Our state arboretum is only about a half-hour away from us, and every year they have a big plant fair on Mother's Day. Skip the brunch and corsage, I say- just take me to the arboretum!
My garden is fairly well packed, and I didn't really need anything. I just like to go and look at all the cool growing stuff and otherwise hobnob with my fellow garden spazzers. Still, I managed to stumble across something I've sought for a number of years now- a broom plant.
When I asked the vendor if it was a broom she said no, no, no... they weren't allowed to sell broom plants at the arboretum because they are considered an invasive weed. This was a Genista lydia 'Bangle' (http://www.gardencrossings.com/plantname/Genista-Bangle). They were reasonably priced, so we bought two.
Looking it up just now I found that it is sometimes called a dwarf broom (doesn't that sound twee?) so ha, I was right. The wild broom around here are sometimes spotted by the side of the road, but I've never seen anything that looks like an invasive colony in this region.
Anyway, it's a nice little cascading plant that bears small pea-style flowers in a bright yellow. It can tolerate drought. I think I'll try it under my dark red roses, it might brighten up that area a bit.
That type of plant is fairly common here and is called "ginst" in Swedish. It is together with lilacs and lesser periwinkle a sure signs that what now might be a open spot in the forest or a island of stones and thicket in the middle of a field once harboured a house and a garden.
Around here it only bloom during the early spring is it the same around the rest of the world?
I will call mine "ginst" then, just for you.
The wild ones usually bloom around this time here, for about three weeks. This particular strain seems is said to bloom a little longer.
When I worked as a floral designer, we used pale pink genista (http://www.cutflower.com/pages/cutflower_wholesale_flower_gallery_results.asp?SelectColor=ALL&SelectMonth=1&SelectMasterCategory=&var=829&offset=510) as filler. It smelled wonderful.
Also- I was amazed to find sweet william (http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=sweet+william+flower+photo&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=JdDpS5v4NMK78gakheDmDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQsAQwAA) just beginning to bloom in the garden the other day. I had tried to start this charming flower from seed nearly eighteen years ago, and had no luck. I believe the seed may have been part of a wildflower collection I sowed last year, and since sweet william is perennial it didn't bloom until this year. It's so pretty I gasped when I noticed it.
My mother has been tending a few ginst plants at our summer house for quite a few years, but for some reason, they never seem to thrive and always on the verge of dying. Imagine her face when we travelled to the scottish Highlands and found ginst growing wild, to tree-like proportions... :)
The pink genista is really beautiful. :)
The pink and white kind are uncommon in gardens but are very common in flower arrangements especially together with tulips and to some extent anemones.
I wonder where the pink ones do grow. I'm guessing they are more tropical.
Apparently ginst likes poor, dry soil. I'll bet your lovely Swedish soil is too rich for them. Your mother may have de-amend the soil with sand and replant them in to get them happy again.
The Plantaganet Kings of England took their name from that plant:
Quote from: Wiki
The name Plantagenet has origins as a nickname of Geoffrey V of Anjou derived from the name of a shrub, the common broom, known in Latin as the planta genista. It is claimed the nickname arose because Geoffrey of Anjou wore a sprig of the common broom in his hat.
I'd guess the Swedish is a Latin borrowing, corrupted.
[/boring sermon]
We have all kinds of soil, it all depends on where in the country you are. Quite a lot of the land is old sea or lake bed, the Baltic sea was once a inland fresh water sea, and the minerals in the bedrock changes a lot, however generally speaking the soil is poorer in the north than in the south but there are geographical exceptions.
Around here (the valley of Lake Mälaren) we have a lot of clay and fat black soil, but also quite a lot of traces left by the ice sheet that covered this part of Europe (until rather recently geo-historically speaking) like eskers and layers of moraine.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on May 12, 2010, 09:20:54 PM
The Plantaganet Kings of England took their name from that plant:
Quote from: Wiki
The name Plantagenet has origins as a nickname of Geoffrey V of Anjou derived from the name of a shrub, the common broom, known in Latin as the planta genista. It is claimed the nickname arose because Geoffrey of Anjou wore a sprig of the common broom in his hat.
I'd guess the Swedish is a Latin borrowing, corrupted.
[/boring sermon]
Oh we have borrowed a lot and corrupted some. :)
In Swedish Coltsfoot (Lat. Tussilago farfara) is called just Tussilago.
As for corrupting, we have a rather famous type of schnapps called
Hirkum Pirkum made from grain alcohol and St John's wort -which in Latin is named Hypericum perforatum. ;D
And yes, the tincture is blood red, and smells and tastes horrifically and was originally used for medical purposes.
Quote from: Darlica on May 13, 2010, 12:44:44 AM
As for corrupting, we have a rather famous type of schnapps called Hirkum Pirkum made from grain alcohol and St John's wort -which in Latin is named Hypericum perforatum. ;D
:ROFL: That's pure Bork! :mrgreen:
No Bork is:
Bork bork bork meat balls bork bork... ;D
We wave no plants called bork nor a schnapps. :P
We have Björk (like the Icelandic singer) which means birch, but the J+Ö makes it very different from bork phonetically.
Where can I get a bottle of Hirkum Pirkum? ::)
QuoteWe have Björk (like the Icelandic singer) which means birch, but the J+Ö makes it very different from bork phonetically.
byerk?
I love "Hirkum Pirkum". It sounds like Hocus Pocus, Hoi Polloi, and argle-bargle all rolled into one.
I set my ginst plants into the ground near my ninebarks and dark red roses, to lighten up the area a bit. They look good.
