Gardening

[Friday]

I'm making a small orchard in the front area. Last year I planted 2 apples and 2 cherries, this year I planted 2 pecan, 2 nectarine, and 2 peach. Wish me luck, it's hard to get trees started here. Oh, I also planted 12 fir trees and a maple.

I was going back & forth on the whole ‘break a leg” v ‘good luck’ v… would ‘break a branch” even correlate? Or is that just grafting? Hmmm.

Regardless, good fortune & prosperity.

 

[DharmaGirl]

I can always count on you to make me laugh, @Friday!

 

[Aprilshowers]

My cottage gardens had dahlias, coneflowers, lilies, and any perennial that was on clearance at the garden center. My whole front yard was a cottage garden with paths through it. It was beautiful! I didn't grow roses, but I know they are popular with cottage gardens. I also had a few containers of blueberries and raspberries mixed in. I grew all my herbs there and artichokes too. I had beautiful hydrangeas too. You can do whatever you want with your garden. After I moved, the new owners cut down all the flowers and put in a lawn. I was horrified!

I just saw this. They mowed it down! How awful! I would have been devastated! Who doesn't want flowers?? It's been too cold here to start planting yet, but my husband marked it out (I think it's too small but he says if my chronic pain can handle it with the rest of the gardens we can make it bigger next year). I want lots of vibrant color. He tilled it for me last night. I have BIG ideas and lots of enthusiasm if spring ever gets here. I'm expanding my big fairy garden that I have for my grandkids this summer. The boys want a railroad. It's nothing big or fancy, but it's fun. I need to paint a Railroad Crossing sign for the yard and repaint some of my Christmas village pieces into depot buildings. My vegetable garden did terrible last year. I planted a huge crop of pumpkins because I paint characters and cute scenes on them and give them to the grandkids, all the little people we know, and donate them to kids' groups. I harvested a total of zero pumpkins. I was so disappointed! It sure saved me a bunch of time painting!

 

[DharmaGirl]

I want a railroad through my new garden too! I love them! I got 5 giant pumpkins last year and I'm planting more this year. They make great chicken food when I'm done with them. I live in a high desert, cold area in the winter, and up to 115 degrees in the summer, so veggies are hard to grow. I bought a bunch of short season tomatoes, and I will plant them in the shade. Maybe it will work.

 

[Friday]

. I bought a bunch of short season tomatoes, and I will plant them in the shade. Maybe it will work.

Stick a fan on them as sprouts, and move the fan, to a different direction, when they stop being flattened but are leaning into the wind. Repeat, from different directions, until they’re about 6-8 inches tall. Will create stalks almost wrist thick, and branches thumb thick or better, to YANK up nutrients, during the fruiting cycle. Seriously fast/sturdy/productive trick. Requires about twice as much water, though. Both because they are extra dirty/effective at ditching their toxins & thirsty/hungry to grow. Shaves about 20-30% off of expected vegetative & fruiting cycles.

 

[DharmaGirl]

Stick a fan on them as sprouts

Whoa, awesome! I have never heard of this hack, I'm doing it now! I have to transplant the seedlings today so I will try it. Thanks, @Friday!

 

[Dynamic]

In love with Korean lilac

Planting jasmine in a second (in a pot w/ trellis)

Oh I remember what I wanted to share haha

I bought myself a new ring last month or so it’s been symbolic in healing and new life forward etc.

Lost it recently

Just found it in my garden glove

 

[Rose White]

One gardening idea I have taken to heart is to constantly increase the diversity, an idea I got from the documentary “The Biggest Little Farm.” Another idea I hold close is to be lazy, which I got from the book “The One Straw Revolution.”

To that end, I just throw kitchen scraps and seeds on dirt and water it, get plants from cuttings and ones that people toss out, buy whatever herbs I can find.

I’ve been in this apartment for four years and have the tiniest patch of ground but am blessed to have a tree, a very well behaved one! Currently some of the volunteers that are endearing to me are a giant chia plant and rambling potatoes.

