Gardening in 2023

[Lady]

@MarkD
Thank you for sharing your Garden video with us , I like how you have pathways leading round , and although you hear the outside world the garden is in a world of its own , private and not over looked .
Loved seeing the Humming bird in your Garden , and your plants seem more exoctic than mine and more mature . I tend to change my garden plants regularly, because I see something I like everytime i go to the garden Centre .

 

[Trila]

This group of mushrooms is about 18 inches across. They are growing at the base of one of the fence trees.

 

[Lilac]

@Trila are those wild edible chanterelles? I have seen mushrooms all over my yard, but I wish I knew exactly what they are. They didn't look like yours.

 

[MarkD]

I tend to change my garden plants regularly, because I see something I like everytime i go to the garden Centre .

Pretty sure we all do that pretty frequently. The allure of the new is hard to resist and nothing is immortal. We all need replacing in time.

As for the paths they serve to decrease the watering I need to do which is important in fraught prone California.

I didn’t have a plan when I started but I drew some as I went to help me understand how it all came together and to envision changes. A couple of in process drawings can be found here in my aborted attempt at a ‘diary’.

https://www.seniorforums.com/threads/gardening-for-nature-walks-with-my-dogs-and-the-books-i’m-reading.77218/

 

[Trila]

@Trila are those wild edible chanterelles? I have seen mushrooms all over my yard, but I wish I knew exactly what they are. They didn't look like yours.

I have no idea what they are.....I don't think I've ever seen them before. I am curious now, as to what kind of mushroom it is. We have several bunches of them.

 

[Lilac]

@Trila, we have been having so many mushrooms pop up in our yard, I wish I knew more about them. We love mushrooms & the only ones I know well are the morels. Sadly, we don't find them because we have too much wild honeysuckle in our wooded area that blocks them from growing. Our goal is to remove more of the honeysuckle next year.

 

[Trila]

@Trila, we have been having so many mushrooms pop up in our yard, I wish I knew more about them. We love mushrooms & the only ones I know well are the morels. Sadly, we don't find them because we have too much wild honeysuckle in our wooded area that blocks them from growing. Our goal is to remove more of the honeysuckle next year.

Oh, yes....there is honeysuckle everywhere!!! It's such a tenacious plant, good luck with removing it. A large bottle of plant killer may be called for!

 

[Lilac]

I need to put in more raised beds. I have two 8' x 1' x 3' Tarter oval galvanized raised bed that I Iike, but they haven't come down in price this year like two years ago. Falling down the rabbit hole, I found these concrete corners that Lowe's has & I am think of using them. I can stake them 3 high & use rebar to hold them in place. I'll place the wood on cement blocks to keep them off of the ground like I've done in my other beds. They can be placed for just about any width & length to fit your area. Much cheaper than more Tarter beds.

 

[dobielvr]

I need to put in more raised beds. I have two 8' x 1' x 3' Tarter oval galvanized raised bed that I Iike, but they haven't come down in price this year like two years ago. Falling down the rabbit hole, I found these concrete corners that Lowe's has & I am think of using them. I can stake them 3 high & use rebar to hold them in place. I'll place the wood on cement blocks to keep them off of the ground like I've done in my other beds. They can be placed for just about any width & length to fit your area. Much cheaper than more Tarter beds.
View attachment 303139View attachment 303140

I like the idea of those cement blocks.
I wonder how heavy they are?

I like the boxes too.

 

[Lilac]

The blocks are 8" x 8" x 6" & weigh about 21.9 pounds. I also found them on Home Depot website too. The more I look at them, the more I like them.

The pictures show where you can sit a 2x4 on it's side & make a ledge to sit on which would make it easier for me to work in them.

 

[MarkD]

Oops ran into tech trouble.

 

[MarkD]

Here is a video from earlier in the year shot in the Northeast corner of the garden of the Cantua buxifolia growing in front of the little deck that overlooks the creek and the park behind us.

Cantua buxifolia growing in front of the little deck in our northeast corner, overlooking Strawberry Creek. N

 

[MarkD]

I suppose sunflowers are somewhat nostalgic. Most of us have stories about having grown them or had neighbours who grew them. Watching the birds eating the seeds right off the flower is really quite exciting.

When I was in grade 2 we did a school play with a song in it about sunflowers. I still sing it to this day , since it’s a such a cheerful tune.

We are sunny sunflowers
Sunny, Sunny sunflowers
Plucked from Amy’s garden yesterday

Guess what I found?

