan 21, 10 at 20:42 I was also happy to see The Well Tended Perennial Garden as the first response. That is where it should be and I am another gardener who is much happier with my asters and hellenium and other perennials having read it. Seeing Beverly Nichols, Henry Mitchell and Margery Fish also made me happy. I read them over and over. Here are a few I do not think I saw above. Eleanor Perenyi's. This is another book I read and re-read. Not necessarily because there is a whole lot of garden advice but because it is so beautifully written - and written by a woman with HUGE opinions. I love her and I found an old hardcover edition of the book that has a great picture of her out in her garden with a cocktail which increased my love for her. Her non-gardening book "More Was Lost" is very good as well. I also highly recommend Jamaica Kincaid's "My Garden (Book)". She is a great writer and also full of opinions. I think I read this book at least once a year. Finally I recently read Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd's "Our Life In Gardens" and loved it. Their other books are good too. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 13:47 I just went to my bookshelves and the isolated piles and I pulled out books that I often use as references, plus a few that are half read or still in the waiting line. I'm very interested in using native plants where appropriate, so I often start with William Cullina's New England Wild Flower Society Guides concerning Wildflowers, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, and Native Ferns, Moss & Grasses. After these, I check the entries in "Native Plants of the Northeast" by Donald J. Leopold (mentioned above and very comprehensive). "Armitage's Native Plants for North American Gardens" by Allen M. Armitage concentrates on gardenworthy plants and is also useful. "The Natural Habitat Garden" by Ken Druse is in my half-read pile and is worth finishing. "Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs" by Michael A. Dirr is a classic, mentioned already. The plants mentioned aren't all native, but they will survive in most of New England. If you know and appreciate "The Sibley Guide to Birds", you'll like "The Sibley Guide to Trees" by David Allen Sibley. The book has very clear illustrations and sensible discussions, and maps showing where the trees grow in this country. It includes both natives and introduced trees. For general reference, there's the little "Great Plant Guide" by the American Horticultural Society. The version I have covers 3000 recommended plants. And then there's the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Handbook series. I've been a subscriber for years and I just counted a little more than 100 separate handbooks on my shelf; each one covering a specific topic. Lee Reich's books are always sensible and well-researched - I have his "Weedless Gardening" - not really weedless, but a persuasive argument for caring for the soil and the soil structure. I've only dabbled in his "Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden" and his" Landscaping with Fruit", but I consider them to be valuable reference books. Some of us may appreciate the "Allergy-Free Gardening" book by Thomas Leo Ogren, which is invaluable to anyone who has to deal with pollen and other sensitivities. Finally, one book I haven't read yet but that has great reviews is "Wicked Plants" by Amy Stewart subtitled 'THE WEED THAT KILLED LINCOLN'S MOTHER & OTHER BOTANICAL ATROCITIES". Now I just have to force myself to put these books back on the shelves... maybe I'll just read a little bit.... Claire RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 16:53 Claire, I have the 'American Horticultural Society encyclopedia of gardening' and I rarely open it any more. Which sort of supports Bill's suggestion that he would rather use the internet. I must be using it a lot more for gathering information too. So my garden reading is more topical I guess. I did think of a few more books, some of which have a New England slant..... 'Earthly pleasures : tales from a biologist's garden' is a new book out by Roger Swain who was a long time host of The Victory Garden. Did you know he graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D. in Biology? I didn't. [g] Then he worked for Horticulture Magazine and has written other books. He also hosted the television show 'People, Places, and Plants'. 'The Boston Globe illustrated New England gardening almanac : a gardener's weekly companion.' by Carol Stocker, a Providence native who wrote the gardening column for the Boston Globe for many years. 'The garden squares of Boston' by Phebe S. Goodman 'To dwell is to garden : a history of Boston's community gardens' by Sam Bass Warner, Jr. For lovers of poetry and those who live in the western part of Massachusetts.....'Emily Dickinson's gardens : a celebration of a poet and gardener' by Marta McDowell. And two more books written by New England gardeners.... 'Four tenths of an acre : reflections on a gardening life' by Laurie Lisle is a biography of one Connecticut gardener. 'Dear Mr. Jefferson : letters from a Nantucket gardener' by Laura Simo Another book for gardeners living on the Cape .... �Į'Nantucket : gardens and houses' by Taylor Lewis Some unusual vegetables to grow..... �Į'The Gardener's Handbook of Edible Plants' by Rosalind Creasy �Į".....Includes such unlikely plants as kumquat, lotus, sorrel, borage, and nasturtium" 'The gardener's life : inspired plantsmen, passionate collectors, and singular visions in the world' by Larry Sheehan "....More than a how-to gardening book, The Gardener��s Life works its way to the heart of why gardeners have unlimited fascination with their pastime, and why the garden is a place where art and nature, technique and toil��not to mention joie de vivre��meet to create paradise." 'Legends in the garden : who in the world is Nellie Stevens?' by Linda L. Copeland and Allan M. Armitage My Mother's Garden' by Deena Rosenberg and Penelope Hobhouse �Į"....A garden and a child - the similarities between the two are striking. Both require an investment of time and patience. Both call for a special caretaker to consider their needs and look out for their futures. And both will blossom when tended with a mother's love." I wonder if anyone has any good children's books to add? I have read....'Linnea's windowsill garden' by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson and enjoyed it. Claire, you must have a book title to recommend for attracting birds to the garden? I have read 'Bird by Bird Gardening' by Sally Roth and enjoyed it but have read so-so reviews for it. 