The war with giant slugs

A couple of Geraniums in a pot, I also stuck in three Zuchini seeds and they came up instantly. It's just a shit pot sitting by an ugly spot where the cable comes into the house. See that white spot? That's salt killing a giant slug. That one's a baby. They are usually 6 inches long. I found one 10 inches long when I was painting. I hate the fuck out of them. They scare me and they're horrid. I think they'll bite you too. They're omnivorous and I've watched them hunt, so I don't think they're harmless. They gross me right the fuck out. If anyone has any sure fire ways to find their nests and kill them all...Please..tell me.

We have pumpkins, dawma!!!

We waited SO long for the Pumpkin seeds to hatch. I thought maybe the seeds weren't any good. But, Lissa found little Pumpkin plants this morning and she was so excited. By this afternoon they had grown a whole new leaf! They're in part shade, a no no, but we don't follow rules. The shade of a huge Walnut tree...never plant a Walnut tree where you have to mow, trust me. We planted a a whole package of Pumpkins, I'll bet we get a few at least. Don't ask me what the deal is with her headband, that's how she wears them now.

Aunt Ruth and her strawberries

Aunt Ruth is a character. That's putting it politely. What is she now, 90? Everyone in the family gets irritated with her because she's rude and she knows everything. Oddly..I don't mind her. She makes me laugh, even when she's telling me how to drive. She hates my daughter in law. She knows the girl is sensitive about her weight so Aunt Ruth will say "Have you gained weight? Your ass looks a lot fatter." LMAO!

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She says that shit to me too, but, I can play. I say "You wish you had this bootay, Aunt Ruth." Then I turn around and slap it. She claims she can hardly walk anymore, but, when my other aunt comes over and tells her the gambling bus to White Cloud is running, she hauls her old butt out the door like nobodies business. In Nike's, no less. Them's gambling shoes.

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She also tells me how to run my garden, claiming she was a huge gardener. Funny, I don't remember that. I must have a mental block. I planted her strawberries in pots for her ( and I water them) and she gets a big kick out of harvesting them. If she saves them up for a week she might have enough to decorate one piece of cake. Some of the younger members of the family just think she's an old bitch. They don't remember when she was a wood carving sculptor..a really good one too..and a photographer. Back when she had a real life and was a beautiful redhead. But, I remember. I am going to put in a strawberry patch for her when I get time. She can tell me how I did it all wrong. I enjoy our little arguments. She never had any children, but, she can tell you how to raise yours. She was the first person to take me to a dentist. She thought kids needed dental care. Crazy woman.

Beans and scabs

Lissa was checking her beans this morning and on the way back to the house, she fell down and skinned her knees. She cried until I told her she'd have more scabs to pick. Picking scabs is her hobby. Her mom and great gram told her it's an awful habit and she could get infected. I told her to ignore them. Scab picking is an art.

Daisies at night

Daisies at night look like masses of shining beacons. That last picture was with no flash, just light from the house. There are strange depths to the garden at night and different sounds. That second picture is some wooden painted thing I found in a junk store. Teapot with cups, on acid? I hung it on the fence.

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I planted many white flowers for the night. And a lot of pastels, which show up good by moonlight. I think you should garden for yourself. Impressing anyone else is pitiful incentive. Chances are no one is going to care or do it for you, you might as well plant what you enjoy. Same with decorating for holidays. People have asked me why I do it when I live such a solitary life. I do it for me.

Thank you, Daphne!

These are so very very cool and I'd never heard of Tipsy Pots! Daphne left me the link to this site and they look really easy to make. Thanks! I get so excited to make something cool for little or nothing. Hey, I just searched my mom's junk pile and shed and I found three old tea kettles! I'm on my way. Oh, and I found a couple of old metal watering cans. I'll bet those would work too. I have to score some more. Any other ideas? HERE is the Tipsy site.