The picture of Lia with the sunflower she grew from seed she bought and then sold some back to the store. Hard to imagine anything like that happening these days.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I need to put in more raised beds. I have two 8' x 1' x 3' Tarter oval galvanized raised bed that I Iike, but they haven't come down in price this year like two years ago. Falling down the rabbit hole, I found these concrete corners that Lowe's has & I am think of using them. I can stake them 3 high & use rebar to hold them in place. I'll place the wood on cement blocks to keep them off of the ground like I've done in my other beds. They can be placed for just about any width & length to fit your area. Much cheaper than more Tarter beds.
View attachment 303139View attachment 303140

Great idea. Would you put the rebar right down the middle hole?

Guess what I found?

The picture of the sunflower of Lia with the sunflower she grew from seed she bought and then sold some back to the store. Hard to imagine anything like that happening these days.

View attachment 306313

What a fabulous photo. That’s exactly the type of thing I was talking about. When I was a kid, I had bright sunflower wallpaper and I loved it. Great photo of your wife as a child. Such pretty hair too.

 

[Lilac]

Great idea. Would you put the rebar right down the middle hole?

Yep, right down the hole to keep them in place. I'd add the wood first to get everything to lined up first, but before I added the dirt.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

Yep, right down the hole to keep them in place. I'd add the wood first to get everything to lined up first, but before I added the dirt.

thx. We did that with chunks of cedar logs to create a garden border. It got 20 plus years from it so it held up quite well. Your idea for the corners is great for bigger gardens.

 

[RadishRose]

Anyone bring a potted Rosemary plant inside for the winter?

How did it do? What kind of light? I've been keeping mine trimmed well, so it's nice a bushy and I'd like to keep it.

Advice, please. Thanks.

 

[Lilac]

Anyone bring a potted Rosemary plant inside for the winter?

How did it do? What kind of light? I've been keeping mine trimmed well, so it's nice a bushy and I'd like to keep it.

Advice, please. Thanks.

I didn't have any luck because I don't have enough light for it inside the house. I just left mine planted in the raised bed by my barn & cut it back a little. It's pretty protected there & to my surprise, survived my Ohio winter. My sage has been wintering over there also for the past few years.

If you have a sunny window, you may be luckier than me.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I didn't have any luck because I don't have enough light for it inside the house. I just left mine planted in the raised bed by my barn & cut it back a little. It's pretty protected there & to my surprise, survived my Ohio winter. My sage has been wintering over there also for the past few years.

If you have a sunny window, you may be luckier than me.

Ditto. I had a nice plant I was hoping would take. I have some led lights but they really mess with my eyes so it died and I let it dry out for draw scented pockets. Id like to get one of those window sized grow lamps to provide enough light so I could grow staple herbs.

 

[RadishRose]

I didn't have any luck because I don't have enough light for it inside the house. I just left mine planted in the raised bed by my barn & cut it back a little. It's pretty protected there & to my surprise, survived my Ohio winter. My sage has been wintering over there also for the past few years.

If you have a sunny window, you may be luckier than me.

Thanks @Lilac. I wish I could plant mine in the ground, but at my condo, I have only pots on the deck, shady north; otherwise at the sunny south, there's not really any room, since the shrubs take over the narrow strip along the sidewalk. Ugh.

The only 2 sunny windows are south facing, but it's too big for the kitchen window, and in the way of the door at the window at the end of the short hall.

Dammit, I'll put it upstairs in my bedroom window! (south)

I'm determined to keep it and transplant to a larger pot come spring and back out in the sunny south porch.

How nice you grow sage. I love that too. I'll have to freeze my basil before frost.

 

[RadishRose]

Ditto. I had a nice plant I was hoping would take. I have some led lights but they really mess with my eyes so it died and I let it dry out for draw scented pockets. Id like to get one of those window sized grow lamps to provide enough light so I could grow staple herbs.

Oh Patty, dried Rosemary is a divine scent for your drawers, and good in cooking, too... like beef stew, roast lamb, home made breads, etc.

 

[Lilac]

My basil didn't do well this year @RadishRose, but everything else was good. I'll make herb butter & freeze it for over winter, some with sage & other with chives. I'll also take white vinegar & put chives which I use in a hot bacon vinaigrette poured over coleslaw. Husband makes a good marinade for pork with sage. I'll take some of the marinade & freeze to use later when we don't have the fresh sage to use.

 

[Lilac]

@PeppermintPatty, I don't like those new LED plant lights. That pink light is terrible. I was thinking about putting it on a timer at night so I don't need to look at. I miss the original lights.

 

[RadishRose]

@Lilac, I've frozen basil in olive oil a few times. I've never grown sage. I love it with poultry and that browned butter thing with pasta. I think I want to eat at your house!

 

[Lilac]

@RadishRose , your more than welcome to come to dinner!