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Wow, it's already evening here and I still haven't posted a new thread for January 2018. The thumbnail photo is Out of Yesteryear because we are out of the past year and I'm also feeling nostalgic for the more distant past. On this coast we're unfortunately facing another year of drought, so I'll be planting more succulents, epimediums, and camellias this year. |
IrisLilli Jan 2, 2018 4:33 AM CST |
![]() ![]() I've moved our rose of the day for January 1here: Today is Polar Bear Swim Day, if anyone feels like diving into ice cold water: (aka BAIore, Northern Encore) Today, January 2, is National Science Fiction Day and I picked Space Odyssey, a red blend miniature rose as rose of the day: https://www.helpmefind.com/ros... (Aka 'WEKsnacare') (No pictures of it in the NGA database yet.) You don't know if it will grow until you try! |
RoseBlush1 Jan 2, 2018 4:37 PM CST |
Sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction ... ![]() In 1998, the miniature rose 'Overnight Sensation' flew into space with the astronauts for one of their experiments ... ![]() https://www.nasa.gov/audience/... I'd rather weed than dust ... the weeds stay gone longer. |
porkpal Jan 2, 2018 6:50 PM CST |
Wow! I never knew that. Can a comment be added to its profile on the database? Porkpal |
This was a busy, busy day. I'm having 15 yards of pathway mulch delivered tomorrow, so I had to clear everything out of the driveway, which had become a repository for bags of potting soil, shredded cedar, compost, and worm castings, as well as dozens of potted plants. I don't have a car, so the driveway is just another gardening annex most of the time. More busy days lie ahead because I'll have to spread that mulch over all of my pathways. I hope it isn't full of branches and pieces of plastic. One load of mulch a few years contained large pieces of redwood lawn furniture, large enough to be identifiable as parts of armrests and such. I threw out as much as I kept. Good thing the price is low (on sale for $15 a yard). |
porkpal Jan 2, 2018 8:04 PM CST |
I did not realize that mulch was a product of recycled furniture! I hope they at least removed the hardware. Porkpal |
They don't! That's the trouble with the pieces of furniture. Sometimes there are long nails and screws attached to the redwood. They make the mulch from the chipper residue of tree pruning companies and the branches we discard in our green garbage cans, but there are lots of jerks that throw all types of wood in the green can, not to mention glass, rubber, and plastic. |
porkpal Jan 2, 2018 10:05 PM CST |
Someone always has to ruin a good thing. Porkpal |
RoseBlush1 Jan 3, 2018 12:55 AM CST |
So you use wood chips for your paths ? That's good to know. How thick of a layer do you put down and do you have to add a new layer every year ? The reason I am asking is that I can get wood chips free ... ![]() I'd rather weed than dust ... the weeds stay gone longer. |
The layer's about 2 inches thick. I have to add a new layer every three or four years. My neighbors used to get free wood chips from a tree trimming company, but it was mostly Eucalyptus, which smells horrid. |
RoseBlush1 Jan 3, 2018 1:52 AM CST |
I get my wood chips from the utility company's chipping pile. I know they are "clean". I don't trust the stuff that is recycled and given away at the dump. I've actually learned how to identify what kind of trees the chips came from. I try to get the hard wood chips because it takes longer for them to decompose. The best are madrone, then oak, but if I can get cedar that is treasure ... ![]() I'd rather weed than dust ... the weeds stay gone longer. |
IrisLilli Jan 3, 2018 4:19 AM CST |
Great story about Overnight Scentsation. Lyn! I am in the process of calculating how much gravel I'll need for the paths in my new garden - it's a lot! ![]() Today is J.R.R. Tolkien Day and our rose of the day is Fellowship: (aka HARwelcome, Fellowship) You don't know if it will grow until you try! |
The mulch has arrived and it smells divine! I think it's all redwood. Unfortunately, the arrival of the mulch coincided with the arrival of our first rain in a month, so I won't be able to do anything with the heap today. It's currently blocking the path to my front door. Oh, well.... Who needs the rest of the world? ![]() |
IrisLilli Jan 4, 2018 6:51 AM CST |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Today is Free Flower Basket Day, so a good day to know a (aka FRYyeoman) You don't know if it will grow until you try! |
IrisLilli Jan 4, 2018 8:03 AM CST |
This is not the season for roses in my garden. ...and yet! Rosa 'Twice in a Blue Moon' seems to have forgotten it is frost tender: I have had freeze dried rosebuds this time of year before, but never fresh ones (although the colour does look a bit off). You don't know if it will grow until you try! |
sunnyvalley Jan 4, 2018 10:27 AM CST |
Lilli, I also have a couple of roses with buds that looks decidedly 'fresh' and as if they are just about to open AND they will if these mild temperatures continue! This last week has been unbelievably warm!![]() Co-founder of www.dasirisfeld.ch in Oetlishausen, Switzerland |
Steve812 Jan 4, 2018 11:27 AM CST |
We eventually decided on flagstones in a field of decomposed granite as pathways. It's dry enough here that so long as I do not water the sidewalk too much the DG remains close to weed free. It's more expensive than mulch, I guess. But it does seem to be low maintenance. Good luck with the mulching work, zuzu. Our winter has been unseasonably warm, too. Nighttime temps are still mostly below 0 C, though not by much, and daytime temps are almost always above 16C. This is what I would consider good March weather here. Too many roses have been fooled into thinking it is actually spring. If we get a hard freeze much damage would be done, I fear. When you dance with nature, try not to step on her toes. |
RoseBlush1 Jan 4, 2018 2:35 PM CST |
Steve812 said:We eventually decided on flagstones in a field of decomposed granite as pathways. It's dry enough here that so long as I do not water the sidewalk too much the DG remains close to weed free. It's more expensive than mulch, I guess. But it does seem to be low maintenance. Good luck with the mulching work, zuzu. I guess it depends on what you DG is composed of as to how it behaves onces it has gotten wet. In my garden, I've deliberately waited until it was HOT before I put DG down and then watered it in ... ![]() I am going to follow Zuzu's lead and put wood chips on top of my DG paths. I think I will like the look better. As for your roses, as long as you have kept the roots healthy and protected the bud union, they can die back to the ground or to the bud union and come back ... well most of them ... ![]() MargieNY has brought her budded roses through hurricanes, nor'easters, ordinary blizzards and what they are calling a "bomb cyclone" this year. She's the one to ask about protecting bud unions ... ![]() You have been using different watering practices this year and your roses are probably stronger for it. I think it will be interesting to see what kind of impact that has on your roses in surviving your spring freezes. You may lose the top growth you are seeing now, but you may not lose the rose ... ![]() I'd rather weed than dust ... the weeds stay gone longer. |
IrisLilli Jan 5, 2018 5:54 AM CST |
Today is National Bird Day: (Aka AUSwhite) You don't know if it will grow until you try! |
porkpal Jan 5, 2018 7:49 AM CST |
A beautiful name for a lovely rose. Porkpal |
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