Messages

31

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Yuccas are not yucky!

« on: July 06, 2012, 07:22:20 PM »

Ok YEA!

 Found the tags - it is Yucca Filamentosa "Golden Sword".

Yup - I knew it was a yucca.

Here's a picture of a flower stalk on the mother plant back in 2005


And that stalk in bloom

32

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Yuccas are not yucky!

« on: July 06, 2012, 08:24:33 AM »

Sean - that does look the same - nice!

Jerry - couldn't find the tag where I usually keep them, but I will continue to look.

33

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Yuccas are not yucky!

« on: July 05, 2012, 09:12:52 AM »

What a gorgeous view, Jerry!

I do have the tag in the garage - will look for it after I take my daughter shopping for her trip to England which begins in 2 days.

34

Terrestrial Gardening / Yuccas are not yucky!

« on: July 05, 2012, 07:38:03 AM »

These were babies from 1 yucca plant that I divided last summer. Not bad for their second year!

35

DIY Corner / Re: Floating Island Tutorial with pictures

« on: July 05, 2012, 07:30:11 AM »

Ok finally got pictures online.

New island in back corner - hosta from a cousin's yard, and tri-colored ajuga from the waterfall hills surrounding the hosts.





Calibrachoa - million bells

36

Pond Chat / Re: blue koi

« on: July 04, 2012, 08:40:16 PM »

What is considered past her prime? I've only been at this a few years, and the damn heron hasn't let me have any fish for too long.

37

Pond Chat / Re: blue koi

« on: July 04, 2012, 04:35:48 PM »

Those are BEAUTIFUL fish, Tranquility!!!

My fish definitely has the zipper down the back and is smoother looking.  I do know that they are not really blue, but the ones I have chosen definitely LOOK blue - a really pretty medium blue on 2, and a pale blue with darker spots on another.

I tried taking some video of them yesterday, but my desktop computer is acting up so I can't upload them just yet. Hopefully sometime soon.

38

Photo Album / Re: My trip to Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

« on: July 04, 2012, 12:00:23 PM »

WOW - my parents are both from Brooklyn, yet we never went there.  I'd love to see it someday - do you know when the lotus should be in bloom?

39

DIY Corner / Re: Floating Island Tutorial with pictures

« on: July 04, 2012, 11:57:49 AM »

2vetts - the coco liner is not really a container, so it holds up best when inserted inside the rings.  I didn't mind cutting it and "sewing" it with the cargo ties.  This time I cut on 2 opposite sides, which made the bottom of the liner much more balanced. Live 'n learn! 

40

DIY Corner / Re: Floating Island Tutorial with pictures

« on: July 04, 2012, 11:55:55 AM »

We have the smallest Walmart in the company here  - they told me that when they first converted Caldors to Walmart. They did away with their craft department altogether a few years ago , and we only have 1/2 of one side of an aisle now. No florist supplies at all.

I put one of the calibrachoas in the new floater, and then pulled out the origianal plants and put in some hosta that I took from a cousin in Connecticut a few weeks ago, surrounded by some of my tri-colored ajuga. Hopefully the hosta will do ok in the full sun with the roots kept cool and wet. Time will tell. Right now it looks great . Took pictures, but my husband is working on my desktop computer so I can't upload them yet.

41

DIY Corner / Re: Floating Island Tutorial with pictures

« on: July 04, 2012, 08:08:05 AM »

Well the lantana and dwarf zinnias do not like it in the water and are pretty much dead. I am going to replant this one. I just made another one and am going to try one of the 2 calibrachoas I bought 2 days ago. Some places online say it doesn't like wet feet, but others say it cannot dry out completely between watering. It will be an experiment.

By the way, if anyone who is interested in making these has a JoAnn's craft store nearby, all the gardening items there are 70% off - I bought 6 of the coco liners for $1.50 each. They are a bit large for the 12 inch rings - largest size I can find so far, but I cut them in 2 spots and they fit perfectly. I also used coupons again for rings, bringing the total for this island (minus the plants and soil) to $4 since my husband already had a large container of the cable ties.

