| Author | Content |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
 August 24, 2009
05:50 AM Post #6982076
| There are a total of 354 votes:
| Not enough space. (how much do you want/need?)
(84 votes, 23%) |  |
| Pests such as insects, deer and rabbits. (how do you cope?)
(49 votes, 13%) | |
| Gardening on a tight budget. (give us some tips!)
(44 votes, 12%) | |
| My challenging climate. (tell us why)
(40 votes, 11%) | |
| Not enough time!
(76 votes, 21%) | |
| None of the above. (tell us!)
(61 votes, 17%) | |
|
Previous Polls |
kwanjin
West Valley City, UT
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
05:58 AM Post #6982083
| Hey! I've never been first before.
I voted Budget. I find I have to be careful choosing plants for the gardens. I agonize over each purchase. Trading is an easy way to expand and share. Now that I have more established plants, I share with neighbors and friends. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
07:04 AM Post #6982133
| WEEDS!!!
We live in the country, and are under constant attack from field bindweed, horsetail, wild blackberries, sumac, and several other extremely invasive, deep-rooted weeds that are almost impossible to keep up with if one wants to actually garden! Work in one area, and while your back is turned, the weeds are nearly too big, too widespread, and too deeply rooted in the last area you cleaned to be dealt with!! |
gardengus
Flora, IN
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
07:13 AM Post #6982149
| Time, there is always something to be done and not enough time for it all.
|
Hemophobic
Kannapolis, NC
August 24, 2009
07:40 AM Post #6982182
| Definitely time for me! Work interferes with so many other things, but it does provide funds for plants. Sigh! |
Kathleen
Panama, NY
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
07:44 AM Post #6982189
| Weather, late frosts, early frosts, too much rain, chilly springs, cool summers with intermittent heat, chilly nights that bring on mildews and molds, did I mention too much rain? 20 feet of snow helps to protect things, but really! |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 24, 2009
08:02 AM Post #6982215
| Hey Kwanjin ~ you had to be up early to be first! LOL
I also voted "time" here. Because I work, I have the money but I don't have the time. If I quit, I would have the time and no money! It's a no brainer for me.
from the TX Gardener editorial... wishing I had the younger persons back and the older persons time! |
Debsroots
Northwest, MO
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
08:12 AM Post #6982241
| Weeds, Weeds, Weeds!!!
I just can't seem to keep ahead of them. It could be that I have to much property that I have turned into gardens :) |
beclu727
Dacula, GA
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
08:28 AM Post #6982274
| I agree with Potagere and Debsroots. Weeds and invasives are taking over this year. I also have too much area to garden and only part of it done. |
flowerjen
central, NJ
(Zone 6b)
August 24, 2009
08:40 AM Post #6982290
| Budget, I try to attend all the Round up's and any plant swaps near me. Take cuttings and seeds. |
graceful_garden
Hahira, GA
(Zone 8b)
August 24, 2009
08:52 AM Post #6982326
| I am right there with Potagere - WEEDS! We've been blessed with ample rain this summer, but the weeds are overtaking everything! AARRGGHHHH! Samantha |
FrillyLily
Lebanon, MO
August 24, 2009
09:02 AM Post #6982354
| WEEDS WEEDS and more WEEDS!! |
MarshaMLF
Chapel Hill, NC
(Zone 7a)
August 24, 2009
09:08 AM Post #6982365
| DEER!
After 15 years of deer-free bliss, this year they've
started jumping the fence for a nightly buffet of
all their favorites. Milorganite has had some good
results keeping them away from certain cherished
plants & shrubs, but we've started installing a deer
fence on top of the existing fence just to be sure. |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 24, 2009
09:11 AM Post #6982371
| Ahhh... weeds are far better than drought! Eh? |
bjf826
(Barb) Quincy, FL
(Zone 8b)
August 24, 2009
09:18 AM Post #6982385
| WEEDS here, too! I actually voted climate due to the intense FL sun, but weeds run right along with it. I pulled one last week that had reached the same height as the house. Yikes!!! Along with the weeds go fire ant mounds... they build under thick carpets of weeds and when you reach down to grab the center of the weed you have fire ants up to your forearm before you realize it. Nasty critters! |
randbponder
Hornick, IA
(Zone 4b)
August 24, 2009
09:23 AM Post #6982410
| Weeds, budget Japanese beetles and grass hoppers.
Why do I still garden. :>) I love fresh home grown veggies and vine or tree ripened fruits. Not the rock hard peaches and nectarines and other fruit, nor do I like tomatoes that have the flavor of cardboard. |
LariAnn
Miami, FL
(Zone 10a)
August 24, 2009
09:34 AM Post #6982435
| SPACE! No matter how much you have, the plants expand to fill it. If I had an acre, I'd need 5. If I had 5, I'd need 10. If I had 10 . . . well, you get the idea. I have enough plants now that were I to grow them to full mature size, I could fill up a few acres. And I've been holding back! What if I really cut loose? |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
09:34 AM Post #6982436
| Oh, yeah, I forgot the killer fire ants that protect the weeds! Thanks (?!?!) for reminding me, Barb!
Oh, podster, you're joking, surely! Even if there is drought, there are still the weeds to contend with!! They have roots so deep that my French weeds are probably drinking your Texas water! Pour a little Lone Star on the soil tonite, wudja?
Potagere |
Tallulah_B
(Susan) Calgary, AB
(Zone 3b)
August 24, 2009
09:43 AM Post #6982466
| Not enough space! I don't have a garden, I have berms, and pots!
I make use of every free space, but geeeeeeeeeze.
I want an acre!! |
Tallulah_B
(Susan) Calgary, AB
(Zone 3b)
August 24, 2009
09:45 AM Post #6982478
| oh yeah - I need room for a proper sized GREENHOUSE!
