Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 8, 2020 19:18:47 GMT -5
What ever you do with your crepe myrtles, don't trim them back like some folks do. It's called 'Crepe Murder'. And if your home is single story and you are going to plant trees, stay away from the big trees like oaks. My neighbor has a giant oak tree dead center of her front yard. Makes her house look dollhouse sized. Too late, DBF has already been hacking at one of them. The other one is in another messy flowerbed. I wouldn’t be sad to see either of them go. But not until I have a plan for those spaces! Our house is single story, but if I plant a tree, it will be a small or ornamental one. We already have a huge, out of control pecan tree. It’s healthy, just needs trimming to get it off the house and lift the canopy which we have scheduled for next month. I won’t get rid of that one, but I definitely don’t want another huge tree. I’ve seen too many trees crush houses and cars in my old neighborhood. Every spring, at least one huge tree came down. They scare me. I am afraid of my neighbor's giant oak tree falling on my house and vehicle. It's a pin oak and its leaves are small and hard to rake up. They are late to shed their leaves in the fall and they blow into my front door area all winter long. Grrrrrrr.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2020 19:33:17 GMT -5
Too late, DBF has already been hacking at one of them. The other one is in another messy flowerbed. I wouldn’t be sad to see either of them go. But not until I have a plan for those spaces! Our house is single story, but if I plant a tree, it will be a small or ornamental one. We already have a huge, out of control pecan tree. It’s healthy, just needs trimming to get it off the house and lift the canopy which we have scheduled for next month. I won’t get rid of that one, but I definitely don’t want another huge tree. I’ve seen too many trees crush houses and cars in my old neighborhood. Every spring, at least one huge tree came down. They scare me. I am afraid of my neighbor's giant oak tree falling on my house and vehicle. It's a pin oak and its leaves are small and hard to rake up. They are late to shed their leaves in the fall and they blow into my front door area all winter long. Grrrrrrr. In my old neighborhood, my next door neighbor had pine trees. The needles clogged up my gutters. She also had a tree that was clearly sick, even to my untrained eye. Whatever was wrong with it, it looked like the bark had been stripped. Sure enough, one day it just fell. Into the street. Luckily, it didn’t damage anything, but it was blocking my street (she lives on the corner). Years ago, she had a large tree cut down. I was in my house, unaware that they were cutting the tree down. I heard a “BOOM” and my house literally shook. I went outside to see what was going on, and saw that the tree was being cut down. That was the beginning of my wariness about big trees. Before that, I had no idea they could make the earth shake when one fell.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Sept 8, 2020 19:33:47 GMT -5
Those are beautiful but no - these have flowers that I think are petunia shaped but smaller, maybe quarter sized. I think there is a single flower per stalk, there are a lot of leaves, and the flower stalks are the same height as the flowers. The leaves are a dark green- I need to look closer as I drive by to see what shape they are, perennials. Could it be Mexican petunia? That would be my second guess!
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Sept 9, 2020 7:19:22 GMT -5
Could it be Mexican petunia? That would be my second guess! That looks like it! If it can survive the heat in Mexico it should be able to sweat through our summers. Mi need to write that down so I won’t forget
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Sept 9, 2020 7:27:49 GMT -5
What ever you do with your crepe myrtles, don't trim them back like some folks do. It's called 'Crepe Murder'. And if your home is single story and you are going to plant trees, stay away from the big trees like oaks. My neighbor has a giant oak tree dead center of her front yard. Makes her house look dollhouse sized. Too late, DBF has already been hacking at one of them. The other one is in another messy flowerbed. I wouldn’t be sad to see either of them go. But not until I have a plan for those spaces! Our house is single story, but if I plant a tree, it will be a small or ornamental one. We already have a huge, out of control pecan tree. It’s healthy, just needs trimming to get it off the house and lift the canopy which we have scheduled for next month. I won’t get rid of that one, but I definitely don’t want another huge tree. I’ve seen too many trees crush houses and cars in my old neighborhood. Every spring, at least one huge tree came down. They scare me. The good thing with crepe myrtles is you can literally hack them back to a stump and not kill it. There are tons of them around here because they are just so hard to kill.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Sept 9, 2020 8:08:49 GMT -5
That would be my second guess! That looks like it! If it can survive the heat in Mexico it should be able to sweat through our summers. Mi need to write that down so I won’t forget It thrives here and I’m on gulf coast. Be warned though, it can multiply like a weed Oh and Tennesseer Nailed it first so have to give him credit.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Sept 9, 2020 8:43:54 GMT -5
That looks like it! If it can survive the heat in Mexico it should be able to sweat through our summers. Mi need to write that down so I won’t forget It thrives here and I’m on gulf coast. Be warned though, it can multiply like a weed Oh and Tennesseer Nailed it first so have to give him credit. Where live seen them they were alone within their own flower bed with a rock perimeter fencing them in - I guess that will be the way to go.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 9, 2020 8:52:37 GMT -5
That looks like it! If it can survive the heat in Mexico it should be able to sweat through our summers. Mi need to write that down so I won’t forget It thrives here and I’m on gulf coast. Be warned though, it can multiply like a weed Oh and Tennesseer Nailed it first so have to give him credit. I have a few Mexican petunias which come back every year. They face south and are protected by a wall from northerly winter winds.
