the street. They had to rip out the old curbs, and there had to be room for
the NEW curb forms etc. So that meant 30 inches off my front gardens.
Some of it was slate stepping stone, and one step, that were removed.
The LARGE rocks, my son helped us with a month ago, but the plants
were pretty much out of range...just some affected.

This was a city project to repair all the sewers, which were put in around
1935. Our water line was fixed 5 yrs ago, and the closest part of the garden,
was replanted then. People who were not copper were totally dug out.
Fortunately we were upgraded to copper when the last one was done.
The SE portion of Michigan has had a total sewer redo because run off from the older suburbs like us, was polluting Lake St. Clair. So for the last 10 yrs or so
the massive new sewer was dug, and now the community level work had to be done to match up with the new pipes.

I have a wildflower garden across the street..there are no homes there
since it is the flood plain for a small river (which you cannot see)..it is down a hill. I have trillium, mertensia, may apples, myrtle, day lillies, lemon balm,
some Chinese Lanterns, etc over there...naturalized. They dug up about 30 inches of that too. I sort of wish they would widen the street, since it is soooo narrow...you'd think with all this work, we could squeeze out 12 inches so the garbage truck etc could get down there. But NOOOOO... no planning ahead like that!

We have had 4 wks of this so far, 4 water shut offs, can't park our cars, etc.
Yesterday the breaking up of the cement curbs shook the whole house!
I've had it with it.

They haven't "damaged" much... just told us how much to move. They are leaving rocks on the premises for homes where the people are not home.
No repair for the garden. It is technically illegal to plant on the easement, but I got special permission, since our area is woodsey and natural. So they felt I could be exempted since the garden looks better than grass. It was too hard to mow a small plat of grass and then carry the mower up 20 stairs to the back yard. (we live on a hill). So I made it nicer, anyway, with flowers etc.
The plants all bloom at different times, so something is always going on there.

Mrs. D - sorry for your construction nightmare. The water shut offs alone would make me crazy. We have that all the time here, too. And the boil water advisories that go along with them. UGH! Hope they finish up and move along soon.


I think you could grow coreopsis in your pocket. Tough stuff. I had one tiny sprig two years ago, now it's spread all over. I could hand it out to everyone who walks by this month and still have too much.



The tomotoes last year too. A lot of fruit fell and the seeds sprouted. Had I known they would be so successful I never would have bought plants. I have about 50 volunteers. Dh is going to bring some to work and plant them around the rail yard.

Oh, and I have a little tip for you. Neem. It's an insecticide made from chinaberry tree seeds. It has a systemic effect, so it will protect against pests that feed from inside the plant, not just on the surface. And it has a tolerable smell - almost like oranges, not too chemical.

It is almost non toxic to mammals ( they have to eat the Neem or treated plants, and even so, there seems little evidence of effect) and is biodegradable. Since it has to be eaten to be toxic, it has minimal effect on bees or other beneficial bugs/ animals.

And they are now seeing some evidence that it also prevents and treats diseases too.

I bought some concentrate at Lowe's and saved a filbert and some sand cherry trees from the japanese beetles last year.

I wonder if you can help me by telling me what hanging flower plant I have. I'll try & describe it. The flower is 3 dark pink petals at the bottom then several light light pink ones with a few dark veins. Are the middle things called stamens? It has a few long dark pink stamens (the same pink as those 3 petals) with tiny white tips. The stamens are about .5 inches long but the one in the center is about .75 inches long. I recently got it & it was lovely. Now it is wilting & the flowers are falling off. Maybe it's because it is so humid out, however. Oh, the leaves are sort of oval but pionty at one end.

Does this discription help you any? LOL. I almost forgot...could it be some sort of Impatient(sp)

Thanks

These are some pictures of different types of impatiens. Does it look like this? If not, take a picture and post it.

Well the curbs are in, and we are supposed to be paved next Tues.

The weather has become HOT...90's...which I cannot work in.

I have an idea for the ruined part of the wild side ...they came and smoothed
it a little...I suppose they will grade it too. Up where homes are, they are going to sod.(some homes had alot of damage to do the water line in copper up to the home). But I am hoping I can get the grass cancelled in my wild garden ...
I am going to seed it with, annual babies breath, rudbeckia, (I have those seeds), I have rose campion babies growing in flats, and I will bring back
oxeye daisy seeds from up North and seed that in fall.(we have a ton of those and they are totally hardy) The soil was hardpan, and
awful to deal with, so only the most determined plants grew up to the curb anyway. Now I hope to have some nice flowers there instead. They mixed some of the sand from the road into the dense clay...so I am hopeful I can do something with it now. (anything to make this unpleasant situation, more acceptable.) I just hope my pain levels cooperate!

maybe a fushia?
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...&ct=image&cd=3

long stamens like that suggest fushia to me.
(I don't attempt these fancy plants--- so I don't have clue as to what to
do with it.--but sometimes they come infected with mites...and if so it is
impossible to fix them I think for most people).

Thankyou Mrsd, Thats what it is. To be specific it's a Sir Matt Busby fuchsia.

We have it hot too. It's 91* right now. When I read about your weather, I looked to see where you are. I'm in the Great Lakes area too....north west Ohio. City is next to lake Erie.

Yep... SE Mich... 3/4 of the year.
summers= the farthest NE of UP.

Right now we have tornado watches....it is very windy...
One year we had a tornado which ripped off a 24inch Red Oak branch off our
front Oak--just like a toothpick...missed the house by inches. And my husband by 10mins...as he left and went down the stairs to the cars to do an errand. I think God was with us that time (about 20 yrs ago). It took us 3 days to cut it up and two
chain saw sharpenings! It was forming over our home (which is on a high hill) and moved on to a close suburb where
it actually touched down for a few seconds. I was inside...not a great experience. The whole house lifted up and sighed,
and then CRASH.... The sirens had just gone off, but you know..."they never really pertain to YOU!"

The 40 ft maple across the street snapped in two last night in that wind. I heard the tornado warning on tv and looked out the window to see how it was outside. I thought "Oh, it's not that bad yet." Then WHAM the wind hit, the tree hit the ground (and the road) just as a car was going by.

You should've seen me jump, lol!

Looked like the car might have gotten hit, but it kept going. There was 30 feet of branches in the road and the neighbor's yard.

I barely slept, keeping an eye on the weather. Somebody has to stay up in case a tornado comes, and round up everyone else - the baby was here, so I was extra cautious.


Rudbeckia - black eyed susans, right?

You want some? I have tons growing. Come on down.

Thanks for the offer! Wish I could! I might take you up on it this fall though!

You know that tree event you had...reminds me of a Det News/Free Press column writer...she was very popular and very good. I can't recall her name right now..this was a while ago.
She was sitting in her driveway in her car while a storm raged..waiting for it to let up so she could run into the house.
And a tree fell across her car and killed her. A really FREAK thing. ( I tried to find it online, but it is too old).

I have a big packet of seeds of Rudbeckia that I will start up north and get going there. I have tons of outdoor time then.
It is a good way to increase perennials. I do them on the old dock we use as a deck. It is high off the water (back when the water levels were so high) and I can stand next to them and not bend over etc. (like a long table). Easy on the body.

I found some very nice seed suppliers on Ebay. Very reasonable price for huge amounts. So that is where I got mine this season. Depending on my back/leg I might even dig up
some oxeye daisies... and bring them back. This would depend on how many reseeded themselves last season. (the deer don't eat them...it is the only thing the deer avoid).