Gardening Blunders

[Deleted]

If you haven't had at least one,you're probably not a real gardener,yet. I've had many and will surely remember more as time unfolds.
But,I'm going to start off with what I consider one of the major garden blunders I've witnessed and was personally affected by. I bring it up now because it was this time of year and as I walked out into my garden early this a.m. I was sorely reminded when I saw some bare spots where I would like to plant some of the soon to be mentioned plants.
It was quite a few years ago,maybe early 90's,a very,very hot summer Saturday. I got a phone call from my sister in law midday and she asked me to come by she and my mother in laws house. So, I went over and there across the street from where they lived were 30 bare root,mature Camellia bushes, lying in the gutter on the street,wilting in the scorching hot sun.
The new owner of the house and garden had decided she didn't like or want Camellia bushes and had dug them all up. I was mortified as I knew of this collection from the previous owner,an older gentleman who had spent half a lifetime propagating these gems. I took some home but none of them survived. I run into this same woman on occasion and it is all I can do to say hello.

[bazfaz]

When we bought Chateau Faz there was a patch of a couple of dozen mimosa trees (since brought down by a storm). Underneath was a good thick mulch of debris from the trees. I had the bright idea of taking this down to improve the soil of our newly planted Tropical Folly.
Folly truly described my action as approximately 3,278,467 (at the last count) mimosa seedlings sprung lustily to life.

[bixaorellana]

*cringe* I did a version of that, Baz. I was merrily throwing the seeds and pulp from juicing passionfruit into the compost bin. Were you aware that passion flower seeds have 200% germination rate?

A bad blunder recently was just bone-headed. I have a severe water shortage problem, so catch all the kitchen water in a dishpan to throw on the garden. I carefully carried some out the other day & tipped it here and there. Then I remembered there was bleach in that water.

[Deleted]

It seems I repeat blunders such as the lovely teeny red morning glory that's everywhere because I foolishly let it reseed,dealt with pulling up volunteers from last year all summer now,and the ones I left are now in bloom,so cute,hummingbirds all over them and I'm going to turn my back,go out of town and next year the same thing.

[bazfaz]

Jazz, in England I had builders who emptied their bucket of turpentine on to a honeysuckle. Previous builders, who were retiling the roof, had a bonfire of old rafters in the middle of the lawn. They seemed perplexed that I was furious.

I think the world is divided into gardeners and builders, and it is unlikely they will ever be combined in one person.

[Deleted]

Aug 16, 2009 11:37:43 GMT bazfaz said:

Jazz, in England I had builders who emptied their bucket of turpentine on to a honeysuckle. Previous builders, who were retiling the roof, had a bonfire of old rafters in the middle of the lawn. They seemed perplexed that I was furious.

I think the world is divided into gardeners and builders, and it is unlikely they will ever be combined in one person.

JEEZ,you're not kidding! One year we decided to have the house painted. I intentionally chose winter as I figured there would be less damage to the garden that time of year. I carefully roped off areas,put NEON painted plant stakes near precious plants,even transplanted some things. Didn't make one bit of difference. Next time,I'm going electric.
Same with roofers,no matter what you ask,beg,plead,doesn't matter.

[bazfaz]

The same builders who had a bonfire in the lawn had already knocked down (and of course not rebuilt) a brick archway that got in the way of their scaffolding.
No end of works dinner for them.

[Deleted]

I'm kind of embarassed to post this one,just hit me this a.m. When we first put in our fish pond and a balance was achieved with all the fish,other critters,plants etc. we were overrun with toads.It was not unusual to find 40pairs getting it on early in the a.m. They lay these long strands of gelatinous eggs that of course eventually become tadpoles etc. Too many tadpoles at that stage really upsets the balance,depletes O2 levels and they secrete. Then,the fish will die off.
So,I would go out early and attempt to scoop out the toads and transport them up to the levee etc. Still ,we were overrun with tadpoles. I learned this trick from someone and it entails putting a piece of white bread in the pond (here brand name Bunny Bread,up north Wonder Bread). I would keep a loaf in the freezer. After about 30-40 minutes the bread is covered in hundreds of tadpoles and you sneak up and scoop them out. One a.m. I was out of Bunny Bread and NOT THINKING, in desperation, put a CROISSANT in the water. 30 minutes later,major OIL SLICK. Boy,did I feel dumb

[bixaorellana]

*snork* Not gardening related, but I did something similar recently when I grabbed a big stick from outside to stir a 5-gallon bucket of white paint. All kinds of crud instantly came off the stick into the paint.

Was just outside looking at my garden. The burning sun and dryness were so dire yesterday that I watered in the heat of the day. Several things are now burnt as a result. (although we did get rain later, & it's clouding right now -- fingers crossed)

[spindrift]

Casimira - I felt real pain when I read of the collection of mature camellias dug up and wilting in the sun.........

[Deleted]

It is painful to remember all these years later. The sheer ignorance and waste was one thing but ,I knew the gentleman who had lovingly propagated these beauties from cuttings. All she had to do was pick up the phone and a half a dozen people would have been over there in a heartbeat. But,that would have entailed thinking.

