The PS Garden

[PintoBean]

Ok, tomorrow I am building an herb stand. No wacky tobaccy, but I know for sure I want basil, lavender, mint, and catnip for the lady cat. I think a nice sun porch with catnip will help her compensate for the fact that she can't go outside at my house. I live next to too busy a road to take any chances!

Lavender is wonderful! I keep lavender in pots around the front door and I swear it keeps the mosquitoes away! Some survived the winter, but I plan on getting more lavender and lemon grass again this year!

 

[VRBeauty]

Ok, tomorrow I am building an herb stand. No wacky tobaccy, but I know for sure I want basil, lavender, mint, and catnip for the lady cat. I think a nice sun porch with catnip will help her compensate for the fact that she can't go outside at my house. I live next to too busy a road to take any chances!

Elliot - see if your local nursery can order some cat thyme for you. My cats (and other neighborhood cats!) have always responded strongly to cat thyme - moreso than even catnip.

Oh, and if you're growing either catnip or cat thyme outdoors, be prepared to have to protect your plants from rolling cats... seriously!

 

[OreoRosies86]

Ha! Thanks for the tip, VR! I'll ask if they can get me some

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Gorgeous gardens! And a very timely thread for me: we just got the keys for our new home and it will be my first garden as an adult. We tried to do some work last weekend and realized that we have NO clue. I will be watching very closely!

 

[missy]

VRBeauty that is a gorgeous garden.
Elliot here is a link to poisonous plants fyi. I just assume everything is bad for the kitties and that way we are good. LOL.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/anim...-plants/m?field_toxicity_value[02]=02&&page=1

 

[Calliecake]

Kipari, I'm so jealous. I had the best time planning out how I was going to landscape our yard when we had our home built. I would love to change things now but unfortunately it would be very costly to do so.

 

[Arcadian]

Some cats don't like lavender, something to keep in mind. My dog loves the stuff. I'm not a fan of ice cream in general (yeah yeah whatever ) but made some lavender ice cream. The dog loved it (so did the old man!!...lol) I've got mangos all over the place right now so planning on making a mango and mint sorbet.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Calliecake, please tell me what to do first and what to avoid! The house and garden are very old (1880) and situated on a slope ,so most of the basic structure for the landscaping is already there.

 

[Matata]

Calliecake, please tell me what to do first and what to avoid! The house and garden are very old (1880) and situated on a slope ,so most of the basic structure for the landscaping is already there.

First, you have to decide how much you are willing to do planning/planting and then how much time you are willing to spend on garden maintenance. If you know little or nothing about gardening buy lots of books, attend local gardening classes before you dig your first hole. Whether your space is large or small, you may want to hire a designer to help you. We had our entire backyard ripped up and redone 8 months ago and we had to use a landscaper (here's the thread https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/matatas-backyard-makeover.223794/). It was fun to sit and talk with someone who knew plants and would rein me in when my fantasies got in the way of practicality. The first question he asked me was "how much work do you want to do maintaining the garden" and everything else flowed from there.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Oh, wow, very impressive makeover, matata!

I was proud of the 12 strawberries I planted with the kids ... I guess we'll REALLY need some professional help

 

[Calliecake]

Kipari, Matata gave you great advice. You also need to decide if you want your yard to look formal or informal. Our first house I thought I had wanted an informal look. I ripped everything out after two years and went for a formal look. I had a great landscaper help me come up with a plan that I was thrilled with. When we had the house built that we live in now I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Knowing what you want makes things so much easier.

It is important to know how much time you are willing to invest in working in the yard. I would suggest looking at Pinterest for landscaping ideas. What part of the country do you you live in? Some plants do not do well in very hot or very cold weather. There are a few of us here that love to garden. If you post pictures of how you would like your yard to look we may be able to help you too. Landscaping and gardening books also help a great deal.

