Lunacy The Garden Thread

[Vitolo]

Here are shots of our vegetable Garden.
I would love to see your vegetables also!

Just a few varieties of Chilles we grew (we grew a dozen varieties!)

Watering

Oregano

Kohlrabi

Banana Pepper (great to pickle)

Tiburon Chille (hotter than a Habañero)

Peppers

Kale

Basil gone to flower

Lavender, tomatoes in background

Spike Lavender, Basil, Kohlrabi

Swiss Chard

Patty touching up the Dill

A couple of squash varieties.. over the year we had 9 kinds!


EDIT: 2020: Photobucket screwed these mostly all up. Luckily @momofthegoons has her forum set up as it is... she has saved the images that photbucket have made nonfunctional!

 

[Kellya86]

I love my being outside in my garden...
It brings much pleasure to the whole family...
The kids will always choose the garden over computer or tv.....
And I'm never happier than when I'm sitting out vaping, and watching the birds and bees living their busy lives....

I'm also keen on growing many things, (not just the obvious), but iv only just got round to that, after 3 years of hard work, just to get the garden safe and usable for the children...

The lady before me had not cut the grass, or hedge, in over 10 years.... (inside the house had similar neglect)...
The tree was never maintaned and was blocking part of the road outside...
The hedge was 8ft wide.... And infested with ivey and elder...

So I basically butchered the shit out of it all, hacking it right back...
And pulling Ivey out till my fingers bled...
This pic is after iv already started clearing and burning everthing...
It was much much worse than this...

But the hard work paid off..
I had no privicy or security in my garden for 2 years as the hedge was decimated....

But it's getting there now....
There is not 1 weed on that lawn...
Kids get 10p per weed found.... (child labour)???

I'm about to slab under the gazebo, and round the house, and build a brick bbq/bar....
With a firepit and some decent outdoor furniture...
Where I'm standing taking the pic is my future veg patch... I'm about to plant lots of stuff....
Mainly for the tortoise to eat, and things to make jam with...

My other garden is the storage area so far....
And where my ferrets live....
Oh and my bike shed....
Eventually I'll extend the house into this part...
But not all....

So I thought id start this thread so I can share my progress, and hopefully others will post their gardens and efforts within....

I can't be the only one here who loves a garden...
I'm sure you Americans with your many miles of land, will have some amazing gardens to share... @momofthegoons I'm sure you used to post garden pics sometime..???

Anyway I look forward to hopefully seeing some of your gardens....

 

[momofthegoons]

Wow... you've done a ton of work in that yard @Kellya86 and it's looking good!

things to make jam with...

Sigh.... two homes ago I planted raspberries that my grandmother had given me. They were the most amazing berries; thimble sized and so sweet. I had just had my daughter when we moved from that house and I didn't take any of the bush with me. The new people tore them down the first week they were there. I've been bummed ever since.

When we moved to our current house, the entire back portion of the yard was a jungle of Buckthorn bushes and trees. The berries were not only making a mess but making my dog sick. So I pretty much clear cut the back area. We've been here for 5 years this October and the back is finally filling in again so that we have privacy. As a child I remember a lot that we called 'the woods' in my neighborhood. We would always go down there and play. I wanted to recreate that in my back yard but in a more refined way. A place where prospective grandchildren could go and play hide and seek.

This is what it looked like this spring...

With my orthopedic issues I do more container gardening than beds now, however. Here is one of my urns from last year...

I'll take some pics of my current containers later today and see if I can't get them up as well. And maybe tool around the garden for some recent stuff... the roses are in bloom.

 

[Kellya86]

Thanks for the compliment but...
Oh my god @momofthegoons your garden is truly beautiful....
I'm very jealous....

My garden is cold and clinical compared to the warmth and colour of yours...

But I was aware of this... now the majority of the hard graft is done with my space, (levelling / tufing /fencing etc), I can now enjoy the fun part of choosing and planting some vibrancy in there...
I want my house covered in creepers, and I'm gonna plant lost of fast growing trees to give some verticals to the eye...
And I love trees...
The lilac near my back door is awsome in spring... really the only colour I have right now..

About colour... i need lots of colour now...
I need to go buy some plants....

 

[momofthegoons]

My garden is cold and clinical compared to the warmth and colour of yours...

Many, many years of gardening mistakes lol....... speaking of which..... Two gardening tips for noobs:

The trick is to find plants that bloom at different times so that you have color in your garden the entire season. Mine starts with spring bulbs, ajuga and common lilacs as well as a plethora of little wildflowers that grow in the back. Then it moves on to columbine, iris, peonies and French lilacs. From there it goes to lilies and hydrangeas and hostas. I'm still working on fall color with mums. They often don't over winter.

The other trick... and this is an important one.... is to be careful when buying your plants. If the description says 'easy to grow' or 'drought tolerant,' I've often found that is code for impossibly invasive. Look for plants that show they grow in a cluster or mound.

I want my house covered in creepers, and I'm gonna plant lost of fast growing trees to give some verticals to the eye...
And I love trees...