I leave to Swato or Lindorm to explain Ö phonetically, I'm lousy on that sort of things...
There is no sound I can think of in English which I can use to explain the letters Ä and Ö (Å is easier it's sounds like the first A in the word always).
Opsa, you could plant tagetes under your roses. Not only will they lighten up the flowerbed as will they bloom for most of the summer, they are good for the roses as they contain a toxin that affect the type of nematodes are a common pest for roses (at least here in Europe).
I like the name "Hirkum Pirkum" too but as I said it tastes awful. :P
Ha! I had to look up "tagetes" to figure out you meant marigolds! ::)
I am a big fan of French marigolds for their skill at warding off pests. I have been interested in Kilimanjaro (http://www.tmseeds.com/product/Tagetes_seeds_Marigold_erecta_Kilimanjaro_White/Marigold_Seeds), a white variety. I don't know whether or not it is as effective as the others.
See when you say Marigolds I think Calendula officinalis. ::) ;D
Which BTW are very nice too but does not work as pest control...
I love the seeds they look quite alien and there isn't two that looks the same. I'd love to take macro photos of them and blow up to poster size ;D.
Quote from: Darlica on May 13, 2010, 10:50:21 PM
See when you say Marigolds I think Calendula officinalis. ::) ;D
Which BTW are very nice too but does not work as pest control...
I love the seeds they look quite alien and there isn't two that looks the same. I'd love to take macro photos of them and blow up to poster size ;D.
That's a cool idea. You could post some here.
I take zero credit for the landscaping, as that is V's hobby, and I am more than happy to leave it to her - ha! But here are two pics -- taken after a rain, as otherwise the foliage color here is a sort of khaki -- of some of the tremendous work she's done of late:
Newest space - solar-powered, faceted 'moonlights' are quite pretty when seen from the deck above at night. There are rings of fast-growing lambs' ear circling what will be larger shrubberies. At the center top you can see some of another new berm planting to create more space between our yard and the neighbors. The little white 'fences' are funny, but in proper scale for Yoda and Benji.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/w01.jpg)
Front of house - trees planted last year to replace improperly planted (and dying!) ones have taken strong root -- especially that one on the right! Better plantings around the koi pond (always popular with neighborhood kids).
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/w02.jpg)
Wow, what a gorgeous yard. I like the crane sculpture, too.
Where are the "moonlights"?
Quote from: Opsa on August 16, 2011, 10:16:38 PMWhere are the "moonlights"?
Hmmnmmm, good question. They are cleverly hidden among the foliage in these photos! I tried taking a pic at night showing the faceted lights, but the flash went off and it looks like a crime scene photo... ;)
POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS
Are they like solar powered christmas lights?
They are small solar powered lights on little stakes, with faceted [shades] over the light receptor/emitter. When they come on at night, there is a circle of small diamond-shaped lights cast on the ground around them, with a nice fuzzy glow out the top.
Sweet! Where did you find them?
She found them on an end-of-season sale at Target.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
hmmmmmm, kind of like these (http://www.target.com/Essentials-Fluted-Solar-Pathway-Light/dp/B0041P4RE0/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=solar-lights&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-11&qid=1314069557&rh=&searchRank=price&id=Essentials%20Fluted%20Solar%20Pathway%20Light&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=3&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0), but the glass shade is faceted.
Oh yeah, I've seen those. I oughta go look at the end-of-season sales and see if I can find some.
I have one solar garden lamp I got at a yard sale. It looks like a rusticated lantern with a little metal tulip pattern. After sunset it has a rather bright green glow.
V has been seriously busy with her landscaping; here are some update photos:
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/NewPond.jpg?t=1335145699)
1. Front Yard -- V digging down 9" to accommodate replacement pond liner. The original one showed signs of multiple patches and was startlingly light and flimsy when she pulled it out. Neighbor helped home builder put that one in, congratulated V on getting a 'decent' one -- it's sturdy, deep enough to discourage deer wading, and will accommodate proper aquatic plants if she wants to incorporate them this year.
... here's where we hide the bodies ...
[edit]: forgot to add that the trees are Russian Hawthorn (http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Trees/russian.htm) & Black Lace Elderberry (http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/67206-product.html?utm_source=rkgkeywords&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=20120218&utm_term=black+lace+elderberry&creative=9855309081) (left) and Gambrel Oak (right). Out of the photo are a Prairie Gem Pear (http://ndsuresearchfoundation.org/rfm12) and Homestead Buckeye (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/aesculus_xhomestead.html), all established last year.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/BarberryHedge.jpg)
2. Back Yard -- Gate finished and this side of yard covered with yards of black grass kill fabric and a honking pile of mulch chips, a couple weekends ago. This weekend she put in (5) Sunjoy Gold Pillar Barberries (http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/berberis/sunjoy-gold-pillar-barberry-berberis-thunbergii) in the narrow neck next to the gate at top left. They anchor a new hedge of (alternating) Barberry Red Dwarf (http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/256) and Bonanza Gold Barberry (http://www.groundtradesxchange.com/plant_database/deciduous_shrubs/berberis_bogozam/berberis-bogozam.htm); they're two slightly different sizes, so she expects them to grow into an 'wavy' border to help keep their little dogs from charging the fence (and the HUGE Marmaduke dog on the neighbor's side).
The center is home to the 'Kentucky Coffee Tree plantation' and forsythia border replacing the dying stick plants the home builder installed along the fence.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/BackGate.jpg)
3. Butterfly Berm -- hedge in photo #2 ends at a lawn building, turn corner to the Butterfly Berm established last year. All kinds of miscellaneous specimen plants in there; the feature is a nice variety of irises from her dad's garden.