With my tiny yard, I put my temporary greenhouse on my deck, and it's not heated...
So I'd like room to put a large, heated greenhouse on the property. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
09:45 AM Post #6982480
| I put not enough space. For me it should be not enough arable space. I have 1/2 acre which would be enough for my gardening desire-- mostly. But most of my 1/2 acre only has an inch or two of soil on top of bed rock. Finding enough room to plant my jungle is a challenge. I was reminded of that again this year when I removed a bunch of junipers and put in rose bushes. Making a big enough hole in the rock for the roses was a challenge. I am having the same problem with the groundcovers under them. |
Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
09:46 AM Post #6982482
| Space! I need room!!! Grrrrrr! |
staceysmom
(GayLynn) Appleton, WI
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
09:57 AM Post #6982521
| Space. I see so many plants that I want and have to pass them up because my gardens are crammed now. It's shoulder to shoulder in there. Have a new gardening project set for next year that will give me more room and I'm sure it will fill up very quickly. |
pajonica
Tone-machi
Japan
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
10:02 AM Post #6982542
| Weeds are my biggest problem I just cant keep on top of them.I swear, sometimes I can hear them growing! |
kwanjin
West Valley City, UT
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
10:53 AM Post #6982702
| Podster, I'm with you. I need the bady I had when I was 20.  |
Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
11:04 AM Post #6982740
|
| Quoted: | | Sometimes, I swear, I can hear them grow |
, lol with you. You must have kudzu growing in the garden! |
woofie
Chewelah, WA
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
11:06 AM Post #6982744
| Weeds, weeds and more weeds! Like Potagere, I'm in a rural area surrounded by open fields. The weeds are unbelievable. Even with mulch covered tarps on the ground and everything in pots, the weeds still try to take over. I think I'm going to have to resort to Round-Up to get things under control. Sigh. |
CherokeeGreg
Fresno, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
11:14 AM Post #6982768
| Need more space. It seems like im always ripping more grass out so I can plant more. I always need more space.
Greg |
Sashagirl
by the Muddy Miss, IA
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
11:41 AM Post #6982889
| I need more SPACE, preferably an acreage not too far from town.
Our intown lot is fairly spacious, but DH "must" have his manicured lawn, so I am confined to border beds. I have managed to surround much of the property and buildings with bountiful borders, but I want more! haha.
A picture is worth a thousand words...
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
11:42 AM Post #6982891
| Space, space, space!
Be careful what you wish for!
In our last yard [and a principal reason we moved], if I wanted to plant something new, I had to remove an old and well-loved friend (OK, well, sometimes, I could eliminate a less-loved inheritance; but I am anthropomorphic and just hate to kill a living plant (that is not a 'weed') just on my whim.
But, of course, I often have recall to someone's definition that "A weed is an plant growing where you do not want it", and rip it out. I'm not sure that if St Peter calls me to account on this that this defense would suffice, but there it is.
If you are young and strong and have a plan [and not a few bucks], space is great.
But I got what I wanted : a LOT more space.
So, see my post above!
It's a struggle between me and nature to see who will prevail.
60+ old men can just about strike a balance on "an acre" [I'm extrapolating from sq metres]
A balance may come when we see that, as we go from bed to bed, the weeds are no bigger than on our last pass. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
11:46 AM Post #6982905
| ~ Sashagirl ~
I'm a guy.
I was born in the USA
Raised there
Spent most of my life there
I keep hearing how important "manicured lawns" are to American men.
Why is that?
I'm really just curious.
Potagere |
DanKistner
Winter Haven, FL
(Zone 9b)
August 24, 2009
11:54 AM Post #6982921
| I don't think I will ever have enough space (Maybe I will just move to Borneo!) Perfect Climate, Plenty of Space! |
cececoogan
Waukesha, WI
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
12:03 PM Post #6982949
| I kept looking for one or more answers from about but there wasn't one.My challegenes are not enough space(that means getting hubby to let go of more lawn) Japanese Beetles this time of year and dadnabit wabbits is the spring eating the fresh growth of my bulbs...the rabbits I can deal with with the help of rabbit scram put down in late fall then again early spring and then again in early summer, the getting less lawn and more place to put plants that I've divided or bought is getting a bit easier through the past 5 years. The Japanese Beetles they're a whole different animal. I haven't found one way to beat those nasties. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
12:24 PM Post #6983025
| I would like more Space...space with sun, because my garden area has become shadier the last 5 years, as the big Oak tree has spread its branches, thus making more shade where I formerly had some sunny area. We have trimmed branches some, but also our neighbors' tree has tall limbs which also shade this area now; maybe I can trim them...when they aren't looking, like late at night?! Shhhh...=) |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
12:32 PM Post #6983060
| It is totally legal to cut the branches of a neighbor's tree that hang over your lot. Trim away! |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
12:34 PM Post #6983070
| Oh, gosh... forgot about Drought--- dry as a bone here. Yes, you can water, but it doesn't have the same benefit as Rain.'''''''''' And we do have that high Heat problem...and humidity may be good for some plants, others it causes mildew or fungus on the leaves. Budget,... always, esp. since we have 3 teenagers at home. What were the choices again? I think I may have named them all. Ha! =) |
Calalily
South Padre Island, TX
(Zone 10a)
August 24, 2009
12:41 PM Post #6983107
| Climate, no rain, wind, wind, wind and heat. No frost, no snow, did I mention wind? It's been hot this summer, in the mid to upper 90's and not a drop of rain.
I have space, up to 110 acres if I want to use them, no weeds because I mulch every inch of the gardens (I'm using about an acre now) and we live on the water (fresh water, a bit salty but that's normal for this area) and have irrigation pumps and belong to the irrigation district so we're allowed to use the water but the heat and wind I can do nothing about. The seasons here are weird too, I planted potatoes last week and will be able to start growing just about anything I want next month. Tomatoes do great from Sept thru about April or May, then June thru August it's too hot.
