GardenArtist Posted September 2015
Gardening as therapy.
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CWillie, I've read something to that effect as well. I guess lavender doesn't like to be babied. My soil was fairly rich as I had added a lot of compost.
I recall reading something else about lavender that was surprising, something that affected its longevity. It's somewhere, back in the recesses of my mind...somewhere....
It eventually died, I think because it became overgrown and woody and I didn't realize that I probably should have cut it back or cut out some of the woody stems.
I'll check my own gardening records to see what specific variety I grew. I think it was Munstead but I'm not sure. There are some newer varieties now that I'd like to try.
Did you mulch your lavender heavily? Was it in a prevailing westerly wind? I lost some good roses because I didn't realize how drastically the west winds would harm them. But the lavender was way back beyond the house so it was somewhat buffered from the harsh winter winds.
Just FYI....for those who enjoy the garden magazines, Houzz does a series of regular articles on gardening - both seasonal and regional - and they have a nice online archive, also, that you can search.....beautiful pics, too.
My oregano was a slow grower, so I'd probably have to have something temporary to fill in while it was becoming established. Morning glories could easily provide a fill-in, as well as sweet alyssum.
CWillie, I do have vinca, but it's so aggressive, although it's met its match in the more aggressive black locust seedlings which blow over from a neighboring yard. They're even worse. And I have had weeds poking through the vinca.
I guess I'd have to hand weed the ground covers but hopefully not as much.
I do like ornamental grasses, love hostas and a lot of other shade plants.
What I might do is use a mixture of the larger types of plants as more extensive borders to minimize the "lawn", and fill that with herbs as Linda suggests.
I did google "lawn free" and can tell that this is going to be a funfilled venture, if I can just not think about all the digging that's involved, although I've been thinking of getting a tiller. Digging isn't as easy on the back and thinning soles of my feet as it used to be.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out. I'm envisioning fragrant, flowering herbs surrounded by lovely green foliage and ornamentals.
This is going to be a nice project to develop over the winter when the snows obliterate the yard.
You might consider filling the space with a variety of small shrubs like euonymus, spireas, low growing junipers and low maintenance perennials like grasses, hostas, lavender etc depending on your sun/soil and location.
Try googling going lawn free, there is some interesting info and it's fun to look at the pictures even if you don't use the ideas.
Finally decided that I can't keep up a large garden anymore and am going to begin downsizing. I don't want to put in grass because of the cost, time, and energy expenditure, and I don't want to mow any more lawn than I already have now.
What I do want is a ground cover of various flowering plants and herbs, probably no more than about 6" high.
I probably will get some thyme, but the thyme I've had is slow growing and I'd like something to spread a bit faster. I might use morning glories to cover large areas until I get more perennial flowering plants. Sweet alyssum might also be a nice annual until the perennials become established.
What I also could is use taller herbs but train them to grow along the ground through gentle bending of the stems as they're growing.
Has anyone done this, on a small or larger scale? What plants and herbs have you used? I'm in zone 5/6, depending on the severity of the winter.
That area of the garden has been host to a lot of white/ecru butterflies over the summer, but I don't think they're the Wooly Bear Butterfly/moth. Not really sure about this species. I noticed the little white butterflies were usually hovering around the mulleins, which grew like Amazonian plants this year.
Another sighting was of several very small bees, smaller than I've ever seen. They were barely 1/2 inch long. I'm wondering if they were baby bees? Or maybe they're just smaller because of lack of food. They were in what I think is False Bugbane, which now has a reprieve from being pulled up to be composted since it attract these little bees.
I've seen regular honeybee sized bees as well as the bumblers, but never the minis.
Anyone have any experience with these smaller bees?
Re: hubby and soapy non-potable water: A florist neighbor once told me that soapy water is used by florists because it kills soft-bodied insects. It's considered a good thing. Mild soap as in the hand wash dish soap kind. And non-potable water can be full of nutrients for plants, it just depends what's in it. I can't use our softened water in the house to water plants, nor do I use the city water with chemicals. I use the well water. Our sprinkler system uses the well water as well. We have too much iron in the well water but the plants are happy.
Some food for thought, anyway.
I'm glad to hear your bougainvilleas are doing better. Do they winter well or must they be brought inside?
I'm a lousy housekeeper but pretty OCD when it comes to neat and tidy. House renovations continuing so there's stuff everywhere but it's a priority as the wind howls across these open fields. My gardening efforts are coming to an end this year but the thought of all neat, tidy and growing come spring is keeping me going!