'The wildlife gardener's guide' by Janet Marinelli is another publication by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden published in 2008. And a DVD of 'Gardens of the World' with Audrey Hepburn' is a nice way to spend a rainy Sunday. So nice to see Audrey Hepburn as host too. I did want to mention, that I plan on copy/pasting this list to keep a copy for myself, since GW seems to be having continuing difficulty maintaining the website. You never know what's going to be missing next. [g] RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 21:11 PM2: I like the way you only highlighted the book titles in red, not the authors. It reads better than doing both. I'll change the FAQ to that method tomorrow, when I go in to enter your latest post. Thanks,  Claire RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 23:15 Claire, I didn't notice I was doing it different. If you prefer it that way, I could change my posts tomorrow, if that will help. I think you are right, it is easier to read. I left out something on the Arnold Arboretum and on Frederick Law Olmsted... 'Charles Sprague Sargent and the Arnold Arboretum' by S.B. Sutton 'Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston park system' by Cynthia Zaitzevsky RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by nhbabs z4b-5a NH (My Page) on Fri, Feb 5, 10 at 21:23 I love the books of Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd - well written & by a couple of great gardeners: Our Life in Gardens A Year at North Hill: Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden Annuals for Connoisseurs I like Michael Dirr's books, not only for his incredible knowledge of plants, but also for his sense of humor and opinions. Besides  Hardy Trees and Shrubs, I also like his  Viburnums: Flowering Shrubs for Every Season and Hydrangeas for American Gardens. A recent purchase is  1000 garden ideas by Stafford Cliff.  Little text, but lots and lots of images, grouped by theme - fences, paths, water features, statues, etc., etc. For me a great visual vocabulary list. RE: Recommended gardening books? Posted by diggerb2 z5oh (My Page) on Sun, Feb 7, 10 at 16:06 i would heartily recommend : gardening at dragon's gate as a great read. also the 3000 mile garden diggerb2 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. From a thread on Mapping Nurseries: Posted by ginny12 z5 MA on Fri, Apr 16, 10 at 19:50 This is a great project and I hope it goes forward. Don't forget about that most interesting and useful book, "The Adventurous Gardener" by Ruah Donnelly. It's all about just the kind of New England nurseries you are talking about, altho not necessarily right off the interstate. And it came out awhile ago but most are still around. Any New England gardener should have this book--in the car at all times! .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Thalasso Cruso video Posted by bill_ri_z6b (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 14:18 It seems that this is the only available video of her show from 1967 called "Making Things Grow". The author of the website tells us that WGBH said it does not have the funds to convert the archived tapes to a modern format. That's too bad because she was quite knowledgeable and had a straightforward approach to gardening. Listen to her comments as she learns about bonsai from her guest! Follow-Up Postings: RE: Thalasso Cruso video - link Posted by bill_ri_z6b (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 14:32 Seems the link did not paste in the previous post, so here it is: (editor's note: search the internet for "Thalassa Cruso Returns!", posted on Michael Weishan's blog) RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 15:28 See if this works Here is a link that might be useful: Thalassa Cruso video RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by corunum CT 6 (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 16:26 Thank you both. Absolutely priceless film! I've ordered a copy of her book "To Everything There Is a Season: The Gardening Year" from which was recommended by Claire. This is a classic! Made my afternoon! Jane RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 17:06 I just watched the whole video and it was not only educational but very humorous. I like her style, because she didn't take any shortcuts, she demonstrated the whole process from start to finish with enough detail, that you weren't left guessing. I wouldn't feel anxiety to try a bonsai after watching that video. I wish there were more of her tapes. She's a riot. I looked on You Tube but nothing. I looked in the library system and they had 4 books but no videos. I did read on the PBS site, that this one was available because the new host of the Victory Garden took an old VHS tape of her program and digitized it. But it is expensive to do them all I guess. I'm going to get the books from the library. Thanks for finding that Bill. RE: Thalasso Cruso video 2 Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 17:23 One last thought, I wonder if the Mass Hort Library would have old videos to borrow? Jane, that is the book that sounded interesting to me too. Plus the tales of how she started a garden here, being a transplant from England. I also wonder Claire, if you're reading, if it might be nice to have the link to her video on the FAQ posts on favorite books? Especially since she was a New England author. RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by claire z6b Coastal MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 18:02 PM2: I can't put web links directly on the FAQ - they don't allow anything that might change in a few years. I can (and will) put a note to "do a search for Thalassa Cruso video and/or Michael Weishan", or something like that. Claire PS: I wonder if Meryl Streep could be enticed to take on Thalassa Cruso.... RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by bill_ri_z6b (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 18:34 Claire, If anyone could pull it off it would Meryl Streep! As far as I know there are no other videos available since WGBH has only the archived tapes (?) and Michael Weishan said that when he asked them about making more episodes available (presumably by transferring to DVD or some digital process?) they claimed that they simply did not have the budget resources. It's too bad. She was a real character! PM2,  I'm glad that some people got to enjoy that video! RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6/MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 18:48 LOL Claire....we just saw Julie and Julia. Such a coincidence, that I had given that book to my daughter for Christmas two years ago. She loves to cook. I didn't realize at the time how popular the book was or that they would come out with the movie. Meryl did an amazing job, as usual. Bill, I have one of those machines that burn video to DVDs. I haven't learned to use it yet, [g] but I need to put our old home movies onto DVD. It seems like a pretty small investment, but maybe they feel they would have to do it to a higher standard than a home video/DVD recorder. RE: Thalasso Cruso video Posted by ginny12 z5 MA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 20, 10 at 18:53 I loved Thalassa Cruso. Her books are great and still very useful. I never understood why Julia Child got so much publicity compared to Thalassa Cruso, especially when you consider that gardening is so much more fun than cleaning up the kitchen!