We put up wind blocks from the north/north west in the winter, from the east/south east in the spring. I've had to learn to use wind tolerant crops as wind blocks for more tender plants. |
twinkielee
Minden, LA
August 24, 2009
12:46 PM Post #6983134
| I have more than enough space, weeds, pests, drought, etc. to encumber my gardening (for which the budget can be meager at times) but the biggest problem is my lack of time. Looking forward to retirement! |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
01:04 PM Post #6983206
| Calalily, oh, you shouldn't have reminded me of the Wind! Another thing which is a challenge to us here by the coastline! I know you have more wind, because we are not Right on the bay, but a few miles from it. We still get lots of wind, which not only knocks my pots of Plumeria & others down, but is so drying to all the plants when it's combined with the high heat and the drought. Actually, August is about the only month that we don't get alot of wind here; lately, we sometimes get a little Hot breeze. |
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
August 24, 2009
01:05 PM Post #6983207
| WEEDS! Drought! Squirrels! Budget!
Potagere, my DH does NOT lust after a lawn - he wants water features everywhere. |
Dutchlady1
Naples, FL
(Zone 10a)
August 24, 2009
01:12 PM Post #6983233
| Whereas weeds are a constant trial, space is my main problem. I grow plumeria and have MANY different varieties on a 1/3 acre lot... so I am having to thin out the herd constantly and let some beautiful ones go so I can keep the even more beautiful ones |
Dutchlady1
Naples, FL
(Zone 10a)
August 24, 2009
01:15 PM Post #6983244
| I am lucky that DH agrees that 'lawns' are a waste of time so we only have a small 6 ft strip at the front of the property left from what used to be almost all grass!! |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
01:20 PM Post #6983262
| My DH is not in love with lawns. He doesn't touch anything outside the house. He is not an outdoorsy person. I am not sure he even knows we have a lawn. My problem is that my lawn is sitting on top of solid rock. Only something really shallow rooted will grow there. So I maintain it, though it is in no way manicured. It is just a nice spot for the dogs to lie down in. |
kwanjin
West Valley City, UT
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
01:24 PM Post #6983279
| My hubby wanted lawn for the kitties to play on. They mostly explore the bushes so I get to pull out more and more grass every year. He wants to keep lots in the front but I can rip out more of the back this year. I have been alloted 2 more beds in the front. Whoop-dee-doo. I hope you heard the sarcasm there. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
01:30 PM Post #6983300
| Pajar, that's funny...your husband doesn't know you have a lawn! (I'm surprised one of my teens hasn't used that for an excuse not to mow: "What Lawn?!") Ha! They are probably glad we are in a drought, as our lawn has only had to be mowed Once all Summer! =) |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
01:46 PM Post #6983355
| Kwan, heard ya loud & clear...that Was sarcastic! Don't work too hard fixing up those beds! =) |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
01:47 PM Post #6983362
| For me it has been time, but then I've had a big project this year.
For all you with weed problems (like I don't have them) I found an article back a bit by a man who specializes in remediation - Ted St. John, Ph.D. He says that Mycorrhizae will help keep weeds down and references his restoration projects as examples. See
[HYPERLINK@www.storesonlinepro.com]
|
roybird
Santa Fe, NM
August 24, 2009
01:47 PM Post #6983364
| Space. So, I could try some different plants that need more room. I also need space to get more sun. Then, I would need more water. It goes on and on! |
cando1
Ozone, AR
(Zone 6a)
August 24, 2009
02:09 PM Post #6983449
| My problem gardening is health related, Congestive Heart Failure.
I've transplanted most of my flowers into containers which makes it easy to handle weeds. It's easy to water without using a lot of water. 30+ Containers are probably my limit on the amount of plants i can handle. I am happy with what i have at the moment. That probably wont last long. LOL |
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
August 24, 2009
02:35 PM Post #6983529
| Excellent link, dparsons01! Thanks for posting that. It's the best explanation I've read. |
taters55
(Linda Kay) Del Rio, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
02:38 PM Post #6983541
| My problem is my soil! We have brick hard caliche, and you literaly have to use a jack hammer to get through it, so all of my garden spaces are in pots, or raised bed, that you have to pay for someone to haul in top soil or buy lots of bags of miracle grow!
Wish we could invest in miracle grow! LOL
LK |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
02:46 PM Post #6983566
| ~ pajaritomt ~ maybe in NM You live in a weird country where every State can dictate. That may NOT be true in Texas, which might even allow Petalpants' neighbour to shoot her in protection of his property.
Let's be REAL clear on this stuff before giving advice that could lead to/add to neighbour confrontations!!
~ cando1 ~ If we all could do what you can do, even if the weeds won in the end, the effort would have exceeded "valiant".
Potagere |
roseone33
Southern Mountains, GA
(Zone 6b)
August 24, 2009
03:28 PM Post #6983681
| WEEDS! |
Cordeledawg
Cordele, GA
(Zone 8a)
August 24, 2009
03:34 PM Post #6983700
| Weeds here too. Actually, more like Bahia grass and Common Burmuda. Can't seem to keep them out. My beds have completely gotten away from me. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
03:34 PM Post #6983702
| Not sure, potagere. I read in a national magazine that one could do what one wants with tree branches that cover your property. And you can eat the fruit if they drop any on your property. But you may be right that in Texas they can shoot you if you do. I think the name of that law is "Every man for himself." |
ducky27
Kalispell, MT
August 24, 2009
03:52 PM Post #6983751
| For me its deer. They are so unpredictable. I have used repellants in rotation, stinky fertilizer, and have planted the deer resistant varieties. A fence is outlawed by covenants, Its crazy this year, its like fall has arrived early and they have begun their yearly foraging for winter. I have a huge border of coneflower, rudbeckia, monarda etc. and ALL I HAVE ARE THE FLOWERS, sticking up on denuded stalks. It looks quite silly. The problem of course is that now the leaves and their regenerating function are gone. I may have to have a border of ONLY russian sage...pretty but who wants ONLY russian sage...not even the deer!
