GardenArtist Posted September 2015
Gardening as therapy.
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Hot chocolate is definitely on the agenda today.
I've thought of bringing a radio outside; at least it would block the barking of the poor neglected dog whose owners just plop him/her outside. Poor thing is shy and won't even come up to me to be greeted.
And it would also block out the baseball games from the neighbor who plays them so loud I can hear them from 200' away. What I think I might do is garden on Saturday afternoon and play the Sat. Afternoon at the Metropolitan Opera on full blast. Hopefully I can time the gardening with a day with the opera is Wagnerian and rousing.
I haven't played music for my plants but that's a great idea. I also like the idea of a Plant Whisperer. I'm going to start saying good morning to mine every time I go out to the garden.
I do like to bring a radio out with me when I garden. I think my plants like the attention from my cat just sleeping in their shade.
GA, too funny!!!
Now, Windy's tractor.....we could suggest he add stereo. I was thinking how appropriate Ride of the Valkyries would be as a theme song..... I can just imagine it now....revving up the engine, listening to the opening strains, and then away he goes, accompanied by the rousing and triumphal music of the Valkyries on their voyage. By that time any critters lounging around in snow piles would be far away, hiding in burrows or piles of snow far away from the musical tractor. They might even plow out some of the driveway as they flee in panic.
Windy, its those expectations that get us everytime! Then, nature goes and surprises us! But so glad there are multiple uses for that tractor, snow or spring grass. What else does the tractor do? Are there tractor races or competitions in your area?
When I went outside with my hot chocolate-do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, there was a huge nest of possible flying termites hatching out of a pile of sand where the cement meets the block wall. Three lizards were in attendance, feasting. We wanted the lizards to eat, and did not spray the termites. Later, they were all gone, so many had flown away.
The real good news-The bouganvillas are blooming! A deep burgundy, on only one plant, but blooming.
And, go figure, when Sharyn explained how to cut back the rosebush to choose between tall or big flowers, I must have got creative so now there is one very tall bloom, and one short bloom with a big fat flower! Pink.
Irises are coming along nicely. Stocks are thickening up so am expecting possible blooms by end of month.
Aside from the snow it is supposed to get really cold over night... I hope the flowers can take it cause I don't think I want to run around covering them again :(
Then Dad called and said it's snowing! Checked the weather report - weather advisories issued, 1 - 3" this afternoon, winds 30 to 40 mph and gusting. A large band of snow is moving due East across Lake Michigan.
The sun is still shining; it's hard to believe there will be snow on the ground by tonight.
The lawn mower gets a reprieve, at least temporarily.
I just hope all my lovely little flowers survive this little weather event.
Want to see the poppies out by Palmdale/Lancaster area, soon.
We are on a water meter as well. Don't know the cost per CCF as it was on not Lister on our bill.
Happy gardening, good night.
Tacy, we saw little cut up bits of orange or brown "mulch" when it came out. It looked like it would be dangerous if a dog or cat ate it; have not seen it this year-thinking it did not survive the hot sun, nor would it have survived management's purview-would not be surprised if it was banned, first by management, then by the powers that be in government planning re: landscaping. (especially BPA issues.)
It looked okay at first, then there was none!
Oh, and all our water is fresh run through the water meter. If we want to use grey water, we have to make it grey-hence, capturing the shower water to lug outside.
Glad's purple flowers were identified way back, GA.
end.
We have a visiting owl that if there are any rats, they're gone, no evidence in area of rats. We do have possum, we have seen them, often on the back wall.
This Old House on PBS (or youtube) showed how to install the instant water heaters.
The water levels on our bill in CA are reported 3 CCF. Consumption is 257-260 which is billed @ 3 CCF. $5.22 plus $20/ mo. service charge = $25.52 for water. This used to be about $5-$7/mo.total, but when everyone cut back on water use, they added the fees.
The house next door has been vacant for 4 - 5 years; there's ivy growing up the side of the house to the second floor, circulars and junk on the front porch (I call every once in a while to have the porch cleaned off), and more, but through tax defaults, the city now owns the house so it isn't going to spend money on it unless someone complains.
I used to hang my clothes outside all the time; I loved the fresh scent. That is until the next door neighbor got a dog, didn't clean up after it, and well, I decided sanitation prevailed over fresh scent and dried the clothes inside.
GA, I'm surprised they let you garden there at all, surely veggies attract rats, and flowers and shrubs give rats hiding places.
Are they also the kind of dinosaurs that prohibit outdoor clotheslines??
Not on the same subject, but coffee grounds are good for aeration because they attract earthworms, which help aerate the soil as they move to and fro munching on the grounds.
The issue of lasagna gardening and adding other materials is in my area thwarted by ignorant city officials, who see anything like biodegradeable materials as "blight." That concept has been liberally defined to include anything a code enforcement officer thinks shouldn't be in a yard.
I've been cited for using straw as mulch (CE claims it attracts rats), 3 cement blocks as elevation for seedlings while they harden off (again, cement blocks attract rats), grass clippings as compost (guess what? CE claims grass clippings attract rats!) Personally, I think the real rats are in the city municipal building.
