[wiccanmalenurse]

Hey Everybuddy! I just thought i would tease you and to let you know, the catalogs have already started arriving, man decisions, decisions! Happy New Year and happy gardening,
David
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Praise loudly, blame softly and treat each person you meet as a brother or sister!
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[missymagoo12]

i just got a catalog yesterday for seeds. spring is round the corner. sue

[bluebetty]

and I can't wait. DH started building me 2 massive rose arbors in late Nov for my b-day which are really more like small pergolas and it got too cold to finish. My goal is to finish these and plant up the long narrow sides of the house...the arbors are placed at the end of the house on either side so as to enter a garden room. I'll have to post pics when they are done.

[wiccanmalenurse]

Casey-Lynn, I am sure they will be wonderful! I have one rose arbor but we cheated and got it at Lowes (imagine that lol) It is a white vinyl one and we have the climbing roses going up each side (or at least trying to. Hope your Spring is good and the Family is well. I am back now on our new Dell Studio XPS which has given me my ability to log in and post again. I have a LOT of catching up to do! See ya around,
David
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Praise loudly, blame softly and treat each person you meet as a brother or sister!
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[joy828]

Casey Lynn - I love climbing roses! I have a yellow rose called Golden Showers that climbs up on side of my deck to show me lovely blooms.

But, I wanted to tell you that I did have a rose called Jacob's Coat that was so lovely. Mine met it's doom because it was planted over our sewer line - which had to be dug out, and it didn't survive all the trauma. I'm planning to get another one. I'd love to see pictures of yours.

Joyce
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[sampaul]

Hey guys... can you recommend some good companies to buy seeds from??? Gardening catalogs???
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~~~Courage isn't the absence of fear... it is the presence of fear yet the will to go on.~~~

[wiccanmalenurse]

Sam, you may get a lot of different responses but I order a LOT of flowers and bulbs and the majority of them come form Lowes as they have the one year guarantee. That being said I have ordered many times from Henry Fields. They have a free 25.00 coupon when you sign up online and they give you a LIFETIME guarantee on all products! I have called three years later and they reshipped at no cost to me a new reblooming lilac tree. Then the next year the other tree I thought was dead came back out and they both are doing great. I called them to pay for the second one since the 1st came back out and they told me not to worry about it. I also order a lot from Park Seed but my all time favorite seed catalog is the Baker Creek Heritage Seed catalog! They have done nothing but preserve many heirloom plants and veggies that have been around for hundreds of years. I know I get many tomatoes from them that you just can't find anywhere else. I personally have not had much luck with Spring Hill nurseries or Michigan Bulb (with the exception of the bulbs) and the plants I did receive were weak and died later. Good luck and I am sure with these I have suggested you will be delighted. If it is water gardening you love I LOVE Lilypons! They are a little expensive but when it comes to lotus and lilies this company has untouched color and beauty in their plants! Joyce, funny you mention the Joseph's Coat as it was a rose my wife wanted and it took me quite some time to find it! I got mine from 4 seasons nursery and all of the 2 they sent they both died. I requested a replacement per their guarantee and nothing. It took 3 months and 2 complaints to the better business burea to get the order replced. OPut of those 2 only 1 lived. One put of four but it is beautiful. The red, yellow and orange is wonderful colors together! I will grab a shot of ours for you this year and I think if you PM me your mailing address, I will send you one of the starters I have. You all take care and happy gardening,
David
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Praise loudly, blame softly and treat each person you meet as a brother or sister!
"Stella Styler for "Life"!"

[sampaul]

Wow David, thanks for the info! I'm kinda new to gardening, but after listening to you guys talk about it last year, Tam and I have decided to give it a try. If nothing else, it will be fun.

Take care, buddy!

Sam
_________________
~~~Courage isn't the absence of fear... it is the presence of fear yet the will to go on.~~~

[joy828]

David - thanks for offering the rose start - I'll email you my address. I'll see that this one isn't planted over a sewer line -

Baker Creek Seed co is not too far from us. You will enjoy their catalog - and the good work they do in preserving the old time varieties. www.rareseeds.com

I keep looking .......... spring is coming, but it is 2 months away in MO.

Happy planting!
Joyce
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[sampaul]

Hi guys!

I ordered catalogs from Henry Field's, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Park Seed!

Thanks for the advise!

Sam
_________________
~~~Courage isn't the absence of fear... it is the presence of fear yet the will to go on.~~~

[TammyPaul]

We also made use of the $25 coupon for Henry Field's.

I have 50 strawberry plants coming and some ground cover and flowers for our dreaded hill in the back yard.

Get ready to dig Sam! They should arrive in a few weeks.
Well you didn't think I was gonna do all that by myself did you?

I already got some veggie seeds at Lowe's last week for our "patio garden". We had our first one last year and actually grew some veggies! (plants and yardwork are not high on my list of things to do. I do good to mow!)

