Wondering what things you did in the past year that you are continuing
4 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (36)
- 4 years ago
Related Discussions
Winters of past, last year - what did you lose?
Comments (63)CMK, I remember reading you have drainage issues. We had a little bit of that ‘wet without draining’ in early spring, a couple of times when it rained and the ground was still frozen. I thought I was going to have trouble and I don’t know why I didn’t. I normally have good drainage though, so that must make the difference. I’m sorry you don’t. :-( That must be a particularly aggravating problem. I wonder if you’ve ever considered raised beds? I had plants very slow to show up this spring, so I was considering that I might have lost them, and at the time, I was thinking maybe I should add more conifers, until I visited the Conifer forum in the spring and they were posting long lists of plants they lost! So, if you are thinking about it, I’d read some of their posts on which ones they lost. :-) Mnwsgal, sorry to hear of your losses too. I have never had much luck wintering over in the garage. And the snowplow frequently digs into some edge of the front yard. We have a bed that borders the street, but it has a rock edge to it, which I suppose must help. Of course, they don't actually see the rocks under the snow, and once they did plow into those. Wow, what a noise that made! And 12ft of rock edge had to be reset, but I didn't lose any plants. [g] I wish we had sidewalks....See MoreWhat did you WS this year that you're really excited about?
Comments (24)I'm excited for everything that I've winter sown! Some aren't new to me, but they were ones that I had difficulty germinating last year. Evening Primrose Bleeding Hearts Gaillardia Bells of Ireland 3 Dianthus varieties Delphinium Ladybells Carnations Texas Redbud Clematis Texas Bluebonnet Echinacea Balloonflower Aster varieties Sedge Wild Bergamot Jacob's Ladder Eastern Bluestar Persicaria Garlic chives Breadseed poppies @ docmom: I planted delphinium last year during the spring and they never made it past their second set of leaves. I randomly tossed a seed or two into an urn with petunias in it during the summer, and sure enough it sprouted and eventually bloomed in October. It's doing great now. I recently transplanted it because a mum had taken over. A week later and no issues with it at all. I'm beginning to wonder if their poor record is a bit over exaggerated. We'll see. Good luck with yours!...See MoreWhat new things are you planning this year?
Comments (7)I just walked outside to have a look, another hard freeze tonight. So many of my roses have buds, which are drooping this morning, and lots of new growth. It will be a few days before we can access the damage. I've been working on taking out a bed in my front yard, almost have all the plants out of it, and trying to add more beds to my back yard. This is going to be my year for rearranging. I'm taking out all my cannas, I've decided they aren't a favorite. Moving a lot of my daylilies to edge beds, I did a lot of this last year so I don't have all that many still to move. I still have about 6 roses to move from my front yard to my backyard. Too much shade in the front. I have a low spot in my backyard that I have been using as a compost pile for the last 3 years hoping to build it up, it hasn't, so I've decided it would make a great bed for Siberian and Japanese Iris. Mostly I want to bring things together instead of having so many things helter skelter around the different beds. The only plants I plan to purchase this year are Million Bells, I planted only a couple of these last year under my roses and the impact was huge, so this year I plan on buying several. Other than that my gardening money is going for mulch. I have all these grand plans, with only the weekends until daylight savings time, so of course it has rained almost every weekend and this weekend the hard freeze. Betty...See More3/19/16 - Favorite roses & quotes & things that you wonder about?
