The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

[22-rimfire]

My X was named Rose.

We have one tally cat that refuses to go outside. She's fat! Very fat. She got hurt real bad by "something" outdoors when she was with my wife's brother (before he died). Quite a vet bill as I understand. Maybe she's just smart to stay indoors. This past winter I grew cat grass indoors for the first time. The cats just tore the plantings up.... until things greened up and now they have zero interest in cat grass. Their big thing is finding all the chipmunks within a quarter mile of the house and bringing them home.

 

[Rose and Thistle Custom]

My X was named Rose.

We have one tally cat that refuses to go outside. She's fat! Very fat. She got hurt real bad by "something" outdoors when she was with my wife's brother (before he died). Quite a vet bill as I understand. Maybe she's just smart to stay indoors. This past winter I grew cat grass indoors for the first time. The cats just tore the plantings up.... until things greened up and now they have zero interest in cat grass. Their big thing is finding all the chipmunks within a quarter mile of the house and bringing them home.

Some bird attacked Rose's cat recently, not he panics when the parakeets flap their wings!

 

[LEGION 12]

Planted a couple of Arborvitates out front think they look pretty good .

 

[22-rimfire]

Looks good Legion. They look about perfect size-wise right now for the space. They do get pretty big and tall.

My Dad had a wind break with Arborvitae and blue spruce mixed. Eventually the Arborvitae were cut out and the spruce trees filled in the space. The birds certainly liked all the cover.

It has been so hot here for this time of the year and it hadn't rained in a couple weeks. This is unusual both temp wise and rainfall for this time of the year. The yard is beginning to struggle. I may break down and water the front yard. I really hate to spend that money for water.

 

[eisman]

I've been swamped at home and work, but finally got some basic, post winter, maintenance done this past weekend. Replaced around a dozen Blue Ficus in my small hillside patch, dug up a dead stump from a tree cut down a few years back, planted a new Rhody to fill in a spot left vacant from another plant gone a year or so, and stuck some more stuff into the open spaces on a low rock wall in the "back 40" where I'm trying with mixed success to get a uniform ground cover to create a boarder. Oh, and stuck in some more lavender. The spring stuff is pretty much dead and gone (tulips, etc) but the lilies are pushing 6' tall and everything else is either blooming or trying to. I expect the day lilies will start ASAP, and I'll probably miss them as I have to take another business trip. We had rain this weekend, but it's was dry all week, and it looks like this week will be too, so watering is going to be an issue. Hard to believe it's June already...

 

[22-rimfire]

I broke down and watered the front yard. Looked it over pretty closely and the tips were getting brown and there was a brown sheen or cast developing to the front yard in general. So, I decided to water this space which took about 3 hours or so. It will develop this look regardless later in the summer. Have no plans to water the back yard. It will have to be dry for another couple of weeks for me to consider watering the back yard. I just don't care as much about the back yard although it looked pretty good up until my mower went on the blink. I do water the shrubs and flower areas frequently yard wide, so it's only grass that is the issue in the yard.

The mower..... it was fixed and they cleaned the carburetor, replaced spark plug and air filter. Ran like a top when I got it home. It actually ran better than when it was new. Anyway, I add gas from the same can as before.... and the mower died after about 30 minutes. I was suspecting fuel at this point. Took it back to the repair place and they drained the gasoline. Started right up.... water in the gas is suspected. Going to have to think about the gas source a bit, but the gas can I used will be retired for the time being until I figure out how to get rid of the stuff. It's just a 1 gallon can. A gallon can will last me about 4 mowings. I generally prefer 2-gallon gas cans. Had the one gallon cans for the chain saw, and old weed eater that is not used any more.

As Eisman mentioned, the day lillies are starting to bloom now here. The Crepe Myrtles (trees) will be blooming within a week. My white one blooms first generally (Natchez variety). It is quite large now and a bit of a specimen tree.

Neighbor across the street had tree cutters in his yard yesterday working all day. Spent a good chunk of money... guessing $6-8K or so. They brought in a crane to lift the trees so nothing falls and hits the house. There was one big dead tree and they pretty much had all of the trees removed from the small grove near their house. Hated to see their Burford Holly cut down. It was HUGE and from my point of view quite a specimen plant. Gone now. The stumps are about 6 inches across on the holly. It was too close to their house (done originally as a foundation planting) at the size point it currently was and about two stores tall.

 

[taldesta]

Much is happening here too. No freezing temps, yeah! Warm and sunny interspersed with solid rains which is great for the plantings and trees.

Blackflies are biting, naturally - they will love it following the floods as will the mosquitoes ... so I just spray up with the gentlest product that works and carry on. The choice is town OR garden for the day.

A particularly acrobatic red squirrel finally learned to jump the bird feeders on the snare wire so I put the feeders on a pole with a mickey-moused baffle. I need to install a larger baffle

The design of these feeders is exceptional in my experience in that the jays and grackles don't use them. One moving part - the lid. Could do with a wider cover and an easily-cleaned bottom. Chickadees, nuthatches, gold and purple finches, all the small birds and even the 4 pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks, hairy and downy woodpeckers all take seed easily. Not the marauders. I am a fraction of an inch from holding the red squirrels at bay now.



