Gardening Time!

[rubyslippers]

I want to know what everyone is planting and discovering in their yards at this time of year.

As many of you know, my yard is heavily shaded; and ivy is running rampant. So, right now, we are working on clearing beds, fortifying the soil, and taking things down a notch.

I have one pretty SUNNY area in my front yard. I am planning on planting some knock-out roses (appropriate to my area) in regard to humidity, etc. I also believe I will put some lavender around them. I also have a sunny area I would like to start establishing the equivalent of a true cottage garden border. Does anyone have a recipe for getting started slowly?

I am taking it one little area at a time. Wish me luck! We have been lugging mulch and all of that stuff as well.

So, are the tomatoes out? Do you have basil planted? I love to talk gardening and it has been much too quiet around here in that arena.

So, what's cooking, growing, blossoming, and flowering in your neck of the woods?

Cheers to growing season!

[shabbychick]

I've spent quite a bit of time with my container garden on weekends the last month or so. Today I got my tomato plant in the 'topsy turvy tomato planter' I bought. It's pretty cheesy-looking, but I hope it yields the promised results for my tomato plant (and without staking). I planted some herbs today and deadheaded some flowers. I planted Gerbera daisies, which I love, some snapdragons, and some ranunculus. I've had to battle aphids on my chives and lettuce, but the eco-soap I bought seems to have done the trick so far.

I have a question about soil. I was standing in front of bags of garden soil at Home Depot, which were quite a bit less expensive than potting soil, and I asked the guy there whether I could use the garden soil for my container garden instead of potting soil. He said, "Yes, in fact, it's better." I bought it and have been using it, but I did notice on the side of the bag it does say 'not for containers.' Well, it's too late now, but but does anyone know why you couldn't use garden soil for containers? Am I going to kill everything (not that I'd know the difference since I do usually kill everything anyway)? I just assumed that in general, dirt in a bag was dirt in a bag and that you could use it for everything that had roots.

[ChapterTwo]

From what I remember, shabbychick, garden soil isn't supposed to be the best for container gardening because it's too dense - doesn't let the water through well enough.

I found a good article for you about garden soil and container gardening.
Here's the link, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/containergardening/soil.cfm

but here's the basic info you need to know:
Garden soil can be used as a container media but it needs to be modified or amended. An acceptable soil based mix can be made by using one part garden soil, one part peat moss and one part perlite or coarse builders sand.

You can just mix some of the peat/perlite in around your plants, shabbychick - not to worry! You're going to have some lovely plants...don't give up! ;)

[memmey]

I made that mistake one time. I had a very fertile spot in the yard and I stole some soil from it to fill a pot. It turned out that it didn't drain and when it dried out, as pots will do, it was like rock. The nutrients are there but the medium is, as Two says, to dense.
I think we can use the same principal in the ground. We need to amend the beds so the little tiny roots, that start to grow, can actually work themselves through the soil.
I watched a show once that showed the gardener putting his hand into the soil and coming up with a handful of loose rich soft soil. Hey that is an achievement.
You know the old saying don't you? Put a $2 plant into a $5 hole.;)

[ChapterTwo]

You know the old saying don't you? Put a $2 plant into a $5 hole.;)


No, I didn't! HaHaHa! :D It sure is a good (and true) one, though...

[memmey]

For Mother's day my son my son came to visit me from Austin. He asked if I needed any chores done sooooo I took a chance and asked if he could cut some trees for me. They were growing through the canopy of the old live oak, growing in an azalea bed. He had to climb the skinny TALL things to get them out of the canopy after he cut them. The first picture looks innocent enough...just 4 little trees but look at the pile by the road, it's the tops of them.



http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/nopictures076.jpg




http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/nopictures077.jpg

[ChapterTwo]

Sooooo, Memmey, you had a win/win situation - the pleasure of having your son there for Mother's Day AND he took care of the trees for you. It sounds like you had a super M-Day! :D

How far is Austin from where you live, Mem? My son's friend was thinking about moving to Austin from San Diego.

