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Sendme I won't grow celery either. I buy a couple of stalks when it's in season and cheap, chop it small and freeze ready to pop in spaghetti sauce or stew. I do the same with peppers.
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Speaking of chickens, mine have been in their coop for a week now and, on the advice of an old timer neihbour, this morning I opened the door to their run. I expected them to come out and enjoy, but nope. Oh well, at least I won't have to chase them back in at bed time. Can't decide if they're stoopid or just plain spoiled lol.
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Re-focusing here, my new avatar is a picture of the bouganvillia planted late last year, appeared dead early spring, and is now blooming! Despite all my lack of gardening skills!
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Celery sucks, and I am never going to grow it in and amongst my xeriscaped rocks. Forced rock therapy-I am calling it. At least I will have some little pebbles to throw at management if they dont approve of my landscaping! Grrr! This is really causing me grief over a long time. Am I having a breakdown?
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Yes, GA, I confess that I also used the word "We" when discussing a 'shared psychotic disorder' as a joke, between you and between I.

My answer to your politician joke was in agreement with you, but was deleted.

Out of respect and admiration for others caregiving in a difficult situation, for whom the use of the words "we" and "us" causes that person distress, I will try harder not to refer to anyone as we. So sorry, sincerely, Jessebelle.
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Hmm....maybe all those rubber chicken dinners caused Trump and Cruz to develop a joint psychotic disorder? Never know what horrible things some of those mass chicken farms stuff down those poor chickens.
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Well, I thought the term "joint psychotic disorder" referred only to the two of us and our experiences with celery. I thought it was amusing, but I confess that I still associate psychosis with certain public figures. The thought of having any symptoms similar to those of that less than stellar group of public figures is pretty upsetting. I certainly wouldn't want to be compared to any of the clowns who were jousting with barbed tongues in the political arena.
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I apologize to those caregivers who are offended by the use of the words 'we' and 'us.'. Sometimes I am just thoughtless and forget there is not a lot I can say to describe 'my husband and I'. It would make me even more sensitive to have hurt anyone on here, or to be a 'trigger' for their pain relating to narcissistic mothers.
I understand, because I too had a narc mom. It makes me want to avoid anyone for whom I would have to walk on eggshells around.
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Pam, are you referring to a new home or a new job site?
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Here is an idea. No one has ever mentioned this as a possibility. Shade cloth, used as a ground cover. We could not dig up all the dead grass and weeds. Tacking down shade cloth with plastic stakes, (doubled fabric) over the grass or bare dirt-add rocks, gravel, or bark to decorate.
I know this will last. Benefits: The ground squirrels or gophers do not lift it or eat through it. The water drains through it easily. It is cooler than heavy black plastic or black weed-block. It comes in colors-grey for river rock or pebbles; beige for beige California-gold rocks; Burnt umber/brick red for crushed volcanic rocks; and, green, if you want to just have a small space over dirt uncovered-to keep it mud free, drains water, still it looks green, but not exactly like grass. So there are the possibilities. I paid $30 for a huge roll-this sunshade product is strong and lasts! I am using leftover strips down the middle of the driveway under some decorative rocks. It saves on the amount of rocks required to cover the space because they do not sink into the dirt. Another benefit, is if you match the shadecloth fabric to your rocks-and they are very thinly covering the shadecloth-then if the rocks move to slightly show the shadecloth-it still looks okay until you sweep the rocks back over it. Everxwalk by a lanscape and that ugly black fabric is popping up? This solves that. Really saves money overall, and saves your back.
Not selling or promoting the stuff, just sharing.
I really hate the landscape (or xeriscape) filled with rocks, but had no choices left in the California drought. To think two years ago, and two former managers ago-we were not allowed rocks as decoration. Re-landscaping has ruined my budget!
But, I am happy we could do this as a solution.
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Aw, Lucy Goosey! Welcome little goose.
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Cap, you'll love the lever tool. I've had mine a long long time.
Ladies: This is our first Spring in our new location. We have hundreds of lilacs here, daylilies, phlox, honeysuckles. Very aromatic here, like sitting next to an old lady doused in perfume at church. Many plants here that I can't even identify, but I'm learning one at a time. I also have a baby goose, now about 3 weeks old and growing fast, named "Lucy Goosey"
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i ordered something pretty cool this weekend . a lever style wine corking tool from
portugal . ordered 300 new corks too . im not very particular with my own hooch . a used cork smacked in place with a hunk of 2 x 4 is fine with me but doc , out at the farm , wants to make and bottle some mead this year if the bees produce well .
both items were absurdly cheap on ebay and if i use them at the farm much you can bet your ass ill write em off my taxes .
i once wrote off a package of beard berets FFS . business image -- advertising ..
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GA dig some of that phlox if you can. It will come back every year.

There don't seem to be eco friendly places around here. Local towns/cities are all "dig out the dandelions, spray poison on the weeds" and so on ... ugh! Of course the local farmers spray poison on the crops. Last year the field across the road had carrots and the farmer said to me "help yourself". I saw them spraying what the tanker said was water but we had a wet summer ... no thanks.

Personally I feel the poisons sprayed on our food is what is making people so ill. Growing up in the UK things like Alzheimers, dementia and even cancer were virtually unheard of and there wasn't so much processed food.

My late mother was a vegetarian for years, living on "fresh" (sprayed to death with poison) or pre-made, boxed stuff you only had to microwave. She had parkinsons (no history of that in the family) and had dementia for years - backing her car out over the lawn, close miss car accidents, trying to cook something on the stove in a pyrex bowl (which of course exploded) taking a knife to dig out a music cassette she'd put in the wrong way while it was plugged in.