This sounds lovely. Don't forget trellis' and arbors can add visual as well. And trees and bushes are the 'backbone' of a garden. Your back yard is a blank canvas. How fun!!!

The deer have already munched a good portion off of both of these planters. The fuckers.... I fight with them all year. They treat my yard like a buffet. Just ate the flowers off of several of my hostas that were about to bloom.

more to come.....

 

[momofthegoons]

As the season progresses, the garden changes. That has always been my goal; to have a garden that blooms the entire growing season. I've got Spring and Summer down. Fall is proving a bit tricky. Part of the problem is that the darn deer keep eating everything.

The garden path view above.... only progressed to Summer:

A little further down the path:

The entrance to the path:

Our 'little yard' for the dog and our deck area. You can see how close the neighbors are.... which is why I have made a mini 'woods' in the back for privacy:

Some individual flower shots:

 

[Kellya86]

Im looking forward to a new batch of garden pics now that autumn is upon us...
Autumn is probably my favourite time of year for colour....
It's not quite here yet where I am though....

 

[Squiby]

Spring has sprung in mom's garden....

MotG...

You have a beautiful garden. I have never had luck with Hellebores. Any tips you care to share??? Pretty please?

 

[momofthegoons]

@Squiby thank you so much.... it's been a labor of love.

It's all about location with Hellebores. They like sun or partial sun. And water. And that's about it. I have one that came with the house that's huge. And a few that I added in purples. I've found that if they don't get significant water in the hot summer months, they tend to 'go down.' Once any plant does that it has a hard time recouping. It's especially important in the first two years until they've established.

Although Hellebores are deer resistance (there's no such thing as deer proof) the plants around them are not. So I spread an organic nitrogen fertilizer around that's called Milorganite that works pretty well at keeping them away during the summer season. They don't like the smell. Which is understandable. It's made from sewage sludge. But the smell (which does not smell like sewage but isn't pleasant) dissipates after a day or so and this part of the yard isn't close to the living areas. And the bonus is that it's so safe you can spread it by hand without worrying it will hurt your skin. Good stuff. And the plants LOVE it.

I also got turned on to a fertilizer that you mix into water. It's from, of all places, QVC. It's made by Cottage Farms and comes in any formula you would need (roses, vegs, etc.). The stuff is..... unbelievable. You notice a difference within a week. The person who turned me on to it had hydrangeas the size of dinner plates.

And that's every garden secret I have...lol. Oh.. except for one for lilacs. If your bushes aren't blooming, you put plain epsom salts around them in the spring and in the fall.

 

[Squiby]

LOL!!! The deer around here never received the memo on what they do and do not like. They will devastate a particular plant once then never again. I have about 100 hosta that they've never touched on my property, but they wiped out a neighbours Hosta patch down the road from me. I shave bits of Irish Spring soap around the areas I want them to leave alone and it has either worked or is a coincidence.

Years ago I started following Jerry Baker and used some of his garden tonics with amazing success. In particular, the flower beds and house plants all get a dose of Epsom salts every spring. This really greens things up and seems to strengthen the plants overall. I used to make a tonic with Epsom salts that I sprayed on the lawn. It would grow so thick and dark that passers by would stop and comment.

I'm in Canadian zone 5a, (4a on the US zones). I planted Hellebores several years ago in a dry shade area. They limped along for a few years before giving up. They did not get water, so that must have been what finished them.

I typically water a plant a few times through their first season and then they are on their own after that, by virtue of my situation out here in the wild. My land is surrounded by water on three sides so plants that need lots of moisture are planted near the waters edge. Maybe I will try some Hellebore there. I think that they are beautiful spring plants.

I laughed at your QVC reference. Cottage Farms products do not seem to be available in Canada. However, the Canadian QVC equivalent, TSC, offers a product called Root Blast. It is fantastic. I add it in the hole when planting and every spring I sprinkle some around the base of the plants when they emerge.

 

[momofthegoons]

I'm in Canadian zone 5a,

I wonder if that might be part of the difference as well. According to the planting zone map, I'm in US zone 6a at home (I always thought I was in 5...). It could also have been the variety you tried. The white ones seem to be the hardiest.

I've noticed they do like to be tucked in with other plants. And while they need water, they don't like to have 'cold wet feet.' So I don't know that near water would be a particularly good place for them unless it's somewhat wooded. And when I said they like sun I don't mean blasting summer sun. But they are billed as shade plants and I don't agree with that. I hope you can get one to grow for you. I get so geeked when I see them budding out in the Spring. And reminds me that I wanted to plant snowdrops this year... and more crocus. Might have to wait until next year.

the flower beds and house plants all get a dose of Epsom salts every spring

I've never tried that. I've only used it on the lilacs. I'm going to give that a try!

 

[Squiby]

I hope you can get one to grow for you. I get so geeked when I see them budding out in the Spring.

I think that they are stunning and a bit alien looking. I'll try some again next year. I am nestled in the forest and have lots of dappled shade areas.

Each fall for the last few years I have planted approx 500 giant crocus and 200 daffodils. This fall I haven't planted any. I love the glorious drifts they create in the spring.

