I have a couple of pots with bulbs in them at the back of a cupboard. I think I'll put them on the windowsill and see if anything happens.
So,are they in pots yet K.?
My aspirations remain just that for the moment. The dreadful weather events of the whole month it seems, have prevented me from doing much. I still have lots of ideas.... I did start some vegetable seeds in trays and have in the greenhouse,lots of hot peppers,various herbs and some edible flowers. In the meantime, I am pouring over all the catalogs that have been arriving daily since December....haven't gone too crazy yet...
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #31 on Mar 12, 2010, 10:38am »
The aspirations continue,now,comes the motivation for and the implementation to do! I have acquired some great plants,some new varieties of figs,bananas,and have a kiwi vine en route.Lots and lots of seeds,some in already,the others in soon,soon.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #32 on Mar 14, 2010, 12:47pm »
Phase I (cleanup of the war zone) near completion. Yesterday, I went into whirling dervish mode and almost finished. Next,the fun begins. Inspiration strikes! Stay tuned!!!
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,793 Location: Mexico
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #33 on Mar 14, 2010, 2:42pm »
Getting a clean slate is sooo conducive to inspiration!
On my home front, aspirations are on hold until the rains begin. Right now it's just a matter of sustaining moisture to keep everything that's in Springtime grow mode happy.
However, one of the biggest problems I had was solved with no effort on my part. My neighbor's chickens repeatedly got into the garden and the compost head and scattered and destroyed everything. When I came back from my Christmas trip, there was mass devastation. I really didn't want to say anything, in the interests of preserving good neighborly relations, but it was extremely discouraging.
A couple of weeks ago my landlord mentioned that he'd seen the chickens in my garden when I was gone and told my neighbor (his daughter-in-law) that she absolutely had to keep them out of my yard. Problem solved beautifully, as I was nowhere around when this happened.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,793 Location: Mexico
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #35 on Mar 24, 2010, 9:19pm »
I just this minute found the quote below, while looking for something entirely unrelated. I think all the gardeners here will recognize the truth in it.
Gardens are a form of autobiography. ~Sydney Eddison, Horticulture magazine, August/September 1993
« Last Edit: Mar 24, 2010, 11:40pm by bixaorellana »
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 48 Location: Toronto Canada
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #37 on Mar 31, 2010, 10:24am »
Casimira, your garden is perfect in its ‘waking-up’ state. The small greenhouse is just what I would love, but my garden is tiny. ( about 25ft x 60ft, and a third of that is brick patio.) I can imagine going to your greenhouse and sitting during a thunderstorm, perhaps with an inspiring glass of wine. Whenever it rains here, I fling open the back French doors into the yard, it is lush and wet and filled with promise. It seems as though this small workplace is worthy of a photo essay in itself. I can see shapes of pots etc…Yes, you have some work to do and I hope that we will have a glimpse of it when it is in full bl00m.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year, Casimira « Reply #13 on Jan 3, 2010, 11:54am »
________________________________________ 'Another of my aspirations for the garden is to try to plant more things that are edible or useful in some way outside of the landscape. So often,I go on job sites and see vast areas of empty space that could be used to grow food. I'm not talking rows of tomatoes or the like ,but,citrus trees in lieu of something that is purely ornamental. Gorgeous herbs that can be woven into a flower border.Vines that bear fruit woven into an old rose that can enhance the overall aesthetic of the arbor or trellis.The possibilities are endless.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A great idea! You’ve inspired me to do this in my garden this year. One year I planted herbs, oregano, thyme, basil etc in my rock garden in the front. They were lovely, fragrant, edible, low maintenance and fast growing. The only problem that I’ll have to deal with are the herds of raccoons and squirrels, who will think it’s an outdoor buffet, just for them.
And yes, my garden has always reflected my state of being at the time.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #38 on Apr 1, 2010, 10:08am »
New life is emerging back there amidst the decay. It is fascinating actually, to see each day, as I look out the balcony, the reemergence of growth and renewal. I came to realize that I am in only so much in control of what happens around me,especially when it comes to my garden.To try to be in total control of it defeats the very purpose of why I love to garden. Best to allow for it be a guide,a design for living,and how I can apply it to my own life. The inspiration that comes to me is a direct result of what Mother Nature instills in me,what I allow my eyes to see. Anything beyond that defeats the whole purpose. I want for it to "show" me,not show "it".
