GardenArtist Posted September 2015
Gardening as therapy.
Follow
Share
Read More Close
3K Comments
Popular Questions
- I really want my grandmother to branch out--and to cut back the TV! Has anybody solved this problem?
- In the spirit of coping and adapting, let's share methods we've developed or read about to cope with sheltering in place.
- I feel soooo worn out and alone. What can I do to improve my non-existent life?
Related Questions
- Where to find a daycare program for someone that has Alzheimer's?
- Are there services/agencies for the elderly to have "outings' such as art classes or Sunday drives?
- Where can I buy large puzzles for my Dad that is blind in one eye and can barely see in the other?
- Do you have suggestions for interesting "books on tape" or CD's for a stroke survivor, former engineer and computer programmer?
Start a Discussion
But are break point is pretty much the same.
I did buy a large bag of second apples yesterday, so if nothing else pops up, it will be a good day for apple sauce.
Today walking is going to be chilly, but this same weather in April , will feel warm. So I try to get my body adjusted.
Hope to find new friends on this site.
I'm actually wondering something, maybe you or other have an answer.
While cleaning my basement area, I found a bucket of tulip bulbs. I do know this is the time of year in my area to replant them. But wondering if it is worth the work if they are 2 or 3 years old?
We have had the gas fireplace on and also the furnace at times, but then this is Canada and we have had the air conditioning on and the patio doors open too.
We find the condo temp hard to regulate. It gets too hot very quickly. We have learned to prop the front door open a bit to get a current of air through from the hallways, which is usually cooler than in here. There has been one frost only but more are coming.
Geese and ducks have been feeding outside in the field after the combining. Good pickings!
I’m envious of your pond but wonder how you keep the raccoons and other critters from feasting on your fish. I have a spot in my lawn that stays wet until June and I’ve been wondering what to do with it since I can’t mow down there until the grass is a foot high. Not sure about a pond because of the abundance of destructive critters I already feed, not to mention the maintenance. It would be beautiful down there though since that part of the yard is overlooked by the main floor deck.
I have been researching trees that will grow in our clay soil and the list is not long. Half the year it is heavy and wet and the other half it is a brick. But I am desperate for some more brilliant Fall color as the house is surrounded by huge firs and aging big leaf maples that turn golden brown but not red or orange.
Nacy, I’ve had mixed luck with old bulbs. Seems like the gophers get to them before they can get a root-hold. It will be fun to see what you get in the Spring.
Golden, I almost missed that you grew the Catalpas from seed! Bravo!!
I have a 50' x150' lot near a lake and about 10 minutes drive away from here in what once once a summer village, but is becoming a bedroom community for people to commute to the city. It is overgrown with tansy and poplars right now, but we plan on planting some more trees - apples, a Shubert chokecherry, the catalpas, and whatever. And also probably will grow some veggies and berries eventually and some perennials. I miss my Japanese anemones, delphiniums, hostas and roses.
We have a seed thing going here. R collects seeds and dries them. Then we try germinating them. We have some apple seeds drying now. It's really one of his hobbies but I am happy to help.
Would a Japanese maple work at your place? Apparently they tolerate clay soil as will a Virginia creeper and both turn red in the fall. I miss my Virginia creeper.
My neighbor behind me has big beautiful sugar maples , bright orange in fall . They are in clay soil next to a swale , which in heavy rains turns into a stream . My back yard is higher on a hill on my street and is flat but slightly pitched down . Rain runs into the swale in my neighbors yard . Those tree roots must be in wet clay on the one side and they do fine . They’ve been there 20 years . We also have had some very dry summers past few years . 15 years ago we had a couple of really wet summers . Nothing seems to affect these trees.
Japanese Maples are on my list. I have three, but they are the lacy leafed kind, one green/peachy, one red/burgundy and one really weird one that with such fine grey-green leaves they look like fuzz. I was considering an upright, larger leafed variety. There is a gorgeous one I’ve seen that’s luminous copper until it goes dark in the Fall. There are so many beautiful Japanese maples and I have a great spot for one (or two or three) more.
Way,
I hadn’t thought about Sugar Maples. Great suggestion! I will look into those. There are four areas on the property I’d like to selectively ‘re-tree’ and sugar maples might work well in that too wet/too dry spot if they can handle being in the shade much of the day. There is an enormous big leaf maple stump in that spot and I suspect the decomposition of the roots over time is contributing to the sinking soil there. We call it the swamp from November through June.
Golden again,
How nice to have a place to retreat to and dig in the dirt. And near a lake! Good soil then! Bonus! Are the chokecherries you speak of trees or shrubs?
And thank you for mentioning Virginia Creeper. It had run through my mind (on the way to somewhere else apparently) when we first moved in. I have very fond childhood memories of the Virginia Creeper that grew over the windows of our house and I could sit inside and study the bees very close up.