gjcore

14 years ago

I think your zone 5 but I'm not positive. It seems it has been colder and windier here than average for the last couple weeks.(I'm in Aurora). Further out on the plains like you are you're going to have more wind because there aren't as many trees, houses and buildings to push alot of wind up 30 feet or so.

You're grapevines and trees will probably be okay give them a couple more weeks. My grapevine just started forming leave buds a week or so ago.

Nothing wrong with clay soil that some compost and mulch couldn't make into very good gardening soil.

Soon enough it will feel like summer. And yes the gardening season on the high plains isn't very long especially for your frost intolerant plants probably longer than 3 months. The average last frost date here in Aurora is May 8th yours maybe a week or two out from that and the last average frost date I think is about Oct. 10th. So you probably have May 18th to Oct. 1 from warm season plants.

Good Luck with your gardening.

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)

I'd say you're Sunset 1A - lower down is 2A and they are getting daffies and tulips and the like, and maybe some cottonwood, altho tonite will slow them down a bit. We're closer in and 2B.

You'll come to like those beds as they'll extend your season and allow you to put up some hoops with fabric to stop the incessant dessicating wind. Colo is very amenable to extending the season, a compendium of my strategies. And at least the clay holds moisture!

Welcome.

Dan

jclepine

Don't get discouraged! I think you're a zone 5 and a 1A too. I had a hard time adjusting at first but trial and a little error are actually kind of fun. I was afraid to try anything and now I've got a handle on quite a few things.

I'm not out your way exactly, I'm in Ned, but the conditions you describe are pretty similar. I might be higher up with a little less growing time.

It helps to ask your neighbors what they are growing and what they've given up on.

Also, there are so many experienced gardeners on here that I've not really seen any questions go unanswered.

I pick my plants carefully. If it is pricey and I want it to come back, I pick for a zone 4, just to be safe. If I just have to have it but it isn't a 4 or even a 5, I plan to baby it with lots and lots of leaf litter and a little tomato cage to keep the leaf litter from blowing into another state.

It could be a very good sign that the previous owners built those planter boxes--I'll bet they grew tons of stuff!

Welcome and have fun trying things out!

