Gardeners come hither....

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Winter be well over down here. No grapes or apples this year, never got cold enough. Corn, onions, an maters is up. Tryin' ta figger out if ornamental sweet potato vines is edible (the tuber, not the vine).The wildlife is out early too-

[Gwen aka Punstergal]

My gardening is limited here (it not being my house and all), but I still have my potted plants and am tending a few random flowers in the yard (soon to be more, hopefully, the in-laws are planning some landscaping). I've been taking pictures of flowers all around the neighborhood for my stock photo account, though, since I like looking at more flowers than what I personally have available. If you feel like checking them all out, the site is fully-stocked.deviantart.com (go to the "gallery" tab to see all the photo groups)... all the photos are mine, and I upload more as often as I get a chance to.

Here are a few from the site which ARE from our own yard (although not from this month):

[Trillium]

We have lots of red amaryllis blooming in our front yard.  We bought our house at the end of August so have no idea what's around the yard.  The amaryllis were a wonderful surprise!!!

[TiaLD77]

the Purple, Gold & Cream Crocusus are up & looking lovely.
Sunday it was a balmy 50 in the sun so I went round & pulled out/broke off all the old stems from the annuals I put in last year. raked off leaves, pulled dead grass. Then I mulched all the Perennials.

I need to get more perennials, or find some reliable re seeders in the annuals...

[Tipsy Gypsy]

Trillium, do they look like this? http://www.olivebarn.com/southern-bulb-hardy-amaryllis.html

If so, are you ever in luck, they'r nearly indestructible!

[Blushing]

Tryin' ta figger out if ornamental sweet potato vines is edible (the tuber, not the vine).

If your county has an extension office or a Master Gardener program, they should be able totell you quiet easily if you show them a cutting.  =)

I was all ready to get my garden together, planting seeds and everything, but we have snow in the forecast for the next three days - yep, it's spring in the Rockies!

[Trillium]

Trillium, do they look like this? http://www.olivebarn.com/southern-bulb-hardy-amaryllis.html

If so, are you ever in luck, they'r nearly indestructible!

Pretty close to it!  It's a good thing they are hardy, 'cause I'm not the greatest gardener!  Who knows how long they had been in the overgrown flowerbed without any care.  They seem to have multiplied on their own.  That flowerbed got trampled by all the kids staying with us after Ike, so I keep finding new leaves popping up and I'm perfectly happy leaving them there!

[Tipsy Gypsy]

They seem to have multiplied on their own. 

Bulb plants will. Every few years, when they start to form big clumps of plants, you can dig them up, separate them, and poke 'em back in the dirt. Give them a good watering afterward, and you're good for a while. Post a pic for us! If they're like mine, they're a.k.a. St. Joseph's Lily, because they bloom around St. Joseph's Day. They're hard to find from plant suppliers for some reason; easier to find them planted around older homes.

[Trillium]

I figured at some point I'll split them and move them around in the bed, but not likely this year...  The house is over 50 years old and was only owned by one family.   I'm sure the wife planted them long ago. 

There are some rose bushes in the flower bed (no clue what type yet) and I also planted some yellow lilies that my sister gave me, we'll see how they do.  I love the idea of flowers popping up that I don't have to do much with!  Low maintenance is a good thing for me!

[Lady Neysa]

I have a large patch of spearmint that's just starting to come up, and I'd like to figure out some creative uses for it.  I use it for making herbal tea, iced tea, and in some recipes, but I'd like to figure out some other uses.  I'd be particularly interested in making homemade bath oils or salts, infusing it in unscented lotion-stuff like that.  Got any other ideas, or "recipes" for making these things?  Every year I hate seeing such a fragrant, pretty patch of mint go to waste. 

[Gwen aka Punstergal]

A patch of mint!! I got two words: MOJITO PARTY!!!

Ok, so I like my rum, what can I say

On the up-and-up though.. there's all sorts of things you can do with fresh mint (although I'd shy away from trying to make your own toothpaste unless you're REALLY talented- I did, and it was HORRID). My favorite is too freeze leaves of it in icecube trays so that it melts into tea & lemonade (which is yummy with a hint of mint).

Another neat trick is to stuff a bottle with mint and then pour a clean oil (like canola or safflower) over it. Seal it tight (so the oil doesn't spoil) and let the mint infuse the oil, and then you can use it like an essential oil in homeade potpourri, or (my favorite) pour a bit on some cotton balls and chuck them in the canister of the vacuum cleaner (works with any scented oil, btw.. I also like lavender). BTW- you can do the oil trick with all sorts of things.. the absolute best one is garlic oil, which we go through here by the pint!

On a side note, you gotta watch that mint... that stuff can spread like crazy! I had a window box herb garden that collapsed when I was 14, and some of the herbs actually sprouted up in the ground below (where I, as a lazy teenager, left the broken mess for a while). By the time I graduated high school, my parents had an ACRE of mint!

[Lady Neysa]

Now why didn't I think of Mojitos?  Silly me!  It'll be up and growing nice by Kentucky Derby time- mint juleps!  Those are some pretty good ideas, especially about the vacuum cleaner.  Yeah, I know the mint will take over if you're not careful.  I sometimes have to resort to mowing part of it down to keep in contained.  Oh, but what a wonderful smell after the mowing! 

[Lady L]

I am really looking forward to spring. We still have snow cover on half of the backyard. However, husband raked the front yard and there are tulips coming up!

[Tipsy Gypsy]

I do love spring! From this year's photos, "How does my garden grow?"



More here. Most are veggies; we're getting more into edible gardening and less into the purely ornamental:

http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff24/Tipsy_Gypsy66/how%20does%20my%20garden%20grow/

[groomporter]

Grrr. Looks like the arsenic abatement won't get to me until next year, no food crops until next year.