In the center of the yard (no photo) is an Oakleaf Mountain Ash (http://www.bismarck.org/index.aspx?NID=1216) and a Royal Raindrops Crabapple (http://www.jfschmidt.com/royalraindrops/), both planted last year.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/IrisBerm.jpg)
4. Back Gate -- looking back towards lawn building from the other end of berm. You can see where the other side of the yard was covered with black grass kill fabirc and mulch chips a couple weeks ago. (She had over a ton delivered, if I remember correctly!)
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/GhostWalk.jpg)
5. Ghost Walk -- Kintzley's Ghost (http://www.rarefindnursery.com/index.cfm/action/productdetail/product_id/4691.htm) hedge plants started last year, mostly cropped from this photo. Various Ninebarks (http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/bushes_and_shrubs/ninebark_shrubs.aspx) in the center of the mulch chips. Also a Pride of Moscow White Lilac, (http://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/syringa-vulgaris-krasavitska-moskvy-common-lilac.aspx) Endless Summer Twist & Shout Hydrangeas, (http://endlesssummerblooms.com/en/consumer/plants/twist_and_shout) and (to be added later) Honeyberry bushes and a Mulberry Tree somewhere in front of picket fence at end.
Against the house are Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry (http://www.urbanforestnursery.com/treeprofiles/profileautumnbrillianceserviceberry.html) flanked by Tiger Eye Sumac (http://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/rhus-typhina-tigereye-bailtiger-staghorn-sumac.aspx). Along that masonry 'ramp' shape towards house (dead stick bush privacy hedge removed this spring) will be Crandall Clove Currants, Gro-Lo Sumac, and Autumn Amber Sumac.
Wow, Pieces, your garden looks so lovely. Fancy flying over and doing ours?
Wonderful! If only I had a nice garden + gardener........
Wow, that's some seriously fantastic garden work. I very much admire the carefully chosen plant types and colors. Is V a master gardener?
She enjoys gardening, but she really likes planning landscaping for each house. She's good friends with the owner of a local nrusery, so he's given her some good tips (and steered her towards some lovely specimen plants!) over the years.
Now you see why neither her son nor I offer to help (except when she's really in a jam). Just think what she could do with two more-or-less, full-time, on-call laborers schlepping wheelbarrows of soil, mulch, and rocks around! ;)
You have a very nice garden there, Pieces. It appears that V is a wannabe Capability Brown, and a very good one, too. Why you no pose for photos? ;)
Oh, and just in case you don't already know, using quicklime will hide the smell of the bodies, and allow for a faster decomposition rate. Allegedly.
Yeah, but that powder on the soil is a dead giveaway to the cops. I (just for the sake of argument, mind you) prefer a cement slab with a nice patio built on top. If you grill with lots of onions, that covers the smell quite nicely as well. Of course, you'll be grilling a lot of onions over the next few months, so plant plenty in your veg patch.
^ Sometimes I find both myself and others quite disturbing. :mrgreen:
I'll pass on the tips to her; there *is* a really nice grill in the lower patio deck, so we're h alfway there... :)
So, my herb "garden" is rubbish next to Roland's dedicated work, but they've settled into the planters V ordered me to use offered and have survived their first hailstorm and hard rains. I've always jammed herbs into small spaces and had abundant harvests. You can tell what I like to cook or brew non-commercial tea with!
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/piecesHerbs.jpg)
back, counterclockwise from 12:00:
Lavender, Apple Mint, Orange Mint, Peppermint, Spearmint, Tri-color Sage.
center, (3!) plants: Chocolate Mint -- on sunny days the aroma is fantastic!
front, counterclockwise from 12:00:
Boxwood Basil, Cinnamon Basil, Lemon Basil, Purple Basil, [edit] Sweet Basil [/edit], Thai Basil, Variegated Basil.
center: Italian Parsley, Curly Parsley, Greek Oregano.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Chives.jpg)
The chives by the front step are three summers established now and buzzing with bees this morning.
And here is the finished re-worked pond:
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/NewPond2.jpg)
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/V-Benji-Yoda_NewPond.jpg)
V, Benji (chihuahua), and Yoda enjoying their work.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Dom_NewTree2.jpg)
And here is Dom contemplating one of the trees she received for Mother's Day. This one was selected and carefully sited by her plant specialist to shade the deck when full grown; its roots won't interfere with retaining wall, electrical or plumbing, and the branches won't pose any threat to the roof in windstorms.
Why the sink, you ask? I have asked that as well. ;)
I have threatened to half-sink an old bathtub on end and create a Virgin Mary Grotto as a counterpoint. (The simulated grotto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_Madonna) is one of those inexplicable folk traditions in rural Catholic areas of Merka.)
Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 12:50:17 AM
So, my herb "garden" is rubbish next to Roland's dedicated work...
You've still done some sterling work, and managed to fit an awful lot into little space.
Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 12:50:17 AM...but they've settled into the planters V ordered me to use offered...
PoN ----> :help: :whip: <---- V
Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 12:50:17 AMYou can tell what I like to cook or brew non-commercial tea with!
:stirpot: Lavender? :giggle:
(I know it's mint)Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 01:06:23 AM
And here is the finished re-worked pond
Very nice work there. You and V should be proud of what's been achieved. Now for the upkeep. :o
Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 01:06:23 AMAnd here is Dom contemplating one of the trees she received for Mother's Day.
