Thanks All for the nice compliments !!
Sherry... My wife Love's the Banana's and Canna's they give the garden around the house a tropical look always hate when the news forecasts for the 1st frost because I have to go dig them all up, and start all over with them we have had those for about 5 years they took off really slow this year but started growing like crazy with all the moisture and have turned into the highlight this summer.
we also had quite a few roses mixed in with them last year but most winter killed and was not going to re plant them anymore until I stopped in Santa Cruz and looked at all of Joe's
this spring and was hooked all over again.
The last time I was there in April I brought some good Iowa rain with me, I think we need to visit again and trade weather with you guys that way I can catch the 1hr sale
just need to keep a eye out for the guy with the angry cat
Tom... there still lot's of room here for next years seedlings I didn't get very far this year with crosses maybe 20% of the previous years so few bloomed and the 2 week or so bloom season we did have the temps soared into the 90's and it rained every other day so pollen didn't take like it should have.
Just one of those seasons and Yes 2014 is my year for Rot it has rained so much lately the ground is not drying out, mostly the newer plants that have just come in over the past 6 weeks are struggling they go from a climate with no rain to being completely saturated like this all the time is not good for them the only thing saving me is everything being bermed and in good soil so it drains well. The problem I am having is the soil keeps washing away in the heavy rain leaving the roots exposed at the top of the berms and burying everything else at the bottom so will be spending a lot of weekends fixing it all again and repacking dirt until the ground freezes. I think They will be fine when it dries out but I did order some Terraclor last night just in case.
I like your expansion plan but the problem is next years intro's are going to be even better than this years and I have a feeling you won't be able to show any restraint
and the veggie garden you have may be in serious trouble next year . Tempo Two should have there new intro's out soon it is almost bloom time in Australia that should get you started with the
Arlyn... you are welcome here anytime !! Hopefully we can all get together in the spring time and visit can't wait to see your 500 varieties in bloom
Debra... Thanks I wish the gardens still looked like that, what lived through the winter grew well but that big garden bed that was full of seedlings was about 50% wiped out. I think 7 or 8 bloomed out of the hundreds of seedlings that were there and I was really looking forward to seeing all of them bloom but out of those that I did get to see a couple were encouraging there was a red one that I liked a lot, it had a lime green stripe on it that was cool and when it opened it stayed on the bottom of the fall with out fading it was really neat. I have never seen that color of green on a flower before, think it was just a fluke but my goal when I started was just to find something different in my seedlings at home and at least I got 1.
Mary Ann... I have replanted all the berms again with everything that I could find this year some of my favorites were not available in the US but hopefully Barry will have some available this year so I can replace them. The berms will look good in the spring a little different but with lots of clumps next year. I kept more than I normally would to fill all the space and added some newer ones that I couldn't live without
Certainly not 500 new ones like the King in Illinois but I splurged on some favorites, also brought in a lot of new dirt so there are now Iris planted along all the sides and back of the berms I should never run out of room at least in theory
and we added a bunch of peonies this year as well that I got from a sale they seem to be cold hardier than anything else here and they bloom at the same time as the Iris so it should be a good show if mother nature cooperates . I hope you do get to make it this spring
: I have a couple Pink ones calling your name.
Greg.. glad the plants are doing well now hopefully they bloom for you.
Leslie ...I like your bed with the blocks they give it a really nice look, I wish my yard was a little flatter so I could use them my metal edging looks good and is easy to bend in shapes but for holding dirt in like I need this year it is useless.
Those born on the 19th are nice people indeed! Hee
But even as a kitten, he would let you know where not to touch him. Now add in that he has bad hips and well...you'll nearly lose a finger.