As far as the greenhouse is concerned,it is really quite tiny,not too much room in there save in the summer months when not in much use could one have enough room to sit in there comfortably and then would die from the heat. When in use,it has three wrought iron plant racks full of plants and is pretty crammed. I will take a pic of it (after I clean it up some...) The climate in there is also a breeding ground for all kinds of weeds and insects,lizards,toads and frogs etc..which is very cool in and of itself.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #39 on Apr 10, 2010, 11:28am »
I need to take some photos tomorrow of the contrast in how my garden looked a month ago and how it looks (and will look by tomorrow,as I have to bust ass today and spiff some more because I'm having a brunch for 15 people out there tomorrow!!! ).
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #40 on Apr 13, 2010, 3:36am »
Oh wow I am so excited to find this thread! casimira, while I like the way you think on gardens, I am afraid of what one would think when viewing my current garden. I haven't found anything as regards the partner plantings I have made, maybe one of you can point me. I've asked on garden web with no real answers given as to how roses, pepper plants, basil, and cherry tomato plants get along.
My house came with five rose bushes still living of an original 8, per the neighbor who has lived in his house 50 years, in the neighborhood almost 80 as he was born in the house round the corner. We have been so busy renovating out house these past years, about all that has been done is mow, throw out fire ant treatment, and we did have all the trees trimmed and some that were in bad shape removed when we arrived.
The house faces South, so the rose bushes march on an east - west line with four one side of front door and one on the other. Too much sun is a real problem here for tomatoes, so I determined to plant them behind rose bushes for some helpful shade. What I have ended up with is pansy, basil, rose, basil, tomato, rose, mild pepper plant, rose, tomato, basil, rose, basil, pansy to the left of the door thus far and I picked up a bell pepper plant about a foot and a half tall in a container with a built in plastic rail to keep it upright. I went back to look at organic fertilizer and insect control products, and now I have a window box sitting on the porch containing on one end oregano, on the other mint. In the middle I have planted two hills of summer squash I plan to transplant to the bed on the right of the door when I get it cleaned out. Unfortunately someone pulled most of the edges off as that was previously a raised bed just as on the side I have already cleaned up, so I am thinking I will re-do it with stone and later come back to amend this one with matching stone.
I am really jazzed up by all this gardening. It has been a while since I had the land and the time to do this sort of thing. Two very old large trees used to grace my front yard but had to be removed before they fell on the house and I am really trying to decide what to put there. As it is southern exposure as far as the house goes, shade isn't the hugest consideration and I have thought of a pair of peach trees. I believe the right peach trees do extremely well in this area, judging by the several large orchards I see round about. Pears also do well, and are a larger tree, but all I have found thus far for sale are silly Bartlet. I have culled out of the internet the name of a natives tree farm in the area, so I will be calling them tomorrow. I really need someone to come with proper equipment and plant them for me, as I want very much to start with a ten or twelve foot tree. I know such things exist around here, the neighbor just had two Chinese Pastache trees of about 15 feet each set in his yard and said he paid just under $400 for the trees and placement together. Unfortunately, they only had Bartlet at that place and warned me they have some issues here round about. One wonders why they have them if they have issues.
My other option for the border for my garden beds is the brick left from the chimney we were forced to remove in the renovation. I like the idea of reusing it here very much, but it would require cleaning the brick, dragging it round the house, and then it is red. I was kind of going for a white, yellow, blue, violet color scheme, and also have thought I might prefer the brick as a brick patio behind the house, and just go ahead with stone out front, but I haven't gone to the rock shop and priced it out yet. I'm afraid I will be sticker shocked into using the bricks.
