I've been working on a new bed off and on, when its warm enough, since
fall. Yesterday I went to plant delights nursery in Bham, where Miss Libby there is having a 1/2 half sale on plants, shrubs, and decorations. I got some huecharas and huecharellas, bigger than quart size pots for a good deal-same varieties I've seen in the plant delights catalog for cheaper, bigger plants. They look good for being out all winter and I planted them, along with a small "Top hat' dwarf blueberry bush, to go along with my rabbit-eye types--this one I can keep in a pot. I've also been scrounging around a friends place, who has a lot of land near a quarry (lots of rocks), for more rocks for my "rock garden." Hauling rocks around has to be about as good as going to the gym, where people lift stuff that ain't even purdy.

I've also had to repair the birdhouses that the squirrels keep trying to chew into.

In another month or so it will be time to start some seeds inside, and grow them under lights. Theres always something to keep you out of trouble.

I'm out here!

I'm scouring nurseries for half-price sales by day, and ordering way too many plants on-line by night.

Pruning my Japanese maples, roses, ect., and vacuuming and mulching every leaf in sight so that by spring all my beds will be covered.

Planning a new flower bed while un-doing others. Poring over gardening books for inspiration, and scouring piggy banks for change to make it a reality.

Enjoying the silhouettes of winter trees and appreciating the evergreens and conifers that suddenly "appear" over the landscape.

When time permits I'm in the basement tending to the potted tropicals and half-hardy perennials I'm overwintering.

Working eight hours a day, excercising each night, and tending to my ten cats in between.

Looking forward to spring, staying warm in the cold, still thanking God for the Obama presidency. (Oops! I let that sneak in!)

I'll continue the list as time permits. :-) There is no "down time" when you enjoy gardening...

Nelson

tedevore, is that Plant Delights Nursery in Bham connected to the Plant Delights in NC that sells such lovely things?
If so, I have some things on order from them, like abutilons, aspidistra, agave, and alocasia. I'm into tropicalesque. Love their catalogs, find the covers hilarious.

AND, I am planning a new bed out front, since we discovered when we installed a new privacy fence that we had FOUR FEET WIDER FRONT YARD than we thought. I bought some Japanese boxwood "Green...." (which can take cold) and stay dwarf, to go along the line (neighbor's side), with my roses in the middle, and dwarf greenleafed nandinas on our side. On the fence parallel to the street, I have two Zepherine Drouhan pillar roses to cover the arbor at the gate. Before we sell our river property, I have to dig up a gorgeous laceleaf Japnese maple, and some of the clumping bamboo which grows about 20 feet tall. It will go at the other end of the yard perpendicular to the street, to screen and shade the gaps left when we take out the old azaleas and a monstrous pinetree. Scotland Yards is coming to take out SIX TREES for us around Feb 3d. Getting this done before hurricane season will make me feel a LOT better. Meanwhile, hubby is happy watching his sprouted seeds get bigger, and he is ready to stick them in his very first southern winter garden. He is a New Englander, born and raised, and loves our weather--except the last couple of weeks,which were too rough for him.

Nelson, my hubby bought a leaf shredder from Gardener's Supply, and he loves it. It doesn't do sticks or pine cones or sweet gum balls, but it is a neat design. As an engineer, he loves it--heavy duty weed eater style trimming stuff, easy to replace, very simple to operate, not much can go wrong with it. With this shredder, he has
minced up every bag of leaves up and down the street, and is looking for more.

Nelson, at least you have a basement for your tropicals. We don't have one, and our old cement block garage lost its entire roof, supports and all, in some long-ago hurricane. That is the location I've chosen to turn into a greenhouse for these tropicals of mine....along with an Endless Pool in the far end.

As are you, I am a rosarian, and anticipate the moment I can plant an Obama rose. Yes we will!!! :)

