Losing my gardening virginity

Can’t open … I think instead of using the “image” link you need to use the “direct” link.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Fixed

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Thank you for fixing them so I could see what all you have done.

WOW!!! You have been VERY BUSY and it all looks really GREAT!!! Love the Hibiscus, Echinacea or Coneflowers and your Hydrangea and not to overlook your lovely green grass. Pergola is going to be nice when done. Are you going to plant any vines to cover it?

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

a beautiful yard. You must love walking around the yard checking out all of these different areas.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Thank you everyone! Yes am going to plant some vines/climbers on the pergola once it’s done, ut we have to do the patio stones first this coming spring around the pergola. A few vines I have in mind:

silverlace
honeysuckle
trumpet vine???? ( too invasive )
clematis jackmanii
wisteria

Am open to more suggestions!

Yes…I love walking around and looking at them, checking what is doing well, and if they need to be moved at all. I was pleased when I saw a few hummingbirds visit this summer, considering we’ve only been in the house over a year, and there is still construction going on all around us.

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Great work! And congratulations on getting hummers so quickly to your yard!

YMMV, but in our zones, the trumpet vines are much easier to contain (not too terribly invasive).

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

A visitor to my Hibiscus this past summer, after only 1 month of planting it

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

A visitor to my Hibiscus this past summer, after only 1 month of planting it

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

My inspiration pergola…...the one in this pic belongs to a friend in Burlington Ontario, which is where I got the idea from. Mine will look the same, minus the patio chairs. He has since got rid of those by the way :-)

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

my hibiscus didn’t survive. hum.
I love this style of pergola/structure

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Great looking pergola…are you building yours yourself?

My wife is nagging me to get one of these big ol’ hardy hibiscus. They look great with HUGE blooms!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

I have one of those “big ol’ hardy hibiscus” ... beautiful when they bloom mid/late summer. Once established, they just bloom and bloom. Didn’t have any trouble with it at all.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I paid $9.99 for it in July, it started blooming the following week. I am going to prune it to the ground in the spring, and expect it to come back taller and stronger

Yes I am building my pergola myself. You can see the unfinished product in my links above.

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

I think I paid $12 for mine a couple of years ago. Worth every penny!!! Yup, that is about right … my would open mid to late July. I too cut it back, but in the fall … right down to the ground pretty much. It should do really well for you next year.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I bought mine late in the season.. planted it.. had blooms… covered the base of it pretty well with leaves for the winter… and then nothing.
oh wait.. I think it did have some shoots and then we had a late frost last spring and kablooie.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

OK, that’s going on my list for planting next season! Now to figure out where to put it!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Just be sure it is a perennial that you buy. I came across a few places that were selling Hibiscus that were not “winter hardy” here in Michigan and of course not well labeled either. I am sure most people were not aware of what they were buying and quite upset the following spring after they had purchased the plant.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

ah hah!!!
didn’t know there was a difference
when I bought mine, for the price I paid, I figured that if it only flowered once I was still getting a deal.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I have one red one and a white in the backyard, and they are both perennials. No point buying shrubs that are annuals.

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

True Bullseye … that was the reason I mentioned there was a difference. I think a lot of folk bought annuals (or non-cold hardy for our climate) thinking they were buying a perennial (bred for our zones) as they look pretty much the same and sometimes are even sold together.

Deb, it sounds like that is what might have happened with you. But in my mind for $7.99 if you got a beautiful plant for the summer than it was worth the money. Cuz, by golly they are a beautiful plant!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I finally took advantage of the nice weather we had today, and finished off the pergola I had under construction, here are some pics

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Will your Hibiscus winter outside?
Mine has been comming in for about 10 years now.
The yard is really comming together.

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

the pergola looks great!!! Especially against the backdrop of bare yards everywhere else! :)
Wonderful. YOu are really going to enjoy this, this summer!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

The Hibiscus is a cold hardy one. I mulched it heavily, and am going to cut it to the ground when the weather gets nice. This will make it come back sturdier with thick stems, and to bloom more.

