What's your garden like at this time of year?

Must've been some low-lying (flying) cloud
The water just sits there with nowhere to go
with blades of grass peeping here and there and, for up to several days

Hello peoples, I just have to ask, why the long gap on the thread, all of 2013 and the first half of 2014?
I tried to get 'gardens' going in the hobbies area but no go. Surprises me how thin on the ground we 'planty ' people are.
I'm in mid west France and its been a non winter. The mildest since we came more than 20yrs ago. The day temperatures have stuck between 8 to 15°c the whole time. The main daffs are 2 weeks early, in flower now.
Anyone have mole problems? Not sure what the equivalent would be the Americas, Australasia? Gophers?
May your muck be marvelous and your Morning Glories glorious;
><>

Welcome aboard afishamongmany
Bluebells should strike some colour very-shortly
all roses, now have fresh leaves budding
and even the honeysuckle stems, now have green buds all-over them

Not, that I can take any credit, for that
I do little-enough as it is, out there
Just two or three 'dry days' would enable a start


( Ecclesiastes 3:1-17 )

We had a warm spell in January and my Hyacinths started coming up. Now we've had a blizzard two weeks ago and the snow is almost all gone and today it was up to 58 degrees and now they will probably start growing again, then it will freeze and thy will die.

Otherwise it's only growing sprouts indoors right now for me and I have a few beet tops in a dish.

more rain, more mud and, it isn't very warm presently

afishamongmany said:

Hello peoples, I just have to ask, why the long gap on the thread, all of 2013 and the first half of 2014?
I tried to get 'gardens' going in the hobbies area but no go. Surprises me how thin on the ground we 'planty ' people are.
I'm in mid west France and its been a non winter. The mildest since we came more than 20yrs ago. The day temperatures have stuck between 8 to 15°c the whole time. The main daffs are 2 weeks early, in flower now.
Anyone have mole problems? Not sure what the equivalent would be the Americas, Australasia? Gophers?
May your muck be marvelous and your Morning Glories glorious;
><>

Click to expand...

no moles here. we are kinda surrounded by blacktop on one side, and a lake with an asphalt track around it on the other side.
what green space we have is regularly mowed by the monster mowers.
i imagine that helps to upset the moles and keep them away.
now out on the farms they do have moles---and field mice.

Hello pdudgeon,
mmm researching 'american moles' is a bit of a mole field but seems you've got six different kinds over there. At least one of which looks identical to the one over here. You've got a 'star-nose mole', have you ever seen one?, really wierd.
Anyway count yourself blessed to be in a mole free zone they're a pesky nuisance.
Go well
><>

• Subfamily Scalopinae: New World moles
  • Tribe Condylurini Star-nosed mole (North America)
    • Genus Condylura: Star-nosed mole (sole species)
  • Tribe Scalopini New World moles
    • Genus Parascalops: Hairy-tailed mole (northeastern North America)
    • Genus Scalopus: Eastern mole (North America)
    • Genus Scapanulus: Gansu mole (China)
    • Genus Scapanus: Western North American moles (four species)
• Subfamily Talpinae Old World moles, desmans (not shown), and shrew moles
  • Tribe Talpini: Old World moles
    • Genus Euroscaptor: Six Asian species
    • Genus Mogera Nine species from Japan, Korea, and Eastern China
    • Genus Parascaptor: White-tailed mole, southern Asia
    • Genus Scaptochirus: Short-faced mole, China
    • Genus Talpa Nine species, Europe and western Asia

davedajobauk said:

Welcome aboard afishamongmany
Bluebells should strike some colour very-shortly
all roses, now have fresh leaves budding
and even the honeysuckle stems, now have green buds all-over them

Not, that I can take any credit, for that
I do little-enough as it is, out there
Just two or three 'dry days' would enable a start


( Ecclesiastes 3:1-17 )

Click to expand...

Hello Dave - Sounds like you should be thinking about growing rice and water lilies. We're also having a damp spell at the moment. A Camelia bush in a nearby garden is in full flower but looked a mess with half the flowers gone brown with the wet.
All the best
><>
PS interesting that your bluebells are ahead of our. We have leaves but no sign of flower spikes.