I will take pictures tomorrow and post them to show. Maybe I will have started on the other side. I want to put a couple of prickle bushes of some sort under the two windows on that side, dig up the many daffodils gently and arrange them in front of that with glads between the bushes. Then I think some strawberries and in front of that maybe radish and leaf lettuce. I have once in the past some years ago had a garden in front of where I lived with glads against the house, then strawberry, radish and onion, then leaf lettuce and it was actually kind of cute.
I'm hopeful my use of food plants among the purely for appearance roses reflects a person who is amusingly eclectic and playful, rather than just a nutty woman.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,793 Location: Mexico
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #41 on Apr 13, 2010, 5:17am »
What you have so far sounds wonderful, Gertie, and food or herb plants in with the ornamentals is a great way to use space and get a nice, full look.
The only concern I'd have would be about what kind of roses you have. If they're finicky ones that require lots of fertilizer or systemic treatments, that might be a bit much for their companions. The peppers, tomatoes, & basil are natural companion plants. (hey, look! I googled after writing the preceding sentences & found this -- you are really on the right track! http://gardening.about.com/od/rose1/a/Rose_Companions.htm)
Maybe this is my USAF base sensibilities at work, but if you really want to use the bricks as a border in front, why not think about painting them? You'd still have to drag them to the front, but you wouldn't have to clean them. Maybe experiment with some kind of white paint with a gloss finish that would hose off easily. That would go w/your white, yellow, blue, violet color scheme. Even though it sounds stark, remember that the tufts of green and the colors of spilling flowers would soften the effect & show up nicely against the white. (of course, I don't really know how the front of your house looks, so this might be an awful idea)
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #42 on Apr 13, 2010, 6:45am »
Hm painting sounds like a great idea, I would actually love them to be blue since my house is two story white with blue trim. Boy, will dh give me the look when I suggest that one! Ahahaha!
As for the roses, they must not be temperamental as they survived the house being repossessed, then sitting on the market unattended for nearly two years, and the most they've had since we bought the place was a drink of water in the summer. I figured they'd be happy to have me have a reason to water them more!
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #43 on Apr 13, 2010, 1:22pm »
Much to comment on in your post Gertie. Yes, some fabulous ideas. Will definitely chat about some more. I confess to having a real disdain for painted brick,particularly old bricks,as I love the natural color of the clay no matter where,in the landscape,home,wherever. I have never looked at them as 'red' in the sense of conflicting color wise with the landscape. They are made from earth after all... (I'll stop there,because I don't want to impose my aesthetic on someone else.De gustibus nonest diputandum...
I am taking the client that I spoke of earlier in this OP to the nursery today on a field trip to pick out some plants for her garden. I have been ready to plant for some time now,however,after going round and round with her about what to plant,the best thing to do,and have done so successfully before,is actually take her in hand,to visualize the actual plants I am recommending and proceed from there. I'm very much looking forward to this,I think...
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 4,127 Location: South-West France
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #44 on Apr 13, 2010, 3:42pm »
I tend to plant tomatoes in among flowers. I just don't have that much space with enough sun, so they end up in among the dahlias.
I don't think roses are too temperamental -- they last for years. I have a couple in my garden planted by the guy who built the house in 1966. I removed some because they didn't look nice or I didn't like the colour, but there are still some with huge "trunks".
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #45 on Apr 13, 2010, 7:06pm »
There are some seriously temperamental roses out there,in particular,many of the modern hybrids that get black spot if you look at them the wrong way. I don't bother with them anymore if I don't have to.
Had a great trip to the nursery with my client today.It was so much fun spending someone else's money! And, she bought everything I recommended to her with only one exception.
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #46 on Apr 14, 2010, 11:43pm »
How wonderful, casimira!
My plants seem to be settling in well, though I fear I may have petted them too much with water. Then again it may be transplant shock. The bed they are in gets a good bit of sun and we have a lot of wind, plus it is raised and has been filled with soil that drains quite well, evidently. I have been waiting until it seemed dry-ish when I stuck my finger in, though. Anyway, my tomato plants have for some reason gotten these yellow places in the middle of the leaves that sort of bloom and I am a tad nervous it is either an insect or sunburn. There again, it may be over watering, or transplant shock. I decided not to water them today although I had been watering about every other day just to see if things improve by allowing them to dry more. The happy news is, I have a baby tomato!
