Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners

Added my own additions to the "office jungle" today. Coleus I liked enough to bring cuttings inside. One that just has leaves that are green splotched with white, but it grows to waist height. Shaped like a small shrub. The other has black velvety-looking leaves with scalloped edges I would like to see more of it next year. Would like to have enough to use as background plants in the Northern Stone Garden, (a.k.a. the "Guy Garden") There are many "black" flowered and dark foliage plants there. I didn't want it there this year because I thought it would look too tropical. Originally, wanted to create something that would remind me of a northern woodland, but think I will change the focus to dark flowers and foliage. Develop the Northern woodland look somewhere on the three acres we are clearing this winter. More room to work there and that area seems naturally cooler. The presence of underground water or just the lay of the land, I guess. We've just about decided to turn the new area into working, fenced off plots. What people usually think of when they think "community garden." Keep the center area as communal space to relax. Leveling and flooring the original acreage remains our priority. We will work the new area as time permits. (Jim)

Thanks, Kay dear, I used to be quite the brain before MS started taking chunks of it. Aren't ferrets related to the animal with the gland wherever they get the stuff to make perfume out of? (totally ungrammatical)

LOL

Carrie, I totally understood you. But i'm from Arkansas and i don't think anyone here uses proper English. LOL I've read your articles. There's not a thing wrong with your mind.
There's a young man from Africa on the pet forum. and i try hard to use proper english but doubt that i succeed.
I don't remember what animal has the scent bags except skunks and i know you did'nt mean them.
I liked the coleus. Mine were all pink. green and white. I brought the whole plant inside.
Have a good nite all,
Vickie

Oh no! Surely, DG doesn’t demand grammatical correctness when you are not getting paid for it! Speech therapy put an end to my southern accent, but I still WRITE in southern. And, Jim takes his writing cues from me so he has picked up many of my bad habits. We have a book here called “writing With Precision.” Our blog and our post in other places would improve if only someone here would sit down and actually read it.

Vicki, I'm trying to do the same thing for almost the same reason. Corresponding with someone in the Netherlands. And, the comments that appear on Amargia's blog so far have been from outside the U.S. You especially have to think about humor and if it is going to translate well. Never thought of it before, but there is an American style of humor.

Ferrets are related to both polecats and civets. Now, THAT is an odor identity crisis! Civet is an ingredient in some of the most expensive perfumes. Mink oil is used sometimes, as well. I think ferrets are a little more closely related to those.

A ferret owner will tell you in a New York minute that ferrets are not rodents. That is no doubt true, but they do share the same musky/musty odor. Of course, you do find that odor even in some plants. My nose tells me it is what many people find offensive about the smell of some Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum) I always remember Marni when the Ligustrum is in bloom. The scent of large-leaf Ligustrum is like lilac with heavy undertones of that same musky-musty scent.

Sitting on the deck when the Ligustrum was in bloom, a friend told me it made her think Southern Gothic. Like being in New Orleans and expecting the vampire, Lestat to show up any second. (The character that appears in so many Ann Rice novels.) So, it seems, to be a scent the primitive human mind associates with darkness and predators.

Jim says I have to state that putting cologne designed for people on ferrets is a bad idea. Marni had her own cologne specially designed for ferrets.

Ha ha ha they make perfume for ferrets?

Hey, I'm not putting you on THIS time. They really do make cologne for ferrets. (Jim)

Ok, ok, they make cologne for ferrets. (shaking head.)

DH heard me say today would be a perfect day to plant those bulbs in the garage (warm and sunny) so he's practicing the trombone.

That works? Man, I need to take up the trombone again. They had me planting lettuce in a standing bed earlier. Kay and Fenny are out in the woods, allegedly seeking body parts for a scarecrow. Hands and hair, I believe. Heven forbid, we should have a bald scarecrow. (Jim)

Since i'm by myself and not having an instrument i guess i could sing.
Unless he's a headless scarecrow He should have hair. LOL
Carrie, I did'nt think you'd have anymore warm days till spring. I loved the spring in Mass. It did'nt seem to be gradual. One day it was winter and the next beautifully sunny spring. Here it teases us. One day it promises spring the next it's winter again.

That is one of the odd things about winters here to me. You need a coat in the morning, but by afternoon you would be perfectly comfortable in shorts. Winter just seems to mean the temperature swings become more extreme.

Photo: "Black" coleus in flower. Hope it sets seeds before the cool nights get it.

Vickie, spring in MA is not like that any more. I remember those lovely sunny springs too. Now it just is cold and rainy.

Jim, you know you're supposed to do coleus from cuttings, not from seeds, right?

