Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Last Autumn, I dug up about six rose bushes from the hillside out front and transplanted them to a more reasonable area down in the front yard. I am now mowing the hillside and having those rose bushes with their sharp thorns is really a thorn in my side (haha). I get snagged all the time and I don’t enjoy it much.
Initially, I didn’t know if they were going to take, meaning survive. Well, this Spring I noticed a bunch of new growth on some of the branches, but mainly from towards the bottom of the bush. I pruned out all the dead branches and the rose bushes are beginning to look pretty good. This is surprising because I wouldn’t say I did a great job of transplanting these things. I almost just ripped them out of the ground and plopped them in a dug out hole.
If you have not had the pleasure of seeing what the roots of a rose bush look like, let me tell you that they are pretty substantial. Rose bushes grow quite a bit under the ground and I have seen roots longer than six feet. I am not saying that I have seen this in a previous life, I’m saying that I saw this yesterday. Right at the base of the bush, if it is a few years old, you’ll find a gnarly root with a bunch of finer ones all tangled up.
If I had it to do over (which I actually did today), I would first cut the rose bush down to about a foot tall and then transplant it. This way, the plant is easier to work with and I won’t get my hopes smashed as I watch all the nice green growth wilt away.
As I said above, I transplanted six more Rose bushes over the past few days and I did it just the way I said I would, by cutting it down first and then transplanting it. Rose bushes are good at growing very, very fast under the right conditions.
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Garden with three transplanted Rose bushes
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Closer look at Rose bush transplants
Before I started writing this post, I did a little online research on “How to transplant a Rose bush.” You would be surprised at what I found. On one website, there was about two pages of instructions. They wrote all about the classic, “dig the whole twice as wide…compost…fertilizer” blah blah blah. I read this type of stuff all over the place and really don’t know who writes it. I get the feeling that the faster and dirtier the transplant job, the better things grow. I’m talkin’ pickup truck and chain style. The minute you stop and spend all sorts of time and money transplanting bushes and shrubs, they die.
Here is my advice when transplanting a Rose bush from my own experience:
1. Cut the bush down to 12 inches
2. Dig around the bush to remove as much soil as you can
3. Push the shovel under the Rose bush as much as you can and rock it back and forth to loosen up the plant
4. When it’s nice and loose, grab the roots and pull until you rip it out
To transplant:
1. Dig a hole
2. Plop the bush in the whole and cover with dirt
3. Water a few times a day for about a week
One word of warning for when you are trying to get the Rose bush out of its originating spot – You are going to sweat, get dirty and if anyone is driving by, laughed at.
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Saturday, April 18th, 2009
A few days ago, I walked outside and dug up a few “bunches” of Daffodils. They were regular Daffodils, but in bunches or clusters, meaning they consisted of about 10 or 15 individual bulbs.
I am not sure if gardeners know this or not, but Daffodils are easily divided. Each bunch is just a whole lot of bulbs stuck together by their roots. Everything is all tangled up. From the few bunches of Daffodils I dug up, I planted a whole line of bulbs all along an entire mulch bed. Sure, it doesn’t look like much right now, but come next spring, I think we’ll be getting somewhere.
There are only a few things you need to know about dividing Daffodils. The first thing is that you want to dig up the whole plant, without damaging the bulbs beneath the dirt. When dividing other types of plants, such as ornamental grasses, you slide your shovel right down the center of the plant. With a bulb plant like Daffodils, you don’t want to do that or you’ll damage the bulbs. Dig the whole thing up.
When you have the whole messy cluster of bulbs in your hand, shake out any excess dirt. That will make it much easier to get the bulbs apart from one another. I like to hold on to one bulb and kind of shake that one until the rest drop from that. At least you will have one free. Keep doing that and they will all eventually separate. If you dunk them in water, that helps to loosen them too.
When you have all the bulbs separated, you can plant each one where ever you want. I did this a little late this year. The best time to replant Daffodils is when you just see them starting to push through the dirt. You might not get that much out of them the first year, but they should come back in later years and continue getting fuller and fuller as they years go on.
I read yesterday that if you don’t divide your Daffodils every so often, they will stop blooming. I can see how that would happen because with all of those bulbs stuck together like that, it would be hard to get any nutrients to them after a while. Also, after the blooms die, you need to keep the green plant in tact for a few weeks to absorb the sun. I read that the sun kind of re-energizes the bulb for the next year.
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Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Wednesday has become quite the holiday around these here parts. We have a little system going on.