Hi, y'all. I haven't been doing much. I planted some calamondin seeds and I'm hoping for the best. I did a swap with a great young man (18 y/o) in Reading, PA and I got some sabal palmetto plants which I potted up. The seeds are from Daytona. Oh to be 18 and in Daytona. I've been stoking the greenhouse heaters. I've had to use both heaters 2 or 3 nights. My winter honeysuckle bloomed and smelled so sweet. I'm looking for some winter jasmine. I doesn't smell but the green stems and bright yellow blooms are a welcome sight in February. Now that our daughter lives off of Shelby county Hwy 11 near Myer's Nursery, I have a constant fight with myself about going down there. I have huge daffodil buds. I've been tending to the angel trumpet cuttings. They have been doing well. They have a tendency to get mealy bugs in winter so I dosed them with a systemic insecticide and all are doing great. I now have 4 (count'em, una, duo, tres, quattuor for you Latin scholars and parochial school attendees) types of Confederate rose cuttings potted up. As soon as spring gets here, I'm going to Montgomery to get me and Alma's Star Confederate rose, one of the new quintuple bloom plants. I'm also thinking about buying one of the Venus sweet shrubs. I'm going next month to the plant dig. I need some oakleaf hydrangeas to replace those killed by the drought. I fixed a sharpener-grinder on cold day, replaced heater wicks another day and cleaned the greenhouse exhaust fan. I trimmed some altheas at the end of the driveway and against the garden fence. I took some cuttings of "red" and pale lavender and pink single altheas. I try to stay busy.

I think Todd made a Freudian slip and really meant to say Plant Odyssey. I wondered the same thing until he mentioned Miss Libby [Rich]. - Terry

Yep, Ive been looking at the plant delights catalog, keeping my credit card hidden so I won't buy stuff I can't fit anywhere, but i meant Plant Odyssey.

Terry, you know it was a bad year when the Oakleaf Hydrangeas died. Eddie Aldridge told me that usually the only way people kill them is by giving them
TOO MUCH water.

I had to google that Confederate Rose Alma's Star. Wow!

Todd

Hey, Terry, you going to Southern Homes? Make sure they have a few in stock so you can pick a good one. You just buy up every pretty you see and I'll come a shopping in your yard.
I haven't really done much as Phil's health has worsened and he was in the hospital again. One day at a time.
OH!!!! I left the ***** gate open again and had to get the horses back in the yard. Not much sun but swear my brain is fried.
Stay warm
Lynn

I am itching to get started winter sowing!! A friend got me 6 bags of MG potting soil for Christmas, but I haven't been able to pick it up yet, because it rains everytime I try to get to her house- and those bags sure are heavy when they are wet-lol. I have a few more packs of confederate rose and bush morning glory seeds to trade off, then my little "seeds for trading" tote will be empty. Lots of wild birds at my feeders. I am already looking forward to the spring swap and getting to see ya'll. Lynn, you and DH are in my prayers. Anybody heard from birdlady?

hey everybody---i've been trying to keep the fallen dead limbs picked up. i don't do pinecones or sweetgum balls, except in the beds. my lawnmower gets the rest.

i told sandra last year that i was not going to buy any seed this time, but you know how we gardeners are. when the catalogs get here in january we buy!!! some of the seeds i ordered are----rumex sanguineus (bloody dock, can be invasive), reum palmatum var. tanguticum (chinese rhubarb), anchusa leptophylla 'blue shower', melianthus major 'honeybush'. has anyone had experience with these ? see how gullible i am when it comes to garden catalogs in the middle of winter.

wayne

Limbs falling is for sure! With all the wind and occasional wet weather mixing in with the brittle cold. we've had lots of limbs coming down. But all this will soon be over....we are having 4 big pines, a large rotting water oak, and a large frumpy sweet gum taken OUT within two weeks. They'd be out now, but part of the crew took off for Houston where cleanup work is still lucrative business. They will be home next week, and Mark Sutherland of Scotland Yards is bringing his crew over to remove these
trees from amongst the power lines and buildings and fences on our smallish city lot. He comes highly recommended, and gave us a good price. After that is over, we can get serious about putting new plants in the garden.

One reason our property has a fairly high elevation for being south of I-10 is much of our 21' above sea level is
composed of clay. Most of my other yards were sandy, and I did not expect the clay. But when DH dug his veggie garden, he ran into clay. Now we know. Every night when I go to bed, I read some more of Felder Rushing's TOUGH PLANTS book, to keep me on track.

And, I have on order the original single Confederate Rose, and the lovely double, but I don't think it is the Alma's Star--so I guess this means I have a THIRD Confed Rose in my future.

I can barely wait for the Festival of Flowers this year, when I can see all sorts of garden designs, hardscapes, and pick up great pots and plants without running all over town. After seeing the way Italians used their jasmines as hedges and privacy screens, I want to copy their pots and planting style--just a little bit of copying is okay, isn't it?

moccasinlanding: You're a more dedicated gardener than I am. If it can't survive the winter without protection ('cept maybe extra mulch) I don't plant it.