[memmey]

Well it is about 6 hours from here. He LOVES Austin. They have Vegan drive-thru food. It is really a young fresh place. I think he says there is a common bumper sticker there that says" Keep austin weird ."
I think I have said before that he is a bicycle mechanic but not on Christmas bikes...the last three he built this month cost around $5000. There are 41 bicylce shops in Austin. Everyone rides a bike. In fact he NEVER drives his truck he just rides his bike winter or summer. Your son's friend may really find he likes it there. Has he said why he wants to go there?
I want to go and visit this summer I miss my son so much.

[ChapterTwo]

Memmey - I can just imagine how much you miss your son! Both my kids average about a half hr. away from me, and I think THAT'S too far! :o It's hard, when you spend all those years loving them, caring for them, worrying about them and then POOF! They go and grow up...
I really hope you get to go visit with him this summer, Memmey. Winter's gonna be loooooong again. :(

Anyway...I'm not exactly sure why that fella wants to move - I think he said that CA is too expensive. He's originally from the Northeast and he and his gf had moved to CA. He's got a degree - wanted to be a police officer, but that hasn't seemed to happen. He's the manager of a valet service at one of the hotels.

I read somewhere that Austin is "THE PLACE" for singles. ;)

I like the sound of that Vegan Drive-Thru! :)
Also, all the bike riding is wonderful - good for the environment, and everyone's health.

[ChapterTwo]

Hey, Memmey...How funny is this? After our conversation about Austin, I wandered onto this blog. They're talking about a craft fair, this weekend, in AUSTIN!

http://www.abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

[yarborough house]

Memmy - you just wanted that rock climbing son to climb your trees. :)
My husband still raves about Austin- he went to UT so he is in love with the place. He did say that it is a bit too busy for his age now but back when he was single he loved it and 6th street. :)

Well got my raised beds done- didn't do much in them this year as it is hard to do all this alone. I planted my two tomatoes- cherry and big beef. Skipped the roma this year as they did not do well last year.
I got a cuke going and a zucchinni that is all for my veggies. We have a community garden that 10 of us have planted so most food will come from there.

The flower gardens/cottage style is coming along..here are some pictures:
1501

1502

[yarborough house]

Check out all the different roses blooming :
1503

[yarborough house]

And here is my hydrangea blooming:
1504

[memmey]

I love hydrangeas! I planted some at the front of the porch and they never did a thing...tiny not growing much. I moved them to the front fence and still not growing much. I fouind a web site that told me that they were hot house hydrangeas and I am lucky that they have grown as much as they have. I had no idea that there was any difference in the plants.:( I gave them so 888 and they are making blooms PLEASE let them grow some more.
I dream of a huge bank of them by the fence.

[vintage girl]

Tammy your garden is gorgeous. I can just see myself sitting out there sipping sweet tea:D

[mac78]

What beautiful pictures. If only my green thumb was well "green".

I am sure someone here can answer this....what is the best flowers for containers. Will wave petunias work in containers? I have a 4 x 4 built in planter box on the front porch,,,,,what are some good choices for that....it is mostly shade. Other than impatients, I am not sure.

[yarborough house]

Well petunias don't do well in shade..I'd probably plant some impatients but also plant some hostas- they are beautiful and come back every year..
You could do heuchera (coral bells) too.

[shabbychick]

I can second you on the hostas as the coral bells. I have those planted in containers in my back yard, which is mostly shade, and they come back beautifully every year and are low-maintenance in the meantime. Ferns are also nice shade plants.

[vintage girl]

Marie,

My hubs is the gardener around here. I go with the Elvis Estate look, fake flowers;):D

[shabbychick]

[QUOTE=ChapterTwo;13397]From what I remember, shabbychick, garden soil isn't supposed to be the best for container gardening because it's too dense - doesn't let the water through well enough.

