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Post by bjd on Feb 18, 2022 19:12:15 GMT
I see those durantas are the same family as the vitex. And lantanas seem to be part of it too. I had two or three small lantanas in my garden but they died this past winter.
I like blue in gardens too. I planted some nepetas and hope they will grow well, without attracting all the neighbourhood cats.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 18, 2022 19:15:47 GMT
"If you sow it, cats won't know it. If you set it, cats will get it."
Should it turn out that the nepeta is problematic, try those blue groundcover daisies, Felicia amelloides. I've got some in full, unforgiving sun & they're doing great. Also, scatter seeds of forget-me-not around.
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Post by bjd on Feb 18, 2022 19:18:08 GMT
I read that cats only go for nepeta if the stems break -- once it grows, they leave it alone. I put it in the flowerbed I dug out in the middle of the lawn, not where it's hottest.
I will take some pictures once things begin to grow. Right now it looks as though I planted labels.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 18, 2022 23:19:39 GMT
~ good one!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 6, 2022 23:45:08 GMT
Here is the little mixed bed in front of my porch. Is it not lovely? Don't you all wish you had such a beautifully designed and executed planting at your home? My landlady has been urging me to get a shade screen for that part of the yard, as she has one & thinks it's the best thing ever. I've been resisting because of my disinclination to string something up over the patio. But two days in a row of having to rig up a sheet over the front bed to keep it from going up in flames had me scurrying to pick & click from Amazon. I got a small (2 meter x 2 meter x 2 meter) triangular shade which should be delivered tomorrow. Wish me luck. For those wondering, this is what the bed is like sans sheet. You can see the camera struggled with the death light of the setting sun reflecting off the wall. Note the cuddlesome creature on the porch, maybe or maybe not the one responsible for the vomit stain on the dogs' bed sheet. This chart will explain why I expect to get my money's worth from the shade cloth ~ www.weather2visit.com/central-america/mexico/oaxaca-de-juarez-uv.htm
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Post by bjd on Mar 7, 2022 6:40:12 GMT
Those triangular sailcloths have become quite popular here in the past years. Not so much for shading plants but for people in gardens. My son-in-law is a sailor and he has a real sail hooked up over his garden table in summer.
I have been gardening a lot in the past week. Extending flower beds, planting dahlias... I also moved a Japanese maple from one side of my garden to another, even though there is more sun there. All the plants along the neighbour's hedge lean forward (as I showed with agapanthus last year) except for that Japanese maple whose branches were growing up against the fence. So I meant to turn it around, but then decided to move it completely. I'll see how it does.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 7, 2022 15:47:05 GMT
The garden looks lovely bixa but that is certainly burning.
Burning your bunting.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2022 19:38:43 GMT
That's ambitious, Bjd! How big is the Japanese maple? I adore them, but like lilacs, they're something I love that doesn't like where I live.
Thanks, Mick! I'm dreading putting up the new "real" bunting, as I figure I'll have to tweak it several times before I find the best way for it to perform its protective duty.
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Post by bjd on Mar 7, 2022 19:54:21 GMT
Japanese maples are slow growing so it's not that tall but has quite widespreading branches, unlike another I have that is round. So far the one I moved seems to be doing alright but I have to wait until it gets leaves to know for sure. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and then get quite warm so I guess all the trees and bushes will get a growth boost.
This past week my husband has been building me a small garden shed. We have an old ugly metal shed that was in the garden when we moved in, but it's damp, the door didn't close well and it is so rammed with junk ("that might come in handy"), about 4 bicycles, and garden tools that it was impossible to find anything. So now I have a small shed just for tools and garden stuff. I have to put a second coat of paint on the outside and it still doesn't have a door but we are getting there.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2022 23:55:20 GMT
Sounds as though you transplanted it at the perfect time! Really nice about getting the garden shed. Well, the shade cloth came today. Two meters is pretty dinky, but bigger seemed problematic. Here it is strung up. This was taken @3 pm & you can see there is no impressive amount of shade being cast. I'll have to monitor it tomorrow to see if it's going to make a difference as far as protecting the plants. Note that the porch faces due south & the sun comes up in the morning over that white wall. And this picture illustrates exactly what I most didn't want with the shade cloth -- the rope. I used to have to hang clothes in this patio, which I absolutely hated. Now the blankety-blank rope reinstates the tacky look of a clothes line in the front yard.
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Post by bjd on Mar 8, 2022 7:40:36 GMT
Don't worry about the rope/clothesline, Bixa. You can pretend you are in Italy.
Perhaps is there was a way of putting that sailcloth more at an angle to be more effective? Right now it will only work if the sun is directly overhead.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 8, 2022 9:37:23 GMT
That's it! Hang the washing out there. That will shade the plants.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 8, 2022 9:43:38 GMT
I can hardly notice it - Looks part of the scene! Not ugly at all.
