Lawn & garden thread

[buystoys]

I bought some orange and red ones and some yellow ones.  Lantanas normally do very well here but we had that nasty weather in December that killed them.  It was 72 during the day and went to 15 that night.  The nursery told us that a lot of people lost bushes, shrubs, and flowering plants because of the hard freeze this year.  Two of my neighbors have lantanas that came back this year, so we hope they can get established and make it through the winter.  We just planted them too late last year.

[Lizard Queen]

Apr 15, 2017 14:35:26 GMT -5 @xmascookie said:

Three turkeys in the yard this morning!

I was happy to see them as it's been a couple years since they have been here. Hope they stick around. So goofy looking they make me laugh!

They were cool to see at first.  Now there's so many of them that they are a nuisance.  I'm glad the don't usually venture quite this far into town, though they are very close, and like to cross the road sssslllloooowwllyy.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Apr 15, 2017 17:00:32 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Apr 15, 2017 14:35:26 GMT -5 @xmascookie said:

Three turkeys in the yard this morning!

I was happy to see them as it's been a couple years since they have been here. Hope they stick around. So goofy looking they make me laugh!

They were cool to see at first.  Now there's so many of them that they are a nuisance.  I'm glad the don't usually venture quite this far into town, though they are very close, and like to cross the road sssslllloooowwllyy.

And will attack if you try to surgically drive through the flock. =o

[Bonny]

Apr 15, 2017 17:37:10 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Apr 15, 2017 17:00:32 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

They were cool to see at first.  Now there's so many of them that they are a nuisance.  I'm glad the don't usually venture quite this far into town, though they are very close, and like to cross the road sssslllloooowwllyy.

And will attack if you try to surgically drive through the clock. =o

Did you try that to save some money on T Day?

We had a turkey land on our deck railing a couple of weeks ago. Never saw one in our yard during the 13 ish years we've lived here. They are BIG birds (and according to my husband) leave BIG poop!

[Lizard Queen]

I'd tease the kids to quick grab one for dinner, 'cept, who wants to pluck and gut it? Not me.

They were constantly hanging out in their sitter's neighborhood. Whatever you do, don't feed them. They'll start harassing you.

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2017 17:00:32 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Apr 15, 2017 14:35:26 GMT -5 @xmascookie said:

Three turkeys in the yard this morning!

I was happy to see them as it's been a couple years since they have been here. Hope they stick around. So goofy looking they make me laugh!

They were cool to see at first.  Now there's so many of them that they are a nuisance.  I'm glad the don't usually venture quite this far into town, though they are very close, and like to cross the road sssslllloooowwllyy.

We had a group of about 10 of them around a few years ago but they would usually just pass through the yard on the way to the woods on the other side of us.
Since then I have only seen a single one here and there though and I have missed them. 
They would hold up traffic though !

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2017 16:30:58 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Apr 15, 2017 15:59:17 GMT -5 buystoys said:

We're infested with armadillos again this year.  My only consolation is that it seems like a lot of people in the area have this problem as I've overhead complaints about it at Walmart and Home Depot.  They have left my flowerbed and rose bed alone as well as stayed away from all our new trees and bushes, so I guess that's some consolation.

All the oleanders we planted last fall got killed by an excessively hard frost in December.    Fortunately, the nursery we bought them from refunded all the money and we purchased five more to replace the dead ones.  I also purchased two rose bushes, a butterfly bush, and a bunch of lantanas.  Now it's just a matter of DH planting everything with me overseering as I'm still having all kinds of back pain.  Maybe the specialist will actually give me something when I see him on Tuesday so I can help DH a little bit with the planting.

Once these plants are in the ground, that's all we have planned for this year's landscaping.  If DH is up to it, he'll try to take down a couple more trees in the back 1/3 of the yard.  If not, they'll wait until he's ready.    Fortunately, we don't use that part of our yard at all right now, so we're not in much of a rush to get things done. 

What color lantanas do you buy? I usually buy the orange and red ones because they are most attractive to butterflies.

I had one violet colored lantana that came back three years in a row. Lantanas here die after the first hard freeze. But this lantana was growing in such a place that had its own micro-climate (shielded from northern winter winds and faced south). The roots never died/froze. Eventually a really hard winter killed the roots. But for three years it came back.

