Daylilies my favorites of 2011 part three

The robins are back, daffodils are in bloom, the saucer magnolia’s and star magnolia’s are blooming.   The forsythia are starting to bud out.  Know what all this means?  Spring is right around the corner.   I need to start pulling grass and weeds and start mulching, but the ground is still saturated and more rain is predicted by the weekend.  I put my Brussels sprouts in my flower beds since it was too wet to get into the garden. 

My underground fence has a break or bad area somewhere. I have slowly been replacing the old multi-stranded wire that is corroding badly with a new solid wire.  I haven’t been able to figure out where the break is and have been bypassing sections trying to figure it out. In the meantime the hooligans have been having a field day running around in the fields on the other side of the creek.  Patches is playing this game that when I call her she is sneaking (she thinks) in the back yard and coming around to the front acting like she’s been at home the whole time.

Check out my GRIT blog post a step ladder for trucks.

I continue my favorite daylily blooms of 2011

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My first photography show, late winter gardening

Now is the time for planting early spring plants such as cabbage, onions, and broccoli.  I don’t think that’s going to be possible in my garden for a long time. 

Blackie patrolling for mice

 

I might have to stock my garden with catfish.  I have Brussel sprouts that I finally gave up waiting for things to dry up and planted in the flower beds.

 

Future catfish pond?

 The weather has been warm except for a freak snowstorm during rush hour on January 12.  The weather was warm during the week and the snow wasn’t expected to cause problems, but the sharp drop in temperature just as the storm hit froze the bridges and Wilson Dam across the Tennessee River delayed crossing for over a couple of hours.

Cooper-Rand House

The warm weather has brought out the blooms of daffodils, Lenten roses and Star magnolias.  My Star magnolias around the house weren’t blooming so I didn’t expect the ones in my ‘mediation circle down in the lower forty to be blooming.  Apparently they have been blooming a while as most of the blooms are past their prime.   My hyacinths should be blooming in a few days.  Two years ago we had a warm January and February, only to have snow on March 1 which destroyed fruit on trees, blueberries and strawberries.  Looks like a repeat as cold weather is expected later next week. 

Cassata

King Alfred

Itzim

Slim Whitman

Lenten Rose

Stellata Star magnolia

While I was going around checking on what’s waiting up for spring, Patches helped me with tree branch removal while Levi picked on Blackie so much he had to run for dear life.

Patches helping with limb pickup

Levi running for dear life

Oh almost forgot, my photography show/sale.  I’ve been picked for the Loving Locals Artists/Crafters show and sale on Friday, February 10^th from 5-8pm at Coldwater Books in Tuscumbia.  This will be my first time to show my photography work to the public.  I’ll have a few of the 2012 historical calendars I did for Tuscumbia and some of the note cards, snow card sets and some of my photography pictures.  Hopefully the printers will have the 11 X 14 prints of the calendar pictures ready. 

The calendar pictures and are posted in a blog post I did for GRIT.  Check out the post on Japanese iris also on GRIT.com

 

 

OH rats!

Number two on my GRIT blog post and my last post here was a repeat of last years resolution not to buy anymore plants until I had all my potted plants physically in the ground.  I had this one in the bag this year, as I purchased several plants before Christmas.  I found a great close out sale 90% off and purchased an Encore Azalea, two rhododendrons in 3 gallon pots, a large sky pencil and three dwarf gardenia’s and three standard gardenia’s all for less than nineteen dollars.  And the best part was, I really needed some of them to finish out the bed around the front of the house. The only problem was I had recently had knee surgery and was still on crutches, so I decided to over winter them in the greenhouse.  About a week later I went out to water my plants and something was eating the gardenia’s and the azalea.  I set out mouse and rat traps and thought I had the problem controlled after several where caught.  I didn’t find anything unusual until this week when I found nubs left of what used to be the gardenia’s.

field rat damage

More traps were set and one thing that I learned was that live mice and rats consider dead ones food.  I’m finding a little bit of fur and tails when checking the traps.  I need to get them under control before seed planting time.  Last year and the year before they got into my planting containers and ate all of my seeds which resulted in a limited amount of late vegetable plants that didn’t survive the early 100 degree temperatures.

Pondering why I’m having so much trouble lately with the field mice and rats in the greenhouse, it occurred to me that it’s the only place where they are safe from the hooligans.

