# 80 degrees today....Cherries outside



## terryo (Apr 26, 2011)

Today was actually 80 degrees here, so I brought the torts outside for some sun.
Lil' Solo loving the sun
















Pio...a little nervous...no plants to sit under, as the hosta's and other plants haven't come up yet.











All the boxies are finally up
Chewy's out and about





Millie's out with the big kids now





Kit and Kat...always together...having a dip in the little water dish





Nora finally out





Pi..still the climber





Nolie...always in water





And baby Bindi...in a Christmas Tree storage bin, planted for outside sun


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## Jacob (Apr 26, 2011)

Looks Great!


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## TortieLuver (Apr 26, 2011)

I bet they were surely loving the 80s weather and being able to be outside. Nice pictures and it looks like they have a plethora of food items outside as well.


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## N2TORTS (Apr 26, 2011)

Woo Hoo ....the lil' guys are loving it ! 
Great pics "T".................

JD~


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## John (Apr 27, 2011)

Great pics, If you took away the water dish these would look like photo's taken in the wild, really cool.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Apr 27, 2011)

Great pictures!


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## waterweezel (Apr 27, 2011)

Beautiful pix and gorgeous specimens. Wow - nice flat carapaces!


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## CtTortoiseMom (Apr 27, 2011)

Wow, great pics! I cannot believe how lush the foliage is already! You are not that far south from me but my foliage is not even close to that green yet!!


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## TortBrain (Apr 27, 2011)

Nothing but envy.
Nice torts!


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## dmarcus (Apr 27, 2011)

Very nice tort, I'm sure they enjoyed the nice weather...


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## ticothetort2 (Apr 27, 2011)

Love the outdoor setups, do you have pics on another Thread? Great pics, thanks for sharing...


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## SnakeyeZ (Apr 27, 2011)

I don't think any one of those guys is complaining right now. They look totally in their element.

Nice lush looking enclosures too - do you have anymore full enclosure pictures here in the forum somewhere you can link me too?


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## terryo (Apr 27, 2011)

Thank you. This was the first time they were out, and just for the day. It's still a little cold here and not much has grown from last year. 
This is last week ....one side of the turtle garden....nothing has come up yet...no flowers, hosta's or anything





This is the other side ....just a little water plant coming up...nothing else





This is part of Pio's garden from last year 





This is the other side with the hide





This is the turtle garden last Summer...The hibernation cave





That's the pond side...a little over grown by the end of the Summer


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## SnakeyeZ (Apr 27, 2011)

Remarkable... I love it. Are all those plants edible for tortoises too? I want to get creative this sime while we are landscaping but it'll never look as nice as that.

Great work!


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## HarleyK (Apr 27, 2011)

That's a beautiful backyard for tortoises. Nice shell growth on them!


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## terryo (Apr 27, 2011)

Rich...everything in the tortoise garden is edible. Not so in the turtle garden. In the Spring when they come out from hibernation, they will eat the Hosta sprouts right down to the ground. I don't know how they grow again, but they do. That's about the only thing they eat and only in the Spring. I have a blueberry bush in there and they eat all the one's that drop. There's a compost pile of dried leaves that have every kind of bug and loads of worms that they are always eating too. I have a fig tree near the garden, and they eat all the figs too. There is plenty to eat in the turtle garden, and I never worried about which plant was not OK to eat for them. I am more fussy with the tortoise garden. Pio has figs, blueberries, strawberries, pansies...which are her favorite, Rose of Sharon, and dandelion and if it gets too overgrown, I don't feed her and just let her fend for herself for a few days.
It's very easy to make a garden. The second year it really gets established and looks great. Lot's of flowers make it pretty too.


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## coreyc (Apr 27, 2011)

Very nice looks like they were loving the outside


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## Cherbear (Apr 27, 2011)

I really like your enclosure. Lucky torts. Makes me want to get started on mine!


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## SnakeyeZ (Apr 27, 2011)

terryo said:


> Rich...everything in the tortoise garden is edible. Not so in the turtle garden. In the Spring when they come out from hibernation, they will eat the Hosta sprouts right down to the ground. I don't know how they grow again, but they do. That's about the only thing they eat and only in the Spring. I have a blueberry bush in there and they eat all the one's that drop. There's a compost pile of dried leaves that have every kind of bug and loads of worms that they are always eating too. I have a fig tree near the garden, and they eat all the figs too. There is plenty to eat in the turtle garden, and I never worried about which plant was not OK to eat for them. I am more fussy with the tortoise garden. Pio has figs, blueberries, strawberries, pansies...which are her favorite, Rose of Sharon, and dandelion and if it gets too overgrown, I don't feed her and just let her fend for herself for a few days.
> It's very easy to make a garden. The second year it really gets established and looks great. Lot's of flowers make it pretty too.



Thanks for sharing, sounds like a delicious place to live!


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## DerekS (Apr 27, 2011)

Very nice! Its been warming up here in Ohio but we haven't gone a day without rain in almost 3 weeks now. I'm glad all the boxies made it thru winter ok.


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## Isa (Apr 27, 2011)

Beautiful Terry  You are have a tortoise and turtle heaven in your backyard . They all look very healthy and very happy. What are the plants beside the water dish in Nolies picture?


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## Yvonne G (Apr 27, 2011)

Every year I'm amazed, Terry. Seems like just last week it was snow all over your box turtle pen and now look at it!


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## terryo (Apr 27, 2011)

Thank you for the nice compliments.
Isa....that is sedum. It is a ground cover, and VERY invasive. I am always pulling some out and throwing it away. That is the only problem with ground covers, but I love them for color, and also it prevents them from digging too much. Boxies LOVE to dig. It's OK to eat, so there is some in Pio's garden, but it's high in Oxalic Acid.
Yvonne...there was over three feet of snow on top of that boxie garden, and also on top of the hibernation cave....very scary. That's why I was so worried. But everyone is up and in perfect health. 
I will post more pictures in the Summer so you can see all the flowers. That's when I love it the best.


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## ChiKat (Apr 27, 2011)

Terry, it looks great!! I can't believe it was 80 degrees there- so jealous 
Glad your little boxies are all okay; I know you were concerned.
I love all their names too


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## matt41gb (Apr 27, 2011)

Glad you're getting some warm weather! Beautiful pictures, Terry!

-Matt


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## jackrat (Apr 28, 2011)

Simply beautiful,Terry. Pio and solo have perfect carapaces! I bow to your superior gardening abilities.


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## Candy (Apr 28, 2011)

How beautiful they all are Terry. I bet you can't wait until they pop up in the spring huh? I would be nervous until I saw them. Solo looks like he's enjoying the great outdoors.  I just love your boxies. Their little faces are some of the cutest that I've seen.


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## Wirewehear (Apr 28, 2011)

Wow..... Love your Tort Garden Terry. Really nice! Gave me some ideas for my Deserts.  thanks. And your Torts are gorgeous. My deserts finally came out, was a little worried about them but all is good.


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