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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 16, 2011 15:17:55 GMT
Split from: HOARDINGi think i am starting to hoard plants. i keep getting more and i want to keep them all. just not sure where. oh i have lots of green spaces. problem is, i need to have some sitting and walking and living space in between. and of course plants have demands, such as being close to a window and all. those spaces are limited in a two-room apartment. And in Putting Down Roots, in the Growing from Seed thread ~ I'm rapidly running out of space. the plastic greenhouse (GH) is full...the glass house is full...the conservatory is filling up.... Sound familiar? And you know we could find similar quotes from all the gardeners or would-be gardeners here. So let's pool our tips on ways to create more space for our potted or planted out pals.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 16, 2011 15:21:25 GMT
One way to find more space is to look up. Any low roofs or architectural ridges that will bear the load of wet dirt and plants are good areas to use if you can reach them easily. These are particularly good for spiky plants you want to keep away from traffic areas.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 16, 2011 17:43:37 GMT
*sigh* I honestly think that I'm running out of space and will have to give some of the young plants away. It will be better once the plants I've raised for my Daddy's garden have been taken round to his house, but it's much too early to plant anything yet....  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 16, 2011 18:16:55 GMT
Well, at least you know part of your space problem will be alleviated, since the plants causing it are meant for another home.
Here's an idea for a balcony ~~ Fix a stout pipe perpendicular to the wall and supported on the corner of the balcony by an upright pipe or post. It can be used to hang plants right off the pipe, or you can put heavy, open mesh between it and the top of the balcony to hang more, smaller pots from, or to grow a vine up it. This could be a way to cut the breeze if your balcony is too cool or windy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2011 20:14:50 GMT
Fabulous thread idea Bixa.
An ongoing dilemma for me at times, if I let it. I do have the luxury of a large space to plant,place things and move things around on a whim.
Much of the area I used to use,on my breezeway,once upon a time,great morning light, and oh so excellent for so many specimens and, a great work area as well ,was robbed away from me when the former idiot neighbor of mine planted a f'n oak tree on the side of her house,totally inappropriate btw,to begin with because of the lack of space for the root system which will eventually upturn the concrete sidewalk and mess with the drains etc. Forgive my rant.... GRRRRRRR!!!
Consequently,that area is now host to next to nothing save a few ferns,the light is so poor now.
Anyway....,along the same train of thought as you suggest as to looking up,I use my second story balcony as a space to look down,and see what vantage point my eyes,and others,would enjoy a view of a nice array of potted or in the ground plants to view upon and or smell. It's been a fabulous way to solve many a puzzled placement of many a plant.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2011 20:18:47 GMT
Year after year I tell myself that I am finally going to get some traditional French window boxes and put some of those geraniums and are not really geraniums in them. And I never do it.
Perhaps in my next dwelling.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 16, 2011 21:06:10 GMT
Thanks, Casimira!
I imagine you grit your teeth when people tell you, "But you have all the space in the world!" Well, sure, but as Rikita says in the OP quote, "plants have demands". So even people like you, with a big planting space, have to work around obstacles. Also, many plants have to be in pots, which can be a blessing in disguise, since at least they're portable.
Kerouac, I thought you posted a picture somewhere of some (herb?) plants you had growing in a narrow space right outside a window.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2011 21:19:35 GMT
Yes, but no window box. The new crop of dill is thriving on the kitchen window sill.
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Post by rikita on Apr 17, 2011 12:25:54 GMT
i was considering window boxes too, but not sure they are possible to attach to my windows. and on my balcony i have all boxes hanging into the inside, because i always fear a bit that a strong wind might losen one and it would fall on someone walking by downstairs. chances of that happening might not be big, but if it happened, i'd be in a lot of trouble...
right now i am wondering where to best put my fresh cuttings i am trying to get to grow roots - they are not supposed to stand in direct sunlight, but they are supposed to get a lot of light. where is that, then? there is just either shade or light...
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 17, 2011 15:41:04 GMT
Rikita, can you put them in the sun and rig up some kind of cloth over them to protect from the strongest rays? It doesn't have to look pretty. You can put sticks in the pots and drape the cloth over that arrangement. One advantage of it is that it allows you to spritz the cloth with water, giving the cuttings some nice moisture that evaporates naturally.
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Post by rikita on Apr 17, 2011 19:39:02 GMT
well i think the main reason they are not supposed to be in the sun is because of the plastic bags (i am using the method of hte link you once gave me... it says in plain sun they "cook") - maybe a cloth helps, but that would be quite complicated to do, my balcony doesn't have the space, and indoors i have to always keep it in a way that the room looks okay, as i also give classes in the same room...
well the moisture is a lot in the bags. in the links it said to water them about once per week, but now, after a week, the ground was still very moist... i will see... maybe i try the cloth on the balcony after all, whenever i rearranged it...
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i think i am starting to hoard plants. i keep getting more and i want to keep them all. just not sure where.
I'm rapidly running out of space.
