So the Seasons Begin Their Eternal Change
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Diane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane BrakefieldDiane Brakefield
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Better to change oil at beginning or end of season?
Comments (20)Thanks for all the advice. To summarize my plan (more for my records than anything). I will: 1. Add fuel with Stabil at every filling 2. Change the oil before the last mowing to allow clean oil to move around the engine (Warm up the engine first) 3. Run the mower dry after the last mowing of the season 4. Put 1 oz of oil in the cylinder and slowly pull cord a few times. 5. Leave the plug hand tight with the wire off and grounded 6. Pull the starter rope until the compression stroke starts (1/4 slow pull into resistance and slow release) 7. Change the oil again at the beginning of the season after the first mowing. A little overkill, but cheap insurance!...See More2014 Rose Season begins...
Comments (35)Yesterday it hit 90F with very high humidity, and there were some crispy roses out there today. We were SUPPOSED to get a rain storm, but it mostly missed us, giving just a light drizzle for about 30 minutes. Hopefully the rain that's supposed to come late tonight will hit its target. 'Golden Celebration' opened its first flowers yesterday during the heat, but today it seems unfazed. If it continues to arch to the point of flopping, I just may put together a rebar tripod for it. 'Purple Skyliner' was also unfazed by the heat, and continues to grow and grow against the fence. There are two fat new shoots going straight up from the base. You can clearly see the one in the center in this pic. It's hard to believe that this came as a rooted cutting from Kim Rupert just last year. Flashback to when it first arrived a year ago, June 2013: This is a pic of Paul Barden's 'Golden Buddha', with a one-day-old flower on the left, next to a four-days-old flower on the right (and another cut-off in the top edge of the pic). The color fades, especially in the heat, but the form of the flower remains for a long time. The petals won't crumple or look unattractive for another week if I leave the flowers on the plant, and I actually LIKE the faded color. So I don't deadhead this one until the flowers start to fall apart -- which is usually over a week from the day they open. The first flower on 'Georges Vibert' -- one of my two striped Gallicas -- shrunk after yesterday's heat, but still smells very nice. There are many other buds waiting to open, and the next few days will be more mild. 'Charles de Mills' also unfortunately opened its first three blooms yesterday, and today they are looking a bit droopy. I know some people say it's scentless, but I can catch a moderate-to-strong fragrance on it. The scent isn't as sharp as Damask, nor sweet -- it's something like a floral-herbal potpourri smell. 'Honorine de Brabant' still has only baby-canes that have self-pegged under their own weight. I won't cut them back until thick new shoots have come up -- for now, they're feeding the plant. And as you can see, many flowers got fried in yesterday's heat and high-humidity. 'Nouveau Monde' just keeps on blooming -- no fried flowers, though there are some that are fading simply from age. I told myself that I'm not going to deadhead any of the once-bloomers to see if any make hips. Whichever don't I'll know to deadhead next year simply for neatness. And besides that, there are seedlings of Nicotiana 'Bella' coming up in front of 'Nouveau Monde', so I don't want to step there right now. The new brick-lined bed I made against the neighbor's house has only three roses -- "Grandmother's Hat", 'Napoleon' and 'Perle d'Or.' The rest of the plants are Summer-blooming perennials that like the heat, since this bed gets full-sun until mid-afternoon. This is Coreopsis 'Moonlight' beginning to bloom. The rose to the left is 'Napoleon.' Planted in front and to the left of the rose "Grandmother's Hat" is Penstemon 'Mesa' which has also started to bloom. The one long cane on 'Duchesse d'Angouleme' I tied against my front porch railing has started to bloom, just as the flowers on its neighbor-to-the-left 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain' are beginning to fade. To its right is 'Archduke Charles' which is still rather tiny, and should be blooming soon. :-) ~Christopher...See MoreLet The Season Begin !
Comments (29)LOL, it' always grows greener on the other side of the fence. My plants' leaves have been wet for 10 days straight from rain and 85%+ humidity practically 24/7. But in one week this place should really be hitting its sweet spot. The night-time temperatures are far from perfect since the plants are in fruit setting mode, and not late season grow mode. In a week though night temperatures will drop below 75F and if it stops raining weather will be perfect for the plants that survived the great deluge. Next time under shelter!...See MoreAnd the season begins..,,
Comments (18)Bloom time is getting closer to me! So good to see your daylilies, Kate! I have been meaning to check with you if your peonies bloomed? Love that rose, such a wonderful range of colors. I see a few daylilies scaping now: Fern Stone, Jim Brown, Pawprints on my Heart, Complex Complexities, and a couple others, it is getting close. I am sure the cooler weather the next week will slow it down more. I am getting ready! Spot is beautiful, reminds me of a cat I used to have. Picked her up as a kitten in a department store parking lot. Name her Pandora's Box because she was trouble from the start, LOL....See MoreMischievous Magpie (CO 5b)
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b)rosecanadian
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoMischievous Magpie (CO 5b)
2 years agoMischievous Magpie (CO 5b)
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane BrakefieldDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane Brakefieldrosecanadian
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agorosecanadian
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agobart bart
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMischievous Magpie (CO 5b)
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b)noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque)
2 years agoMischievous Magpie (CO 5b)
2 years agorosecanadian
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agonoseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque)
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque)Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b)
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane BrakefieldDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane Brakefieldrosecanadian
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked rosecanadianDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane BrakefieldDiane Brakefield
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked Diane Brakefieldrosecanadian
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked rosecanadianstrawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked strawchicago z5rosecanadian
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoann beck 8a ruralish WA
2 years agoMiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet thanked ann beck 8a ruralish WArosecanadian
2 years ago
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