My gardens

a reply to: aboutface

Darn. I thought I would try.
I really enjoy them too, they are one of my favorite flowers in my yard.

Lovely garden

Thanks so much for sharing your lovely garden with us! One cool thing about gardening is that very little space is needed to have a beautiful garden. I once had an amazing herb and floral garden right on my porch in planters, baskets, pots and placed at different levels. It was breath taking! This year, out in the yard, my double peonies didn't do well. I think we had too much rain. My niece's hubby has a nice vegetable garden going out there this year.

This is quite beautiful. I would love to see you cross-pollinate some flowers and have hybrids

a reply to: Night Star

I'm glad I could share, thank you, everyone!

I love that flowers can be just tucked anywhere. I have several violas that grow voluntarily in my veggie gardens. Herbs like sharing spaces too.

You're right, you don't need much space to make a huge impact. Most of my flowers are perennials at this point, and I'm waiting for them to fill in their respective gardens. We have been focusing on the edibles, and now my pretty plantings are finally paying off with some gorgeous faces. I have to weed so bad though, hahaha. The veggies could be doing better. I had just finished planting and hardening everyone off this spring when the smoke blanketed everything. Most of the plants had some adverse reaction. I'm hoping for at least a worthy harvest there. I have made nine jars of various pickled goodies though so far.

a reply to: woodsmom

Wow, cool that you pickle your own food.



Those would make nice gifts settled into a wicker basket. Make your own hang tags saying Made by-

I would like to make little jars of whole cranberry sauce mixed with mandarin oranges, walnuts, and ground cloves. I would make little circles of fabric to cover the tops of the jars and tie it off with ribbon.

a reply to: Night Star

It's fun and I know what we are eating too. I also make up my own jams and jellies, and whole cranberry sauce,well technically lingonberry sauce. I like the mandarin orange idea, I bet it would make a yummy marmalade mix! I have been focusing on the fruit butters and syrups this year since the little guys still don't like the bread enough for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I just don't need as much jelly. I also had to cheat this year and buy some fruit on sale since there were no berries to be had. I canned some cherry pie filling, and made syrup with the pits. There were enough goodies on them to make a pretty rich syrup too.

And yeah, I usually filled up goody boxes for everyone for Christmas, and made dozens upon dozens of cookies. My brother loved it last year when he got the lions share of my smoked salmon that had to go. This year I'm doing something different since the berries didn't show up and gluten free flours are just too expensive for me to go through 20 lbs this year. I just haven't figured out what.

I have been trying to get a photo of the fish taco pickles I made with radishes, turnips, carrots, red onions and Serrano peppers. But I'm wondering if I flower bombed everyone too much because my uploads won't even open. I will try again later. Have a beautiful day Night Star!

a reply to: woodsmom

Hard to choose what to include isn't it! I will try not to over do! I know you are close to the earth like myself. Hope i didn't make them too big.

a reply to: Char-Lee

Oh my goodness, how beautiful! I really need to get some serious gardening done this autumn, lol! Your gardens are just amazing, they look truly loved.

a reply to: woodsmom

Thank you your flowers looks lovely. Always nice to see peeps gardening..

purp..

a reply to: woodsmom

wow !! Thankyou for sharing your garden. It is so refreshing to see.

I got all happy and exuberant when I told some People I counted nine Bees in my garden.
They didn't seem to share my joy... lol but bees are endangered so I was thrilled to see nine of the little buzzers in my garden and flowers.

Your flowers/garden looks astounding.

I love all the pictures posted here of the gardens and flowers. I have several small gardens going in my yard....placed strategically so they can be seen from various entry ways to our property. I think I never feel more alive and joyful then when I am amongst my "pretties". I love the vivid colors that nature can provide us with when we plant our flowers...I usually try and bunch together several vivid colors that compliment each other.

I read a great book once called, "The Secret Life of Plants" and learned so much from it. I really feel like plants and flowers have consciousness and every time a flower blooms, another soul is presented to the world. Hubby laughs when he sees me talking/singing to my flowers but I swear, they love it. I have very lush gardens. I wish I could include pics but for some reason, my ability to post from my documents/pics will not function properly.

When I am with my flowers, I have such a feeling of serenity and touching the soil and tending to them is such a great feeling too. I honestly believe they can "sense" things too...our feelings, moods, and emotions. They are alive and they enjoy care and love also, just like we do.

I had to live in an apartment for a while and had as many potted plants as I could so as to have greenery and color all around me. The best thing of all is when we can get out in the sunshine, tend to our pretties, feel the soil and the gentle, fragrant breezes and watch the butterflies and hummingbirds that come to appreciate our efforts.

Good luck and much joy to all you gardeners out there!

