The green floral foam sounds like a neat process. I'll have to try it. I'm rooting a few things now. I'll pass this idea on to my dd who also loves to garden. Thanks!
Lin
Cottage Gardens
I know a very wise older woman from Japan who could root a broomstick. She takes floral clay, takes a rose cutting, dips it in the rooting hormone and then wraps the clay around it in a ball, tightly. I don't remember the rest....been a while since she showed me. I'll find out about the watering (if any) and get back to you.
LOL CJ, now I'm wondering what kind of tree my broomstick is. I would try it, but I love to sweep. It's very therapeutic, like watering, except you can do it when it's raining or right after a rain. When I was little,when my sister and I would be whining about the 'we don't have anything to do' blues. My mom would say, "Why don't you go sweep the porch, it sure is dirty." That usually shut us up real quick .
Hey Fly, what type of rocks/little boulders are those surrounding your first picture? I dig those.
K, those are called 'big rocks'. On 1488 toward Magnolia, there are several rock places that have those. Be careful, they're heavy, my neighbor decided to get some, put them in her car, and dropped one on her toe unloading. I love those rocks, nothing moves them. You can hit them with the mower, or the weedeater and they don't budge.
I need to get me some of those. Wonder if they deliver.
These are my favorite caladiums.
About the big rocks, are they cemented together? If not, do you have much of a problem with grass growing in between them or soil washing out? I really want to use small boulders like that to edge my beds in the back yard.
Thanks!
Hey Sweezel, they aren't cemented. I keep a 'dead-zone', a 4-5 inch gap between the rocks and the SA, which helps, you have to keep on top of it. They're really close together, I push mulch in the gaps and eventually the soil doesn't wash.
Cool! Is the dead zone with the weed eater or herbacide?
Weed-eater
Oh Beautiful fly girl! I musta missed this thread! I would like to pick your brain a bit and get your opinion on some future plantings- my back yard is still a blank slate. It's late tonight but I will be back to ask you some questions tomorrow!
Hi Fly Girl! Now I know your name is short for Butterfly girl, so I figure you like to have them around- so do I, and I also have Lesser Goldfinches snacking on my delphinium seeds and my Bachelor buttons- I am confused about the delphinium seeds though because I thought they were poisonous.
How old are your beds? How long have you been gardening? How many hours do you spend per wekk or day gardening?
Hi Croc, thanks, my beds are 5 years old, that's how long I've lived here in Texas. I'm still learning what to plant and not in this brutal heat and humidity. I spend about 10 hours a week, only because I've run out of room and budget :)
Wow 10 hours a week... I might spend 5-7 in mine I would spend more if I had the time to give it!
I am in my 3ed year here and still working on mine adding the beds out to fill in the shape that I want so in a year or three it should - if everything goes well - look great!
My beds are always a work in progress, something always needs tweaked. I think that is part of the gardening lure....the thought that someday this bed will be PERFECT! It will stun the world how perfect it is ;). Right now I've got an obedient plant that will not stand up, he's in a pot so he doesn't take over, that could be the reason. I'm getting ready to move him. My verbena looks horrible from all the rain. My trees need limbed up more, I can't reach any higher even with a ladder.
Mitch, croc, sweezel......do you have any pics? Love pictures, they always give me ideas and a chance to see what everyone else is growing successfully..
This message was edited Jul 12, 2006 12:26 PM
lol - pics? ummm not yet I am still working on bones right now and everything looks good for being so new... nothing like yours! yet
Pics? I could show you what will go in my cottage garden, but not an actual garden bed. :) Right now I have a pot garden - at least 75 pots (mostly gallon size) crammed in the back corner of my yard, surronded by chicken wire. The chicken wire is so that my dog does not play sling-the-dirt with the pots. We moved in 4 months ago, but I still have not removed the bermuda to create large beds. :-/
removed the bermuda? lol that is something better said then done... I keep fighting in that one.... if you find a good way short of the digging down 6 to 8 inches please let me know. I really need it by now.
LOL Mitch, that is exactly why it has not been done. I am scared to death I won't get it all and will battle it for years. Four months now and still no sun beds because of it. I am just a little wuss and completely indecisive.
I go back and forth between renting the sod remover (which I can't afford right now) followed by hand removal of extra roots, OR just roundup-ing it all. I really really don't want to use round-up, but I am worried that nothing else will work. I could do the black plastic or cardboard thing, but it would take a lot and I am too impatient to wait for the grass to die if I do that. Plus the dog would have a field day with it if it was not staked down and covered with mulch.
The picture is of the area where the big bed will go. It extends behind where the trampoline is and will have stepping stone paths through it. The dog in the picture is not the one that is the problem. :) It's my other one not pictured.
mine here laughs at round-up... laughs at anything I do but dig down in deep and lift each little bunch of soil... and even with that I still am getting way to much of it growing back in the beds for my tates but Frostweed keeps telling me a few weeds is what makes it a real garden..
if you find anything round-up wise that works please fill me in I would love to give it a shot.
I did some research on the round-up. I read that the best thing to do first is to fertilize the grass and water it very well for a few weeks. When it looks like it's really starting to flush out, spray it in heat of the day with the roundup. The more lively the grass blades are, the more they will transport the Round-up deep into the root system. I also read to only use the Roundup with the purple cap - it just laughs at the red and blue capped stuff.
Purple cap - alright I am going to really look into that one!
I think the purple cap one may have the surfactant in it, some call it the sticker. It helps the product stick to the plant despite some moisture like dew. I don't know if it would stick through a heavy rain.
I've got landscape fabric over the grass where the flower garden will eventually be -- anyone know if this kills the grass as in really and truly killing the grass (St. Augustine), or if I still have to pull the dead grass out? It sure makes an ugly back yard, but come spring -- watch out!
St.Aug - one round of Round Up and it is gone - fast and easy!
I'm trying hard to avoid herbicides, but I may have to resort to that.
Use cardboard then - that is the way I did mine here in the St Aug - Card board laid over the area and left for 8 weeks or so will kill it , then I just cut holes where I want plants - oh dont forget to add mulch or leaves before to just leave it to the wind. it will look like an empty bed but it works.
And I guess if you want (or need) a raised bed, you could just pile the soil on top of the cardboard, which will eventually break down.
Well twist my arm Fly Girl! Here's one taken last Saturday!
I cannot wait to see mine that full and lush! just perfect - one day right? it would help if I was not cheap and just bought plugs :-)
Here's one more. See what I desperately need are some more permanent plants not just flowers, and I'm just not sure what to plant.
Roses maybe? I have seen some stunning ones in CA with Roses... the bushes had HUGE flowers too...
Also if I was there I would plant a Yesterday, Today, and Forever, and the Sago Palm...
if it was me.
Croc, that is beautiful! I'm glad you caved to the pressure. Your house even looks like a cottage with that blue color, is that a morning glory in the back? I like all the different plants and colors meshed together. In zone 10 you can probably grow about everything.
Thanks for sharing!
mitch ...what is CA? (speaking of roses)
durrr mitch....sorry i know what you mean california....
croc your home is lovely....
lol - the letters get me to some times.
Like, o'mi'gosh sticks it's like totally california like how could you like totally not know? Gag me with a spoon! Hee hee!
Thank you for the compliment Fly Girl! Yes that is a massive I indica on the chimmney and I have to get on an extension ladder every week to cut her out of the sofits. All the plants and colors meshed together is atotal accident and not planned. Can you please tell me which plants you like together so I can repeat that next year? This was total dumb luck this year!
But - where's the gnome?
just one - oh ne you need gnomes in that yard - a whole village.