Carrie, You must be so disappinted about the springs. I am too.
It's been awhile but i used to plant coleus seeds i bought.
Vickie

I've taken some cuttings to make sure I have something true to type next year. I like experimenting with the seeds though in the woods. You never know exactly what they will look like but I haven't had one I would consider ugly yet. If something does show up in the woods I really like, I can bring it back into the landscape and propogate it from cuttings. I'm the Dr. Frankenstein of coleus.

Those who put their faith in science are predicting a mild winter, I believe. But, several of the very elderly, weather wise folk here are saying this will be a cold one. They base their belief on things like the hardy oranges ripening early, how thick the fur is on animals and the sheer number of snakes being seen. If today is any indication, the science types are right. Rainy and warm. (Jim)

Does anyone have any ideas on easy, simple things to do with an over abundant harvest of hot peppers? 'California Green' and 'Cubanelle'. If so, please share.

Being rainy and overcast, it was a good day for transplanting and not much else. I took some plants from the wooded area we are clearing. Tree holly and evergreen ferns mostly. Our winter landscape needs work. No snow to brighten things up and we don't have the wide selection of evergreens found even just one zone north. Most of those can't handle anything hotter than Zone 7. Amargia depends heavily on Magnolia grandiflora, junipers and holly for its green foundation in winter. *Kay*

Kay, You have Holly? I am really jealous. I have tried and tried to grow holly up here and it just don't happen.It's too scarce in Tex and Okla to pick any. I love fresh holly and cedar at christmas.
My weatherman is predicting a cold winter here. Hope so, we need to freeze out some ticks,chiggers and mosquitoes

Try this site and type in hot peppers.
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/,/1-1,hot_pepper,FF.html
LOL! Afterwards while you are at it type in How to cook buffalo!

Thanks so much, Vickie. I just drew a blank on what to do with so many peppers. Stuffed Hot Peppers tonight and Hot Pepper Jelly and Pickled Peppers for the rest. I remember seeing buffalo in Oklahoma. Funny though. I don't remember any of them having wings. Where does one find these winged buffalo?

You might want to try tree holly, before you give up on having it there. I never thought much about using tree holly in the landscape. It was just a woodland tree in my mind. But, Jim came back from Delaware Beach raving about the beautiful holly trees he had seen used to landscape high-end bay side property.
I'll send you some, if I can find a specimen the right size for shipping.

Helping Jim with the living room remodel today. Since it involves a window being taken out, he wants to get on it while it is still warm. His new computer should be in today or tomorrow. He will be lost in that as soon as it arrives. So I'm all for getting as much done on the LR as possible before it comes in and I become a "computer widow." *Kay*

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Kay, i wondered about those buffalo wings for a long time than saw a news special and they Talked about the special seasonings in chicken wings from Buffalo NY. MYSTERY SOLVED LOL

Wait, Kay is using Jim's Login name? TOO CONFUSING!

Tell me about it! Confuses me, too. I come in tired and forget sometimes to check the automatic login name. Only to find out after I've posted that I've submitted under "Seacanepain." I've been trying to teach Jim to put things back the way they were (logout). But, the Tramadol brain fog gets him. He has his new computer now. That will eliminate the problem. He is in the process of setting it up. Sorry for the confusion.

Whew! Good to hear about the buffalo, Vickie. Winged buffalo could get…..messy. Cleaning the car up after the birds is bad enough.

Just taking a break from bridge building. The irrigation trenches are only about a foot deep. But, of course, that is more than enough to give even a young person in a stripped down all terrain wheelchair trouble. Our irrigation techniques are primitive, but effective. We don’t want to give those up so we build little bridges to make wheelchair navigation possible.

People ask why we bother with irrigation since Alabama, in general, is a very water rich place. Amargia has water of some sort on three of its borders. But, occasional floods and droughts are simply a reality of this area. Also, I am seeing more and more anti-Atlanta propaganda. Some bumper stickers even suggesting Sherman had the right idea. (The burning of Atlanta during the Civil War) Water rights are what the anger is all about. Atlanta logically shouldn’t be. It initially grew up around a railhead. There isn’t a large enough natural water source nearby. As Atlanta has grown, it has had to suck up water from farther and farther away. Atlanta has now been sued by groups in southern Georgia, Alabama and Florida. It has affected things as distant as the oyster beds that have always been a part of Appalatchicola’s economy. When people downstream see things like water hogging Kentucky bluegrass lawns in Atlanta, they are furious. It has been rainy this year so it hasn’t been too bad. I dread the reactions I know will come in the next drought summer. Teaching how attractive xerrascaping can be and good water management are the little things I try to do.

