WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 50 DECEMBER 13, 2013

Free Republic | 12/13/2013 | greeneyes

[Marcella]

That candy cane truck is so beautiful, words cannot describe.

[Silentgypsy]

I think deer don’t like rosemary, either.

[Silentgypsy]

I think putting up lights outside and taking them down is pretty obnoxious too.

I feel the same way about making beds. *sznicker*

[Silentgypsy]

Great photos! Thanks!

[Nepeta]

So, I am searching for perennial flowers that attract bees and butterflies.

They like catmint (not the same stuff as catnip, but related), which produces little blue flowers all season. They also like bergamot and buddleia. Buddleia grows rampantly, and most types require stern pruning annually to keep under control, but butterflies adore it. I've grown all of these and can vouch for their allure for butterflies.

[jjotto]

New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae) is worth considering. I’ve seen late blooms actually weighed down with migrating butterflies! The colors can be bright fluorescent pink/purple too.

[Marcella]

Thank you, making note of all of these.

[Marcella]

Thank you, copying all these.

[Marcella]

“I feel the same way about making beds. *sznicker*”

My maid makes my bed and I don’t have a maid.

[sockmonkey]

So, I am searching for perennial flowers that attract bees and butterflies.

Horehound is a bee magnet.

[sockmonkey]

PS..You’ll also find horehound is used in homemade cough syrup, and also in horhound candy..

[Silentgypsy]

I don’t have a maid.

But you do have style!

[mom3boys]

You rooted a romaine stump? How? Interesting!

The lettuce I harvested was delicious - fresh and tender. Nothing like home-grown veggies, that's for sure.

Here's a description of the ground cherries from the Baker Creek website:
Ground Cherry

[Augie]

I did manage to get something productive done after all. It was so nice out yesterday Mrs. Augie and I got ambitious and mucked out the horse stalls. Three loader buckets full of horse poo, hay and pine shavings added to the compost heap...

[Marcella]

I went to the Baker link you posted and read about this “cherry” and I ordered a catalog. I have a catalog from Bountiful Gardens and haven’t read it. I just picked it up right now and looked through some pages and there is a lot of info. about each type seed. Also have catalog from Burgess Seed & Plant Company and haven’t read that one - both Bountiful Gardens and Burgess just sent the catalogs as I didn’t request them.

I had already ordered seed I wanted before these catalogs came out. I didn’t think the catalogs were worth my time since I’d already ordered what I wanted. Thinking that was a mistake (darn, the first mistake I’ve made in my life). :o)

There is a lot of general info. about the individual type seeds plus planting, etc.. There is so much to learn about food plants that it takes a good amount of time and the desire to learn it. I need to read about all flower plants in these catalogs.

[Marcella]

PROBLEM

I need to plant the three blackberry plants I received. Evidently, I need to put rocks in the bottom of the three planters AND I DON’T HAVE ANY.

Could I fold a piece of row cover so it’s double, could also make it a single layer, and put that in the bottom. Water does goes through it.

Why exactly do I need rocks in there?

[trisham]

For drainage?

[Marcella]

“For drainage?”

The containers have holes in them for water to drain, so why do I need rocks????

[Black Agnes]

Rocks probably help drainage.

I’m not sure, but coarse old fashioned cat litter (NOT the clumping kind!) might work the same.

Maybe someone else can offer suggestions.

[rightly_dividing]

Drainage