Any Gardening Freaks Out There?

[greyhoundmom]

I adore being in the yard when I'm home. I'm all about planting, moving things that need to be somewhere else!, digging in the dirt, etc. Any tips on great websites for gardening supplies? Love fountains, have two (wish they'd make a solar powered one so not having to run electrical to back of yard). Love the idea of rain barrels for watering,but haven't purchased one yet. Any ideas?

Jan

[mbw1024]

I love flowers and plants but have no idea what I am doing so I have sort of given up! My father in law plants morning glories for me every year and I love them.

Do you ever watch QVC? No idea of quality but I know I have seen solar powered fountains on there.

[waterguy]

I'll ask Kathleen who went with me to STJ she is a master gardener I'll see if i can get her to post.

[greyhoundmom]

Thanks, MBW and Waterguy: Any gardening news would be good!

Jan

[mbw1024]

Hey GHM, I took some pictures today at the Staten Island Botanical Gardens. You are welcome to look at them if you'd like.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mbw1024/Sta ... calGardens

[Kentuckygirl]

I do a lot of gardening and I enjoy it, but I'm not sure that I should give advice. My brother runs a landscaping company though. I love the idea of a solar powered fountain. We have one (not solar) and it drives my crazy. I'd love to hear what you learn.

[Jamestown]

Check out highcountrygardens.com. I'm a garden nut too and they have some gorgeous perennials.

Jamestown

[LysaC]

I too love being out in the yard and puttering around the garden! I am no master gardener though. I just don't have enough time to spend in the garden and hate being out there on 90 degree days!

I choose low maintenance, pest-resisitant, drought resistant and mainly native plantings and shrubs. I also have partial- deep shade because of a boo-billion oaks (I HATE ACORNS) and maples hanging over our yard.

After much experimenting over the last four years (I started gardening when we bought our house four years ago), I plant mainly hosta, heuchera, daylilly, astilbe, rhodies and tree hydrangea.

I am trying bleeding hearts this year as well as some mountain laurel for a deep shade area and a shrubby dogwood. Cross my fingers!!!

My husband spent a ton of money on a mature Forever & Ever hydrangea a few years ago but it just wouldn't do anyhting last year. This year, I'm gonna baby it and see what happens.

I also LOVE white impatients- white brightens the shady areas, they grow awesome in shade and they dead-head themselves!

I saw an awesome rain barrell in a gardening supply magazine but I don't remember the name of the magazine . It was a rain barrel but it was decorative, like a huge terracotta vase almost- but made of plastic and with a spigot at the bottom. A colleague of mine made a rain barrel with a 50 gallon drum and then inserted a pool pump and hooked up a hose- very crafty!

The town I work in actually makes rain barrells and the water department sells them. At home, we have a well but I have no idea how much water it produces and get very nervous about using too much water in the hot summer months (I have dry shade, not moist). I would love a rain barrell but it has to be a pretty one cuz it would be in my front yard.

The Garden Web's Garden Forum is a great plkace to visit- mant subjects. But you have to register. I just read.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

[pipanale]

I bought my wife a portable greenhouse for Christmas last year. It was about 8x8 and set up on the deck. I think I did a bad thing. She's now obsessed with her plants. But, her bromilliads flowered again and I am growing habaneros off a 2-year old plant like there's no tomorrow. She's got a 3-year old impatient still flowering.

Living in a townhouse, we don't have a lot of space, but we did just use up all of our 20' x 11' "yard". We built a deck, put in a vegetable garden and sodded a 60 square-foot patch of yard. Since it's such a confined space, I don't mind doing the work. Back when we had 1/2 acre, I hated the yard.

[greyhoundmom]

Thanks for all of the input, guys! I believe I saw that same terra cotta looking rain barrel in a magazine recently but can't remember which one. It looked like an urn but plastic. Since we moved into our house a year and a half ago, we've planted Bradford Pears, Chinese Eucalyptus, a Willow that's gone crazy, a red banana plant and lots of elephant ears. I remember them as a child and have always wanted to grow them. My favorite is the Coffee Cup Elephant Ear which is black and grows 6-8 feet high. Also lots of impatients, hostas, butterfly bushes, geraniums. My latest find is a muhly grass plant, ornamental grass that is supposed to have beautiful dusty rose plumes in late summer/fall. I'd love to have a mountain laurel but think SC might be too hot for it to thrive. When we go to Black Mountain we stay at a neat B&B called Inn Around The Corner and she has beautiful laurels in the yard (check out their website, it's the coolest house, feels like you're walking into your own home, she never locks the front door!). Beautiful Botanical Gardens pics, garden websites I plan to look at soon. Love the idea of the portable greenhouse!

[LysaC]

I love the prehistoric look of elepahnt ear. We can grow it here in New England but we have to dig up the bulb and store it in the winter. I'm way to lazy for that! And they're too expensive as an annual. (Although, I have been know to spend a little too much on beautiful coleus).

Does anyone know of a good soap/scrub for dirty hands/nails/heels? I garden in flip-flops and often forget the garden gloves and am stained at the end of a long day.

[Jo Ann - VA]

Hey GreyHoundMom - I just took a class about rain barrels and we made one during the class. They supplied everything. The barrel is a plastic one that used to have vanilla in it so it even smells nice. We have a company in our town that sells extracts (vanilla, lemon,etc) and they give away the barrels free. The class supplied the brass spigot, barrel, filter thingy, the over flow valve and tubing. I'll take a picture of it and post it tonight. I haven't gotten around to actually hooking it up to my gutters yet. That's this weeks project!

I also have a water fountain in my yard which I love! The sound is so soothing. I'll take pictures tonight of my yard. We've done a lot in our backyard to make the space attractive and user friendly.

I just planted a rose bed last week. My first attempt at roses.

[Chet]

I believe I saw that same terra cotta looking rain barrel in a magazine recently but can't remember which one.

GHM - I installed a rain barrel for my mom in Lewes, DE this wekend. The water department sent out a flier in one of the bills asking for folks to sign up for a rain barrel. I guess there are bulk discounts to towns and cities because it cost her $35. It's the terra cotta one on the web site:
http://www.rainbarrelsandmore.com/

There was a storm Saturday afternoon, crashing and bashing across the flat land. 50 gallons filled in 15-20 min. I installed the spogot in the lower hole and attached the hose. Water pressure is high enough to use a sprayer on the hose end. When the spigot is placed in the upper hole a watering can can be filled.

[StJohnRuth]

I am the biggest Gardening Freak in the world. I am doing a bunch of other things at the moment, so I can't bore you to death with my freakiness, but I will later. You'll probably be sorry you asked, then.
-Ruth

[RickG]

Mmmm, fresh radishes with dinner tonight.

We are in year 3 of our big yard make over. We have our apple trellis in place (6 trees total), new shed, three raised beds, new composter, a pretty good kitchen herb garden and a big pepper bed on the south side of the house. Sweet Christine can fill in all the veggies she started from seed this year. Oh, and she grows stuff that you can't eat that have flowers.

Cheers, RickG