Garden Chat

Bloom Thyme Friday

Link | | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Today it is sunny and cold. I love the sun, BUT it allowed that Groundhog to see his shadow and I was not fond of that. His prediction is that there is 6 more weeks of winter. I am pleading with spring to defy the groundhog and come up with a better plan.

With all that said, Groundhog Day is kinda fun. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

This weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger (German: dachs) is the forecasting animal. This appears to be an enhanced version of the lore that clear weather on Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter.

The Groundhog Day ceremony held at Punxsutawney in central Pennsylvania, centering around a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, has become the most attended.

Yea, it’s fun to hear all about it and see them get dressed up and all … I just hope winter doesn’t go on and on and on until we begin to feel like Bill Murray. #groundhogdaythemovie  😳😳😳

GOOD NEWS: I heard today on Instagram from my friends @maplehurstgardens, located in NJ, that The Groundhog predictions are mostly wrong. #thatswhatimtalkingabout

LET’S SPRING AHEAD

While we are thinking about spring, I am wondering what are your favorite spring blooms. Here are two of mine:

Daffodils

 

 

Dogwood Trees (we have 5)

 

At just the right time spring will come and we will have the pleasure of watching our garden being reborn. And…. 

 

HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY!

Bloom Thyme: A heart and a garden that is overflowing…

Link | | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Last night I left California on the red eye with red eyes and a full heart…

  • A heart so full of gratitude for the 3 weeks I had with my loves there.
  • A heavy heart that was so sad to leave them.
  • A heart so excited to see the ones I have missed. My family. My friends. My Garden. My home. My church. My work.
  • A heart filled with gratitude for all the blessings God has given to me.

Yes, a full heart filled with the good, the great and the sad. For those of you with family and friends far apart, I’m sure you know what I mean.

Bright and early this morning Mr. G was there to bring me home. The look on his face told me I was missed!

The garden had missed me too. It will be a few days before I will have it back in ship shape. All of the rain made the care while I was gone much easier but boy did everything grow and many things exceeded their allotted space. We call this stage the jungle stage! Yes, it will take a little while to get things trimmed up. We will be moving slow this weekend as the temps soar to low 90s with the humidity totally out of control.

The garden welcomed me with many blooms still yet to enjoy while I do the big task of deadheading the ones past their prime.

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The rose in front is Dr. Zlesak’s Petit Pink from the OSO Happy Collection from Proven Winners. The white rose behind Petit Pink is Champagne Wishes from Ping Lim’s Easy Elegance Collection. Both are excellent in my garden.

 

Pink Carpet Rose
Pink Carpet Rose
Champagne Wishes from Ping Lim's Easy Elegance Collection.
Champagne Wishes from Ping Lim’s Easy Elegance Collection.
All My Loving ... A new rose from Weeks. Lovely HT with soft but nice fragrance.
All My Loving … A new rose from Weeks. Lovely HT with soft but nice fragrance. Read more here.

We have had 3 rainstorms and a bit of hail in the last week, so it is amazing that any of these blooms hung on! I think it was for my homecoming, don’t you?

These and several others were vased and delivered to the bank for those who helped me through a long distance banking issue.
These and several others were vased and delivered to the bank for those who helped me through a long distance banking issue.

I have some new visitors too…

Japanese Beetles.

So far I am only seeing a few. Seeing any is way more than I ever want to see. I’ll be dumping them into a bucket of soapy water (peppermint Dr. Bronners) for a sweet smelling demise. My friend, Jack Falker, had a lot to say about Japanese Beetles on his blog this week. You can read his thoughts here.

Here’s a simple recipe for the Dr. Bronner’s soapy magic: Add 2 T of Dr. Bronner’s soap to one gallon of water. Stir … don’t shake!  Add to spray bottle. You can buy this soap on Amazon here!

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Disgusting, right?

Aphids.

Yes, aphids are coming to munch on the new buds. Dr. Bronner’s soap solution in a spray bottle to the rescue for this critter too.

If you look closely, you'll see aphids munching. 😁
If you look closely, you’ll see aphids munching. 😁

More new.

I now have blooms on some roses that Proven Winners sent me right before I left. They are doing great! Believe me, the video or pictures do not do them justice!

Take a look…

It is good to be home.

Garden work is a great balm for a heart that is filled with an abundance of love and joy and just a tinge of sadness.

