Home » Discussion Forums » Blog Post Discussion » Guest post by Diane in MN
| Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22634] |
Wed, 04 November 2009 19:41  |
 b_twin_1
Messages: 2594
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia |
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Diane in MN writes about Danes and more 
[Updated on: Wed, 04 November 2009 21:05]
I've got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ~ Blackadder
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| Re: Guets post by Diane in MN [message #22641 is a reply to message #22634 ] |
Wed, 04 November 2009 19:58  |
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KateG
Messages: 19
Registered: October 2008
Location: Northern NJ |
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Your garden looks lovely. I'm green (as it were) with envy, especially with your high flower/low maintenance combo. Alas, 90% of the items on your list are regarded by our local (New Jersey, USA) deer as candy, and cannot be grown. I love daylilies - munch, hosta - munch, hydrangea - munch. About the only thing that works for me is siberian iris (blooms early, while the does are still hiding in the woods with their newborns) and daffodils, which I interplant with siberian squills. But once their over, so is my garden till the black-eyed susan blooms in late summer. And despite the fearsome reputation of her breed, my rottweiler is absolutely no use when it comes to discouraging deer, rabbits and other garden pests.
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| Re: Guets post by Diane in MN [message #22642 is a reply to message #22634 ] |
Wed, 04 November 2009 20:02 |
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very nice pictures and lovely flowers.
Bonnie Holmes the faster ahead I go, the more behind I get
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| Re: Guets post by Diane in MN [message #22646 is a reply to message #22634 ] |
Wed, 04 November 2009 20:58 |
skating librarian
Messages: 570
Registered: October 2008
Location: Vermont |
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I have few oaks, more sugar maples ... but there is a compost heap under the big oak (off on the side in a mini-woods) and leaf mulch and a few english bluebells under the maples. Shade is so interesting, and when the trees throw off toxins as well it becomes well nigh futile. Great job with the shade Diane!
I like the Great Dane statue ... it looks so peaceful and makes such a great companion with the impatiens. Do you have to move him indoors for the winter?
Today I enjoyed weeding and ripping out some overly enthusiastic self seeders. But snow is forecast for tomorrow. Ugh! Ironically what I assume is the last rose bloomed and its an Iceberg! The fragrance is such a pleasant change from decaying leaves! I'm praying that it will melt quickly and and allow me to plant the remaining daffs.
I dare say that you are also facing the end of the gardening season with a certain amount of regret?
"Winning a war is like winning an earthquake" Jeanette Rankin
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| Re: Guets post by Diane in MN [message #22660 is a reply to message #22641 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 00:17 |
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Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA |
Senior Member |
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| KateG wrote on Wed, 04 November 2009 18:58 |
Your garden looks lovely. I'm green (as it were) with envy, especially with your high flower/low maintenance combo. Alas, 90% of the items on your list are regarded by our local (New Jersey, USA) deer as candy, and cannot be grown. I love daylilies - munch, hosta - munch, hydrangea - munch. About the only thing that works for me is siberian iris (blooms early, while the does are still hiding in the woods with their newborns) and daffodils, which I interplant with siberian squills. But once their over, so is my garden till the black-eyed susan blooms in late summer. And despite the fearsome reputation of her breed, my rottweiler is absolutely no use when it comes to discouraging deer, rabbits and other garden pests.
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We are surrounded by suburban deer who know all about fences and therefore are not put off by big dogs. They eat the crabapples off the crabtrees and used to eat the rosehips off the roses, and every now and then there are some who like new daylily shoots and then flower buds. (I know that hostas are supposed to be very attractive to them, but so far they have left mine alone.) Our deer have never gone after the hydrangeas. They did, however, eat native azaleas down to the ground when I was foolish enough to try them.
I've used hot pepper spray on flowers (Bonide makes a good strong one, with a wax component so it clings better than homemade) and bars of Irish Spring soap hung around the periphery of beds to discourage deer. Also fiberglass driveway markers and whirligigs mixed in with the plants. All of these things are effective to some degree.
"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich
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| Re: Guets post by Diane in MN [message #22661 is a reply to message #22645 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 00:29 |
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Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA |
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| CindyD wrote on Wed, 04 November 2009 19:28 |
Diane probably knows this, but oak trees do funny things to the soil around them. In Ohio we had to add lots and lots of lime to the soil to get grass to grow under our big oak.
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Yes, that's why (many years ago) I tried native azaleas under those trees, because they like acid soil. Between the deer and the weather, they did not survive. I've never pH-tested the soil over there, but it's not all acid, because I get pink flowers on the Endless Summer hydrangeas. Surprise!