Basket of red Geraniums

Plants are going on sale now. Geraniums were $4 bucks apiece a month ago. I passed. Now they're 4 plants for .99 cents. I bought all the pink ones they had for the window boxes, but, mom likes red. I found that basket in her junk pile. She really liked this and it looks nice on her porch. They'll fill out in a couple of weeks.
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It's still not to late to buy some Annuals, now on sale. And you can put Perennials in all summer because they take a year to get nice. I'm going to check the stores dumpster at the end of this month. That's when they throw all this stuff away and you can get it free. It looks like crap, but, like I said, Perennials usually look like crap the first year anyway.
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You know where else you can get free plants? The cemeteries. They have a pick up date for plants posted at the entry. If people don't pick up their Memorial Day grave plants by that date, the maintenance crews will throw them out. They have to, so they can mow. Check the garbage or cemetery burn pile on the day after pick up date. It will be mostly Annuals, but, many containers of hanging Begonias, Inpatients, Petunias..other nice stuff all ready to go to your porch or flower bed.

Nancy Today..stained glass pannels for the garden

This is such a great idea and pretty easy. I don't have any place to hang them, but, I'll bet I will next year. I have lots of stained glass tools and things left from past projects, whouldn't it be great to make some of these? Yep. Now, where did I put my soldering iron?

Still growing

Every day I can see change. It hasn't even come close to it's season, but, I'm still shocked anything grew in the front. I knew Marigolds would, they'll grow anywhere, but, other things are doing well too. I stuck that blue Lobelia in there just now. I found it on sale. It usually looks pretty for a couple of weeks, then peters out. The Dusty Millers are growing here. The Lobelia looks really good with the Dusties. I've never seen Dusty Miller grow around here at all. They usually sit there the same size all season. Cool.

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Look at my seedlings. Yup, they are now the same size as the 6 Marigolds I bought, and they are budding. Which tells me, it doesn't matter if you plant seeds or buy plants, they will grow exactly the same, at the same rate. By the time the plants get over root shock and take off, the seedlings are the same size because they never had root shock. Hardly any weeds either because I scattered seeds so close together. It worked just like I said. I'm not as blond as I am.

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Stupid Daisy clumps are uneven. And baby Daisy's are everywhere. I can't control the flowers. I can't control the flowers. Repeat 40 times and get the shovel. Oh, pink Snapdragon starting to bloom..that's gonna be pretty.

Hydroponically stoned

I was watching Net TV last night and the House series was a season I'd seen, so I switched to a movie, got bored again and switched to channel called Smoke Shack. It was some kid growing pot hydroponically. I have never grown anything hydro, so I started getting into this kids info. Man, he had quite a set up, EXPENSIVE, tubes and tubs and timers and fans and lights and even big canisters of CO2 on timers. I was rightly impressed. Then he finally gets ready to plant his plants and he pulls out this little bag of seed. Seeds? Not female clones?? Seeds? Yeah, he said he knew they were good because he ordered them off the Internet.
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I groaned. Nooo. He did it anyway. This poor kid wasted so many months trying to figure out male plants and female plants..I about cried. Because it was clear he loved his garden as much as I love mine. In case you don't know..male plants don't bud. With seeds, there is no way to know if all your plants will have to be destroyed because they aren't female. You are taking a huge risk to potentially get nothing.
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Poor little fucker finally did end up with an impressive quarter pound off four little plants, but, it took him....god, I don't know, years?? Though he was painted green as a disguise, Jesus, he seemed to be growing older as the videos went on. All I could think was, if he'd had a Grandma who taught him to grow Tomatoes he would have been a rich and happy little dude in three months. Grandma's know how to clone Tomatoes. LMAO!

Not so bad now, is it?

I remember when I put photos of these two areas on and I got SO many responses from people who have relatives who are hoarders. Man, that made me feel better, knowing I wasn't alone. But, I also got a few "What a dump!" posts. And they were rude, but, right. Mom's yard is not so bad now, huu? It's a beautiful safe place for a little girl to play. I have to go fill up bird baths and transplant some flowers now. Have a good day, all of you.

Fence flowers

Mom's fence flowers look pretty, despite the stick to ya weeds. That crazy thing she wired to the fence is some piece of broken ... thing...that's supposed to be a bird bath. She's notorious for that. She didn't even think that maybe that hole goes all the way through. Heh. So, then she just sat an old skillet on top. Should I patch the hole, throw the whole thing in the garbage, or leave her alone?

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Today I saw Siberian Iris at the pharmacy. The flowers were smaller but, intense and the foliage was really beautiful. I got Iris envy. Gotta find some of those suckers.