Blackie and Patches my two rat killers

Back to this year’s goals as I call them instead of resolutions; I thought I was in great shape until I received a 15% off card from Bluestone Perennials if an order was placed by this past weekend. I made a wish list that I discarded, but after logging onto their website, my order that I thought was discarded when I logged off was still there. Well —- you know the rest of the story.

Gardening goals for 2012

The last weekend of the year was great. Temperatures Saturday was in the sixties.  I was able to get my John Deere out and haul wood chips the power company brought me and spread them out along the paths in the former veggie garden I took over in flowers.   My new garden area should be ready to go this year after all the organic matter I’ve been adding to it.   

With all the rain and the warm temperatures, the fire ants are starting to emerge. As soon as the rain slacks off, I’ll pour grits around the mounds.  One particularly large mound may take several feedings to kill off all of the queens.   Cotton seed meal was put down around my azaleas and blueberries getting them ready for spring blooms. With the warm weather, I worry about my fruit trees budding out.  Two years ago a warm January was followed by a late February freeze and snow in March.   None of my fruit trees, blueberries, or strawberries bore fruit or berries.

A couple of weeks after knee surgery, I found a close out of shrubs ninety per cent off.  I can home with a truck load of Encores, gardenia, sky pencil and rhododendrons, normally around two hundred for a little over eighteen dollars.  I put them in the greenhouse until my knee is back in digging shape.  Later in the week when I went to water them, I noticed that several of the shrubs had limbs chewed off; field rats had gotten in the greenhouse and were eating everything  in sight, even the half length toilet paper rolls that I use for starting seeds. After feeding them bait traps for several days, I was disposing of the casualties inside while Blackie was outside digging up tunnels; she leaned on the siding and a piece broke out and that was all she needed to burst through.  The sun pounding on the western side has made the plastic brittle.  I have a left over piece in the shed that will just cover the hole.  For now a hooligan cage with a couple of stands covers the hole.

extreme rat hunting

The first Saturday in January 2012 was rainy, (2.11 inches of rain and more coming) but pleasant temperatures in the low sixties.  I was able to enjoy sitting out on the screen porch with my paper and coffee. I had planned to start cleaning my flower beds, but made up planting mix for my African violets instead and spent the day re-potting.  Extra leaves were placed in a rooting medium for the Arc of the Shoals greenhouse program.   

 My goals this year, I can’t keep resolutions:

•  Have the first home grown tomatoes in town.  I noticed a couple of volunteer tomato plants coming up in a Nun’s orchid that I’m over wintering in my garage. In the last couple of weeks, both plants have grown nicely.  I’m going to try and put in a larger pot and hopefully they will still be in good shape for transplanting to the garden when it warms up.

 

volunteer tomato plants

• On my try to do list again this year is not buying anymore plants until I get the rest of my potted plants into the ground.  I ordered my plants and seeds the first of December so I have that one in the bag.  However a couple of seed packets, Kiphofia hirsute traffic lights and Courgette zephyr, I have no idea what I ordered and will have to go back to the Thompson & Morgan website and find out what they are.
• Find some make in the USA jeans and gardengloves. I have been looking since last summer.  With all the jean sewing factories in the area, why can’t I find made in the USA?  My old ones have issues and things keep falling down my legs whenever I pick up something.  I’m also getting sunburned in unusual places.  Fort Payne used to be the sock capital of the world, and it took me months to find USA socks in local stores.   My favorite Womanswork ‘original’ gloves are now made in China instead of Pennsylvia. The USA made ones would last a whole gardening season.  When I placed my last order, I wasn’t aware of the switch until they wore out after two months.  When I complained and inquired as to why, I was told they had trouble finding people to do the tedious finger sewing. I told them that north Alabama has had a lot of sewing factories closed and one destroyed by a tornado and we had a lot of folks that would be willing to do fingers.  They also said that the it was still ‘The Original’ style even though made in China, and that if I wanted made in the US, they had other gloves still made in the USA.

• Decide the location and whether I want an arbor or two pergolas.  I put up 2 poles a few years back for a pergola and then decided to do an arbor for kiwi on the other side of the garden and dug 2 holes there that I covered over with concrete blocks.  Then after the kiwi died the next winter, I thought about it again, I decided to do a pergola in each spot.  Blackie has partially filled in my holes digging after field mice.
• • • Run a new waterline along the creek and along the side of my blueberry row to replace the ones the mad tiller chopped up last summer.  I have a couple of 100-200 foot sections most chopped into  six inch sections that I took out when I should have hee’d instead of haw.  While the ground is moist I’ll take a middle buster down as deep as I can so it’ll be safe from shovel or tiller.      

