Why, that's a photo of my great Aunt Matilda, Jim. How on earth did you get it? It's a very good likeness.....So glad you're back to your old self, and glad your mom likes her new doc. That is so important.....How is your weather coming along? I got a kick out of your kitties "fighting"--it reminded me of Clancy and Finn, only Clancy is so old and crotchety that Finn just lets him win their mock battles.

Well, sultry, what am I going to do with this expensive organic frozen armadillo I got at Whole Foods? I guess some nice possum would be a good alternative.

Cori Ann, that's a gorgeous bouquet you put together up the thread. I am so envious of all the wonderful plants you grow. I keep buying seed in the hopes of finding more things that are quail proof. I'm going to try this lacy stuff like carrots or Queen Ann's Lace, but produces tiny florets of various lavender shades. You just toss it around and hope for the best (which I do with a lot of seed). I also got some Ammi seeds in white which look like Queen Ann's Lace. It's been too breezy to toss out poppy seeds, and soon it will be too warm. Need to sow hollyhock and alyssum now, as well. Some years I have great luck with alyssum, and other years the ratty reseeding stuff from the previous year outcompetes the new, expensive stuff. I can't win.

Fragrance, I love the hydrangea color conversion you did with lemon juice and coffee grounds. I'm going to remember your formula because we have quite alkaline soil here. Of course, I may be too chicken to try growing hydrangeas at all, though. Diane

Summers - thanks for remembering Kedra! She left a few hours ago to another city north of us (Edmonton) for an interview on Saturday to get into medical school at the University of Alberta. That one's probably not going to work..since she was a replacement for someone who rejected the offer of an interview. It's difficult to get in here; the ratio of acceptance is like getting into Harvard. Seriously. So any prayers thrown her way are greatly appreciated. :)

Diane - you are so funny!! Yes, I'm sure it'll be a better procedure this way than the way you endured. :) And armadillos on a half shell!!! You are a hoot! :) :) And I can't believe that's the same rose...it's like Koko Loco (or however you spell that rose.) Sure hope you're right on the nose about the snow melting...although we're getting more next weekend too. Sigh.

Sultry - I'd heard that before, but I always thought that was a myth. Yikes!! Keep away from those 'dillos!!

Jim - that is disgusting!!! LOL That's what I'll look like after drinking the yucky colyte (sp??) for the harumph...procedure. :)

Carol

Poor Aunt Matilda! I remember that you said that she couldn't come to visit because she was under the weather, but perhaps soon.

Diane, I think that is the exact recipe that they used for that armadillo that we donated. The chef apparently drove two hours one-way for his precious ingredient, though I have noticed that he's never wanted to do a repeat.

I have to admit that leprosy thing crossed my mind too. All the more reason that I will NEVER put even my gloved hand down a dark hole to grab one.

Back to roses, if Tamora does indeed have a great fragrance, then she's back on! Thanks for the luscious pictures!

I'm giving away dozens of roses again so I can make room for her, no problem. All of my recipients are now hooked on roses. So now. rather than running in terror when they see me like they used to, they are asking about what's available!

Jim, so happy to hear that your dear mom loves her heart doctor. That's half the battle right there!

LL, Aunt Matilda is just fine and still loves to go shopping. She's just a bit unhappy about the way people stare at her. I think she's just imagining that....Didn't you try the recipe the chef was using for your armadillo? If leprosy is a problem, maybe the alternative possum meat would be a good one......How do you find so many friends to take your roses? I can never find anyone--even my close gardening friend. She's more maxed out than I am. What roses are you giving away currently (wish I could come down for a few, but no room, of course)? Maybe they are better choices than Tamora, and you should keep them.

I'm getting so fed up with our crazy weather (like a lot of you). Every time I make any headway in chores, it does something weird. I got up to a hard snowfall this morning, and it's been continuing off and on since then. It really looks like Christmas for a little while--then promptly melts. I wish it would just rain. We never get snow this time of year, which I think Carol sent. My roses will probably bloom in July, only if the painters don't stomp things too badly.

Kristine, your photo of Tournament of Roses on another thread was outstanding. I love the looks of that rose and wish I was growing it.

