Did someone mention...GARDENING!

Well I took the topic and ran with it! And so here it is....

The Gardening Thread!


I've already bought a pack or two of seeds, stevia being the one I'm almost as eager to see grow as pumpkins , but it probably won't grow tru from seeds and a plant would be a better choice then to take cuttings from it to keep it's harvesting going. But I don't know I could come up with variations that are good and go on to propagate it by cuttings.

When I have my own garden I will grown black baccara roses, Aurum Lillys and lots of other pretty flowers and all the fruit and veg I need Mmmmm self sufficient.

Hey, garden stuff!

So this year I get to teach myself how not to kill plants. I think I'll do fine with veggies -- my grandmother kept a huge veggie garden for years, and I used to help her (well, try to) when I was little. I'll need to talk to her about tomatoes -- she grew the best! I'm hoping that she hasn't lost that part of her memory; it's far enough back that she probably still remembers (recent memory is her weak spot right now).

But ornamental plants, roses -- I have no idea. I guess I'll start with some plants that can handle a little neglect, and work my way up to more delicate ones in the next couple years.

Tips welcome!

Wish I had a garden. Damn you city living, damn you!

Actually, I'd like to plant some herbs in small pots by my kitchen window. Maybe some basil. I used to have a Chia herb garden in my other apartment, but it was attacked by a mouse.

^actually Diva I know quite a bit of people that grow container gardens in their houses just keep it on the small side (like bell peppers and cherry tomatoes)

RedAngel I suggest maybe a wandering jew..you cannot kill that and they keep getting bigger as the months go by and the ones with the purple flowers are actually quite pretty.

Here is a link http://www.pernellgerver.com/wanderingjew.htm

I am going to try my hand at Zinnias this year. They usually only get about a 3-4 inches but my mom grew some last year that were over a foot tall and they were beautiful!!! All I need is a whole lot of cow manure.

Despite living in a yardless apartment, I have a ton of plants! I have a really big window that receives a ton of sunlight, and I've basically got that whole area of my bedroom covered in plants. Some of them could actually survive my climate-- I've got some St. John's Wort, Patio Roses, Clover, and Ivy, and I'm planning on planting at least the first three of those in my parent's yard come the summer in order to make room for either some herbs or more tropical plants.

I've got a lot of tropical plants in my room too, and I love them. Having plants around is just so nice. They're beautiful, they give me something to nurture [since I can't have pets, as I live in a school-owned apartment], and they're amazing air filters! I can tell that there's a difference in air quality between my room and all of the other indoor spaces I tend to spend time in.

^^^I have never tried my hand at Ivy Dark Dreamer, does it do well in low light. The reason why I ask is I would love to grow some in my kitchen and I don't get enough light in there except for the evenings. I currently have Phiodendron growing in there but I would love to add more .

Has anyone tried something along these lines for tomatoes? I am thinking of getting two to see how they do this year.
https://www.hangingtomato.com/?cid=486592

Ivy does well in low light. I have mine tucked away on a shelf in a corner, and it appears to be doing fine.

Also, I've never tried inverted planters, but I've heard that they work pretty well. However the one's I've seen have all been made of recycle soda bottles (just cut off the bottom, string the stalk of the plant through the spout of the bottle, and fill the rest of the bottle with dirt.)

I just started buying seeds for my food garden this summer. I'm wicked excited! So far I've got seeds for peas, radishes, beets, honeydew, green onion, chive, lavender, and some strawberry clippings. I've also got some patio roses, clover, and st. john's wort that have been living in my dorm room for a while that I'm planning on putting outside.

Later on I'm planning on getting seeds, plants, or clippings for some rhubarb, roses, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, lettuce, cabbage, potato, cucumbers, kale, squash, pumpkin, watermelon, tomato, basil, oregano, dill, chamomile, spinach, mint, grapes, and peppers.

I'll be starting some of my seeds next weekend.

I love fresh organic fruits and veggies, and can't wait to tear up a good portion of my parents horrid lawn and fill it with food! I just see their yard as wasted space at this point; it could be a beautiful and bountiful garden providing my family with a lot of food instead of just sitting there needing to be mowed.

Wandering Jew is great and hard to kill. I also recomend pothos ivy as a good "starter plant." Also, according to a NASA experiment it's one of the best at filtering air and... I dunno, there's some reason why they're super for a spaceship.

Good enough for a spaceship? Good enough for me.

