Even though I worked in garden
centers for ages, and had my own
container garden for 17 years, there
are still many things to learn about
having a ground centered garden.
Each day my garden teaches me
something I didn’t know.
What have you learned from
your garden?
1. I am learning to live with my brown
front lawn, in fact I rebelliously take pride
in being one of the few water wise dead lawn home owners around here.
I thought we lived in the country, why on earth do we need to have perfectly manicured green lawns?
2. The dollar store Dahlia I got for 2 bucks is the nicest plant in my garden. It’s bigger than the more expensive dahlia’s I got at the nursery, guess where I am shopping next spring.
[This shot is a little bug eaten, but then again every thing is by now.]
3. A weed will grow anywhere, yes anywhere, and no it’s not just a flower that hasn’t learnt to grow in rows, or any cute sayings like that.
4. Plant more seeds, and plant them earlier, even if it was still freezing cold, and we still had patches of snow in April. Start them indoors if I have to.
5. Plants need water, even if it rained every second day in June, I didn’t give them enough. They need a lot of water, in fact some need too much water, they will be weeded out.
6. If the rose didn’t bloom in the spring, it’s never going to bloom all summer. Get the pruning shears give it a hack job, and move it to the back of the bed. Planting bananas at the base did not make it bloom either, maybe I am just not a rose whisperer.
7. Don’t bother to plant anything under the Fir trees, nothing will grow there, and if it does, the bugs will eat it up. Get a dry shade groundcover that looks green from a distance, and suck it up buttercup.
8. The best for last, I now have Tagettes, [French marigolds] blooming, grown from seed taken from bedding plants planted in May. Who knew that you could do that? Talk about double dipping, and it’s free. I don’t know if they were hybrids or not, the tag is gone, but who cares they were free.
I am learning lessons from my garden as it grows, any lessons that your garden has taught you?
Growing…..Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
My number one lesson : don't stress the small-stuff. I'm done with rushing around getting rid of all the weeds as soon as they appear. Very often they're the only green things in my roasting hot summer garden. And hey, some weeds do have pretty flowers too :)
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ReplyDeleteI will be posting my lessons in a couple weeks as part of the meemat plantpostings....but I did enjoy these as I too have the brown lawn. I plant mostly natives as they do not require as much water after established and they grow in the crazy weather we have...but event hey were short lived in the drought this year....I have to threaten my roses and now they are growing...some even witnessed me ripping their friends out and now they bloom and behave :)
ReplyDeleteNature is always teaching us something. We only need to be silent and observant to hear the message. Have a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI am not a rose whisperer either, they work on my nerves. They do however love for the soil to be loosened around the base and a generous amount of used coffee grounds sprinkled and worked into the soil. My best roses are the double knockout and the one grocery store miniature. It's all trial and error, a lot of error from my garden to yours....hugs!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. We live in the country - our lawn is full of a variety of grass and weeds - who cares? I mow it and that's it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I, too, started my seeds too late this year. They are coming up but it would have been so nice to have them sooner!
xo
Claudia
I'm learning more about the value of collecting your own seeds from the stuff that grows well in your yard, but at the same time giving one or two new things a season a try. If I stuck to the cues I get from experience and my neighbors only, the only perennials I'd ever have in my yard are bright pink garden phlox and stellas for daylilies. Oh, and half dead scalded hybrid maples for trees. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, my kids are teaching me that dandelions are welcome "weeds".
I'm pretty much reinventing my definition of what a weed is.
1. Expect my plants to grow bigger than they were when I put them in the ground, requiring more room.
ReplyDelete2. Don't bother planting lettuce again. Kale is good though, much to my surprise.
3. Don't plant violas too near the base of a big tree. I won't be able to see them and they don't get any rain water.
4. Plant lots of vegetables because you'll REALLY enjoy eating them later in the year.
I remember being so proud of a beautiful honeysuckle vine that used to grow over my shed back in FL. Then someone told me it was an "invasive plant" and I was momentarily disappointed. But I still liked it. Ann
ReplyDeleteAhhhh....those lessons change from growing season to growing season as each one is somehow uniquely different even though we are the same little plot of soil each season. The lesson for this season seems to be: Yes, a whole whiskey barrel of gorgeous plantings can drown in a drought after only 1/2" of rain one day many, many, weeks ago if non-gardener husband didn't incorporate appropriate drainage and places said barrel under the downspout. :o( Oh....but one "constant" lesson from year to year is that I, too, actually start considering planticide of well-loved pinks and purples when Fall creeps in my brain..... Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin
ReplyDeleteJen - Beautiful photos. We've had very little survive the summer so it's a delight to see some pretties.
