Gardening threads (merged)

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

Was walking to the back of my yard (side of pool) and came across this!

It is not the creature, I knew the large Emmet was there..I bought it and place it there years ago. It was the fact the African Iris grew low and horizontal to look as if it crawled there to sniff it...

[luckytxn 2,264]

Our little fig tree is looking strong for fruit this year which is nice - sorry the close up pic is a but blurry, but cherry tree next to it has died

About to leave for the UK, leave my plants in the hands of the husband, hope all my seedlings and plants are here when I get back in two weeks.

Very nice. Looks like a possible bounty year of figs. Sorry about the Cherry tree death.

I can't even get my weeds to grow

I hope you have a rock garden then. Plants are people too and deserve love and care.

Was walking to the back of my yard (side of pool) and came across this!

It is not the creature, I knew the large Emmet was there..I bought it and place it there years ago. It was the fact the African Iris grew low and horizontal to look as if it crawled there to sniff it...

Love the creature. The irises need need some attention.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Apologize for the neglect. I have started about two weeks ago on coming off the road and running dedicated runs and local runs to be home more. It is rough to learn new things at my age.

I finally finished my new project which was to make a new flower bed in the front surrounding the sign of our business. It turned into a big project. It doesn't help that I have to also take care of my wifes family too.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Here are the after pics. I also placed 2-3 inches of garden soil in the existing beds and mixed it all in. They look great and have had people that I don't know come and ask about them. It is that which makes it all worthwhile at times. Even my wife grudgingly said that I did good.

[luckytxn 2,264]

I didn't take pictures of the rose bushes this time. (I know y'all wanted more.) But wanted to give an update. The feeding and watering did as expected and they all took off on growth. The older prize ones will be needing their first trimming in a week or two and the newer ones the same but they will get their first ever trim. Decisions will be needed as to how I want the future growth to take off in but of course I already know. The new ones will need about two more years of growth to get to where they need to be. I hate ripping out rose bushes and putting in new ones as this is the critical time for them. If I do everything right they could still fail.

Edited May 8, 2012 by luckytxn

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

Here are the after pics. I also placed 2-3 inches of garden soil in the existing beds and mixed it all in. They look great and have had people that I don't know come and ask about them. It is that which makes it all worthwhile at times. Even my wife grudgingly said that I did good.

the beds add alot to the landscape even sans the planting to come!!! someone has a strong back

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

The African Iris is in a very dry spot I will cut it back and water it more often now that you mentioned it to me

is this redeeming????

[luckytxn 2,264]

the beds add alot to the landscape even sans the planting to come!!! someone has a strong back

It is not as strong as it used to be for sure. This time I only did 2 yards of soil. (For those reading and don't know a yard of soil. One yard will fill the back of my Ford F-150 pickup bed. In fact the same one in the above picture.) Apparently I have to go get a yard or two next weekend for my wifes Uncle yard.

The beds will be populated soon as this weekend I will buy a couple of plats of flowers and plant them. The bed on the side of the house is my wifes and I plant what she wants. The rose beds pictured will have flowers in them also. It will be both of us deciding what goes there. I didn't like my wifes choice of flowers in the rose garden last year. I don't expect to this year either. I don't know if I want to compromise this year. We will see I guess.

Edited May 9, 2012 by luckytxn

[luckytxn 2,264]

The African Iris is in a very dry spot I will cut it back and water it more often now that you mentioned it to me

is this redeeming????

That is good. Need to show them love and care.

The flower pic has made me smile. I also detect some water on them. That is very good. Thanks for posting the pic.

[Krikit 1,164]

The beds will be populated soon as this weekend I will buy a couple of plats of flowers and plant them. The bed on the side of the house is my wifes and I plant what she wants. The rose beds pictured will have flowers in them also. It will be both of us deciding what goes there. I didn't like my wifes choice of flowers in the rose garden last year. I don't expect to this year either. I don't know if I want to compromise this year. We will see I guess.

Not sure if you have the right growing conditions where you are, but bougainvillea would look pretty amazing against that background (the shop). Even if it's just from window boxes attached to either side of the stairs.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Here are the after pics. I also placed 2-3 inches of garden soil in the existing beds and mixed it all in. They look great and have had people that I don't know come and ask about them. It is that which makes it all worthwhile at times. Even my wife grudgingly said that I did good.

Those look really great - looking forward to seeing the planting.

How do you and your wife differ in your flower choices? Colour, style?

[luckytxn 2,264]

Not sure if you have the right growing conditions where you are, but bougainvillea would look pretty amazing against that background (the shop). Even if it's just from window boxes attached to either side of the stairs.

I think bougainvillea would look great in boxes on the sides but at this shop it isn't a great idea for the main reason that so many toss trash and also would use it as an ashtray. That is a great idea for our house we are looking to buy. Bougainvillea are an excellent accent to any landscaping.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Those look really great - looking forward to seeing the planting.

How do you and your wife differ in your flower choices? Colour, style?

We have a few differences. I prefer nice flowers that are spaced that show some dark soil between that flowers. I like to experiment with the colors to complement each other. Doing this though means weeds must be hoed and hand pulled out to maintain the appearance. It is pleasing to me. The flowers I choose must be planted so many inches to a foot or two as when they grow they will not crowd each other.

My wife likes flowing flowers that take over the beds and most times become unruly. They are nice though if they have their own beds to take over. When she planted some in the rose garden I had to become harsh and pull out by handfuls the flowers. I provide maximum soil conditions for plants. She had planted a couple of plants among the roses last year that did not complement each other. I took them out this time around and put them in their own containers. When they are more fully grown I will replant them at our house we will buy. She was not too happy about this but I will plant them in her beds as she wants.

I apologize for being harsh this year but the past two years our compromises have been to plant what she wants in any bed. This year and forward I am going to have to take charge since I am the one doing the work. I want to look at my beds and be happy and smile. Unruly beds make me frown. She can plant flowers in the main front beds but if I see them starting to look out of place I will be moving them or just plain ripping them out. Plants do not deserve this treatment. It should take some thought and care on the aesthetic aspects. Sometimes a plant or flower seems right when planted but turns out to be wrong. I then will carefully re pot it into a container or another bed.

[luckytxn 2,264]

This is an example of what can happen when a compromise is done. It is not a disaster but this plant did not belong next to a rose bush. She planted it last year and I let it stay. The spring bed cleaning means now that I took it and replanted it in its own container for now until I find a new home for it.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Also last year I planted the new rose bushes and she had me plant two in her bed by the side of the house. The bed is in constant indirect sunlight and rose bushes need full sun. They can do OK here but I had a gaping hole in my rose bushes. I took them out and replanted them in the rose bush line.

Apologize I forgot the pictures.

Edited May 9, 2012 by luckytxn