Gardening 2017

[cats4ever]

I have this plant on my deck, it is a variety of Rex begonia, called "Escargot", because the leaves are shaped in a spiral, like the shell of a snail. It's not that special of a plant, but I'm always in awe when I see it:

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[Karen]

Cool-looking plant!

[phesina]

How pretty, and how unusual! I'm in awe, too!

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[mon]

It is exquisite! Ain't nature wonderful.

[cassiesmom]

It's unusual and wonderful!

[Karen]

Sigh.

A dear dear friend has let me use space in her garden - she's a property owner, and this is not at a house she lives in, but one she rents out. She definitely wants things to look pretty, so we have not put up any of the previous owner's fencing to keep the wild bunnies to. I very carefully started parsley, basil, sage and purple bail from seeds, nurturing the wee sprouts along until they were big enough to survive planting. Did so, they were in the ground and doing well - then the wild bunnies or someone came and ate all but the parsley that was set back. The purple basil in particular is hard to sprout, so I was disappointed it got eaten. But she is completely fine with that, and said, "Well, I'll just go but some plants somewhere." Not the point, really - if I knew there was not gonna be any fencing even after we put the seedlings in, I wouldn;t have gone to the effort. They also ate all the bean and pea plants people had given her.

I still have a few purple bail seedlings, gonna find somewhere safe to plant them!

[Randi]

That "Escargot" is beautiful! I've not seen them here, but some similar that doesn't curl.

What a bummer, Karen! :( Hope you find a place to plant them.

Wish I had a little garden myself. However, I can plant a few things in the backyard, but haven't yet this year. I used to plant Parsley, Dill and Chives - and Tagetes. I collected the seeds every year from the darker ones that I like best. Also brought some to John's sister in England. One year, I didn't have any seeds, so the next I visited she gave me some. :)

[cats4ever]

Karen, I'm sorry that all your hard work was for the bunnies.:(
Over the years, my vegetable bed has become too shady because of the surrounding trees. So I started growing herbs and vegetables in containers on the deck. It is working pretty well, also the bunnies can't get to them.

[mon]

Thanks for reminding me to start growing herbs again! Well we aren't growing a vegetable garden this year either, for SO many reasons ( a lot of work!) Think we will just enjoy the flowers and the hummingbirds this summer. We have a lot of flowers and hummingbirds :D

[mon]

P.s. We have a lot of wild rabbits around here too!

[mon]

Help! Okay, this is out of the blue but... the glass man is coming this afternoon, I am alone. I am scared to let a strange man in the house to replace my bedroom window. I didn't think about it until just ..now. I don't like it one bit. Am I overreacting.?

[Karen]

Help! Okay, this is out of the blue but... the glass man is coming this afternoon, I am alone. I am scared to let a strange man in the house to replace my bedroom window. I didn't think about it until just ..now. I don't like it one bit. Am I overreacting.?

Do you have a friend you can have come over, or who can call while he is there to check in?

[mon]

There's a great idea. I can ask my husband or my neibor to at least phone. That's a good idea, thank you. I just think it is unsafe to let a stranger in, could be anyone. Can't be too careful nowadays eh. I don't believe the cats will protect me from rape or robbery but ya never know :D

[Karen]

Glad to help!

[cassiesmom]

Help! Okay, this is out of the blue but... the glass man is coming this afternoon, I am alone. I am scared to let a strange man in the house to replace my bedroom window. I didn't think about it until just ..now. I don't like it one bit. Am I overreacting.?

Checking in - how did it go?

[cats4ever]

There's a great idea. I can ask my husband or my neibor to at least phone. That's a good idea, thank you. I just think it is unsafe to let a stranger in, could be anyone. Can't be too careful nowadays eh. I don't believe the cats will protect me from rape or robbery but ya never know :D

I don't think that my cats would be very helpful either, but I saw this the other day on the news:
http://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Cat-stops-burglar-saves-the-day-427579923.html

[mon]

Everything went well, thanks for asking. They could not have been nicer or more professional. Shawn called while they were here and the cats hid under the bed :D I might be a little paranoid but....so what. I don't wanna be serial killed :D

[Vette]

Very pretty plant! i like the colors along with the shape

[cats4ever]

These are my potted veggies, tomatoes and cucumbers. Yesterday, I found the first two cucumbers on the vine.
I have some beans, too, but they're still small.

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[Vette]

I wish i had room to grow plants that size. they look like really nice

[mon]

I sure hope Pet Talkers will send more pics of their gardens, I love to see them! Vegetable and flower gardens, so wonderful.

[cats4ever]

I sure hope Pet Talkers will send more pics of their gardens, I love to see them! Vegetable and flower gardens, so wonderful.