Deborah, you could try growing your Chantilly snaps from seed. Swallowtail Garden seeds has the Chantilly series (not sure about apricot), and so does Johnny's Selected seeds. The huge seed company, Stokes, has that series, too. I'm growing some, but my friend does the starting. I think mine will be rose colored. Another good series is Sonata (or is it Sonnet). Diane

Do you think that the Chantilly snap dragons return for a few years

The snap dragons are all listed as annuals -- but maybe they will re-seed easily?

Thanks, Diane, for thinking of me. I ordered some seeds from Renee's Garden on Thursday: Chantilly Summer Flame Butterfly Snapdragons, Chantilly Butterfly Snapdragons, Babette French Baby Carrots, and the Three Sisters Native American Garden Pack. I also ordered from Floret (new company for me): Cupcake Cosmos Blush and Bachelor's Buttons Classic Magic. I found one company that carried the "chantilly peach" but they were sold out. The others either carry mixes or different colors. We shall see. I am a complete dork when it comes to seeds. No matter my best intentions -- even if I do the whole thing "right" eventually I screw up or miss a watering and kill them. Or I toss them out to see what "takes" and nothing does. Usually I'm fine seeding my raised veggie boxes -- but this last fall I seeded things 3x and got 2 seedlings. That's when I began to suspect birds. But maybe something else is going on. I mean, I was seeding carrots, beets, spinach, lettuce, and sugar snaps. the first round, I chalked up to no rain yet, then being evacuated for 2 weeks for the fire. So I re-seeded. Still no rain, but I did water. Then one more round about 10 days ago. Bupkus. I don't know if I spelled that right. Not even sure it's a real word. Anyway -- NADA. You get the idea.

So...when I get my new seeds, we'll see! AT the local nursery I also picked up somethign called "peachy dragon" with no photo. Just looked it up online -- it looks okay -- not tall, not the same flower color or shape. But we'll see.

In other news -- I took a 45 minute drive over the mountain to a little nursery called Windmill Nursery. They had my Royal Crimson Cherry in a 5 gallon. It's tiny! But I have one now. And, I also picked up an Olive -- Mission Olives. So -- more planting fun on the way. Not to mention an Annie's order. From Annie's I also ordered a rose called Felicia. It just sounds so exciting on the website. Now I have to find a place for her.

Diane, Fragrancenutter and Carol thank you so much for the compliments. Yes the fragrant tea olive especially makes the whole house smell of sweet, delicious, apricot jelly. It’s lovely.

Diane I’m excited to try so many plants I have never tried before this year too. This forum has been very inspiring and encouraging! I’m the most excited about all the lilies that will be blooming this summer. I LOVE lilies and can’t wait to have them in my garden.

Deborah definitely try the snapdragon seeds. I really like Johnny’s Seeds. Diane has great success with Swallowtail. It not too late! You could definitely still try to get some started. They like to be started separately then transplanted. I put mine out when they may have been too young. The sparrows have been eating them. (Diane the sparrows here are hungry pigs like the quail there this time of year.) Hopefully some still grow enough to bloom.

Diane I have seen that purple Queen Anne’s Lace / Ammi. I want more umbrel type flowers so I may try them. I should probably just bury a few carrots first like Fragrancenutter to see how they do!

Oh Deborah you will love Felicia! I don’t have it, but I have admired Annie’s for years. Fragrancenutter has it, I believe, and it’s fabulous.

My little Coral Bells azalea is happy spring is almost officially here.

Who is picking up the next seasonal thread?

I also ordered from the Floret company. They had so much stuff I wanted, especially dahlias but were aleady sold out grrr. So I just got some seeds : Zinnia Zinderella Lilac, Zinnia Queen Lime Blush, Chocolate Lace Flower ( Daucus carota), Cosmos Cupcake Blush.

Speaking of possums, don't ever leave Rosetone out where they can get it. I was dumb and forgot and left half a small bag on the back patio. The next day, I found it ripped open, stinky Rosetone everywhere and the bag was half drug out to the woods! lol The next night we saw a possum on the porch looking for more :/

I really like the Floret blog. I will be curious to see how the seeds do for those of you that tried them. Selling seeds is a new venture for Floret. Most are priced competitively, but I noticed some of their seeds are almost twice as much (actually the same price as Johnny’s, but have half as many seeds in a packet).