Now I just need several thousand dollars and someone very strong who has a pickup truck and enjoys digging holes in bricks!
We had clay back in Ontario when I was a child. Lots grew in it. We had climbing roses all over the garage, phlox, forget me nots, day lilies, sweet williams, snow drops, those tall chrysanthemums, holly hocks, caragana. lilacs, cedars, maples,...A neighbour had a great apple tree. Mother had a vegetable garden.
cw - decisions, decisions but not of the worst kind.
We have flocks of geese and ducks in the field outside feeding on the left over grain. They've been at it for a couple of days now. I love to hear the honking and quacking as they land. Then they chatter a bit amongst themselves as they are feeding, You see family units working together. After a while, more honking and quacking as they leave. I haven't got a pic yet of the flocks circling. I haven't been fast enough with my camera. The magpies, interestingly enough are quiet when the geese are here - a welcome change from the squawking they often do in the daytime, especially when Rocky goes on the balcony. They were chatting quietly to the each other after the geese left - quite pleasant sounds for a change.
R, of course, thinks of bringing down a few geese but we are in town.
Story about duck hunting and sand hill cranes.
An guy was talking about his "catch" when he shot a sand hill crane along with geese and ducks. He tried cooking it but it was very tough.
An old geezer told him "You have to use the Rock method".
"Rock method?"
" Yes. Put a rock in with the sand hill crane and cook them till the rock is done, Then throw anay the crane".
"T-t-t-that's all folks"
Husband has been building me a small stone deck out my back door, to put are grill on , and maybe a chair. Almost done, and looks really nice
I do see for his age I need to start steering him towards less heavy lifting projects.
Nacy, a patiette! I laid one this year too. It was a lot of fun, like a jigsaw puzzle, until the last 3 pieces. I was working between a curved stacked stone wall, a straight concrete sidewalk and a wood deck so those last 3 pieces were a real challenge. Got it done though and it’s pretty!
Golden, seeds are a smart idea. I don’t know if I have the patience for it but it would be very rewarding to reforest some of this property with trees I start myself. It’s definitely shocking to see the prices of trees in the nursery.
A week or so ago I’d noticed some weeds coming up in the gravel along the side of the house. They can’t be seen from the windows but I knew Id better get at them before the rains start or they will be huge by Spring. I gathered my gear and went out to get started and WONDER OF WONDERS! They aren’t weeds they’re Cyclamen! Dozens and dozens and dozens of them! I’m chortling in my joy!
Nursery trees are expensive here too.
Loved your crane story! You cracked me up!
That was one of R's stories. He can tell stories and spin yarns for hours.
Huddy has one block to go. And then fill in the cracks with sand. Hubby got tired, and this one needs to be cut.
But my patiette is adorable. We are racing against time now, to get out door stuff done.
Nacy, I just love little ‘moments’ of creativity and craftsmanship in the yard. You are going to enjoy your patiette all the more because your husband made it for you.
We had an above ground pool , we got rid of , then we had a deck for the pool. I didn't mind getting rid of the pool, but I loved my deck. So this spring hubby , put lattice on the Open side and we restained the deck, replaced some of the old boards , and moved the stairs , now I have what I call my "She Deck" , in the spring I'm going to put a flower garden in the rounded part of the deck , where the pool was.
A round flower garden sounds magical. My GM had one with a curvy stone path through the middle with a birdbath and sundial in amongst the hollyhocks, big red poppies….all the wonderful old fashioned flowers. I have a few flowers and would love to have more but I could definitely use some lessons on keeping the deer from eating them.
So you will overlook the flower garden when you’re on the deck? That will be gorgeous!
Your home description reminds me of where I let my mind go. Except there is a steam in there and a mossy bank in the sun to lay in.
Oh my a bird bath, I never thought of that, that will be a must now!
My mental escape place also has a stream bubbling outside but it’s on a daybed in a rustic screened-in porch with wide eaves. And it’s raining, but there’s a little fire burning in a rusty old stove.
I came up with that one to get me through chemo and it’s been helpful for 20 years.
I've been struggling with family issues, as my parents are elderly, and in my gardens I find serenity. I planted one mum about 4 years ago, and every year, I have to separate it, it is so huge now. I don't buy mums in the fall, because one has multiplied and I have replanted multiple gardens with the one!
When I started my garden, I looked for plants, perennial, that would grow back every year, and ones that the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bumblebees would like. There's so much joy in relaxing in a flower garden~ I would recommend it to anyone!
I get visits by butterflies and hummingbirds every year~ it is a good feeling to know I give them enjoyment~
Just a thought: the spider plants I have are adored by bumblebees, I would caution anyone who is allergic to bee stings to know this fact. The bees stay near the flowers, they don't fly all around everywhere, but I wanted to mention that fact!