Garden Geeks thread

[dxmnkd316]

Oh I know all the secrets to Gertens. Love that place.

i have 1-2 things I will go to bachmanns for, that’s it.

I figured. I almost rewrote that to make sure I didn't come off the wrong way. Sorry about that. Wasn't my intention.

 

[leswp1]

Digging a new garden bed. Went to get some amendments at the local discount store where I usually get flats of generic stuff. Usually people do not plant until Memorial Day weekend as we have frost sometimes until about then. I was going to wait until next week to get the flats. The place is almost cleaned out. Came home with stuff I was not prepared to have yet but refuse to pay 4$ a flat so oh well. Meanwhile at the local nursery they barely have some stuff out and are selling generic stuff way before it is safe to buy.
Tomatoes were slow to start as we have had chilly temps and I start them on my sunporch. All of a sudden we have 80F and poof. All the flowering trees came out and are dropping petals in 3 days or less.
I have kept a garden journal for 21 yrs and looking at the changes in temp and when things bloom is really something. Some things are still on schedule, others are blooming earlier. What used to be sequenced blooms in the garden is now a crap shoot

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

I figured. I almost rewrote that to make sure I didn't come off the wrong way. Sorry about that. Wasn't my intention.

Lol don’t worry.

you know what really bothered me about Gertens this year? Maybe it’s like this every year but I didn’t notice til now…every combo planter has freaking geraniums in them. I hate geraniums and just wanted a few hanging baskets. So bachmanns it was

 

[dxmnkd316]

Lol don’t worry.

you know what really bothered me about Gertens this year? Maybe it’s like this every year but I didn’t notice til now…every combo planter has freaking geraniums in them. I hate geraniums and just wanted a few hanging baskets. So bachmanns it was

We love making our own and matching the flowers. This year's crop was:

Lantana (one of my favorites - found a guava one this year that smells incredible)
(regular) verbena
heliotope
marigolds (first time for us)
gomphrena (poofs!)
zinnias
snap dragons
cuphea
gypsophelia
gerber daisy
dahlia
regal geraniums
and a few others I can't remember

were hoping our native bed comes back in full this year. Tons of native coneflowers, dianthus, salvia, bee balm. We spread a bunch of their seeds too in the fall.

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Nice. I make all my own except for a few banding baskets. Spent a lot this year but always center my two centerpiece containers around a big tropical and then pergilla, grasses (this year I chose Fiber Optic), salvia, coleus and a few others. Then vinca, petunias and caliobrocha all over the other containers
this year my favorite is trandescondia zebrina- was always my grandmas favorite although that’s not the name it’s always been known by

 

[dxmnkd316]

Excellent choices and *ahem* perennial short listers.

 

[leswp1]

Last few yrs grew papyrus in pots on the deck. Paired with coleus. They grow HUGE, have beautiful structure, act like a screen and have interest even after the cold kills them. Trying to figure out if I want to do the same combo again.

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Excellent choices and *ahem* perennial short listers.

As a climate change fiend, I’m making changes now to get heat and drought tolerant plants, as I’m sure many sane people are doing.

Real fun will be getting perennials for my backyard, which need to tolerate full sun but also standing water at times

 

[leswp1]

As a climate change fiend, I’m making changes now to get heat and drought tolerant plants, as I’m sure many sane people are doing.

Real fun will be getting perennials for my backyard, which need to tolerate full sun but also standing water at times

I know this pain. So far Monarda, Filipendula, Iris, Vervain, and digitalis seem to be doing OK

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

I’m wrecked. Dug up the quack grass, planted a new garden. For my backyard that had a back section of nothing but crap- bought a ton of natives to plant back there.

dog wood, prairie smoke, blazing sun, phlox, blue cap iris

now I can’t even move to plant them as my lower back has some serious issues

and I’ve spent like 1k at Gertens this summer I am sure

 

[dxmnkd316]

Nice work!!! I'm sure the payoff will be huge when you're done.

(I know the feeling not being able to plant.)

 

[leswp1]

Got out last cuke today. Beans are mostly spent but tomatoes, S squash, zukes are still going. The hummingbirds are still here. Everyone else says theirs are gone but ours are buzzing about demented, fighting each other over the sage and fuchsia. We had extreme drought for weeks. Most of my perennials are crisped but the side garden planted this yr (in the shadow of the house for a lot of the day) is happy.

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Things are slow to come back this year. Given that the bunnies destroyed everything over the winter, I’m nervous. I planted 8 red twigged dogwood last fall and they are then down to the ground. Gertens told me they may never look as intended.

