Accessible Gardening: ...so what are you up to?, 2 by Agavegirl1

Agavegirl1 wrote:
Hi guys, :D

Bets...... :[ on the impending surgery. As Jim said though, the end results will be worth it and I\'m sure you will feel better. And if your busy swearing at your physical therapist you won\'t have time to cuss granny out. Granny being granny, I\'m sure will take advantage of your full incapacitation and down time to misbehave and drive you crazy. Good for her. LOL. Keeps you going.

And how much sugar and Chinese food did Granny get for her birthday? *grin*

Just a tip. Instead of buying travel size products buy tiny and small plastic bottles. They\'re super cheap. They have them right around the travel sized stuff and where the cosmetic bags and brushes are sold.

I use the bottles to pour my own products in (except toothpaste and deodorant of course) or scoop out some of my creams and put them into. They come in all shapes and sizes and have saved me a bundle on having to buy a bunch of travel sized stuff that sit around endlessly after I\'ve only used them three times and go bad before I ever need them again.

And.... :[ on the demise of that wonderful \'mater jungle. I\'ll miss it terribly.

All.............

Have to confess I was so exhausted after all the tile work I did not bake. Instead I went to Safeway and picked up Dave\'s other favorite cake. That being their luscious carrot cake that has the golden raisins and walnuts in it and the heavenly buttercream frosting. Have to admit their cake is pretty darn good for grocery store stuff. As close to home made as you\'ll get without making it. I give them an A+ on it for store bought cake.

Made Mexican food. Put the crock pot to good use the day before and made beef in red ancho chili sauce. My famous Spanish rice and simmered whole black beans in orange juice, cilantro, and red onion and some home made salsa were all done the day of the party. Sounds fussy but isn\'t. Good and plentiful \'party/buffet\' food.

As for the pots, no woodland setting wouldn\'t work BUT... the flower garden area and the Mediterranean areas would be lovely.

Amaryllis or tulip of Narcissi bulbs planted in them and lined up in a sunny spot along the house. The Mediterranean garden would be a great area to have a potted plant selection of Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Cilantro, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemongrass (a.k.a. Coriander), Fennel, etc. Even the hot Jalapeño and tiny super hot Thai chili and Serrano and Anaheim chilies will grow in larger pots.

All of this stuff is used in both So. Cal and Mediterranean foods. Both girls would be happy *thumbs up* The pots would make a real pretty border along the edge of the garden or grouped on a patio. Your sunshine and temps would be ideal.

Succulents are also great in these pots. Sempervivums, Sedums, Chicks n Hens, Aeoniums, Kalanchoe, Jade, Echeveria and even the Aloe vera. Works well with both the Japanese and Mediterranean themes. Nice rock garden, border and ground cover plants too. :D :D

So there\'s some excuses to go buy and fill up pots! I love succulents. They don\'t love AZ. They shriek in horror and disgust even in our so called version of \'shade\'. Reason why I don\'t grow them with the exception of A. vera which likes it here.

Makes me envy all the more the fact you guys can grow those glorious lilies and tulips and daffodils and \'vegetables\'. I love balloon flowers too. So cool. Nadine may like a similar plant called Chinese Lanterns. Really cool.

Sorry I have nothing intelligent to add about keeping rain away and providing warmth. Two problems I don\'t deal with here----obviously. Can anyone send me some shade and rain on a regular basis? You know rain. The thing in between spitting mud for three seconds or creating flash floods for three days?

As for drainage we use big handfuls of 1\" x 1-2\" rock we scoop up out of our yard and just toss on top of the potted plants (see pics above) or our entire yard IS rock so the in ground plants are already \'well drained\'.

Weird weather out here still. Temps \'cooler\' in the 90\'s- low 100\'s but the sun seems so intense still. Hard to explain. Not hot from the temperature but still this laser beam effect when you are out in it.

As for me I shoveled dirt out of a huuuuuuuge pot (like the one the \'mom\' A. parryi is in) yesterday. Hoping Dave will take it to the back yard for me. The back yard is my \'project\' now as the front is pretty much done and not another thing can be squeezed into it if I want to account for the size and diameter that these Agaves and p.pears grow to.

Also pruned my neighbor\'s 15 year old Indian Fig p.pear yesterday. Oh....that was a real treat. (Hear the sarcasm). Makes Bet\'s \'mater jungle seem like a joke.

Anyhow, need to go and start the day and change all the Band-Aids on my arms, and hands and knees and shins. LOL

Peace. Out.
TTC

In honor of yesterday\'s p.pear activity the Song for the day: \"Hurts So Good\" by John Cougar Mellancamp LOL

Yesterday\'s visitor to my Agave americana variegated. A cool Mantas. Look close. He\'s hanging upside down and right in the middle of the pic.
Also a dragon fly decided it wanted to come and visit my Agave sisalana. :D