Doggie Days of Summer Seasonal Thread.... PART Five (5)
jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years ago
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
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Doggie Days of Summer Seasonal Thread.... PART ONE
Comments (396)Kristine - I sure wish my Oklahoma were like yours!! Darn. Deborah - Sundowner means that the winds come from the west? Anyway, those winds sound horrible and dangerous too! I hope they blow away. Hang in there. Diane - oh wow...I can't imagine. Horrible deer. :( Could you grow roses in a greenhouse? Could you have a fence (really high) in the middle of your yard where you could have roses? There must be some way to safeguard some of your roses. If you can't build a tall fence...you could use wire that is relatively low - 3 feet. The wire would be staggered with a foot in between. If you want to get someone to help you with this...here's some info Height, or width, is probably the most important factor with deer fences, especially if high deer pressure. White-tailed deer can jump almost eight feet high, so effective upright fences against them should be this high. Deer may be able to jump high, but not both high and over a distance. So a fence may not be as high, perhaps six feet, but slanted outward. The deer will try walking under the fence and meet resistance. Such a slanted fence should be at a 45-degree angle, and may consist of fencing with a few strands of additional wire on top for extra height. A variation can be used to convert a shorter upright fence. Merely add additional height to posts, and string more fencing or additional strands of wire between them. If the fence is about five feet high, you also may add additions to the posts parallel to the ground and on the outside of the fence. Add strands of wire between these to achieve the same effect as a slanted fence. If you have a standard fence about four or five feet high, you can add a similar and additional one about four feet away. While not high, with this width deer usually won’t like to try and clear both and perhaps get caught between or on them. Out of sight, out of mind, applies to deer with solid wooden fences, or ones with overlapping slats they can't see through. Such privacy fences are quite effective, as deer can't tell what is on the other side. Even if they can smell what is on the other side, and it's attractive to them, they can't be sure that danger isn't lurking there as well. One less expensive variation on the high fence is to use a commercial heavy-weight deer netting if the deer pressure is low to moderate. These products are quite popular for home gardens as they are easier to work with than wire mesh, are less expensive, and blend into the landscape. Another inexpensive solution is stringing single strands of monofilament twine (such as deep sea fishing twine) between posts, about six inches apart. If deer pressure is really low, you might even get by with a single strand about two feet off the ground. Deer bump into this, are surprised at something they didn't or can't see, so may flee. Keep in mind deer can't see well (poor depth perception), so many advocate hanging streamers on the lower strands or netting so deer can see them and don't just try running through. Some recommend not putting such ribbon streamers on the top as this tells the deer the fence height. Some have even suggested adding streamers on extensions above the fence, to make deer think it is even taller and so even harder to jump. Some advocate using white streamers to mimic the white tail signal that deer use to warn of danger. There are many variations of electric fences. You may begin with a single strand, about 30 inches off the ground. Some make this more visible to deer by using bright flagging tape, or conductive polytape. This also helps people avoid these fences by mistake. Make this single strand even more effective and attractive to deer by smearing peanut butter on aluminum foil. One taste won’t kill deer, but it will surely discourage them from returning. Studies have shown, though, that using odor repellents in combination with an electric wire may be more effective than using the peanut butter bait. Single strands of electric wire may work if low populations, but if more deer pressure you may need to add multiple strands. You may add these in various configurations as for mesh and strand fences, with the electric wires about a foot apart along the post supports. With any electric fence, use them only if children won’t have a chance of getting injured. Some residential areas may even prohibit them, so check local ordinances first. If you have just an isolated tree or few plants to protect, consider building a cage around them. You may drive stakes into the ground, stretching wire mesh or deer netting between them. Or you can make a portable frame of scrap lumber or PVC pipe, attaching netting to these. If portable, make sure such frames are anchored so deer wont push them over. Make sure such mesh has small openings, or is far enough from the plants, to keep deer