A no kink garden hose? Really?

| Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

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As you can imagine these big boy roses behind me need a drink now and then, and they are going to be getting a drink while I make a garden fashion statement. The amazing no kink (yes no kink) Flexilla garden hose now comes in a variety of colors. I chose CRAZY FOR COCOA. It fits in so well with my cottage garden landscape. No kink and safe to use for drinking! Check them out. I think you just might need to make a garden fashion statement too while you are making the chore of watering your plants much easier!

I already have one of these hoses in the original Flexilla green so I know they work for me, but there is more you might want to know…
  • Flexzilla hoses feature a Premium Hybrid Polymer material that redefines flexibility.
  • Flexzilla hose characteristics offer zero memory allowing it to lay-flat exactly where you drop it and won’t work against you during operation or coiling after use.
  • Flexzilla offers extreme all-weather flexibility, even in sub-zero conditions. Flexzilla is currently in use by oil companies located in Alaska!
  • Check them out on Facebook here.
There a color just perfect for you...
There is a color just perfect for you! Maybe you will choose Coral Candy–I almost did!

Bloom Thyme Friday: Sometimes it is best to say goodbye

| Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

If you asked me a month ago, “what is your favorite vine,” I would have said, “The Porcelain Berry.” I planted this beautiful vine 3 years ago. For the first two years it was a modest climber, in a place where I wanted a vigorous climber so all was going well. This year it became a vigorous climber–still okay with me. That is UNTIL I mentioned my beautiful vine on #GardenChat. Several Chatters chimed in that this is a very invasive plant and one to be avoided!

What? My pretty vine? Seriously? I bought it at a local garden center!

So, I did what all responsible gardeners would do, I investigated. And read some very scary stuff….

Invasive Porcelain Berry is Swallowing up Cape May

Ecological Threat!

Porcelain-berry is a vigorous invader of open and wooded habitats. It grows and spreads quickly in areas with high to moderate light. As it spreads, it climbs over shrubs and other vegetation, shading out native plants and consuming habitat.

Porcelain-berry is a vigorous invader of open and wooded habitats.

One blogger said that the plant takes about 3 years to get up to speed. Well, that is exactly where we are and where our relationship will end. Yes, sometimes it is best to say goodbye.

I still want a vigorous vine, but one that is not an Ecological Threat! What vine would you recommend to climb up and over my pergola?

Here is the Porcelain Berry’s Swan Song….

It’s a Garden Party!

| Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

What in the world is “garden chat” anyway?

Officially, #gardenchat is a Twitter forum where garden enthusiasts of all ages, from all walks of life connect and interact sharing ideas about their experience growing. But, that is just the tip of the iceberg!

What have I learned?

  • That you don’t have to be a redneck in Alabama to grow great roses but it helps.
  • That dirt and martinis really do go together.
  • That Moo Poo can take your plants to the next level.
  • That I am not the only one who is passionate about gardening!
  • That by using social media we are shrinking the world!
  • That gardeners in Canada are still having snow in June.
  • That there is amazing garlic being grown in northern Florida.
  • That somewhere in the world there is a furry garden helper named Nutmeg.
  • That many gardeners are impatient but some more than others.
  • That I now have many gardening friends that supply me with new and fresh recipes on a regular basis.
  • That the gardening world has it’s rockstars and some of them even write books and are more than casual about tomatoes.
  • That many gardeners (young and old alike) inspire us by gardening regardless of their disabilities.
  • That many gardening friends are more than willing to share their gardens on a regular basis via #gardenwalk.
  • That there was A GAGA before the GAGA and she grows beautiful roses and developed something very important she refers to as “the OUI Theory.”
  • That there is a Bren of Vision that opened up a whole new world to gardeners when she developed #gardenchat.

What is it to me?

  • A virtual garden club!
  • An amazing hour of inFormation, Fun, Flowers, Food, Friends and Frenzy. And, it is heavy on the Friends!

What it could be to you?

If you are even mildly interested in gardening and mildly knowledgeable of social media, set up a Twitter account and join us. You might want to go slow at first … be a watcher/listener to get your bearing, but it won’t take long until you are ready to jump in “fingers first” to join the frenzy. You will Learn, Laugh and be Loaded down with support and encouragement.

Hope to see you there on Monday nights at 9 pm EST … from someone who loves to dig in the dirt, grow roses and share her garden experiences thru blogging and Twitter.

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