"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich
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| Re: Guets post by Diane in MN [message #22662 is a reply to message #22646 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 00:45 |
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Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA |
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| skating librarian wrote on Wed, 04 November 2009 19:58 |
I have few oaks, more sugar maples ... but there is a compost heap under the big oak (off on the side in a mini-woods) and leaf mulch and a few english bluebells under the maples. Shade is so interesting, and when the trees throw off toxins as well it becomes well nigh futile. Great job with the shade Diane!
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Thank you! But if it were all shade it would be easier. The oaks don't have spreading crowns and the exposure is southern, so quite a lot of sun hits the ground under the trees. And it's slightly elevated from the rest of the lawn, so it drains fast. I looked for sun-tolerant hostas for the front area so I wouldn't have to worry as much about crispy plants.
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I like the Great Dane statue ... it looks so peaceful and makes such a great companion with the impatiens. Do you have to move him indoors for the winter?
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He'd probably do better indoors, but he weighs a hundred pounds or so, so he stays put. I had to fill in a lot of cracks in the concrete a couple of years ago, and I think next year I'll have to do it again and then either paint or apply another coat of sealer. Winter is not easy on him.
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I dare say that you are also facing the end of the gardening season with a certain amount of regret?
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We had an early end, with sticking snow and some hard frosts in mid-October. Now it's clean-up season. I'd like to have spent the last week with rake and clippers, etc., but even if I'd been healthy it was cold and rainy most of the week. This coming weekend is supposed to be dry and warm, so you can guess what I'll be doing.
"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich
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| Re: Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22668 is a reply to message #22634 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 08:21 |
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Looking at your beautiful pics, I sure miss how easy it was to grow ANYTHING in Minnesota. Here in the High Mountain Desert we have to struggle to keep the dandelions alive!
Scar
"People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around."
T.P.
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| Re: Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22675 is a reply to message #22634 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 15:22 |
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AJLR
Messages: 2565
Registered: September 2008
Location: England, UK |
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That looks to be a lovely peaceful garden, Diane. (Apart from the occasional rioting Great Dane, right? ) I like your hosta collection and the day lilies. Do your hostas get slugs, or does your winter cold keep the slug population reasonably low?
Horrible, isn't it, when one has a bed infested with a really pernicious weed. I've had to take all the plants out of one nice west-facing bed this year, replant them in various temporary positions, and cover the old bed over with weighted-down black membrane for at least 6 months, just to try and get it free of ground elder. Digging it out didn't work, nor did glyphosate. I'm leaving the membrane in place right over the winter, in the hope the dratted GE will finally give up in the dark and cold. We hates it, precious, we doessss!
"Never let a computer know you're in a hurry."
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| Re: Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22691 is a reply to message #22675 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 23:33 |
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Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA |
Senior Member |
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| AJLR wrote on Thu, 05 November 2009 14:22 |
That looks to be a lovely peaceful garden, Diane. (Apart from the occasional rioting Great Dane, right? ) I like your hosta collection and the day lilies. Do your hostas get slugs, or does your winter cold keep the slug population reasonably low?
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We get a wonderful slug crop here when it's wet enough, but so far (knock wood big time) the hostas have escaped any significant attack. When I had the shrub roses, their leaves were attacked by critters that the garden center thought might be rose slugs. Who knew they specialized?
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Horrible, isn't it, when one has a bed infested with a really pernicious weed. I've had to take all the plants out of one nice west-facing bed this year, replant them in various temporary positions, and cover the old bed over with weighted-down black membrane for at least 6 months, just to try and get it free of ground elder. Digging it out didn't work, nor did glyphosate. I'm leaving the membrane in place right over the winter, in the hope the dratted GE will finally give up in the dark and cold. We hates it, precious, we doessss!
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Sigh. This is what I should do, or should hire some muscle to do for me. (There are a LOT of daylilies in that bed.) I know I will never ever get the better of that %$#*&! grass by digging, but a summer in full sun (southern exposure) under black plastic might actually kill it off.
"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich
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| Re: Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22692 is a reply to message #22676 ] |
Thu, 05 November 2009 23:48 |
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Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA |
Senior Member |
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| judith wrote on Thu, 05 November 2009 14:37 |
Hi, Diane!
Two questions:
I used to have one of those rolled leather collars for my Danes, about 15 years ago. Where can you buy them nowadays?
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You can find lovely expensive exotic ones online or at show vendors, but this is a nice mass-produced inexpensive one from Circle T that I got at a local pet supply store. If you google Circle T you should be able to find a store or online vendor.