Comments (22)Carol: One can inoculate with L. Rhamnosus (a strain taken from a healthy person) ... with Culturelle probiotics, or make your own pickled-cabbage. If you scroll up, you'll see the research which listed many good bacteria in pickled cabbage, one of them is L. Rhamnosus ... which suppress other bad bacteria such as E. Coli, Samonella. One pill of Culturelle before bed helps me to sleep better than melatonin, thus help with weight-loss. Innoculation with one pill per day isn't enough ... the good bacteria are constantly killed off by the antibiotics added to beef & milk and poultry, plus junk food like sugar promote yeast, while suppressing the good bacteria. To feed the good bacteria like L. Rhamnosus, one need to consume pre-biotics daily, such as beans, oatmeal, wheat bran, asparagus, or best dandelion greens. From actzqn link (THANK YOU, actzqn for that Scientific American link): http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/ " In studies of twins who were both lean or both obese, researchers found that the gut community in lean people was like a rain forest brimming with many species but that the community in obese people was less diverse. Lean individuals, for example, tended to have a wider variety of Bacteroidetes, a large tribe of microbes that specialize in breaking down bulky plant starches and fibers into shorter molecules that the body can use as a source of energy. Blaser has shown that when young mice are given low doses of antibiotics, similar to what farmers give livestock, they develop about 15 percent more body fat than mice that are not given such drugs. When Laurie Cox, a graduate student in Blaser's laboratory, combined a high-fat diet with the antibiotics, the mice became obese. Studies showed that the mice carrying microbes from the obese human had picked up some of their lean roommates' gut bacteria—especially varieties of Bacteroidetes—probably by consuming their feces, a typical, if unappealing, mouse behavior. To further prove the point, the researchers transferred 54 varieties of bacteria from some lean mice to those with the obese-type community of germs and found that the animals that had been destined to become obese developed a healthy weight instead. Transferring just 39 strains did not do the trick. A diet of highly processed foods, for example, has been linked to a less diverse gut community in people. Gordon's team demonstrated the complex interaction among food, microbes and body weight by feeding their humanized mice a specially prepared unhealthy chow that was high in fat and low in fruits, vegetables and fiber ... Given this “Western diet,” the mice with obese-type microbes proceeded to grow fat even when housed with lean cagemates." http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/ *** From Straw: My flu-shot reaction led to pneumonia and led to antibiotics. After finishing antibiotics, I was 119 lb., then I took Culturelle (with R. Rhamnosus), stayed between 118 to 119 lb. for 2 months, plus eating pickled-red-cabbage daily. The minute I stopped Culturelle, finished pickled-red-cabbage, plus stopped magnesium .. I gained 4 lbs. I suspect beneficial bacteria plays a role in deep & good sleep which helps to suppress ghrelin, the "hunger hormone". I notice the night which I take Culturelle plus magnesium before my night-snack .. I sleep really well, and eager to exercise in the morning. I sleep way better with that combo (culturelle & magnesium) than with melatonin....See More- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
Related Stories

HOUZZ TVWhen a Day Care Owner Retired, These Parents Did an Amazing Thing
Watch a California community thank Dina Saari for taking care of its kids by surprising her with a renovated condo
Full Story
ORGANIZING10 Things to Remember While Decluttering in the New Year
Fast-track the process and ease the stress by making a plan before you begin
Full Story
LIFE10 Things to Declutter Before the New Year
Fight off the cookie-induced lethargy, set a timer for 20-minute bursts and get started
Full Story
HOUZZ PRODUCT NEWSPros Share How They’ve Adapted to Challenges of the Past Year
Read how remodeling and design pros have stayed in the loop with vendors and worked with clients during the pandemic
Full Story0

LIFEWhat We Love (and Don’t) About New Year’s
Here are our favorite and least favorite things about ringing in the new year. What are yours?
Full Story
KITCHEN DESIGNGet Ideas From This Year’s Top 20 Kitchen Tours
Smart storage, functionality for cooks and families, vintage touches and lots of personality mark your favorites of 2015
Full Story
NEW YEAR'S EVEDIY Silver Stars for a Glittering New Year’s Eve
Here’s a simple and spectacular decoration to delight your guests on winter holidays
Full Story
HOUZZ CALLTell Us Your New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home
Share your plans and dreams for your house this year — whether they involve organizing, remodeling or redecorating
Full Story
KITCHEN DESIGNIdeas From the Year’s Top 10 Kitchens of the Week
Get inspired by the found objects, reclaimed hardware, efficient storage and work zones in our top kitchens of 2016
Full Story
HOLIDAYSPorch Decorating Ideas From Thanksgiving to New Year’s
Long-lasting wreaths, potted plants and more can cheer up your entryway from fall through winter
Full Story
marilyn_c