Currently they only sell packets, so no discount for higher quantities. I may wait to order until they get through a few seasons and work out any kinks.

Hmmm. I just looked again and some new varieties of Celosia are actually less expensive through Floret!

Kristine, I think of snapdragons as short lived perennials. I have many that come back and live up to three years--but they get woody, and don't look so good by then, so I usually tear them out. They do reseed, but being hybrids, they don't "breed true", and you will get lots of surprise colors. I love this and have gotten some great new colors.

Deborah, I'm sure the birds were eating your seeds and little seedlings. I've given up on lettuce and spinach in my raised bed because of this. You could try growing your veggies in pots on the patio, and you'd probably have better luck. That's where I grow my basil and hot peppers. The rose Felicia is a hybrid musk like Ballerina. I think it dates to early 1900s. It's one of my favorites, though I don't grow it. I'm pretty sure Stokes has the snap Chantilly color you're looking for. They're in Canada and sell to US and Canada.

Sultry, I bought the Daucus carota, but mine is different shades of lavender--called Dara or something. I'm expecting the quail to eat all this seed up. I should take my own advice and grow it a pot.We don't have possums or armadillos up here, thank heaven. But do have badgers, coyotes, skunks, gophers, lots of hawks, osprey, eagles occasionally, and varmints of all kinds. I would hate to lose expensive Rose Tone to a dang possum.

Cori Ann, I love your Coral Bells azalea--that pink is scrumptious. Is it a smaller plant? Diane

I've shown this photo before, but these are natural hybrid offspring from a purple/magenta snapdragon. To promote reseeding, snap off the stalks with the seed cases, and scatter them on the ground around the flower bed.

Those are some gorgeous snaps

I agree - lovely little snaps and very pretty azalea photos.

I did check Stokes and either they only had the mix, or they didn't have the peach. I can't remember which. Another seed company was sold out of it, too. I guess everyone wants it! Just like my royal crimson cherry. Three local nurseries said they were on a wait list for theirs. So I'm glad I tracked one down.

Sultry - we both got the same cosmos! It will be fun to compare notes. Assuming I can manage anything from a seed.

I think I have it bad with all my varmints. Can't imagine dealing with leprosy-ridden armadillos or badgers. My experience of badgers consists of children's literature and the youtube Honey Badger Don't Care video! Something did come and eat the rabbit! It was gone today. Cue Circle of Life footage and music.

I have a lot of planting to do tomorrow! I'll try to take some decent photos of the roses peeking out early. My Dark Desire and Madam Anisette are still almost non-existent. My new Yves Piaget had all the little buds nibbled off by the rabbits. So not expecting much from them. But moving my French Lace made a difference -- this bush looks happier than it ever has. And my Lady of Shalott is now the tallest rose in the garden (and last planted). Big storm headed our way starting Tuesday -- could be a whopper. We sure need it. But hope the burn scars don't get washed away. How can I do a rain dance in good conscience?

This is the description of Felicia from the Annie's website:

Blooming her head
off at our entryway for the past 10 years, lovely, lovely Felicia enjoys
a league of admirers and many requests for cuttings. Almost
ever-blooming, strongly fragrant and completely disease free (even here
in the foggy Bay area), I love her strong, sturdy shape, glossy foliage
and awfully romantic, fully double, mid-sized, soft pink blooms held in
clusters. Old-rose guides describe her as a fast, repeat bloomer but I
don’t think I’ve ever seen her out of bloom.A well-behaved grower to 7’
high by 6’ wide and easily pruned for a smaller size. Reverend Pemberton
created this beauteous hybrid musk rose in 1928. Perfect for cutting!

