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Cottage Gardens

Roses in bloom before the rain

8 years ago

My two little sweet duckies (Jemima and Emily) chilling in the mint and bee balm, they are what's been getting all my attention the past 3 weeks.

~Meghan

Featured Answer

armyyife
Original Author

8 years ago

Thank you so much Lilyfinch! Peggy Martin is coming into full bloom soon. I've got my dad now wanting to plant her around their fence and a couple friends on theirs as well. Love that rose and perfect for beginners too! You should definitely get her! She doesn't have the best rebloom like many of my other roses throughout the year but she is one heck of a showstopper in spring and will certainly give you that pop of color in your garden! I'll post again when she's in full bloom.

That stinks your neighborhood doesn't allow chickens or ducks. :( If we ever move to another neighborhood rather than some land and a house, I've always said first requirement would be it must allow my feathered babies! lol The ducks have been so much more fun to raise than my chickens, they have such personality and are just so much cuter, although I will always love my chickens. :) ~Meghan

By the way, see my pics are squashed too. I didn't feel like resizing since Annette said you can see it full size by clicking on it.

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Comments (6)

threedogsmom
8 years ago
Oh how cute! Do they eat any bugs or are they just nestling in the foliage for fun? The roses are splendid! In my zone, we just leafed out and no buds yet. Looking forward to warmer days next week. Where do the ducks sleep? Pardon my ignorance on duck-keeping!
huckdog1
8 years ago
Lovely garden and beautiful roses.
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Wow, thanks for all the nice compliments you guys! I love to share my obsession. It wouldn't be as much fun if I didn't do so. Kentucky _rose, I think MOH would make a great cut rose. It lasts pretty long and has such lovely form. The APRICOT QE I got many yrs ago from Vintage Gardens. It's a sport of QE. Jjpeace, I don't have the original QE anymore. I never liked that rose. I dunno, seems too ordinary... boring. The apricot version grows nice and tall just like her, and I'd say the blooms probably blow as fast as well. I like the color much better. Irisgal, I can see MF having minis in her background. The blooms are only about 3.5", not the 5.5" HMF says. She's an interesting one. I like George Mander's roses. I wish Hortico still carried more of them, but they seem to have dropped most of his roses.
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Paula, thanks for the kind words! I've passed on your greeting to Ottavio. This is only the area around the house I've shown photos of, and it's the oldest part of the garden and by far the most mature. Much of the garden still needs another decade or two, but this part certainly offers its satisfactions. We're getting a respectable rain, not as much probably as I was hoping for, but that might provoke erosion, so our more moderate precipitation (it looks like it's going to be) will probably make the farmers happier than heavier rainfall would. It's forecast to rain through much of tomorrow, and I hope the forecast is realized. I too love persimmons. They're as handsome a tree as a person could desire, and the color is wonderful by any standards, but especially here where we don't get much fall color. Every fall I love the fiery foliage, luminous when the sun shines through it, and then falling and making a show with the silver-and-green foliage and cool pink blooms of the cyclamen that grows underneath it. Say hi to Tom from me. I hope you both are doing well. Justin, Marlorena, Carol, kittymoonbeam, thanks.
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armyyife
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thank you very much huckdog!

Threedogsmom, Thank you, I'm lucky enough to live in a climate where spring comes early. The ducks are great foragers and don't make a mess in the garden like my chickens do because ducks don't scratch the ground just stick their bills in the ground hunting for slugs and bugs. The ducks have a doghouse sized house that they live in (although my two are still a little young to be moved into it yet) inside my chicken run where they will live with my 6 hens. I have a Cayuga and a Buff Orpington duck, both females.

~Meghan

Here is a picture of their house I'm still working on. The door is closed.

My hens checking out the ducks and you can see I still have the left side of the duck house to put up.
armyyife
Original Author
8 years ago
A couple others...
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
8 years ago
Meghan- what gorgeous roses you have !!! They look spectacular . How is your Peggy Martin this year? I'm thinking of getting it for my driveway fence . It needs a major pop of color !

love your ducks!! How sweet and adorable . I always wanted my own chickens or New Guinea hens , but sadly my neighborhood has rules against it .

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