I think he's rather contemplating doing this in the new ground ----> :catroll:
Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 01:06:23 AMWhy the sink, you ask? I have asked that as well. ;)
For washing hands? :P
Quote from: pieces o nine on May 07, 2012, 01:06:23 AMI have threatened to half-sink an old bathtub on end and create a Virgin Mary Grotto as a counterpoint. (The simulated grotto (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_Madonna) is one of those inexplicable folk traditions in rural Catholic areas of Merka.)
There's only one statue that your could possibly put into there... :cthulhu: You know it's the way forward.
Ha! I rather like the sink. I'm a fan of eccentric gardens. It would make a great bird bath.
Pieces is so talented, I'm sure she could come up with an amazing statue. Maybe a cross between the Blessed Virgin and the Great Squid.
Not a statue but an image
http://www.regretsy.com/2009/12/09/calimari-full-of-grace/
>:( *someone* insisted on dumping handfuls of chicken manure ON TOP OF (not around the base of) all my herbs, then buried half the longer stems under an 1-1/2" of mulch. Yes, the trees love this. Hello. These are not 4 foot trees.
So, about one plant in four is a dessicated, leafless twig today, another fourth I have carefully pulled longer stems from under the mulch to try and save them, as well as unburied all the plastic identifiers. I am not a happy sibling.
But there is no point in saying anything; I know this from past experience. I will have to see if I can find replacements (the "good" plants are already gone, and those remaining have doubled or tripled in price at this point in the season). >:(
Holy Basil! :taz:
I thought she of all people would know better... :-\
I hope you find replacements for the lost ones.
Perhaps you should adopt a corner of the garden as yours and make clear that this area is of limits of any body else? :P
Alas, that will not work. I did find two replacements, but at this point I just have to wait out her zealous, total conversion to 'chikken-pooing' anything that is poking above the ground. Meanwhile, I will be methodically (slowly, carefully) removing all contaminated leaves before harvesting anything for human consumption. Fortunately, the dogs are only too happy to eat them, so plants won't be wasted.
I'm sorry to hear of your herb loss, PoN. They should come back again, but it'll take some time for that to happen, especially if they aren't yet established. Look upon this as a learning experience in what not to do. Maybe some sort of cage around them would stop unwanted poo covering?
Hi ho. (According to Roz Chast, that's the "call of the mild".)
At our fundraiser this weekend I bought some plants from a local native plant vendor. They are:
1) a good size Salix purpurea (http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/tmi/plantlist/sa_purea.html), or purple willow bush. I have a place in the garden where I can spy an old, rusty unused water tank from two properties over, and I hope to use this to screen it.
2) a pair of Mazus reptans (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/e190/mazus-reptans.aspx), a blossoming, low growing ground cover. Not sure exactly where I'll put these, but she gave me a 1/2 price deal on them. I might try them near my walkway from the driveway to the back garden.
I'm loving the new plants. The Mazus will make a beautiful groundcover for you, especially when it flowers, and the Salix has some lovely flower heads and bush shape.
Thanks! The Mazus was in bloom when I bought it, and very pretty. I wonder if it isn't one of the groundcovers that Aggie was looking for in another thread (about groundcover as art). They are still in their pots, which I set into the tops of two terra cotta strawberry planters that are set to free range around the garden, and are filled on the sides with hens-and-chicks.
The Salix has an attractive round shape. It seems to be settling in well, what with all the rain we've been having. I'm guessing it gets purplish catkins in the early spring?
Very nice pics, all!
Here's how the irises looked a couple weeks ago...
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Iris_May01.jpg) (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Iris_May02.jpg) (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Iris_May03.jpg) (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Iris_May04.jpg)
...and a couple other little blooming spots...
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Fleurs_May01.jpg) (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/pieces_o_nine/house/Fleurs_May02.jpg)
So beautiful and so well kept! Makes my garden look like a jungle (which it is).
So's mine. My irises are just starting to bloom, here. I suppose it shows that even the warm regions of Canuckistan are behind the frozen parts of Amrika (Pieces gets nasty winter weather like Alberta does; the Okanagan is much warmer in the winter).
The only stuff fully to bloom in our garden is lilac but even that must have disappeared between my last wo looks into it.
Grass has been replaced by moss almost completely but even the latter holds on to the 'soil' only barely.
I fear, for a proper garden, we'd have to replace the top half meter (at least) with soil that deserves the name.
At any time there is renovation on the block (3 entrances á 6 families) as a whole, all the material is stored in our garden (closest to the street). It was crappy to begin with and never recovered from even one of those events.
How about a moss garden (http://www.gojapango.com/japan_picture/albums/upload/fukuoka/komyozenji_temple/normal_IMG_1674.JPG)?
As I said, even the moss has difficulty to cling.
A Zen garden (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=zen+garden+images&num=10&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS364&biw=978&bih=548&tbm=isch&tbnid=tY9Ke425O81IgM:&imgrefurl=http://koi-z-are-us.20m.com/zen_garden.htm&docid=0Iy1zmalyLXKUM&imgurl=http://koi-z-are-us.20m.com/zen01.jpg&w=640&h=480&ei=IZy-T8v7GebG6AGtqvRY&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=303&vpy=28&dur=545&hovh=149&hovw=195&tx=146&ty=98&sig=100406302335298734756&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=195&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:101), then?
I somehow doubt that that would suit my parents.
Soil-building, perhaps. Instead of dodgy material, encourage the neighbours to dump lawn clippings there. Requires some turning and some tolerance of the smell of decaying plant matter. I've taken on some side work cutting lawns and am playing around with how feasible it is to compost straight lawn clippings.
