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Cirashala
Valinor
Jun 29 2014, 10:38pm
Post #51 of 89
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There are also a LOT of shrubs in the area, so I could be smelling a shrub, rather than a tree, but either way some of the homes I pass have some type of stinky plant on them!
Next time I go for a walk, if I remember (and don't cause the neighbors to get upset) I might take a picture of the yards that stink, and look them up and find out what is stinky  That might help- who knows? Or I might just ignore it and just walk a bit faster past those yards lol 
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Magpie
Immortal
Jun 29 2014, 11:04pm
Post #52 of 89
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It was musty smelling for awhile but we checked and couldn't find any hidden wet items. We just ran a fan against the concrete wall and dried it out. We try hard not to have stuff sitting directly on the floor for this very reason. It's not a finished basement. Concrete walls and concrete floor.
During the 1987 Superstorm, our basement flooded with about a foot of water - a mixture of storm and sewer water - when the floor drain backed up. "The largest flash flood in Twin Cities history began on July 23 1987 and ended during the early morning hours of July 24. Known locally as the "Superstorm", the storm caused damage to 9,000 homes and killed two people." That alone would have been bad enough but we were out of town. Out of state, actually. And it all sat in a closed up house for 3 days till we got home (we had no knowledge that it had happened).
We pretty had to throw most stuff in the basement out except what wasn't damaged by the water and could be sterilized with a bleach solution (like legos).
But flood damage is not covered by most home owners insurance. If you think you might need it, you have to buy special coverage and its only available in some areas. It might be available here since our water table is so high (Land of 10,000 lakes and all...). But we don't have it.
They have since taken steps to insure that sort of backing up doesn't occur but it can in extreme conditions and we were cautioned to watch out for it with the recent storm we had.
There were areas of the city where houses were destroyed in the superstorm. The houses were torn down and made into park land with big storm drains to handle and similar future events. Like I've said, one reason we have so many parks and natural areas is that those lands floods so the city doesn't let people build on it.
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Jun 30 2014, 12:14am
Post #53 of 89
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They bloom in early-mid May in Maryland. Boxwood smells like cat pee, especially in the heat of the afternoon. And there are a few spirea (large shrub small white flowers in clusters) that can smell very stinky on a warm day.
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Brethil
Half-elven
Jun 30 2014, 12:18am
Post #54 of 89
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but 'garden' always catches my eye! I love digging, planting, watching life.
I grow lots of perennials for wildlife and fall seed production; fruit-wise I grow apples, peaches, blueberries, strawberries (all for them and us). I just put in some aronia bushes too. Maybe this week I can post some pics. For tonight I'm off to bed.
The stinky trees and shrubs BTW generally mean their pollinators are flies. Ginko is smelly, and some viburnums are as well, while some are fragrant.
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Jun 30 2014, 4:23pm
Post #55 of 89
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If you just brush it as you go by, it stinks kind of skunky mixed with rotten meat. It is a low-growing plant. I have found that it keeps cats from using your flower bed as a litter box.
Pictures. I don't know if it grows in Idaho, though.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 1 2014, 1:39am
Post #56 of 89
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of plants used in landscaping that aren't native to Idaho around here, so it wouldn't surprise me if it did indeed get put in some gardens with that pretty flower
Who knows? I will keep an eye out next time I go for a walk though- when I'm well again
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Donry
Tol Eressea
Jul 1 2014, 11:12pm
Post #57 of 89
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All of the gardening mentioned...
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Veggie in the ground, flowers in the ground and all in pots as well.....the veggie garden is seriously lacking right now....tough to keep on it..mostly rhubarb and some herbs at the moment...grapes too.....
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 2 2014, 1:14am
Post #58 of 89
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My wife has been maintaining a very modest garden.
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Tayna has some herbs and strawberry plants. She also has some rose bushes. We do have elderberries growing wild behind our garage.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 2 2014, 3:12am
Post #59 of 89
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I plan on starting a grape vine
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when I can spare the thirty bucks to get one, plus the lattice to help it climb
What kind of grapes do you grow? My grandmother did concord grapes, but when I was in the local nursery pricing them out a couple weeks ago, I saw green varieties too (white grapes? All I know is they're green on the outside). And the gardener that worked there said that you can make jelly out of green grapes too- something I would be very interested to try (haven't had green-white- grape jelly before).
What do you make your grapes into?
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 2 2014, 3:15am
Post #60 of 89
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Well, at least I've heard they are  Can you describe that sort of taste?
I plan on having blackberries and blueberries someday, in addition to my strawberries (I adore huckleberries, but they only grow wild- so we go out beginning of August and pick as many as we can find, because if we purchase them from farm stands they run about fifty bucks a gallon bag at least).
I've wanted to explore other berries, such as gooseberries, elderberries (I've heard that elderberries also have some natural healing traits), and currants. I don't know if any of those will grow here, but it's worth a shot!