If I were superstitious, I could say naming the skink brought it out. It was in plain sight, but on line with a shadow on the blacktop about two feet from it's home. It is only about 10" long, thinner and more lizard-like than a snake, so, no screaming. Zink the skink. It did turn it's head and looked at me when I spoke.
Now what do I do, o well. It's back is patterned, much like a rattler, or the common garden lizard that Colorsue described as anole. G'night Zink. You are safe here.
They have enough water, but I will ask hubby if he has put soapy non-potable water on them.
I will call the skink ZINK, and hope he moves to the neighbor's yard.
According to the garden links from which I found these, they're made of flowers:
My favorites are the knight in shining armor (or should that be in shining flowers), the mother tiger with her babies (extraordinary!), the cow (or is it a steer), and the birds.
Van Gogh in flowers:
The second photo must be based on the famous self-portrait. I'm not sure if the animal is a hedgehog or armadillo (7th photo).
I assume that some of these are intense and dramatic because they're based on Van Gogh's life, and reflect his mental state. They're not anything I'd enjoy seeing on a regular basis, but I do appreciate the artistry.
(When copying the URLs, just delete the spaces, added to prevent automatic deletion of a dot com URL.)
I always liked to grow indeterminate tomatoes as they just keep on giving right up to frost, some little cherry/grape types, a few beefsteaks to brag about, a few ordinary garden center types and some romas for canning. And it was fun to try something different like yellow or purple tomatoes too. If you are lazy just toss whole tomatoes in the freezer, the skins will slip off as they thaw and you can toss as many of them as you need into sauces, soups, stews.
Some of the farmers around here plant beans or peas as a cover crop after the wheat is harvested, they must figure it is worthwhile or they wouldn't be doing it!
Do you can, freeze, dehydrate?
I've never tried the winter sowing, wondering how well it would work in a Zone 6 that sometimes is a Zone 5 climate.
Linda, do you protect your milk jugs in a cold frame, or with bales of hay, or mulch, or something else?
Does anyone plant cover crops? I've planted buckwheat before but I'm thinking this year I might put some old beans in; they're too hard to boil and use for soup but maybe I can soften them enough that they'll sprout, with a little encouragement from the soil and rain. I'll leave them in place over the winter in lieu of mulch or in addition to mulch.
Any suggestions on beans as a cover crop?
For me, gardening is a way to reset my head. Whether it's a good year or off year, it feeds the spirit. There's something hopeful and joyous about seedlings poking out.
BTW, I did "winter sowing" in milk jugs for a couple years - it works great and gets the early plants (spinach, lettuce, etc.) off to an easy start.
Leaves on the maple tree next door are already curling up, and seem to be shriveling in size in preparation for their downward flight to a winter resting place.
The sky today is a brilliant copen blue, contrasting nicely with the trees that are still intensely green.
It's a nice day to just sit and watch the leaves and the trees as they're gently tussled about by the winds.
1. You could take cuttings and put them in containers. That will limit the root growth, but you'll also have to keep the top growth under control so the tree doesn't produce more branches and leaves that it can't support.
2. You could bonsai it. My aunt and uncle had a small rock garden nursery. Uncle specialized in bonsai-ing plants. They had some really lovely and unique plants.
Fall and spring are both good times to transplant.
There may be some alternatives though.
Coloresue is right - the plant might not have been healthy, or it may have been marginally healthy. I think another highly likely possibility given that the whole country is approaching the end of gardening season is that the plant has been sitting too long at a nursery, its growth has been restricted, and more likely the roots are bound up.
Over 2-3 years I lost a few dozen mums because I didn't realize I need to unbind the root ball. There are a few things you can try:
1. Trim back the browned top growth; it's the farthest from the roots and would be the first to show moisture deprivation. If the plant is already tall, that portion may not be salvageable anyway.
2. Dig the plant up, separate the roots if they're really compacted, and transplant it to a container with ample room for the roots to expand. Move it to a shady area and treat it as if it was a seedling being hardened off.
I call this my plant ICU treatment.
3. Cut back more of the vines and plant them in smaller containers. At least that way you can save some of the plant.
4. Do the same with the other plant. When you remove it, you can easily tell if it's rootbound as the roots will be strangling the entire root ball.
5. I assume you've amended your soil and added compost? If you have any mulch, it wouldn't hurt to add some to the temporary containers to help conserve moisture.
I checked the hardiness zone for bougainvillea - it's 9b. I can't imagine that making much of a difference though unless you're so far north that you're closer to the Oregon border.
Good luck - let us know how it works out - we gardeners have a special fondness for good root systems!