Somehow, I suspect this would suit your parents, either. How about bindweed? It's an effective, flowering groundcover. I'll send you 50 lbs of roots gratis if you pay the shipping. :mrgreen:
Seriously, there are a few plants that tolerate crap soil, have deep taproots that can access water supply (i.e. don't need watering) and are good soil-builders. I'm thinking about things like perennial sweet peas / everlasting peas or alfalfa. Even white and/or red clover looks attractive, is very fragrant and will gradually improve the soil. Many of the legumes will grow on poor soil, and most are nitrifying.
For certain reasons I doubt that lack of nitrogen is the problem.
Okay, how about a beer garden, then?
And where to get the licence?
There's only one thing you can do, Swato. You'll have to make an art garden.
There's a really neat garden about 20 miles from here, which is famous because it's main flower is bicycles that are painted white. I looked for an online photo, but couldn't find one. Neighbors either loved it or hated it, but several years ago some hoodlum stole some of the bikes from the guy's yard, and a whole bunch of people from the area showed up and donated bicycles so that he could rebuild it. I think it's a treasure.
Now, I'm thinking, maybe a big Swato head, like your avatar, maybe made of found objects...
Remember, it's not MY garden.
I also doubt that the company owning the building would allow too much deviation from the normal
This beer garden you speak of... ;D
Lovely pictures once again, PoN. It takes so much work, but is very worthwhile. All you'll have to do is find the time to enjoy it. (love your wellies, by the way!)
Yes, it does take a lot of work. Fortunately, this is not *my* hobby/passion! ;)
(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x97/Swatopluk/DSCI0125.jpg)(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x97/Swatopluk/DSCI0124.jpg)(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x97/Swatopluk/DSCI0123.jpg)(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x97/Swatopluk/DSCI0122.jpg)
It looks less bad on the photos than it really is.
Size: about 4 paces from the stairs to the gate; at the wall it is about 7 paces wide; about 10 paces from the wall to the hedge of the neighbour's garden.
It lies about a meter under street level (street behind the wall).
It looks nice and peaceful enough IMHO.
As I said, a mere photo-induced illusion
I have the idea that I can picture the place tiny and not particularly pretty to some standards, yet it's green enough to be peaceful, and I like it.
I think you could make it quite a charming place with some stepping stones leading to well-placed bench and a few nice pots of plants. It's kind of nice. All it lacks is a focal point.
I like it. The look, to me, is semi-wild and more natural, and that is perfect. Maybe a few woodland wildflower seeds spread liberally in shaded areas will help bring more colour to it? It must be peaceful to sit in.
I think I need a few close-up to show you guys what a wreck that is. Even the moss begins to capitulate.
Eh, that's okay. Anyone's garden can look like heck if you zoom in on the flaws.
Seriously, I think you could find some interesting large pots at a flea market, put in good soil and grow some good plants to brighten it up in there. A lot of gardeners do this. Some even move the pots around to places that aren't blooming to make them look better.
This person has some good ideas. (http://www.ehow.com/video_2329289_potted-plant-gardens.html)
Would require also some mirrors or he like to get enough light into the shadows (the wall is on the South side, the house to the West and the next block to the East (check my Google Earth position in the dedicated thread).
Wow, that would be a fun and funky look, if you put mirrors on the walls. The lady in the video mentioned mosaic mirrored pieces.
I suppose you could go all Andy Warhol and spray the walls silver, too. Or create some other reflective surface.
Or you could choose plants in your zone that like shady areas.
Nightshade, he, he, he! :devil:
Nightshade can be gorgeous! (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Nightshade&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS364&biw=986&bih=577&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsb&tbnid=qljXMb6LBPTGFM:&imgrefurl=http://www.smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/plant_of_the_month_200601_PurpleNightshade.htm&docid=ahkUef8exsZGuM&imgurl=http://www.smmtc.org/plantpix/pix_Purple_Nightshade_04.jpg&w=720&h=540&ei=H4bGT5WjDKfj0QHe85STCw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=481&sig=100406302335298734756&page=1&tbnh=167&tbnw=248&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:141&tx=106&ty=93)
Look at these shade loving container plants (http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/11-shade-loving-container-plants/pictures/index.html).
potatoes are also from the nightshade family iirc.
Quote from: Swatopluk on May 30, 2012, 10:17:25 PM
potatoes are also from the nightshade family iirc.
They are indeed, as are tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, and their ilk. Look at the leaves and compare them. Very similar. I like the nightshade family, even though large portions of it are poisonous. As long as you don't have any little ones liable to start eating the berries, they're a nice addition to a garden. I have one in my parents' garden that has popped up in several places, including next to an empty trellis in one place. This one has been trained onto the trellis, and has lovely small green flowers. It's definitely a vine, but i've yet to identify the variety.
My plans for the garden are rolling on, regardless of the drop in temperature recently. It took 2 days for the seeds to reach me, and they are now planted into seed trays in the conservatory. Germination will take anywhere from 7-40 days, depending on variety, and as soon as the weather warms again, i'm expecting great things from them (they better do great things! :D ). Here is the full list of what i've bought:-
My Seed List (http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_my_order/7692821575)
Ambitious is not the word, but then if you're going to do something, you may as well make it spectacular. Please also note that not everything has been sown, as some will need to wait for next year.
Since I have no idea what is in the 'soil' after all these years, I'd not eat even the subterranean parts.
