I have another question. Anyone ever grow their tomatoes upside down. I seen ads on t.v. for a container that you plant your
tomatoes in the they hang upside down. My father-in-law thought maybe you could use an large empty bleach bottle.
thanks again, Jackie
Just spent some time outside cleaning out my plants around the bird bath. Had marigolds there from springtime. It was starting to get over grown. Always use a hoe to chop everything out. Hate the smell of marigolds no wonder it keep bugs away. PUt a few cuttings from my purple bush all around the bird bath to give it some color. They usually catch and form a beautiful bush.
The temp. is 78* with 40% humidity there is a nice breeze at nine miles an hour felt good to be outdoors.. Tomorrow should be cooler only in the upper sixties
Time to start cutting back plants and trimming bushes.
_______
Sueanne.
__________________ *~*~ The secret to happiness is not to get what you want, but to want what you already have.~ *~*
Hello fellow gardening fanciers! I too love gardening but these days need a bit of help to do some things due to an injury. This growing season is going to be intense in my beds. They have been neglected for a few years when I moved out to help my beloved and much missed mom who was out of rermission for the last time. It will be major overhaul time for hubby and I in both our front and back yards this year for sure!
Had such a small front lawn that we just made the whole thing a garden with no lawn. The boulevard strip on the other side of the city's sidewalk provides a piece of that sort more traditional urban greenery to front our alternative outdoor space. Mixed reactions from the neighbourhood but general concensus was mostly positive and other people even followed suit in years to come afterward with their own interpretation of lawnless frontspaces that were still very green and that all incorporated other elements such as stone and so forth.
Many people that stop by and chat in passing, often due to our cherry tree and oversized healthy hydrangea, have said they include our street in their walks so they can see our garden when they go by which makes the few tradionalist nay-sayer's opinions seem mostly mute for me. Can't please everybody and frankly I am a tad more concerned with pleasing Mother Nature so she'll continue to dazzle and delight us by sending assorted winged creatures to visit us too!
I was going for a more "natural" look and hoping to attract birds and butterflies but it's gone a tad too "natural" on me in some ways. Our garden has sort of gone a bit wild on us. The plus side to that is several things have matured and spread nicely, like the Creeping Jenny in the rockgarden. One of my lilies in our sort of kidney-shaped large front bed has even naturalized and is producing one of it's parent plants that I know was never purposely introduced which actually is a nice surprise and welcome addition but my poor daylilies need dividing desperately and there's problems with some unsatisfactory additions that choked out very desired plants. Success and failure, trial and error... isn't that just all part of the joy of gardening and the whole constant learning process that it is? In a way, isn't it part of why it's so fun and why we can take pride when things thrive and people say your labour of love is well done? Some surprises and survivals, and even those sometimes disappointing casulities too, but such is life I suppose and makes the victories that much sweeter?
People think I have a green thumb but really that's only because things pretty much either sink or swim in my beds. If it doesn't do well, then it does very badly, dies and is gone, which then leaves the good stuff that looks okay. Bit harsh gardening up here in the Canadian Prairies and some things don't make it through winter that could. Many things won't do well and must be treated as an annual when really they're not but that's the price paid gladly sometimes to grow something not zoned for up here. The clay soil makes for added challenge and work too.
It's sounds somewhat sad? Certainly, our garden was so much nicer than it is right now, but on the bright side, it can and will be at it's best again, and even dishevelled our garden is helping us to meet new people and make some new friends!
Likely will be looking for info on different introductions to replace the mistakes I tried first and I will share any lessons, tips or tricks I can remember to mention? Another part of the joy of gardening - sharing. Happy gardening everybody!
PrairieGal....Welcome to FC. So glad to meet someone who likes gardening too. Spent the day today hoeing and digging out weeds in my gardens. Watered everything that needed a good soaking to get the roots to start blooming. My fig tree has all little buds of leaves sprouting. Guess it knows when spring has arrived.
My neighbor in the back was out in her garden too moving plants and giving alot away too. Everyone seems to be downsizing after twenty years. Old age is creeping up on everyone.
I could stay outside all day in weather like this especially when I see the improvement in the landscaping. All the bending and walking tighens up the muscles that you don't always use. A little every day is really paying off. Think I have everything trimmed back and looking good.
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Sueanne
__________________ *~*~ The secret to happiness is not to get what you want, but to want what you already have.~ *~*
Oh my, I envy you. Up where I live in Manitoba, Canada there is snow everywhere still. At best people are buying plant plugs and nursing them to put out in May. Sometimes, like with tomatoes that you can start covered in framed plastic or surrounded by those water filled things, we can put some things out in April. I'm not starting my own plants early this year because I have so much clean up to do. Plants have a way of moving around the bed if you don't keep them in check and so many of my perennials need divided. I'm ripping out ALL the vinca I planted but might keep some for in baskets or something? It's nice, but better under a pine tree that kills the grass or something where you need a ground cover instead of grass or in containers. Itching to get at it - you lucky thing, you must live somewhere with much milder climate than up here?!
Soaking roots already are you? I know a great booster drink for your garden if you happen to also have a fish tank at home or a friendly neighbour that does? Chock full of nutrition and fertilizer is the waste water when you change the water to clean your fish tank. It's free and thrifty, good for your plants and trees and even the environment too. It's one of my favorite "tricks" and my plants seem to thrive on it. My hydrangea is the biggest in the neighbourhood. I fed my cherry tree the grey water from our fish tanks as it was growing up after I first planted it from year-old stock from a nursery and I had cherries on that tree in 3 years instead of the 4 the nursery told me it should take. Like to collect environmentally friendly gardening "recipes" and tricks like that because I mix edibles with the ornamentals and also because the garden attracts so many birds and other lovely living things things. No plant food has ever produced the results that the grey water from our fish tanks did. I'm hoping to find somebody nearby with fishtanks because we haven't any up right now. When mom got sick and then I got hurt, all the extra pets besides the cat and dog had to go. Couldn't juggle it all. It's possible a local pet shop might be willing to give me some dirty water after they clean their tanks? Worth a shot to ask, worst they could do is say no?!
I'm thinking of going a bit lily crazy. I love both daylilies and the others such as the orientals and the like. They do well up here and if you choose carefully and pick early, mid-summer and late bloomering varieties, you have colour most of our growing season. Love tulips and roses too but haven't any yet, maybe this year or next, once we've got things sorted out and in order again? Unlike lilies though, of which I do have a few different kinds. Been thinking I might try not buying a bunch of less expensive varieties of plants this time (much to replace after 3 years neglect) and switch to trying add one new special lily and one new special daylily each year and then I'd have something more unique and easier to trade later with others for other things I'd like to try? Hoping to trade some daylilies for new crocus colours since I've only one so far. They multiply so fast but don't bloom very long and it makes me loathe to spend much on them but I think they're pretty. Haven't tried growing figs. I've seen indoor plants that are called fig trees but I've never seen figs on any of them.
What are your flower favorites? Do people ever swap seeds at FC?
Last edited by PrairieGal; 02-28-2009 at 08:34 PM.
I started saving the 1/2 gallon milk jugs about a month ago to fill and invert in the garden to help cut down on watering this summer. I probably will end up with only enough for the tomatoe plants since I generally plant about 12 of them. Hmmmm I should call my sister and ask her to save hers for me then I could do the bell pepper plants too.
Started my worm compost today... well it will be once I buy some red wigglers to put in it. Layered shredded newspaper with coffee/tea grounds and fruit/veggie scraps. I'm using an old plastic bin with lid that has been on my back porch for several years.
