For The Beauty Of The Earth

[MCH]

When I first put my gardens in I had to use a Mattock. There are so many rocks that using a shovel was useless. I also had to add plenty of peat and wood chips. I gave my day lilies a dose of antacid tablets recently. They like the extra calcium. I've heard that you can use the white powdery stuff from inside sheet rock or gypsum board as well. I guess lime would do. Our soil is very acidic.

There were some plants from some where else that washed up in our yard from a flood. One finally bloomed and it is an orange daylily. I was hoping that it would have been yellow. Also there is a small leaved rose. I'm hoping that it is a Cherokee rose. Pretty little pink blossoms. But it did not bloom this year so I'll have to wait until next spring.

I can't believe that I'm actually getting some tomatoes to produce fruit this year! I have tried and tried with no or little success. Unfortunately they aren't very big but hey they're tomatoes, lol. The problem I have is that most of our yard is wooded and shady.

Good luck,
MCH

[tracy]

im glad the plant got to bloom for you after the floods you had hope it will be ok for you now mch xx

[tracy]

ive been out in the garden this afternoon planting these which the one in the middle is a hyderanger which is mums and the others i was given before we moved here they are sweet william only 2 of them have grown more then the one and the small one has flowers on it now which im pleased about .we have a small border at the back but they all look better here and they are right next to my bedroom window. i cant wait to see flowers come on the others

[MCH]

Nice plants Tracy. Is the hydrangea blue or pink? I've seen a variety around her that has three toned colors. A deep purple, dark pink and light pink. They are very pretty. I have a blue lace cap hydrangea. I was at a gardens a couple of weeks ago and I saw a white variety of hydrangea that had beautiful brilliant blue stamens.

A couple of years ago I planted some day lilies that had washed up in the creek after a flood. One finally bloomed today. It is a triple bloom orange day lily. Funny looking thing but bright and cheery. My tomato plants had tomatoes. I can't wait to have a fresh tomato and salami sandwich.

[tracy]

im sorry mch i couldnt tell you what color it is yet we didnt keep the label that came with it but when the color comes out i will be able to tell you sorry i couldnt be much help there

[jaybee]

Hydrangeas are kind of cool, colour-wise. You can get a white variety that stays white until the bloom starts to age and then it will turn green. The common variety is one that will be either pink or blue depending on the PH of the soil. I don't remember exactly what it is that turns pink ones blue, but I think it's aluminum in the soil. Also, the coloured ones (pink or blue) will eventually change to green as they age, although they might go through a mixed colour stage with white, pink (or blue), and green petals. Apparently, how green they get depends a bit on the weather and how hot it is. Interesting, eh?

Thus endeth the lesson for today!

[MCH]

You're right Jaybee. Aluminum hydroxide turns them bluer and iron oxide turns them pinker. Some people keep rusty metal pieces in a bucket of water and use that water under the hydrangeas. Or may just bury some nails under the plant. I don't know what would happen if you added both aluminum and iron. Maybe just get one very confused plant, lol.

[Betty]

Some of my early shots:

Barley, somewhere in Belgium:


Lake or pond, somewhere in Brittany:

[tracy]

thanks betty wonderfull photos