Your wish is granted:

Elehant Ears
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Sedum in a stone planter
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An old Juniper with Impatiens
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[Karen]

Picking nasturtiums
Cool curvy stems beneath the
Lily pad-like leaves

The bright petals bring
Cheer, and rebloom with vigor
Summer garden’s gift

[mon]

Your wish is granted:

Elehant Ears
59606 59607
Sedum in a stone planter
59608
An old Juniper with Impatiens
59609

Thank you, SO beautiful! Keep 'em comin' please.

[mon]

Picking nasturtiums
Cool curvy stems beneath the
Lily pad-like leaves

The bright petals bring
Cheer, and rebloom with vigor
Summer garden’s gift

How lovely, nasturtiums bring back so many childhood memories. The flowers themselves, the colours, the crisp fresh stems... they are like no other flower. Simply adding one to a salad is so beautiful too! Thank you Karen, so sweet.

[cats4ever]

My gardenia just finished blooming, now I have to wait another year for this wonderful scent.

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[mon]

What are those?

[mon]

Oops, gardenias, sorry! Beautiful.

[cats4ever]

About 3 months ago, I planted this elephant ear into a 15-inch pot. I knew that they get big, but I thought that the size of the pot would restrict the growth some.
Boy, was I wrong:

With a 13-inch ruler:

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With a 13-ounce coffee can:

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[Randi]

Wow! What do you feed them? :D

They're beautiful!

[phesina]

WOW, indeed!!!

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[cats4ever]

Wow! What do you feed them? :D

They're beautiful!

Honestly? Not much. But they have always wet feet (water in saucer), they love that.

[Karen]

Wow, they are huge!

[cats4ever]

These are a few of my special plants, I had them for many years:

Leopard Lily:
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Pregnant Onion:
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Wintergreen (this is where the "Wintergreen flavor" comes from. I tried a few of those berries, and sure enough...)

Flowers:
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Berries:
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[mon]

Wow, thank you! I had to google each of them as I grew so curious. I think I always confused wintergreen with spearmint! Very different plants. I enjoyed the photos, well done! I am sure you are one of the finest gardeners.

[cats4ever]

Thank you! Plants were always one of my favorite pastimes, it probably helped that I had an apprenticeship in horticulture in Germany, and then worked for 20 years with plants.
And then along came the cats...

[Karen]

I have been in charge of harvest at the garden my friend owns where she lets me grow some things. Here are a few pictures, each if from one day's "harvest" this week!

The first is actually from my nephew's gardens in Alfred, NY - his sister brought me goodies for guinea pig sitting while she went out there. No pictures of Pepper, her cavy - he was mostly intent on hiding, except for nightly snuggle time and one cannot get a picture of an animal that requires on hand on him at all times and is tucked under one's chin!

[cats4ever]

What a beautiful harvest, Karen!

[mon]

Outstanding, lovely photos. Magnificent vegetable photographer!

[cats4ever]

Today, I found the first flower of the season on my Nightblooming Cereus (a cactus). Each bloom only lasts for a few hours, and they usually open in the evening, there are several more buds on the plant.
I guess this one opened mid-day, because it's grey and rainy:

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[Karen]

Aww, cool!

[Randi]

You have got to be quick to see that one bloom. :eek: I think my sister has the same one on her terrasse, unless there are more that only blooms once a year. It's beautiful and smells nice.

She gave me a Peace Lilly in the spring and it's really growing - they can grow quite big. :) I bought one more which turned out to have three separate plants in the pot, so I repotted those. So far they are doing fine, but I keep them in the shade. :)

Here's a link of how to care for them:
http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Peace-Lilies

[cats4ever]

I found those cute little pumpkins at the grocery store, and now they are part of the fall décor on my front steps. I'm still looking for the perfect big pumpkin.

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[cats4ever]

I moved my tropical plants into the basement for "hibernation". When I was cleaning the deck, I came across this little mushroom that must have fallen out of one of the pots. It was about 2 inches tall.
I thought this was the cutest little thing, and I felt bad that I had knocked it loose.:(

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[Karen]

Aww, cute little mushroom!

[phesina]

AWWwwwww, it's adorable! :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[sleepgrazed]

Ahhh..gardening! It releases stress and calms my nerves. :love::love::love:

[cats4ever]

As the gardening year is winding down, there's is one plant that blooms reliably every fall, the camellia.
This is year, it is exceptionally beautiful.
So I went to smell the blooms, they're very fragrant. Then I noticed lots of insects buzzing around.
I thought that the honey bees were really busy. And then.... I realized they were all yellow jackets!
I was lucky enough not to get stung. Lesson: Don't stick your nose into everything.:D
By the way, there was one lonely honey bee.

What insects!
60029 Honey bee60030
Yellow jacket
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[Karen]

Still not frost here, so there are bunches of nasturtiums still!
I will have to post a picture of yesterday's harvest, it was impressive!

[cats4ever]

I planted this Japanese maple about 10 years ago. When I came home the other day, I noticed its beautiful glow, one last hurrah before all the leaves drop.:(

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[phesina]

OOOoooh! Isn't that pretty!

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love: