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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2015 15:32:13 GMT
That ginko espalier is gorgeous Mick. Please be aware that ginkoes, and, I forget if it has to do with whether it's a male or female tree, put out a ping pong ball size ball that has a foul smell, really foul. They are beautiful trees, incredibly resilient. They are used in NYC as a municipal planting all along the sidewalks and are quite striking., requiring minimal maintenance.
If you're going to go to the trouble of the painstaking process of espaliering why would you not do it with something edible?
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 5, 2015 15:39:45 GMT
I didn't know that about the smell Casimira - thanks. I'll check that out. The autumn (fall) colour of Ginkgos is stunning - rich butter yellow.
Might do something edible too. Got enough space.
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 5, 2015 15:44:45 GMT
Apparently it's the females that pong........
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2015 15:49:59 GMT
There may be different species of ginkoes, and, some may not have this particular drawback. Several clients of mine have had ginko tress, and all of them shared the same pods. My job was to rake these things up, and, god, how I hated it.
Their leaves are indeed gorgeous. Personally, I'd much rather bit into a nice juicy pear just plucked off of my own tree. (If I'm badgering, please forgive me).
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2015 15:51:58 GMT
Apparently it's the females that pong........ Does that mean the males "ping"?
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 5, 2015 16:39:03 GMT
There may be different species of ginkoes, and, some may not have this particular drawback. Several clients of mine have had ginko tress, and all of them shared the same pods. My job was to rake these things up, and, god, how I hated it. Their leaves are indeed gorgeous. Personally, I'd much rather bit into a nice juicy pear just plucked off of my own tree. (If I'm badgering, please forgive me). Not badgering at all.
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Post by breeze on Feb 7, 2015 19:41:54 GMT
I'd love an espalier. I think a pear one would be elegant but I'd settle for a fig. I'd love an olive tree too. I'd love a knowledgeable hardworking gardener!
Reading this thread has gotten me unsatisfied with my lot. But the year is young and I am optimistic.
Strawberries and tomatoes are on my mind today. I've been working on a seed order. The best strawberry we ever grew was Fairfax and you can't buy it anymore. It wasn't much of a bearer, but the flavor was tops. There's a variety of everbearing strawberries named Sarian. They will give fruit in July from seed sown in March, so I'm going to try them again (second time).
We need one early, one mid-season, and one late tomato. Stupice is the best early one for us. Can't make up my mind about the others. Brandywine has wonderful flavor but it's late here and is not very productive. Any suggestions? We're in USDA zone 5 if that means anything to anybody here.
Our basic garden, if we were to have to limit ourselves, would be tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 8, 2015 9:25:29 GMT
Mick & Breeze, I see olive trees for sale at our garden centre but I'm sure they are for ornamental use only. Are you two thinking of actually using the olives?? How?
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Post by bjd on Feb 8, 2015 9:57:36 GMT
Olive trees have become very popular here over the past years, even being planted in public spaces. They grow slowly but the olives are certainly usable. I have two friends who preserved the olives -- it's a long process of rinsing and brining, but perfectly feasible. I don't eat olives, so wouldn't bother.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 8, 2015 15:03:37 GMT
Nice to hear that the little fruit can be used! I should imagine it would be a par with making wine with your own grapes!
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Post by bjd on Feb 8, 2015 18:45:29 GMT
I think preparing olives is easier and quicker than making wine.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 4:05:37 GMT
My husband sent me this picture today. I've sprouted some wisteria recently and they are reaching for the sky, or the radio towers, as the case may be. They'll live in pots for a year or two until they're strong enough to go by the trellis over the garden gate.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 9, 2015 8:01:44 GMT
What a fun photo Lizzy! I hope your plant does shoot up and give you lots of pleasure!
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Post by breeze on Feb 10, 2015 1:24:51 GMT
Talk about garden aspirations! That is one ambitious wisteria cutting. My talk about wanting an olive tree is more about wanting to live in the kind of climate where olive and lemon trees thrive, which I don't now and do not expect to. Here's another thing I'd love to have, a really healthy climbing rose. This photo (should it appear at all!) is from a beautiful village in France full of roses.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2015 1:32:29 GMT
Yes, climbing roses are glorious, breeze, and I want some, as soon as I have something for them to climb! My wisteria isn't a cutting, but started from seed. I have three and I hope one survives childhood.
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Post by htmb on Feb 10, 2015 1:56:26 GMT
That's very pretty, Breeze. I once had a rose bush that climbed like that. It had red blossoms and was nice, but not as pretty as the one in your photo. I don't grow much of anything anymore, but I sure enjoy reading about everyone else's plans.
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Post by breeze on Feb 10, 2015 2:32:41 GMT
Wisteria plants from seed! I am impressed.
htmb, that's kind of my situation now. I'm an appreciator of others' gardens. I used to be a demon gardener and I have missed gardening these past few years. But one thing about losing my mojo is that I can really enjoy other people's gardens without extreme jealousy. I used to be jealous if somebody grew nice marigolds, even though I hate marigolds. So maybe I'm a slightly better person now even if not a better gardener.
