Darn Tulips - again!

[Les]

Well the little buggers are again in the ground. About 200 of them this year and they better do more than they did last year.

Image Insert:

40.9 KB

This one is just for Mike O, - the "Denny Crane" chairs are not getting much use today!

Image Insert:

38.27 KB

[StevenT]

Wow! Snow already.

Les, your yard must be beautiful when everything blooms. When I was a child my uncle used to plant tulips. I loved going to his house. It was like being in Magicland.

[Les]

Steven,

Yep that is snow! 8degrees.

Last year, and only last year, most of the tulips came up with only one large leaf and abt 40% bloom rate. Sooooo, I dug all of them out and re-set them and added a few new bulbs. One of the TIJ guys asked his wife and then relayed that info to me and I dutifully did it. We will see.

The photos are of the office garden. You will notice all the pea stone base that I put in couple of years ago. It seems that my method of stress relief is going out into the garden and tossing rocks at passing cars, so the guys here chipped in and bought pea stone to keep me out of jail! Seriously, I strongly recommend that every office have a garden or at least potted plants. They will do wonders with your soul.

The chairs are for "Denny Crane" (me), "Grady" (Lonnie) from Fred Sanford, and "LaMont" (Jason). We often start or wrap-up the day in those chairs, weather permitting! Everyone else has to stand.

[Les]

Little buggers did a little bit better this year, but still ain't the quality I'd like!

Image Insert:

138.13 KB

Image Insert:

34.19 KB

Image Insert:

34.24 KB

Gonna be 21 degrees tonight and was 34 degrees last night, so I guess I had better enjoy them today!

[randynavarro]

I planted two ivys last year and used copper tube to stake them up. I didn't want wood or lattice cuz I knew it would rot fast.

They're now dead as doornails. Someone said the copper killed 'em.

Good! That crap deserves to be dead - everywhere; it's a pox on homes and properties. They should identify who first brought that stuff into country and post on an internet forum where that person is buried so that the world can come by and spit on his/her grave.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Les]

Randy,

I thought about that because in the old days I was told you could kill a tree by hammering a couple of copper nails into it. So, I asked the local extension service about it and they said the copper would oxidize and not sulfate into the soil. As you can see from the photos there is a bunch of eclectic copper forms and supports. Then I tested the soils and found I only needed a weak nitrogen type fertilizer like Miracle Grow a couple times per season and bone meal in the spring.

Tommorrow, 4-30-08, I will take a photo of the frost damage so you guys/gals will feel sorry for me!

[Bill Kibbel]

Originally posted by randynavarro

Les,

Trust me, I'm not gardener, but I have a question.

Doesn't that copper railing around the beds affect the plants if not the soil?

I planted two ivys last year and used copper tube to stake them up. I didn't want wood or lattice cuz I knew it would rot fast.

They're now dead as doornails. Someone said the copper killed 'em.

Unless the soil has something horribly wrong with the ph, the copper will have no effect. There's lots of products that are applied on and around plants that contain CU. YOU killed the ivy!

[Erby]

Randy "Black Thumb" Navarro, the Ivy killer!

You should be so so ashamed of yourself.

What did those poor Ivy ever do to you to deserve such a cruel fate.

[randynavarro]

Makes sense about the copper not affecting the soil, but I think the ivy died because I had tied it off directly to the copper.

The leaves and stems were in constant contact. They were getting copper food and not the right sun and air stuff (whatever they're called).

Anyway, this thread is not about me killing things. Its about Les making things live!!

Go, Les! Make up for my inhumane treatment.

[fqp25]

We've had three nights in a row with below freezing temps. Ours seem to have survived alright.

Image Insert:

90.88 KB

Image Insert:

93.74 KB

I named the little one Les:

Image Insert:

64.07 KB

[hausdok]

That big purple one needs to be named Frank.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Brian G]

I managed to be off today, and spent a few hours mowing grass, etc., around my house and my folk's house. It was high 60's with a nice breeze, and while the pollen-bombing is over, the air was full of honeysuckle fragrance. I'm not a big fragrance guy, but Momma Nature does it right. Lovely. [:-angel]

Brian G.

Smells Like Home [:-thumbu]