I too need to work on my fall perennial displays. The only thing blooming right now are the heliopsis, sedum, hydrangea and the odd rose.

 

[Shredder]

I'm a gardener myself. I just finished 3 raised beds for vegetables. That will make eight 4x15 beds, two 5 x 25, and one hugelkulture (buried wood) bed of 10x70. This will finish my garden as far as beds. I plan on getting a new hip next spring hence making the beds in fall.

I'm in a glacial moraine area that is almost gravel with a thin dark top layer. Zone 4-5. We try to grow as much as our food as possible, and I've been organic about 20 years. Beds are our best option I think.

I make fertlizers from comfrey, lambs quarters, wild flowers and mj leaves, lol. Mj leaves rotted in water smell terrible btw. But they are a nice high nitrogen fertilizer that I mostly use indoors. I also employ worms to help. Oh, almost forgot, we have chickens that contribute to our compost heap as well. On a side note I've found vaping a bowl and watching chickens is a good way to spend an afternoon.

And deer were not a big problem here, it was elk. And they can really eat, lol. I fenced in our garden with a 8 ft tall top wire. So far it's worked, although rabbits eat a lot of beans, and gophers ate some squash. A couple large gardener snakes keep the mice population down.

 

[Kellya86]

And deer were not a big problem here, it was elk. And they can really eat, lol. I fenced in our garden with a 8 ft tall top wire. So far it's worked, although rabbits eat a lot of beans, and gophers ate some squash. A couple large gardener snakes keep the mice population down.

And theres me getting annoyed at the hedgehog shitting on my lawn...
Oh what id do for a big American garden...
(Not move to america)
Space in the UK is a premium...
I'm not rich enough...
I so desperatly wish I had room to grow food...

Im considering building a multi level structure to grow all my veg in, with the help of some lights and extraction.. like a mini high rise building...
I gotta be efficient with space...
More thinking needed..

Or a undergroung area... but that means digging my lawn up... hmm

 

[momofthegoons]

Im considering building a multi level structure to grow all my veg in, with the help of some lights and extraction.. like a mini high rise building...

You can get some incredible garden yields by doing tier gardening (from what I understand... I haven't tried it myself). Even pots with trellises can give you a ton of veggies. So small space gardening can work. For example:

@Squiby I meant to say something about your garden/property. It sounds absolutely lovely.

Each fall for the last few years I have planted approx 500 giant crocus and 200 daffodils. This fall I haven't planted any. I love the glorious drifts they create in the spring.

Isn't it amazing? I did that the first few years we lived in our house (it's been 5 now) and it was great.... but then we started adding bushes and trees in the fall and a few of the beds got ruined. Now that things are situated like I want them, I have to take another look at what's needed in the spring. Then next fall I can go nuts again.

One thing that doesn't make it is tulips. Much to my dismay. The critters just love to dig them up and move them to other yards or eat them.

 

[Squiby]

One thing that doesn't make it is tulips. Much to my dismay. The critters just love to dig them up and move them to other yards or eat them.

I never grow tulips. The battle to protect them from the squirrels and skunk seems neverending. Daffodils are where it's at when you share your space with wildlife. Nobody disturbs daffodils.

The first year I planted crocus bulbs, I had put in about 100 or so before calling it a day. The next morning I was still feeling pleased with myself as I looked out my bedroom window toward the new crocus bed. What I saw was total Carnage; every spot where a crocus had been planted was an empty hole. The pesky skunk had been busy digging up every bulb and running off with them over night.

From that moment on, I began protecting the newly planted crocus from the time of planting through to the spring by covering them with chicken wire. As soon as the snow melts in the spring the wire comes up and the crocus emerge. After that they are good to go.

 

[momofthegoons]

From that moment on, I began protecting the newly planted crocus from the time of planting through to the spring by covering them with chicken wire. As soon as the snow melts in the spring the wire comes up and the crocus emerge. After that they are good to go.

Another great tip and one I'll use next fall. Thank you!

What I saw was total Carnage; every spot where a crocus had been planted was an empty hole

I'm sorry... but I had to laugh at this one. It reminded me of the time I had made a red, white and blue planter that was huge for the 4th of July. It had just 'hit it's stride' and was mounds of impatiens and lobelia. The morning of the 4th I was sitting looking out the window with my coffee and it took a moment to realize that the deer had eaten it to nubs. I was so pissed.

I protected my pots with this product I found at the local nursery this year. It was a little muslim bag filled with I have no idea what. The plants that were protected by them weren't touched. But my husband misplaced the bags and some didn't get one hanging by it. Every one of those pots got hit. I'd love to know what's in those muslim bags....

 

[momofthegoons]

Some fall shots of, and from, my garden.

 

[momofthegoons]

Put the finishing touches on my urn in the front of my house yesterday. It needed a pop of color so I stuck some mini pumpkins on some stakes and stuck them in there.... Not technically part of the garden but it does have kale in it.

 

[momofthegoons]

With it being the dead of winter, not much is going on in the garden. So I tend to 'garden' inside. Orchids are my thing...
and it's beyond rewarding when one re-blooms.