Speak of space gardening:
BEHOLD! The aerogarden!
http://www.aerogrow.com/

My own pictures will follow... as soon as I find my stupid camera card.

It's sprouting now!

My husband and I just spent the whole day clearing the jungle called our front flower bed, taking down limbs from a dead tree (they were threatening to fall and cause some damage, and we've been there already, thanks), and laying down pine straw as mulch to keep us from getting outnumbered by the weeds again.

Because of my surgery last summer, I couldn't do any garden care (or lifting, or strain in general), so unfortunately some of the nice ornamental grasses have been strangled by vicious gangs of weeds. Hopefully, not again! We're wiped out -- I feel like I've been working out all day, probably because I have been.

Gardening will have to happen in the front flower bed or in pots this year -- the best area for gardening in the backyard is probably going to get covered by a deck this summer.

I did get some pots and herbs, though. And some wildflower seeds. Things that are really hard to kill, you know?

^^ that reminds me I have to get out there and get my flower beds cleaned up.

I bought pansies today because they look like little smiling faces to me.

Yay! Not only is my AeroGarden growing, so are the seedlings I started!

But now I'm kind of nervous. I recently killed a primula. With that fresh in my mind I'm scared I'll accidentally kill the new plants.

This post is more animal than vegetable:

It's official: my husband and I are bird lovers, and our backyard is becoming a habitat! I'm still working on my planting skills -- just cleared years' worth of weeds out of a forgotten flower bed and put in some wildflower seeds; we'll see how they do. But we just got some new birdseed, and now our backyard is the place to be for goldfinches, house finches, chickadees, Eastern towhees, migratory sparrows, brown thrashers, etc. Hoping for bluebirds too. Next yard purchase will be a birdbath.

We went to a great shop run by a husband and wife who know all there is to know about birds. And we asked them how to get rid of mosquitos in the yard (which come out at 9 am, no lie) -- and they said get some bats out there! They eat mosquitos. So we're planning on getting a batbox! (As soon as we find a spot in the yard that's high enough for it.)

^^That's so cool! I wish I had a back yard.

I planted basil about a month ago and they're growing beautifully.

Yesterday and hubby and I visited Wave Hill which is about a 15 minute walk from our home. We were so inspired that we went to Home Depot afterwards to get some seeds and other houseplant accessories.

just bought these for the garden

http://www.olive-trees.net/_borders/black-baccara%202.jpg

Black Baccara Rose bush!

Succubus wrote:

^^ that reminds me I have to get out there and get my flower beds cleaned up.

I bought pansies today because they look like little smiling faces to me.

Pansies are the happiest little flowers ever. I'm planning a HOT basket (reds and purples) for outside the front porch and a COOL one (pale lemon and lilac) for the side of the house. Also planning to buy loads of deep purple petunias

I have a week off next week all on my onesome (because of the idiot I work for) but I'm either going to be gardening or lying in the garden with a good book I need some chill out time in the garden, work is becoming more than just paying the bills at the moment and my head is starting to seriously hurt with all the crap

I bought 4 Clivia miniata at a steal today at 2.00 a pot.

Succubus wrote:

I bought 4 Clivia miniata at a steal today at 2.00 a pot.

Oh my! They are pretty!

I was lured to the garden centre again today and I bought some lavender to pot along my garden path (every time somebody comes to the front door they will brush against it and release the scent), some blood red petunias and some gazanias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazania

I love gazanias, they are like little stars!

During the winter they sell Rosemary bushes that resembles christmas trees and I have always wanted one to put in the yard so I could just smell it on demand.

I used green onions out of my garden for the first time on Sunday! I was so proud!

I have my herbs drying on the counter and can't wait to grind them up and use them too!

Wheee!

I have a wish list already for this spring.

Green Wizard Rudbeckia


Zebra Grass but only as a barrier from my neighbor.

Black Knight Butterfly Bush

Succubus wrote:

I have a wish list already for this spring.


Zebra Grass but only as a barrier from my neighbor.

Succubus wrote:

I have a wish list already for this spring.

Green Wizard Rudbeckia


Zebra Grass but only as a barrier from my neighbor.

Black Knight Butterfly Bush

Yep, we're working on "natural neighbor barriers" too. Our neighbors are nice (they did check on my husband when he was doing yardwork and a tree limb came down), but they've got one of those yards that looks like a perpetual yard sale.