I found a good article for you about garden soil and container gardening.
Here's the link, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/containergardening/soil.cfm

Thanks for the information about the container soils. I bookmarked that website for future reference. I'm also glad to hear I'm not the only one who has made the mistake of using garden soil in a pot. I bought some perlite and mixed it in generously with the soil in the containers tonight, so we'll see if it helps. If not, then I guess my growing season is going to be severely abbreviated this year! I guess I'll just have to sit outside beside my empty pots and drink wine all summer. :)

[vintage girl]

Shabby,

If you drink enough wine you won't notice that your pots are empty:D

[ChapterTwo]

HaHa! vintage girl - I was on the same wavelength...shabbychick will have empty pots and empty wine bottles! :D

I always think back to my mother...long before Miracle Grow and Perlite, my mother used to pot up plants with plain ol' "yard dirt" and they looked just fine. ;)

[memmey]

LOL LOL:D



Hey you guys we need to get GiGi to tell her snake story...oh my!:eek:

[vintage girl]

I collect old bottles. I just love the way they look with the sun hitting them. I put them all around my yard in my old wheelbarrows, etc. Well I also have a rather large collection of old liquor bottles. I had a neighbor ask me one time how I decide where to put the liquor bottles out in my yard. I told him I just left them "where I fell over when I was done drinking". He has never looked at me the same way again:eek::D

[RoseMary]

Tammy, your garden is beautiful~pour a glass of tea and I'll be right over:p.

Memmey, I'm glad you mentioned about the type of hydrangeas. I didn't know there was a difference, either, and I'm wanting to plant some in front of my porch.

Oh, vintagegirl, why did you have to tell me that Elvis had fake flowers:p? It's really too bad. Graceland is in a perfect spot for a beautiful garden.

[ChapterTwo]

I told him I just left them "where I fell over when I was done drinking". He has never looked at me the same way again:eek::D



HaHa! I bet he hasn't...:D


Mem...I don't know that I ever heard Gigi's snake story. Remember, I'm a softy, so if it's graphic...I'll pass! :o

[Carrie]

I collect old bottles. I just love the way they look with the sun hitting them. I put them all around my yard in my old wheelbarrows, etc. Well I also have a rather large collection of old liquor bottles. I had a neighbor ask me one time how I decide where to put the liquor bottles out in my yard. I told him I just left them "where I fell over when I was done drinking". He has never looked at me the same way again:eek::D

Lol. I want to see pictures of the bottles out there. Better yet, I'd like to see a picture of your neighbors face, but my imagination works pretty well. Too funny!

[Carrie]

My gardens is getting bigger. I planted a month ago and luck has been with me on keeping the cold intollerant plants alive. We had a few chance of frost and I had to pull sheets that I wasn't using out of the closet to cover the plants to keep them warm. It worked! The tomatoes are getting big and I should see the first ones ready in a week. The lettuce is ready now and the cucumbers are starting to grab for the net I put above them.
My gardens didn't stop at my gardens. I have a lot of container plants on deck and around my front porch. I'm thinking I may have too many and it looks a little kitchy.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d88/Shadowreb/014.jpg

[ChapterTwo]

. I'm thinking I may have too many and it looks a little kitchy.


Nope, Carrie - no such thing as too many potted plants! What you showed us looks great, and I'm so glad the sheets worked to keep your plants warm. I haven't yet planted the ones I bought at the nursery, so I brought them all into my foyer during last week's "almost frosty conditions". Today I'm hoping to get out there and get everything planted. I'll post photos, if I do.

Good luck with all your veggies! I especially love to grow cukes - they seem to appear out of nowhere!

[Carrie]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d88/Shadowreb/060-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d88/Shadowreb/Garden022.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d88/Shadowreb/Garden027.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d88/Shadowreb/003-1.jpg

[ChapterTwo]

Everything is looking really nice, Carrie. Good job! :)

[ChapterTwo]

Here are:



Purple Petunia Hanging Plant from my son and his fiancée

Azalea (which is next to the garden swing)

Hydrangea from my daughter and her husband

[/LIST]

[shabbychick]

Lovely plants, Chapter Two. That azalea is gorgeous!

[vintage girl]

Very Very pretty. The azelea is amazing!!:)

[ChapterTwo]

Tnx! And don't you love my grass too? HaHaHaHa!
I actually bought seed - it just hasn't gotten to where it's supposed to be, yet. I'd better hurry or summer will be over! (Can't believe Memorial Day is around the corner...)

[Gigi]

Chapter Two-- Lovely flowers!