Gertens, my god today was a shitshow

 

[St. Clown]

I’m in the process of replacing some raised garden beds for my wife’s uncle. I’m building four cedar beds, three of them 8’x4’ and one 17’x3’, Those will be all within a border that’s 19’x15’ that’s using concrete brick edging and then mulch to fill in between the various beds and the bricks. Add to that, there are parts to set upon the mulch to allow for easier use of his chair for when he’s tending certain plants.

Yesterday was spent tearing out the old wood boxes and cutting them into 12” sections so he could turn them into mulch. Today was spent getting the layout of the outer perimeter measured correctly and installing the bricks. The measuring had to be done around all of the soil from the old garden beds, which is tough when trying to accurately confirm squareness of the rectangle. That required so much extra digging.

I last did any sort of serious landscaping during the summer of ‘97. I have pain.

 

[walrus]

Started Tomatoes and Peppers back in March, peppers pretty much suck for some reason. Tomatoes are growing. Neither will go out until memorial day so still have time to grow. Deer habitat has shrunk around me so deer are a real problem for any garden here. My solar powered electric fence didn't keep them out so I bought a 120v powered charger, packs way more wallop if they get shocked. Hopefully that will work. Haven't had much of a garden for several years would really like to get enough green beans to freeze. Last year they eat pretty much every thing I planted. Local game warden wasn't any help.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Things are slow to come back this year. Given that the bunnies destroyed everything over the winter, I’m nervous. I planted 8 red twigged dogwood last fall and they are then down to the ground. Gertens told me they may never look as intended.

Gertens, my god today was a ****show

even home despot was... yikes.

we're planning to hit Gerten's this Saturday. Get out lantana, verbena, and a few others.

We were going to get our snapdragons and marigolds there, but the Menards plants were 6 for $3 and they looked fairly good! We got a buttload and probably saved $50-100.

This year is going to be busy. We need to get our roof and deck done (finally) and wrap up the two front yard projects that didn't get wrapped last year.

We're also trying to attract orioles this year. Heard the song of one last night. So there's still hope! Beyond that call, we haven't seen any hummingbirds or orioles yet. They're usually here in late April.

 

[dxmnkd316]

I’m in the process of replacing some raised garden beds for my wife’s uncle. I’m building four cedar beds, three of them 8’x4’ and one 17’x3’, Those will be all within a border that’s 19’x15’ that’s using concrete brick edging and then mulch to fill in between the various beds and the bricks. Add to that, there are parts to set upon the mulch to allow for easier use of his chair for when he’s tending certain plants.

Yesterday was spent tearing out the old wood boxes and cutting them into 12” sections so he could turn them into mulch. Today was spent getting the layout of the outer perimeter measured correctly and installing the bricks. The measuring had to be done around all of the soil from the old garden beds, which is tough when trying to accurately confirm squareness of the rectangle. That required so much extra digging.

I last did any sort of serious landscaping during the summer of ‘97. I have pain.

Oh yeah, we were hoping to do some raised beds this year. But I think we're going to hold off and do it next year. If we're doing the deck and roof, I want to make sure there's access to the backyard and edibles aren't anywhere near the roof. I don't want granules in our boxes.

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

even home despot was... yikes.

we're planning to hit Gerten's this Saturday. Get out lantana, verbena, and a few others.

We were going to get our snapdragons and marigolds there, but the Menards plants were 6 for $3 and they looked fairly good! We got a buttload and probably saved $50-100.

This year is going to be busy. We need to get our roof and deck done (finally) and wrap up the two front yard projects that didn't get wrapped last year.

We're also trying to attract orioles this year. Heard the song of one last night. So there's still hope! Beyond that call, we haven't seen any hummingbirds or orioles yet. They're usually here in late April.

I got some verbena yesterday along with my stalwart vinca and some petunias. Vinca does so well with heat

gertens on Mother’s Day weekend. Godspeed

 

[dxmnkd316]

I know... I pregret it

 

[jen]

I am garden geeking the heck out of this spring. I moved at the end of last summer, and pulled up a lot of stuff that I found (like MINT, who plants effing MINT fer chrissakes that stuff is ridiculous. Don't plant mint anywhere except a pot, people, and probably not even then).

I found out the previous owners, in addition to the effing mint, also had blackberries and red currants, which I am glad to keep. In the process of creating some new garden beds for black raspberries, raspberries and blueberries. I have an herb garden to fill, a bunch of beds for annuals and perennials, and a raised garden. And my yard actually gets SUN. Already planted a magnolia shrub, blueberries, dwarf lilac and a peach tree. I removed a sandbox and a playset, so I am growing grass to cover up those spots. Really excited to see how everything looks in a few months.