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Didn’t know they had one. I must do some homework on this!

Thanks
Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

So I took advantage of the nice weather today, and extended my flower beds

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

What is that sticking up in the closest leg out front?

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

you are going to be the envy of the neighbourhood!!!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I see a truck, grass, bird feeders and a sidewalk…...........X4, then a partial shot of a hibiscus

Costco…........7 bucks, bought two

-- Central northish Ontario

Picking up from where I left off yesterday, I did some transplanting this morning, and here is what it looks like now

Or

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3405.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3406.jpg

The stuff sticking out close to the sidewalk, is the water or drain pipe from the utilities company. They were too lazy to knock it right into the ground.

The round empty bed in the middle, is where my Elephant Ears tuber is going to go. Hope fully it will end up looking like this fella’s one

http://bocajoe.smugmug.com/photos/212440614_PbJLV-M.jpg

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

You certainly have been busy!! Love this weather to work in, don’t you … I like the design of the beds and think it is really going to be lovely when everything is all planted. What did you transplant?

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

you’ve been busy!!
looking wonderful

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Tell me you dug those beds down to at least 2 feet?
If not, you will sooner than you think. <g>
you should have filled the bottoms up with composted material or at least soiless mix.
Part of our “hardness” comes from escaping the dreadfully frosts of winter.
That means a deep root stock for most plants.

“Virgin”, I should say!
Put your back into it! (Evil Grin )

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

Thank you everyone! I definitely need a serious massage after this weekend. The main reason why I am rushing all this, is because we are expecting a baby in the next 3 weeks.

Yes I dug down 2ft, and filled the holes with compost/manure ( moo poo from lowes ) and triple mix. Just to refresh your memory, I moved this cranberry bush ( I think that is what it’s called

Here is the front bed before. I moved the shrub behing the hydrangea

Here is the veggie bed, I raised the mini-tie woods with 1 more lumber, to make it a 3-tier

Back of the house now has a trellis for future vines

Here is what the back of the house normally looks like when in bloom

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

This took all day???
gd&r vf

Bob

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

Well congratulations on the expected birth!!! Certainly can understand why you are rushing a bit; with that little one on the way.

Seriously though “B” ... everything sure looks good. You are gonna have one beautiful yard come summer. :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

What are you expecting? Boy? Girl? You like surprised and got all yellow and white clothing? ;)

Uh oh… twitches.. Is that red mulch? twitch... AAAAAHHHHHH!

Well that’s ok.. It’ll be brown again in two years..

runs away screaming

actually…

goes to sleep since he shouldn’t be up babbling incoherently on the comp

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

We know what the gender is, but you will have to wait to find out :-)

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Well rest assured we will all be waiting to hear when your little ones arrives!!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Best of luck with the new cub! I know when my son was born, the gardens took a big hit that year!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Which forum would that be then? I never posted a picture of any girl on the web.

Talar…..please stay away from my posts! For those that are wondering why I said this, this person has a history of jumping the gun and assuming am someone else, along with refering to me as someone else’s name.

If you carry on like this, I’ll get the admin to take care of this situation.

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

yah I thought we had this settled and that it was a mistaken identity in the past…

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

ok
(Not that this is any of my business, but I’d like to see this discussion fade into oblivion with the others)

BACK to gardening!
Thanks

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

After my little bit of gardening these past few days, I am so fatiqued… Bullseye, I don’t know who you got all that done!!!! Aren’t your sore??

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Debs,

I am sore! The long drive to work doesn’t help either, and guess what? After all that work on the weekend, I still went home yesterday, sprinkled “black earth” all over the front and back lawn, and then added fertilizer.

