Keeping busy

Was that a hint Herpst?

No, not really. Just a random thought. I thought that your gh was already going to be quite full. I was really thinking of all of the nurseries out there that might have extra space. I do have greenhouse lust and will be replacing the roof of my garage with that new ribbed clear rigid plastic. A couple of gardening friends have used it on their greenhouses and swear by it. I've actually cleared out the place & now it's just a matter of seeing what's above the plywood that is on top of the beams. Hope it's just bare joists & roof so that the transition will be easy.

Beautiful gardens/plants and so nice to see your hard work pay off for all of you posters. Really love that fence and huge cement planting area by it Vizz! How on earth do you water everything front, back, east and west when we haven't had but a smidgeon of rain in 8 weeks? And your potted things must get watered daily?
All I do is water! Work at my job, water, work in the yard a tiny bit before it's time to water yet another bed. I have to write on the calendar when I water which bed or I'll forget.

Poochella: Potted plants get watered everyday when its dry, the gardens can go on one good watering a week. Watering time is my quite time. I rest, and enjoy the beauty.....bla bla bla.. yeah well sometimes its a pain the kabutz, but I like it. What do you water at work?
H: I do know of one lady that keep over plants for others in her GH. I've been meaning to find out more. But you know how that goes.

Viv - really, really nice. So much color & so much life! I did not see anything resembling ratty! But I know what you mean...It's always mid-August that I want to till it all under & start again. Hard to keep up with everything, especially the watering - that takes me all weekend.
I just got my hard drive back: bad news was a corrupted OS. Good news is they fixed it & now I can install the software for my camera!
Its very gratifying/encouraging to see what others have done in the way of gardening - those that do not involve themselves in it think we're nuts, or something worse. Its reassuring to know that I am in the company of fellow nuts!
Thanks for the photos - it helped remind me that I need at least 1 more boug & 2 brugs.

These photographs are gorgeous! I love to see how people design and fill their garden beds. All of mine are empty, and the notion of filling them seems so daunting. Keep the photographs coming! It's very inspiring. :)

Katye: Where are the pics....? Hi estreys, you have empty gardens.. what ya say guys.. lets fill 'em up. No fear, just jump in and start planting. Resistance is futile!!

This message was edited Aug 27, 2006 9:41 AM

Viv! I love the begonias with the nasturtiums! I never would have thunk of that. Can they take more sun that way? Everything and everybody is so inspiring. Just when I thought I might be running out of room I realize there's lots of space to fill. Really! Thanks for all the ideas.

Katy, I just stick nasty seeds in almost everything, cause I like them, and the rip out easy when they are getting leggy. I have'nt really had a problem with too much sun cause not much of my garden in is full sun at any given time, the most I get is three to four hours aday in any given spot, and not much real hot afternoon sun, and the nasties seem to be an bug magnet, so they "the bugs" tend to go for them, and stay off my other plants.

Where is Ridgefield?

Viv - pics are in the camera - hard drive is going back in for another round of surgery. My hard drive had major issues with the Canon software & I'm about to dispense with both.
It has consumed a considerable amount of my time dealing with this, time that would have been better spent OUTSIDE, which is where I belong at this time of year...
Hey - watch out for a summer (flu?) virus coming your way - it hit me Friday am & I'm just feeling better today: I can stand up w/o holding onto anything. Yesterday I dealt with it by sitting & holding the hose.

another view of the garden and the "lettuce trees" ...lol!

backyard entrance...

Your entrance looks so inviting tiffanya! Your patrollers wouldn't intimidate me a bit. LOL

LOL... nothing like two patroller signs of "FRIENDLY" dog breeds, eh?

Tiffanya, that entrance is so lovely and graceful. Silly questions, probably, but what are those orange flowers, and what are the boxes attached to the posts? Very welcoming, as KatyMac said ....

Vizz8, Ridgefield is about 20 minutes North of Portland. I think i'm zone 8a, though i'll have to check that. :) One day, i hope to have gardens as sumptuous as those represented here ....

Cheers!

Hi estreya, Those orange flowers are Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons'. I just adore them! :-)

The little boxes are solar LED lanterns from Walmart that we picked up this past spring. They are in dragonfly and sunflower patterns. I really should setup the camera for an evening shot to capture the patterns. They're very cute. I just checked Walmart.com and didn't see them there, but QVC has them and includes the evening shots, see: http://tinyurl.com/g39kb
("more views")

This message was edited Sep 1, 2006 3:39 PM

Thank you, Tiffanya! I'll add them to my shopping list. There's a garden show nearby the week after next, and there's no telling how much greenery i'll bring home. I will say, though, that i was planning to wait 'till spring to purchase perennial flowers. I'm still in the "trees and bushes" phase of landscaping - trying to get the larger items in first. On the other hand, i'd love to have a cutting garden right away so i can bring the outdoors in ....