We added a large front porch last year which has led to changing our whole front yard. I've done a lot, but I'm still working on foundation planting and clearing beds to make way for a small grass area to replace what we lost. I need a few warmer days to transplant some of the larger things so I can till and prepare for sodding in the spring. The middle of this week looks promising . . . .

Would ya'll believe I have a couple of daffs blooming today? I thought sure that last weeks freezing temps would get those buds!
Like everyone else, I've been keeping busy....weather permitting, I've been mulching, mostly with pine needles, pulling winter weeds ( how do they survive the freezing temps?)buying more daylilies on the Lily Auction and also ordering some from hybridizers. I put in another huge daylily bed in the fall and it's nowhere near full.
Friday was a beautiful day here so I hoed the weeds out of my seedling bed so that I could see the seedlings again. I get tons of catalogs, mostly from dl hybridizers, that I spend lots of time looking through and wishing for the new intros.
Like the rest of you, I stay busy at something most of the time.
Hurry up spring!!
Jan

I'm new around the forums and fairly new to gardening on the scale I'm attempting this year, but I tend to immerse myself completely in new interests. I've been starting containers of seeds out on my front porch and some in the house. All the little sprouts are making me so itchy for warmer weather.

I've been doing some weeding and pruning and removing. Dug up a Lantana plant that was growing too close to the house. I think it is some sort of wild variety--tough as nails--but I never liked it, so I decided to get rid of it. I pruned the boxwoods next to the driveway pretty severely because I practically have to climb over them to get in and out of the car, plus I want more space to plant some other things there for more interest. This will be a very experimental year and I know I will learn lots this season.

I'm planning a small children's garden to go in the side-yard so that my kids can play while I work outside. It will be part-sun, part-shade and have a little "room" made of sunflowers and a string-trellis with something that climbs. I haven't decided yet what it will be. Any suggestions?

I keep seeing reference to a big plant-swap in the spring. When and where does that happen? I'd like to participate if I can.

Thanks,
na

Moccasinlanding, tell your husband to find a horse stable where he can clean out the hockey puck. Horse manure will break down that clay faster than anything I know. I've hauled a ton of horse, sand and rotted sawdust and my soil is no longer red. It isn't soft but it is a lot better than red clay. Also, there are at least 5 types of Confederate rose, including the Alma's Star. Single white which turns pink, single deep pink H. mutabilis Rubrum which turns almost red, double white which turns pink, double pink which turns darker and now Alma's Star.

JAN, I have daffodils blooming, too. I'm a lot farther north than you. I also have several forsythia blooms.

Lynn, I may have to make a detour by way of Prattville on the way back from Southern Homes. I'm going to wait until March or April. I think I'll go to the one off of Vaughn Road rather than off Hwy 231. I've never been to the one on Vaughn Rd. I can always swing back by the 231 location.

Terry, the one on 231 has been disappointing, not having what they say they do and sales not having the plants that were to be. I'd go for the Vaughn Rd. store. They have good sales and a good variety. My pocket book just opens up when I'm there and darn if all these plants don't end up in my car. :O)
If coming by Prattville, let me know. You can shop in my yard, if the horses haven't chewed it all!!!
Is the Dig in B'hm the same area we went to before with all the Oak leaf hydrangea or a different area?
Michelle wants to go and if I can get my body to move right and stay off the ground, I'm thinking of going. I told Michelle she didn't have to wait for me.
Take care
Lynn

Todd,
If you still want Lycoris radiata bulbs, I can dig them for you now as the foliage is visible. Please let me know.

I have daffodils, violets and winter honeysuckle blooming in my yard. A Hippeastrum "Apple Blossom" is about to bloom in a pot in my office. Lowes has them on sale for $3 for a large bulb.

I ordered a bunch of bulbs from Buried Treasure on line (which I learned of from Lynn on this site), and followed this with a trip to Plant Odyssey (thanks, Todd!) where I got about 10 perennials I hadn't tried before. I have also started wintersowing. My brother in law built me two square foot gardening beds and I finally located vermiculite at Meyer's-they special ordered it for me. I hope to plant some cool season veggies soon with my kids.

I am planning to attend the dig and hope to see some of you guys there.
Susan.

Lynn, yes the plant dig is at the same place. I'm adding a link to the original message so you have the address and can MapQuest or Google directions. Hope to see y'all there. I'm going early becasue later that afternoon is my youngest grandduaghter's birthday party. And guess what? I have to drive by Myer's Nursery to get there. Ain't life grand?