Jim has now decided he wants to move his office back into the living room and return his office to its former bedroom status. Well, at least, I know the living room remodel will continue now. I was afraid he would be hiding out in his “lair” with the new computer and the living room remodel would lag. I think he is suffering from “empty nest syndrome” and has decided we need to keep a space available for the children. I’m still enjoying the novelty of freedom from parental responsibilities. *Kay*


This message was edited Oct 31, 2009 1:35 PM

Bain frog?! I don't have bain frog. What you talking about, Woman. Happy Halloween, everyone! (Jim)

I remember reading about the drought down there.Hope it's a long time before you have another.
What color is a bain frog? Is it grey? LOL
I had empty nest syndrom for at least an hour, than turned her bedroom into a craft room.
I know jim is in seventh heaven with the computer. I would be.

LOL Turkey patties huh? not bird patties.

Carrie, Have you still got snow?

Tomrrow i'll take my jack-o-lanterns down and put up one little christmas ornament. DD threatened to commit me!

Officially, Christmas decorating starts here after Thanksgiving dinner. It is part of the Thanksgiving celebration. But, little decorations do mysteriously start appearing here and there after Halloween. The ghost of Christmas future?

We decided on the building material for the permanent W/C ramp to the high deck. This deck gives a view of half of the original property so it would be a shame if it were not w/c accessible. It will be concrete. (And, no I did not bully anyone to get that material. It was the one that made sense. Wood would be too maintenance intensive in our humidity. Steel is too hot where 100+ summer temps aren’t unusual. Especially a problem with rails. I’ve noticed many wheelchair users depend on rails as much as those of us who just have poor balance. I can tell you from experience with our black steel staircase rail that steel can get hot enough to burn in high summer.

Does that end the debates? Ha! Now, we are debating pitch, the slope of the ramp. 1-12 or 1-16 or let it be determined by the length of the ramp, which would probably make the slope even more gradual than 1-16. (1 inch of drop for every 16 inches. etc.)

I consider the lantana to be at its best at the moment because it has both flowers and berries. Despite its interesting scent, I am taking it out of the V.I.’s fragrance garden. Too many people react badly to brushing against the foliage. We will still keep it. It is such a dependable plant. We will move it to the hedge border around the Aztec garden area.> I think it can handle the tougher conditions there. . I would like to wait until the seeds mature, though. Just in case it doesn’t like the move. *Kay*

Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah. I know something about gardening Kay did not know. This lantana is called 'Ham and Eggs' and the seeds are sterile. A good trait for lantanas considering how many seeds they produce. (Jim)

my grand daughter would tell you that Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah is not nice, lol.

I know. I know. Your granddaughter is right. I should be ashamed of myself. But, I do not often know things Kay does not so I can’t help but gloat on those rare occasions when I do. Because I was bad, however, Kay says I can't have dessert tonight. (Jim)

wow, Kay is hard. :D

Hey! I realized Kay did the "nah-nah... thing on a different thread just a week or so ago when she beat me on our weight loss challenge. I can not deny her dessert because that would just help her beat me on the challenge again next week. Instead, I sent her outside to move dirt and pour concrete all day. This means she is probably out playing in the woods with Fenny. She seems magnetically drawn to the woodlands in autumn. Plant and seed snatching, probably. She justifies it since the woods will be cleared soon.

I just read the DG article on seed snatching. So...there are other women who carry garden clippers and zip-loc bags around in their purses? (Jim)

my car has clippers & scissors, brown envelopes, zip lock bags, a sharpie marker, latex and garden gloves. Plus newspaper for wrapping up root balls if I find plants being lifted and pitched like you find at malls, etc., duct and masking tape and a sheet of plastic in the back of my car too keep the car clean. Doesn't everyone? (grin) I collected beautiful yellow mums last year that I planted at church. They are gorgeous this year.

Cathy you sound like a pro at seed snatching. I have never heard it called that but it is a cute way of saying it. I do that sometimes if I see something I like but do not carry bags with me but that is a great idea. I do have scissors and a big piece of plastic in trunk just in case I find something I like. My SIL brought me some seeds today. I haven't had time to go through them and see what all she brought me. We share the love of flowers but that is about all we agree upon. Have a good evening everyone.scraps

Hey! Theres a lot of us seed snatchers out there. One year i called all over the state of Texas to see if it was against the law to collect roadside seeds. I finally ended up with the head of the Texas State Police. I was told there is no law against gathering seeds but i would be hung if i picked flowers.
I prefer to call it plant rescue.

I also snatched dandelion seeds one year from my bank(with their knowledge) Cause we did'nt have any up here.and dandelions are a usable herb.
I'm not as prepared as Kathy. It's an idea tho.

My daughter lives in a subdivision where the builder went bankrupt. There is a terrible lot next to her that won't ever sell, it is too narrow at the front for a driveway (builder screw up). This is our 2nd year collecting seeds to spread there so it isn't just a weed patch. I'm hoping it will be sold at auction so they can buy it really cheap so they can legally take care of it. They are out in the country so they can let it get tall with flowers, etc.

