Oh, I’m glad this thread has popped up. And speaking of dogwoods, ours blooms gorgeous white every May/June. This sunset picture always makes me think of Thomas Kincaid and his cottages and english garden paintings. We made a lot of trips to Carmel historically, and he’s like their mascot. There must be 10 galleries dedicated to his work. I can’t take credit for this tree though. It was here when we bought the house and we haven’t done a thing to or for it.
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Dogwoods are lovely trees. We’re lucky that Flowering Dogwoods (Cornus florida) are native here and the property is filled with them. I like it when the leaves turn red in the fall, along with lots of red berries. The wood is extremely hard.
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We are heading to the Monterey Bay aquarium later this month. Getting tickets was like getting tickets to Hamilton.
@Sasha and @bogman, I know I should remember, but where are you? I think @bogman is in a part of the US south that freezes. I want to be able to remember why I can look forward to gardening somewhere else when I move for retirement,
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Bellingham, WA. For the past dozen years.
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I’ll share a picture of my clematis montana ‘rubens’ rosa, it’s taking over the holly tree. Close up of the blossoms.
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Shrinkrap, I’m in central VA, near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Charlottesville is about half an hour away. Most crops do well here if you figure out what they need and what pests are around. It gets very hot and humid and very cold during the winter. This spring has been great, lots of 65-75 degree days. The climate is very variable, generally cooler than most of the south.
It’s very rural, but not hard to drive to town for a foodie fix, music, etc.
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Sounds good! Thanks.
Thank you!
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Yes! I can see them. Interesting!
It was persistent! I ended up moving. I hope I let the buyer beware.
oh, it is awful. they are pretty when blooming but if you do not chops them off, they get tall and then they spread near and far away by seeds as well as thru their roots. Pulled them out manually 3-4 years ago, but they came back. This year, especially in this garden room where I have hundreds of bulbs ,I am not only pulling them out but I am digging several inches down and if I see any evidence of roots or any vegetation that is not bulb, I am digging them up. I fi see bulbs, I pull the bulbs up and then replant! Wish me luck!!!
Oh my!
Of course! GOOD LUCK!
Do you. have experience with evening primrose?
Right now, I am just pulling out the ones that are around this garden room which I call Whirlwind Plaza named after Eichinger’s 6’ wide bronze sculptures. In that room, I. have a lot of bulbs which is one reason I do nto spray there as the bulbs are starting to emerge and do not want them to die from the roundup. I also ordered some more bulbs arriving October 15 from Van Engelen so between now ( I hope to finish in 2-3 days ) digging up the plants as well as about 6 inches down as I only dug up the plates and their stems but rad that their may be roots which if not pulled , the plant will reappear.
Have areas along my waterfront that were planted with wildflowers but was frustrated as they reseed and each year, the plants gets taller, Have problem pulling them and where to dump those seeds (against he law to throw them in the recycle bin except to travel 30 miles to Solomon’s Island which is ridiculously far for me to drive esp with my station wagon. Furthermore, we are forbidden to burn until September. In those areas I am debating whether I should leave the evening primrose ? Wander if the seeds would scatter with wind to areas that I have boxwoods unless I have someone trim them down before the flowers are spent?
I never had a veggie garden, just ornamental. until 3 years ago when son started . However, he has planted everywhere, 16 fruit trees as well as tomato etc but he seems to be distracted now with other interest, ( boating every weekend ) and has not harvested. I found tomatoes rotting and scattered all over my deck as well as garden.yesterday Frustrating because he planted allover my deck as well as roof of my pool which I argued is not worth it I those daily watering mess up the membrane roof.
So, you deserve this pause., switch gears , travel and do some fishing, bird watching. I am aftraid of mushroom as do nto want to pick any sprouting. here or there in fearo f poisonous ones. I find also watermelons, cantaloupe etc but they were unripe when he picked a couple up a few days ago so had to toss them .
I believe you are somewhere near Richmond? So, if you are traveling close to my area, ( Md 20639) , I live along the bank of the Patuxent River, 30 mile from Solomons Island so you can do some kayaking here. Our boat will be pulled out of the river soon. Son wants to paint the hull . Let me know if you do and perhaps visit and if the crabs are still running, have a crab feast with us. I will be traveling to Charlottsville on October 5th to consult with the guru of alpha gal ( Dr. Platts ) and hopefully, he can give me a food challenge to see if I am indeed allergic to red meat as I do not trust those IgE result which are very sensitive but not specific. If so, I can start smoking again
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I’m not going to ask! 
oh, I mean smoking pork butt, North Carolina style, brisket as well as ribs . The ribs goes on smoker for less time, then grilled for a few minutes.
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The Evening Primrose here is a biennial, a different species. It looks like you have the perennial Oenothera speciosa. Aside from seeds, roots will sprout into plants. There are many varieties. O. speciosa prefers well-drained, dry conditions. It may be possible to cover them with a thick mulch or straw and initiate a rot disease, especially if it’s kept wet. You could try a test area. There are also horticultural, herbicidal vinegars, which burn down most plants. Keep those away from stucco, metals, anything which corrodes. There are also essential oil herbicides. A thick, black plastic could also be used to sun-cook and rot what’s underneath. The perennial nature and re-sprouting, once the tops are killed, makes me lean towards a rot-down approach.
Thank you very much for the invite! My Father used to have a sailboat near Solomons, and we’d always stop by the crab shacks before heading back. It’s a lovely area.