Jennifer

easternco_gardener
Original Author

Thanks :-) We just moved from Aurora, where things seem a little milder than they are here. My confusion as to the zones is due to where our place (halfway between Bennett and Strasburg) falls on the following map:

http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/sunset-climate-zones-nevada-wyoming-utah-colorado-00418000067318/

Our housing subdivision sits right at the juncture of the 1B/2A/1A overlap on the map, just before I-70 starts to turn southeast towards Byers and Deer Trail. So you can understand why I'm a little irked. There also doesn't seem to be anywhere on the web that you can input a Zip Code and get the correct Sunset zone.

As far as the raised beds go, they are a little large and not particularly deep (about 4" high, since the previous owners of the home used 4x4 posts). I added at least six wheelbarrowfuls of aged steer manure to each of them and kept some in reserve to dress the veggies with later on in the year, as well as bags of 'garden soil' and tilled that in with a hand cultivator. What I may have to do, once this growing season is over, is reconfigure the larger beds into smaller ones - ones I can get a wind cover over without the possibility of turning it into a sail with the first gusts. Seven feet wide is too large to work well, as the ideal width is three feet wide by six feet. Chopping each of the big beds into 4-5 3 foot by 7 foot beds with a foot in-between would be easier to manage and making the bed sides 8" high would be better for keeping the rabbits and ground squirrels out (as will the predator scent I'm scattering around the garden, I hope).

Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado

Hi EasternCo,

DonÂt freak out too much about exactly what zone you are. Even if you were right in the middle of a definite zone, local terrain and other conditions can make noticeable differences in what you can grow. Structures, fences and vegetation can make differences, as can lay of the landÂlike someone in a slight valley might have colder temps than nearby neighbors. And the other thing is that if you start to look up individual plants, youÂll often find that different sites will list them as different zones! GardeningÂespecially "zones"Âis a very imperfect "science!" And other conditions like light, soil, and moisture have at least as much to do with success as do your low temperaturesÂwhich are only averages anyway. The best way to figure out what will work for you is to try things little by little. In a couple years youÂll have a pretty good idea of whatÂs working for you and whatÂs not. If you find something that needs warmer temps, plant it in a more sheltered place like next to a fence or building. You might be surprised by some of the things that do just fineÂthat werenÂt supposed to, and by some of the things that ARE supposed to work where you areÂthat donÂt!

The winds that have just kept blowing and blowing for the last couple weeks have been pretty unusual, so while you will probably wind up with more wind out there on the plains than we get here in the Metro area, it shouldnÂt always be as bad as itÂs been lately. Be prepared to tie things down when you need toÂand never give up!

And with your grape, I definitely wouldnÂt give up on that yet! I planted one late last summer, and I was SURE it had died over winter! ItÂs just started to leaf out in the last week! I was doing a happy dance! So if your trees and stuff are behind ours, the grape probably is too. And mine looked DEAD! The stems really looked dried up! I think a couple of the (4) stems might have died offÂtime will tell, but I noticed today that itÂs also starting to develop new stems down at the base. So hang in there and hopefully itÂll come back!

When youÂre transplanting small plants, try to wait to do it on days when itÂs not so windy, and remember that itÂs not unusual for things to wilt a little bit when theyÂre first planted. Do it late in the day or on a cloudy day/afternoon, water them in wellÂand keep your fingers crossed. Things might look worse for a while after you plant them before they start to look better again.

Hang in there! Once you get a better feel for your new conditions, itÂll start to be easier again.

Welcome to RMG,
Skybird

greenbean08_gw

You guys are giving me some hope for my grape too. I planted one last year and so far I'm seeing no signs of life yet. It looks pretty dead - but I guess I'll see soon enough :-)

I've got stuff I really hoped to get outdoors this week, especially since I'm taking a trip soon- but it looks like it may not happen. The upcoming forecast is looking too chilly to plant out when I won't be here to cover it if I need to. I was thinking I'd cover it before I left but with the winds I don't trust the cover won't come off.

jaliranchr

You'll just learn to list with the wind and the plants will appear upright. :) Yes, it is possible to successfully garden out on the prairie, just takes some time and patience. I'm further out in the boonies than you are and I'll have a garden from the end of May until the end of September, maybe longer. Just depends. Don't get discouraged. :)

Zone 5, btw

You can be irked at the lines on a map in a book, but the landscape is giving you the clues you need.

I'm on Aurora, but on the SW side of a hill, so I don't get cold air pooling and we get more heat, and the low temps here at the house are 1-4Âº higher than just up to the top of the hill and out in the (a little higher speed) wind. Make your own microclimates and use protection like in my link above.

jnfr

We have an old grapevine that was here when we moved in ('98)and it is always the last thing to bud. No signs on it even now, but it's been fairly chill this spring. But I really wouldn't worry yet.

Gardening along I-70 corridor, unknown zones and other issues

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