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Dig Info

Thanks, Terry.
Lynn

Hi Susan,

I'd love some lycoris anytime. Maybe you could mark location of a couple and dig them up when you have time or for the next swap.

I'm doing the worm composting, "vermicomposting" thing with the red wiggler worms. If anybody wants to start a worm bin I might could bring some at plant swap. Its an easy hobby for people who don't mind "gross and icky" stuff, or don't mind worms living in their house :-)

Todd

Hey CircleW,

I went to my first swap in the fall. Everyone is very welcoming and always looking for new folks to join in. I think they usually decide closer to time where it will be, haven't really seen anybody talking about it yet. I didn't see a response to your question. If somebody has already answered, just overlook this :)

I'll just tell ya'll, I don't wait very well. :-) I have broccoli just about ready to go in the ground, tomato plants and even peppers already sprouted, and I planted onion sets and radish seed yesterday! Now I'm just gonna pray pray pray for warm weather to come on! Dang ol' Pennsylvania groundhog saw his shadow today. They shoulda used an Alabama groundhog, he wouldn't be seeing any shadows in my neck o' the woods today! lol.

The hellebores, winter honeysuckle and mahonia are blooming. Daffs are in bud but no blooms yet. Toothwort foliage is coming up as is the foliage for naked ladies, colchicums and some of the daylilies. I AM READY FOR SPRING!! BTW, Lynn, I stil have the pot of Wilson Spider daylilies from last fall's trade for you. Will bring them to the spring trade. Linda

First round of spring broccoli and cabbage have gone in. Carrot and beet seedlings are up...gonna sow some more this weekend, along with marigold, spinach and lettuce. Fall planted onions and garlic are growing well. Tomato seedlings growing as well, waiting for their turn in the garden. (I have three I'll be planting next weekend just to test the limits of my micro-climate. Wish me luck) Sugar snaps and English peas are growing well. Brussels sprouts need to beef up and develop, corn is waiting in the wings for that space :)

The one thing I wish for most (and will be wondering WHY I wished for it in July ;)) is for WARM sunshine on my back as I 'work' in the garden! Never sattisfied, huh?

Oh, that is so sweet of you to plant all those veggies for me!!! heh heh Just sounds like you are off and running ahead of the freezes. Good Luck
Lynn

Lynn, come help yourself! Always try to plant enough for sharing :) Everybody who needed to be has been covererd the past two nights to protect them. Hopefully last night was the last of the REALLY cold weather...I'm ready for spring!

Several of you guys mentioned a PLANT DIG? It sounds fascinating. Please explain what it is about, who sponsors it, what you are digging FOR, and how it works. How long has this been going on?

My interest is to see if possibly we could use such an event here in Mobile to benefit the community, and get the gardeners talking to each other face to face. That way, for community projects we might have a group willing to do some volunteer work for the sheer pleasure of each other's company. We did several projects along those lines a few years back, when we planted and pruned and mulched 3500 crape myrtles on both sides of six miles of state highway here in Mobile. It was a joint project of the city, the Keep Mobile Beautiful, and several neighborhood community groups.

Thank you for the offer of the veggies. Afraid I don't get to go much with the herd I have including my husband. Just lots to do and just agreed to take on care and therapy for a 5 wk old puppy with a spinal injury. Cutest little thing and deserves a chance. I'll probably keep him too. What's one more.
Hope the freezez go away and things can grow and not get killed back. Froze my hiney at the last plant dig and want to try for this one.
Stay warm.
Lynn

I've been busy also.Got peas,carrots,broccoli,poppies up & running.Some daffs are blooming under the trees-others budding.Dapne is blooming,pieris & laurel are budding.Hellebores have been in full bloom for a while now.Was out today cutting back butterfly,beauty berry & an over grown viburnum.Built a new compost pile.Even have a few waterlilies putting up leaves.I am SO glad for this warmth.I need to clean the garden shed,prune a large maple,clean up the yard,plant some things.I HATE staying inside.I get cabin fever very quickly:O).Come on spring!

Anybody in the Prattville area want to earn some money helping me get some things dug, planted and large area weeded.
I did have a man come but he charges $35 an hour as he is a Master Gardener and worked at nurseries. I paid a fortune as slow as molasses and I had to show him how to do some things!!!!!!
When you're younger, you get all these ideas BUT when you get older it's hard to keep up with them!!! :O)
Lynn