I’m actually fairly close to Charlottesville, about 25-30 minutes away. The closest towns are Dyke and Earlysville. My neighbor and I run Botanique nursery, which specializes in pitcher plants. We don’t have a tour planned for Oct. 5. If you’re interested in seeing some amazing plants, we can make an appointment for a tour/meeting. It’s not a fancy garden center and is plant production oriented. I don’t know if the Water Spinach will still be good; it depends on how cool it gets. If it’s OK, I’ll gladly pass some along. Once nights get cool, it starts to get leaf spots and stop growing. For the first time, it started blooming in Sept.! So, it’s a good thing you’re not growing it there.
Mmmm! NC BBQ! Best of luck with the Doctor(s)! Jackfruit bbq just isn’t the same! You reminded me that there’s still a pork butt in the deep freezer. It’s hard to decide: Italian sausage or NC bbq!
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Love that!
I must have the perennial variety. It. would not be possible to sun cook as the primrose has spread everywhere and underneath are bulbs, which are now covered completely by the primrose. My next door neighbor never does anything for her yard, it has all kinds of weeds that comes to my property. I planted rows of variegated solomon’s seal but those darn creeping Charlie still creeps in between the plants. July 2021, we covered around 30’ of her adjoining property with a black tarp which worked but to do so in my property would not work. The primrose are between. my bulbs, my 40 peonies and all other plants. so, I have been digging and trying to remove as much roots as possible bec I have ordered more bulbs that will drive October 15.
My appointment at Charlottsville is at 1:30pm and was told to arrive by 1:00 PM being a new patient to consult with Platts, the guru who coined the word “alpha gal syndrome”. The trip based on driving direction is 3 her 5 min So, have to leave by 9:00 AM to be sure I will not be late as the DC metro beltway has horrible traffic. At the moment, I am not sure how long the consult will take place. If the Doc decides to do more lab test, may not have result instantly. If he is wiling to give me a skin test, that would not take as long ( The doc in Mc Lean made me stay 3 hours after 3 sessions of over 100 skin test each time for autoimmune ulticaria) ). However, if he would be willing to give me a food challenge, I have to stay 6 hours, as symptoms from alpha gal typically appears 4-6 horus after ingestion of red meat and /or by products. it may mean I have to stay overnight or worse, be admitted to ER if I have anaphylaxis. My son told me he can drive me there so I do not have to worry about my 2 Pomeranians as I never leave them more than 30 minutes alone in the house.
Thank you for your kind offer to show me Botanique nursery but I am afraid I will be running out of time as well as the fact that I am advised not to take any medicine for allergy and my anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis for one week prior to consult. In addition, my pomeranian Luna who had major bilateral patellar surgery on May 25th has her weekly underwater treadmill physical therapy the last appointment is at 4:00PM the following day, her 9th session . I booked her for 10 sessions , possibly 20 if needed. That appointment has to be kept as they are prepaid at $100 for a 30 min session.
That area on the far side of my property where I might be able to plant ongchay is a peninsula, now is often underwater bec of rising tide from climate change. My son without my consent decided to remove all the Belgian blocks my husband used to line the higher ground where I have JM collection as he says the cobbles are wasted there , being underwater.= mostly nowadays, and would get worse So, now he is filling that area in with dirt from my courtyard where I spend 2-3 days every 2 weeks pulling out spotted spurge between the cobblestones with hemostats and on the adjoining pebble area with cobra or hemostats. He is removing the pebble part - up to 4 inch and is ordering new pebbles. I asked if we could just black top that area but he does not like that idea. Neither do I but I even suggested black top and followed by back pea gravel . So, we shall see what will happen in the next week or so when he fills that area in. I am wondering what I will plant there? At 79, pulling weeds daily often 8 hours, weather permitting is no longer going to be viable. When we planned the garden, we did not have any idea that one of these days, my husband would pass away, and being retired, I could no longer afford a live in gardener as we had early on.
I can’t imagine how much work that must be! What is a JM collection?
I collect Japanese maples., dwarf conifers , Camellias and boxwoods. Lot of the JM were purchased from Susanna Farm Nursery.
I lost count but have over 2 dozen. JM,
Susanna Farms Nursery introduced me to their wholesale supplier , Iseli Nursery in Portland, Oregon who entertained us when we flew over their to look at some specimen trees that we chose to be purchased. thru Susanna Farms,
Our boxwood stock came from a horticulturist who used to work for the US Botanical garden , a friend of my FIL who was an avid gardener. Thru him, when we purchased 50 years old Kingsville Dwarfs and rare dwarf conifers. and Camellias . Then we found some very old mature Fastiagata boxwood at meadow Farms but we need 7 of them to hide our solar panels. Thru Meadow Farms we met a boxwood grower in Va. Initially , we =bought 7 -20 y ear old Fastiagata boxwood as they cost a fortune when we saw them at meadow farms nursery ( $200 a piece on that mature trees). John Dout gave us a Graham Blandy as a gift and thru him, we purchased another 14 of them and eventually another set of 14. So, I do have a lot of fastiagata and about 3 Graham Blandy.
Kingsville are the best for Bonsai , so we met the president of the Bonsai Society of Montgomery County in the eighties, who my husband hired to teach us how to trim our old boxwood to look like a tree. Thru him, we purchased some more Kingsville,around 30 of them. So, I am kept very busy with this garden but have no time to prune bec of these darn weeds that is making so much of my time.
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Oh! Husband loves Japanese Maples. We had two when we moved here, and I liked them well enough, but they were a struggle in our intense sun. I’m guessing heat and drought were a problem as well. Thinking of trying again, maybe in pote, in the shade of redwoods. I’ve looked into it before, and don’t remember the specifics, but would love input with regard to what variety might do well in those conditions.