Oh….I also take my grow-ops in the basement out to harden off till around 7:30pm everyday

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

you are a busy boy!!
for me – thank goodness it’s going to rain for the next few days. I get to rest up!!
I’m not used to this physical labour stuff! lol

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Just picked one of these up at a garden center during lunch break.

http://linders.com/plants-products/trees/ornamental/malus-dolgo/

It was on sale from $140 odd down to $69. They had all kinds, but I settled for the Dolgo. The ONE I have is about 10-12FT TALL, and I managed to fit it in my car on the passenger side going all the way to the back. The fact that the fruits are edible, is a bonus

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

nice find!!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

NICE FIND!!!! Can’t wait to see photos of it planted … bet you got a perfect spot for it!! :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

IVE NEVER SEEN A GLASS OF LAGER LEFT BESIDE A BIRD FEEDER BEFORE DO THEY SING BETTER AFTER A DRINK . NICE TO SEE YOU ARE WORKING SO HARD BULLSEYE I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE COMPLETION PHOTOGRAPHS .
REGARDS MIKE

-- MIKE MILTON COMMON U.K.

Thanks everyone. I am definitely going to be going back to the garden center to get some climbers and vines for the back wall in the pic, and the pergola.

Another good thing about this crabapple, is that it’s fragrant

http://www.naturehills.com/product/dolgo_crabapple.aspx

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Tulips in bloom

Hosta sum & substance

Hosta Koussa REGAL

New improved veggie bed with triple mix

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Great pictures of your plants!Enough to make one dream!
Mine still are only a small speck of green!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Your flowers are sure purdy!!!! Envious of your Hostas up so far already. Mine, like “E”s are just peeking above ground now.

Bullseye, thanks for naming the Hostas you got growing … I have many Sum and Substance Hostas and have been growing them for years just never knew their name. Our good friends gave me a “piece” of theirs years ago. One of my favorite Hostas … get HUGE and I love their color. Really stand out in a bed.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

This is how big the sum and substance can get

http://www.pal-metto.com/hosta/laico/imgs/sum_substance_leaf.jpg

http://papouhosta.org/Quickstart/ImageLib/After%202006%20Sum%20and%20Substance.JPG

http://www.oakcrestgardens.com/hosta/sum-and-substance1.jpg

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

I had three the size of photo #2 at our old home … people would stop and ask me what they were—(told them Hosta, but didn’t know the variety.) When we moved, I dug out/split several pieces for our new home here … so enjoying the growing process all over again.

Great photos!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

great photos!! and wow. my hostas are just saying hello so far. Why are yours so big already? What are you doing different?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

A lot of TLC, which includes fertilizer and moo poo

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

oooooh moo poo… ah hah!!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Amazing what it can do. LOL

I purchased 2 clematis plants yesterday, it was a bargain at $7 each for a 1 gallon pot. I got the following

clematis jackmanii

clematis ‘Madame Julia Correvon

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

I’ve tried clematis twice… both times a failure…

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Third time lucky perhaps MsDeb?

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Hey, I’m not the only one who managed to kill “unkillable” clematis, twice!

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

well, if I happen to see a Clematis on sale somewhere I’ll go for that “charm”.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I bought this bird house the other day, put it up on the pergola, and this morning when I looked out of my window, I saw 2 birds that looked like bluebirds?

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Bullseye & MsD
I have had great success with growing clematis over the years.Two things I always make sure to do is to plant the roots on a 45 degree angle and to cover them good and then place a flat rock over the roots.They love the sun but like cool roots.Hope this might help you.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

cover them: check
flat rock on top: check
45 degree angle.. never heard of that one before.. That must be the problem!!

Bullseye: is it a swallow by any chance? They are such a beautiful bird as well.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

It’s my 1st time planting them, I’ll see how they turn out

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

I hate dial up

-- Central northish Ontario

Oh dear, someone still using dial-up? I don’t think I can ever go back to that thing, especially when my day job involves backing up stuff and making sure that more than 5000 people in 1 building don’t lose any information.

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

greenthumb, I completely agree with you!!

For the clematis, if you cover their roots with another plant, it will work quite well.

These are yellow clematis. As soon as they boom, I will takes some pics.