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ken a.k.a OMK
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Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Sept 9, 2020 9:05:16 GMT -5
I have a big, old Crepe Myrtle in the wrong place. It grew above the house and only flowers at the top (second floor). I cut it back to various heights between 4' and 7' to fill out. It looks much better. Some of the trunks were 6" across. Shoots will grow out of healthy, old wood.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2020 9:16:38 GMT -5
I loathe weeds. They serve no useful purpose.
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ken a.k.a OMK
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Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Sept 9, 2020 9:22:06 GMT -5
Me too, but why are weeds easier to grow then flowers?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2020 9:24:36 GMT -5
Apparently it's punishment. We have sinned. Don't ask me exactly how.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 9, 2020 9:27:34 GMT -5
I loathe weeds. They serve no useful purpose. Au contraire - "Weeds are the first species to germinate in the bare and naked landscape. Their sole purpose is to provide a cover to prevent soil erosion from heavy rains until hardier brush, shrub and tree life returns. Weeds growing along riverbanks and shorelines prevent them from sliding into the water." Even in your garden they held steady the soil. But from a asthetic point of view, they don't make Gardens pretty.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2020 9:30:56 GMT -5
Tennesseer Yeah yeah yeah. I thought that, too, until the three-year drought in Georgia. They didn't grow; therefore, they didn't keep the soil from eroding in DD's yard. So you know what you can do with your au contraire!
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 9, 2020 9:34:50 GMT -5
Tennesseer Yeah yeah yeah. I thought that, too, until the three-year drought in Georgia. They didn't grow; therefore, they didn't keep the soil from eroding in DD's yard. So you know what you can do with your au contraire!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2020 8:26:53 GMT -5
Looks like a nice day. I spent all day yesterday waiting for the all-day rain event that didn't happen. Not so much as a sprinkle. Maybe I'll get dressed, get the housekeeping chores done, and head outside.
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stillmovingforward
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Post by stillmovingforward on Sept 11, 2020 10:03:49 GMT -5
We have unhealthy smoke from the wild fires so no fall cleaning in the garden did weekend
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2020 12:43:32 GMT -5
I weeded for an hour. It was all I could stand. I've figured out why/how I lost interest in the garden. It happened when I quit smoking. If I go outside to sit on my teeny tiny patio, it reminds me of sitting out there with my coffee or tea and smoking. Then I want a cigarette. Therefore, I only go out first thing in the morning because *everybody* knows that coffee tastes better outside than inside. Heck, even in the dead of winter on days when it got really cold here, I'd bundle up and take my coffee outside. Looks like there won't be a garden next year, just an overgrown mess of weeds
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2020 7:41:46 GMT -5
According to NWS the 70% chance of rain yesterday and today was too ambitious. It didn't rain yesterday, at least not near us, and there's not a prayer today or for the foreseeable future. I'm gonna go set the sprinkler. BRB. I'm back and feeling guilty. I gave life to all those flowers, and now I'm letting them die? What kind of person allows a living thing to die? Shame on me I promise to do better. And it's time to reseed the spots that the fungus wants to destroy. DD's mower guy told me last week that this year fungus even got the Bermuda lawns. Eek. 2020 hasn't been kind to anybody or anything! BTW, I'm seeing banner ads for seed catalogs already.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Sept 14, 2020 6:42:02 GMT -5
My bell pepper plant is finally becoming prolific. Probably just in time for it to be too cold. The 2 peppers we've gotten tasted excellent.
The tomatoes just make me mad. I need to trim the dead off the squash plants.
If I can find the remaining package I might plant some more peas. The two lone surviving strands are doing well.
