....some nice striped tulips=pretty......
.....male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak=arguably cute and pretty....
.....and then these rain clouds moving in at sunset=pretty, and a big relief! It's been way too dry around here! Hooray!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Guess who's coming to dinner? (Again)...I come outside Saturday to get work done in the garden, and what's this? Branches all over my deck, mostly stripped of leaves....
...And what's this crap? There's a reason animal droppings are referred to as "scat"-it's the prevailing thought which comes to mind when you see it!
And here's the culprit! Back for more, and much closer to the house this time-not nearly as charming as before. In fact, I want to impress upon this creature that he needs to take his happy ass elsewhere-I mean, there are plenty of other trees around! So I approach quickly once he reaches the ground to try and encourage him to leave, and not climb the tree again...
...this definately looks like a full-out defense posture. I inform him that I'm not happy right now either, and it's time for him to go!
Luckily, he took my advice! You would imagine that this encounter impressed him enough that he'd dine elsewhere, but sadly this is not true. When I got home from work Monday night, he was up that same birch-rapidly defoliating branches and breaking plenty, too. I was pissed, so I sprayed him with the hose, foolishly believing he'd come down...
...not only did he climb higher, but the windy conditions brought down an odor that can only be described as "wet buffalo"-super! My next action will not be illustrated with pictures...let's just say this porcupine "went toward the light". Now, I don't go around murdering wild creatures for nothing, but obviously this beast was not taking a hint! And I won't have my nice birch dessimated, when he has an entire damn forest to choose from! So ends the saga of Mr. Porcupine...a moment of silence....okay, bye!
Friday, May 11, 2007
You get what you pay for, part 3...then at the other end of the mailorder nursery spectrum is a company like Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery , who may charge a lot for shipping, but look at the size of these boxes! Funny, I don't remember ordering trees! Actually, I didn't....
...indoors, I open these tall boxes to find more tall boxes inside! These plants are uber-protected! Opened these boxes...
...here's my new friend, syringa vulgaris 'Aucubaefolia', variegated lilac. Cool....also ordered were 'Blue Moon' wisteria (hardy to zone 3!), 'Little Lamb' hydrangea, and to ship in fall, 'Green Halo' peony. Was this packaging worth the $21.00 it cost? I think so! Will I order anything but rare-ish stuff I can't find elsewhere...um...no. But friends, when these folks hook it up, they really hook it up!
...indoors, I open these tall boxes to find more tall boxes inside! These plants are uber-protected! Opened these boxes...
...here's my new friend, syringa vulgaris 'Aucubaefolia', variegated lilac. Cool....also ordered were 'Blue Moon' wisteria (hardy to zone 3!), 'Little Lamb' hydrangea, and to ship in fall, 'Green Halo' peony. Was this packaging worth the $21.00 it cost? I think so! Will I order anything but rare-ish stuff I can't find elsewhere...um...no. But friends, when these folks hook it up, they really hook it up!
You get what you pay for, part 2...from the looks of these abysmal, damaged grow cells, you'd think I happened upon a nursery truck overturned on the highway. But no, this was the condition of my order from Michigan Bulb , and these plants are 'Golden Marguerite' daisy, buy 3 get 3 free for $9.99...good deal? Ha! Read on...
...here's 'Wizard's Cap' clover (where?!) I mean, WTF? These are micro-mini, 1" pre-nursery cells! Heck, I don't think most nurseries would bother growing anything in something this small! These were hiding within grow cells like the daisies, like "Yea, we're the appropriate size...just don't look too hard". Sheesh! These were 3/$4.99...that rose in the previous post is looking huge right about now!
And here's carex 'Bowles Golden'...yea, the golden color here is because it's dead...dried up...lifeless! And it's a bargain at only $7.99!!
The plants that were alive had spent way too much time in their pots! Needless to say, I had to cut this poor thing from it's plastic prison!
So I set my plan in motion: repot these pathetic botanical misfits and wait until they grow into these 4" pots and become something worth planting out in the yard! I mean, if they can't survive coddled in pots, then they surely won't make it in the garden with plant competition and animals to contend with. Now before anybody sez' "I told you so" with regard to Michigan Bulb-I have dealt with these folks before, and it's a large credit ($179.00) from past failures that brought me back. I got some bareroot stuff too, which was much larger and more worthwhile. But the flashy photos in the catalog made me forget that when they describe the plant as "potted" but don't specify size...well this is what you get! "You get what you pay for"...not so much!
...here's 'Wizard's Cap' clover (where?!) I mean, WTF? These are micro-mini, 1" pre-nursery cells! Heck, I don't think most nurseries would bother growing anything in something this small! These were hiding within grow cells like the daisies, like "Yea, we're the appropriate size...just don't look too hard". Sheesh! These were 3/$4.99...that rose in the previous post is looking huge right about now!And here's carex 'Bowles Golden'...yea, the golden color here is because it's dead...dried up...lifeless! And it's a bargain at only $7.99!!
The plants that were alive had spent way too much time in their pots! Needless to say, I had to cut this poor thing from it's plastic prison! So I set my plan in motion: repot these pathetic botanical misfits and wait until they grow into these 4" pots and become something worth planting out in the yard! I mean, if they can't survive coddled in pots, then they surely won't make it in the garden with plant competition and animals to contend with. Now before anybody sez' "I told you so" with regard to Michigan Bulb-I have dealt with these folks before, and it's a large credit ($179.00) from past failures that brought me back. I got some bareroot stuff too, which was much larger and more worthwhile. But the flashy photos in the catalog made me forget that when they describe the plant as "potted" but don't specify size...well this is what you get! "You get what you pay for"...not so much!
You get what you pay for? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Take this rose, for instance..."Golden Showers" yellow climber (I snicker when I hear this name)...impulse buy from Walmart for $4.96 plus tax. Plenty cheap, right?
So I take it out to soak in rooting hormone, and gee...look at that extensive root system-not!
Oh well, after an hour's soak, I planted it anyway. Hopefully it will grow okay, I think I'll put some morning glories here as well, so the trellis has something to "do". Worth $4.96 + tax+ my efforts? Time will tell...
So I take it out to soak in rooting hormone, and gee...look at that extensive root system-not! Oh well, after an hour's soak, I planted it anyway. Hopefully it will grow okay, I think I'll put some morning glories here as well, so the trellis has something to "do". Worth $4.96 + tax+ my efforts? Time will tell...
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