[QUOTE=Beaucarnea] Kalhoun, you should pick out 4 or 5 of the most perfect ones to blow up and frame- something nice to ponder this winter. They are lovely- the African daisies look unreal.
/QUOTE]
I had the entire bunch printed in a 5x7 book for the SIL (she goes into a depression when her flowers die off…she thinks of them as children, I think). But she’s kind of pissed me off recently so I’m hanging on to the book until I get un-pissed. Last year’s garden was so pretty that I had an 18 month calendar made for her. That project was fun, too.
Yes, I think a few 5x7s in my kitchen would be lovely. Thanks for the idea!
Beaucarnea I have to deal with alkaline soil, so I don’t have practical experience with acidic soil. The beds by the house might give me a 7ph. I plant for what likes alkaline soil, and don’t even attempt acidic loving plants. Acidic soil like your’s is more the norm. I would ask the local agricultural extension why the soil is acidic in your area. The components that make up the soil in your area, may make it more difficult to correct than a different soil structure. That said, organic mater in the soil buffers the ph swings better. Are the highly acid spots by certain plants, or are they just random? You may wish to do a small map of spots that keep going acidic, and see if a pattern is reveled. Maybe the pattern will only work knowing were the soil always stays corrected. You could have an underground feature that shows when you plot points. It would be interesting if the same spots became acidic or stay neutral every year.
The corn I had was one I’d bred myself by using the seed I liked best every year and including new seed when I found a particularly nice looking ear in the market in October. I saw one company that had the beautiful colors in the ears that I had achieved, and will let you know if I find it. I can’t say what characteristics the plants will have. I used the circle method with this corn and included some of all the colors in the spot. I Had some well mixed ears in the fall and I think that the mixing at each hill helped prevent the ears that were only two colors. No proof on that though.
I found the place that has the similar colors of pastels. It’s a dent variety, and doesn’t have the white or dark colors, so it’s not as pretty. It does show that pastels in green, blue, purple and pink are possible. Many people don’t believe that you can get those colors.
Harmonius Discord, you aren’t going to believe the source of my spotty soil. I didn’t need an extension agent- found the problem quite by mistake. After a long drought, we had a very sudden, heavy rain yesterday, and I walked out just afterwards to check for drainage issues. And I found that water was swirling around the numerous large crayfish holes and draining like a bathtub- taking a substantial amount of nutrient rich topsoil with it. As my garden plot is some 7 feet about creek level, the sound of the swirling, draining water was ominous, and infuriating.Sure enough, the plants surrounding each of the crayfish holes are short, stunted, and perforated with insect damage.
Short of renting a Cajun or placing small dishes of melted butter near the entrance of each hole to act as a deterrent, I don’t think there is a thing I can do about it.
You have some beautiful items on your deck, Trunk- looks like a creative place to relax and meditate. The olive is especially nice.
I think you found the pattern pretty easily. I look for boring grubs and then for a mole destroying the roots, at the first hint of yellow. Let me know how the cajuns work out. I hope the zydeco coming from the garden, doesn’t keep the neighbors up.
Last year I had to run out before storms and make sure the mole tunnels were collapsed down, or I’d lose many cubic feet of soil down the hill side tunnels. The traps are getting them under control. I also lined those beds in places with 1 inch chicken wire. They had to turn at the bed border.
Wow, I am so impressed with these gardens. I feel like such a newb!
I posted a few of these in an IMHO thread a month or so ago, but here is what my gardens looked like. They still look the same, but now I have some shasta daisies, which, if I’ve been told correctly, should multiply year after year. I can’t tell what is weeds and what is flowers in this bed, but I am ok with the wild, untamed look. It looks better than last year, and I think it will continue to improve as I learn.
Front bed:
Dry, new bed that I’m planning to enrich with compost (I think that’s what I was told to do):
I have a huge, sunny backyard that I’m hoping to start landscaping next spring. I plan to study about it this winter and come back with some good starting ideas.
Looks like you have a head start with all those perennials, Indygrrl, good choice. I see delphinium, lavender, day lily, hostas, and I think that is a peony behind the whiskey barrel. All those will come back and will be fuller each year.
The lilies in the dry bed are very pretty. Now is a good time of year to raid the garden centers for sale prices, and if you are diligent about watering and babying them through the hot summer months, you can add quite a bit to your beds now.