Lulav said:

We had a warm spell in January and my Hyacinths started coming up. Now we've had a blizzard two weeks ago and the snow is almost all gone and today it was up to 58 degrees and now they will probably start growing again, then it will freeze and thy will die.

Otherwise it's only growing sprouts indoors right now for me and I have a few beet tops in a dish.

Click to expand...

Hi there Lulav,
At least moles won't be a problem.
><>

afishamongmany said:

Hello pdudgeon,
mmm researching 'american moles' is a bit of a mole field but seems you've got six different kinds over there. At least one of which looks identical to the one over here. You've got a 'star-nose mole', have you ever seen one?, really wierd.
Anyway count yourself blessed to be in a mole free zone they're a pesky nuisance.
Go well
><>

• Subfamily Scalopinae: New World moles
  • Tribe Condylurini Star-nosed mole (North America)
    • Genus Condylura: Star-nosed mole (sole species)
  • Tribe Scalopini New World moles
    • Genus Parascalops: Hairy-tailed mole (northeastern North America)
    • Genus Scalopus: Eastern mole (North America)
    • Genus Scapanulus: Gansu mole (China)
    • Genus Scapanus: Western North American moles (four species)
• Subfamily Talpinae Old World moles, desmans (not shown), and shrew moles
  • Tribe Talpini: Old World moles
    • Genus Euroscaptor: Six Asian species
    • Genus Mogera Nine species from Japan, Korea, and Eastern China
    • Genus Parascaptor: White-tailed mole, southern Asia
    • Genus Scaptochirus: Short-faced mole, China
    • Genus Talpa Nine species, Europe and western Asia

Click to expand...

yep, we've got the Eastern mole in our area. never seen a star-nosed mole.
one thing that helps to keep them away is to put moth balls down their holes.
I'd rather do that than to try and flush them out with water or carbon monoxide, or traps.

afishamongmany said:

Hi there Lulav,
At least moles won't be a problem.
><>

Click to expand...

Not where I live now, I think the soil isn't amenable to them, but where I used to live we had them all over our yard till we got our Dalmatians. The male wasn't too interested but my female could actually hear them underground and she would dig them up.

I can't seem to raise a garden no matter where I live, at least not for me. Animals are attracted to me and are under the false impression that I plant gardens just for them. Even raised gardens I've made (two feet high) didn't deter them all. I have been the 'green grocer' to deer, squirrels, raccoon's, rabbits, wild turkeys and more. So basically I only try and raise some tomatoes and herbs and get my organic produce from a farmers market or farm.

some great entertainment today. two male robbins dropped by to carefully survey the place.
my cat Elijah was lying on his window seat quietly watching them.
last year they made a nest in the eaves of the apartment next door, so i'm wondering if they will nest
there again this year.
I'll have to watch and see.

pdudgeon said:

moth balls

Click to expand...

Lulav said:

Dalmatians.

Click to expand...

I've tried other supposed solutions but never moth-balls or Dalmatians. Our 'lap dog' sometimes digs into mole-hills but no I don't think so. A neighbor, over several days, once got 37 of the critters with a shotgun. He just sat by the fresh heaps until he saw them moving then ...!! Now that's what I call dedication.
@Lulav - deer, rabbits and turkeys sound like free organic produce to me. We have deer and wild boar around here but never in the garden. I don't do veg or salad any more so the squirrels and occasional rabbit don't bother. But moles! Mmmm I wonder which costs more a Dalmatian or a shotgun?
Go well
><>

pdudgeon said:

some great entertainment today. two male robbins dropped by to carefully survey the place.
my cat Elijah was lying on his window seat quietly watching them.
last year they made a nest in the eaves of the apartment next door, so i'm wondering if they will nest
there again this year.
I'll have to watch and see.

Click to expand...