from reaching the plants through the mesh. Rhonda Massingham Hart, in her revised book on Deerproofing Your Yard and Garden, gives many more details on deer fences and installing them, plus some additional tips: -- As with other controls, it is best to use them before you have a problem. Train deer first, before they find your plants, or even before you plant. -- Fences must be tight, can't have gaps, and should be checked often. Deer almost always will find the openings. -- With this last point in mind, installing fences over uneven terrain can be difficult, leaving openings large enough for deer. -------------------------- I'm sure you've tried so many things...I just want you to have roses and hope again. And you don't have to have the fence go to the end of the property...just at the flat part or just around a rose section. My black dog is 100% standard poodle...we just didn't cut his tail. He looks different when his coat is grown out. :) Jubilee Celebration and Chartreuse de Parme ... thank you for liking them!! Jubilee Celebration has the most fabulous scent!!!! I have 2 large wheelbarrows, 1 small wheelbarrow and the other planter is a small bathtub - about 8 inches long. :) I love my wheelbarrows!! :) Thank you!! Oh bummer about the chair! You just can't catch a break! :( -----------------...See MoreSUMMER is here... Seasonal thread part 1
Comments (227)Hello everyone, this thread is moving very fast with all kinds of amazing pictures of roses and pets. Flowers thank you for such nice comments about Ragiku. I named her after one of my favorite anime character from Bleach (a popular Japanese series). Depending on the Kanji used it could be translated to chrysanthemum. In this series she is a shinigami, (death god) and her katana's soul was a very playful cat =) I really love Japanese and Egyptian everything. A Sphinx cat with a Japanese name was perfect for me. She is a super cuddler and wants to be the center of attention at all times. I really love love your pictures of Wildeve and quicksilver. Could you please tell me how is the repeat on quicksilver in the future. I am having a lot of trouble with the super healthy Kordes not repeating well, except for Bourdox. I would love to add quicksilver with that amazing color, but don't want any more super slow repeaters no matter how beautiful. I am glad you were able to get into your house, that could have been a very scary night outside. I like the suggested idea of a secret key just in case for the future. Diane, thank you Rangiku thinks she is a perfectly human little girl and she is a lot of fun. I just keep going back to your pictures of Evelyn and drooling over her beauty. Your garden is amazing and your tick infested fields are very beautiful to me, such a natural unspoiled beauty all around is hard to find in this super developed world where houses get too close together. Your JC are ginormous yellow beauties. I also love your shot of Golden celebration and its super globular blooms are incredible. Lisa I am really glad you are ok. You falling down sounds scary. One of my baby Mel's heritage has started growing a very good rate and it is 100% black-spot free without spraying. What a fabulous rose. Kelly all your roses and companion plants are lovely. I really like what you are doing. Your kitten looks like a sweet little angel and is very fortunate to have you as a family. Your Spike is super cool also. Pippa your Distant Drums looks fabulous. You mentioned not having it in the ground because you weren't sure on placement. What are your options? I think that round could blend really well in the garden with those soft colors. Trish I am so glad your little girl is improving. I know all those vet visits can get exhausting. I really love your pond and can't wait to see how it all develops around it. Hallo your Moonlight in Paris is incredible and you should keep posting lots of pictures to show her off. She looks very much like an Austin to me and the color is very sweet. Your pictures of Mary rose are great, she is one of my favorite Austins. Ann thank you very much for the nice comments about Rangiku. Your Portlandia is a very beautiful rose. I have looked at her several times on the Heirloom website, but had never seen pictures from someone who actually have her. Will keep an eye on her for the future see if I can get any info regarding blackspot resistance. Jim your hydrangeas are amazing and I love your geraniums....See MoreSUMMER is here... Seasonal thread part 2