I must be crazy, I still yearn to garden in spite of it all. |
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
August 24, 2009
03:55 PM Post #6983763
| Taters55, we DO use a jackhammer to plant!
We try to wait until there is a rain in fall to plant, but this drought is awful. Since we don't water bare dirt, we use the tools that are called for. Sometimes I can get away with wetting the ground the day before, but it depends on whether the spot was compacted or not. Hate disturbing the soil like that! :-( |
WaterCan2
Suffolk County, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 24, 2009
04:57 PM Post #6983941
| Keeping moisture, sandy soil drains fast. |
RussMartin4154
Omaha, NE
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
05:00 PM Post #6983949
| I want more space.
I've beaten the weeds by using an industrial-grade landscape fabric rather than plastic mulch. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
05:01 PM Post #6983951
| OK, ducky27, you settled our longstanding argument.
If a deer fence is outlawed by covenant in MONTANA,
there's no way we are moving back to the USofA.
We'll stay in France with free health care and the right to
keep deer and wild pigs out of our yards!
|
flowerfantasy
Washington, IN
(Zone 6a)
August 24, 2009
05:09 PM Post #6983972
| Well I didn't vote cause there was no all of the above. Those all are the things standing against me.LOL |
cue_chik
Palm Coast, FL
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
05:14 PM Post #6983983
| gardening on a single parents salary.. definitely a problem.
DG has remedied alot of that with plant trades, seed swaps, Round Ups and Plant and seed for postage! My garden is definitely a DG Garden.
living on a very tight budget also causes problmes in just minor things for the garden, like soil, mulch, and insecticides. But this is remedied with pine needles gathered from friends and neighbors, using garden clippings and vegetable waste to create compost, reusing garden center pots for repotting, tuna cans, coffee cans, egg cartons. Birdfeeders made from empty soda and water bottles, birdbaths made from terracotta pot bottoms and potted plant stands. For just about every garden need, there is a homemade version.. something i had no idea until I joined DG! |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 24, 2009
05:32 PM Post #6984051
| Hey ~ Potagere' ~ maybe in Montana, they don't need no stinkin' fences. Maybe they just shoot 'em! LOL
My comment about the weeds being better than the drought... it is refreshing to hear the gardeners from GA complaining about 'anything' growing this year, even weeds. Thanks for the rain. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
05:46 PM Post #6984101
| Now ~ podster ~ Montana ain't Texas. One is not allowed to carry a concealed AK47 without a carry permit!
About the drought : I can hear the thunder rumble in the distance. Rain? Well, maybe.
I'll believe it when I feel it. Hoses until then. |
Elphaba
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
05:55 PM Post #6984144
| Cimate, DEFINITELY! It's raining and people are out in the street whooping and hollering. Heat, humidity, high night temps and no rain, it's amazing anything is alive. Trees are dead all over.
I saw on that show where the UH Prof/Lawyer answers questions, that you CANNOT CUT THE BRANCHES OF YOUR NEIGHBOR'S TREE IN TEXAS even if they hang over your property. Get permission which would only be the polite thing to do anyway. Would you want someone whacking at your tree and potentially introducing disease by pruning incorrectly? or making it lopsided so would fall on your house in a storm? |
gloriag
Floyd, VA
(Zone 6b)
August 24, 2009
06:12 PM Post #6984217
| Finally, I have more space than I need, but it's a little late. I am really too old and challenged with health problems so I have to hire my neighbor to help me. We put down cardboard and put on a good amount of compost and follow up with almost composted bark mulch. There is no
digging so I can plant away and make a new bed any time I want.
This is the first time I have tried it so I will have to wait and see. By next spring the cardboard should have been devoured by the worms, and I will have a rich planting medium. That's the theory anyway. |
phoenixryan
Mesa, AZ
August 24, 2009
06:20 PM Post #6984253
| Definitely CLIMATE!
It creates a unique challenge to grow things in 110+ heat in summer, and freezes in the winter! We get two short growing seasons, spring and fall. |
Tir_Na_Nog
Houston
United States
(Zone 9b)
August 24, 2009
06:23 PM Post #6984270
| For us it is lack of time.
We are busy tending and nurturing the young garden of two busy sister peas in a pod and there is rarely a moment to get into the yard. I've wasted hundreds on plants in the past year only to have them die before I get around to them. So from here on out I give up. I will keep a clean yard but not indulge in overwhelming myself to garden the garden I envision in my head.
There will come a day for that :) and in the meantime I'll tend my tots. |
cedar18
Lula, GA
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
06:25 PM Post #6984275
| I voted critters because the deer, rabbits and voles (my nemesis) are big problems here. But after reading Potagere in France, I would almost change my vote to weeds. I live in the country too and he's right, they are amazing out here since our neighbors are not well-manicured lawns and shrub beds -- but pastures and woods. |
mom2goldens
Carmel, IN
(Zone 5b)
August 24, 2009
06:44 PM Post #6984344
| Space is always too tight here--1/3 acre on a suburban lot doesn't leave a lot of open spac once you subtract the footprint of our house. I, too, am confined to border beds because I do like some lush green grass, and need some for our 2 golden retrievers. Every year, I try to find a little more space to carve out, and get creative with pots and planters. I'm always sad to have to pass up beautiful plants I know I don't have room for (or proper sun/shade). Have to be careful too, to not offend our homeowners association. I try to hide my veggies in amongst the other flowers, and fortunately my nearest neighbor that can see into my yard is also a gardener. |
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 24, 2009
06:54 PM Post #6984384
| Deer, time, energy, rabbits, weeds, too much rain or not enough, plants that grow too fast, plants that grow too big for the spot where I planted them (my fault), and the desire to have more time enjoying the garden.