Cathy that sounds like a great way to take care of the ugly lot just scattering the seeds and let it fill up with flowers. But if they can buy it that would be great. I have an area under a power line that fills with blackeyed susans and a few other wild flowers. I might just have to scatter some more things there. Good idea. It is out closer to the road than the house. There is a narrow strip of trees next to the road but you can see the blackeyed susans blooming through the trees. Is there a type of daisy that would work to scatter like that? That would brighten things up too. have a good day all. scraps

The slope alongside our road is too steep for the riding mower and too much of a workout with the push mower, so we are trying to establish wild flowers and ornamental grasses there. It would be too big a bite out of the budget if I bought all the wildflowers I needed to do that. I want to keep a sort of wild, primitive look here. You come .5 of a mile down a gravel road to get here. I think a manicured look would just seem out of place.

You are an inspriation, Cathy. I need to become even MORE organized with my "plant rescue and seed reclaimation" (That does sound better.) expeditions. Especially, the labeling part. I always tell myself I can remember, but that is not the reality anymore.

I have some white and pink pampas, I was thinking of using on the slope. Think I would live to regret it? I want something tough that will control erosion. Pampas grass does qualify in this area and it can handle sandy soil. *Kay*

Kay, your land sounds like a perfect place for seed balls, here is a link to an article about them. It is a great way to scatter the seeds so they don't blow away. We use home grown clay soil since that is very common around here. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1627/

Forgot to say: we don't place them as much as we just kind of toss them so they fall into natural looking clumps. Mix annual seeds with wildflowers because many of them take 2 years to flower. I like zinnias and marigolds for that first year, they are dependable.

This message was edited Nov 7, 2009 4:23 PM

Thank you so much for that link, Cathy. Aside from the recipe for seed balls, it reminded me of a name that had slipped my mind. I was talking to one of the people here about the principles of permaculture only days ago... But, I could not remember Masanobu Fukuoka’s name to save my life. (Sharon Brown mentions him in the article.) I could practically quote things he said in his books. Even, tell the amusing story of what he did to explain permaculture to someone despite a language barrier. I just could not recall his name.

Once, to explain permaculture to someone who was having problems understanding him, he drew a picture of a sweating, obviously exhausted Chinese farmer laboring in the field. Then, he drew the same farmer; fat and happy, sitting leaned against a tree trunk napping and said very slowly, “This is permaculture.”

I will wait a couple of weeks and let the children help me “landscape” that slope. They will have a blast with that, especially the boys. Been researching pampas grass. I don’t think I will use it there. Too hard to rip out if it turned out to be invasive. Fighting arundo donax already. Stick to natives. It can’t really be considered invasive, if it is just an aggressive native. There are some pretty ones.

Zinnias and marigolds, for sure. I did not think of that. I have some large zinnias I love, but they are a bit much close to the house. Be perfect in that area. *Kay*



This message was edited Nov 7, 2009 7:43 PM

Texas has the most beautiful spring wildflowers. Ladybird Johnson was responsible for planting miles of roadside flowers, larkspur and bachlor buttons were included.
Up here coryopsis,shasta daisy,purple and white cone flowers and Joe Pye weed are common.

I vetoed the pampas grass on the wildflower slope idea. Aside from invasive issues, I’m afraid one of the children would cut themselves on the leaves sharp edges. There is something that draws children to wildflowers. We should not expect the kids to stay out of them.

There is a common wildflower here that looks like a bunch of small daisies. Makes me think of German chamomile, but I’ve never noticed the apple-like smell I associate with chamomile. I will try to ID that one. I’ve learned that the on-line catalogs of specialty nurseries are often an excellent source of info. Located a wildflower nursery that gives tons of detailed info to go with the merchandise. Good way to get business from a newbie like myself.

I’m told Joe Pye weed grew here once so that would be a good one to re-introduce. There are wild plants like Ohio spiderwort and Jerusalem artichokes that were probably brought into this area by the folks who came here from the Midwest. They don’t out compete natives so I’m assuming at this point they will be okay to use.

I’m beginning to believe Kay’s “Nature abhors a vacuum” method of landscaping has the most merit in this climate and these soil conditions. The goal is to landscape every square inch because, if you don’t put what you want in the ground, nature will inevitably put things there you don’t like. You will be fighting nature. A battle you can’t possibly win. With a sandy slope and torrential rains, any soil that isn’t well covered and held in place by roots will be quickly los. It is not the neat, well ordered way of doing things I became accustom to in the PA heartland, but I’m convinced it is what works best here. (Jim)

Photo: Kids seem drawn to wildflowers.

My grandmother was the well organized park like gardener.
I'm the unorganized wild garden type.I like to come around my flower pots or gardens and be surprised.
I also never know what kind of wild plants will come up either.
Could you guys have roman chammille? I've never seen any but have heard they're bigger than German
chammamile, I've got shasta
daisys too.