That looks like quite a project, Roland! :o
What the heck. Go for it, Ro. You can never tell what will take.
Ah, I wish I could grow Meconopsis here. We're too hot for that beauty. I love them, and I love Poppies, which alas we have too heavy a soil for the gorgeous perennial kind. Still, every once in a while I give it a whirl, just in case.
I'm taking advantage of a cool streak here to sow new lettuce.
I'll keep you posted. Eventually, lol.
The Meconopsis really caught my eye, as it did yours, I take it. Maybe you could spend time thoroughly preparing a patch of ground for them if you really like them. Not sure what it would take, although somehow I imagine it would involve carting away an amount of soil and replacing it. Once it gets going, i'm more than willing to share seed with anyone who wants it, although it will be the end of next year before that is a viable option.
EDIT: I forgot this:-
Info on growing the Meconopsis (http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/how-to-grow-himalayan-blue-poppy-from.html)
Good info page, there.
The main problem we have with growing Meconopsis is that it's too hot and humid here over the summer. I read somewhere that the only place that they'll grow in the states is way up north. I saw them blooming in Seattle once and they were fantastic.
Yeah, they're not fond of too much heat. They like a little light, but prefer it a little cooler, and definitely sheltered somewhat. Luckily, I have just the place for them. I really hope they take. Maybe i'll try them in different places, and move to wherever they like it the best.
I'll take HQ pictures when they bloom, and you can have those instead.
That would be delightful, thank you!
In other news, I nearly killed my mazus reptans. I put them in the tops of two strawberry pots (the kind with the holes in the sides) and a small amount of dry weather was all they needed to wilt and wither in a most pathetic manner. I'm just glad I caught them in time and placed them in saucers of water. They are now perking up. I need to get them into the ground.
The 'mints' herb tub looks like Times Square on New Year's Eve, which is just what I was hoping for. I've now culled away the 'fertilized' bits enough to reach washable-and-edible new growth, which is being methodically harvested and dried for a long winter of tea and such.
:cup:
The 'basil' tub is growing too, but not as luxuriantly. It's difficult to convince V that basil loves hot sun and would do better if not 'helped', thank you kindly anyway.
My basil has been very slow to get going, too. The sprouts I started on the windowsill are only about an inch high. The weather has been cool, and I think you're right P09, they thrive in hot weather. I sowed a few more seeds out in the garden a short time ago, and they look like they'll catch up with the early ones as soon as it gets hot again. Warmer weather is predicted here starting today. Of course, the lettuce is bound to frown upon the heat at that point.
*Juggling wildly*
Picked up some basil (sweet and thai), a silver thyme, some zucchini plants and the Solanaceae bedding plants today. Can't recall all the varieties offhand, but I did get a Bhut Jolokia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhut_Jolokia_chili_pepper) pepper.
:mua:
The selection was getting sparse out there, so I largely chose some randoms from what was available. I didn't manage to find the hot-but-manageable cherry bomb peppers that made such nice sriracha last year.
I'll probably have too many tomatoes, and certainly too many zucchini. The former freezes well, and I vow to keep picking the latter when small and tender (can probably sell 'em to work, we go through 5-10 lbs a week).
So much harvesting going on. I may be jealous enough to harvest some Rocket, although with all the rain we've been having, its previously upright posture is now a kind of lounging around one. :mrgreen:
Opsa, the juggling is annoying, but all part and parcel, as you know. If it's not one thing, it's another, lol.
PoN, tell V that she's not the herb gardener, she's a very notty girl. ;)
Someone has clipped *all* of the chives -- two beautiful, well-established, lush patches of them! -- to about 3" above the ground, as thoroughly as if weed-whacked. The sad, dried-out stumps that remain are like straws. Now I thought we were sharing the herbs; I must have missed the memo that the chives would be executed at the end of May.
Sometimes I think I am living in Bizarro World... :unsure:
It really is Bizarro World sometimes, innit?
Only one thing to do. Try to get back to Everything Okay World. Here, I'll toss ya some juggling bottles.
I should really start my own thread on my gardening adventures. ;D
The seeds I planted 1 week and 4 days ago are starting to show signs of life already. The Melica Altissima Atropurpurea and Setaria Macrostachya 'Will Scarlet' have thrown up shoots. Many shoots. The Melica now has 8 individual shoots coming up, with the Setaria having 4. The tallest shoot is now a good 2cm. None of the others have done anything yet, but i'm keeping them moist but not soaked, as per the instructions. In spite of my impatience to see them all growing successfully, i'm pretty impressed, as they started coming up after only 1 week!
Yeay! Go, little sprouts!
I think I may be seeing some more lettuce sprouts, here.
V's father died after a long bout with cancer, which is sad, and she had to (fight) with relatives pretending that he was feeling fine and not getting ready to go on the cart on one hand, and those trying to deny him hospice pain meds so he wouldn't 'become an addict' on the other, which even sadder. She is dealing with this by making abrupt changes around the house and spending time in the gardens, which is why I am posting in this thread. She's been liberally <---[If/x: ba-dum-ching] spreading chicken manure on everything that can't run away again to the point of a dark comedy movie premise: The Poolander/The Chikkening.
Even Dom is refusing to go out in the steaming air.
Back to your regularly scheduled garden maneuvers... ;)
Quote from: pieces o nine on June 18, 2012, 12:22:35 AM
She's been liberally <---[If/x: ba-dum-ching] spreading chicken manure on everything that can't run away again to the point of a dark comedy movie premise:
Classic political stereotyping; conservatives spout bull shit, liberals are chicken shit. ;)
OMG, so true.
