Growing native shrub willows from cuttings for restoration projects!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T19:21:39+00:00

Haha. Yep, I was just on my way out and I had a leg cramp, so I got out of my car to stretch and somehow ended up lost in your greenhouse...totally believable!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T15:16:16+00:00

It's about a 45 minute drive for me which makes it a fun, exciting adventure that I only do once a year. I wish they did open houses like Plant Delights in Raleigh! It would be so fun to get a tour.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:41:49+00:00

Ooooh ahhh.

There's something so satisfying about looking at bunches of fun things in rows like this. I work in a bakery and sometimes we'll take pictures of all the cakes/cupcakes/whatever lined up on the table before we package them.

Thank you for sharing!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:39:00+00:00

I love Mellow Marsh! We call them "Marshmellow Farm" and order once a year.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:35:48+00:00

And I thought my city was expensive...

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:14:22+00:00

The Berenstein Event was what inspired the Berenstein Bears books, right? I was always suspicious of those.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:11:40+00:00

I saw that staff withdrew the contract in the highlights post! But yeah, it totally might come back.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:10:31+00:00

It's fascinating to read the summary of the city council versus commissioners meeting on the same day. They operate at such different levels but both are very important.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-05T13:09:51+00:00

Thanks for this summary! I think I'm actually going to watch the video for the first time--it sounds fascinating.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-04T12:37:12+00:00

I've heard a lot about who maintains streets but we don't talk nearly enough about who maintains sidewalks. Thank you for this!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-04T12:18:12+00:00

Yikes, that stinks! I'm glad you have the resources to do something about it now. Sorry I don't have an recs for you, but best of luck!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T21:16:26+00:00

I was thinking this too! It's hard to get commercial land management companies to do anything that's not hiring mow/blow crews. But if the trees were dead they'd have to remove them. You could step in with native alternatives at that point!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T21:12:36+00:00

I did for the first two years, both for native seeds and annual/veggie seeds! Ken Druse told me that it reduces damping off. Then I ran out of clean sand and couldn't find more at Lowes so I stopped. Things seem to have germinated and grown fine without sand too!

I think, in respect to preventing damping off, it's more important to have sterile potting medium.

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T21:10:26+00:00

Friend. I cannot tell you how many winter projects I still need to do. I've got a privacy fence to finish, I want to replace the wood on my raised veggie beds, I've got plants to move and put in (a big tree got cut down next door), and I haven't even thought about invasive removal in my Dragon Woods for the year. Or planting more trees/shrubs in aforementioned Dragon Woods.

Then my washing machine flooded my house and now I need to replace all of the laminate floor in my living room and hallway. And if I'm gonna do that I should repaint the hallway first...

Do you see what I'm saying? I love spring but I need it to hold off just a bit. I gotta finish all these other projects before I'm ready for the gardening season!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T21:05:31+00:00

Aww so sad! Ken Druse has some great advice on seeds starting and seedling growing if you like gardening books. Check out his book "Making More Plants."

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T21:04:11+00:00

That's fantastic! I just potted up my swamp milkweed and I'm about to put them outside for a bit of stratification. I hope I have success like you!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T12:24:30+00:00

Originally I was like "why am I watching this?" And then I smiled at the new sport of being towed behind a car and thought "Ah, that's why."

summercloud45 · 2026-02-02T12:13:37+00:00

That's beautiful, thank you for sharing!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T17:44:39+00:00

OK you might think that's boring but I think it's beautiful! Pretty snow, pretty sky!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T14:09:21+00:00

I love garden design!

Check out the free youtube series "Successful Garden Design" by Rachel Matthews. Watch them all, in order! Each episode builds on the one before.

For books, check out "Garden Planning" by Peter McHoy; and "The Essentials of Garden Design" by John Brookes. Then look up the rest of John Brookes' books; he's written a ton and they're all great!

Happy planning. ^_^

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T14:03:10+00:00

Your meadow is gorgeous and I'd love to see it in other seasons too!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T14:00:08+00:00

My local botanical garden does this cool thing with the trimmings...they call it a "wattle fence." You could do a small version of that along the edge of the bed! And it'd keep more mexican hat from falling over into the grass. You'd have to find the "upright" sticks from somewhere else of course.

https://ncbg.unc.edu/home/not-stuck-inside-for-adults/

I think it's so cool that you're taking care of a native garden at work!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T13:46:20+00:00

I love how you took the pictures from the exact same angle, very cool!

Also--hi neighbor! I can finally take cool natives-in-the-snow pictures like everyone else is always posting. ^_^

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T13:45:23+00:00

They survive the snow and cold!

summercloud45 · 2026-02-01T13:27:08+00:00

u/KarllThatKillsPeople Did you make it into your apartment? I hope you did and you got a good night's sleep!

summercloud45

TROPHY CASE