First, I wake up and get some work done. Then, I have a tennis lesson in the afternoon, just to get my head together. After that, I get some more work done and at around 7:30PM, I run out to get Chinese food from the local Chinese takeout place. Finally, we watch “Lost” from 8PM to 10PM. Of course, we always end the night just as frustrated as everyone else who watches that show. We want answers and only get them in drips and draps.
Last week, we tried a new Chinese place out. We received their menu in the mail and decided that it was worth a trip over to the neighboring town. Our usual items were about a dollar less (each) over at this new place. To make a long story short, I think we’ll stay with our local place. The new place’s food wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as good as we have become accustomed to. Oh well. It’s nice to know that we have a backup for when I boycott our usual place. I have a long history of boycotting restaurants that tick me off.
I have been working like a dog for the past few days. Everything always seems to come all at once. Good thing I am a fantastic multi-tasker. See, there’s one good thing I got out of college…the ability to manage a boatload of things simultaneously. When I feel like I am getting stressed, I breath and walk away. That’s what I am talking about when I say I play tennis to clear my head. It helps.
I was talking to my father the other night when I heard my mother yell in the background, “Send down pictures of the snow.” Yes mother. Here are your pictures of the snow.
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Getting some natural solar heat through the front door
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Simon and Flipperhuman Bodyman taking some time out to sun
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Looking at the unshoveled sidewalk. It’s shoveled now
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The unshoveled front steps
When it snows in March, you can count on it not sticking around for very long. That’s the kind of snow I like. I just shoveled the front walk and steps and found out that this snow is really sticky and heavy. Saturday is supposed to be around 60 degrees, so I have a feeling this white stuff is going to be gone soon. It’s actually really nice out right now. It’s only around 30 and I almost sweat while I was out there.
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
It’s snowing again.
I woke up this morning with a great idea. Since this snow is cold and fluffy, what’s stopping me from using my handy dandy backpack leaf blower to clear off the front walk and steps? Absolutely nothing, that’s what.
I decided to go outside and give it a try. I pulled the backpack blower off the wall and rested it on the ground. Then, I went outside and took some “before” pictures.
Snow covered front walkway
At the time of these photos, I would estimate there being about 3 inches of snow on the ground.
I started up the backpack blower and put it on my back. I only hung it on one shoulder because I really didn’t want to commit to the entire project. I had no idea how it was going to turn out.
I started blowing off the sidewalk and the bushes. About halfway down the walkway, I was totally snow covered. I plowed on and finished up what I was going. Here, take a look at these “after” shots.
Cleared walkway
I guess the reason I am writing this is to warn you not to use your backpack leaf blower to clear off your walkway. You will get snow covered and cold. I will say that it does a tremendous job at cleaning the snow off the bushes, which would otherwise suffer damage without being cleaned. Also, I may give the blower a shot at the back deck and stairs. Those are always a real pain in the butt to do with a shovel.
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Saturday, December 20th, 2008
I guess it really isn’t the morning after the snow, because it’s still snowing. I think it’s supposed to stop today, but I heard last night that we can expect 4-6 more inches tomorrow. Holly, the Norwegian Elkhound (snow dog), just loves it.
Norwegian Elkhound
The minute she feels snow under the pads of her feet, she rolls around like crazy, giving those weird snorts that dogs give.
Typically, I would be a little upset at the whole situation. I was hoping to avoid any snow at all this year. But truthfully, I am having a blast. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have to scrape anything off the cars and try to shovel around them. That was always a miserable task. Also, I don’t have to shovel the end of the driveway. I used to really hate that part of the ordeal.
Remember when I was telling you about how I thought we could shovel the entire driveway instead of buying a snowblower? Yeah, I must have been on crack. There is no way in the world I would have been physically able to shovel this driveway. No way at all. Even if I had a team of my best friends on the job, half of them would have quit.
By this point, I don’t have to tell you that the snowblower is da bomb. I was so proud of it this morning, I asked Laura to come outside and take some action shots of me. She took a whole bunch, but these are my more fashionable.
Jay, pulling the snowblower out of the garage.
Clearing the first area of snow with the snowblower.
Sure beats a shovel.
Snowblower eating the snow for breakfast.
One happy boy.
I did learn a few things while clearing the driveway this morning. First, blow the snow in the same direction as the wind. I nearly froze half my face by going against the wind once. Second, self propelled snowblowers are awesome. I loved watching those snow tires grab that pavement. No slip, no slide, no nothing.
That’s all I learned.
