Gardening, anyone?

glennie19

and this is my fiesta hibiscus.

Wren44

Glennie, That hibiscus is so pretty. I managed to overwinter one once, but normally we just have to buy them every year and say goodbye in the fall.

glennie19

I'm not sure if this one will make it or not. We do get below freezing here in the winter for a few days/weeks. And I hate plants that need to be covered up,,, prefer hardier ones. But this one was just so pretty that I couldn't resist.  Will see if it survives.

Jazzygirl

Nice Glennie- I like that Zen thing you have going on in your space! Hibiscus is beautiful too!

ananda8

Wren44

What a beautiful rhodie.

Jazzygirl

Ananda-just gorgeous! Do you live on the east coast? I remember those blooming back east this time of the year. I am originally from New England.

Here are today's featured blooms. Still getting lots of rain (a good thing for the desert). Photo on is of a plant called a schizanthis that my friend found at the nursery when we went in early April. It has doubled in size lately with all the rain.

Second is my evolving pink prickly pear continuing to bloom. Got the most open today I have seen 4-5! Once they open, that is it, they are done for the season. So the bees have to get in there fast (and there were bees in them today!)

ananda8

My Rhodies are still struggling.  I think I need to give them a lot more fertilizer after they finish blooming.  Our soil is really bad.  The Iris are doing Ok. 

 

Wren44

Ananda, They like acid soil, so don't use ordinary fertilizer. It should mention being acid and recommended for rhodies and blueberries. They also have shallow roots, so need water if in a dry spot.

ananda8

Wren, Thanks for the advice.  DH and I are going to Lowes to buy some fertilizer tomorrow and we'll pick up some acid fertilizer for the rhododendron.   We need some nitrogen for our oaks which have exhausted the soil.  They are over 100 feet tall and have a canopy diameter of over 60 feet. 

 

 

Wren44

Ananda, Those sound gorgeous. Can you get far enough away to get a photo? Our poplars are 120 ft tall, but are more up than out.

quiltlibrarian

Woke up to 6 inches of snow this morning. There is more coming. My poor tulips and daffs are covered. Sigh. We did need the moisture, but snow!

Hugs all

 

ananda8

Quilt,
What a shame.  I hope the snow melts quickly and the flowers aren't damaged.  (We can always hope)

Wren,  Here is a pic of my one of my trees.  The two story house in the background is about 120 feet away.  The leaves are just coming out.  The diameter of the canopy is about 60 feet.  This is the widest tree on the property, but others are taller.

 

70charger

I here u Quilt ! We did not get quite as much.

 

Jazzygirl

70 Charger- dang about the snow. Northern NM got a bunch this week too. There is a lot of moisture around and snow still coming to various places. I saw snow in Santa Fe last year as late as Memorial Day weekend.

Jazzygirl

Plant are loving the rain. First is the pink phlox now going crazy, second is the front yard rock garden salvia, third is a plant I bought last year that I did not keep the info on, but maybe you know?

Wren44

Jazzy, I think the common name is thrift. It's a really nice perennial.

Jazzygirl

Wren- you are right! Thank you! It is back and really blooming strong this year!

ananda8

 There seems to be a problem with older post appearing without new posts and newer posts appearing without older posts.  Is anyone else having problems?

 

PS.  Things seem to be working now.

Jazzygirl

Spanish broom starting to bloom.

Freygea

I really enjoy my garden. It is small but it is mine. I have this lil guy that lives there and I need to make sure he only takes his fair share of leaves.

ananda8

Jazzygirl, Your Spanish Broom is beautiful especially against the dark gravel.  All your flower pictures look like cut flower arrangements.  Just lovely.

 

Freygea, Is that little fellow an iguana?

Freygea

It is yes. He is a happy lil fella. I live in the Florida Keys and my puppies thik he is a squirrel. : )

Jazzygirl

Freygea- I love all things lizard! We have lots of geckos out here, I have a pretty blue one that lives in the back yard but have not seen him yet this year. That is a cool picture!

Ananda- thanks for the kind words about the gardens!

Teka

Such a cute lil fella. ;o)

My favorite early spring wildflower as a child, picked in the woods then brought to Mom.

I now only take photos!

*wild red trilliums*

Teka

Jazzy, please post a photo of the pretty blue one!

Jackbirdie

thank you for starting this thread MagicalBean! I have a very small and new garden. Six weeks after I moved in got dxd. Worked really hard and hired a guy to do some things I still can't do. The results in my very moderate temp Oregon Coast garden are very satisfying. My first clematis are blooming. But not the roses yet which are sisters together in the garden. We have a lot of hungry deer in my urban habitat. And I have a big dilemma because I love birds AND blueberries. Hate mice though. Guess everybody's gotta eat though. I have added this to my favorites so you all will be hearing from me. And my other dilemma is I love my dog with no limits. But he steals my chair! In this pic he's not doing it. But.....,

My rock garden is outside the fence in the deer danger zone. The neighbors say I'm crazy.

Strawberries have blooms but that will be another month and another potential war with Mother Nature.

ananda8

Jackbirdie,  The deer will eat those strawberries!  They ate mine and they ate almost everything else the year we had a drought.  My vegetable garden is fenced, now.

I love rock gardens.  We bought tons of rock and built borders and some paths.  I'm going to build another short wall around my front oak this summer. I hope I have enough.  I use rock as a form of weight building exercise.   Here's a picture of a short path I constructed.  The larger rocks weigh about 20-30 lbs each. The path is about 4ft wide and 6ft long.

 

Jazzygirl

Teka, this one?

Monis

Ah yes, deer will most definitely devour strawberries. This is my strawberry bed before we finished our fencing around the garden. Note the foot prints all around in the raised garden box!