I also had an outdoor potted hibiscus that survived a winter here. It was in a container outdoors, facing south, and it was positioned about a foot away in front of a pet door into the garage. As the garage had a heater in it to keep the cats who lived in side warm, the warm air would come out of the cat door and keep the hibiscus from freezing.

I love the orange and red lantanas.
They are an annual here and won't get very big I keep a couple in pots on the deck. I have been overwintering them in the basement the last few years.
I tried keeping them as houseplants in the winter but they never survived .
In the basement they get very little light and I barely water them so they go almost dormant, not quite.
They will never get big and beautiful like they do when in the ground but they are still really pretty and it helps my flower money go farther .

[mojothehelpermonkey]

We just closed on a place with a big yard. So far, we have filled the bird bath and bird feeders (we had some visitors this morning!), seeded the patchy spots of the yard, and purchased some patio furniture. The previous owners said that they had no problems growing tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants in the corner of the yard, so we want to try that. We also have two apple trees and a pear tree, so I might need to learn to can. My mom has some plants that she wants to give us, and I want to try to grow some herbs in hanging pots too. We might not get around to all of that, but I am really excited to see what our trees and bushes look like once they start to bloom.

[Cookies Galore]

Our backyard is going to be so great! Friend did a great job. I can't for the grass to grow!
We also walked around the house yesterday morning and looked at all the mystery plants that are popping up. We moved here in June, so this is our first spring. I'm curious to see if any of the stargazer lilies in the front will get to bloom before the dogwood tree is in full bloom and creates a ton of shade. We have a serious amount of plants in the wrong place!


As you can see, we have a small backyard. We also live in a twin and the side of the house is close to our neighbors. Somehow we have a bunch of Rose of Sharon, a hydrangea bush, Japanese maple, a dogwood tree, random lilies, and other stuff. Last summer we ripped out everything in the flowerbed out back, cut down an evergreen tree that was growing, and removed a bush. One of the previous owners sucked.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

To those with newly-purchased properties, make sure to take pictures of your yard every week so that you can have a record of what is already planted there.  Some plants are only around for a short while (for example, tulips, daffodils, etc.) and you won't remember where everything is next winter when you're knee deep in garden catalogs and making landscaping plans.  

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2017 16:30:58 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Apr 15, 2017 15:59:17 GMT -5 buystoys said:

We're infested with armadillos again this year.  My only consolation is that it seems like a lot of people in the area have this problem as I've overhead complaints about it at Walmart and Home Depot.  They have left my flowerbed and rose bed alone as well as stayed away from all our new trees and bushes, so I guess that's some consolation.

All the oleanders we planted last fall got killed by an excessively hard frost in December.    Fortunately, the nursery we bought them from refunded all the money and we purchased five more to replace the dead ones.  I also purchased two rose bushes, a butterfly bush, and a bunch of lantanas.  Now it's just a matter of DH planting everything with me overseering as I'm still having all kinds of back pain.  Maybe the specialist will actually give me something when I see him on Tuesday so I can help DH a little bit with the planting.

Once these plants are in the ground, that's all we have planned for this year's landscaping.  If DH is up to it, he'll try to take down a couple more trees in the back 1/3 of the yard.  If not, they'll wait until he's ready.    Fortunately, we don't use that part of our yard at all right now, so we're not in much of a rush to get things done. 

What color lantanas do you buy? I usually buy the orange and red ones because they are most attractive to butterflies.

I had one violet colored lantana that came back three years in a row. Lantanas here die after the first hard freeze. But this lantana was growing in such a place that had its own micro-climate (shielded from northern winter winds and faced south). The roots never died/froze. Eventually a really hard winter killed the roots. But for three years it came back.

I also had an outdoor potted hibiscus that survived a winter here. It was in a container outdoors, facing south, and it was positioned about a foot away in front of a pet door into the garage. As the garage had a heater in it to keep the cats who lived in side warm, the warm air would come out of the cat door and keep the hibiscus from freezing.

I'm desperately seeking Confetti Lantana, the pink and yellow one.  Back in my youth it was known as "Ham & Eggs" because of the coloring.  I lost mine in the January freeze and can't find it anywhere.  I had a HUGE plant that drew more bees and butterflies than I've ever experienced before.  