Jim, I think men here hold the perfect manicured lawn in too much esteem but there's no talking some of them out of it. At one time I guess it was a sign of either luxury or wealth (or both) but now it's a labor of love. |
kwanjin
West Valley City, UT
(Zone 5a)
August 24, 2009
06:57 PM Post #6984393
| The manicured lawn mystery eludes me, too. I have a friend who ran over and dug up part of her husbands precious grass with the truck tires. He didn't speak to her for days! LOL |
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 24, 2009
07:01 PM Post #6984402
| In some households that might be a blessing but not here! |
lexx349
Huntington, WV
(Zone 6a)
August 24, 2009
07:05 PM Post #6984415
| I voted for space, but I forgot about weeds. The owners before me planted Ivy on two of the banks around the house and it is now filled with more bindweed than I can keep up with. When one area is cleaned it takes over another. And the neighbors have been ill, so their yard is another breeding ground for noxious weeds to be born and build up the strength to attack my yard and garden. Add the heat and i have grown more weeds than flowers this year. |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
07:21 PM Post #6984463
| Lawns are like your own mini meadow. A nice open space that is green and peaceful. Doesn't have to be grass. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 24, 2009
07:40 PM Post #6984523
| I'm still mystified by the "Lawn Thing".
So far, I like pirl's suggestion best.
Of course, if it meant a lot of work on Saturday or Sunday,
that would mean a stop at the pub,
which would mean a phone call home, which would mean ... |
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
August 24, 2009
08:10 PM Post #6984635
| Drought doesn't stop weeds here. Those tumbleweeds just keep on coming down the hill! |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
August 24, 2009
08:12 PM Post #6984646
| Bambis, bunnies, squirrels, groundhogs, and this year, aphids were esp. bad. |
Pewjumper
Glenwood Springs, CO
(Zone 5b)
August 24, 2009
08:19 PM Post #6984660
| Like Charlie Brown says in "The Great Pumpkin"..."I gotta rock"
Indeed, to many rocks in the dirt I am trying to turn into soil. To steal a qoute from above, "You can pratically hear them grow."
|
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 24, 2009
08:27 PM Post #6984679
| Here we have to buy rocks!
Jim:
...which would mean go sleep on the grass tonight, sweetheart. |
Planter56
Buffalo, NY
August 24, 2009
08:34 PM Post #6984695
| Here in Buffalo I would have to say all of the above and more. Very poor soil with way too much clay. After adding amendments to the soil for 20 years, it's still silty. Have you ever dug in the groung and not find worms, I have. |
Dann_L
San Tan Valley, AZ
(Zone 9b)
August 24, 2009
08:40 PM Post #6984714
| Climate!
It gets very hot for long periods and extremely dry. Humidity levels are frequently in the single digits. It sucks the life out of any living thing!
If I didn't garden in raised beds I would have to add very poor desert soil to the list too. Totally void of organic matter. |
ladybarber101
Lancaster, OH
(Zone 6a)
August 24, 2009
08:52 PM Post #6984749
| I voted Budget but its really alittle of verything.. lol
We just moved so Im challenged by the difference in soils (Florida to Ohio) There is a TON of clay in my yard and what dirt there is , well its just not dirt.. Its hard and when its wet its like clay mush.. lol So Im composting and getting top soil to add to each bed as its done.. I even go collect rabbit poo from my MIL house for the beds and garden. The garden we also layered with Hay from a local farmer at $4 a bale.. Not cheap but ges a long way in our lil garden..
Weeds.. well tree babies.. I have hackberry, walnut , mulberry, maples and some other weird tree along the fencline.. We are slowly trimming them back but the chainsaw broke so its all with a pole or hand saw to get them on the ground.. All along old wire fence that is riddled with honeysuckle and other weeds.. Buhes, tree babies.. lol
Im working full time and my ubby is working doing construction work when he can and theres just not enough time.. I get cuttings and row from seeds. Request it on freecycle or craigslist and go dig them out for someone .. Budget and only spend on what you absolutely have too.. Heck I got 4 bags of Miracle grow soil at Krogers for $1.03 using coupons.. They were on sale for 1.99 and I have a $5 coupon on any sale and a $1 coupon so all I paid really was some tax.. Got my purple coneflowers the same way.. |
Beach_Barbie
Kure Beach, NC
(Zone 9a)
August 24, 2009
09:15 PM Post #6984849
| I definately don't ahve enough space. That's why I do landscaping - I get to play in other peoples gardens!
I also have a friend who just bought a new house. Hardly any gardens and the ones that are there only have ligustrum or loropetalum. Oh, the plans I have... |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 25, 2009
02:57 AM Post #6985613
| Funny, pirl! |
Emma75
Deland, FL
August 25, 2009
12:20 PM Post #6986699
| Weeds, weeds, weeds, weeds, and more weeds...a vast assortment, all thriving in the Florida rain and heat and doing everything in their power to choke out my valuable investments! Round-Up is great, but since it can't be used IN the flower beds, I spend hours upon hours hand-pulling them. Will it ever end? |
TexasTam
Plano, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 25, 2009
12:38 PM Post #6986761
| I voted for not enough time. Of course, if I had more time, I'd fill up my present yard and complain about not enough space. :)
The Texas heat and black gumbo soil of our specific area in North Central TX also provide huge challenges and a constant learning experience. But that's part of what makes it all so fun! |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 25, 2009
12:50 PM Post #6986797
| My, everyone sure has lots of gardening problems...good thing we have DG to vent our frustrations on! =) |
music2keep
Peterstown, WV
(Zone 6a)
August 25, 2009
03:03 PM Post #6987211
| Budget was my answer. I plant seeds from the year before, but I also have a nursery near by that gives me a deal on things when they are nearly sold out! They all but give things to me. They're 'good ol' boys. :) 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
irisawe
Kansas City, MO
August 25, 2009
03:08 PM Post #6987222
| Weed control. I hate chemicals and manual weed control is killing me.