 

[Matata]

Oh happy happy happy day...the first lilac blooms. I am drunk on their perfume. Lilacs make me crazy happy

 

[monarch64]

Everything is blooming here and it's morel hunting season. I'm hoping to go Sunday and find enough to justify smelling up the whole house with grease from frying them.

I did small raised bed and container gardening for the past few years, but this year I live in a house with a giant garden plot in the backyard, and a fencerow of blackberry canes. My landlord who lives next door is an organic farmer by trade and he is not confident in me at ALL that I can handle that whole entire garden plot. WELL WE SHALL SEE, BUDDY. Challenge accepted!

My plan after my cold weather crops are done (I have lettuces, spinach, radish, kale coming up now) is to make one third of the garden veggies, do a central circular herb garden with (maybe) a bird bath or bench in the center, and the last third all cutting flowers.

I understand that it's a lot of work, but gardening is therapeutic for me and I've achieved Advanced Master Gardener status, written a beginner gardening blog since 2013, and have spent a lot of volunteer time working in much larger community gardens. Herbs don't require a ton of maintenance, flowers (zinnias, sweet pea, marigolds, etc.) don't either, so the third that is veggies will be reasonable enough for me to maintain, I think. Keeping up with the weeds is always the hardest part, imo.

Today I bought 30(!) packets of seeds. I usually start my own tomatoes and peppers, (and sold a bunch of starts to my neighbors and friends last year from seeds I had saved from successful plants) but this year I'm kind of starting over with gardening and my blog (and my life, haha) so I went a little nuts. But I can visualize in my head exactly what my garden is going to look like, and it. is. glorious. Now I'll just hope that we don't have some stupid drought or ungodly hot weather all summer.

Happy gardening, everyone!

 

[december-fire]

I love seeing everyone's flowers and plants!

There's still some snow in my backyard, but its days are numbered!

As an aside, I've been checking out the ruby-throated hummingbird progression map. They're on their way back!

http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

 

[Arcadian]

Oh happy happy happy day...the first lilac blooms. I am drunk on their perfume. Lilacs make me crazy happy

I'm so jealous! I miss lilac Everything I read that it won't bloom here because it really needs a real winter.

 

[House Cat]

I'm so jealous! I miss lilac Everything I read that it won't bloom here because it really needs a real winter.

I was told that too. I believed it for the longest time. Then I started noticing that people had lilacs in their yards and they were actually blooming.

I'm in zone 9.

There are lilacs that will bloom in areas with a mild winter.
http://www.sunset.com/garden/flowers-plants/mild-climate-lilacs

I bought the Angel White lilac for my mother many years back. It was gorgeous! It did great in our area with no real frost and extremely hot summers.

Hopefully, there will be a lilac on this list that works for you. If you have a *good* nursery in town, they may know of a variety that works best in your area. I've found that nursery staff can be hit or miss with their knowledge.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Everything is blooming here and it's morel hunting season. I'm hoping to go Sunday and find enough to justify smelling up the whole house with grease from frying them.

I did small raised bed and container gardening for the past few years, but this year I live in a house with a giant garden plot in the backyard, and a fencerow of blackberry canes. My landlord who lives next door is an organic farmer by trade and he is not confident in me at ALL that I can handle that whole entire garden plot. WELL WE SHALL SEE, BUDDY. Challenge accepted!

My plan after my cold weather crops are done (I have lettuces, spinach, radish, kale coming up now) is to make one third of the garden veggies, do a central circular herb garden with (maybe) a bird bath or bench in the center, and the last third all cutting flowers.

I understand that it's a lot of work, but gardening is therapeutic for me and I've achieved Advanced Master Gardener status, written a beginner gardening blog since 2013, and have spent a lot of volunteer time working in much larger community gardens. Herbs don't require a ton of maintenance, flowers (zinnias, sweet pea, marigolds, etc.) don't either, so the third that is veggies will be reasonable enough for me to maintain, I think. Keeping up with the weeds is always the hardest part, imo.