Last year a lot of us lost patches of our yards to sod webworms.  The challenge of Southeast Texas gardening is that one year you have drought and wildfires, the next is freezes and floods.  Today was the one year anniversary of Houston's devastating Tax Day flooding.  We had heavy rain yesterday, overnight and into the morning which had a lot of folks having flashbacks.  One community down the coast had 11 inches in less than 24 hours with the expected damage to cars, homes and businesses.

[Tennesseer]

Apr 18, 2017 21:24:22 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Apr 15, 2017 16:30:58 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

What color lantanas do you buy? I usually buy the orange and red ones because they are most attractive to butterflies.

I had one violet colored lantana that came back three years in a row. Lantanas here die after the first hard freeze. But this lantana was growing in such a place that had its own micro-climate (shielded from northern winter winds and faced south). The roots never died/froze. Eventually a really hard winter killed the roots. But for three years it came back.

I also had an outdoor potted hibiscus that survived a winter here. It was in a container outdoors, facing south, and it was positioned about a foot away in front of a pet door into the garage. As the garage had a heater in it to keep the cats who lived in side warm, the warm air would come out of the cat door and keep the hibiscus from freezing.

I'm desperately seeking Confetti Lantana, the pink and yellow one.  Back in my youth it was known as "Ham & Eggs" because of the coloring.  I lost mine in the January freeze and can't find it anywhere.  I had a HUGE plant that drew more bees and butterflies than I've ever experienced before.  

Last year a lot of us lost patches of our yards to sod webworms.  The challenge of Southeast Texas gardening is that one year you have drought and wildfires, the next is freezes and floods.  Today was the one year anniversary of Houston's devastating Tax Day flooding.  We had heavy rain yesterday, overnight and into the morning which had a lot of folks having flashbacks.  One community down the coast had 11 inches in less than 24 hours with the expected damage to cars, homes and businesses.

I forgot about the sod webworms of late last summer and fall. They made a big mess of lawns here, including mine.

[Deleted]

I saw one little sod webworm moth the other day and went completely ballistic on it.  I'm beginning to suspect my landscaper is importing the little monsters.  I really want to be sort of a natural gardener but nothing less than atomic weapons brings those moths down!

[Cookies Galore]

Apr 18, 2017 20:21:40 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

To those with newly-purchased properties, make sure to take pictures of your yard every week so that you can have a record of what is already planted there.  Some plants are only around for a short while (for example, tulips, daffodils, etc.) and you won't remember where everything is next winter when you're knee deep in garden catalogs and making landscaping plans.  

Good idea, we're observing all the spring flowers coming up now, but after we moved in last summer we just ripped out or cut down a bunch of stuff we could see and did not like.

I'm trying to go with less is more, so we've (I've) been in get 'rid of it' mode. I think I'm just going to put sedum plants in the flowerbed in back. There's full sun so those will live. There's already one there (autumn joy) that propogated over the fall/winter. I have no desire to try to keep anything alive that takes effort.

[Tennesseer]

Apr 19, 2017 5:42:17 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Apr 18, 2017 20:21:40 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

To those with newly-purchased properties, make sure to take pictures of your yard every week so that you can have a record of what is already planted there.  Some plants are only around for a short while (for example, tulips, daffodils, etc.) and you won't remember where everything is next winter when you're knee deep in garden catalogs and making landscaping plans.  

Good idea, we're observing all the spring flowers coming up now, but after we moved in last summer we just ripped out or cut down a bunch of stuff we could see and did not like.

I'm trying to go with less is more, so we've (I've) been in get 'rid of it' mode. I think I'm just going to put sedum plants in the flowerbed in back. There's full sun so those will live. There's already one there (autumn joy) that propogated over the fall/winter. I have no desire to try to keep anything alive that takes effort.

Boy-I'm sure glad I'm not your kid.

[buystoys]

Apr 18, 2017 21:24:22 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Apr 15, 2017 16:30:58 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

What color lantanas do you buy? I usually buy the orange and red ones because they are most attractive to butterflies.

I had one violet colored lantana that came back three years in a row. Lantanas here die after the first hard freeze. But this lantana was growing in such a place that had its own micro-climate (shielded from northern winter winds and faced south). The roots never died/froze. Eventually a really hard winter killed the roots. But for three years it came back.