Go enjoy the snow. I’m outty.
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008
I really didn’t want to make the call this morning, but the predicted snow for tomorrow is steadily creeping up on me.
If you remember back a few months, I told you that I had only one more thing to buy…a snowblower. I planned for it and expected to get it in October. Then, I started thinking about how I might be able to get away with using a shovel on the very long driveway. Laura and I even talked about it; she would use one shovel and I would use the other. This, of course, was a conversation that was had when it was 60 degrees outside.
The day before the snow storm (today), the conversation changed. It went something like this:
ME: I bought a snowblower.
HER: Oh really?
That was about it.
Why did I get it? I’ll tell you why. It’s because of that dreaded end of the driveway snow. Last night while lying in bed, I had terrible flashbacks of that deep pile of snow the road plows leave at the end of the driveway. That snow is the absolute worst to shovel. There is no way I want to go through that again. I did it all last year and it really stunk.
One time, at the old house, my neighbor graciously came over and used his snowblower on the end part of our driveway. Man, that thing kicked some serious a$$. I stood there like a fool watching him. That proved there was a better way to get rid of the snow than using that green plastic shovel I was clutching in my hand.
So what did I do? This morning, I got on the horn and called my good friend Matt down at D.H. Marvin & Son, Inc. in Colchester. This is the equipment dealer I bought the John Deere tractor from. I told him that I wasn’t pleased to be speaking to him, because I was about to give him my debit card numbers again. He gave me a chuckle.
About 2 hours later, Matt showed up in the driveway with this…
Ariens snow thrower
Ariens snow thrower
Ariens snow thrower
Home Depot sells the same model, for the same price. I don’t know why I would buy it from Home Depot if I could get the additional support from a local dealer at no extra cost.
This is a nice snowblower. It is 24 inches wide and even has electric start. I am going to use the pull start, but if I needed the electric, it’s there.
I started it up and drove it around a little bit. It’s fairly simple to use. I am now hoping that it snows tomorrow, because if it doesn’t, I am going to be kind of mad that I just spent all this money on another garage ornament.
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Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
I made a vow a few years back. I vowed that I would never buy trees from Arbor Day again. Obviously, I didn’t have much luck with my first batch.
I think the problem with the last batch of trees was that I put them in planters over the Winter. They didn’t do well in them. The planters froze like big ice cubes and only one or two of the trees survived. Since then, I told myself that I was just going to buy the more established trees.
Well, as usual, I softened my stance on the subject. I thought about it a few days ago and decided to give another round a try. This time, I would plant the trees directly in their permanent homes right from the start. Since they ship the trees in the early part of November, the soil is still soft enough to get a shovel into.
Baby Blue Spruce
I became a member (again) at ArborDay.org. With membership, I got 10 free Blue Spruce trees. I then ordered 10 Norway Spruces. Yesterday, I received the Blue Spruces in the mail. I was pleasantly surprised at the health of them and immediately planted them along the edge of the lawn and the woods. Since the trees are less than a foot tall, I also put bamboo stakes next to each tree, so I don’t run them over with the mower.
I have yet to receive the Norway Spruces, but since I liked what I saw with the first batch, I decided to order 10 more Norway Spruces. That will be 20 in all. I am going to spread them in between the Blue Spruces towards the front and side of the property. In about 10 years, we should start to see some growth.
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Monday, September 22nd, 2008
First of all, let me just tell you how much I hate the word “obsolete.” I hate it almost as much as I hate the words “green” and “organic.” Gee, how much can we overuse these words? I didn’t use one of my lights today, therefore I am running a “green” company. Hmmm.
Basically, everything is obsolete these days. I mean, is my car obsolete just because there is something better out there? Is my telephone obsolete just because there is a new model? Ok, I’m sorry. I don’t want this blog post to sound like a rant, even though I can rant with the best of ‘em.
I was in the pellet stove place the other day waiting to talk to someone about when my pellets can be delivered. Remember, they aren’t answering their phones? By the way, the delivery was scheduled for today, but no one showed up. Basically, the day was spent working and looking out the window. I might stop by to visit them again tomorrow to see what they have to say about this.
Anyway, while I was there pretending to look at some stoves, I noticed a sales guy walking by. He asked if he could help me when I said yes. I asked him what the little door in the floor of the fireplace is and what it is used for. He replied, “Well fireplaces are basically obsolete…everyone is getting inserts.” I felt like saying, “Look you little pissant, I didn’t ask you whether or not fireplaces are obsolete. I asked what the little door was.” But, me being me, I didn’t way that. I just kept my charming smile and got an answer after he tried to sell me an insert.