ReplyDeleteJudy
The roses?
ReplyDelete1. Mulch with everything that will make compost - banana peels, coffee grounds, tea leaves, garden shreddings.
2. Enough water in summer's heat (not a candidate for the brown lawn treatment).
3. Feed regularly in the growing seasons.
4. Go to a pruning demonstration at a friendly nursery (or charm a neighbour by gushing over her bootiful ROSES!)
A lot of my gardening lessons are a lot like yours (go figure). I also learned what Carolynn mentioned above... expect plants to end up bigger than what the tag says.
ReplyDeleteHere's some others I've learned:
1) Sitting and engaging in quiet observation is a huge step in gardening. Who knew? If I sat and observed a space through the day and through the seasons I made wise planting choices. When I didn't, I was usually sorry.
2) Go WITH the flow of your landscape and not AGAINST it. If someplace is boggy it always will be. If someplace gets scorching full sun it always will unless I plant a tree and wait 10 years (did that too).
3) I didn't need a lawn!
4) I could have the look of a cottage garden with drought tolerant plants.
5) A cottage-style garden takes less maintenance then people say it does. A "haircut" once a quarter is all it really needs.
6) Plants prefer less water consistently every day than a whole lot once a week. Drip, drip, drip has become my motto.
I love your photos today, Jen. I'm so happy you are enjoying your garden and learning new things each season.
ReplyDeleteAt our last home, I was sad there were no butterfly bushes when we moved in. Before too long, the birds had "planted" butterfly bushes in every available color!
The garden is always surprising us with unexpected beauty!
You are learning. Plant some more drought resistant plants..and water only one inch of water a week..the fittest will survive:)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flower shots, Jen!!!! The one thing I have learned from gardening is to have patience and not to be a perfectionist with the garden. Just let nature do its thing.
ReplyDeleteMy big learning has been to go slow. Take my time and observe spaces. No rushing to put things in place and try to keep them xeric when possible. It's slow but steady.....and that is exciting. But I'm also getting to the point now where low maintenance is preferred. Green is a must but I don't want to be watering everyday anymore.
ReplyDeleteI love Tagetes but I am never sure that I like the scent when I touch them. Some days I do and others I find them offensive.
ReplyDeleteI am wishy washy that way.
Lessons from the garden, I love it. Gardening has a way of bringing the wonder of nature front and center, like nothing else can. The miracle of growing our own food from tiny seeds, and enjoying it on our tables, weeks later. Something so magical about those first green shoots too.
ReplyDeleteLovely post Jen. Hope you're feeling much better too.
Hugs, G
Hi Jen: So many wonderful lessons here! Viewing your photos has me hankering for Cleomes--I usually plant them but I didn't this year. This would be a great post for the "Lessons Learned" meme. I was having some problems with the widget but it should be working now. Just let me know if you want to link in, and I can add your link to the list.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Beth
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteThe learning is such a gradual process for me that sometimes it takes looking back 2 or 3 years to really see how far I've come.
Some of what I've learned this year:
1. Leave some of the pretty weeds for the kiddos to pick. They're happy, and I'm happy because they're not going after my carefully cultivated flowerbed.
2. 5 minutes of spring weeding is worth an hour of summer weeding.
3. It's okay if the veggies/ raspberries/ blackberries never actually make it in the house. If they're getting eaten and enjoyed, that's good enough. (And if I want raspberry jam, note to self: plant more next year!)
4. Never EVER put in an aspen, unless you have room for a grove! There are constantly new little trees growing all over the place where they don't belong. (These were planted by the previous owner, but I am learning from their mistake. A bit of teeth gritting is involved, I'll admit it, every time I have to cut down yet another sapling.)
My garden blog is:
www.linnaesgarden.blogspot.com
I enjoy reading your blog, and your beautiful pictures are like food for my soul.
Have a great day!
I like that you've let your grass go brown. I think it's just the natural way, and I never stress over a brown lawn. I also like that the prettiest dahlia was only $2. Such a small price to pay for joy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the seeds, I intend to do that more. I've spread around the seeds from my cleome already, and want to do pansies, sunflowers, and forget-me-nots.
ReplyDelete