After reading all your posts. I am ashamed to have any complaint. I have it easy with weeds being my main problem this year.
I am going to chill and enjoy,
Irisawe
This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 4:23 PM |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 25, 2009
03:20 PM Post #6987261
| Gorgeous, music2keep!!! What is it?
|
woofie
Chewelah, WA
(Zone 5a)
August 25, 2009
04:43 PM Post #6987509
| Hmmm, that kind of looks like a scabiosa, but it's certainly prettier than the ones I have. Me, too: what is it? |
crystalspin
Santa Ana, CA
(Zone 9b)
August 25, 2009
05:20 PM Post #6987618
| Overall, over the years, the biggest challenge has been soil. We have hard gray alkaline clay locally called adobe and for a reason. After years of working it (months of Blooms' time!), and dozens of bags of inorganic/inert amendments and organic top dressing -- most of the beds are somewhat better, I even find occasional small worms(!). But it's still alkaline, which affects plant choices, and the drainage is still very poor; no deep soaking here for fear of drowning things to death.
But I have to say, I am as happy with my current plantings as I have ever been.
~'spin!~ |
LiveLaughLovePA
Dallastown, PA
(Zone 6a)
August 25, 2009
05:35 PM Post #6987690
| My biggest problem is not enough time. I'm still a beginner and find that I always want to be in the gardens. However, I have a two hour round-trip commute each day. I leave at 7am to go to work and don't get home until 6p. And due to the long days, I do a lot of errands on the weekends. 2nd in line to not enough time is not enough money. I could do a whole lot more if I had more money LOL but if I did a whole lot more, I'd have even less time... lose-lose LOL |
pprice256
Wedowee, AL
August 25, 2009
06:41 PM Post #6987876
| No Rain this year red Alabama clay, I have tried to make raised gardens since I am disabled.I took the top of mountain and back yard with garlic,leeks,onions.The garden is so full of weeds my hubby was sick he has copd and was afraid to walk because of snakes.I got chiggers all over my legs.Being disabled it is also a big problem.I got sick and ad to move a big beautiful home with all the landscaping I had done for 10 years and the land was all woods so I had to start all over. Roses 's I really miss and my Amaryllis(they r so expensive) I told my hubby I would be ashamed to call it a garden...LOL The raise garden cost because I buy pro-mix which is nice and loose but drys out fast.Thank the Lord for Daves..It may cost a lot with postage but not as much as buying new,Plus you get to meet new people that are most of them real helpful and nice.Just got ripped a few times..So anyone want to trade when it cools off and I get over my daughr's wedding,Let me know..I do take charity I am not proud...LOL Porsha |
irisMA
South Hamilton, MA
August 25, 2009
07:24 PM Post #6988019
| My problem is energy--at age 74 it is gone. While the weeds have been much worse than usual this yr, I could deal with them if the energy is there. |
sharonf1
Lake in the Hills, IL
(Zone 5a)
August 25, 2009
07:47 PM Post #6988102
| I marked time on this survey. Never enough of that for weeding, planting, shopping for new plants, tending the plants...
~Sharon |
tucsonjill
Tucson, AZ
(Zone 9a)
August 25, 2009
08:28 PM Post #6988271
| Climate--as those others from Southern AZ have attested! It freezes in the winter, it's well over 100 deg F for days on end in the summer with not even a hope of rain, and overnight it's still above 70F so it never cools down to even remotely comfortable. It's hot, it's dry, and our summer rainy season appears to be a bust this year. And then the wind starts!
But boy oh boy do we celebrate if it does rain! |
zonkel
Florence, MS
(Zone 7b)
August 25, 2009
09:11 PM Post #6988432
| WEEDS- and a rheumatologist who said I can't weed anymore. Oh well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, but boy does it hurt me!
Susan |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
August 25, 2009
10:18 PM Post #6988714
| Gosh everything but space is an issue here. Calcium in water, wind, cold, extreme heat, alkaline soil, Caleche (Hard pan and clay) soil, rabbits and Gophers from H e double toothpicks and desert weeds, abundant.
I am trying to go with more natives now, amending soil, and trying to compile plant list that rabbits and or gophers don't like, and more raised beds and pots, that are raised out of rabbits reach. Ho HUM!
I can not stop trying till they put me in the ground.
Any of you got ideas, seeds or plants to send my way, please H E L P> (*^%$#$# I'M IN THE ADDRESS BOOK HERE. LOL
|
PuddlePirate
North Ridgeville, OH
(Zone 5b)
August 26, 2009
02:52 AM Post #6989316
| For me the toughest task is getting my manual wheelchair up into the raised beds so I can do what's needed. Long-handled tools are a big help. |
music2keep
Peterstown, WV
(Zone 6a)
August 26, 2009
05:47 AM Post #6989395
| Potagere thanks, I can't remember what it is...I unfortunately didn't get a tag w/ it. But it was nearly dead when I got it. I do know that it is a perennial.
|
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
06:10 AM Post #6989427
| Oh, too bad! I does look like a scabiosa, as woofie said, but I've never seen one like it! Have you ever saved seeds from it? |
Highmtn
Cliff Dweller, WA
(Zone 8b)
August 26, 2009
10:07 AM Post #6990110
| I have a VERY STEEP back yard. The only flat spot is where the the drain field runs for the septic tank (no planting there!). We do have many beautiful old Cedar trees (which I would never cut down), but they have depleted the soil to death (not to mention they are water mongers). Make a new bed and amended up nice...and once you start watering (in about 2 months) it's choked full of Loofah like tangled feeler roots from the trees.