One of the most enjoyable things for me to watch is the succession of insect populations. One year it was these bugs—hemipterans, true bugs. One year aphids and assassin bugs. Have had ant and grasshopper blooms. This year it’s some kind of jumping spider that I’ve never seen before but they are constantly showing up—in my house too! Jumping spiders are absolutely adorable. These one’s look like little goths, all black with a brown abdomen, chunky legs, the eyes are as black as the head, remind me of little ninjas. The two I found in my house—I put my hand down and they got right on it like they knew.

It’s fascinating to me how different species populate each year. And since I’m constantly putting out new scraps and plants it’s a random turn of the wheel.

A beautiful swallowtail just flew through. I have no food plant for it’s larvae this year. I had some lovely rue last year but they laid so many eggs on it that the babies ate it all and it died. I didn’t care that much because who doesn’t love butterflies?

I will be moving in a few months and while I’m sad to leave this patch I’m actually looking forward to cultivating the green magic wherever I go. I remember the first day I moved here I was in the upstairs bedroom looking out to the upper reaches of the tree and a common English sparrow landed relight next to me and started singing so loudly, like it was welcoming me and telling its friends that the green witch had arrived . It is a lot of work to move but I have the spirits with me.

Anyway, just musing and celebrating the jumping spiders and diversity and lazy gardening.

 

[Aprilshowers]

My cottage garden I put in this spring is finally starting to take off, but not as quickly as I hoped due to the hot, dry weather and munching rabbits. The conversation piece is the path. After I set the paver stones I realized there was 11 of them. I have 11 grandchildren, so I painted one of their names in increasing order by age in their favorite colors. It's very colorful and each in its own unique style. I planted zinna seeds on each side of the path and they are coming up thick - I can't wait till they bloom. Until the garden really fills in fully with all the other flowers I've scattered some big flower pots with colorful blooms spilling out of them. I collect birdhouses so there are plenty of them sitting, hanging, and placed strategically.

The fairy garden is bigger and better this year, with the added attraction of the railroad station not too far across the yard under a wooden play structure that I had converted into a flower pot/container garden/birdhouse structure which has now been converted into a fairy/gnome railroad crossing. I am such a doting grandmother.

The sunflower seeds I feed daily to the chipmunks they have regifted to me by burying them all over my other gardens and in the flower pots on the patio and out in the pavilion by our pond. We have sunflowers growing everywhere! I'd already planted three rows of them in the vegetable garden for the birds, but I think it's adorable. The chipmunks come and look in my sliding glass doors.

I've been trying to distract the rabbits by setting out carrots. They are happy to eat those, too, but are demolishing the morning glories that usually climb our TV tower, polished off a black-eyed Susan, nibbled on my day lilies, damaged my new asparagus fern, and are eager to taste any new delights that poke through the dirt or I plant in a pot. I was forgiving when the chipmunks nibbled on my patio succulents, but the bunnies are wearing me down. We had several nests this year, and one was in the flowerbed next to our patio. The baby bunnies roamed about right in front of the sliding glass doors and got used to us moving in the house. We named 2 of them Scooter and Skippy. These little guys think the welcome mat is out and they come frolic on our patio, eat my plants, and look in at my cat like they own the world. How can I spray stinky stuff to get rid of them?

 

[Rose White]

Sounds absolutely charming @Aprilshowers ! Your description reminds me of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor. Maybe you’ll find Scooter and Skippy’s clothes left behind some day!

Where I live the rabbits are so destructive that people put walls around their yards or wire cages around any plants the rabbits can get to. There is no repellent that I’m aware of!

 

[Aprilshowers]

We have rabbit repellent to spray on the plants but it is the absolutely most horrific stinking stuff! We used it once two years ago and stunk up the whole neighborhood - and we live out in the country. It seems nasty to do that to bunny families I've bonded with. I'm such a mother. When some critter tore down the birdhouse that hangs outside my door, ripped apart the charming bird home, and brutally killed the babies inside, I don't know who was more devastated - me or Mama Bird. Marigolds are supposed to help repel them, so I guess I'll try planting those...but these guys will probably eat those, too.

 

[Aprilshowers]

Don't know why it sort of double posted like that. My son and I are both having weird phone issues today. Must be the rabbits.