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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Aug 22, 2006 23:10:36 GMT -6
Uh huh....can you see me sticking my tongue out?
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Post by Phalon on Aug 23, 2006 17:41:04 GMT -6
Put it back in your mouth, Poppet. You're getting drool all over the keyboard.
So, I'm figuring you are within zones 8-10. A far cry from zone 5, and maybe if we don't have a harsh winter, zone 6. A far cry also from my plant knowledge; I really don't know what will grow well in that kind of heat, and have never heard of "cat's claws", except the ones that left my curtains in shreds.
Some ivies though are hardy in zones 7-10, though I'd think they'd need more water than what you're describing.
Trumpet vine would work, I'd bet, if you're below zone 10, as would wisteria. Both are very drought tolerant, but can get HUGE; at least they do around here.
I dunno - check the nurseries in your area. Or perhaps Siren can give you some ideas; her climate is a bit more similar to yours, I think.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Aug 28, 2006 8:12:48 GMT -6
Gotta keep in mind I can't afford to attract bees.....we have killer bee's here you know. ACK!!! Plus I'm allergic.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 30, 2006 23:34:58 GMT -6
Ok then, I've got just the thing to recommend: Plasticius artificifolius: evergreen, ever-blooming but does not need pollination by bees, non-invasive, requires no watering, no trimming, no weeding, and you can purchase at your local Walmart.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Sept 2, 2006 10:22:42 GMT -6
Uh huh....pppppbbblllttt
Not evergreen in this state. The sun would melt it or at the very least make it fade at some point. But thanks for trying.
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Post by Siren on Sept 5, 2006 7:10:42 GMT -6
The generous rains we've had lately have made a big difference here. At my folks' house in the southeast part of the state, the countryside, which was as dry and dead as it usually is in wintertime, has greened up beautifully. And my sis' tomato plants have put on blooms. She might have another tomato crop before frost comes.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 7, 2006 21:28:40 GMT -6
Cooler temperatures and sporadic but steady falling rain has helped here a lot too. Our vegetable garden is done; hubs pulled up the last of the squash vines this evening. They ripened way early, but we've got nearly forty mini-pumpkins on the front porch. He sprayed them with shellac to try to make them last into October, but I'm thinking it's doubtful. We sowed lettuce and spinach seeds last week for a fall harvest. That and parsley and chives are all that's left.
But damn! My flower beds look good - amazingly good. The butterfly weed, butterfly bush, helenium, coneflowers, black-eyed susans, roses, Jupiter's Beard, nepeta, lysmachia, sedums and whatever else I've forgotten is blooming. And the lawn is green; how'd that happen? It's the time for Sweet Autumn clematis, and it smells heavenly.
It's cousin, Virgin's Bower grows wild out on the trail, and this evening skiing, I could smell it before I rounded the curve to see the masses of tiny white flowers covering the vine. Two other of my favorites are blooming along the trail now: Golden rod and magenta-colored asters. What a great combination. I've got a big bouquet of golden-rod that I picked from work gracing my kitchen table. I love the sunny yellow.
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Post by mabd on Sept 9, 2006 14:59:38 GMT -6
... but we've got nearly forty mini-pumpkins on the front porch. He [Hub] sprayed them with shellac to try to make them last into October, but I'm thinking it's doubtful. BOLL Phalon. Now I know the secret of your blissful marriage. Maeve
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Post by Phalon on Sept 9, 2006 18:56:21 GMT -6
Yep - it's outta the bag: the secret to a long, happy marriage is all in properly knowing how to shellac the other's gourds to their satification.
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Post by mabd on Sept 10, 2006 12:22:45 GMT -6
Yep - it's outta the bag: the secret to a long, happy marriage is all in properly knowing how to shellac the other's gourds to their satisfaction. Pffft Phalon, that whole military thing about don't ask don't tell wasn't really about what we thought, was it? It was all about you, right?? Maeve
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Post by Siren on Sept 10, 2006 20:52:31 GMT -6
"we've got nearly forty mini-pumpkins on the front porch"
Lordy, lordy, look who's gourdy!
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Post by Phalon on Sept 11, 2006 6:29:20 GMT -6
Getting Gourdy Howe? What the puck, you ask? Howe's this thread deteriorated from gardening to pucking so easily?
(hockey reference there, which has nothing to do with anything but I'm shellacking thought right now)
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Oct 27, 2006 18:50:45 GMT -6
Hey folks! Needed a wicca gardening fix. Mine's just thawing out after a Denver blizzard. Those tomatos are DONE. Good news is I think that the magic Hawthorn trees that we planted are gonna make it..fairies love em. Can't wait for spring.