Deborah, I'm sorry Stokes, which I checked, too, didn't have the Chantilly Peach. I thought my friend had ordered from them a Chantilly Rose. Anyway, I order from Swallowtail Garden seeds a lot and have grown most of their series. You really should check out their selection--it's the best. But there is Chantilly Bronze, but no peach. There is Twinny Peach, pretty, but short, and Aromas Peach, a nice series, but not the open azalea type snap like you want....frustrating.....Badgers are great because they eat gophers and rabbits, though I like our little rabbits and I miss them. I'm not so sure I would like your rabbits which eat rose buds. I read about the damage rabbits do in some gardens and am amazed at the destruction. We had pygmy and pygmy crosses here, and they seem to be too small to be very destructive. Sadly, the foxes that came around several years ago wiped out the rabbits pretty much. Then the blasted foxes moved on. I don't miss them. I would love to see your Yves Piaget in bloom......Your Felicia rose sounds like it will be a beauty. Ballerina is a Pemberton, too. He was a British minister who liked to hybridize roses as a hobby. Diane

Ballerina

Deborah I’m sure you will love your Felicia from Annie’s.

Have you tried Sunshine Seeds for Chantilly Peach? They had a bunch of Chantilly snapdragon seeds earlier this year. They’re near you right? You could probably pop right in and buy in person!

Diane the Coral Bells azalea has small flowers, but they totally cover it for a wonderful display. Mine is about 2 feet. Its slow growing. My azaleas and rhodies are in the shade so may not grow as fast as they would in WA in the sun. :-)

Most of the month of March so far has been really cold....Extended forecast says rest of March about the same...So hopefully April warms up...lol

Great pics Nanadoll & Cori Ann!

Diane - I did send the snow to you!! I don't know how I did....but we got zero snow this weekend!!! We were supposed to get a big dump. :) Spread the love. :) Those pygmy bunnies must have been cute! I love your Ballerina!!! How is the rebloom on it?

Cori Ann - I love those azaleas!!! Such a burst of color!

Sultry - oops!! I think possums and opossums are soo hideous looking. They're like huge rats! I'm so glad we don't get them here.

Deborah - you still need to keep the fire risk down...so praying for rain, sounds like at least a semi-good thing. I'm glad that a few of your roses are doing well. :) I've seen pictures of Felicia...and it is such an amazing bloom producer!! Wow!

Carol

Deborah Sunshine has Chantilly “light salmon,” which I believe is actually the same as Chantilly Peach? :-)

http://www.sunshineflowerseeds.com/snapdragon-chantilly-light-salmon-seeds-tall-antirrhinum/

Cori Ann, Swallowtail had light salmon, too, and theirs looked a lot darker, so I didn't mention it. Their photos are pretty accurate. I love the Sunshine photo---looks more like the peach than the salmon. I'm going to check out Sunshine. Maybe my friend could grow it for us next year. We're maxed out on snaps plants right now--a nice place to be. Last year, I ran out of the plants way early.

Carol, so you were the snow villain! Luckily, the snow melted almost instantly and is long gone. It snowed a little more this morning and is also gone, but it's so wet--I can't get out to work. Moisture is good, though, and our snowpack is in fine shape for irrigation.....Ballerina repeats quite well. The only problem I've had with her was her dislike of our alkaline soil. I seemed to have solved the problem by using fertilizer for acid loving plants like azaleas. Gone is the chlorosis, and she seems really healthy. I've grown this rose for over 13 years, and she keeps getting better....The pygmy bunnies were darling and are only found in parts of Idaho and Washington. I think the Washington ones are endangered. When I saw the foxes roaming around (trotting down the sidewalk, even), I knew the bunnies were toast, poor things.

Thanks, Jim. Sorry about the cold weather--I hope it warms up for you. And everybody in your family, including you, stay well and feel good. Diane

Diane - guilty as charged. But thankfully your snow is gone. We still have the white stuff...but I think it will be gone in 2 or 3 days. Yay!! As to the bunnies...maybe they smelled the fox and left the area?? You never know. :)

Carol

It’s equinox soon and the hardy water lilies will stop flowering soon as well as they’re long day plants. The tropicals will continue well into winter though.

Pond was quite colourful this weekend.

Fragrancenutter - what a glorious pond!! Your fish are so lucky!!! When I first looked at your first picture, I thought there was a huge red rose in the water!!! How wonderful!!!

Carol

Very Lovely waterlilies and fishies!