Sorry to hear about V's Dad though. Gardening can be very soothing to the broken hearted. Thank TGW for gardens.
I'm sorry to hear about V's dad, too. It must be an awful time for her, especially after the rest of her family acted selfishly during his decline. Give her my love and sympathy if it will mean anything to her.
Seeds are popping up all over the place now. Currently showing are:-
Grasses
Chionochloa Spicula x 3
Cyperus Involucratus x 7
Melica Altissima Atropurpurea x 16
Setaria Macrostachya 'Will Scarlet' x 16
Fruit
Myrtus Ugni x 1
Wonderberry x 8
Flowers
Andean Rarities x 3
It is now 2 days shy of 3 weeks since they were planted. There are a lot there that I have no idea on germination times, so once it reaches the 4 week mark, i'll have a thorough look online to see if I can find any more info on germination. I am already going to leave what doesn't germinate this year until at least next spring, looking after them in the meantime and simulating natural seasons in the hope that this is what they do.
This seed growing lark is nerve-wracking, lol.
Speaking of lark, my larkspur have started to blossom. Very sweet! There's a little bunny shape in each flower.
Do you mean Delphinium? They're a beautiful flower, but you really must stake them, or they fall all over the place. Consider this a lesson from experience in my case. ;D
Dad just bought 2 x Weigela Midnight Wine. My parents have 2 patches of lavender, but one of them came up very patchy this year. Dad being impatient, he now wants one whole patch taken out (it's ~18'x18", or 5.5m x 0.45m), and all new stuff put in. He wants to get low-growing shrubs from the local Homebase, but i'll convince him that he needs to buy online to get a decent choice. If he only gets from Homebase, they'll have a garden looking like all the others round here, and that is not what I want. :mrgreen:
Weigela - Midnight Wine (http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/weigela/midnight-wine-weigela-florida)
(http://www.rossandjacks.com/files/plantimages/WeigelaMidnightWine.jpg)
That's a very pretty Weigela!
Around here the annual form of Delphinium is called a Larkspur. Since the perennial version sulks in our extreme humidity, I grow the annual larkspur to console myself. It is very pretty, but not as tall and fully flowered as the perennial kind.
Below is a pink larkspur spike and a close-up of the bunny center.
That's a striking Delphinium you have there. The variety here is purple. It's pretty when staked, and messy (but still pretty) when not. Love the bunny centre!
I hoped that would amuse you, my bunny sibling!
Most of ours are purple, but I have a pale blue and this pale, cool pink. I didn't get any cobalt blue ones this year so far, but I love those. I tend to have a lot of orange/peach/yellow shades in the garden at this time of year, so these guys cool the picture down a bit.
Sounds wonderful. I'll remember to stake the ones here next year, as along with the Lupins and most of the flower stalks on the Campanulas (http://www.thegardenhelper.com/pdj/campanularotund.JPG), they're a little floppy.
Sometimes a display of the same or very similar colours can be striking, but it can get a little too much. Different is good.
There's much to say on behalf of contrast and diversity.
By the way, I grew my larkspur in tomato cages this year and so far they've held up to a couple of wicked storms.
I've been thinking on how to keep the herbaceous perennials standing to attention by aesthetic means, but keep coming up against bamboo canes as the definitive method. I've looked into tomato cages, and found most of them to be pretty intrusive in terms of looks (One Example (http://www.tomato-cages.com/)). Bamboo and string it may well have to be.
I bought a bunch of little, lightweight tomato cages (http://www.amazon.com/Glamos-12X33-Support-Light-Green/dp/B0052WISAK/ref=pd_sim_lg_1) a couple of years ago, which I haul out every year for various plants. I place them when the plant is small, and the foliage hides the wire.
Got a bit spring-happy and bought two bags of 50 each red gladiola bulbs. I have always loved gladiolas, and needed some red punch for the late summer garden. The only problem was finding enough bare spaces in which to tuck them! I think I over did it. Ah well, if they bloom, it should be a nice show.
No garden or balcony this year...
But both L and I Have been suffering from "garden envy" so a trip to a local garden centre resulted in some new friends for our living-room window.
A small lemon tree, in full bloom and a glass bowl with 5 kinds of carnivorous plants (non of them sings yet but I suppose they have to grow a bit first or maybe they are just shy). ;D
We still have two types of Chilli a coffee plant and the old ficus tree and a Pelargonium graveolens as well as some miscellaneous plants and some slips in water growing roots. :)
One of these days, we simply have to get ourselves a nice old chateau or stately home with a huge garden and conservatory. We'll probably disappear in a tangled rainforest of raspberries, deadly nightshades, carnivorous chili plants and celery stalks never to be seen again... ;)
Buy your carnivorous plants a CD from "Little Shop of Horrors". "I'm a Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-K6nS8OAUE) ought to really inspire them to take up singing.
As for the chateau, well you don't want to rush things. The bargains are usually because a former monarch has had to flee for undisclosed reasons that the locals may make clearer to you when they show up with torches and pitchforks some evening.
In my garden the seedlings have only just sprouted. So yesterday I visited a local greenhouse run by some friends of mine and purchased some lettuce, tomato and sweet pepper plants. It's so nice to see something out in those bare plots!
The chili plants are flowering and budding -looks like we'll get another year of locally harvested Rocoto and Baccatum.
The carnivorous plants have already made a noticable difference in the number of fruit flies in the flat! Any little bugs Darlica or I catch are now earmarked as plant food, and we do our best to feed the little darlings.
