Grant, that is cute!

All I did this past weekend was clean all the old lily pads out of my ponds (I have four with waterlilies) and some deadheading and cutting back of fried plants. I was on a biz trip for over a week and some things suffered while I was gone but DH and the neighbor did a good job watering overall.

Me and DH (who felt sorry for me) recently finished burying a soaker hose. We moved a hydrangea from a too-sunny spot and planted a Rose of Sharon (yes, there's lots of room for it. :-)) in it's place. I also started clearing out one side of a gravel pathway but have to wait a bit due to a sprained finger, a swollen hand and blisters. Next up will be burying another soaker hose and planting some Japanese Forest Grass (maybe with something pink or purple in between). DH is working on finishing up his gate/fence project.

No gardening. We went camping near Port Townsend. Sitting in the line at the ferry, I noticed some very bushy rosemary shrubs. They were a grey-ish green and had a more peppery scent than the Tuscan Blue I have. I found my Swiss Army Knife and snuck over to collect a few cuttings. So the sum of my gardening this weekend was sticking the cuttings in pots to root... I hope.

Hey, all of that sounds like gardening to me! :) Glad you like the little planter. I'm trying to make sure the garden is fun and approachable without being overtly silly. Buyorsell, I'm glad the bulk of your plants did okay during your trip. Scarlett, good job with your hose and plant moving. What type of Rose of Sharon did you relocate? I just planted a, um, 'Blue Bird' type after lusting after one down the road.

Piano, keep us posted on your rosemary cuttings. I love finding seeds or cuttings from various places to help build memories into my own garden. I have crummy luck with rosemary cuttings (probably only 10% success, which is enough but I'd like to do better). I think I overwater them.

Fun to just chat about who is doing what, so keep the posts coming.

Take care,
Grant

The hydrangea I relocated (and have kept well-watered) looks quite sad. Don't know if it will make it. The plant I put in the hydrangea's place is not a Rose of Sharon as I originally thought, but rather a Hardy Hibiscus 'Luna Blush' aka Hibiscus moscheutos. I really like it and hope it works out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hibiscus 'Luna Blush'

I've been digging up clumps (now dormant) of Anemone nemarosa and replanting the tubers or whatever they are called, spreading them out more and putting them in new locations. I hope to continue doing this until many beds are solid Anemones in the spring. They are so well adapted to our climate as they start growing when it is wet in spring then go dormant for the dry season. When in bloom they are so perfectly enchanting. I put different colors of yarn around the areas where the different colors of Anemone were blooming last spring so I would know where to dig them up now.:-)

I had a double blue Rose of Sharon that bloomed several years but finally died. Now I have some I got in trades as cuttings. One is doing much better than the others and is 6' tall with lots of blooms now. I like it better than the double as I like to see the magenta pattern in the center.

Scarlett, don't give up on your hydrangea. I had to relocate mine last August in the middle of the hot summer. I got sidetracked and busy with a major remodel and even forgot to water it. I had it cut down quite a bit and to my surprise, it's back this year. It's about a foot tall and although it did not flower this year, I think it will put on a show for me next year. The shape and foliage looks even better than when I transplanted it. Good luck with yours

I like your hens & chickens planter. It's funny how your tastes change over the years. I never liked this plant until the last couple of years -- now I appreciate the interesting shapes and colours and I like your presentation. My gardening has consisted of picking pears and apples. Bought a long-handled picker -- I'm tired of leaving the biggest and best fruit at the top of the trees for the birds.
I'm also taking pictures of my poorly-performing gardens so that I can improve them next year.
And, on the good side, this is the time of the year that I just love my Silk Tree. It is so neat to see the leaves furl up overnight and the lovely pink blossoms look fabulous in the morning with the sun streaming through them.
Oh yes, I also washed off my orchids from their summer vacation outdoors and brought them into the house.

we had a garage sale and I put all of my rooted cuttings out there "free plant with $10 purchase"

I gave away about 10 plants, 6 of them to people who didn't even purchase $10.

is that gardening? :)

Moved a suffering heavenly bamboo to a sunnier spot with a little more moisture.

Cut back my shastas to allow for light to get at my beautiful beautyberry bush, whose berries are starting to "purple up" (can't wait for that gorgeous show).

Pondered what to plant along the 10 foot long northfacing side of my south side fence in a couple weeks...(hmm, thinking alternating "purple passion" heavenly bamboo with tall narrow conifer; maybe one of those tall skinny boxwoods)...

Funny thing about Hens and Chicks. Like dottie, I, too, never like these in the past. In fact, growing up, I used to tell my mom they were "scary". Now, I really appreciate their structure and form.

