What's your garden up to?

Welcome to Wondercafe2!

A community where we discuss, share, and have some fun together. Join today and become a part of it!

Register Log in
Today I bought a 50-gallon black polyethylene stock tank, approximately 12 inches deep
Going to use it to as a trial water garden, will overwinter plants, and see what will work as will eventually put in a pond and stream bed.

Anyone else put something like that in?
 
I am a lazy gardener when it cones to compost. I use some of the space on the other side of the drain creek about 30m from the bridge to dump wheel barrow loads of weeds, branches, and large vegetable waste after cutting the waist high vegetation to closebto ground level. I am still taking some wheel barrow loads of clay soil to build up the soil against our foundation and dumping my small compost bin there. When the shallow pit gets full, I bury it with the soil next to it. A patch of land about 10m by 20 m on the edge of my gardening area is poor soil where not even grass well 5 years ago. My efforts to build up organic content are undermined by the earthworms.

I will probably be moving to Deep River in June next year to cover a sabbatical by the minister for 3 months. My plan for this fall is to chop up all the vegetaion in that space with poor soil and cover it with landscape fabric and a layer of wood chips and leave it like that until 2028.
 
I had a 2 bin system for years at our old house. It was primarily to keep stuff out of the garbage. We quit doing it here due to raccoons, but, now due it just ensure no meat, bones, grease, etc goes in.
Most of our compost is leaves & garden clean-up. No invasives, though.
I used it this year for my raised beds, and they are doing fabulously. Huge plants.
Definitely was worth it.
 
So yesterday, the garden had a lot more work done, with three people working in it all afternoon, plus, a bunch of plants arrived -- so many more native plants to go in where the periwinkle was being removed.

The mini water nursery also was put together. I tried, and then the expert took over. I learnedso much. Picked up a few more thingstoday, and need to do some more masking with bark, but, wow, it actually looks decent.

Now, to see if the plants grow , and if the small creatures like the water. Fingers crossed. It is a trial run for a larger pond.

Plants that came into the garden today include:

Near or in pond: simulating bog: Grays sedge, Marsh Marigold, Blue Flag Iris, Sweet Flag, Pickerelweed, Spatterdock; Hornwort, Water lettuce

Forest edge: Purple Flowering Raspberry, bottlebrush rye, Black Snakeroot (Black Cohosh), blue cohosh, labrador violet

Rock garden: Showy tick trefoil, Little Bluestem, Missouri Ironweed

What is leaving:
So much periwinkle: two full wheelbarrows
Planned departure of a magnolia
 
I have creeping jenny taking over part of my yard. Have ‘t gotten around to getting rid of it yet.
Today will put together the swing for the grandchild for babysitting on Wednesday.
 
I learned more about PRION Science yesterday ... the proteinaceous escape from mental processing ... many do despair at thinking ... they love to do otherwise! The shields do go up ... when there is nothing to die for ... some power claimed it all ...
 
Thoughts are said to invade the pleasures ... sometimes in the most alien manner ... like a brain bite? Kuru ...
 
Periwinkle is one invasive I do not have. The top invasives on my get rid of list are buckthorn ( alien) and poison ivy (native). I encourage evening primrose as a bait plant for Japanese beetles, Joe Pye Weed because it is dramatic and birds like it, milk weed hoping to see Monarch caterpillars, wild strawberries, and a variety of flowers similar to wild asters or fleabane. These flowers look cool to me when they are surrounded by grass (I sometimes mow around them). Rockets are an invasive I like. My top invasive to hate but know the only way to get rid of it would be by replacing most of my grass and topsoil is hedge bedstraw. A couple of invasives that I have not identified. One spreads in ways similar to creeping Charlie. it's leaves look look like spear points. Forest laurel looks cute, with leaves like small clover and yellow flowers, but is hard to manage, let alone eradicate. Common blue violets are pretty with lovely leaves and spreads persistently.
 
Ooo - a burn pile - that takes me back to my grandfather's small farm when I was a kid. Raspberries were one of his crops. So each year he'd cull the canes, and create a huge burn pile in the ditch near the highway. No doubt lots of other stuff in it too. He would usually keep it until all us grandkids were visiting & then a spectacular bonfire would be a major attraction. We loved it!! Probably today such would be frowned upon.
 
I love that story @Carolla

My spouse purchased a new fire ring (the one we had was on loan from our sons).
I found a screen for it so we don't have to be so worried re sparks.

So no big burn pile, but, still fun.
 
Last edited:
The magnolia won't be leaving until October, as it is tricky to transplant.

Tomorrow, though, two Scotch Broom "Sister Golden Hair" will be headed to their new homes.
I love them, they are such a pretty plant in the spring, but...living in a woodland, they are just too risky.

I am thinking of the next owners, and what will happen if someone doesn't stay on top of it, and I wouldn't want to create a periwinkle situation. (probably wouldn't happen with this, as it is better behaved, but, still is a spreader, so, has to go)

broom2.jpgBroom1.jpg
 
I think it was watered by my sweat this morning! Was hot in the area I was working by 11am.

The broom is gone
St. John's wort planted in their place.
Moved a variegated sorrel and planted two phlox. I keep trying with little success. Anyone know the secret?

Also planted 5 bottlebrush rye above the rocks on the driveway. Thinking will look pretty as come around bed.

Lastly got two Lance leaf coreopsis added to another bed

Now to get ready for granddaughters. Wonder if they will like the pond
 
Cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are ready in my raised beds. So good to pick a tomato and pop it into your mother.

We have been eating cherry tomatoes off a greenhouse plant for a few weeks.

The girls also ate raw snow peas they picked.

I'm really happy with how well the raised beds did this year
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top