I also had an outdoor potted hibiscus that survived a winter here. It was in a container outdoors, facing south, and it was positioned about a foot away in front of a pet door into the garage. As the garage had a heater in it to keep the cats who lived in side warm, the warm air would come out of the cat door and keep the hibiscus from freezing.

I'm desperately seeking Confetti Lantana, the pink and yellow one.  Back in my youth it was known as "Ham & Eggs" because of the coloring.  I lost mine in the January freeze and can't find it anywhere.  I had a HUGE plant that drew more bees and butterflies than I've ever experienced before.  

Last year a lot of us lost patches of our yards to sod webworms.  The challenge of Southeast Texas gardening is that one year you have drought and wildfires, the next is freezes and floods.  Today was the one year anniversary of Houston's devastating Tax Day flooding.  We had heavy rain yesterday, overnight and into the morning which had a lot of folks having flashbacks.  One community down the coast had 11 inches in less than 24 hours with the expected damage to cars, homes and businesses.

We bought our lantanas at Covington Nursery in Rowlett.  I just looked and there's one in Houston.  They didn't have the confetti lantanas yet (that's what we had last year that got killed) but the workers told us that they should be in shortly.  Maybe try calling the one in Houston if that's fairly close to you?

[Cookies Galore]

Apr 19, 2017 8:39:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Apr 19, 2017 5:42:17 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Good idea, we're observing all the spring flowers coming up now, but after we moved in last summer we just ripped out or cut down a bunch of stuff we could see and did not like.

I'm trying to go with less is more, so we've (I've) been in get 'rid of it' mode. I think I'm just going to put sedum plants in the flowerbed in back. There's full sun so those will live. There's already one there (autumn joy) that propogated over the fall/winter. I have no desire to try to keep anything alive that takes effort.

Boy-I'm sure glad I'm not your kid.

Lol, we are childless by choice for a reason!

[Deleted]

Apr 19, 2017 9:31:18 GMT -5 buystoys said:

Apr 18, 2017 21:24:22 GMT -5 @donethat said:

I'm desperately seeking Confetti Lantana, the pink and yellow one.  Back in my youth it was known as "Ham & Eggs" because of the coloring.  I lost mine in the January freeze and can't find it anywhere.  I had a HUGE plant that drew more bees and butterflies than I've ever experienced before.  

Last year a lot of us lost patches of our yards to sod webworms.  The challenge of Southeast Texas gardening is that one year you have drought and wildfires, the next is freezes and floods.  Today was the one year anniversary of Houston's devastating Tax Day flooding.  We had heavy rain yesterday, overnight and into the morning which had a lot of folks having flashbacks.  One community down the coast had 11 inches in less than 24 hours with the expected damage to cars, homes and businesses.

We bought our lantanas at Covington Nursery in Rowlett.  I just looked and there's one in Houston.  They didn't have the confetti lantanas yet (that's what we had last year that got killed) but the workers told us that they should be in shortly.  Maybe try calling the one in Houston if that's fairly close to you?

I will check it out for sure and thanks for the info.

[Tennesseer]

Finally got my lighting in.



Not really my house. But it is sure looks nice.

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2017 13:49:04 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Finally got my lighting in.



Not really my house. But it is sure looks nice.

Wow!

[Deleted]

Apr 18, 2017 20:21:40 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

To those with newly-purchased properties, make sure to take pictures of your yard every week so that you can have a record of what is already planted there.  Some plants are only around for a short while (for example, tulips, daffodils, etc.) and you won't remember where everything is next winter when you're knee deep in garden catalogs and making landscaping plans.  

Don't kill things either if you are not sure that they are not weeds. When we bought our last house everyone was telling me these things growing up the side of our driveway (on a hill) were weeds and why wasn't I getting rid of them. I wasn't sure so I didn't.
In the spring they started getting buds and they turned out to be
Coreopsis, a bright yellow daisy like flower. They were fantastic and would bloom all summer . 

[zibazinski]

Omg, I'm going to have a yard again!!

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2017 6:09:00 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Omg, I'm going to have a yard again!!