I love the robins, they like to stop by my garden because I have what every critter like, a source of water. We have two, one is a whiskey barrel that has a fountain pump in it. Makes a lovely splashing sound which I enjoy and which is also a love song to birds and animals alike. We also have a a standard birdbath which I had hubby fix up. We used a kiddie pool, one of those hard plastic jobs that I had leftover from a failed garden experiment, (gardening in kiddie pools mine weren't the right size but I did grow a few things we got to eat). Put the birdbath fountain in the pool and the water now come out the top and flows over the rim and down into the pool below. Makes a more gentle water flowing sounds but is heard by the birds and squirrels.

The Robins when they come back up from the South always come here. I've discovered they are just about the cleanest birds I've ever seen. I've got the birdbath fountain sitting on a concrete pad which is surrounded by my Herb containers and a metal tent/gazebo frame surrounds all. When the Robins come, you know it. They sit on top of the frame or in the trees, on the pots or in the lawn all waiting their turn. And it is mostly to bath, not drink! I've watched some who like to 'double dip'. They will go in once, splash around a good while and then go up in one of the branches overhanging the area (we have old large trees) and there they will preen, picking through their wings and feathers. If they find they didn't do a good job, back they go, sometimes knocking out another Robin taking their bath!

They always stop by on their migration south too. In fact because the weather's been so strange of late I had a flock of them back in December stop by, drinking and washing. They even had some late fledglings with them. Many have been born here as I have some large evergreen bushes around the house and I see mama's coming and going each spring/summer (Robins have three broods each year).

Now I'm pining for Spring! as I watch the drips off my porch from the misty rain, and just beyond see the remains of the snow piles from the plow from the Blizzard we had a few weeks back.

Spring is my favorite time of year!

Thanks Pam for that lovely reminder that Spring is on its way!

afishamongmany said:

I've tried other supposed solutions but never moth-balls or Dalmatians. Our 'lap dog' sometimes digs into mole-hills but no I don't think so. A neighbor, over several days, once got 37 of the critters with a shotgun. He just sat by the fresh heaps until he saw them moving then ...!! Now that's what I call dedication.
@Lulav - deer, rabbits and turkeys sound like free organic produce to me. We have deer and wild boar around here but never in the garden. I don't do veg or salad any more so the squirrels and occasional rabbit don't bother. But moles! Mmmm I wonder which costs more a Dalmatian or a shotgun?
Go well
><>

Click to expand...

If I had my choice I would choose a Dalmatian. They make wonderful pets if you have the time and temperament and space for them. They are very entertaining, especially if you have a pair. My husband and I still reminisce about them and all the cute things they did.

daffodil update: first flower opened today, should all be open by the weekend.
bringing high prices for a bunch this year.....
3 stems for $10.00 at the grocery store.

Wow!

I like tulips better, don't have any planted though, but I love having them in the house, they are the most alive flower! Have you ever noticed how they move constantly? Towards window, straight up, bending down gracefully, they are so lively!

(I saw a Robin yesterday , flew by my bay window right before we had a big storm come in dumping inches of rain, 65mph winds, sounded like a freight train going through!
We were also under a Tornado watch as well. Maybe the Robins got blown in ahead of the storm! They sure like the ground after it's been soaked and all kinds of buggies are available for the pickin! )

I'm anxious for the weather to warm up and stay that way so I can get my garden planted. I'm looking forward to fresh, organic vegetables. I saw a robin a few days ago, so I know Spring is nearly here.

Lulav said:

Wow!

I like tulips better, don't have any planted though, but I love having them in the house, they are the most alive flower! Have you ever noticed how they move constantly? Towards window, straight up, bending down gracefully, they are so lively!

(I saw a Robin yesterday , flew by my bay window right before we had a big storm come in dumping inches of rain, 65mph winds, sounded like a freight train going through!
We were also under a Tornado watch as well. Maybe the Robins got blown in ahead of the storm! They sure like the ground after it's been soaked and all kinds of buggies are available for the pickin! )

Click to expand...

if it sounded like a freight train and brought rain and fierce wind, that was probably what they call a rain-wrapped tornado; a tornado enclosed in a shield of rain.
poor robin! glad that you are safe.