Thanks so much for this thread, Woodsmom. I had a huge garden in the past. Some of the best times of my life were spent sitting in that garden.

a reply to: Char-Lee

Incredible!!!
I don't even know if I want to ask what zone you are in. Your stargazers are gorgeous, I can only imagine how they smell. I'm limited to the asiatics up here, but I do love the lilies. My tiger lilies came up in a about a half a dozen places this year, but strangely skipped flowering to put on unviable seed. My fuchsias did terribly this year as well, they really reacted strongly to the wildfire smoke. The leaves turned purple and the plant has only produced shriveled half flowers since. What are those beautiful tall red blossomed clusters in the ninth photo down? I first though maybe day lilies, but they are way too tall.

I could get lost in your garden, and never come out!! I have too many visible chores in mine to achieve such a peaceful quality. We are also only in year 6 of the 10 year plan, the 20 year plan is where it gets good!!
We are in the process now of breaking ground on another 20' by 40' garden fence extension. I have moose that are sure my plantings belong to them. We are also going to build a high tunnel greenhouse. I love my little greenhouse, but it's really only for tomatoes. Once we finish that, I will have space for corn and squash and other warm loving goodies. I have a postage stamp orchard in the current garden fence, and have decided to plant my mountain ash, spirea and lilacs inside the fence. I have one white lilac outside of it, and it has been perpetually kept at about a foot and a half tall and none of my purple ones have made it more than a few seasons.

Thurisaz, It's almost sad how easily bees are written off. I'm glad you had so many visitors. I think the visitors are the best part of the gardens some days. We harbor tons of bees around here, but fewer than in past years. I have tons of birds around too, of all kinds from the owls to the chickadees. There were three birds in my greenhouse yesterday having a grand time just flying around. As soon as we approached they came out one by one, so I know they weren't stuck. I even love my moose friends, I just wish they would eat elsewhere sometimes.

Shrevegal, Plants are amazing. The energy of being surrounded by green life in comparison to being in town is a night and day difference. And you are absolutely right about them sensing things, or at the very least responding somehow to our own feelings. This summer has been a reawakening for my flowers themselves, at least my perennials. After some serious healing last winter, I have had the energy to really spend out there to remedy a couple of years of exhaustion. I still really have to weed again for about two days, but I have been feeding and loving on them. My compost is ripe and happy this year too, it even grew some beautiful romaine lettuce, a few volunteer tomatoes, and a big purple pansy for me. Everyone has been loving that.


Thank you all for your kind words, and I'm glad it's enjoyed. Thank you for posting your own gardens for us Char-Lee!

a reply to: shrevegal

Do you have any pictures?

a reply to: woodsmom

I am hoping for more garden pictures, I love looking at everyones plants! I am

USDA Hardiness Zone 9a: 20F to 25F

I think we have similar growing you were Ak. right? My tall red flowers I don't know the name of, but they sure keep reproducing, the hummers love them and so do I! we have a small greenhouse, mainly get lettuce and greens asparagus and onions...no moose to contend with ;-) only slugs and gophers some raccoon, possum and a bear every now and then.

Love your place, I no longer do the canning , jam, pie and all the stuff since there is just two of us now, the kids ate without preservatives and health so I think their good health now is from what we did and you are doing!

a reply to: Char-Lee
I'm zone 4. We get down to about -30 every year. I'm in Alaska. We have the slugs in common though, the boys are great for slugs. I tell them when I find one and they go into " slug attack " mode. It's hilarious.
Your photos remind me of my friend's yard in Hawaii, and I think you guys share a zone, so that makes sense.
It is gorgeous.

I love doing the canning and preserving. It is very time consuming though. I have put up about 3 cases of goodies so far this week and have two pots simmering and two piles of produce to deal with still.
It will be my luck that as soon as the kids do grow up and move out, the fruit trees will be mature and producing heavily. Haha! Anything to keep grand babies coming around eventually too.

a reply to: Char-Lee

Your tall red flowers look identical to crocosmia 'Lucifer', especially if you say they keep reproducing. In fact, I'm almost certain that's what they are.
I wish you lived nearer woodsmom, I'd post you some bulbs over.

originally posted by: beansidhe
a reply to: Char-Lee

Your tall red flowers look identical to crocosmia 'Lucifer', especially if you say they keep reproducing. In fact, I'm almost certain that's what they are.
I wish you lived nearer woodsmom, I'd post you some bulbs over.

That is it alright!! Nice to know thank you!

a reply to: woodsmom
Yes I don't know why I said the zones were the same, what I meant was a lot of the plants are the same. My sister lives in Kenai, we have a lot of the same wild plants and grow many of the same domestic too.

Weather is changing everywhere, we did not get rain all summer and very little all winter I hope we don't lose the redwoods around here!

You sound busy busy!:-)