I wish I had the gardening skills that some have here --- but I do have skills to buy already potted plants, and hangers! :)

[memmey]

Two, see that hydrangea you got from your family? That is the one I posted about. I planted those in my yard and they grow SO SLOW. I read a website that they are not intended to go outside. They are grown in a hot house for the flowers to be so big and they are not really suited for the yard. If you plant yours just know they take forever to get any size....:( I think they are so beautiful.

[ChapterTwo]

Memmey, I thought about your hydrangea when I was posting that note, but then I had some trouble getting the photos up and forgot to ask if that was the type of plant you mentioned.

Well, hopefully, I'll remember to post a photo every spring and we can keep track of it! What color are the flowers on your plant? The ones my mother always grew were a medium blue color - I think I remember that if the soil is acidic, then they turn out blue.

[memmey]

Mine are always pink. I sprinkled 888 close to them and I hope it helps them to grow....bigger. They are knee high and are 8 years old.:(
Now I forgot to say the flowers are a good size but the plant is not.

[ChapterTwo]

They are knee high and are 8 years old.:(



Holy moly! You're not exaggerating when you say "slow growing"...

The plants my mother had in our yard were HUGE!

[RoseMary]

CT, your flowers are so pretty! Especially that azelea! My two azeleas are about tweleve years old and only about hip high. They are pink and red. They are all bloomed out for the season and I remember to take any pictures.

[ChapterTwo]

Tnx, RoseMary! I feel guilty even taking any credit for that azalea, as it was my aunt's. I have no idea how old it is, but it's a biggy! I bet your pink azalea was pretty - I need to get one of those next year, when I have more of an idea of what's here and I've determined gardens.

I was even considering trimming the big azalea way back, because I think that would be a healthy thing to do...but, good thing I looked around first. The fence behind it sort of slants down at that point, and the azalea affords me some privacy. That area is right where the neighbors go in and out of their cars so I'm glad I wasn't in a rush - that would have been a mistake.

[memmey]

Here is a photo of the a 8 year old green house hydrangea.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/nopictures084.jpg



I wish I had known there was a difference. I can't bring myself to dig up a healthy plant just because it didn't get big. Oh well I just have height challenged hydrangeas.:p

[shabbychick]

Memmey, your hydrangea is beautiful. Just tell everyone it's a dwarf variety and, if you like, plant some sweet peas behind it to climb up that fence. I think the plant is lovely just the way it is. I love pink flowers on a hydrangea.

[ChapterTwo]

I agree with shabbychick - it's a very pretty plant! I guess we can think of it as a metaphor for life - the lesson is that we have to embrace what comes our way, even though it's not what we expected. :o

[mac78]

Ladies, your flowers are beautiful. I can't wait to get some things planted.....well if the budget allows that is. ;)

[memmey]

I am trying to learn how to use the manage attachments thing that Two mentioned......now how do I get it on this page?????


Oh they a tiny...how do you make them bigger? OHHHH you just clik on them!!! No more dragging things from photobucket Yea!!!!!

[memmey]

OK I am trying it again to see if I did it correct by accident. More "short" hydrangeas..LOL It works it works bye bye photobucket!!!!!!:p:D:p

[ChapterTwo]

It worked like a charm, Memmey! The "plus" is that it doesn't take up that much room, but you can still enlarge them (although they don't get as nice as big as Carrie's photos were). Success! :)

I thought of your porch fishy yesterday when I was at a flea market and I saw someone carrying two little ones, that seemed very similar, to the cashier. They were in a Pier One box.

It looks as if your big plants (I forget what they were...banana something-or-other??) came back with a vengeance. They look wonderful, Memmey, after suffering through all that bad weather!

Your porch looks so sweet and cozy - I just want to step up there and have a nice long chat with you! ;-)

[mac78]

Memmy, I love love love your porch. It looks so inviting. I always wanted a real porch swing.

There was a neighborhood garage sale on Sat, so we had a garage sale, I made $190 so I got to buy a hanging basket and 2 flats of flowers. So I won't be flowerless after all. I got them all planted, the beds weeded, everything cleaned up and watered. Put the rest of the money back for an emergency. So now I have about 10 pots of flowers sitting around the front porch and back patio for the summer.

[ChapterTwo]

There is nothing like <FLOWERS> to brighten the spirit, Marie!

I'm glad you did so well at your garage sale!