She was mean, nasty and spiteful life long but I think her exposure to the poison in/on our food caused the health issues and is causing so much illness now. Just my theory.
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Just wondering....does anyone know someone living in one of the eco-friendly communities, where composting is mandatory, people love gardens and diversity, respect bees and pollinators, and find creative uses for weeds and volunteers (except Virginia Creeper which has been an unwelcome volunteer for the last few years)?
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Ash, I was treated last year to a nice crop of wild phlox as well as some other volunteers which I couldn't identify. I had something once which I think was Bouncing Betty. The most exciting volunteer though was a delicate, lovely Wakerobin, which the local rabbits found quite tasty once it set seeds.

Just north of the rehab facility where Dad's at now is a small field of wild phlox in pastel colors - it's so dainty and lovely. I love the blend of pastels.
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Glad, I think generally code enforcement people think that anything except (a) cultivated, often labor and water intensive lawns (b) landscaper choices of blue ageratum, golden marigolds and red wax begonias (all planted in shade) (c) Stella D'Oro dayliles....are weeds." I've found they as well as tree cutters don't even know what some perennials are. One didn't know what an evergreen was and whacked down a scotch pine.

Pollinator plants? What are those? Bees? Why would we need them? Code enforcement people seem to be singularly unaware of natural gardens and lawns. I don't know what they'd do in my area if they ever had to deal with xeriscaping.
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Ash, yes! The things that grow wild in different places that we work so hard to adapt to our own spaces. Here, if nothing had been adapted, we would be limited to sunflowers and natural grasses and of course an excellent variety of weeds!;-) Wouldn't be so bad if code enforcement would let the natual grasses be.
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Glad day lilies grow wild along the road side here and I noticed the other day wild phlox blooming at the edge of the forest across the field. Nature is amazing isn't it.
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Cwillie the snowball must be very old as it's about 10' tall. I'm afraid that side of the house has become overgrown, my main focus right now being getting seeds in and the veggies growing and mulched. Once they're established I can turn my attention to other things.

Just as the harvest came in last year my mother passed so things got really chaotic - no time to keep up or can. Froze some but gave most away. I share produce with my helper and his wife who live in town and have no garden. Any excess after that he passes on to their neighbours
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Glad just enjoy your lilies whatever they are all are beautiful. If you are going to be in the house next year divide them up in the Fall and you will have twice as many next year
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Just waiting for my lilies to bloom. Wonder what type they are, what color they are. waiting......
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My snowball is blooming as well, it was one of the first things I planted here and it is finally big enough to be showy! I noticed sawfly larvae were attacking it yesterday and dusted it with diatomaceous earth, you had better check yours too Ash.
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GA you weren't pushy at all. I have a helper guy a few hours each week to do the heavy stuff (and I don't bend well) but he's been on vacation for 2 weeks so the place is looking a bit scruffy. Coupled with not eating much and horrible heat I was on a bit of a downer.

It's cooler this morning and the huge snowball bush outside my window is in full bloom, just beautiful. Today I'll plant the rest of the seeds - beets, radish, lettuce, spinach, kale, sunflowers and more peas. I'm not sure if I'll like kale but, if not, the chickens will.
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Well I damned near pulled this huge weed up - the only thing that stopped me were its pretty leaves although everyone kept trying to tell me it was a thistle - well I do know what a thistle looks like so I thought I would leave it for a while and today I was rewarded. Its the most beautiful red oriental poppy and a stunning 'weed' it is too
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The asiatics are a cluster of flowers atop a single stalk, correct? I guess I do not know the difference between lily types asiatic vs oriental vs day. I had several varieties of day lillies at my house. I had lots of Stella d'Oros.
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Glad, my daylilies are setting buds now. You could have daylilies or you could have Asiatic or Oriental hybrids - both beautiful. They're still in the growing stalk stage, no buds so far, but with this heat wave everything could change.

The back lawn is already drying out and is becoming more and more pale. That usually doesn't happen until the end of July or August.

If you have the Asiatics or Orientals, you're in for a real treat. I used to have masses of them - they were just gorgeous.
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Ash, I probably shouldn't have suggested the extensive conifer program. When I read garden magazines or daydream, my imagination begins creating all sorts of concepts which I'd love to implement, but also know that in reality it's far more than I can accomplish. I didn't mean to be pushy.

And I do understand that feeling of being overwhelmed - it happens much too frequently for me!
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What I thought might be daffodils are now definitely a variety of lillies. The plants are loaded with buds, nothing blooming yet though. Walked around the yard a bit this morning. There is a corner planted with all sorts of things that I do not know what they are. And I now know why there are so many birds in the yard. There are strawberries, still very small, turning red, throughout the yard. None in an area I would call a garden.
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There were bunnies when I first came but I think the coyotes got them. The abusive bible thumping hermit nutjob across the road had cats running/breeding everywhere and left food out which brought the coyotes to kill them. Had quite a coyote prob that first summer, even had one jumping at my living room window trying to get my cats who were inside. She finally kept the survivors inside, none shotted or fixed. There were 25 inside a couple of years ago so goodness knows how many there are now.

GA with so much to do here I have neither time nor inclination to plant things I have to baby. Couple of years ago 158 black cedars were planted around the perimeter to grow into a wind break. I've planted shrubs with colourful leaves in the backyard. They look nice but only need an occasional trim.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Had some oral surgery recently so barely eating and no energy but it will pass. Going to chop some tomatoes and cucumber for the chickens and pick them some grass then I really must vacuum. No point in doing much cleaning with the heavy farm machines kicking up the dust on the dirt road along with winds across the fields occasionally creating dust storms until the corn grows on a bit.
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