Thanks for the latest updates--they're fun! You know now that you mention it, I never really liked hens and chicks when I was a kid. I always thought they were too casual and (due to their durability) were plants that non-gardeners grew, heh heh. Now I really like them and find myself tucking them here and there. I bought six or seven different types a couple of weeks ago (after my little planter above) and am enjoying putting them here and there. I think some people find them a bit, um, trashy, but I like them anyway. :)

Dotty, I had to think about your Silk Tree for a minute and then figured it's what I always called a mimosa tree. I see several on my walks around my neighborhood. At this time of year they're just seductive, aren't they? Do you find yours to be messy? I think they're really nice (there's a new dark-leaf variety at most nurseries these days, but I haven't seen it in bloom in person).

Yes, giving plants away counts as gardening! I never think of doing it when I have a sale, but it's such a good idea. Some of my best houseplants have been from garage sales.

Maki, I love beautyberries too. Besides your now-shorn shastas, what do you grow around them? I'm great with plants, but only so-so when it comes to color/design so I'd love to hear what you're growing near yours.

I spent this past weekend painting more on the house (I'm halfway finished, yay (gray to yellow)), plus planting a ton of euphorbia plants, some red hot pokers/Kniphofia (just a few of the fancy-pants new hybrids and a ton of the olde-tyme screaming orange and yellow on big honkin' plants that I prefer), oh and a rose I've been seeking for awhile, 'Christopher Marlowe' which is already filling the front garden with that great old-fashioned rose scent and some nice hot color (peachy pink with plenty of orange mixed in).

Take care and thanks again,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Christopher Marlowe' rose

Heh. Well, I was trying to dig up a section of the vegetable garden. But what actually happened was that an ant crawled up one leg of my pants w/o my noticing and we had a little "ants in your pants" action. Much excitement, yelling, running around like mad, and (post-ant removal) icing down of rear end. The little monster bit me 7 times on the rear!

(I'm fine, just amused by what life throws at your sometimes. Thought other people might be amused as well. ;-)

The official name of my Silk Tree is Albizia julibrissin which I understand is called Mimosa in the USA. I have it underplanted with Epimedium and the flowers and junk falls off the tree and disappears (sometimes with a little help) into the epimedium. I also have a Phormium Sundowner planted in the same bed -- the Phormium colour echos the Julibrissin and the different shapes are very complementary. It is a fairly new bed -- just 3 years but I am really enjoying it.

I just dug a whole bunch of daylilies out of a driveway circle bed where they used to be safe from voles until the moles and voles finally crossed the driveway and infiltrated, and I am planting roses there instead because the whole area is surrounded by a welded wire fence that keeps out the deer. Deer go for the roses but haven't as yet snacked on daylilies. What would I do without my furry neighbors.=^v^=

Quakey, I hope you taught that ant a lesson and sat on it! :-)

Love the updates! Dotty, I love your "with a little help" comment about the mimosa/silk tree blooms. Underplanting it with epimediums which hide the fallen blooms is a great idea! It sounds like the phormium really adds to the scene. Feel free to send in pics (hint hint hint).

Quakey, sorry about the ant bites, but very funny, so thanks for sharing it, and hemnancy, let us know how the Plant Reversal goes. What roses are you moving?

Take care,
Grant

Grant- I bought 8 Teas and OGRs a couple of years ago. Two have done well- Mons Tillier and Mrs B R Cant, two have died- Mme Lombard and Louis Philippe, two I already moved- Lady Hillingdon and Blush Noisette, and two are still there struggling- Homere and Marie Van Houte . I want to move them this winter. It finally dawned on me that my rugosas are actually distasteful to deer so I'm looking at getting a couple of fancier ones, Moore's Striped and Topaz Jewel, next year to fill in where I am removing the poor little teas. I may wait until they are dormant but I may not as I rescued a lot of my tiny minis and most did better after they got into pots. I went overboard buying minis when Justice Roses went out of business. They started at $1 each and at the end went to $.50 each. Irresistable (name of one of the roses)! But many of those cute little mini's don't seem to make it in the harsh environment of the clay soil, voles, irregular watering, and rabbits. On the other hand there are some stellar ones that are non-stop bloomers so if it takes buying 100 to find 10 great ones, I guess eventually it may be worth it, as I root cuttings in the fall and I hope to replace all the failures with the successes until I have a nice garden of no-fail roses.

Hi Nancy and all,

Fun rose update--thanks for sending it. When I was homesteading for years near Mt. Rainier I planted a ton of rugosas and you're right: the deer and elk seem to bother them less. That gardening experience has made me very, very fond of rugosas (plus that terrific scent). I mostly relied on 'Sir Thomas Lipton' (nice double-white rugosa), and what I always purchased as 'Roserie de l'Hay' also a very fragrant rugosa (in magenta)(link below). You are giving me a craving to get some more, though!

Keep us posted on your rose moves and which you find to be the best performers.

Take care,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Roserie d l'Hay

Non-stop blooming minis-
White Cloud- blushes pink

Seabreeze

And for my "Best of Teas" award- Mons. Tillier