[rubyslippers]

I have impatiens, fuschia, and lobella in my shady windowboxes. Slowly, the plants are all filling in nicely. I fertilized everything today. We got some mulch out last week and did lots of weed eating. Next weekend we may put some roses out ... keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks for sharing all of your garden pictures with me. I still want to plant some basil for pesto. The deer ate my tomatoes last year; so, I'm apprehensive to try that again until we take a few tree limbs down creating a sunny space in the backyard. (Never fear, the limbs actually need to come down for the health of the tree!)

[shabbychick]

Rubyslippers,

It wasn't deer eating my tomatoes last year, it was the neighbor kids. This year I've bought one of those topsy turvy tomato growers that hangs from the eaves. It's been cold and rainy here, so it hasn't exactly "exploded" the way the ad said it would, but it's not dead yet, either, and it's out of reach. Maybe that would help save your plants from the deer.

[CohenCottage]

Marie - I can't believe you made so much at your yardsale! That's impressive! I usually never make enough for it to be worth the effort. I'm bet your flowers look great.

I've been procrastinating on getting my veggies going because I couldn't afford to do what I wanted to. This weekend I decided to hell with it. I'm just going to grow everything in ugly 7 gallon pots. People rarely see that part of the yard and all of our neighbors are renters, so I don't care if they don't like it.

[mac78]

Of all my garage sales, that is the most ever that I have made. Guess it was my lucky day, or the angels knew we really needed it. Now to keep my daycare kids out of my landscaping and out of my flowers......

[yarborough house]

Ahh marie tell them that the flowers are poisionous and they'll go to the hospital if they touch them :)

[ChapterTwo]

Some people here have said that they can't grow anything, so here is some encouragement: 12 Best Plants for Black Thumbs, complete with photos.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/print/0,,20368844,00.html

[ChapterTwo]

As some of you might know, this is the first spring for me in this house and yard, so occasionally, things are popping up from the ground and I have no clue what they are!

Such is the case with the pretty yellow flowers, below. "Buttercup" was my mind's first thought, but I'm not sure if the leaves look "right". I'd be happy to hear your thoughts.
(Sorry the first photo isn't so clear - I think I had it on the "macro" setting. OOPS!)

By the way, the mass of flowers is on my neighbor's property, so I guess seeds blew onto mine to give me the few yellow flowers I have...and I'm grateful! :)

[memmey]

It has the face of a butter cup. All the buttercups here are wild so maybe you have a cultivated one. It is so pretty:) I love yellow and green. It looks...oh no here it comes....fresh;)

[ChapterTwo]

It looks...oh no here it comes....fresh;)

HaHa! There's that <<FRESH>> word again! ;)

[Carrie]

Some people here have said that they can't grow anything, so here is some encouragement: 12 Best Plants for Black Thumbs, complete with photos.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/print/0,,20368844,00.html

I could kill most of those plants just by bringing them into the yard. Most of them are shady plants who like morning sunlight of filtered light.
If you want easy to take care of plants decrative grasses, sunflowers, lavendar, sage, brown eyed susans and dianthus are great, droubt tollerant plants.

[ChapterTwo]

My all-time favorites are hostas (which the article mentioned) and Black-eyed Susans...they seem to go on and on, no matter what!

[shabbychick]

I saw this article online a few weeks ago and wrote down the plants so I can go give them a try. I've been very successful with hostas in my partly-shady back yard. They're pretty much maintenance-free. My neighbor has a beautiful lilac. I had one at my old house that never bloomed much, but the place next to me had a huge lilac tree in their yard that filled the neighborhood with scent. Lilac is probably my all-time favorite flower scent. I'd like to give the goldenrod a try at some point, though it might be too big for my small yard. Hydrangeas do well in the northwest, and I've always enjoyed mine. They're about the only cutting flower I can grow where there's always enough flowers to bring some indoors without making the plant look bare. My dianthus does pretty well, too. Almost everyone around here has rhododendrons, as I believe they grow wild in the PNW. But I have never liked them, myself. Sweet peas were successful for me last year, so I planted them again this year, and they look like they're going to take off. I've tried California Poppies the last two years, and they never come up even though I've seen them growing in other people's yards. Maybe I'll try the red poppies instead. Thanks for the link!!