Comments (203)I wonder if I'll ever get to my afternoon chores. It's 98F, so I won't be outside until much later. It was bad enough yesterday at 97F--let h#ll on earth begin. I can tell you we have air conditioning, and it's running (itself to death-ha). I remember my days as a young married. We had no AC in our little house, and I sweat all night long with a big fan blowing on us and all windows open. I would lie in a lawn lounger in the evenings, reading, until it got pitch dark, and then reluctantly go inside to the house/furnace. But enough of past travails.... Lisa, thank you so much for confirming that I also grow Chinese forget me not. I went through all my seed packets from last and this year, and found nothing that could explain the campanula, but my Chinese forget me not seed came from Select Seeds. I like that seller a lot. I've heard of those water forget me nots, but since we're so dry, I didn't try them. I agree the Chinese type are more colorful. Jim, I spotted that little helper of yours. You certainly capture some wonderful photos of insects and birds. I simply can't do it. Dilly, you've got a smiling brunnera leaf. I think it's the cutest one. After the adorable and happy little boy, I like the useful kitty. She looks just like our old codger, Clancy, only your kitty is prettier. Same markings and colors almost exactly. I am so impressed with your roses, Cobra lily, and especially that hardy geranium, Havana Blues. I have too many Rozannes, and she is sprawly in my garden, though I love all her blooming. I love hibiscus Luna Red, which I also grow. You are a little ahead of us, so mine are not blooming quite yet. I hope the weather moderates before they pop open. Our dry heat just destroys hibiscus blooms. Your Julia Child looks great, and I hope she is a bloom machine for you. Ingrid, many thanks--especially because I so admire your skill as a photographer. I'm sorry about your heat, which is bad here, too. It's that suffering time of year for plants and humans alike. A little rain might be nice, but it's not going to happen here. Take care from all of us, your gardening friends. Diane...See MoreSUMMER is here... Seasonal thread part 6
Comments (128)Jim, all your plants look so rounded and thick, neat and tidy. How do you do it? This time of the season everything of mine is scraggly and overgrown. We had just two days of cooler temps and a whole .09 inch of rain (as I've said, we measure our rainfall in hundredths of an inch around here. Yesterday, the heat came back and it will be very hot for the rest of the week. I love your zinnias and the melampodium daisies. I want to grow them, but I'm sure mine will not be nice and rounded like yours. Your sky shot is interesting--you are so much closer to nightfall than we are. Lisa, I am so sorry about your nasty fall. But glad it wasn't worse. Be careful. I have the same problem with a steep slope from our back yard, down to the gully below. I've had some close calls on that slope. Your bouquet is just luscious. How can you give it up? I wish my Evelyns were blooming like yours. They are exquisite. Thank you for posting the Lovely Fairy photo. I checked it out on HMF, too, and was surprised it varies from quite dark to light pink. Blondie, I am amazed and impressed with the variety of plants you grow and so well, too. Everything looks so healthy and robust. I love the dahlia you posted up the thread, and your Raold Dahl rose photos are my favorites. I can't believe those peas so late in the season--here they would be pods of little rocks. I also love that coneflower(?). I've never seen one like it. What is this hybrid called? I want one. Kristine, your white rose in the pot is lovely--what is it? Kaye, you have had the seven plagues with your weather (hurricane season?!!) and those !@#$ JBs. I think I would just throw in the towel. I admire your persistence. I hope everything perks up in the coming weeks so you have a nice gardening season to remember. Sheila, that's an interesting hollyhock--didn't know there were perennial hollyhocks, though mine reseed so much, they might as well be perennials. I'm slowly letting mine die out (it takes a while) because, though at their best they are gorgeous, when they start lengthening and that tall stalk of seed cases dries out, they look bad, I think. At that point, the leaves dry out and look mangy, too. We have no rust or other fungal problems on them. So yes, there are areas that don't have to worry about rust. Just remember how godawful dry it is here. I get sick of it. More later....Diane...See Moreflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agotitian1 10b Sydney
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agotitian1 10b Sydney
5 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agoDDinSB (Z10b Coastal CA)
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agoDDinSB (Z10b Coastal CA)
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoSheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
5 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoDDinSB (Z10b Coastal CA)
5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agotitian1 10b Sydney
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agotitian1 10b Sydney
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agoflowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
5 years agoVaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agoKristine LeGault 8a pnw
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agonanadollZ7 SWIdaho
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
5 years ago
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jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6Original Author