Propogating Sedum

Sedum is a favorite of mine. It's a foliage plant, succulent type, and it looks amazing with blooming things around it. Real gardeners years ago taught me to pinch off a start and root it in water. I pinched those off only a week ago and they are now rooted. I'll plant them today and hide them in the flowers, because they won't look great this year. Next year, each one will come up and make a beautiful FREE mound of gorgeous plant.

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And if you have varigated Sedum, you have to pinch off the plain shoots that come out or your plant will revert to it's usual form. So, you might as well root them. Pretty stuff, huu? Legend has it, a house that has Sedum in the yard will never be struck by lightening.

For Miss Tia

There's the underside of the porch...warts and all. The fiberglass panels are cheap, I'm guessing $10 bucks apiece. They do give good shade and the light is interesting. There's a baby Starling sticking it's greedy head out of a hole, waiting for it's bitchy mother. Those birds are creepy to me, but, Ma gets a kick out of them.

Nothing is forever

The tiny Blue Spruce opened it's needles and they really are blue. The growth spurt made it a good three inches bigger. That's about all it will do this year, their major growth takes place in Spring. My Aunt Ruth kindly, cough, pointed out that in 10 years I will not be able to plant my Tomatoes behind it. I don't even know if I'll be on this planet for 10 more years and if I am, will I be able to plant Tomatoes? Geez. I think you could plant a damn pine tree right by your front door if you so desire. When it gets too big, cut it down for your Christmas tree and plant another one. People make things too hard by thinking about the future too much. Nothing is forever. Least of all, us puny humans. That tree can sit right there for 200 years without bothering anyone. I think it's nice to know it will be here when I'm long gone. Unless some future garden owner finds it a pain in the ass. Who cares?

Mom's porch

I won't bore you with more stories about how bad it was or how many truckloads of heavy junk I hauled off. I call this construction a Depression Porch and my Mother favors it for reasons I will never understand. This one, she was allowed to keep. The roof is made of the cheap material choice of the week..green fiberglass. Which gives the light there a dream like quality. Her house is a long rambling affiar with lots of weird rooms at every turn. It's still a dump, but, now it's a normal cozy dump and she's so happy. I have to paint the poles for her. The house painter skipped them because he was spraying and the end poles have Clematis blooming. Maybe Lissa would like to help. She's a good painter.

The scheme of things...

My Mom interrupted my gossip blogging this morning claiming I had to take her dog to the vet. The dog, Evie is sick. I was mildly irritated because I was sick yesterday and got nothing done and today is now sucking as well. Then I got real and said to myself, in the scheme of things in my life, what is more important? Gossip blogging or an old blind dog? The answer was easy..Evie. She's my Mother's constant companion. We've always had dogs, I can't remember a time when we didn't have dogs. The whole yard is marked with the graves of old dogs, much loved, each one special. The vet gave Evie some antibiotics and hopefully she'll get better and my irritation has passed. My Mother loves that dog. She's really good with dogs. She can house train any pup in two weeks with nary a hint of scolding or meanness. I don't know how she does it, it's her gift. I wonder if I'll get to blog tomorrow? I have to work, but, not until 1 pm. Oh, well, get well, Evie, you old blind pisser. I had some admiration for the three pound wonder when she tried to bite them all and they had to muzzle her. Snort.

A hi to new readers...and old ones

I had someone ask on another site ask me some questions. I didn't want to take up some one's space with my stuff. It bums me out, but, the whole world doesn't revolve around me. It should, I know! Anyway. Hi, yes this is my garden. I'm Pat and I'm the DirtyDisher. Crabbie is a friend I met on the net. He's a writer and graces DD with his presence when he feels like it. Alissa (Lis) is my grand daughter. My only grand child, so far. Yes, she is spoiled rotten. I have two children. My daughter Casey is beautiful and sweet and lives in Kansas City. I live in Iowa. My son, Eric passed away in April of 2008. He was a musician and his music will show up here from time to time. Lissa is his daughter. She'll be 5 next month. That is a pot of Petunia's, over my front window, which I grew from seed, which I will never do again because they are.....Petunias. And I love having this site to just say what I want without anyone bitching about no celebrities on here. I like talking to you guys about every day stuff. It's not very crowded here, is it? Thats okay, the people that ARE here are really interesting.

