Gardeners! Share your garden photos and garden chatter here.

Photo Lady · Jul 17, 2023

Ysarex said:
Thunderstorms last night beat up the petunias pretty bad. Got out this morning to do some weeding in the flower garden and snapped an overall view of the whole garden -- pretty colorful right now but I've got to get the pansies up front replaced pronto.

Also snapped a pic of some cabbages in the vegetable garden and pepper patch #1 -- banana peppers. Fuji X-T2 w/TTArtisan 23mm f/1.4.

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wow you own the block with this garden......... i bet there are alot of walkers who stop by to gaze..

terri · Jul 17, 2023

She's back! I promised her I'd leave her alone from here on out. She wants to be left alone to do monarch things, and she shall have it!

I wish my swamp milkweed was a little bigger. She must be aware of it, but I don't know if it's large enough for her to bother with.

Ysarex · Jul 17, 2023

terri said:
Gorgeous garden!! You guys must be turning heads with every passersby. So neat and tidy. Great job!

Thanks. The neighborhood enjoys it -- lot of folks walking by -- lot of work though.

SquarePeg · Jul 17, 2023

@terri They typically choose the newer, smaller milkweed to egg bomb. Not sure why.

Saw a black swallowtail today near the parsley that the caterpillar fattened up on. No phone or camera nearby

. I’m going to believe it was my fat cat coming back to lay some eggs. Will check that plant for baby cats later this week.

SquarePeg · Jul 17, 2023

terri said:
Wow, it does look kinda flopped over. It's hard to watch rain day after day pounding a carefully planted garden! The rain finally moved out but NOW, the smoke is back from the Canadian fires. Air quality advisory - not as bad as the one a couple weeks back, but it's definitely hazy out there. Supposed to lift on out of here in another 24 hours. I sure hope so.

I've been nervously watching my HF Clematis - the first one bloomed and was gorgeous - until it just flopped over and died. I put in a replacement, heavily amended the soil and, of course, within a few days it started to rain heavily. I keep reading on how well they respond to early feeding, and only to use a water-based feed, but that's not in the cards until we dry out more. Hope it makes it!

I like to use some liquid Quick Start root stimulator when I plant or transplant. It really works wonders. But it does put off blooms for a bit as the plant is focusing on establishing roots. Then after a few weeks I use Jacks Bloom Burst. Clematis do take a few years to get their act together. You’ll think it’s dead but then 2 years later it takes off out of nowhere.

Photo Lady said:
i went through the same experience... the only clamatis i really love... but behold it came back and i am just about to get some flowers... there are more buds then i have seen before..... so i hope the same for you..keep pampering it...

They play possum!! And this year the pests have been after them. I’ve started planting 2 per trellis just to get something going! One in the ground and one in a big pot that I’ll move later if the one on the ground takes off.

Photo Lady · Jul 17, 2023

SquarePeg said:
I like to use some liquid Quick Start root stimulator when I plant or transplant. It really works wonders. But it does put off blooms for a bit as the plant is focusing on establishing roots. Then after a few weeks I use Jacks Bloom Burst. Clematis do take a few years to get their act together. You’ll think it’s dead but then 2 years later it takes off out of nowhere.

They play possum!! And this year the pests have been after them. I’ve started planting 2 per trellis just to get something going! One in the ground and one in a big pot that I’ll move later if the one on the ground takes off.

i almost did this too.. i thought i really lost this one and i was going to make it up by buying a few more..

cgw · Jul 17, 2023

On clematis:

More Clematis, Please: How to Make Those Flowers Last All Season (Published 2023)

Because there’s no such thing as too much Clematis, here’s how to get a little more — and make it last a little longer.

www.nytimes.com

SquarePeg · Jul 17, 2023

Photo Lady said:
i almost did this too.. i thought i really lost this one and i was going to make it up by buying a few more..

That is how I ended up with…drumroll please…14 clematis

I went on a bit of a run with these.

I had 3, bought 3 more on sale last fall at the garden center, 2 for $5 each at Job Lot that I started indoors in March, bought another 1 the garden center to replace one of the fall plantings that the bunnies ate, bought 3 more in the spring for some trellises I was given, bought another 1 from Lowe’s clearance rack and finally 1 more on sale from the garden center… pretty sure I have completely lost track of which are planted where at this point except for my original 3 and the last 2 I bought. It’s clematis chaos over here lol.

Photo Lady · Jul 17, 2023

SquarePeg said:
That is how I ended up with…drumroll please…14 clematis

I went on a bit of a run with these.

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View attachment 267409I had 3, bought 3 more on sale last fall at the garden center, 2 for $5 each at Job Lot that I started indoors in March, bought another 1 the garden center to replace one of the fall plantings that the bunnies ate, bought 3 more in the spring for some trellises I was given, bought another 1 from Lowe’s clearance rack and finally 1 more on sale from the garden center… pretty sure I have completely lost track of which are planted where at this point except for my original 3 and the last 2 I bought. It’s clematis chaos over here lol.

wow love them all.........

terri · Jul 17, 2023

cgw said:
On clematis:

More Clematis, Please: How to Make Those Flowers Last All Season (Published 2023)

Because there’s no such thing as too much Clematis, here’s how to get a little more — and make it last a little longer.

www.nytimes.com

Pay wall, damn them. :lol:

Teasers!

SquarePeg said:
I’ve started planting 2 per trellis just to get something going! One in the ground and one in a big pot that I’ll move later if the one on the ground takes off.

I really wish I'd done this, too! Right now I have this feeble looking collection of leaves in front of a 42-inch trellis. Sad!

SquarePeg said:
It’s clematis chaos over here lol.

But they look great!

And you got good deals!

SquarePeg · Jul 17, 2023

terri said:
And you got good deals!

Yes that is how I justify it to myself lol. It’s not how much you spent, it’s how much you saved.

Photo Lady · Jul 18, 2023

just one from

today... today haze and smokey... so far not a good summer .. but making the best of it..This is the grave of my last two cherished dogs... my hubby is doing a great job with the roses

SquarePeg · Jul 19, 2023

The dahlias and zinnias have finally started to bloom. And, most exciting, the Major Wheeler is producing some flowers after all! The buds are on the ones I planted last fall. The larger one planted this year has grown a lot but no buds.

Seeds for this salmon colored zinnia were a gift from my gardening mentor and very good friend.

California Giant seeds

Great Silence dahlia

Red Barron dahlia

Gallery Art Deco dahlia

Major Wheeler honeysuckle

terri · Jul 19, 2023

Those dahlias look great! Lots of variety there.

Congrats on the Major Wheeler finally budding! Looks like he's taken off on the trellis.

Mine has been doing the same thing - after some initial blooming when first planted, the plant decided to focus on spreading up and around the trellis. It's been several days since I inspected it closely for blooms.