The mugwort is still going strong and I've got some Bay laurel growing in a window.
How is everyone doing this Samhain?
Blessings,
mystic
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Post by Siren on Oct 27, 2006 21:12:39 GMT -6
Mystic!! What a treat, having you here! I'm doing good, thanks. And thank you for the visit.
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Oct 28, 2006 11:37:11 GMT -6
You bet. Great to drop by! Hope you're enjoying the season.... mystic
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Post by Siren on Mar 19, 2007 22:12:56 GMT -6
Since I've planted my first flowers for the season (gorgeous snapdragons), I thought it high time we dusted off mystic's thread. I hope the season is treating her well. I wonder if she and her sweetie have gone "horrifying the neighbors" yet, welcoming the season? I can just picture that, and it always gives me a smile.
Anyone started planting yet, or am I jumping the gun?
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Post by Phalon on Mar 19, 2007 22:23:16 GMT -6
I haven't done a thing yet; our ground is still somewhat frozen. I tried to take the greenery out of the flower boxes this past weekend, but they wouldn't budge yet.
Lots and lots of crocus blooming around town though. I like to see them come up through people's lawns; it looks like tiny fields of pale yellow, purple, white and gold. Mine haven't bloomed though - too shady a spot to flower this early.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 27, 2007 19:04:57 GMT -6
I found another gardening technique that might work well with lasagna gardening:
I've come across a new gardening technique where you don't even break up the ground in order to grow a garden. It's called [url=www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&lr=&newwindow=1&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2004-35%2CGGLD%3Aen&q=%22Lasagna+Gardening%22]"Lasagna Gardening"[/url][/font] .
I discovered this new technique when I found and bought the following books:
I see that Patricia Lanza has another book out, called:
I see she has a website as well:
[/font][/quote]
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Post by Phalon on May 6, 2007 6:34:59 GMT -6
I never know quite where to put these things - the "Wiccan" in the thread title doesn't exactly fit the posts I make here, but this seems as good a place as any to post plant related items.
Yesterday, a customer asked if we had Stinking Benjamin; I replied no – there’s nobody here by the name of Benjamin, and all our employees shower regularly. Actually – she was looking for a plant. I had never heard of “Stinking Benjamin” and the customer knew it by no other name. After looking it up in reference books, I was surprised to find out she was referring to trillium – red trillium, and yes we carry it.
Trillium, to me, has always just been “trillium” – I’ve never called it anything else, though I’ve sometimes heard it called “wake-robin”, because it wakes up in the spring when the robins return.
Stinking Benjamin - Trillium erectum - does stink; it apparently smells like rotting flesh, like that horrid exotic plant called “Corpse Flower”, which has the botanical name, Amorphophallus titanium. Makes ya wonder, with botanical latin words roots such as “titanium”, “erectum”, and “phallus”, what the stink is about things big, stiff, and phallus-like.
There is a reason for the big stink: it's attractive, and is used for reproduction.....uhm, yeah. But true. What better to attract flies then decaying meat, and flies are what pollinate both Stinking Benjamin and Corpse Flower.
Way back in the day, stemming from ancient beliefs that a plant would cure ailments that resembled properties of that plant, Stinking Benjamin was used to treat gangrene. Also called Birthroot, Native Americans used it to treat problems with the female reproductive system. It was believed to also foretell love, detect witchcraft, protect teeth, was a charm for good luck.
But poor Ben - I couldn't find any reference to why he'd be attached to the stink. And who is Ben? American Spice Bush is sometimes referred to as Benjamin Bush, and is a very aromatic shrub. Perhaps Ben cured the stink, with Old Spice.
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on May 10, 2007 22:53:32 GMT -6
Blessings and greetings!
did everyone have a wonderful Beltaine? Yes, we are horrifying the neighbors! We also got trees through the city's tree program - low cost (not free but still!) We planted an Oak - that hinge of the year! and Chestnut whose blooms were a part of the flowers that created or evoked the Irish flower Goddess.
The herbs are back in their pots on the front porch. The lilly of the valley I got from my sweetie's sister are coming up again. The Hawthorn trees made it through the winter. And the holly, which looked like it was gone has one green, green bud that I think will unfold into a leaf in no time.
It's a great time of year!
mystic
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Post by Siren on May 13, 2007 7:47:58 GMT -6
Mystic! Wonderful to see you. Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad you and sweetie are enjoying the spring.
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