-*big happy dance*-
So now the race is on, but I think my first ripe fruit is going to be a bell pepper by a mile as the baby bell on my pepper plant is almost the size of my fist now.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #47 on May 4, 2010, 10:41am »
Here is a garden that I put in last year,died back in the winter from the freeze, and is back in full regalia!! It is a restaurant here in NOLA,I have done work for this woman at her residence for years,this is her local restaurant.She is fond of the yellows and orange as you can see. I combine annual color with the perennial roses and some other vines for filler.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,793 Location: Mexico
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #48 on May 4, 2010, 4:34pm »
Wow -- that's a wonderful, happy layout. What do you do when the pansies & nasturtium fade -- have the vines sprawled to cover those areas by that time?
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #49 on May 4, 2010, 7:43pm »
Those vines will be out of control before long,especially after all the rain we got on Sunday night and the ensuing sun since. I will stick in some rudbeckia,yellow trailing lantana,a bunch of coreopsis ('moonbeam'!!!) after the pansies and nasturtiums go kaput.Also, some various tagetes (marigolds) will go in. The campsis,(trumpet flower )will kick in as will the senecio Mexican flame vine after the jasmine goes. The rose is an antique,'Buff Beauty' and will go pretty strong for a while yet.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #50 on Sept 18, 2010, 4:41pm »
I spent a good part of the morning riding my bicycle around to the various gardens I know here..snapped what I believe are some fabulous shots of,(although my camera has been acting up terribly,and I have been really frustrated with...) some beautiful blooms and foliage.(Some I need to ID as I have no idea of what they are ). I have scoped out where I am going to take some cuttings from the day before I leave,have acquired a fair amount of seeds to experiment with. I also visited the nursery of a dear friend who has all kinds of goodies for me. And so, with that in mind,I will leave here with a new sense of renewal and much inspiration.(Will need it as my husband tells me that today is going to be a record heat breaker there in NOLA) Our planting season for the Spring begins in October onthrough early December in NOLA,so I will be super charged. Stay tuned for lots of hopefully fine photos of many fine specimens and designs.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #53 on Dec 31, 2011, 7:04pm »
Rereading this thread from 2 years ago and reassessing my aspirations for the upcoming year... I am avowed to not let myself get too overwhelmed as I did this past year only to become discouraged by all that I didn't do. I realize now that I needed a rest from the frenzied gardening of years past and it feels ok to say that now. Both the garden and I took a nice rest but not enough to let things get too out of control. I think my garden has taken on more of a permaculture type leaning,plants that have been there for years now can take a good cutting back as needed,the weeds and vines are fairly under control from diligent mulching. I haven't introduced anything major for a couple of years and the garden layout continues to suit me just fine as it is right now. Of course I have lots of fresh new ideas and will try to slowly,gracefully,implement them as time allows.
Joined: Oct 2010 Gender: Female Posts: 1,659 Location: England
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #54 on Jan 2, 2012, 4:17pm »
I am starting to get quite trembly with excitement as the days begin to lengthen and spring is only a few weeks away...I've ordered a few packets of seeds already.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,793 Location: Mexico
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #55 on Jan 2, 2012, 5:07pm »
Reading that prompted me to go look at CPB's garden in Home Turf. It's nifty that we got to see your back garden re-vamp in its raw state in mid-May of 2011 and will be seeing it one year on. What will she do this year?!
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 400 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #56 on Jan 2, 2012, 9:41pm »
One of the things I know I am going to do is follow through with planting a slew of roses that I have been lusting after in other people's gardens in and around my neighborhood. Here's the first one I took a cutting of on Saturday. I have admired it for over a year now and am going to have my very own!!!
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #57 on Jan 6, 2012, 11:22am »
i just plan to keep experimenting as always... and to have my bonsai survive... and maybe grow enough beans this time that i get a whole meal out of them...