[spindrift]

On a more cheerful note - I have blundered by over-planting my little garden. I knew that I had. I'm already giving plant away but waiting until the sap withdraws to dig up my specimens.

[Deleted]

I have been known to prune plants on a whim rather than waiting for the proper time of year, upon which they immediately die.

[bixaorellana]

Aug 31, 2009 18:57:43 GMT spindrift said:

On a more cheerful note - I have blundered by over-planting my little garden. I knew that I had. I'm already giving plant away but waiting until the sap withdraws to dig up my specimens.

I can identify -- you should see my zinnias.

I had stopped planting zinnias because they always got powdery mildew. A friend who lives nearby gave me seeds from her zinnias, which were robust and healthy. When I moved in here and had a new blank space, I broadcast way too many of the seeds in the hopes of fast results.

[bazfaz]

I am reminded on a daily basis of another blunder. About 5 years ago in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris we admired some umbrella grass. So I bought a packet of seeds. And put the resulting plants in appropriate places. After a couple of years it became apparent this was a strategic error as the umbrella plants seeded and had imperialist tendencies over the whole garden.

Though I took up and burned all the plants the seeds are like leave-behind agents when an army retreats. Even now I can pick up seedlings of umbrella grass all over the garden.

[Deleted]

If this is the same plant of which you speak baz,I too, have a plague of it. However,I never planted it ,and can only surmise that it was in the soil of another plant I introduced into that section of the garden ,or the Katrina winds blew it in and it liked it there and decided to take up residence.
They do make a nice aquatic specimen for the pond.
(Cyperus Alternifolius)

[bazfaz]

That's the one Casi. The seeds got everywhere. The people who have bought our house are ignorant of anything about gardening and won't realise they must pull every specimen up or they will be overrun. Actually since this is only going to be their maison secondaire and they live near Orleans way to the north the garden will be overrun with everything by the end of May next year. We offered to put them in touch with someone who could do some gardening for them and they declined because they didn't think it was necessary. They think a beautiful garden simply happens.

[Deleted]

Well, they can't say you didn't forewarn them. I have heard their song many times.
It sounds as though you were able to take along or share with others most of your garden,good for you. I know of friends who have left behind labors of love ,with assurances from the new owners that they will take care of it " as if it were my own",only to find six months later a waste land. I wouldn't want to even know ,were that me.

Back to blunders...along the same lines as Baz,I remember seeing a plant that I admired and came dangerously close to taking a piece of when a friend who was with me and was familiar with, grabbed me by the wrist and advised me firmly,NO.
This particular "plant", a noxious,insidious , "you can't get rid of me ever" WEED which is one of the banes of my existence in my work, narrowly escaped being actually cultivated by me.
I am eternally grateful.

Hydrocotyl umbellata, AKA,"dollarweed"

[spindrift]

Thank goodness you didn't take it!

[bjd]

Yesterday I mowed my lawn for the first time. As I put the lawnmower away, I found a basket of hyacinth bulbs that I had dug up last spring and forgotten to replant in October.

They had started to grow and have pale green tips about 2-3 cm high. Hyacinth season is basically over here (the others in the garden are wilting already), but I stuck them in a pot anyway. Do you think they will grow? Die?

[Deleted]

I have an old pot of daffodils that I usually remember to dig out of the hallway cupboard about a month late every year. After removing the dried dead bulbs, I let the other bulbs do whatever they feel like doing on my kitchen windowsill. The first year I got leaves but no flowers. Last year they decided to bloom. This year, they're just coming up so I don't know what will happen.

[bixaorellana]

I'll bet those hyacinths will grow, Bjd. Bulbs grow even if they're bought too late in the season, if they're dug up & given to you by an unskilled gardener, or found in an abandoned garden and relocated. It would be great if they flowered this year, as well.

And your daffodils should flower, too, Kerouac. The fact that they flowered last year must mean that they're established, I'd think.

[cheerypeabrain]

I love leafy exotics despite the fact that we really don't have the climate to grow them in. I've lost sooooo many expensive plants over the years because I'm too ambitious. Winter 2009 I lost a musa basjoo and a dicksonia antarctica, and this winter we lost the other tree fern, 2 phormiums, a musa sikkimensis (hardy banana? HAH!) a lantana, 2 trilliums, a colocasia, several dahlias and probably others....this is despite me carefully following the instructions for overwintering the plants...


I also have 'eyes bigger than my garden' syndrome and sow far too many seeds...

The biggest worry atm is the gunnera manicata that WON'T DIE it was planted in the boggy front garden because nothing will grow there. All the neighbours have bricked over their front gardens for parking so the ground is really wet. The gunnera isn't hardy and should be wrapped over winter here, but despite a really long cold winter it has survived and seems to be getting even bigger...I have visions of it marching along the garden (I think it throws up shoots) through the brick wall and into the road, causing lots of very expensive damage.....