I'm considering lettuce as well. And the poor dead pansies will be replaced with new fall ones.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Sept 14, 2020 14:05:48 GMT -5
According to NWS the 70% chance of rain yesterday and today was too ambitious. It didn't rain yesterday, at least not near us, and there's not a prayer today or for the foreseeable future. I'm gonna go set the sprinkler. BRB. I'm back and feeling guilty. I gave life to all those flowers, and now I'm letting them die? What kind of person allows a living thing to die? Shame on me I promise to do better. And it's time to reseed the spots that the fungus wants to destroy. DD's mower guy told me last week that this year fungus even got the Bermuda lawns. Eek. 2020 hasn't been kind to anybody or anything! BTW, I'm seeing banner ads for seed catalogs already. We were also supposed to get a Saturday and Sunday full of rain. We got nothing but some cloudy skies. I’m sick of the heat. Don’t feel bad if your flowers are sad. I let Luna caterpillars eat three tomato plants, including the tomatoes. I have nothing but crooked naked stems. Tomato murderer. It’s not like the Lina moth caterpillars were too small to see - they were as long as the palm of my hand.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 17:44:25 GMT -5
Wondering what the garden will look like when the rain stops on Saturday. I have a mental picture of flowers in little boats floating among the shrubs...
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oped
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Post by oped on Sept 16, 2020 20:35:37 GMT -5
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Sept 17, 2020 9:35:07 GMT -5
Those all look great! Thanks for sharing. Now I wish I had taken more pics of mine.
My cherry tomatoes have really produced a lot this year and they are tasty, too.
My bell pepper plant has only produced one pepper and it's not very big.
Cayenne and jalapenos have done well.
I'm now thinking I might make my little garden bigger. I really don't want much maintenance, but thinking if I raise the beds up taller it will still be easy to maintain.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Sept 17, 2020 9:55:12 GMT -5
CCL I have only got 2 bell peppers so far and they didn't get huge before they had spots on them. I have 3 more growing now and tons of blooms on my two plants. It's just taken them forever to get started. Tomatoes are still super disappointing except for the cherry ones.
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Post by oped on Sept 17, 2020 13:02:55 GMT -5
We eat the bells as fast as they ripen. This is the year where I forget why I don't do full size bell peppers and planted some. Next year I'll remember that full size bells take so freaking long to color and are much more likely to go soft before, while mini bells stay crisp and change much more quickly. Luckily I planted lots of those too. Next year that's all I'll plant as far as bells go. Probably the year after I'll forget again.
CCL I know it seems counter intuitive, but besides having to add fertilizer/compost to all of it, I find more garden space to take me less time than smaller, where I have to be judicious and careful. Seeds are cheap. I don't want to keep up with bugs and fungus and etc. I like to start early and go late, putting things out in the best weather for them here (in PA) ... I like to plant succession in different parts of the garden.
If bugs get something in one spot, they generally don't get them all everywhere. I pull out what gets eaten and plant more somewhere else, same with fungus, etc. I don't typically baby plants. If they don't make it, I just move on somewhere else. If that makes sense. You need enough space though to be able to rotate and have different stages of plants growing.
Our cherry tomatoes did best this year too, although after a few weeks of stunted/rotting, the rest seem to be ripening better now, which is a little weird given how cold its gotten suddenly.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Sept 18, 2020 6:24:47 GMT -5
I need to replace the 3 big plants we pulled out of the landscaping in front, looks awful and need a 4th of something. There are some types of leaf type plants and they just don't look pretty about half the summer, but not pulling more out right now.
Big disadvantage for me not having a truck, I used to get all my mulch, fertilizer, and plants, can't in my car. I need to borrow hubs one day, but he is generally using it. Hopefully he will be done over there soon, he doesn't have time to plant right now anyway.
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ken a.k.a OMK
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Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Sept 18, 2020 10:15:44 GMT -5
I planted some dwarf Dahlia seeds late (July) that are just starting to bloom, one flower at a time. Flower lasts 1 or 2 days before rabbit or squirrel eats it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2020 12:50:02 GMT -5
What is wrong with those damn leaf rollers? After two summers of war, you'd think they'd get the idea that I am not interested in a deep and meaningful relationship with them I'm not even interested in a shallow and meaningless relationship with them. I just want them to go somewhere else or die altogether. Die being preferable.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 18, 2020 17:49:03 GMT -5
Those all look great! Thanks for sharing. Now I wish I had taken more pics of mine. My cherry tomatoes have really produced a lot this year and they are tasty, too. My bell pepper plant has only produced one pepper and it's not very big. Cayenne and jalapenos have done well. I'm now thinking I might make my little garden bigger. I really don't want much maintenance, but thinking if I raise the beds up taller it will still be easy to maintain.You did the right thing. You started small and found out it wasn't too hard to maintain and now want to go a little bigger. Some gardeners on the other hand start too big and discover it's hard to take care of and then downsize.
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