Some people here have said that they can't grow anything, so here is some encouragement: 12 Best Plants for Black Thumbs, complete with photos.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/print/0,,20368844,00.html

[rubyslippers]

Hey Memmey,

A couple of weeks ago we put out three beautiful Knock-Out roses along with a couple of white iceberg climbers. They are all just babies right now and look like little green plants. They had a first round of blossoms; then, I de-headed them properly, and am working with them to establish their root systems (long drinks of water in the evening in the south). Slowly, the second round of blossoms are coming in - - woo-hoo. I hope they are happy. Memmey, I already used some fish emulsion.

I planted some sweet million tomatoes. I am trying these coyote urine granule pellets. The idea is that you sprinkle them in a circle around your vegetables to trick the deer into believing there is a coyote in the area. So, far it is smelly and expensive. Memmey, it makes the fish emulsion smell savory!!! :eek:

Anyway, the yard is coming together. Tiger-lilys surprised us again from under the ivy in the back; and, the window boxes are filling in nicely. As this is our second summer in our house, I feel like I am getting to know the yard better.

Happy gardening to all ... your yards look lovely out there in cottage land.

[vintage girl]

Hubs is the gardener in our family. I am the one with the black thumb:eek: He completed our summer veggie garden a few weeks ago and it is going gangbusters!!! He planted tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumber, peppers and watermelon. We already have cucumber and squash ready to pick. Tomatoes look the best ever this year. Hubs composts and since we have a wedding business (white pigeons for release), he uses the pigeon poop in the garden. It makes the best natural fertilizer ever. Roses are doing fantastic also. I have been cutting at least 5-6 bouquets for the house, twice a week and still have tons and tons of blooms left in the garden. I do have a question about keeping the cut blooms longer. I heard that putting lemon lime soda and a little bleach in the water works. Anyone heard of this? Or do any of you have something you use that preserves the cut blooms?

[rubyslippers]

I haven't heard anything about bleach, but I have used sprite in vases for many years. You have to cut the stems fresh - - something about the sugar. Anyway, I usually do that with grocery store consumer bunches as well ... especially if they don't put the little preservative packet in the bunch.

Good luck!

[Hillary Black]

I've used Sprite or 7up, too.

A few drops of bleach in the water keeps it clear longer which is nice when using a clear-glass vase and doesn't hurt the flowers.

Using a sharp knife instead of clippers or scissors makes a cleaner cut and I think enables the stem to drink in more water.

Another thing to prolong blooms is called proofing.
-Cut the stem and put them right into water if possible. (If you are cutting a lot of garden flowers, do what my friend does: carry one of those cardboard wine bottle six-pack holders with plastic tumblers or glass jars half filled with water. You can put them in right there while you are outside cutting.)
-Inside, recut the stems at an angle and put into a vase or jar with lukewarm/room temp (not cold, not warm) water and then refridgerate.
-Chilling them overnight or even a few hours makes a big difference.
-In the summer, I'll put my flower arrangements in the fridge overnight to prolong them, too. (As long as there's room in there!)

LOVE flowers! And bees!
Hillary

[Gigi]

Vintage Girl- I'd LOVE to have enough flowers in my garden to cut several bouquets a week--luck you! The roses are just beautiful.

[chyna]

Rubyslippers

I think of you everytime I go to my garage and look at the roses planted there. I reported that my joseph's coats died but I saw that one of them is alive. Yahoo!!!:)

boy I haven't got far at all with my yard this year. We put up flower boxes on the porch and I have dug up some of the mint and added a rose bush instead (sorry Rosemary, I think my plants from you died. Or I dug them up thinking they were more mint) and put in some other plants. All that compost I used last year as a mulch and amendment must have been infected with grass seed because my beds are full of grass. Not happy about that in the least.:mad: I was hoping this would be the year where I would be doing less weeding and more planting. Wrong again.

I've also had some health issues so gardening has been low on my list of things to do. Oh I forgot, we tore the deck off so this year we will probably be putting in a patio. That should be fun. :D

[vintage girl]

Thanks for the tips Hilary:) I will give it a try!