The house is safe from the dangling limbs, but one hangs over the garden. I'm careful not to work there when the wind is blowing! Straw bale gardens have become popular here for the last few years for growing veggies. The bale is used as growing media and as a raised bed, crops are grown directly in the straw. Nitrogen must be provided a few weeks before planting so that it reaches a state of decomposition where it is no longer usurping nitrogen from the plants.

Mika, sounds like you deal with opposite extremes in soils! I think clay is my preference to deal with, as long as it drains. At least clay holds nutrients, with sand it takes a lot of compost to get there! What minerals are in mineralised straw?

I had some Oak limbs hanging over my house and a few that were very old and causing too much shade so I got prices on having them cut...make sure you get some estimates from as many sources as possible. There was a huge difference in pricing from the three estimates I got from the three places here in a small town. Now the power company is going to re-energize a section of power line behind my house and they say they will have to cut down quite a few trees in the back and trim a lot more. I am the only house left in this strip they have not gotten to yet, I think because it has been so wet. At first they were going to have to cut down all my crape myrtles, then they said they may not have to kill them maybe they could just "murder' them. The good news was that roses and other shrubs are ok, just not trees.

I think I agree that clay is better than sand, Neal - plants here in France need constant feeding and adding compost and other organic matter seems to make little difference. On the other hand (!) the soil in parts of the English garden that have not been heavily cultivated are so bad you could make pots out of it...

The Strulch (mineralised straw) website says 'added iron minerals', nothing more specific. Later it says, 'Strulch is biodegradable and will break down over time, adding valuable organic matter and nutrients to the soil. N – 0.6%, P2O5 – 0.2%, K2O – 1.6% percentage dry matter, plus calcium, magnesium and iron (0.75%) and organic acid preservative. Strulch encourages earthworm activity by acting as a long term food source for surface feeding species.'

We find it lasts for a couple of years, although we top it up annually in places, for a bank of hostas we have on a wooded slope (love hostas, hate hostas with lots of slug damage!) Here's a link to their website:

http://www.strulch.co.uk/about...

Since we started using it we haven't had to use any other slug/snail products.
Perhaps, since you already know about straw bale gardening (very interesting, that, I might give it a try!) you could chuck in some 'iron minerals' and make your own strulch?

I am very pleased with the roses I bought so cheaply at Lowe's they are starting to bloom and they look great as far as the foliage is concerned...at least so far.
This one is really doing quite well I think.
Veranda Lavender

Lovely rose, Larry, and the foliage looks really healthy, as you say. How long since you planted it?

Mika, interesting 'Strulch' - thanks for the link.

Larry, great looking plant and I love the colour. The Kordes Veranda (Flower Circus) Series has some great looking roses. Pity most of them have no or very little fragrance.

Feb. 1st 2016 I bought seven roses at Lowe's for under $10.

Just went out and took these photos of another one of my cheap roses, and what a perfect pink bloom it has. So I had to stick my nose in it, and I could detect a faint mild pleasant scent. Edited to add the name I forgot to put in the first time.

gemini_sage said:I was raised by Appalachian women who incorporated various lore into their gardening methods. I learned to approach the garden using observation and intuition. Various plants let me know when the soil is lacking something - daffodils or other bulbs may produce fewer blooms or something may show yellow new growth, etc. I love approaching the garden this way, I feel connected to the past in a sweet way, and to those strong women who have long since left this earth.

Neal ...

That has always been the first principle that both Ralph Moore and my primary rose mentor, Kim Rupert, taught me about roses. "The rose is your best teacher." True, they both taught the other stuff, but they always said that the rose trumps everything else they knew, so "learn from the rose."

Over the years, I have found that to be true.

Lyn, that reminds me of how The Fairy behaved a couple of years in a row. The new growth was pale and yellow, but the other roses in the same bed showed no signs of distress. A little soluble nitrogen took care of the problem both years. This year the new growth looks great. My theory is the wood chips I mulched with hadn't aged long enough beforehand, but I used them all over the garden and only The Fairy showed symptoms.