Growing.....stuff

Little row of Sweet Corn mixed with Sunflowers for a garden backing. I have two more bigger patches of corn. I just needed background for my scarecrow, which I will show you soon. I'm just using junk I find around here...except for the clothes. There's one of my homemade bird baths. Kind of a dumb place for it, huu? That's okay, I planted lettuce for the rabbits. I figured they might leave my stuff alone if I did that. I'll let you know how that works out.

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Onions, Turnips, Cabbage. I had to mark the Turnips, they look just like Radishes right now. I don't like them that much, but, my Mom loves them. She doesn't know I planted them for her.

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Cabbage is good, but, cheap. There's no real reason to grow your own except it's such a beautiful plant. I think it would look good in a flower bed. Don't tell me you hate Cabbage, without it there'd be no cole slaw. Yum. I like to eat it raw, like potato chips. With Tomato Juice for dip. I always have some in the fridge. Is that weird? That stuff above the Cabbage is Spinach. First time growing it. It looked just like grass..wtf? Now it's getting real leaves.

Lissie in the rain

Lis loves the rain as much as I do. We're always out in it. I like having this site for pictures, it sure helps me get thing sorted in my files. I have so much crap with the celeb pics if I don't sort it everyday it becomes a real problem. This way I know the important ones are on here. These are the important ones. :)

Stupidly joyous

Me pulling radishes in my jammies this morning. And my Tomatoes are a good two foot tall, spreading rapidly with sturdy thumb sized stems. I notice the Brandywines are far superior as plants to the hybrid ones now. I guess they're just weaker when they're little and you have to protect them and harden them off slowly. The one that's doing the best though is a hybrid called Lemon Boy. It's huge..I think it's a determinate variety. I love it out there.

Coming along...

Yeah, I know, it's not real impressive yet. It sure looks better than that old building that used to sit there though and everything is coming along. I dug more space in the back to put tall plants. See? There's Hollyhocks, Okra, Cosmos and Four O Clocks back there sprouting from seed. In the middle is Zinnia (Cali Giants and Lilliputians), Salvia, Snap Dragons and Herbs. In the front Marigolds and a few Petunias.

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Planting Okra with Hollyhocks is a trick I learned by accident. The Hollyhocks are bi-annuals and they won't bloom this year. The Okra is about the same height and has papery yellow flowers similar to the Hollyhocks. I don't have a clue how to cook Okra. I just think it's pretty.

What's blooming?

Peonies in reds and pinks everywhere. The graveyard flower..it opens every Memorial Day. Mason jars of sloshing Peonies carried to graves everywhere here. In a few days the huge flowers will be too heavy for the bush and they will fall to the ground looking like crap. They smell good, but, I can take them or leave them. I think it's a city ordinance that everyone has some.

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Iris's...in purples and yellow. I love them, they smell amazing and look like glass. They'll last a good while too and then the foliage still looks good most of the summer.

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Daisies..well..they are my favorite flower, but, they are also weeds. They just take over here. I transplanted some and mowed the rest. Daisies are different, the actual petals grow. You know how some flowers bloom and the petals are one size and they just have to open? Daisies aren't like that. I've been watching them. The petals are short and then grow long. I guess that's why the blooms last so long. They last a long long time as cut flowers too.

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What's blooming where you live?

Lissie swimmin'..

After school Lis had such a nice day. I filled her little pool, that she's been begging me to play in since March, and she really got into it. The neighbors came in on some horses and she petted them. Lucky they were old tame horses because she fears nothing and I had to hold her back from getting under their hooves. Later she inspected her bean garden. She really loves that bean garden, which surprises me. Man, if you want to get a kid involved in gardening, give them beans. I've found out, with her, they grow fast and keep her attention. She talks to her beans. It's very sweet to watch. No plans to eat any yet. That might be asking too much.

Lissa got a hair cut

I picked Lis up from school yesterday and her hair was cut short. I liked it and told her so. She said "It's hair! It will grow back!" Umm, yeah? I guess she wanted a hair cut and then changed her mind and wanted them to stick it back on. So, someone told her it will grow back. I really do like it though, it suits her. She was so proud of her new flip flops. This is the first year she could wear them. Last year she couldn't figure out which toes to put the thong part through and they tripped her up. So, now she's real happy about wearing them. I wasn't sure if I liked that last picture of her, she looks so mature and she's not yet five. But, that's Lissie. She's not a baby and won't be treated like a baby. She's chatting with her Great Grandma there, not posing, posturing. And showing off her big girl flip flops.