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 4,127 Location: South-West France
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #58 on Jan 11, 2012, 3:24pm »
One of my neighbours was a wonderful gardener, although her garden was being reduced in size as she got older. She had 2 great plumbagos and had promised me a cutting. Then, about a year ago she had a stroke and is totallly incapacitated, so her husband -- in his 80s -- has been doing a bit but mostly trying to get rid of things to make it as easy as possible to cope.
I was just walking down the street and saw him, so stopped to say hello and ask about his wife. I saw too that he was digging up a plumbago and asked what he was going to do with it. "Throw it out". So -- I went to help uproot it (it has huge roots by the way!) and now I have a big plumbago bush. Of course, for the past few days there has been frost in the morning, so I can't plant it. I put it in a big pot in the greenhouse and have to look for a place to put it, in full sun, most of which my garden doesn't have.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,793 Location: Mexico
Re: Garden Aspirations for the New Year « Reply #59 on Jan 11, 2012, 3:50pm »
That's wonderful, Bjd. I'm sure your neighbor would be happy to know that you saved the plumbago, although I hope her husband didn't tell her he was digging it out.
That's a beautiful rose, Casimira.
Rikita, you are a true gardener, through and through!
![[Home]](http://static1.grsites.com/user/folders/nowdocking/r3920049/button23550481.png "[Home]")
![[New Topics]](http://images.proboards.com/menu/topics.png "[New Topics]")
![[Help]](http://static1.grsites.com/user/folders/nowdocking/r3920083/button28195714.png "[Help]")
![[Search]](http://static1.grsites.com/user/folders/nowdocking/r3920086/button25710789.png "[Search]")
![[Login]](http://static1.grsites.com/user/folders/nowdocking/r3920112/button20487816.png "[Login]")
![[Register]](http://static1.grsites.com/user/folders/nowdocking/r3920117/button97266159.png "[Register]")
![[Search This Thread]](http://images.proboards.com/search2.gif "[Search This Thread]")
![[Reply]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/reply.gif "[Reply]")
![[Share Topic]](http://images.proboards.com/new/buttons/share.png "[Share Topic]")
![[Print]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif "[Print]")
Author![[avatar]](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-geCedqtD42k/T5nyULl9CqI/AAAAAAAAWGM/1EM9HKLEDUs/s512/IMG_2160.JPG "[avatar]")
![[Quote]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif "[Quote]")
Logged
![[avatar]](http://i.imgur.com/23lJo.jpg "[avatar]")
Problem solved beautifully, as I was nowhere around when this happened.
![[image]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9PPxoV4fFEU/S6ZO9uF954I/AAAAAAAAICg/doFn38sPq1c/P3160002.JPG "[image]")
).
![[image]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9PPxoV4fFEU/S985eCWK4iI/AAAAAAAAJvE/eqgVl26X5Ic/P4280001.JPG "[image]")
![[image]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9PPxoV4fFEU/S985fGcXswI/AAAAAAAAJ5o/wvHM3PGJZQk/s576/P4280003.JPG "[image]")
![[image]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9PPxoV4fFEU/S985fbQPeuI/AAAAAAAAJ5w/BlPGjK-9yMM/s576/P4280004.JPG "[image]")
![[image]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9PPxoV4fFEU/S985iawt6CI/AAAAAAAAJ6E/48OFGxmEAu0/s576/P4280010.JPG "[image]")
![[image]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9PPxoV4fFEU/S985h8kzXgI/AAAAAAAAJ6Q/OBQDf7k6X_Q/s576/P4280009.JPG "[image]")
![[avatar]](http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu60/Stapelia1/Avatars/Mick2.gif "[avatar]"){kind=small}
![[homepage]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/www_sm.gif "[homepage]")
![[avatar]](http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i179/Cheerypeabrain/me/dalek.gif "[avatar]")
![[image]](http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dhbJrqr-xPo/Tv-nicnkUPI/AAAAAAAAVno/tNN7bj5ltHo/s720/IMG_1500.JPG "[image]")
![[image]](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-raJYvP7DzzI/Tv-n22W87PI/AAAAAAAAVns/PYg8xynoPb4/s720/IMG_1501.JPG "[image]")
![[avatar]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3580/3649442119_9a72ec47da.jpg "[avatar]")