Wow, Larry, I think you got a serious bargain! Great looking plants you have there

Oh yes, Larry, I forgot to mention earlier- those roses look wonderful! They've really beefed up! Those are the ones you posted photos of when you got them aren't they? I'm loving that Veranda- the fact that they're short makes me not mind that they're not fragrant, I'm not likely to squat down to find out anyway

Neal ...

I have to glean my mulch material. I can't buy mulch material up here. I go to the utility company's chipping pile for my wood chips. I always rake away the wood chips until I can get to the chips at the bottom of the pile .. at the edge of the pile, of course .. because they have been there for years and are already decaying. You can see the strings of white fungus in the chip material.

I use fresher wood chips for my paths so that I don't have to replace them so often. The aged chips do decompose much faster. Both hold enough moisture in the top levels of the soil for the worms and other soil bacteria.

The mulch I've been using for years was from roadside tree trimmers. Much of it decomposed before I could use it as mulch, but those piles became my veggie garden. It was really nice having all that mulch! I just can't justify the expense of the bagged stuff or getting truckloads of good stuff delivered.

I've gotten really into bearded irises the last couple of years, and most folks around here recommend against using mulch with bearded irises. With the tough varieties I've had for years I mulched up to the outside of the clump and left the rhizomes exposed in the middle. In getting new varieties started I've had to be careful about keeping the mulch off of them. Now that most of my mulch has decomposed, I haven't been in too much of a hurry to replace it. I've added so many irises the last couple of years it now is tough to mulch around them. I'm considering just mulching in spots, various plants that would benefit- particularly roses, clematis, lilies, and peonies. That might break my brain though- a possible OCD fit could occur if it isn't all consistent

Calif_Sue said:
We extended the chicken run so they are not messing up the garden and my patio, I let them out maybe three times a week for a couple of hours late afternoon. My grandson brings them weed greens so they follow him when he walks by.

I always love to see pictures of the chickens. It looks like they have a really nice home to me.

Nice chickens, but really cute grandson!

gemini_sage said:The mulch I've been using for years was from roadside tree trimmers. Much of it decomposed before I could use it as mulch, but those piles became my veggie garden. It was really nice having all that mulch! I just can't justify the expense of the bagged stuff or getting truckloads of good stuff delivered.

I've gotten really into bearded irises the last couple of years, and most folks around here recommend against using mulch with bearded irises. With the tough varieties I've had for years I mulched up to the outside of the clump and left the rhizomes exposed in the middle. In getting new varieties started I've had to be careful about keeping the mulch off of them. Now that most of my mulch has decomposed, I haven't been in too much of a hurry to replace it. I've added so many irises the last couple of years it now is tough to mulch around them. I'm considering just mulching in spots, various plants that would benefit- particularly roses, clematis, lilies, and peonies. That might break my brain though- a possible OCD fit could occur if it isn't all consistent

The wood chips from the utility company's chipping pile is pretty much the same thing. They have to clear the easements under the utility lines so that wild fires are not started by a downed line. They chip the branches and trees that have been removed and dump the chips in their yard in a mountain of wood chips at the end of town. Anyone can take as much as they want free. Most people take from the top of the pile. I get the stuff from the bottom of the pile ...

I haven't gotten to Mrs. J's irises yet. I haven't a clue as to how I am going to keep grass from growing in them once I get them cleaned up.

Speaking of those Kordes Veranda (Flower Circus) series roses, I could kick myself for not getting more when I had the chance.
The Lavender Veranda has a VERY strong fragrance...the rest have little to none. I have the Jolie Veranda and it has a mild fragrance.
This series is really exceptional as far as disease resistance, prolific blooming power and a very well behaved manageable size bush. They're tough as nails and a perfect series for someone who wants roses that don't need a lot of fussing over.

My nephew built his wife a little 8' diameter circular seating area out of beige brick as a surprise and asked me what he could plant around it. She loves lavender and coral together. I alternated the Lavender and Jolie around 3/4 of it and within a year they formed a perfect little " hedge" that tops out at about 30" ht. max. The 2 are stunning when it's all blooming.

What a great idea, Mike! I would love to see a picture of it!

Mike ...

You will probably be able to get the Veranda roses again. Greenheart Farms is selling roses wholesale to a lot of the big box stores and nurseries and they list the Veranda roses as part of their inventory.

http://www.greenheartfarms.com...