What to do, what to do?! As gloriously fun as it all is, it sure can make the mind reel ..... :)

I'm a Jill-come-lately to this thread, but I surely did enjoy all the lovely photos!! Vizz, fabulous driveway garden, fence, and rock wall with plants! love those walls, you know! And what are the lovely large leaved plants in the photo at 4:41? Are those cannas? I have to go back and take a look again, but they appear to be green and white? If so, maybe we can work a trade for some of those when they start out-growing your pot. Those are way cool looking!
Bavenie, as always, lovely gardens!
Tiffany, great greenhouse! And I'm glad the foxglove did well for you. Looks like yours did better than mine did! :) You have more sun, no doubt! Vizz, I can supply foxglove for you. I have several kinds.
Now, MzWeazelle, I believe you will have plenty of plants to count on if you stick with us. Gardeners hate to throw away plant divisions of perfectly lovely plants that have outgrown their spots. Just say whether you have sun, shade, or what. Dividing time is just ahead! What do you like?

Here's a shot of my 'forest' garden and one of the front landscaped areas. You can tell by the tulips this is from last spring.

Here's my dog Francesca with the yellow rhody we call the 'daffodil tree'. She's a sweetie, especially if you love being licked.

The June lily bed. (no lilies in sight yet)

Some of my favorite crocosmia. I love crocosmia, but I get such huge populations of spider mites on the leaves this time of year. I wonder if I could cut down on them by using a dormant spray in the winter.

Pixy - If you figure out a way to deal with the crocosmia spider mite problem, please post. I have lots of them, and no matter how vigilant I am, I have not been able to overcome the spider mite situation. This year was particularly bad for spider mite for many of my plants. I did not want to resort to chemicals, but this is getting ridiculous!
Is Francesca a full-size or smaller Aussie? Very pretty face & nice coloring!

Thanks Pixy, yes those are cannas, I'll get the name, and you are welcome to some, they will be split soon.

Love all the pics

This message was edited Sep 4, 2006 8:05 AM

Well, glad I'm not alone in the spider mite department. They make everything look so nasty. Yes, this year has had a bumper crop of them.
Franny is a full sized Aussie, 11 years old. Here's a photo of her under the rhody (again!) with our smaller sized version, Skippy. We call him the 'baby dog' even though he's 3 now. He keeps Fran on her toes making sure he is disciplined. Ha!!


OOOH Vizz, thanks for the canna division! Now I can't wait until next year! I've got lots of plants, as you know, so just dmail me what you are looking for. Today I'm doing 'notes' for next year's garden and getting more cannas, particularly the variegated foliaged ones, is top on the list. I had a 'vision' for one particular bed this year and it didn't at all work the way it was supposed to. Not nearly enough tropicanna, and the nile lilies gave me only one bloom. Rats!

Pixy,
We have a standard Aussie but have been curious about the mini's since ours thinks she is a 60lb lap dog. And since we now live in a much smaller house than when we got Brandy, we're considering a smaller dog when the time comes to replace her. Is Skippy a true mini? If so, what do you think of him compared to Franny?

Pixy,

Vizz's striped canna is canna 'Stutgart'. This one actually likes a little shade as if it gets too much sun or too little water, the creamy varigation will burn. Jungle Fever had them in gallon pots the last time I was there.

Thanks for the info on the canna, Herpst. I wonder if it would ever bloom for me? But the leaves alone are worth it. I bought one this year called 'Phasion' that has the most glorious pink and green and cream variegation. I don't think I will get blooms from it this year. But, again, the foliage alone is enough.

MzWeazelle, Brandy is a beauty!! How could you ever replace her? But I know what you mean. Skippy is a mini, but he's not an 'ultra' mini, if you get my drift. His dad was a miniature, but his mother was just a very small standard. The breeder did not want the pups to have some of the genetic problems that miniaturized versions of dogs sometimes get. And, indeed, some of the 'mini' aussies we looked at looked more like pommeranians than aussies to me. Skippy is much like Fran used to be, but higher energy, if that's possible. He has taken just as much time to mature and is equally smart. I don't think he has the herding instinct Fran has, but that's okay with us. He is more of a guard dog than she is, and would likely get killed chasing cars if we didn't have a fence. I think she has a better temperament. Skippy has always been a little bit on the anxious side, but part of that is that he was chjased by the dogs behind us when he was really little. He was traumatized emotionally, but not physically hurt. He's just always had a more nervous disposition. We should have chosen the more outgoing pup from the litter. But he is very, very sweet and very loyal. He has more of the Aussie temperament of not really caring much for people other than his family if he is out and about. Fran, on the other hand, is a people hog. I'd say if you go for a smaller Aussie, definitely stay away from the really miniaturized ones. They lose a lot of their Aussie personalities.

thanks Herspt for the name. The 'Stutgart' needs almost full shade here it gets very early morning sun, and even then the white will sometimes burn and turn brown and dry.

Thanks Pixy. I'm always a bit nervous about the "down-sized" version of any animal. Against all rational thought breeders seem to sacrifice health for what ever trait they are looking for.

Full shade, huh? Sounds fine with me! I do have an embarassment of it at the moment.
Mzweazelle, you are so right about some animal breeders. But certainly the best ones want to keep the best traits of the breed. We 'met' the parents of our dog, and I find that to be the best way to choose one based on temperament.