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Accessible Gardening: ...so what are you up to?, 4 by Agavegirl1

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In reply to: ...so what are you up to?

Forum: Accessible Gardening

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Agavegirl1 wrote:
Hi guys, :D

thank you for the kind anniversary wishes. 11 years. Made it past the first milestone of a decade. So I guess the fact Dave and I have hit double digits is a sign of successful mate selection. Or it proves all successful marriages are based on the fact that neither spouse owns a handgun. *LOL*

We did have a very nice time. It was great to literally wipe the dust off my heels and put on some of my work clothes from my former Neiman-Marcus days. They still fit!!! Hooray!!! I always feel better when I wear something that doesn\'t have old paint, grout or cactus needles and dirt on it. Dave looked good all dressed up. He cleans up well and looks great in something that is not a uniform.

We went to a really nice restaurant here locally. Food was average despite the outstanding presentation and wonderful ambiance of the restaurant. Best part was the drink, the appetizer and the desert. But I would have been happy with a Happy Meal. It was just nice to sit and \'look\' at each other and talk about other things than work, family, health, money, etc.

So we had the best time ever and enjoyed our day. Dave surprised me in another way. I did not know this but the restaurant had some history to it as it had been there from the 1930s. Looking at the outside it had the appearance of some local-yokel, low brow chow kind of place. Inside was beautiful. What was even more spectacular was the patio and garden. WOW. It was built around some cacti over 100 years old and many rare, unusual and exotic species were imported by the original owner and now the new owner.

The sun was going down but I managed to get a few pics. The owner gave us a tour as he is as big a cacti nut as I am. Dave endured patiently as he found the cacti interesting but on a surface level.

I posted some pics below.

As for plants envious of everyone\'s\' activities. Things have pretty much slowed down here with the agaves. Aloes still going strong and a few little plants but for the most part things are heading towards a stasis period. I am hoping the shriveled, wrinkly appearance my agaves adopted all summer will go away since the sun is kinder and weather cooler.

Basically they are dehydrated despite the fact their roots are wet. Kind of like you having enough water in your body but your skin looks like a raisin. Pouring more water on the roots won\'t help. Constant wetness only causes rot on agave and desert plant roots. Sounds counterintuitive but desert plants are weird due to their shallow root systems.

I have been topping off the soil in my potted plants when I can. The sun has the most amazing way of transforming any rich, healthy soil into literal dry, dusty, nutrient void dirt that is powder like in texture in a matter of 6 months. So I go around to all my potted plants that I can manage and take them out, scoop out half of the old dirt and pour in some new soil and repot the plant.

When the end of fall-start of winter hits I give the plants their final watering and fertilize. Winter I water about every 5 or 6 weeks depending on rain/lack of. The shriveled appearance of the plants and agaves has been due primarily to surreal heat of June and July and the lack of August rain, and the ground\'s inability to retain enough moisture for the roots to suck up the water and distribute it and circulate it to the leaves and keep them hydrated regardless of the fact the plants\' roots were wet. See, that\'s why constantly overwatering the agaves would not have been helpful. Make sense?

As for fall-winter blooms the barrel and hedgehog cacti will get going and the Ferocacti. Pretty blooms in their own right and quite stunning.

Still envy all of your bulb planting and planning and anticipation of a color explosion for the spring. We won\'t discuss my lack of glorious fall foliage. :[ Pictures please!!

Our weather has been great. Low 80s to low 90s, little humidity and several overcast days. Yes...we enjoy NOT seeing the sun on occasion. I\'ve actually had the doors open and turned off the air several times now. If the air does kick on it is due to the fact the indoor temp is at 81-83 degrees inside.

As for warm breezes........we got them. Only problem is they\'re more strong winds than breezes. I\'ll send them your way BUT you have to take it with all the dust that goes along. Non negotiable on that one. You\'ll be warm but you better stock up on the Pledge and the Windex and plan of keeping yourself busy with the vacuum cleaner!

Can you send me some rain? You know \'rain\'. Not three seconds of spitting dust laden water that turns to mud the minute it hits the car or a three day non stop deluge that becomes a flash flood. Real \'rain\' would be much appreciated.

Home improvement........sigh. Little jealous and not at the same time. Jealous in that you are able to and have the time to continue with your projects. Not jealous in that I don\'t miss the grunt work and constant clean up for two weeks after.

Dave and I had originally planned on putting laminate flooring in all of the bedrooms. The more we looked into it the \'fussier\' we discovered it to be and the more problematic. If your house was built on a concrete slab you have to level that off to make it even prior to laying it down. Uh...what\'s the time, cost and effort involved in doing that. Then there is the glue used to make the laminate stick and the fumes. Then there is the time to let the laminate dry prior to putting any furniture on it which is about three days. And where exactly does one put their two bedrooms and third bedroom now office furniture while all this is being done?

Then in regards to the furniture its self and the floors you have to put pads on the bottom of all the feet so the laminate does not get scratched and if it is big or heavy furniture the weight could sink into the floor and leave dents. Oh...did I mention special cleaning products as some of the regular ones will ruin the finish?

This is laminate!!! Not bamboo or hardwood flooring. Seriously??? What a major PIA.

We so do not want to bother with this insanity. We also don\'t want carpet. We found what looks to be a compromise. Tile that looks exactly like a wood floor. Comes in a multitude of tile sizes, and wood shades and grains. Grout line is imperceptible at 1/8 an inch. Best of all we know how to do tile and can do it ourselves!!!

So that is our solution to the bedroom floors and will be our next project. Oh not to mention doing the laundry room \'whenever\' to match the rest of the tile throughout the house we already did. We still need to paint but again that is a \'whenever\' project and not a priority. Our walls are white which is fine. Also it can\'t be a million degrees outside because we need to open the doors for fumes, we don\'t want the air running 24 hours to cool the outside rather than the house, and it can\'t be humid. Looks like another fall-winter \'whenever\' project for us.

Talk about shooting the \'look of death\' at each other. Who wants to start taking bets Dave and I make it 12 years. *LOL*

So without more delay here are a bunch of pics from our anniversary and some of the interesting cacti to behold. Sorry don\'t know the name of a lot of them.

Me looking all purty. Phew...hair turned out o.k. with cut and color.
Dave looks great all dressed up. He\'s 6\'6\" and the cacti, I dunno. This was in the garden at the restaurant.
This is Angel he is a chef at the restaurant (which is how Dave found out about it) and also happened to be our neighbor across the street for awhile. He and his wife just recently moved. :[
Needless to say Angel hooked us up with a free appetizer and dessert. *thumbs up*. Owner gave us a free drink. *even better*

More pics to come of cacti.