I'm saving my pennies to have the back yard terraced with raised beds and small gravel paths so I can grow veggies there. Dang...if it's been raining and the grass is wet I have crashed and burned out there more then once!
What I wouldn't give for a FLAT level back yard! The trade off is I have an unobstructed water view of Canada which is gorgeous. I just never thought the back yard would be such a HUGE frustration. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
11:09 AM Post #6990337
| Highmtn,
I'd've guessed that a name like "Cliff Dweller" would have been the first clue! But I know what you mean. I have a steep back yard, as well. The only flat space is down at the bottom, and my neighbour's hazelnut trees spread their roots in and suck up all my moisture and nutrients. On top of it all, a hill that was easily climable 14 times a day 5 years ago is now a pain just a couple of times; especially when the weather is hot, as it has been lately.
So, where, exactly, IS "Cliff Dweller, WA"? I can't find it on any map, but I'm thinking along the edge of the Peninsula, where I once almost bought "cliff dweller" property! |
sasha10
Como
Italy
(Zone 8b)
August 26, 2009
12:29 PM Post #6990626
| Spider mites recently killed half my impatiens(the other half survived with heavy treatment, but for the others it was too late) aswell as mealy bugs which attack my citrus plants every year. Luckily I found a treatment in the shop for them. We have a silk tree in the garden which is heavily infested with little insects. |
MaryE
Baker City, OR
(Zone 5b)
August 26, 2009
12:33 PM Post #6990641
| Hot, summers with only brief thundershowers for rain maybe once a month, and then not enough to help, cold dry winters, lots of wind all year, and hordes of grasshoppers! On the plus side, I have an unlimited supply of manure, lots of sun, and water available from a spring and a well. It's still the best place I have ever gardened, just has a different set of challenges. |
woofie
Chewelah, WA
(Zone 5a)
August 26, 2009
01:17 PM Post #6990776
| Potagere, check out the picture in the PF of scabiosa caucasica.
|
holeth
Lehigh Valley, PA
(Zone 6a)
August 26, 2009
02:52 PM Post #6991093
| in an apt! 5yrs, going on 6! SPACE, SPACE, SPACE! ...and budget, which is why we don't have a house with said space.
How much you ask?
I was happy in a row home: (2 yards, each 14 ft sq, fences for vines).
I could manage up to 6 acres with right equipment: (former job - did it b4 can do it again).
I wouldn't want much more than that! |
music2keep
Peterstown, WV
(Zone 6a)
August 26, 2009
03:49 PM Post #6991278
| Potagere, I only got it this year from the 'good ol' boys', but I'll see if I can get some seeds...
|
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
03:53 PM Post #6991289
| I saw that, woofie, but when I check my local seed catalogs, THEIR S. caucasica look nothing like that photo!! |
Katlian
Carson City, NV
(Zone 6b)
August 26, 2009
04:07 PM Post #6991345
| I voted time but it's really all of the above. Of course, if I had all the space I want it would require more time and money and water and have more bugs and weeds and I still wouldn't get to plant the lovely tender things I really want to grow.
Lately I have an extra day to work on the garden each month but that's only because my employer is suffering from lack of cash flow and can't afford to pay us as much. But an extra day off in the middle of the week is rather nice. |
Pillita
Keystone Heights, FL
(Zone 8b)
August 26, 2009
04:20 PM Post #6991393
| I don't know that the word climate completely covers it. We live on a sandhill and it is - you guessed it - sand. And even when I finally get a handle on the sand, we still have too much sun, too much heat and not enough rain. (On the plus side, though, we have no slugs, snails, japanese beetles, roly-polys, voles, or gophers.) Still, though, it's worth every minute. |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
04:47 PM Post #6991483
| All these comments about not enough rain from places that get LOTS more than we do. How do the native plants cope? |
cedar18
Lula, GA
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
05:38 PM Post #6991657
| dparsons, I think the problem is that we are spoiled from years of "more rain than lately" so our gardens reflect the adequate rain of years in the past. Now, we have a traditional drought every summer, and sometimes more often. So we aren't prepared!! |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
06:26 PM Post #6991836
| I know what our problem is cedar18. We've planted plants that want lots more water than we normally get (lawns for example) and then decided we didn't have enough water for everyone to do that. We normally get 8.5 inches a year. I look at a place like Florida that gets 40 to 60 inches a year depending on the specific spot in the state. I just wonder how you plant things that want more unless you are growing Orchids. I suppose if you live on a high spot of Florida sand then perhaps the drainage will leave you wanting more water. |
Pillita
Keystone Heights, FL
(Zone 8b)
August 26, 2009
08:34 PM Post #6992215
| If we had actual soil here, we probably would do fine with the water that we get. There are places in this very county, like my workplace, that stay wet for days after a rain. Unfortunately with sand, it's here and gone, leaving it dry two days later. I understand that nature's purpose for the sandhills are to replenish the aquifers. Sandhills were, as I've learned, the "worthless" land according to Florida settlers. I guess we all learn to cope as best we can with what we have and there is always someone down the road who has it worse. I was in no way implying that my situation was better or worse than anyone else's. My drought is microscopic compared to some parts of the country this year. It is just my habit to examine both sides of the coin.