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Post by casimira on Mar 8, 2022 15:21:55 GMT
I'm so glad that the shade cloth arrived Bixa.
I was thinking the same about positioning it at more of an angle, but you know best.
I remain in awe of how good your courtyard looks.
I see you have a fig tree! YAY!!!
BJD, thrilled to hear about your new shed.
Also, I am impressed with your ambition in re creating the position of your various plantings.
I am entertaining planting a Japanese maple in the new yet to come garden. I've seen several of them here and they seem to thrive here. I know they are slow growing but they are so elegant.
Yesterday when my husband and I strolled over to the property and was knocked out by the aroma. All my lemon trees are in full regalia. I am thrilled.
Also, I want to thank Mick for starting this thread. So many interesting ideas and thoughts. It has served us gardeners well.
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Post by bjd on Mar 8, 2022 16:37:35 GMT
How is the house reconstruction going, Casi? Have they started yet or is there still administrative stuff going on?
Japanese maples like the same soil as camellias, rhododendrons and hydrangeas. Of course, you can add some to your regular soil. I tried that in Toulouse where the soil was clay and a tree grew but not as well as they do here. They also like half-shade.
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Post by casimira on Mar 8, 2022 19:09:59 GMT
How is the house reconstruction going, Casi? Have they started yet or is there still administrative stuff going on?
Japanese maples like the same soil as camellias, rhododendrons and hydrangeas. Of course, you can add some to your regular soil. I tried that in Toulouse where the soil was clay and a tree grew but not as well as they do here. They also like half-shade. Construction is being held up by several bureaucratic agencies. Our application for a permit to begin work seems to have fallen through the cracks and was/is dependent on the water level of the Mississippi if you live within 1,500 feet from the levee. We are 1,200 feet away which surprised me. Anyway, no new construction can commence if the water level is 11 feet or more. Last week the river level reached 11 feet. So, I am hoping that a neighbor of ours who works for the Army Corpse Corps of Engineers and screens applications and permits can maybe help us out to expedite the process. It's a nightmare.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 9, 2022 16:16:43 GMT
I was at one of my garden jobs this morning. There are a couple of beds that need attention but the soil is awful. It's either thick mud or concrete and you just have to catch the right time when it's in between. It's currently in the thick mud stage.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 9, 2022 16:23:59 GMT
Oh sorry to hear that mick - What's the cure ? Compost and more compost? Anything to lighten the quality of the soil. Even adding sand?
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 9, 2022 16:30:01 GMT
Yes but my employer is not anxious to spend too much on the garden. As long as I pick the right time it will be ok. It's quite stony too and because it was once an enormous nursery there is a fair bit of broken glass.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 9, 2022 19:57:38 GMT
If anyone should have a Japanese maple, it is you, Casimira. There are indeed the apotheosis of elegance. The sight and scent of those lemon trees must have been heavenly! Fingers crossed that the nice neighbor is able to expedite things for you all. (& of course, since it's NO, a prayer or two to St. Expedite couldn't hurt & will start getting you into shape for St. Joseph's day.) I want to thank Mick for starting this thread. So many interesting ideas and thoughts. It has served us gardeners well. Well said, and ditto!! This thread gives us opportunities to brag, to despair, and to get great advice. I was at one of my garden jobs this morning. There are a couple of beds that need attention but the soil is awful. It's either thick mud or concrete and you just have to catch the right time when it's in between. It's currently in the thick mud stage. Mick, my house across the lake from NO had been built on red clay trucked in from Mississippi. It was useless for planting. On the advice from a nursery owner, I had rotted horse manure trucked in. I didn't dig it in, simply planted in it on top of the bad soil. The nursery lady was proven right when she said that the combination of the good soil and the plant roots working their way through it would eventually amend the bad stuff. It wasn't very expensive, if you want to pitch the idea to the garden's owner. Thank you all so much for the kind words and excellent suggestions on the shade cloth ~ I was thinking the same about positioning it at more of an angle, but you know best. Ha ha -- since when? Perhaps is there was a way of putting that sailcloth more at an angle to be more effective? You see that great minds think alike. Thanks, Casimira & Bjd. Taking under advisement your comments and the fact that the way I'd hung the shade cloth was providing shade in the morning, when I wanted sun on that bed, and almost no respite from the afternoon sun, I repositioned the cloth. Some of these were taken yesterday evening & some this morning. I've been monitoring the bed & the cloth is performing very much the way a tree might, i.e., as the sun moves, parts of the bed alternate between being in sun or in shade. It's quarter of two right now, so getting into the worst part of the day, but the bed does not seem to be suffering as it was before. View from the upstairs window showing that the rope is no longer stretching all the way under the carport. The height where it's tied to the pole was determined by my height, so look out if visiting and over 5'7" tall ~ Here is how I managed to create an angle on the west-facing side of the shade cloth. This is an old piece of iron that I was using in the patio anyway as an ornamental piece ~ I feel like the whole effect is now more acceptable & even rather attractive ~ A nice side effect is that I've found both boy dogs lining themselves precisely within the shade cast by the cloth ~
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Post by tod2 on Mar 10, 2022 10:05:25 GMT
Dogs are so savvy when it comes to finding the coolest spot. I think your awning looks marvellous!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 10, 2022 16:34:30 GMT
Thank you, dear Tod! You are so accomplished, yet always so generous about the efforts of others.
