RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

THE DANDELIONS ARE WINNING THE WAR

I've been pulling dandelions off my back lawn every year and the seeds gets scattered in the wind from somewhere else and they come back every year. They are beautiful but they get into my flowerbeds and that's the only problem I have with them.

I've eaten dandelions before and they are tasty, as long as there is no pesticide on them. I've even had dandelion wine that my husband made one year. It was pretty potent though...

After supper, my husband and I picked  a wheelbarrow full of dandelions using pitch forks.


You can see that the lawn got really tramped on. We picked another wheelbarrow full  today.

Can you see the little rose bush growing on the lawn on the right of the wheelbarrow in the top photo?
 I dug around it today and weeded and fertilized it and added a border. It a John Davis rose bush that I planted a couple of years ago in honor of my dad who died in 2008 and at the same time I also planted one in honor of my mom who died in 2009.


The rose bush was planted on the right and the next year, a branch grew on the lawn a couple of feet away. The original bush isn't doing well but I left it there anyway.  It has some buds on it although some branches are dead.


This is what it looked like last year. My lawn needs some lime. We think that the big flood leached the lime  out and the PH is low. The same thing happened in the fields. It was tested before the flood and after the flood, the PH was lower.



Here is the John Davis rose. They bloom all summer.
I'll stop for tonight and wish you all a good night sleep.

Thanks for your visit.
JB


15 comments:

  1. that's a pretty rose! (i managed to kill the two rose bushes that were doing just fine here before i moved here.)

    my father used to make dandelion wine. it is an acquired taste - and yes, will knock you on your butt.

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  2. Your yard looks so pretty. I'm glad spring weather finally arrived in your part of the world. Ronda

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  3. Julia your flowers are absolutely beautiful, what a green thumb you have! So I"m laughing here with the dandelion wine, I've never heard of that before - sounds like something to stay away from!

    Good for you for tackling your dandelions, that's a chore!!

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  4. I feel your pain. I like dandelions, but yes, they are everywhere! As fast as I pull them, there are more!

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  5. That is a lot of dandelions.
    Cathy

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  6. I am laughing because there was a big discussion about this the other day in the lunch room at work. One man spent hours and hours the night before digging up every dandelion on his lawn. The next morning as he was leaving his driveway, he saw yellow..... Now the war is on. Too funny

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  7. I don't know how you have time to work in your hard and keep it looking so beautiful with all you do. The rose bush face lift looks great. The John Davis rose is beautiful! Hugs

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  8. So pretty Julia, You work so hard. I bet is is nice to be outside after a long winter.
    I have ate dandelions too. Pretty good. I put them in a spring tonic when I need a picker upper.
    Have a lovely day.

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  9. Good afternoon Julia, what a lovely rose, and it blooms all summer? how wonderful...I've learned to accept Dandy Lions, if you can't beat them, join them...I've begun buying herbs, a few annuals for my window boxes and received two hanging plants for Mother's Day, unfortunately we have had frost for the past two evenings, here in Maine winter still has her hold on us. Have a good afternoon, Julie.

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  10. Every spring my mom would gather dandelions and cook them. I didn't like them then but I probably would now as I love all greens. She would go over to my Uncles house which was deep in the woods so they were really clean and safe.

    Your rose bush is beautiful. I have a Lilac bush at the house that I started from one at my Mom and Dad's house. I think of them every time I see it.

    Our parents passed away very close in years. I lost my Mom in 2007 and my Dad in 2011 I sure miss them.

    Hope your days are going better and you are getting some rest. When I read your posts I remember the days when I was dog tired. I have to say I don't miss that!

    Take care....

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  11. How pretty Julia, I love your garden. What a pretty rose, You are always working away and you have lots to show for your efforts, Hugs Cheri

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  12. Beautiful roses! We don't get dandelions down here so much...but I am waging a battle with the squirrels eating my hibiscus blooms! I finally broke out the cayenne pepper and dusted the leaves with it. Brats!
    Have a great week...I'm sure you will find something to keep you busy!
    Robyn

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  13. Because we don't want pesticides in our lawn I just put up with the dandelions...they eventually go away! I'm not as ambitious as you...2 acres of hand removing them would do me in! I have a few roses and they take work, but I really love them. Have a good week!

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  14. Our dandelions are running rampant, too . . .i think we should just call them flowers and let them go! Sarah

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  15. What a beautiful rose, that.
    Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could figure out
    how to put dandelions to use doing something really helpful
    like fueling our cars
    or curing disease.
    I hope someone clever finds something amazing can
    be done with those simple wild things.
    Hope you're enjoying the May breezes and all the green,
    Jennifer

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