The Garden Thread

[Dio]

What plants do you grow in your garden or plant boxes? What do you plan to grow, if anything, with the start of spring? What type of plants can you grow outside with enviromental modification (i.e. irrigation)?
I plan to grow cacti, weeds, and rocks in my garden because of water rationing in my area. The family used to have many more plants before the implementation of mandatory water rationing. The area could support citrus, nuts, and avocados and many plants that do not require regular frosts or consistent humidity and temperatures.

[Rusty Edge]

Hmm. As you may have noticed, being retired there are times when I travel. I have had bad experiences getting an inlaw to water the plants just once in a ten day to 2 week period. More years than one. Nice plants withered and died. It has curbed my enthusiasm. Last year I didn't do much.

Front planter is full of crocus spikes, and it will be planted in impatients  after memorial day. Well, I do have a mini greenhouse  that fits over it if I decide to plant early (and/ or to extend the season ), maybe this is the year for that. Sometimes I start seeds in flats in another mini green house, also made out of vinyl and metal tubing, that has shelves in it. For the front planter some years I have started and transplanted 4 o'clocks to plant in the back of against the house.

I already moved the boxes with the Tayberries back outside. The boxes in the back are smaller. Usually I buy some Gerbera daisies and some mini sunflowers. There are also some chives growing which I normally harvest and freeze. I let them bloom once each year. Sometimes I grow radishes or cherry tomatoes, basically salad accessories.

[Unorthodox]

Well...

NORMALLY, I grow a wide variety of Pumpkins, a salsa garden (tomatoes and peppers, sometimes garlic, not onions, my ground grows them too potent), and corn.   Typically, we survive the watering restrictions fine with how I was brought up working the farm through drought in the past, and run drip line to most the garden.  This year, however, that area will likely be subject to construction equipment traffic, and thus off limits for planting.   

Talia handles the flowers, and it's pretty much whatever she likes from the nursery with the "full sun" label.

THIS year...

I don't know. 

Remodeling likely means no watering system, and possibly no irrigation at all.  Talia will still get hand watering on her plants done, so there will be flowers.  She wants to buy plants instead of seeds this year, so we'll have to wait and see.  I'll probably try a handful of Cheyenne bush pumpkins that I can keep alive with grey water. 

The permanents: 
Butterfly bush.  It's located at a downspout, and thus doesn't need irrigation watering normally.  Summer thunderstorms usually provide ample water to it, if not the rest of the yard. 
Milkweed:  Native weed, doesn't need watering. 
Raven Grass:  VERY drought tolerant, doesn't NEED watering, but might not "produce" if it doesn't get any.  (use it for decorating)  Some might need to be moved for the remodeling.
Forgetting the name:  hEt's tree.  Got from the nursery when her mom died.  Will need to water, don't think it's fully established.  Survived winter though. 

[Unorthodox]

Talia went flower shopping yesterday, just getting in from planting.  There's more we'll get from a less than official source, but coming along.

Started a bunch of seeds too. 

[Rusty Edge]

Yeah, water the tree.  Losing it this soon would be like losing the parents again.

[Unorthodox]

That 'tree' should flower soon.  Surprised to see buds on the little thing. 

[Unorthodox]

Ok, so here's what we got so far.

Keep in mind I've done no weeding yet this year, and the 2 windstorms blew away all our mulch (a third coming Saturday, what the hell is with the wind this year?).  All Talia's doing, except the tree, which is hEt. 

The phone camera clearly overcompensated for the darkness as I headed out the door, sorry. 

The new in the center flower bed:  Pink Salvia at center.  Mixed cosmos in blume.  Dwarf snapdragons (Talia loves snap dragons) up front.  There's a purple pincushion flower off to the left that's not in blume yet, come from funeral stuff last year.  This bed lost a pink pincushion and mums over the winter, both procured from funeral stuff last year. 



Tiny left hand bed, camera did much better for some reason?  Purple Salvia from funeral stuff is the centerpiece.  Rocket snap dragons are new, I'm not sure what the walmart special pink flower is, bought years ago, it died, but come back after two years from outa nowhere.  The sticks in back were a local wildflower trumpet pinkish thing that appears to have not survived the winter.  Oh, and I cut off Audrey II's head in the pic. 

Talia usually has a lot of those light up solar powered decorations in the garden, collected for years...they all blew away in the storm, the stick is left here.  



The lilac tree surrounded by trash from yesterday's windstorm, and in serious need of weeding from the neighbor's grass, ragweed, and a little milkweed encroaching. 



The other flowerbed, we're not doing anything to as the backhoe will be driving right over it in a couple weeks...

[Unorthodox]

In the works:  sunflowers Talia wanted, plant along what's normally the pumpkin patch to help with weed abatement for the year.  Backhoe will be driving over a lot of that though. 

[Rusty Edge]

It's frosty in these parts, or about to be,my weatherman says.

I seem to be having a bad year for allergies. I am not keen on going outdoors.

[Unorthodox]

Rule of thumb for here is May 15th for last frost. 

Exceptions exist, of course.  I've seen snow on my Bday (mid June).

Haven't decided if I'm sick or allergies, yet.  The ragweed is actually a big problem as I'm DEATHLY ALLERGIC.  Scars all up my forearms...

[Rusty Edge]

Rule of thumb for here is May 15th for last frost. 

Exceptions exist, of course.  I've seen snow on my Bday (mid June).

Haven't decided if I'm sick or allergies, yet.  The ragweed is actually a big problem as I'm DEATHLY ALLERGIC.  Scars all up my forearms...

You win on snow and allergies. Frost free here is  Memorial Day.

[Unorthodox]

Trying to start some pumpkins, keeping fingers crossed.  Goal is just to get one or two to save seeds, and to test the variety in general. 

Had to ship the seeds down from Canada, and while I could just save them for next year (and I am a few packages) trying to get some fresher seeds is always a good idea. 

[Unorthodox]

At least one of the pumpkin seeds has germinated.  We'll keep up to 4 plants this time, more to keep the squash bees around than for the pumpkins.  Arm allergy is raging today. 

[Rusty Edge]

Well, summer appears to have arrived. I think I can buy flowers.

[Unorthodox]

Talia's pots  I'm not sure what the white thing in the front is.  The back pot has well they call it paintbrush, but it's not the paintbrush I've known traditionally.  I've had bad luck with this stuff, but we'll see.  The middle is a "magic Flower".  They open in the morning and close at night.  no idea the scientific names of either.



Better look at the Salvia and Audrey II



The center, pincushion flower starting to bloom. 



Damsel Fly...iphone sucks at closeups.  Female, unsure specific species, part of the Uno mosquito abatement philosophy.



Cleared out the ragweed and grass around the tree.  Butterfly central to the left.