georgejean

This link will go in my list of favorites. Thanks.

A side note on your quest: think about putting in a second water meter strictly for outside water. This meter would not have sewer costs added. Some governmental units allow homeowners this option. It will, in a few years time, pay for itself with cheaper water/sewer bills.

New question on impatien collapse (that's basically what happened to mine ): is the ground where they were growing now infected ? Can I plan more impatiens in the same places this coming spring? Heard about the problem growers were having In Florida last winter with the mildew. Hoped we had escaped here in the north. My plants were beautiful for half the summer then, in a matter of weeks. they all died. I blamed it on the heat, but was probably the mildew.

I've pruned my mums in late fall and I've not touched them until spring when new growth is evident. They grew better and had more blooms the years I did not prune until spring. Now, I mulch them with shredded leaves in the fall and prune in spring. This works for me in my climate. I believe it's mostly trial and error.

I removed five big lilac bushes and tried to get all roots. Have lilac leaves popping up in different places. Can I "paint" Round-Up on the leaves to kill those roots without damaging nearby plants? Would be much easier than having to dig up all surrounding plants to get at those roots. Thanks all. georgejean

It has always been my definite sign of spring-----redwing blackbirds. First ones showed up here on March 2nd. That date is about two weeks early from the norm. Write it on my calendar every year. Eagles are more active, too. Saw four at the edge of the ice and they were waiting for their lunch to drift in. Lot more noisy seagulls, too.

I've been adding citrus to my composting pile for years. Add grapefruit and orange peels all winter long. Add them in the summer, too now that I think of it. Never had any trouble harvesting my finished compost in the fall-------everything breaks down------peels and all.

Shelly I agree with Ann. All her suggestions were really good. I'm speaking as a gardener who is fast going to be 70. I'm also looking at making my perennial beds less time consuming. Think of mulch once you get beds weeded. Also, watch your adverbs and adjectives. They can be judgemental sounding without ever meaning to.

Thanks guys. It's nice to know that I'm in such good company.

Yes, all that moisturising will help, but better yet, get to the root cause. The house is too dry. Maybe the problem is that the house is not air tight enough and needs less dry winter air inflitration. That would also save on energy costs. Find the air leaks and plug them. Speaking from experience, this solved most of my dry skin problems.

I feel ever so much better now that there is a snow blanket on my perennial beds. Hopefull that blanket will keep getting deeper. Snow shoes can come out of storage now, too.