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I'm about to have a landscaper put in some daylilies along with spring bulbs (upstate NY). Can you refer me to any websites with good info on daylilies so I can pick out some good ones? I just learned about them a few weeks ago from a friend when I pointed to some flowers and remarked, "Man, those daffodils are blooming AWFULLY late in the year!" and she told me that they were not daffodils but daylilies. I like the look of them and would like to include them in our landscaping along with the spring flowers like daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus. And time is important, since it's about to snow over for the year up here!
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You can get a lot of good information from the White Flower Farm catalog and web site (they have a really nice nursery/store in Connecticut), and there's a place called Olallie Daylily Gardens in Vermont that also has a web site and catalog. White Flower Farm suggests planting daylilies and daffs together--daffs to bloom in the spring, daylilies in the summer, and the foliage is similar so they all blend together. I wish I'd thought of that when I planted mine. Probably ANY daylily is a good daylily, but you get a lot of choice in height, color, blooming time, whether they repeat bloom, etc. I'll put in a plug for an old and wonderful yellow daylily, Hyperion, a tall one. The smaller peach-colored one I planted a few years ago, Apricot Sparkles, is a prolific repeat bloomer and I've been very happy with it, too.
I will add that the only time I planted bare-root daylilies in the late fall, I was not successful. I buy them in gallon pots from the garden center and plant them anytime from spring to late summer, and they go like gangbusters.
"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich
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| Re: Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22701 is a reply to message #22692 ] |
Fri, 06 November 2009 11:03 |
judith
Messages: 246
Registered: October 2008
Location: United States |
Senior Member |
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| Diane in MN wrote on Thu, 05 November 2009 23:48 |
You can find lovely expensive exotic ones online or at show vendors, but this is a nice mass-produced inexpensive one from Circle T that I got at a local pet supply store. If you google Circle T you should be able to find a store or online vendor.
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Yeah, the leather one my Mastiff girl is wearing now is the last of a bunch I bought in the mid '90s at a show. I can't find them any more, although I've looked at every show I've been to in the past several years. They look like fine stitched horse halter leather, in two different colors. I'm not sure the rolled leather is quite strong enough for a Mastiff, but whoever carries those might also carry what I'm looking for.
| Diane in MN wrote on Thu, 05 November 2009 23:48 |
You can get a lot of good information from the White Flower Farm catalog and web site (they have a really nice nursery/store in Connecticut), and there's a place called Olallie Daylily Gardens in Vermont that also has a web site and catalog. White Flower Farm suggests planting daylilies and daffs together--daffs to bloom in the spring, daylilies in the summer, and the foliage is similar so they all blend together. I wish I'd thought of that when I planted mine. Probably ANY daylily is a good daylily, but you get a lot of choice in height, color, blooming time, whether they repeat bloom, etc. I'll put in a plug for an old and wonderful yellow daylily, Hyperion, a tall one. The smaller peach-colored one I planted a few years ago, Apricot Sparkles, is a prolific repeat bloomer and I've been very happy with it, too.
I will add that the only time I planted bare-root daylilies in the late fall, I was not successful. I buy them in gallon pots from the garden center and plant them anytime from spring to late summer, and they go like gangbusters.
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Thank you! I'll wait on having the guy plant the flowers until spring, then. Plenty of time to pick out some good ones.
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| Re: Guest post by Diane in MN [message #22744 is a reply to message #22701 ] |
Sat, 07 November 2009 01:28 |
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Diane in MN
Messages: 2729
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA |
Senior Member |
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| judith wrote on Fri, 06 November 2009 10:03 |
Yeah, the leather one my Mastiff girl is wearing now is the last of a bunch I bought in the mid '90s at a show. I can't find them any more, although I've looked at every show I've been to in the past several years. They look like fine stitched horse halter leather, in two different colors. I'm not sure the rolled leather is quite strong enough for a Mastiff, but whoever carries those might also carry what I'm looking for.
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You might check online at www.hoganleather.com or www.custombraiding.com. I bought one from Hogan for Tasha, but it wasn't soft enough for her--she scratches her neck unless a collar is barely there. (You can guess how much fun this was when we started conformation training. Gaiting and scratching at the same time is not pretty.) I liked the rolled leather collar I got from Steve Guitron at Custom Braiding, but she outgrew it.
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Thank you! I'll wait on having the guy plant the flowers until spring, then. Plenty of time to pick out some good ones.
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Yes, and if they're blooming when you buy them, you can be sure that the plant in the pot is the one you want and they haven't made a mistake with the label.
"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich
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