We have also gotten out our little germinating trays, where we grow sprouts. Right now, we have a mixed batch of radish and mustard seeds going. They are quite tangy and spicy, and are very nice as a condiment in a salad or a sandwich, or sprinkled on top of a soup.
Here's the bowl of little monsters. ;D
The little blue frog is a rubber model of a Poison dart frog bougt at the Universeum in Gothenburg. I thought it fitted in just right. :)
Cool plants & I love the little frog!
I found a handful of plastic poison dart frogs when I moved; I was a mentor to a girl who liked a shop that specialized in teacher tools and science-y toys. Each visit she picked out another, and rearranged them on the dash of my car. I still have my "half" and they still make me smile. If your carnivorous jungle ever grows enough to need more, I can "export" some to you...
:)
(http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/8/850/6FTY000Z/posters/poison-dart-frogs.jpg)
We have a little blue and red plastic poison dart frog at our house. Could this be another mysterious sibling coincidence? :o
What carnivorous plant species is best to deal with fruitflies and flour moths?
Quote from: Opsa on May 13, 2013, 03:39:33 PM
We have a little blue and red plastic poison dart frog at our house. Could this be another mysterious sibling coincidence? :o
rumbleribbit :toadfishwink:
They tore up both of my gardens :(The pond is gone along with all the lillies and irises and weigelias and lilacs and rhododendrons and etc.
Alas , grass is now in the rear yard which will fail just like it always does for want of sunlight.
The hostas required very little sunlight and was doing well back there .
But this sort of thing is what my real estate agent always does to a house up for sale .
I can't bear to watch , so I have moved out of the house and am currently renting a room by the week .
An old chum from my childhood works for the city's water conservation program . He has been at the job for decades now and physically helped me engineer the water gardens on weekends.All that work gone .
Oh BC, that's so awful! :'( That landlord certainly has terrible judgement, in my humble opinion. I'd be much more attracted to hostas than to dead lawn. What was he thinking?
Oh well. I hope you find another yard and garden again. I like your plant choices. I have all of those in my yard. I don't have a water garden though, but dream of doing that someday.
Quote from: Bruder Cuzzen on May 15, 2013, 08:02:48 AM
They tore up both of my gardens :(The pond is gone along with all the lillies and irises and weigelias and lilacs and rhododendrons and etc.
Alas , grass is now in the rear yard which will fail just like it always does for want of sunlight.
The hostas required very little sunlight and was doing well back there .
But this sort of thing is what my real estate agent always does to a house up for sale .
I can't bear to watch , so I have moved out of the house and am currently renting a room by the week .
That's silly. Lots of people like a peaceful garden much more than another scrap of lawn, and it's much more expensive for a prospective owner to install water features and plants than convert it to grass. I'm sorry to hear this.
Lilac is currently blooming everywhere. Even the pitiful remnant of a lilac tree in our garden has put up some flowers.
Looking to take a picture to-morrow
BC: how awful that your real estate agent is more vandal than representative. I've seen similar things done to unusual and lovely interiors -- almost completely gutted; walls, ceilings, and woodwork painted white; (cheap) off-white carpeting put down everywhere to make the house look as Lowest Common Denominator as possible. Apparently too many Canadian buyers are much like too many of their US counterparts -- no imagination and must be reassured that the house "just perfect for them" has no distinguishing features whatsoever.
:P
I really believe that they are shooting themselves in the foot by spending all that time and money to rip out something lovely that's all ready there in order to make things bland.
When we were house hunting we looked at many bland houses. They were all clean and the walls were white. There was not a touch of personality in any of them. We chose a funky old house with outdated wallpaper because it was ...funky! It was different. I may be flattering myself too much by saying that we may have a little more imagination than some people might, in being able to picture ourselves in an all ready busy environment, but maybe the real estate people are underestimating the value of a bit of uniqueness.
I would understand an overhaul if a bedroom was painted black with chains hanging from the ceiling, but a garden pond with hostas and irises? What's offensive about that? I would have been drawn to it and seen it as a plus.
Quote from: Opsa on May 13, 2013, 03:39:33 PM
We have a little blue and red plastic poison dart frog at our house. Could this be another mysterious sibling coincidence? :o
I think there is no mystery to it at all...
We all seem to still be in contact with out inner child and like nature and science... ;D
Quote from: Swatopluk on May 13, 2013, 03:53:53 PM
What carnivorous plant species is best to deal with fruitflies and flour moths?
For the flour moths, no idea as they don't go for sweet or sour smells. We simply hunt them and feed them to the plants. ;D
For fruitflies I suppose they have to emit a slightly sweet/sour smell like rotten fruit. Some sort of
sundews perhaps.
Quote from: Bruder Cuzzen on May 15, 2013, 08:02:48 AM
They tore up both of my gardens :(The pond is gone along with all the lillies and irises and weigelias and lilacs and rhododendrons and etc.
Alas , grass is now in the rear yard which will fail just like it always does for want of sunlight.
The hostas required very little sunlight and was doing well back there .
But this sort of thing is what my real estate agent always does to a house up for sale .
I can't bear to watch , so I have moved out of the house and am currently renting a room by the week .
An old chum from my childhood works for the city's water conservation program . He has been at the job for decades now and physically helped me engineer the water gardens on weekends.All that work gone .
That's horrible!
I'm with Opsa here, if anything a garden like the one you had would have drawn me in rather than repelled me. But then I'm allergic to conformity.
Allergic to conformity! I love that. I share that allergy with ya, Sib!
LOL