Dez and Daisy have their window back now that Busby's enclosure is gone. Grass running amok. Planting first, mowing last



I am pretty sure the little girl hummingbird coming to the feeder is Busby. When I say "What a pretty girl!", instead of flying off, she perches close, facing me and watches. Unusual for a wild one. She has her own birdbath and ivy set out under the maple tree as well for her, and a welcoming wind chime.




The planters and most of the over-window 'shutters' are roughly painted up now for the summer. Awaiting the seeds to emerge in the individual pots. And don't the blackflies just love a person with a paintbrush in hand



Hollyhocks foreground and bee balm behind - jumping up. Plantings since my last post - bunch of lilies 'Buzzer', 'Stargazer', 'Stella D'oro'; yarrow 'Paprika'; more glads. Still have 10 more bee balm, one hosta and one bleeding heart that arrived to get planted and arriving shortly one more saskatoon berry. My gardens will be mostly perennials, seeds, lift and store bulbs - but very few purchased plants from now on except tomatoes. Wait for it

 

[22-rimfire]

taldesta , can cardinals hit those feeders or are they too large? I have seen those feeders in the store. They tend to be a bit "cute" for me, but if they work....

Sure glad you have a riding mower. Just remember if the grass gets too tall, you won't be able to mow it with the riding mower as it gets bound up and the belts start to slip. You certainly have been busy.

 

[taldesta]

taldesta , can cardinals hit those feeders or are they too large? I have seen those feeders in the store. They tend to be a bit "cute" for me, but if they work....

Sure glad you have a riding mower. Just remember if the grass gets too tall, you won't be able to mow it with the riding mower as it gets bound up and the belts start to slip. You certainly have been busy.

I've only seen one pair of cardinals here this year - darned if I can find the images that I would have made to document. They were feeding on the platform feeders or on the seeds spread on the snow I recall. Larger birds (hairy woodpecker) and ones of similar size (rose-breasted grosbeak) use the feeders - but the shyer cardinals may not like the activity or the clinging posture it would require.

Yes - "cute" feeders - I went for the size blocking grid with jay and grackle heads in mind and bought the second one only after the first proved effective over winter and spring. I think the decorative ring around the bottom conceals the food from the marauders as well, yet not from others.

Another design suggestion - I would lose those decorative butterflies. They annoy the woodpeckers

Just picked up a harness for the gas trimmer. The rider for the flats, the trimmer for the hills and laneway. The mower blades are dull - but they've flattened a lot of dandelions so far. Left plenty of the yellow for the bees though.

Riding the mower on inclines is like operating a chainsaw to me - not doing it

 

[meako]

Âchillepattada
The heavy mob turned yesterday

I had to shoo them away or they will destroy my railing...see the one far left?..flying czn openers.

Spiders? What spiders....The female redback ...this one was in the house in a bag I was putting a change of clothes in.
I thought it was dead .....I was wrong.
They can inflict a painful even fatal bite.

 

[22-rimfire]

I've only seen one pair of cardinals here this year - darned if I can find the images that I would have made to document. They were feeding on the platform feeders or on the seeds spread on the snow I recall. Larger birds (hairy woodpecker) and ones of similar size (rose-breasted grosbeak) use the feeders - but the shyer cardinals may not like the activity or the clinging posture it would require.

Yes - "cute" feeders - I went for the size blocking grid with jay and grackle heads in mind and bought the second one only after the first proved effective over winter and spring. I think the decorative ring around the bottom conceals the food from the marauders as well, yet not from others.

Another design suggestion - I would lose those decorative butterflies. They annoy the woodpeckers

Just picked up a harness for the gas trimmer. The rider for the flats, the trimmer for the hills and laneway. The mower blades are dull - but they've flattened a lot of dandelions so far. Left plenty of the yellow for the bees though.

Riding the mower on inclines is like operating a chainsaw to me - not doing it

Stay safe with the mower. I feel almost that strongly about chain saws. Cardinals definitely prefer being a ground feeder and the platform type feeders work well. We have quite a few cardinals. But, the wild bird activity has been lower for the last few weeks. Maybe they don't like the heat any more than I do?

 

[Âchillepattada]

Ahahaha Meako, I will show these beautiful pictures to my wife and children.
With the first one they will think you live in a paradise but with the second one they will say it's a hell .

But in anycase it's an exciting place

Â

 

[taldesta]

Âchillepattada
The heavy mob turned yesterday

I had to shoo them away or they will destroy my railing...see the one far left?..flying czn openers.

... flying can openers. Now that's an apt description!

 

[taldesta]

I've been swamped at home and work, but finally got some basic, post winter, maintenance done this past weekend. Replaced around a dozen Blue Ficus in my small hillside patch, dug up a dead stump from a tree cut down a few years back, planted a new Rhody to fill in a spot left vacant from another plant gone a year or so, and stuck some more stuff into the open spaces on a low rock wall in the "back 40" where I'm trying with mixed success to get a uniform ground cover to create a boarder. Oh, and stuck in some more lavender. The spring stuff is pretty much dead and gone (tulips, etc) but the lilies are pushing 6' tall and everything else is either blooming or trying to. I expect the day lilies will start ASAP, and I'll probably miss them as I have to take another business trip. We had rain this weekend, but it's was dry all week, and it looks like this week will be too, so watering is going to be an issue. Hard to believe it's June already...