Do you have trouble with your hardy waterlilies reblooming in your climate? I have one plain yellow waterlily that makes tons of pads and baby bulbs but never flowers anymore. It gets fertilized along with all the tropical ones and looks healthy otherwise. All I can think of is maybe its not cold enough for it in the winter? We get down into the 20'sF average of 3 times a year. Freezing maybe 7 times in a cold year at the most. Some years way less. My tropical ones thrive here.

Who's stepping up for the spring thread?

This one should stop tomorrow, as it's spring time!! Yay!

Carol

Spring time already?...3-6 inches of snow coming our way tomorrow....lol

Guess we do need someone to start a Spring thread tomorrow though....Anyone want to do it?

SJN, I have no problem with hardies repeat flowering. I do divide them yearly. In warm climates they outgrow their pots very quickly. I plant mine in huge 50 litre planters and they fill up the container after 3 months of growth. I would suggest you take yours out this Spring and hack into it. Keep only one or two biggest growing tips and throw away all the small side shoots. One or two shoots will produce more flowers if given lots of room and fertilisers than lots of shoots crammed into a small space. I throw away smaller shoots all the time when I repot.

The other thing to do is choose the most floriferous varieties. For hardies Colorado is one of the best and will bloom her head off all the time.

Thank you so much for the advice on hardy water lilies. You're awesome!! I am gonna pull up my hardy pots this weekend and get rid of the smaller pieces. I bet its totally crammed with bulbs because it is so prolific. I was thinking maybe if it was crowded it would bloom more lol. Well, no wonder! I was doing the opposite of what I should have been doing. My tropical lilies don't multiply near as fast.

The Colorado lily is beautiful! I will get that one. I don't really have a pink yet, just the tropical night blooming Red Flare.

Anybody starting the new Spring thread? If not I'll start one... Please let me kknow... Thanks!

Thanks for hosting winter thread Carol!

Yes, thank you Carol for being the hostess with the mostest

Go Jim

Yes Carol you have been a wonderful host for the winter thread. Thank you so much for being such a positive and uplifting presence!

Jim you have had so many struggles that understandably take you away from the forums for a while, I don’t want you to be stressed about keeping up with a seasonal thread. I will host again. I will start it a little later today. There may be sometimes where the thread will need to host itself over this spring, but I have faith that won’t be a problem for this group. :-)

Ok thanks Cori Ann!

Thanks everyone!!! And good going Jim and Cori Ann! :)
Carol

Thank you, Carol, for "saving us" with your great hosting of the winter thread. We appreciate it, and I expect to see you just as often in the spring thread. Is your snow melted? We keep getting these dribs and drabs of snow early in the morning--it's melted by the time I get up. Just began my pruning with a devil of a rose--one of my Ascots. Took most of an afternoon of arm wrestling while wearing some stiff, uncomfortable gauntlets, and filling up a garbage can of rose "tree trunks" in the process. Ugh.

Cori Ann and Jim, thank you so much for volunteering. I think we could even have co-hosts, if agreeable. At least one host could be available if the other had some extra pressures and responsibilities come up. I think it would be fun to compare the coming season--spring in the Eastern US with the Far West of the US. Of course, Cori Ann's got a head start over us cold zoners. But that makes it interesting. Diane

That's a nice idea Diane! Thanks to Carol for a great job and to Cori Ann and Jim for being willing to step up!

Carol, good luck to Kedra! I hope she also applied the medical schools in the US. There are 179 in the US, more chances to get in here. Every medical school here have seats for international students.

Summers - that's a good idea...we'll play that by ear. Probably a lot more expensive in the states than it is here. Thank you for thinking of Kedra!! Fingers crossed!

Diane - nope, we still have snow...but it is melting! Our snow banks on the lawn from shoveling are now about 3 feet high. You are more than welcome. It's wonderful to be with such a nice group of people! Your Ascot sounds like a hefty beauty!! I know that your pics of it are glorious!

Thanks, Lavenderlace. :)
I certainly didn't do a great send off like what happened on the Fall thread!! That was amazing!! I think that was you, Cori Ann? I have a terrible memory.

Carol

Done! Here’s the link to the new seasonal thread: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5203280/rosy-glow-the-sunrise-of-spring-the-sunset-of-fall

It is titled:

Rosy glow: The sunrise of spring, the sunset of fall.