And the city even hosts seminars on how to have a great lawn (but not organically). Lawn worship is still a god in this area, one of the reasons why I want to get out.
AS to hard to get rid of species, I think the Black Locust tree and all its dozens of offspring are perhaps the worst. These trees send out seeds like the KGB used to send spies to America - they're all over. The trunks are covered with sharp, spiky needles so you have to wear a couple pairs of gloves to hold onto them while pulling them out.
This year I'm trying morning glories. I found that by letting them grow up around mulberries, they'll kill that also invasive species. Maybe they can do the same for the Black Locusts.
Glad, I have the lavender and white violets - they're small, don't seem to cluster much, but they are so sweet and lovely. I've seen recipes for using violets in baked goods but somehow haven't made the bridge from seeing them growing wild to adding them to food.
I did try drying them for use in handmade cards but they didn't dry well.
Linda, I've been playing with designs for red and green lettuce in a formal bed; every year I come up with a few more designs. Maybe this year I'll actually get them planted. I love Romaine.
I'm glad some plants make it easy for gardeners and reseed themselves!
Send, I think starting with a small area of xeriscaped plants is the best way to go; undertaking a larger area could just be too much at one time. And grass is hard to remove. My father had to use a big rototiller on mine, then I double dug it for years before getting it to the tilth level I wanted.
I think it could be fun to redesign your yard with plants with low water needs. Don't recall for sure but I believe I've seen a few fat magazine/books at HD or Lowe's on this issue.
You must have a lot of patience to wait for DH to fix the bathroom faucets.
I've never grown ranunculas so I don't have any insight on why some flowered and others didn't. Were they planted at the same time, same location, same type of soil?
Your suggestion of container plants for Glad's rental home is a good one. Some of the container plantings on city streets are magnificent - massive hybrid sweet potato plants spilling over the sides, petunias or million bells filling out the top - they're beautiful. A few of the cities in this area really use container plants successfully - I know they tend to make me slow down and spend more time looking in the shops, which I guess is one of the intents.
Sharyn, thanks for sharing the natural recipe for weed killers. They're so much safer than toxic chemical solutions like Round-Up.
Glad, I'm still trying to figure out what the little purple flowers resembling clover are. Could it actually be some kind of clover?
Send, are the water use levels you write about for watering grass? I don't think they could possibly be for household water use since they're so low. I'm wondering if CA has different levels for household use vs. outdoor use of water, and how they could possibly monitor them?
Maybe this year I'll get around to finding a SAFE barrel for gathering rain. We haven't had as much as usual over the last few years, but any bit helps. Everytime we get a downpour I wish I'd gotten busy and found a safe rain barrel to use. Given that so many consumer goods are made in China, I've hesitated to introduce anything from there into my garden.
I also hate the height length standards for grass. I'm sure the code enforcement people in my area carry rulers with them because they hit someone if the grass is more than 6" high. 6.5" and you get a citation.
It's no wonder the city was almost bankrupt - 5 code enforcement officers for a city of less than 30K population.
CWillie, I remember that using greywater was such a big issue in some areas of the US in the '70s when the oil embargo threatened us and people really had to begin thinking about conserving fuel, as well as other resources. It was somewhat frightening, but it forced a redirection of thought toward conservation and away from wanton use of resources.
Rodale's New Shelter focused on earth sheltered homes, composting toilets, water conservation and more. I really liked the idea of using greywater; so much of it is really just wasted.
I learned on a DIY Forum a few years ago though that some communities have such tight restrictions on it that it's hard to really use it. I think the ideal would be to have a plumbing system that can divert grey water to a rain barrel, or maybe directly to the lawn or garden.
I've been thinking about getting one of the hot water heaters like Europeans use, so that almost instant hot water could be available for showers and dish washing. I remember asking about this on the old DIY Forum, and most of the experienced building and plumbing pros had reserved opinions about the use of these heaters. I don't remember why though.
Solarizing with plastic mulch, either black or clear, has been discussed a bit and there's no clear consensus on whether black or clear is better for killing weeds.
As to mulch, I might use it to warm the soil in the spring, especially for specific spring plants that I wanted to grow before an abrupt warm spell caused them to bolt.
But as a mulch in lieu of leaves or other organic material, I wouldn't use it. Plastic can tear more easily, and becomes a real mess when it does (especially if raccoons are busy shredding it!).
The other issue is that it likely wouldn't be food grade plastic and could contain Bisphenol A (BPA) which is anathema to gardeners whether on the soil or in the plastic (and metal) containers that are used for food (although I've read that the BPA has been decreased in plastic food containers because of its toxicity).
(If you're not familiar with BPA, Mayo Clinic has a good summary of its side effects, as well as the products in which it's frequently found:
mayoclinic/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/bpa/faq-20058331). Assuming part of the URL is truncated, Google bisphenol A and look for the Mayo Clinic link.)
Are you looking for weed control or are you hoping to cut down on watering?