Today I bought 30(!) packets of seeds. I usually start my own tomatoes and peppers, (and sold a bunch of starts to my neighbors and friends last year from seeds I had saved from successful plants) but this year I'm kind of starting over with gardening and my blog (and my life, haha) so I went a little nuts. But I can visualize in my head exactly what my garden is going to look like, and it. is. glorious. Now I'll just hope that we don't have some stupid drought or ungodly hot weather all summer.

Happy gardening, everyone!

Happy hunting and best of luck! I LOVE mushroom hunting - a very happy childhood memory - and morels are a family favourite. One year we discovered a patch by accident and "harvested" 25 (!!!!!!) kg. We didn't take all of them, but they never returned... Hubby is dreaming of finding the secret to cultivating them...

 

[Arcadian]

I was told that too. I believed it for the longest time. Then I started noticing that people had lilacs in their yards and they were actually blooming.

I'm in zone 9.

There are lilacs that will bloom in areas with a mild winter.
http://www.sunset.com/garden/flowers-plants/mild-climate-lilacs

I bought the Angel White lilac for my mother many years back. It was gorgeous! It did great in our area with no real frost and extremely hot summers.

Hopefully, there will be a lilac on this list that works for you. If you have a *good* nursery in town, they may know of a variety that works best in your area. I've found that nursery staff can be hit or miss with their knowledge.

You're so lucky!! I'm firmly in zone 10b unfortunately. I've been to a lot of nurseries in my area and they don't do lilac. I was told by many to see what Mounts thought. So went over there ( WPB Botanical Gardens = Mounts) to see if MAYBE they had some which would give me a better idea if they could grow here. According to them, nope. I've been doing some reading on the interwebs, but have not seen anyone have any type of long term success with them in this zone.

 

[monarch64]

Happy hunting and best of luck! I LOVE mushroom hunting - a very happy childhood memory - and morels are a family favourite. One year we discovered a patch by accident and "harvested" 25 (!!!!!!) kg. We didn't take all of them, but they never returned... Hubby is dreaming of finding the secret to cultivating them...

Kipari, no matter where I've lived I have had dreams about morels every spring, a few weeks before it's time to find them! It really is something special. There are people around here (and I'm sure wherever they grow) who take 3-4 weeks off work just to gather and sell them. Pinto Bean and I both had a morel mushroom dish at a restaurant in Chicago the night before the GTG a couple weeks ago. I could tell their morels weren't fresh--they were likely freeze-dried. They were just OK. There is nothing like home-cooked morels like you had as a child. I found and made some last year and they were 99% like what I remembered eating of the ones my mom made when I was growing up. In my experience, they never come back in exactly the same place. There are certain areas where they are likely to grow but that's it and even then you can't count on it.
Has your hubby researched how to grow them? If he's super chemistry-happy: http://www.gorsky.com/~pdilley/Grow_Morel_Mushrooms/Online_instructions.html
My brother and SIL already found some yesterday at my parents' property. I am definitely going out today or tomorrow! I can't let them have all the mushrooms!! Hahaha.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Kipari, no matter where I've lived I have had dreams about morels every spring, a few weeks before it's time to find them! It really is something special. There are people around here (and I'm sure wherever they grow) who take 3-4 weeks off work just to gather and sell them. Pinto Bean and I both had a morel mushroom dish at a restaurant in Chicago the night before the GTG a couple weeks ago. I could tell their morels weren't fresh--they were likely freeze-dried. They were just OK. There is nothing like home-cooked morels like you had as a child. I found and made some last year and they were 99% like what I remembered eating of the ones my mom made when I was growing up. In my experience, they never come back in exactly the same place. There are certain areas where they are likely to grow but that's it and even then you can't count on it.
Has your hubby researched how to grow them? If he's super chemistry-happy: http://www.gorsky.com/~pdilley/Grow_Morel_Mushrooms/Online_instructions.html
My brother and SIL already found some yesterday at my parents' property. I am definitely going out today or tomorrow! I can't let them have all the mushrooms!! Hahaha.

wow, ON their property - I'm so jealous right now!!!
We moved (to a different country and gardening zone) last year, so we are starting mushrooming from scratch this year ...
Thanks for the interesting link as well, if we don't succeed, I might have to seriously consider growing them ...