Just in case you wanted to know what the little door in the floor of a fireplace is, it’s a clean out. Instead of shoveling the ashes out of the fireplace, you can just open the door and push them down into the hole. Then, you can go downstairs and shovel the ashes out down there.
I think the word obsolete is obsolete. So there.
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Thursday, August 21st, 2008
I am not sure how I get myself into these messes.
I had a second to spare this afternoon, so I decided to put a shovel in my hand. Then, I went outside and started looking around. I had planned on doing all the mulch beds in the Spring, so what the heck was I doing when I started digging up the grass?
Oh well, since it was already started…I decided to drag the shovel along the ground in a nice curvy line. I had a vision of how I wanted these particular mulch beds to look. By the way, here’s a tip for you; when making a mulch bed, make it three times larger than you originally planned. There is nothing worse than a small mulch bed. Trust me, when it’s done, you’ll think a professional landscaper did it. The two beds I made here already, I have to go back and make them bigger.
Before I started digging the mulch bed
Starting to dig the mulch bed
Finished digging the mulch bed
Second finished mulch bed photo
Another dug mulch bed
If you can see what I did, you will notice that I just dug a sharp trench, about eight inches deep, along the line where I want to see the mulch. Anything to the right of that line is going to be covered with mulch. Realistically, you just need somewhere for the mulch to butt up against. I don’t worry about the chunks of grass and the existing grass. That won’t grow through, if you put enough mulch down. I did this back at the old house and only saw small areas of grass peek through. I killed that with weed killer.
Now that the front is done, I have to do the other side, along with some more flower transplants. Once that is done, I am going to order my ten yards of mulch and go to town.
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Do you remember back when I transplanted those shrubs from the front yard to the side of the driveway? Well, everything is going well, except for the fact that the soil I planted everything in is extremely fertile for weeds. I had a little forest growing within a few weeks.
I finally got my butt out there about a week ago and weeded the whole garden. Weeds will only stay down for a short time unless you do something about them. Also, in the garden, I noticed some small plum shrubs getting very dry leaves. That was caused by the very dry soil.
The problem is that every time I tried to water the shrubs when the ground was dry, the water would run right off the dirt. It was very frustrating. This stopped the shrub roots from receiving the much needed water. Also, the soil that the water did soak into dried very quickly from the hot sun.
There really was only one thing to do…mulch. Yesterday, I went out and bought about a yard of mulch just for this occasion. This morning, I did what I had to do.
First, let me explain the benefits of mulching a flower bed.
- Mulch keeps down weeds – prevents germination of many weed seeds
- Mulch keeps the soil moist in between rainy periods and hidden from the hot sun
- Mulch looks really good and accents your garden areas
- Mulch breaks down to add organics to your soil
- Mulch moderates the soil temperature
- Mulch protects the soil from the impact of raindrops that cause hardening
- Mulch encourages the growth of earth worms and other beneficial organisms
- Mulch keeps your plants clean by inhibiting soil splatter when it rains
- Mulch helps the rain water soak into the ground slowly so it doesn’t run off
With all these benefits of mulching, I was very eager to get started. Here are some photos of the process…
Garden before shot - no mulch
This is the before shot of the area I mulched. As you can see, I started digging the beginning of it when I remembered the I had to get the camera. Sometimes I am so excited to get going that I forget one of the reasons I am doing it…PICTURES!!!
Garden dug out and ready for mulch
With a pointed shovel, I edged the entire garden area. I put the shovel about half way into the soil and then just slid it under the grass to peel it up like a carpet. I then put the grass and extra soil into the wheelbarrow to dump on a rocky area that needs soil and grass. I am hoping if I spread it out, it will grow.
I dug the area to be mulched so it’s about four inches below the dirt the grass is growing in. That makes edging later on a heck of a lot easier.
Bags of mulch ready for use
I spread the bags of mulch out where I thought I would need them. When I got to each bag, I ran a knife up the side of each one. This made it a lot easier to pour where I needed the mulch. For this project, I used 27 cubic feet of mulch. I was about 15 cubic feet short.
The mulched garden area
This is the mulched garden area. As I mentioned above, I was about a half yard short of mulch. I like to put it about three inches thick. I had to spread it thin because there just wasn’t enough. I think I am going to wait until Spring to finish. It is a lot easier when all the plants aren’t in the way.
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