Recent content by kaycei

I just got back from thinning out the patch right now, and thinned away at my mystery cane. It turns out the inside is pithy after all. So, all signs point to hydrangea. Thanks again!

Thanks for the help on this one. Right now I'll assume hydrangea and leave the plant alone--put it on my relocate list, and mulch/thin around it, just like the lovely lily patch in my raspberry patch.

It's only among my raspberries, and it is currently limited to only part of the patch. However, it's the dominant plant at that part of the patch. The stem is solid and woody, and it is possible to scrape the bark off. I haven't noticed any smell, and forgot to check that when I was out there...

There's no thorns on the unknown plant, plus the leaves are different. The raspberry leaves are in sets of three and more serrated than the unknown plant. The old stalks of the unknown plant have smooth, much lighter bark and the leaves are in pairs.

I'm in my first spring in a new house, and have been working on a raspberry patch that was established by the previous owners. There's a plant growing in it, a lot, that I haven't been able to identify: It's either a perennial or biennial cane, 4 feet tall, smooth silver bark, bright green...

I would love to wait, but my husband wants to clear stuff out. There are eight flower beds in our front yard. They are each a blend of English garden low maintenance plants -- lots of self seeders and perennials -- and weeds. Lots and lots of weeds. So, hubby wants to turn them all into...

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to wait on them again. I took a look at them today, and they looked to be about 4 inches tall now -- getting too big too fast. I pointed them out to my husband and now will keep my fingers crossed in that he doesn't do anything to them.

I moved into my house at the end of October and only had one good weekend before it got too cold to do anything outside. Spring has finally arrived and plants are starting to come up. A walk among my flowerbeds is a lot like Christmas -- filled with many magical surprises. One of these...

Very nice. I really like the walkway. What are the pink flowers?

Here's a few pictures of what's going on in my indoor garden: These are the indoor greenhouses we bought at Fleet Farm for $25 each. This is our basement set up with our grow lights. We are basically using aquarium lights that "stimulate plant growth." My 144 Marigold seedlings, to go...

I have to second most of what was mentioned about. I'm growing sweet peppers and my husband is growing hot peppers. Ours took about 2 weeks to sprout, using the Jiffy trays in an indoor greenhouse from FleetFarm ($25). Ours gets up to 85 in the day, and I'm guessing 70 at night.

My husband and I are doing a compost for our first time. He would like to get a large plastic horizontal shed (about 4 ft long, 3 ft deep, and 2 ft wide) that opens on top and in front, and use it as a compost bin. (See Rubbermaid version below) We like this concept because it is covered...

As a former Army brat, 2 year Army vet, thank you for your service. Ten years Air Force and being there now as a contractor still counts as service.

I had success with dahlias last year in my containers. (Although, if your zone is too cold you have to store the bulbs over the winter, and they are late summer/fall flowers.) This year I'm trying lisianthus and alstroemeria. (Lisianthus started sprouting and I haven't received the...

Here's my list. Some of them are refrigerated left overs from last year, and I have a few packets I haven't added to my spreadsheet yet. Salad Greens - Glory Frisee Winter Squash - Vegetable Spaghetti Spinach - Baby's Leaf Hybrid Sweet Pepper - California Wonder Sweet Pepper - Carnival Mix...