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

when we had dial-up I refused to use anyone’s highspeed because I knew I would hate my computer afterwards. We didn’t have highspeed available until just a couple years ago

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

This is what this area below looks like as of today 09-05-08, big contrast from the pics further up this thread

I am putting in 4 lights on the posts tomorrow, along with an outdoor carpet on the deck before I we bring out the new patio set

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

MSDeb,
One good thing about dial-up: takes so long to upload pictures, that I clean up the whole house plus a whole lot more!! :-)

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Bullseye- very impressive!!!

E- that’s funny. At one place that I worked one staff had the “ancient machine”. She’d arrive in the morning, turn the computer on, go to the bathroom, set up the stuff for the day, check a bunch of things and a 1/2 hour later go back to the computer and it was just getting ready for her to click on “check email”.. then she’d have to go do something else for a while. Very sad but very funny.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

The dial-up noise is was drives me nuts now when I hear it :-)

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

You’ve been busy Going to look nice

But I am sill waiting for the baby

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

Bullsyes

What kind of store did you find your elephant ears in?? I ask because I haven’t been able to find one

Is it a bulb?? Did you need to start inside first??

are they pricey??

That is some size plant. The leaves are huge.

One could play hide and seek in one of those, lol,lol and get lost,

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

I got my EE corms/bulbs from a garden centre in the GTA.

This one grows upright

Yes I started them both in 12” pots and they both now have 8 eyes that are about 3” up from the soil. When you plant them, you leave half of it above soil.

Baby came 2 weeks ago ( Boy ), mum and baby are doing just fine, and he is just damn cute by everyone’s testament! LOL

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Bunting
Just, finally, found a bulb this weekend at Lowes!

Bullseyes
I agree with you: that noise is…
So I turn off the sound! As long as I remember to turn it back on later…..

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

A boy

do you have a name picked out yet??

wonder if he will be a big boy and going to be a big man like his dad

Whooo hoooo !!!

new baby on the block

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

Oooopps

thanks for the bulb directions

SO you mean don’t cover it. Leave the bulb half uncovered???

thanks

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

Congratulations on the baby Bullseye.What is his name.Please post a pic for us.Glad mom and son are doing fine.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Thanks for the congrats! Yes we picked a name long before the baby was born. The pic I am not willing to make public here, am sure those of you that don’t post pics, know where am coming from :-) LOL

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Hey Bullseye!
Congrats on the new addition to your family!!
I wonder if “no pic…” applies here!!! :-D

Very happy that both mom and baby are doing well!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Yes, I would like to add my CONGRATULATIONS and WELL WISHES as well Bullseye!!! Glad to hear everyone is fine and I am sure he is the apple of his daddy’s eye!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Thank yous! Definitely he is adorable, he has been keeping us up all night, no complains whatsoever, and our 12yr old has been very helpful as well.

I got my 1st smile from him yesterday, it’s one of those moments where you wished you had a camera at hand. The wife is very jealous, as she only got a FART a few secs later. LOL

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Congrats on your son. (hahaha story re: the smile hahaha)

Your plants are doing amazing!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Bunting

Check out eddos (bulb) in some selected food stores. Much less costly than purchasing elephant ears
from the nursery. Be nice to have it growing indoors during the snowy days of winter. Too late for the outdoors now.

I’ve heard too that clematis is difficult to grow. I do know that the base should be protected especially during the winter.

-- blooz 5b - You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~author unkown

Thanks Debs….I plan to put the cannas in the ground, in the next few days. I’ll wait till 2-4 for the EEs, but they are sprouting like crazy indoors already

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

Bullseyes

sorry I didn’t realize the baby had been already born

Congrats to mom and dad and your oldest

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

Thank you

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b

DANG!!! A man who can build AND plant! :)
Congrats on the new little one. Don’t blink, or you’ll find yourself bringing your oldest home from her first year of college. (That’s what I did today :(

QA….Am not just a handsome fella :-)

-- Hooked on Gardening.....Ontario zone 5b