Posted by  Penny L. Carnathan,  on 02/04  at  11:21 PM

I’ve read that chickens are great for eating up the weed seeds and bugs in your veggie beds before planting. ... Just sayin’, Kay!

Posted by  Iluvpumpkins,  on 02/04  at  08:15 PM

Kay, Martha Stewart has chickens running around in her gardens, so I know they would look cute in your yard. My daughter and I gave my neighbor Sally 6 peeps for her birthday last year from Shells. They run free in her garden and love to be picked up and petted. Her gardens have an oriental look to them so I got her Japanese silkies, they have hair and feathers. Have fun at Shells. Pumpkin

Posted by  kgardens,  on 02/04  at  11:45 AM

Nice story Penny.  Impulse shopper that I am, I hope I don’t come home with a chicken!  Kay

Posted by  Penny L. Carnathan,  on 02/04  at  11:36 AM

Shells is definitely worth a field trip, Kay! I went after Pumpkin told me about it—here’s a link to the story http://bit.ly/9x2lwC (copy and paste it into your browser)
  Pumpkin—thanks. I’ll be heading to Shells. It would be very nice to have something blooming in my dead garden! (Although, must say, the Carolina Jessamine are starting to pop. They look like a color photo in a black and white movie)

Posted by  Chip,  on 02/04  at  10:50 AM

Shells is great! I went to lowles and home depot looking for fish emulsion and they didn’t carry it the manager at home depot garden shop said he had never heard of it before. the folks at shells know what they are doing and have it on hand or they will order it for you. The few veggie plants they have are the best in town we mostly grow from seed but the few we do not I will only buy from them
....“Chip”

Posted by  kgardens,  on 02/04  at  09:02 AM

OK Pumpkin, now you’ve done it.  I’ve never heard of Shell’s but I just went to their website and I guess I’m going on a field trip!  Sounds like I need some time to explore the first time I go.  Kay

Posted by  Iluvpumpkins,  on 02/03  at  08:49 PM

I am adding Zinnias to my garden this year too. can’t beat the color.

Now to the rose question, go to shells get Gro Mor and Mills Magic and your roses will go crazy. Pumpkin

Posted by  Penny L. Carnathan,  on 02/03  at  08:43 PM

I love the zinnias! I got going on them after seeing Janna’s blooming in profusion all over her yard last year. They’re great!
  I have orange cosmos started from seeds we got off Monica Brandies’ when we went to her open house. Another visitor told us they’re the hardiest of all the cosmos. They’re annuals, but they’re very diligent about procreating. I can’t wait to try them in my new almost-blank canvas.

Posted by  Chip,  on 02/03  at  05:53 PM

I have got some Zinnia’s started if you like cut flowers they are great as long as you keep cutting them they will just keep coming back. they start so easy from seed the biggest drawback with them is the seeds are so light they get washed out very easy I have started these guys in trays if it looks like we have a week or two with out rain I will start some more right in the ground got to keep the bee’s happy!...“Chip”

Posted by  Penny L. Carnathan,  on 02/03  at  12:19 PM

I’m good on the dead-heading, but once I’ve cleared a bunch of blooms, it seems to take another month before I have new ones. I haven’t given them more than Osmocote—I bet their wanting my fav Miracle Gro Bloom Booster! Thanks Susan.
  (Last spring, I planted a row of Cuban gold behind a row of Brazilian red hots, but I bought the gold too small and the red hots quickly blocked them from view. They’re all dead now, but I’m going to try it again)

Posted by  Susan Gillespie,  on 02/03  at  10:24 AM

Your favorite Rose food and some deadheading once in a while with a big pruning in Feb/Mar should do the trick on those knockouts, Penny

I do love the color contrast those Cuban Gold durantas bring to a yard. You could always plants a row of colorful perennial flowers in front of them for a flower fix.

Posted by  Penny L. Carnathan,  on 02/03  at  09:26 AM

I love my mint plant, Chip! I never liked iced tea until a friend served me some with mint leaves. Yum!
  But to replace those ixoras, I immediately thought of Cuban gold duranta. I love the chartreuse foliage, and it’ll just get brighter in her sunny spot. The ixoras were all in a row alongside the pool, and the Cuban gold will fill in to make a nice border.
  Kim is all about the flowers, but a foliage counterpoint should make the flowers stand out even more.
  Susan and Pumpkin, I love my bubble-gum-pink double Knockouts, which took the cold very well. But they seem to want some motivation to bloom consistently. Ideas?

Posted by  Susan Gillespie,  on 02/03  at  09:07 AM

That IS a good idea, Chip. I have a rosemary plant that is certainly as big as a 3 ft bush and smells divine. It’s inexpensive to plant and made it through the cold too.

Posted by  Chip,  on 02/03  at  08:50 AM

Kim if you are willing to try something different a herb garden would do very nice there. the hard part is picking out what to plant. The difference between fresh and dried when cooking is quite surprising. And yes some flower and then there is the mints so many to pick from! putting mint in ice tea is one of my favorite. Herbs are mostly simple a few are highly invasive [mint] but mostly are plant and forget low to the ground and all the nice smells! Something to think about…“Chip”

Posted by  Iluvpumpkins,  on 02/02  at  07:19 PM

Kim, I would diffidently go with double knockout roses! Send in the pictures. Pumpkin

Posted by  Susan Gillespie,  on 02/02  at  12:33 PM

I love Josh. He’s handsome and made me laugh. Two things I love in a guy.

The knockouts are definitely a winner in my yard too. Color most of the year and they withstand our hot and wet as well as our cold. Several colors are available. My sausedge didn’t make it through the cold but I am hopeful for a comeback and could try it again because I love the color.

The two bushes that made it through were the Mrs Schillings (they have some white flowers but not very often and not showy) and the thryallis, which has yellow flowers. For low there’s always Indian Hawthorn. I think they have a pink flower version. The azaleas might be a good idea too.

Posted by  kgardens,  on 02/02  at  11:57 AM

Love the bluebird.  It definitely makes your yard look happier.  How about sunloving bromeliads or Knockout roses or those Encore azaleas (not sure about sun on that one)?  I have just bought one - one gallon size Knockout rose based on Pumpkin’s rec. and it is already blooming with 2 blooms! 
Kay

Posted by  Kim Franke-Folstad,  on 02/02  at  11:39 AM

Ooh, I’ve been wanting to try a SausEdge—that’s a great idea. I was hoping for something that has flowers, though. Hmmm ...

Posted by  Iluvpumpkins,  on 02/01  at  09:22 PM

This does not bloom but might work Cuban Gold Duranta, Riverview Farms has this in SausEdge. Pumpkin