[Deleted]

Confession and update time!  I swore on a bottle of single-malt Scotch I would downsize my plants and just move some empty planters behind the shed, yada, yada.  But then I went to a nursery and, God help me, I brought some little orphan vinca, pentas, begonias, and assorted lonely succulents home.  And a bag of potting soil.  And there's a community plant swap May 13.

[empress of self-improvement]

I hear you. I went to the grocery store for hamburger rolls on Sunday and came home with a hanging pot of red petunias. A couple weeks before that I went for something else and came home with 2 lilac bushes. I want to go to the local nursery but I am afraid of the damage to my credit card. I probably will go soon though because I am looking for black pansies and petunias and they go very early in the season. I have decided all plantings are going to be black and red. My bloody little theme going since nobody will let me get black fencing with red paint dripping down. I have skull candelabras in my living room window. My neighbors would not be shocked.

[Deleted]

Apr 25, 2017 20:22:02 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I hear you. I went to the grocery store for hamburger rolls on Sunday and came home with a hanging pot of red petunias. A couple weeks before that I went for something else and came home with 2 lilac bushes. I want to go to the local nursery but I am afraid of the damage to my credit card. I probably will go soon though because I am looking for black pansies and petunias and they go very early in the season. I have decided all plantings are going to be black and red. My bloody little theme going since nobody will let me get black fencing with red paint dripping down. I have skull candelabras in my living room window. My neighbors would not be shocked.

Empress, I don't judge.  But I might envy a bit because pansies are a December/January plant here and petunias are sort of January/February.  Saturday is supposed to hit 90 degrees.  

[empress of self-improvement]

Lucky. I'm in the Northeast. We don't get that weather until maybe August and with the way weather patterns are going these days, it may last for all of 2 days. Nothing lives in the winter here.


Sadly my petunia pot is getting a wee bit waterlogged since it's been pouring buckets for 2 days straight. I'm over this April showers crap. My grass is green. It won't last. Stop teasing me!

[zibazinski]

Apr 24, 2017 21:30:13 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Confession and update time!  I swore on a bottle of single-malt Scotch I would downsize my plants and just move some empty planters behind the shed, yada, yada.  But then I went to a nursery and, God help me, I brought some little orphan vinca, pentas, begonias, and assorted lonely succulents home.  And a bag of potting soil.  And there's a community plant swap May 13.

It's an addiction. 🤣

[bean29]

Tennesseer, I used to bring my Hibiscus inside in the winter. They really like the light in my kitchen and bloom real nice. I stopped b/c it was getting too big and the last one I was able to purchase a decent sized one for about $20. I also did not want to bring aphids and Chinese beetles in the house on the plant.

I do have some lantana's growing in pots in my living room...they don't flower in the house for me though, although I don't have them in a spot where they get a lot of light. I will have to fertilize them and move them outside and see if they bloom.

I had my Christmas cactus in the living room and I think it was too warm. We have a door with a window in it in the basement, so I moved it to a table opposite the door and the Christmas Cactus bloomed while we were neglecting it in the basement!

I have to fertilize my Azaleas, Hibiscus, and Hydrangeas to keep them blooming. Look at the box to make sure It is the right type of fertilizer for the plant.

We have Moles too, but I have never treated the lawn to kill the grubs. I will have DH do that now that I know that that will help get rid of the moles.   (I have a Grub Ex Bag in the garage but we never applied it). I also bought something at the garden center to repel the moles, but I never used that either, b/c the instructions recommended a certain way to do it to get them away from your yard.

My MIL lives across from a park that is on Lake Michigan.  She had Mosquitos all over her house yesterday when I was there.  She said my FIL was all bitten up when he walked the dog in the park yesterday.  I am thinking about having her yard sprayed but DH did not seem to be on board.  Idk if it will do any good if they are coming from the park.

I want to buy some of the stuff you throw in the pond to keep the larvae from hatching for our wetlands.  I have done it in the past.  Last year my neighbor ordered it on Amazon - so I will have to check with him before I do anything.  They are kind of like the self feeders you put in a fish tank when you go on vacation. 

[Deleted]

My Mexican sunflower seeds are coming up in the greenhouse/shack!
I have not planted any for years so really looking forward to them.
Supposed to get close to freezing tonight and hoping they make it.
Greenhouse /shack needing extensive repairs again which it does every year but hopefully will stay warm enough tonight in there that they survive.