• Finish the stackable retaining walls around the house and garage.  I started this project a couple of years ago.  Knee injuries have slowed this one down.  The so called landscapers placed an uneven single row around my front beds, these will be used around the back of the house and a trench edging will be used around the front beds.  I have zoysia in the front yard, so it should be easy to keep out of the beds.

Blackie & Patches checking out where I stopped working before knee injury

• Repair and redo the greenhouse.  The contractor didn’t allow enough air flow and left large gaps around the small windows and didn’t use the foam inserts at the end of the siding.  I thought about checking with a local window company for windows taken out of remodel projects and recycling. Wish I had thought of this when Mom replaced her windows.
•  Continue working on my themed gardens, Auburn, Deshler High, University of North Alabama, Born in the USA, song dance and people, pretty in pink, the blues have it, and valley of the lilies.   And no I don’t have one for that college on the other side of the state.

Hand of God

 

swallowtail on Joe Pye Weed

 The hooligans and myself wishes for you in the New Year: smell the flowers, notice the beauty around you and take it easy.  I’m still trying to get Blackie to that that advice.

Patches

Levi

Check out the hooligans resolutions on my GRIT magazine blog post.

Wow, I just got a postcard from Bluestone Perennials, 15% off if I order before January 18. Oh goody I did have a wish list made that I discarded; okie dokie, now where did it go?

Merry Christmas 2011 from the hooligans at Rosedale Garden

Merry Christmas from the hooligans!

Mom decided to that we needed to make a Christmas card again this year. After we nixed last year Christmas bows we thought she wouldn’t try anything this year, but no she decided that we were going to wear Santa hats. We had other ideas. She even got Grandma to help. We kept them busy for a while and gave them the run around, especially when Patches ran off with the hat.  After Mom chased her around for a bit she gave up. We hope you have a Merry Christmas, Blackie, Levi and Patches oh, and Mary.

 

Hooligans letter to Santa:

Dear Santa we’ve been very good doggies this year.  Mom hurt her knee last April and we tried to help her weed by digging holes around the yard.  Mom said we dug the holes too deep and also dug up the good plants along with the weeds.  She didn’t explain to us the difference between a good weed and a bad one. They all look the same to us.  We kept telling Blackie not to dig around a couple of trees after mice because Mom told us not to last year, but she wouldn’t listen.  Patches ran and told Mom and got Blackie in trouble.  Patches really enjoyed that. Blackie had surgery in October for bladder stones as she refused to eat that nasty food to get rid of them.  Mom had knee surgery the middle of November. She’s been walking around with a couple of sticks under her arms. Grandmother has been feeding us and when we really act like we are starving she’ll give us a little more than Mom.  After all that’s what Grandmothers are for aren’t they?  Anyway Santa, please bring us some chew bones and another one of those tires with the rope on it. We lost the two you brought us last year.  Also bring us another one of those roll around play balls. Blackie left it the front yard and Mom accidently ran over it with her tractor.

For more making the hooligan’s Christmas card pictures, check out my GRIT blog post.

If you would like to see last years hooligan Christmas card, click this link:

Daylilies my favorites of 2011 part two

This year wasn’t a kind year for daylily blooms. We went from winter to hot July like weather for most of the spring into September.  Blooms were at their peak when they first opened and were cooked after the sun was up for a short time, especially the dark burgundy bloomers which looked like a blow torch was used on them by late afternoon.  I have most of my burgundy colored ones in a area that gets afternoon shade, but even that didn’t prevent the bleaching effect.    Here are some of my favorites of this year.  Some varieties will have several more shots than others.  Part three to follow.

Check out my Grit magazine blog post Pre-Christmas goings on.

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Daylilies my favorites of 2011 part one

This year wasn’t a kind year for daylily blooms. We went from winter to hot July like weather for most of the spring into September.  Blooms were at their peak when they first opened and were cooked after the sun was up for a short time, especially the dark burgundy bloomers which looked like a blow torch was used on them by late afternoon.  I have most of my burgundy colored ones in a area that gets afternoon shade, but even that didn’t prevent the bleaching effect.    Here are some of my favorites of this year.  Some varieties will have several more shots than others.  Part two to follow.

Check out my post-Thanksgiving Grit magazine blog post along with some of my favorite sunrises.

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