Here’s the same lily, earlier on. This lily became a darker pink as it aged.
This. Pinching back the flowers encourages the plant to send up new shoots so it gets a lot bushier.
That’s a gorgeous lily, Cat Whisperer. I’m currently working on getting more irises in my repertoire; I think lilies might be next. Also, roses.
I’ve taken a bunch of pictures in the meantime… Now just need to get them uploaded…
I have to look into this for our new cotoneaster hedge - I think we have to trim them to make them bush out.
It really was a gorgeous lily - I wanted to take it (and all the rest of my flowers) with me when we moved.
In other news - my casablanca lilies are coming up! (I peeked - they’re not out of the mulch yet, but they’re growing!).
That is a beautiful flower! The other pictures - er, not so much…:eek:
It’s been colder than normal for 3 weeks out of the last month and now we’re going to get more snow.
I wanted to post some yesterday but Flickr no longer recognizes my account. I’ll try and work that out when time permits.
Thanks all for the coleus info.
It’ll probably hit 90 here today. Can’t even imaging still having snow on the ground. Your patience exceeds mine by some double digit factor.
Got a dusting of snow yesterday in my area, too. Gone by 9 am, but still cold. Well, that’s “spring” around here, and why I only plant cold-tolerant stuff this early (looks like everything has survived so far).
Will definitely NOT be trying to sneak the warm crops in early this year.
Any zone 5-6 people want to discuss when you’re planting your seedlings out? I’m in 5b (I think) here in C’bus and I don’t think I’m quite ready to put the tomatoes and peppers out yet, although they are looking pretty big and robust in their little seed starting containers. I think our last frost date is sometime in late May, but they’re going to be ready well before that.
I believe last frost for Z5 is May 15. You could probably chance the first week of May if you’re prepared to put covers over the rows on particularly risky nights.
It finally quit raining long enough to get some work done in the yard. We turned over about 30’ of sod, with the intention of planting that area instead of just mowing it every damn week. Looks like I’m still going to need a roto-tiller, though, as it’s all in big clumps. Got the beds weeded and removed the winter covering plants from the raised beds, along with the visqueen covering that enabled the chives, thyme, pepper plants and mint to winter over without any problems. There are enough chives to feed the neighborhood. Tulips are all up, and the shinseki pear tree is in bloom. Lots of buds on the lilac trees, as well. Cleaned up most all of the yard debris: we like having the camellia blooming in winter, but the dead blossoms make for lots of cleanup. The bin awaits the recycling truck this morning.
The unseasonably warm spring continues in southern England - 24C (75F) in London today and glorious sunshine. 
My tomato seedlings had outgrown their seed trays so I bit the bullet and planted them out in the greenhouse yesterday. It’s still pretty chilly overnight, it was down to 6C (43F) last night but the tomatoes will have to take their chances - I’ve run out of space inside!
The chillis will wait another few weeks.
In other news, next door’s cat still thinks my veggie patch is a giant litter tray/salad bar. She’s obliterated the middle third of my row of radishes and crapped over some of the rest. I’ve now put metal grids over the soil (unused shelving from the greenhouse) so we’ll see if that deters her…
The only cats I have crapping in my veggie patch are my own, so I have only myself to blame. They leave the plants alone altogether, though. I’m not sure why; I guess I’m just not planting anything they like.
I need a rototiller, too. I might have to break down and buy one this year. I was looking at used ones, but they want almost as much for them as a new one. Or maybe I’ll just have someone come in and do my beds.
Be careful during the winter- citrus doesn’t need cold weather like a pear tree does; they’re generally pretty intolerant of cold.
Don’t be surprised if you lose half or more of your lime babies- the tree will set a bunch, but drop all but what it can handle. My lemon tree has set upwards of 30 lemons, but most drop off either between the BB size and about 1/2 in diameter size. If they make it past 1/2 in diameter, they seem to make it all the way to maturity.
I’d just put it out in the full sun and make sure it gets enough water. That’s what I’ve done with my potted Meyer Lemon tree for the past 5 or 6 years. I usually get between 6 and 12 full-sized lemons off the tree- it’s maybe 4 feet tall.
Home Depot rents out small ones. My wife thinks that we can just dump topsoil over the clumps, but I have my doubts. The clods are rootbound with grass and nearly impossible to break up with a shovel at this point. Any suggestions?
I would like to export all the rain we expect in the upcoming week (I’ll throw in the close to an inch we’ve gotten in the past 8 hours) to Texas where it is needed. We have all the moisture we need and then some.
Went to Home Depot today and remembered why I never go there anymore. Christ, what a lack of service or even interest in those people. I left without accopmplishing anything.
I’m planning something similar with my garden patch this year - spreading my compost pile (complete with a bunch of turf from last year) over the garden, and covering it with topsoil. I think it will work, since I’m not looking for a really level surface in the garden. The turf lumps should break down eventually, I figure. Maybe next year I’ll rototill it.
Not sure how practical this will be for you…
I started having such cat problems a couple years ago. I obtained a jar of coyote piss, which I sprinkle around the seedlings. Doesn’t hurt them, but to locals cats it smells like PREDATOR and EATER OF CATS (yes, they do eat cats) and it convinced the kitties to go elsewhere.
Last I heard, the UK is a bit lacking in coyotes, but if you have a big, local predator some urine samples from it might work. If, say, the cat is afraid of dogs, and you have some in your area you obtain cat repellent from…
I also use branches from rose bushes laid over the beds - the thorns discouraged kitties from pawing at the dirt.
And the metal grids sound pretty good, too.
I think I’ll go rotor till the snow today.