42

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Plants in my garden...

« on: July 03, 2012, 06:41:22 PM »

I actually have been looking for some Chameleon plant this summer but haven't seen any for sale around here. Actually, that's not entirely true - the large pond store just over the border in NJ had a few but when I picked one to purchase, I saw snails on it and quickly put it back on the shelf.

I might try one of the calibrachoas and see what happens in a few days - I will pot it losely in the coco fiber and hope for the best.

43

Pond Chat / Re: Claw Foot bathtub... water garden or land plants.....

« on: July 03, 2012, 08:05:54 AM »

Beautiful!

44

Pond Chat / Re: blue koi

« on: July 03, 2012, 03:19:04 AM »

Thanks for the great info, Thornygardener!  I'd love to see some pictures of your blue fish - I can't imagine mine getting that large - the heron unfortunately usually takes them before they reach even 10 inches.

I was also thinking that I haven't heard of a blue goldfish, but wanted to hear from those more experienced than I.  It doesn't have any netting, and I'm not sure it has a zipper down the back. If it does, it's not very pronounced. I am going to have to take a good look once I can focus more clearly this morning.  It's still new to the pond and a bit skitterish, and swims away very quickly before I can get a close look or picture.

The shape of the head definitely resembles pictures I've googled of the shusui. Which is different - more sloped - than my other koi.

45

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Plants in my garden...

« on: July 02, 2012, 03:52:09 PM »

I was so excited to find the orange calibrachoa plant today at a new-to-me nursery, after seeing your picture last night, Sean.  I bought 2 6 inch pots - they weren't cheap, but I needed a pick-me-up so I splurged.

I had intended to put them in some floating islands, but I just read that they do not like to be kept wet??? Please tell me this isn't so??? I will pot them up if so, but they'd look great in the pond with all my other orange flowers nearby.

46

Pond Chat / blue koi

« on: July 01, 2012, 02:34:12 PM »

I recently bought a 3-4 inch blue koi from the pond store. I had had one last summer that grew to a really nice size in one season, but of course the heron took it in May.  My question is - do all koi have whiskers (barbells), because I cannot see them on this blue koi. It's such a pretty color - mostly a light blue with some white on the head and a thin yellow stripe on both sides down near the belly.  The face is also more rounded downward than all my other koi that I got from the same store. I didn't notice when I bought it, but only this past week now that it's gotten more comfortable in the pond and surfacing more.  Too fast to get a picture to post though.

Any ideas?

47

DIY Corner / Re: Floating Island Tutorial with pictures

« on: July 01, 2012, 12:36:59 PM »

Thanks! I do have a creeping Jenny, but it's still in its original pot, and when I had it in the sun for a few days it turned pretty brown. I'm not sure it would be able to handle the strong full day sun? I'd love to put it in one if it would work.

I might try some ajuga in another one, as I have lots of that growing on the waterfall hills.

48

Pond Chat / Re: floating islands?

« on: July 01, 2012, 12:06:27 PM »

I made one this morning, mostly following the instructions in the link, and posted my tutorial down in the DIY forums here.

Thanks again greenthumbnails!

49

DIY Corner / Floating Island Tutorial with pictures

« on: July 01, 2012, 12:01:52 PM »

Greenthumbnails was kind enough to post a link to another site in my pond chat post) with directions for making floating islands. It looked easy enough, so I bought the supplies yesterday, and whipped one up this morning lickety split - less than 10 minutes.  I substituted power lock cable ties for the plastic screws, as my husband had a huge container of them, and I thought they'd be easier to use - they were really easy!

Here are the supplies -
1 - green styrofoam floral wreath. I only found these at Michaels - the other stores had flimsier white ones that came apart when I touched them - I figured the fish could swallow parts - not good!  
1 - coco liner - again, only found this at one nursery and 12 inches was the smallest size they had. 
8 - power lock cable ties.
A scissor to cut the mat to fit to size.



The mat was too big for the wreath, so I had to cut a small wedge out of it to fit. This was fine, as the mat split on one side as I was handling it, and it was the perfect place to cut.