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Post by casimira on Mar 10, 2022 18:12:59 GMT
It looks fabulous Bixa!!! Mission accomplished!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 10, 2022 18:39:23 GMT
Aww ~ thanks, Casimira! I admit I'm proud of getting the thing hung regardless of the constraints I was working under.
Mine is adequate for my needs, but now I understand those photos I've seen of courtyards or other spaces with more than one triangular shade cloth suspended above. Used that way, they'd not only provide shade, but could be a really handsome feature.
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Post by bjd on Mar 20, 2022 17:50:38 GMT
I have been watching garden videos by a young woman in Oregon, USA. Not at all the same climate (she has hot dry summers and cold winters), but she is so enthusiastic and does such a good job on her garden that I have been encouraged to do more in my own. Her flowerbeds are really inspiring.
Not only have I enlarged one of the long beds and dug a roundish one around the little tree, but I just spent hours digging at the side of the house. It faces south and west and gets very hot. A previous owner had put boxwood and roses there. The boxwood died, I moved the roses recently and today I dug a bit more in order to move some plants. It's spring after all! Nothing grew well there -- even the grass was ratty. Only weeds were happy. I don't understand why -- as I started to dig, the soil looks good and it's full of worms. I'll add some compost.
I moved a hibiscus I was given last year but it didn't do well where I had put it, now it's in more sun and with room to expand. I took the gauras that had been growing in that place and moved them. Those poor gauras -- they really do too well and invade everything, so I keep digging them up and either throwing them out or trying to find a sunny place where they can expand. I also gave a load away last fall.
In the space that's left, I threw in some escholtzia and stock seeds. I'll see how they do this year. My husband plans to replace some siding on that wall so I don't want to plant too much that will get wrecked. Eventually, I'll put some bushes -- there are already two cistus (?) and the vitex.
Also happy to report that the two small trees I moved are all starting to leaf, so I didn't kill anything.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 20, 2022 18:32:05 GMT
You have been busy & with much success, Bjd! On the south side of the house, where you say nothing does well ~ I'm thinking the underneath soil might be badly compacted. I had a similar spot and in preparation for deep-digging I soaked it for many hours with a dribbling hose. Imagine my surprise when I started to dig & there were big dry areas. I've since dug way down & put in new dirt & compost. Things seem happy there now, fingers crossed. I wanted to share this uplifting article with you all. It's an interview with an author who has written a book on the restorative power of nature. Even if you don't feel like reading the article, the pictures are lovely. “If you are not a gardener, it may seem strange to think that scrabbling about in the soil can be a source of existential meaning, but gardening gives rise to its own philosophy, and it is one that gets worked out in the flower beds.”Link to article
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Post by bjd on Mar 20, 2022 19:09:08 GMT
The ground is not especially compacted there. Actually, it faces west more than south, but even though that's where the rain comes from, it tends to be a bit dry there. As I dug down to plant the hibiscus though, I discovered that there are tons of pebbles there. French housebuilding obviously -- just throw all the stones and bricks in the ground and cover them with a bit of soil! In other places, I found broken bricks and tiles.
I do enjoy "scrabbling about in the soil", but my knees don't!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 20, 2022 19:51:55 GMT
French housebuilding obviously -- just throw all the stones and bricks in the ground and cover them with a bit of soil! In other places, I found broken bricks and tiles. Trust me, the French don't have a lock on that housebuilding habit!
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 20, 2022 20:34:43 GMT
We live with my daughter and her house was originally a farm stable converted in the 1970’s. 4 years ago we turned the front lawn into a vegetable garden and the amount of rubble, bricks and tiles was pretty daunting. Even now I’m still digging them up.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 20, 2022 21:39:23 GMT
I love your garden shade Bixa, the floral display is stunning. There's a tv show here where people choose between 2 plans for their garden..not the Charlie Dimmock one..this is MUCH more expensive...the last one I watched had a budget of £60,000! It might be called 'Your Garden Made Perfect' or something equally ridiculous. Lots of hard landacaping and moongates... they aren't about plants but about colour schemes..and you just know that many of the owners will have no idea how to look after the plants once the landscapers have walked off site. I like your garden more than the overblown garden living space in this type of instant gardening show. You maximise your available space with skill and the results are lovely. Fabulous.
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