Finally had a day free on Sunday to work in our garden. Mike has finished our compost bin (it’s wonderful, complete with latch and door!) so I spent the afternoon cleaning things up, rakeing leaves, pulling some weeds and cutting down some of the dead plants left over from last summer. I’m still quite clueless when it comes to this gardening thing but I enjoy it tremendously anyway. I sort of feel like Francis Hodgeson Burnett’s character in her book Secret Garden, just walking around pulling at things that look ugly or seem to be “choking” other plants. I think this got me in trouble though because Mike seemed a bit concerned when he noticed I had cut down a certain flower bush. I think it’s what they call a “climbing” plant. It blossoms these beautiful purple flowers in the Spring and again in late Summer. Well, I cut it completely down to the ground because all that was left was dead stuff. I guess we’ll see when May gets here whether it will grow back.
Mike has been busy trying to design a new plan for our garden but because we’re so unfamiliar with plants and flowers we’re not really sure what should go where, whether it needs more shade than sun, etc. I checked out a bunch of books on gardening the other day and we’ve been busy reading ever since. I’m also trying to learn more about houseplants. I’ve killed off a lot of the ones we have. We still have our three aloe vera plants that mom gave us but their not doing so hot. I’ve moved them into the sun room now that it’s not so cold to see if that will help. It would probably help more if I would just remember to water them enough :(. Our african violets aren’t looking so good either. The leaves are starting to turn light green instead of the deep green they used to be.
Our plan so far is to 1)build some large wooden containers that we can grow some fruit and vegetables in 2) redo most of the large flower bed, pulling up a lot of the bushes and plants that have gotten to big, and replacing them with more flowers 3) start growing herbs (I’m going to start with sweet basil which I just bought some seeds for the other day).
I’m also going to try and grow an avocado tree. We originally thought the climate down here wouldn’t be good for it but I just found out from this web page that you can grow it indoors as a house plant (as long as you water them of course).
Today was strange, like a blurry photograph. My work hours were different (came in at four instead of one). I had to take comp time off because of the crocheting program Cindy and I are doing on Thursday. So, it feels like I had this really long morning where I really didn’t accomplish a whole lot considering the amount of time I was at home (although I did take a nice nap with Chani). I came to work and a few hours later it was dark outside. Time to go home. I have a loving puppy, a cute sleepy husband and delicious potato soup waiting for me :).
More gardening websites:
Gardener”s Net
Gardening Guru
Gardening.org
Organic Gardening
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link
http://www.huggin.net/blog/2004/03/09/the-novice-gardener-and-the-blurry-photograph/trackback/
10.03.04 at 13:32:17
Mom
Hmm, surely you mean a cute dog and loving husband?
Just wanted to comment on the purple plant that you were worried about. We have one in our back yard too, and I think it’s called Cle…something - Clematis? I don’t think you can kill it even fi you wanted to, so I’m almost sure your cutting it down is not going to hurt it. (as you know, I’m a great believer in cutting things down once in a while - remember my Hibiscus?) - though I wouldn’t try that method on Aloe Vera plants
Speaking of Aloe Vera, the guy who delivered our new sofa was extremely impressed by mine, and before he left he asked me what I did to get it that way, because he was having problems with his. The only answer I could give him was that I forget to water it, so maybe you’re ok there too (it makes sense, ’cause remember, it’s a cactus, and they live in the desert with hardly any rain). As for your African Violet, it sounds like it’s getting too much light. It likes to just sit on a table inside the room, (not in a pitch dark room though) with a little water in the bowl underneath it. Mormor always kept reminding me not to get water on the leaves when I watered mine, it’ll leave white spots on them. Another thing is, all plants like to be repotted with new dirt now and again, usually in a slightly bigger pot than they originally had.
That was the motherly advice for the day.
mom
10.03.04 at 20:24:44
Carleen
the’re both cute and loving
10.03.04 at 20:35:12
Carleen
As for the aloe vera, as you can imagine, putting it in the sun room was a bad idea. It looked like it helped at first but I came back today and they were looking terrible. I also watered them twice this week which I guess made things worse. Before, I would be doing good if I watered it once a month. So I’ve moved them back in the front room on the side tables. Hopefully I can still save them. Poor plants!
11.03.04 at 10:49:30
Mom
Maybe they’re not getting enough light? I’m thinking cactus - Perhaps they’d like some sun? If it weren’t for the fact that they’re poisonous(?) for Chani, I would try putting them outside in the sun. It should be warm enough for them now. Do you have a safe place outside to put them, out of Chani’s reach? I’ll look them up in my book about houseplants, or do a Google search for “care of Aloe Vera”..
mom
23.03.04 at 16:37:05
Jenn
You really should talk to my mom about your garden and plants. She created a mini-Eden in her yard and is the goddess of plantss. Since you’ve been nice to me she’d do anything for you! Ha! Call her sometime: 333-1276 or let me arrange a meeting for you.
23.03.04 at 20:18:50
Carleen
Thanks Jenn! I’ll have my people call your people and see what we can arrange
My poor house plants are have problems. Now my african violets are looking pretty pissed at me. I think I need to put them in a bigger pot.