The split area



Cut and pieced together


Checking the fit before attaching


Cable ties locked around liner and wreath


Planted and floating in pond 


I didn't have the best plants to put in it, but I had gone to many private nurseries yesterday and they are mostly closing out their plants already for this season. I put a lantana in the center, surronded by marigolds and dwarf zinnias. Hopefully they will fill out soon.

I am planning on making a couple more, and hopefully I will be able to find different plants. The pond is in full all day sun, so that's a bit of a problem for plants.

50

Pond Chat / Re: floating islands?

« on: June 28, 2012, 07:59:19 PM »

I had the same results with my search the other day. Thanks for the great link!

51

Terrestrial Gardening / More cacti blooms

« on: June 27, 2012, 09:24:01 PM »

This time on the cacti in the ground

52

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Cactus Flower, a one day gem!

« on: June 27, 2012, 09:22:26 PM »

Very cool flower!

53

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Multi Blue Clematis

« on: June 27, 2012, 09:21:24 PM »

What a beautiful flower! Blues are my favorite!

54

Pond Chat / floating islands?

« on: June 26, 2012, 04:28:42 PM »

I was doing a search for instructions on how to make floating islands and nothing comes up? I know I have read posts about it in the past, so I'm wondering if there was a clean sweep recently with older posts removed?

55

Pond Chat / Re: A few pictures on a gorgeous day

« on: June 26, 2012, 03:56:42 PM »

I actually found new yellow frisbees today at Kmart down in NJ, so I bought 2 - one to replace the ugly worn one, and another to hold onto for next year. I will definitely look at the floating island directions again soon - now that I have time this year to do things like that again.

56

Pond Chat / Re: Where Do You Buy Your Pond Tabs?

« on: June 26, 2012, 10:01:53 AM »

I buy Jobes tomato spikes at Christmas Tree Shops. Don't let the name fool you - it's a year round store with lots of gardening items as well as a variety of other things.

My lilies have been blooming non-stop so far, and that's all I use. I put 4-5 spikes in each pot a few times during the summer. I think the cost for 18 in a package is around $1.60 there.

57

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Sunshine on a cloudy day!

« on: June 26, 2012, 09:18:35 AM »

Beautiful! Most succulent plants don't like me. Your blooms are lovely. I had no idea cacti flowers were so nice. 

These thrive on neglect really. All I do is clean them up late spring, pot up a few pieces here and there, and the rest is up to them.

58

Pond Chat / Re: A few pictures on a gorgeous day

« on: June 25, 2012, 06:38:14 PM »

I'm east new York near Howard beach and ozone park queens.

What is that pizza pie looking thing in your pond?

It's my attempt at providing both shade and a hiding spot for the fish. It's actually a large nylon frisbee that has Dora the Explorer on the other side. It's discolored quite a bit, but I can't seem to find a replacement that size or larger this year.

59

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Sunshine on a cloudy day!

« on: June 25, 2012, 04:24:56 PM »

They do get totally covered by snow - as a matter of fact, they are in a garden that gets covered by all the snow that is plowed down our driveway - sometimes that can be 5 ft. high depending on the severity of our winter.   When the snow melts, there are a few black/dead pieces, but I cut those off, and the rest perk right up just as soon as it warms up. I have a large area that is in bloom now, but it doesn't like pictures apparently - none that I've taken show the true colors well.

By the way, we lived in Reno for 7 years, and that is what got me so interested in cacti/succulent plants. Tahoe is such a wonderful place to live, it was only about 20 minutes from us - so jealous of you!

60

Pond Chat / Re: A few pictures on a gorgeous day

« on: June 25, 2012, 04:16:50 PM »

Wonderful pictures and beautiful pond. Nice to see in my neck of the woods. 

I was actually born in Brookly, but I wouldn't exactly say this was in your neck of the woods, unless your neck is pretty long to reach out to Rockland!  LOL - I get what you're saying though, about being in NY and not on the West coast or Florida, etc. 

You wouldn't happen to live in Bensonhurst, would you? Both my parents are from there, as were their entire families until my parents moved to Westchester.