Oh, I take that back. I'm still jealous when I see what grows in Florida and South Africa and Mexico. So I guess I'm not the new improved me I'd like to think I am.
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Post by fumobici on Feb 10, 2015 5:03:37 GMT
I read that Wisteria from seed takes 15-20 years to flower. Patience! Also many of our favorite garden cultivars won't breed true from seed gathered from plants as it's a *lot* of extra bother and time to stabilize a line as opposed to doing cuttings or F1 hybrids from known stable lines. That doesn't mean they won't be wonderful, just that you won't know what you'll get until they mature.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2015 5:19:51 GMT
Oh, I know that, fumo, I'm just really cheap and patient! I have no idea what cultivar it is, and don't really care, but if it lives until next year, I'll consider the whole thing a success.
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 10, 2015 8:37:41 GMT
Love that climbing rose.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2015 15:37:36 GMT
That climbing rose is indeed gorgeous! If you are leaning in the direction of planting a climbing rose, please do yourself a favor and explore what climbers perform well in your USDA zone and have some merit other than show. There are some David Austin's that are exquisite but, unfortunately, they don't perform well here although, I've been told that there are some new breeds that are more conducive to our humid climate, which causes major 'black spot', the bane of any rose grower.
In a word, do your homework, and if you would like some suggestions, I'll try and help. I learned by trial and error, and have been mighty disappointed numerous times I assure you.
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Post by breeze on Feb 10, 2015 23:45:01 GMT
Casimira, I would appreciate your advice. I'll look up my notes from our trip. I wrote down or photographed a lot of rose names I saw in Chedigny but I don't know if they are available in the US. Though with names like Rhapsody in Blue and Burgundy Ice you'd think they should be. Lizzy, I admire someone who's cheap and patient, because I'm only the former. Cheap and impatient is not a good combination, let me tell you. I'll try to attach another photo of Chedigny.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 0:12:45 GMT
Breeze, I'd be thrilled to and will offer as much sound advice as I can.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 5:08:28 GMT
My goodness, that is a gorgeous house, breeze!
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 11, 2015 8:27:11 GMT
It is indeed although not sure about the white rose against the white wall.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 14:47:42 GMT
Now, that's a real cottage garden!!! Mon Dieu!! Can't ID the climber but the rose in the foreground certainly is an heirloom, maybe Madame Isaac Perrier.
That delphinium is to die for.
Check out a climber 'Sombreuil'. It's a gorgeous white climber with a slight tinge of pink. It may well be the rose in that first pic you posted.
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 11, 2015 15:48:09 GMT
That climbing rose is indeed gorgeous! If you are leaning in the direction of planting a climbing rose, please do yourself a favor and explore what climbers perform well in your USDA zone and have some merit other than show. There are some David Austin's that are exquisite but, unfortunately, they don't perform well here although, I've been told that there are some new breeds that are more conducive to our humid climate, which causes major 'black spot', the bane of any rose grower. In a word, do your homework, and if you would like some suggestions, I'll try and help. I learned by trial and error, and have been mighty disappointed numerous times I assure you. I'm wary of David Austin roses having twice not been sent the rose I ordered.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 19:57:36 GMT
Oh, that's inexcusable! Twice!!!!!! When did you find out that they were the wrong ones? After planting them and expecting a totally different bloom?
There is an exquisite rose garden in NYC (I hope it's still there, I haven't been to it in many years). Anyway, it's all David Austin roses planted behind St. John The Divine Cathedral on the upper East side. Apparently, a gentleman had purchased all these roses for a piece of property he was about to purchase in New Jersey and the deal fell through so he donated them all to this church. They were healthy, gorgeous, lovingly tended. I went gaga over several of them. I purchased "Evelyn" and it didn't perform here well at all. In fact, I've never heard of any rosarians here having any luck with them.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2015 20:31:29 GMT
I think they would do very well here, but I'm years away from landscaping roses. I have native roses in our hedgerow (bald hip, nootka, pea fruit), some sort of mystery rugosa I started from seed last year that is doing very well, a floribunda rescued from being ripped out of a bed somewhere, and my lovely Hansa (rugosa), the only one I've invested any money in. I adore roses and would like to have hundreds, eventually. But first I need a house to grow them up against.
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Post by breeze on Feb 13, 2015 1:31:05 GMT
Here's another photo of that house from 2010. See that little sign on the gate? It is offering the house for sale. I can't read the print, but I remember it started out with something like "Yes, it's for sale!" I asked our B&B hostess if they'd get many takers, and she said Chedigny is such a sought-after village that just that small sign would sell it. no need to advertise. I immediately emailed friends and relatives attaching a photo. I guess you can tell since I still live in Pennsylvania that all of them were too short-sighted to chip in on the project.
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