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Jul 2 2014, 3:20am
Post #61 of 89
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but I just remember it being yummy and tangy.
We bought 2 thornless hybrid blackberry bushes which got huge in 2 or 3 years. We have fruit for a month from them!
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 2 2014, 3:31am
Post #62 of 89
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Do you happen to know what the name of them is? I have small girls, so I would rather them not have thorns (my one concern with blackberries). I didn't know they came in a thornless variety
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 2 2014, 5:42am
Post #66 of 89
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Well, at least I've heard they are Can you describe that sort of taste?
Well, elderberries are just a little bit like blueberries, but much smaller and they grow in clumps of 2 or 3 dozen. They are very tart, and almost more seed than fruit. When elderberries are ripe, they are a dark purple that is almost black. Elderberry pie is very good but needs a lot of sugar (say 2 cups) for a single pie. I don't recommend it for someone with dentures!
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 2 2014, 5:02pm
Post #68 of 89
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Elderberries are very small, so there's no need (or easy way) to pit the seeds. Just be prepared to have them get stuck in your teeth! We are in Western New York. Around here (unless I'm badly misremembering) the elderberries tend to ripen around the end of July or in August. Here is what a ripe bunch looks like:
Oh, and one thing that I was unaware of until now. Some varieties (especially red elder) are at least mildy toxic until cooked. Good for pies, muffins and jams; not so much for raw snacking.
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Jul 2 2014, 5:08pm)
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 2 2014, 5:12pm
Post #69 of 89
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that's good to know (toxicity)! Might not be a good idea to have them around yet, at least until the girls are old enough to a) differentiate between it and other readily edible berries, and b) know not to eat them raw.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 2 2014, 5:33pm
Post #70 of 89
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This probably goes without saying, but wear dark colors when working with elderberries. They do stain.
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sauget.diblosio
Tol Eressea
Jul 2 2014, 5:44pm
Post #71 of 89
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Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
From Monty Python.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Jul 2 2014, 5:49pm
Post #72 of 89
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I usually do wear dark clothes with berries
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Huckleberries stain badly too, as do raspberries and blackberries and blueberries. Strawberries do also, but not to the same extent
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 2 2014, 5:50pm
Post #73 of 89
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Maybe slightly musky? I wouldn't worry much about eating the type of elderberries we have here in the north-east U.S.; I've been eating them for years (decades really) and I'm fine.
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Jul 2 2014, 5:52pm)
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Donry
Tol Eressea
Jul 2 2014, 8:39pm
Post #74 of 89
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but not sure what kind....the previous owner of our home started the vine so no idea what he put in. We brought back to life and have been nourishing it like crazy since we bought the place. It was almost dead and now we are running out of room for it. At the moment, we eat them as is. No jelly or wine as of yet. Would love to get a bottle of wine out of it eventually...might finally be able to get some after this summer.
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Silverlode
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jul 2 2014, 10:15pm
Post #75 of 89
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Chiming in here because we planted elderberries in our yard and make lots of yummy jam from them...
First, the bushes tend to get tall, especially if they're well-watered, and require aggressive pruning yearly to keep them to a reasonable size. (We don't mind, as we planted them in part to block the view of the neighbors' house). That means that most of the berries on ours are out of the reach of small ones. Secondly, since they tend to be very sour, they're not going to be that tempting for children to snack on, especially if there's anything sweeter already growing in the yard. The tartness is part of what makes them great for making jam or syrup, of course. It keeps the finished products from being cloyingly sweet.
The native type of elderberries we have out here (CA) have a powdery bloom on them which makes them look sky blue, though they're dark underneath like the picture Otaku posted. According to at least one site I looked at, the effect of eating lots raw is a "laxative effect", but I can't really imagine wanting to eat enough raw to get to that point - too sour. The red varieties are more toxic and aren't good for eating, but you wouldn't be planting those. When we make jam, we boil them, strain them through cheesecloth and use the juice to make the jam, so we don't have seeds in the finished product. The flowers are also supposed to be edible, but we've never gotten around to trying it.
Elderberries are high in Vit C and antioxidants, so they're good for boosting the immune system. There are commercially available cold/flu elderberry supplements out there, which my family has been taking for years to good effect. At the first signs of cold or flu, I head straight for the elderberry lozenges (the syrups have too much sugar in them for me).
I don't really know how to describe the taste, because it's pretty distinctive. My best attempt is to say that it's like a cross between blueberry and tart plum or cherry. The plants themselves, even the flowers, aren't strongly scented, though when cooked the berries are quite aromatic. Our elderberries are in bloom and berrying at the moment, and you don't smell them when you go outside, the way we do with our roses or oranges when they are in bloom. BTW, that Monty Python dig, "your father smelt of elderberries" is probably aimed the common practice of making elderberry wine. It's implying that said parent is a tippler in homemade wine.
(This post was edited by Silverlode on Jul 2 2014, 10:16pm)
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