Garden chat

lilredjammies said:
I know we've got gardeners here, so I thought I'd see if anyone wanted to talk about it.

My new house has all sorts of surprises in the front bed--plants I had no idea were there are popping up. The back yard is absolutely unlandscaped (see pic). So far this year, I've bought 50 gladiola bulbs, 2 clematis and about 36 young trees, including viburnum, lilacs, pussy willows and black cherry.

Sounds absolutly lovely. i live in an apartment and can't keep plastic flowers alive. I do love to admire other peoples gardening skill though.
 
Do not let me near your plants. I am the anti-gardener.

If I look after your plants, they will die.
 
36 trees!?

Hey, I don't know if this is your first house or what, but when we first moved in here, I went on a tree-planting binge. It was my first house and I didn't know anything about lawns and gardens and all that, so I started planting trees in the front yard. I love trees, and they're so cute when they're young.

Well, the roots get into the pipes and the shade kills the grass and there's all that raking you have to do in the fall. The tree I planting in the back yard caused the fence to heave and killed all the grass back there too, so all we have is moss and mud.

I love watching gardening shows on TV, just like I love those home fix-up shows too. They're home-owner pornography, and I don't take them any more seriously than I take the porn here.

Flowers are okay, but watch it with those trees.
 
rgraham666 said:
Do not let me near your plants. I am the anti-gardener.

If I look after your plants, they will die.

Sometime's I wonder if I should wear a black hood and cape when I go to water my newest victom. . . I mean plant.
 
That's a lot of trees, I just had to have some cut around my place. My grandad owned the house and planted trees everywhere. He hadn't planted wisely and they grew into wires and blocked all the sun.


Edited to say I just bought a lot of hosta. It looks great but try to keep it in beds cause it spreads like hell.
 
Oh, I'm so envious! What a wonderful project you have ahead of you!

Did you design a general plan for what you want to plant where? Have you been watching how the sun hits the yard throughout the day? Planning and choosing among the options is so much fun.

I'm a big fan of flowering bushes, so would highly recommend lilacs, hydrangea, bougainvillea...
 
I think you need a koi pond. They're good luck. Lily pads, too. A bamboo garden in the wet spots. And raised flower beds. Trellised vines. Make portion of the yard into an outdoor living area with flagstones or antique brick or something.

Barring all that, I suggest a pool with a nice patio. :D Lots of room for potted plants and container vegetable gardens. Around my pool/patio looks wonderful, but my yard is mostly grass and trees because I don’t want to mow around a whopping lot of flower beds and shrubs. I’m a wimp.

Luck to you,

Yui
 
I love to sit in a well-tended yard/garden ... but someone else can do all the playing in the dirt. I'll just make the iced tea and appreciate the beauty.
 
yui said:
I think you need a koi pond. They're good luck. Lily pads, too. A bamboo garden in the wet spots. And raised flower beds. Trellised vines. Make portion of the yard into an outdoor living area with flagstones or antique brick or something.

Barring all that, I suggest a pool with a nice patio. :D Lots of room for potted plants and container vegetable gardens. Around my pool/patio looks wonderful, but my yard is mostly grass and trees because I don’t want to mow around a whopping lot of flower beds and shrubs. I’m a wimp.

Luck to you,

Yui

I visited the Chinese Garden of Friendship while I was in Sydney - honestly, with all that I did and saw, that was my favorite place of all.

The Lake of Brightness was the centerpiece, but I loved the Bamboo Forest.
 
LadyJeanne said:
I visited the Chinese Garden of Friendship while I was in Sydney - honestly, with all that I did and saw, that was my favorite place of all.

The Lake of Brightness was the centerpiece, but I loved the Bamboo Forest.

That's just GORGEOUS!
 
impressive said:
That's just GORGEOUS!

It's an (dare I say it?) impressive place! I believe it's one of the few of its type and size outside China. It's the most peaceful garden, brilliant on sunny days, and brilliant in a different way against a cloudy sky. Loved it. I spent hours there, and THEN I found the tea house.
 
LadyJeanne said:
I visited the Chinese Garden of Friendship while I was in Sydney - honestly, with all that I did and saw, that was my favorite place of all.

The Lake of Brightness was the centerpiece, but I loved the Bamboo Forest.

Beautiful, LadyJ! I can see why it was a favorite. I love bamboo. I have several different varieties and I love the color of the sun coming through it, how it seems to be whispering to itself sometimes, and how the shadows of the leaves look like they are swimming.
 
beautiful pics everyone. This neighborhood is filled with huge old trees, and yet on our property we have only one. Doesn't seem fair we have to rake up the leaves from everyone else's trees ;)

Not much into flower gardening - a few zinnia seeds or a row of sunflowers - butI'm about to start my vegetable garden. Tried to go all organic last year but I had an infestation of aphids, which along with a very wet spring caused a bad garden season. Hoping for more favorable weather this time.

:rose: :rose: :rose:
 
yui said:
Beautiful, LadyJ! I can see why it was a favorite. I love bamboo. I have several different varieties and I love the color of the sun coming through it, how it seems to be whispering to itself sometimes, and how the shadows of the leaves look like they are swimming.


Bamboo, swimming pool, and Yui...when can I come for a visit???

:D
 
Like Carson, I am more pragmatic in my gardening; I mostly plant herbs and vegetables. I've got the tomatoes in and they survived the freak hail storm a few nights ago (hail half-chickpea size, tearing leaves from the trees - thank heaven the garden is sheltered by a fence and a tree). The radishes are all up in a line and should be interesting, as I've never tried the white icicle radishes before. Other than that, it's all herbs - mint, sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil, and cilantro. Most of them are up, and the cilantro and parsely are quite enthusiastic. I'm looking forward to the salads they will make me.

Ah, and the grape vine. It's beautiful just to watch it resurrect itself each spring.

Shanglan
 
My parents have turned the whole back yard into gardens after they retired. If you need a flowering bush, and have lots of sunlgiht, confederate rose is beautiful, smells wonderful and is easy to root.
 
Colleen Thomas said:
My parents have turned the whole back yard into gardens after they retired. If you need a flowering bush, and have lots of sunlgiht, confederate rose is beautiful, smells wonderful and is easy to root.
"Lots of sunlight" is a relative term. :D I see roses blacken from sunburn every year. The stubborness and tenacity of gardeners around here never ceases to amaze me.
 
minsue said:
"Lots of sunlight" is a relative term. :D I see roses blacken from sunburn every year. The stubborness and tenacity of gardeners around here never ceases to amaze me.

Gardeners are dreamers. At the same time, the first rule of gardening is work with what you've got...hot Arizona sun does not equal roses, unless it's roses in winter.
 
Not time for planting here yet. I can break ground and lime the soil, but the soil's still too cold. Will be able to plant seeds in about two weeks, and tomato and pepper plants at the end of the month. Pondering trying okra this year.... my zucchini was a disaster last year so I'm doubtful about it. Hmmm what to do.
 
LadyJeanne said:
Gardeners are dreamers. At the same time, the first rule of gardening is work with what you've got...hot Arizona sun does not equal roses, unless it's roses in winter.
They don't do that well in winter, I don't think. They're blooming beautifully right now, though.
 
minsue said:
"Lots of sunlight" is a relative term. :D I see roses blacken from sunburn every year. The stubborness and tenacity of gardeners around here never ceases to amaze me.

If mom & dad can raise them in Jackson, someone ought to be able to raise em in arizona.
 
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