Only when you find a moment ... would you let me know how the slinky works in discouraging squirrels from raiding your bird feeders?

 

[LEGION 12]

Shallots don't seem to mind all the rain we have been getting .

 

[22-rimfire]

Âchillepattada
The heavy mob turned yesterday

I had to shoo them away or they will destroy my railing...see the one far left?..flying czn openers.

Spiders? What spiders....The female redback ...this one was in the house in a bag I was putting a change of clothes in.
I thought it was dead .....I was wrong.
They can inflict a painful even fatal bite.

We have Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders here. Neither are common. I see them on occasion. I noticed your propane tank hanging on the grill.... Does this setup work well for you? Think I might try that as having it sit on the ground is a pain when I move the grill which has wheels. That or build a shelf. Think they should design these grills to keep the tank off the ground.

 

[meako]

22-rimfire ..hey mate..
Redbacks are v close to Black Widows...ha ha you dont see them often but I bet they're around.
We use LPG in the bbq cylinders.
Mine is a small 2 burner job patio master.
The bracket is bolted on and holds up fine.
If I move it any distance I disconnect the cylinder first.Its good because it keeps it up off the ground where the dew will cause rust.Thats not really a worry as I use Swap n Go cylinder exchange....so I dont fill it ..rather swap it for one that is tested and compliant....safer that way....cheers

 

[22-rimfire]

22-rimfire Redbacks are v close to Black Widows...ha ha you dont see them often but I bet they're around.
We use LPG in the bbq cylinders.
Mine is a small 2 burner job patio master.
The bracket is bolted on and holds up fine.
If I move it any distance I disconnect the cylinder first.Its good because it keeps it up off the ground where the dew will cause rust.

I'm going to take a look at rigging something up to hold the cylinder off the ground (and yes to moving any distance). I also have a small propane stove I take on picnics and so forth if hauling space is not at a premium. Black Widows seem to like dark or heavily shaded less traveled areas. I have a crawl space beneath the house and I pay attention to spiders if I am under there doing something. There and beneath my deck are certainly black widow spider environments. Brown Recluse spiders seem to be less common at least in the area I live. I am generally more wary of Paper Wasps that nest beneath my deck as they can be very aggressive.

 

[taldesta]

LEGION 12 How soon to salsa verde? They must love this weather and soil - you just planted them this month, yes?

Here, some of the wild grasses (pooped by moose ) are topping 20" or so ... loving the rain. In some ways I am benefitting too. The sod when wet is far easier to slice. Opening up two rockeries here - s l o w l y - only as I am able. See circled in red on pic of maple below.

'High' rockery - 10 bee balm plugs (Jacob Cline - stunning red perennial) are just planted. Over a few years they will completely fill it, visible to the upper yard and to the road.

'Low' rockery will have one favourite, portulaca, and the ever dependable geraniums for colour this year. Thinking perennials for down the road.






________________________


OK - It's official. I've finally turned into my grandparents; guarding my birdfeeders from critters with a garden hose

22-rimfire Thought you should know. Note the X marking the jay ... two of them have cracked the small bird feeders. It was likely my mistake to hang the suet for the woodpeckers above the feeders bringing them close.

The other two changes I've made are 1) to move the area where I cast the birdseed every morning and 2) to reduce the feed to lessen the dependence on it gradually until fall. I moved it across the lane from the front lawn ... then further and further down the side of the laneway to take the marauders (squirrels, jays, grackles) away from my front lawn oasis (in the making). Now I've got the wild turkeys again ... but very skittish so not a problem.

In retrospect, half the battle with marauders is diverting them to 'easy' food supplied away from the small bird feeders.

It's funny - the definition of marauder to me includes only those critters that frighten the small birds away. There are large birds like the hairy woodpecker and rose-breasted grosbeaks that share well at the feeders.

Jays share with nobody and scare everybody except their predators.

 

[22-rimfire]

We don't have many Blue Jays here at the house. The pain in the butt birds are Mockingbirds. They are very aggressive. Have some little sparrow type bird that I will have to look up setting up residence in one of my un-used blue bird boxes. This one has a little white deal behind it's head and about the size of a wren.

Here is a shot of my container tomatoes that are beginning to get ripe now. The variety is called "Patio Tomato" so the tag said. Fruit size is small to medium or about 2 inches in diameter, maybe a bit larger.


The birds seem to moderate their feeder interest in the warmer months in favor of natural food IF it is available. I will continue to feed all summer long but the activity level by birds has not been significant of late.

Added: I keep the bird seed inside metal trash cans with a piece of plastic sheeting on top to prevent drips from entering inside via the handle attachment. Seems to work just fine and I keep that crap out of my garage or inside the house.