Thank you, Carol, for being the hostess with the mostest, for being sure to thank people for posts, for keeping things lively, and for make sure we feel cared for. Great job! And thank you, Cori Ann, as it appears you have stepped up to host the new spring thread? It had crossed my mind to volunteer, and then we got another evacuation notice. Hopefully we'll get a ton of rain to fill reservoirs and re-charge ground water, without actually hurting people and their homes. Jim -- so nice of you to consider this -- but I think others are right that you have a lot to focus on just now.

Just to clear up some of the "old" thread business...

I have never heard of the Sunshine Seed company!!! Yes, they have one that looks very much like the peach snaps -- so I did some internet stalking (no one answered the phone). Looks like the business may be run out of a home in Grover Beach, CA. So probably they are not set up to have customers appear. But we'll see. I did order some other seeds, so may just wait. Esp. since I'm such a doofus when it comes to seeds.

Diane - I love your snaps! So pretty! And your Ballerina looks delightful. I ordered the 4" plant Chantilly Bronze from Annie's Annuals. Supposed to be here on Thursday. We'll see if delivery companies make changes due to rain and evacuations. We bought a house for barn owls that we will put up as soon as this storm ends. Hopefully this weekend. We have no badgers, but maybe the owls will control the rabbits a bit better. We've always had them, but this year they must have taken fertility drugs! I never thought I'd be so anti-rabbit! Call me Mr. McGregor, I guess... Ah Rev. Pemberton. What a nice by-gone era when one could work AND hybridize roses. I need a slower paced life. Although, I'd miss my online forum friends!

Fragrance -- your water lillies are beautiful. I feel inspired to clean out my front poorch bowl "pond" and buy a new lilly. Mine is so covered in algae and looking like a big "dropping" of some nasty aquatic thing, that I fear it's really done for. Yes, a couple of little green shoots, but the whole thing is just so revolting...

Here are a couple of photos of the garden before the big storm hits (just a light rain when I took photo):

Deborah and Cori are inspiring me to get more stone, just love it in your pictures!

It’s great for drought! All the stone is definitely the most drought tolerant and fire resistant thing in my garden! ;-)

Your garden is looking great Deborah. See you all in the next thread.

Thanks, LL & CA. Yes -- stone is drought and fire and critter resistant! Too bad it's so hard to move around as the mood strikes...CA I read a few web pages on the filler material you recommended, but it looks like too much work!

Thanks, Deborah. You are so kind....and I'm smiling just thinking of your nice words.
Carol

I agree Deborah love your hard scape. Do you get weeds coming up from the spaces in between or have you put something underneath there ? We have a couple places with pavers and stone in it seems like I get terrible weeds between the pavers

When I first put the decomposed granite (DG) down a couple of years ago, we were weed free. I have THICK pavers, so a lot of DG. But after 2 years and rains and some soil/leaf litter landing on the DG, we have got some weeds. But they've been easy to scrape out. Wherever I put rocks (California Gold pebbles about an inch big), I've had horrible weeds. One of my projects I keep putting off is collecting all those little rocks in the wheelbarrow and figuring out something to do with them. But the gophers didn't mind the rocks or the weed fabric we had under them. Looking at torn up and chewed up and spit out pieces of black weed fabric mixed with rocks and weeds is so unsightly! Corri Ann talked about this alternative to DG, which looks cool, but which also looks intensive. I don't think I have the energy to start over with the pavers, so will probably scrape out weeds after the rainy season as I've been doing the last 2 years!

I have rocks in several places and love them but they aren't totally maintenance free - weeds do creep in. You may be opposed to roundup, but I spray it on the rocks with a hand sprayer and no more weeds - quick and easy. I found that in larger spaces where I walk a lot - at the entrance to my chicken yard for example, I am going to need to add another layer of bagged rocks. I also have to keep the leaves blown off after fall. But I do love them and find them mostly easy care. Deborah, your rock and stone is beautiful!

Judith

We need some major hardscaping on our paths. But everything is so heavy and so spendy. Right now all of our paths are crushed granite and the weeds go crazy.