Tammy
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[wiccanmalenurse]

Good start Tammy and I bet those strawberries are Ozark beauties maybe? If so a good grower! You will like them and remember at Henry Fields, it is a LIFETIME guarantee so keep your packaging receipt for the future so you will have the order number, item number and price paid. We keep all ours in a file box under Flowers. Good luck and by the way, the tomatoes do GREAT in a 5 gallon bucket if you are not the gardening type. Tip that works for me always with tomatoes, crush egg shells and keep around the base as it detours snails by cutting them up and also adds calcium! NEVER let the branches or leaves touch the ground, staking helps and keep the soil maintained and moist to avoid blight. Take care and again, good luck,
David
_________________
Praise loudly, blame softly and treat each person you meet as a brother or sister!
"Stella Styler for "Life"!"

[bluebetty]

How did I miss these posts?

I got my seeds last year from lowes or HD but didn't have any luck. I'll try again when I gave a grow light set up....had trouble keeping the seedlings alive when we went on Vacation. I ordered some bulbs from Michigan bulb this october for the first time so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I also bought 2 variegated weeping flowering wiegella plants (Michigan bulb doesn't call them by the real botanical names) and they were in fact puny like David said. They have a lifetime guarantee so if they do not come back I will be calling them for replacements. I'm usually not upset about a puny plant as long as it lives and i don't have a problem getting a replacement. though with a 3 yr old who likes to trample through my garden at times anything that needs to be babied is a pain. I have bought several things from Cottage farms from QVC and have had GREAT success except ALL of the bareroot roses....ALL of the roses have given me trouble....even with soaking. They have turned me off of bareroot all together. My Hydrangeas and creeping phlox have done the best of all and I'll be planting some blue phlox this year....after seeing it all over Gatlinburg...i need more colors...I love they way they quilt the colors together like a tapestry in dollywood. Lovely. David i will be checking out the site you suggested and thanx to Sam for the question.

Has anyone ordered plant starts from Burpee? I am trying to decide between buying Heirloom tomato starts from Burpee or cottage farms (they always have a TSV around early spring)

I get a great gardening Magazine that I lOVE called backyard living. You only get 6 a year (what you usually get with gardening mags) but every issue has turned me on to a new plant or given me tips. Would make a nice gift for Tammy

I'm so jealous David of your lilacs. Stewart and i always talk about buying a few acres to build a house on (and enough room for Vinnie to eventually build on) and When we do I will have a wall of Lilacs.....have you ever seen the picoteed lilac? Very lovely...and different.

It has been too cold to fool with the arbor but we did get the posts set and I did paint some of the lattice....what a HUGE pain it is to paint lattice. When it warms up we will finish. Still trying to decide what rose/ clematis or climing flowering vine to plant on them this spring but I'm sure that will be another post. I do have an affinity for climbing candyland....though i think I'm going to go with all old garden or antique roses for my formal rose garden portion of my garden. David I like the plastic ones b/c you don't have to worry about the wood rotting or painting them but my shutters and patio furniture are all black....plus this lil project was meant to prep Stewart for the MASSIVE pergola and 2 story play house I want him to build for me and Vinnie. I'm also hoping to get some food grade empty barrels for my rain barrels and the composter that you posted incredible instructions fro David but I have been so frustrated with finding the barrels.

[wiccanmalenurse]

Hey Casey-Lynn and glad to see you posting! Yes I am ready for Spring! I have seen the lilies you mention and Cathy wants the purple ones with the white edges and also the double mariachis as well. Lilies are a great investment as they keep coming back and giving us more bulbs! I have ordered from Burpees but if you are looking for the BEST heirloom seed varieties and quality, I recommend Baker Creek Heirloom Seed! You will not be sorry. www.rareseeds.com Cottage farms does have excellent flowers and we have many. I ordered some Giant Begonias form Robertas and they did great the first year but not as well the second. They did replace them or me though and the second batch did great! One more thing to all you gardeners, I know I have posted this before but if you want t see bigger, more and brighter blooms, there is nothing better in this world th spray-N-grow! It makes the difference like day and night and I used to order it all the time from QVC for 20.00. Now you can get it directly from spray-N-grow for 11.95 and it makes 60 quarts! I promise you will get Unbelievable results with this stuff!! http://www.spray-n-growgardening.com/products.asp?dept=17 We also get the Backyard living and if you enjoy that one, you are sure to love Birds & Bloom which we get and also is a bi monthly publication. Great tips and hints in them both! As for the plastic barrels, check your local paper, the cocoa cola and pepsi plants have them often as they use them to store the syrup. Car washes have them too and all you need to do is rinse it out add a little bleach water and it is good to go. I am sure in time you wii get everything together and if you are looking for a nice pergola look at this one I have been eyeballing at Sam's club! http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=341499 It was good to see you and if I find a barrel I will grab it and try to get it to you. Joyce your rose will be there for planting in the spring! Y'all take care and happy gardening,
David
_________________
Praise loudly, blame softly and treat each person you meet as a brother or sister!
"Stella Styler for "Life"!"