Don’t apologise for your garden to people. Brown thumbs will then enter feeling they must find flaws. They likely can’t grow anything, so your’s is a treat no matter what. Gardening enthusiasts will be glad to see it so long as anything is alive. Remember to introduce the beds as cottage beds. They will offer advice and maybe plants, if you hint. Always let a gardener know that you like a plant. They may be ready to divide it that fall, or have one they couldn’t bare to just throw out potted up. Gardeners don’t like to see plants they give you lying unplanted, and dying. so only take what you intend to plant. You did well for somebody that just tried gardening for only a year. Better yet you’re planning now, and you’ll do even better in the future, with stuff planted in the correct conditions.
I’m jealous of all of you. I managed to kill my zucchini plant and the basil looks like it may give up the ghost too. At least my mint plant (potted and beneath the swamp cooler) is going strong. Everyone says mint will take over like crazy, and I hope it actually does so I don’t have to look at dirt anymore. (I just want a huge lush garden to spring up out of the desert - it’s not like I’m asking much!)
Well, I’ve a blog (all gardening, all the time!) with pictures.
pictures and amusing commentary here
I’m hoping next year to build upon my experiences from this year, and have herbs as well.
Everyone’s gardens look great!
Gorgeous productive garden, Labelless. I am so glad you are still having fun with it. Great blog, too, and I promise to have plenty of heirloom seeds to share at the end of the season. My tomatoes are just starting to ripen- as soon as I have a good variety I will take pictures and you can pick your favorites. (I agree with your call that you have a pretty Rose of Sharon, and the blue flower at the bottom of your page is a dayflower.)
Thanks Beaucarnea for the info, I was pretty sure it was a Rose of Sharon, though I’m not entirely sure where it came from. And I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the dayflower either. I might transplant it on my hill with the lilacs, as it is considered a weed, if it does run rampant there, I’ll be okay with that.
And thats so sweet of you to offer some seeds! I’ve already mapped out next years garden, and was going to use eBay for a last resort.
Last night’s storm did a bit of damage to my tomatoes, I had a branch snap, and one laying on the ground. I have to figure out how to keep them as upright as possible with the little amount of space they currently have. But we got rain! And boy did we need it!
No problem,** Labelless**. I always save a few too many seeds each year, and it will be no trouble to stuff a few into an envelope at the end of the season. I have thought about your original thread a couple times, as I still have nostaligic thoughts about gardening with my own grandmother when I was a child.
But I’ve a political motivation behind my heirloom hobby as well: I have very unpleasant feelings towards Monsanto and other companies that engineer terminator seeds. This company has been busy breeding plants which will produce useless,sterile seeds- thus forcing a grower to buy new seed every year. (Same company also has made great strides in breeding disease resistance and also performs some charitable acts, so don’t take my opinion to heart- please research a bit more if you are interested before jumping to conclusions.)
I’m a firm believer that anyone who has access to some soil should be able to grow free food if they want, and I will continue to share seeds from strong, healthy plants so long as I am able to care for a garden. If you are interested in reading a little more about heirloom plants, Seed Savers Exchange.org is a great non-profit that has been facilitating seed sharing for some 30 years.
Or, forget all about my soapboxing, shoot me an address this Fall, and just enjoy gardening 'cause it’s healthy and fun.
People in monotonous suburbia are tearing up their front lawns and planting vegetable and fruit gardens. The article is on CNN.com. A few are catching flack from neighbors and violating landscaping codes, but many are making friends with the neighborhood and sharing the bounty.
I love this idea- anyone who is interested in fighting the Man and planting some tomatoes or arugula, hit me up. I’ve got the seeds of change waiting for your address.
I’ve had vegetables growing among my flower beds for years. There’s nothing more beautiful in the spring than a border of bright leaf lettuce interspersed with marigolds or other annuals. You can successfully mix annuals, perennials, and garden plants with smart planting techniques and it can look gorgeous.
I picked a pumpkin today. It’s been ripe for a while. All the hollyhocks are starting to bloom that I started this year. I hope to post pictures, when I get a bit of time.
There’s someone on the route I walk that has done that with his very expensive ocean-front yard. He has kale, sunflowers, artichokes, onions and a whole bunch of other stuff. Another yard a couple of blocks away did a pumpkin vine one year and got three gigantic pumpkins. I think it’s great.
We also have a friend who planted a small vinyard in his front yard. That did rile a few neighbors. He took it out when he moved, but then recreated it in his backyard at the fancy new house he moved up to.