 

[House Cat]

You're so lucky!! I'm firmly in zone 10b unfortunately. I've been to a lot of nurseries in my area and they don't do lilac. I was told by many to see what Mounts thought. So went over there ( WPB Botanical Gardens = Mounts) to see if MAYBE they had some which would give me a better idea if they could grow here. According to them, nope. I've been doing some reading on the interwebs, but have not seen anyone have any type of long term success with them in this zone.

Well shoot! Most people aren't in a zone warmer than mine. That's why I just assumed my info would be helpful. I will say that although you can't have lilacs, you are lucky to have no chill! I would give up most any plant if it meant no winter.

 

[PintoBean]

We have some progress! But clearly this is not what the yards should look like after 255 bulbs are planted. I guess the squirrels ate well this past winter lolololol!

First the front yard (above)

 

[PintoBean]

This represents half of the backyard - facing the back of the house, the back and the right side of my yard.


Oh well can't upload the panoramic files!

 

[Arcadian]

Well shoot! Most people aren't in a zone warmer than mine. That's why I just assumed my info would be helpful. I will say that although you can't have lilacs, you are lucky to have no chill! I would give up most any plant if it meant no winter.

Its ok, thats still good info that might help someone who's further north. I found there's LOTS of stuff that won't grow down here...like all those lilies I used to have But I can grow plumeria without any issues whatsoever.... I'll have to get a pic of this big ol tree in my backyard soon.

We moved this far down because of HIM. He wanted no more frost anything and an ocean view. No direct ocean view but its not exactly that far either! So compromise had to be made as I had to be close to an airport for business...I just didn't want to be in Miami (I blame First 48 for the reason Miami freaks me out...lol).

Won't lie, I don't miss the winter storms in Massachusetts not one bit...lol

 

[lambskin]

Starting with the dirt first, we bought mushroom compost, cedar mulch, and cocoa bean shell mulch. We turned the soil incorporating the leaves that broke down over the winter and put down a layer of mulch for weed retardation. Dug a bunch of bulbs -too many to count. Cleaned out the garage. Took both weekend days -8 hours each. I can't move. Next week more bulb planting and the start to put down top soil for grass seed for dead areas in the yard and more mulch.....

 

[Matata]

This morning I planted 3 big pots by the garage: Pericallis (the only one w/flowers at this point), Fuchia, Bacopa White, Calibrachoa Pink; Abutilon, and Ipomoea. The colors when everything matures will be purple, pink, white, yellow, and lime. That area is hot in summer so I bought self-watering pots. They have a reservoir on the bottom that's supposed to wick moisture up to the roots. I bought a different version several years ago and they worked great. Hope the newer model does as well. After I finished planting, I got a freeze warning for tonight on my phone. The pots have wheels so I can bring them into the garage if need be.

I'm still picking the carrots I planted in the greenhouse last fall. The package of seeds described them as red but they're more magenta.

 

[PintoBean]

Progress!

 

[monarch64]

LOL, Pinto I don't think the seed people use the same color grading system as GIA. You have high expectations!

 

[PintoBean]

LOL, Pinto I don't think the seed people use the same color grading system as GIA. You have high expectations!

Oh it took me a few minutes to figure out you confused me with matata lo Lololololol!

 

[monarch64]

Oh it took me a few minutes to figure out you confused me with matata lo Lololololol!

Oh, shit! I totally did. Apologies...I'd like to blame it on old age or insanity but basically I'm just kind of dumb sometimes. Ha!