Native plants have tremendous taproots and thrive. Low water plants (except for a few succulent that have received too much water) do reasonably well. I've got some fantastic Agave and Aloe. I've learned to handle average water plants with heavy mulch and a lot of soil amendments. It's just the high water tropical beauties like Elephant Ear and gingers that my mother brought here when she moved in with us which still elude me. I don't make a plant purchase without considering proper placement in regards to sun/shade and water, so it's not that I'm being foolish or careless in my plant choices. I'm just learning that I'll have to grow okra and peas instead of corn. |
Pughbear7
Tulsa, OK
(Zone 6b)
August 26, 2009
09:10 PM Post #6992344
| space ...is there ever enough space...of course followed by time and energy..LOL |
Peter_Paul
Reston, VA
(Zone 7a)
August 26, 2009
10:43 PM Post #6992777
| Space - I'm currently gardening on a 60-sq.ft balcony in Virginia, large planters, shelves & flowerpots everywhere, and my collection of hardy orchids, Sarracenias and botanical irises is out of control. Climate challenge comes second, specifically the humidity creating a blight of damp-off among the irises, Kniphofias and more this year.
Oh well, everything changes - a few years ago I gardened 3/4 acre in Ireland - zone 10, cool wet summers, could grow loads of awesome plants but the weeds grew even faster and I had to surrender half the garden to willows, blackberries and nettles for the wildlife. It's all a continuous learning experience, with lots of enjoyment and some disappointments along the way. |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 26, 2009
10:46 PM Post #6992786
| I bet you could grow a number of herbs and Mediterranean type plants Pillita. |
ptilda
Spooner, WI
August 26, 2009
11:09 PM Post #6992882
| Deer! And Slugs...
I made a home-made concoction for foliar nematodes on my hostas, consisting of mint mouthwash, dish soap, vinegar and peroxide, and I've started spraying it on everything because it seems to keep deer & slugs down too. |
mothermole
Deer Park, IL
(Zone 5b)
August 27, 2009
02:41 AM Post #6993202
| WEEDS!!!
|
Pillita
Keystone Heights, FL
(Zone 8b)
August 27, 2009
07:37 AM Post #6993454
| We do have a rosemary bush that is three feet tall and four feet across... |
LindaCA
Concord, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 27, 2009
10:36 AM Post #6993939
| I put not enough space because I want to grow absolutely everything. Veggies, trees (fruit and otherwise) flowers, vines, I want 1 or 2 of everything and I have 1/3 of an acre.
Time is also an important factor. I still work full time with an hour commute each way. My garden and I live for weekends.lol. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 27, 2009
01:12 PM Post #6994627
| Pillita, that Rosemary must smell heavenly when you brush up against it; that's a big herb plant! Do you remember what variety it is? |
Pillita
Keystone Heights, FL
(Zone 8b)
August 27, 2009
01:25 PM Post #6994667
| My mom brought it with her and she was not in the practice of keeping tags. Never bloomed for either one of us, so no clues there. It is a wonderful scent, but unfortunately it's right next to a large lantana which, to me, has a very stinky smell. So, I don't get one without the other and they definitely cancel each other out. |
OutsidePlaying
Laceys Spring, AL
(Zone 7a)
August 27, 2009
01:57 PM Post #6994792
| DEER!! Never been a bad problem until this year. Of course weeds are a problem, especially with the amount of rain we've had this year, but we soldier on with the weeds. I've sprayed the deer repellant every week for over a month to keep them from eating everything, including green tomatoes, but missed last weekend because we were out of town. They must have had a party because all my green tomatoes were gone except for one and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Okra was mowed down and so were the beans and new squash plants. My garden wasn't worth the time and $$ put into it this year, but the deer really enjoyed themselves.
|
Pamgarden
Central, VA
(Zone 7b)
August 27, 2009
02:55 PM Post #6995003
| I vote 'all of the above at one time or another'. The other morning DH, Meiko our kitty, and I were sitting out, enjoying a cup of tea and admiring the garden in the early morning sunlight. A lovely picture, yes? Well we were dressed in long sleeves and pants with rubber bands at the ankles (remember this is August), socks annointed with Deep Woods Off, and an incense burner wafting scented smoke, all to stave off the clouds of misquitos that have plagued us this year. I guess it's all the rain we've had. The corker is, a skunk came waddling across the grass, paid no notice whatsoever to us, and disappeared under our deck. OMG! We looked at one another, open mouthed and big eyed (Meiko's eyes were closed so she didn't see a thing, thank goodness), and immediately ran in the house leaving tea cups and incense pot where they sat. We did take Meiko in. Now every time I go out there I'm afraid of meeting up with Mr. (or Ms.) Skunk. Eeeeewwww. |
dottyjojo
Tipton, MO
August 27, 2009
04:15 PM Post #6995209
| Weather, too hot, too cold, too windy, too muddy, too dry. The wind is a big nuisance, it snaps our storm door open, breaks the closure with me hanging onto the door and sends me spinning outside. Not good on tender plants either here in central Missouri.
Planted eggplants four times this year, husband did two of them--still nothing. We had torrential rains and the poor tomato plants were washed out of their beds and into the walkway--then the grass came, the sturdy kind--I call it July grass which was trying to strangle the tomatoes before I was able to pull it. The onions gave up and the beets refuse to grow. I'm getting ready to plant lettuce and radishes, hope they do okay.
The time that we've invested in gardening makes me wonder why we do it. Guess it could be two Carolina Cross watermelons growing in the garden, they keep getting bigger each day. If one reaches 100 pounds we're going to have a watermelon party.
|
gardenlady123
Plainwell, MI
(Zone 5b)
August 27, 2009
07:38 PM Post #6995788
| I just wish I had more room... Maybe double the space would be great. But then i would have to vote not enough money! So I enjoy the space I do have and pack in the plants. Ronna |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
August 27, 2009
10:32 PM Post #6996357
| Wow a lot to take in...
I agree with Gloria, Lasagna gardening works if you have crap soil. You can put one on top of rock even. I know, I have the worst soil in the world and the article from PARSONS WAS GREAT, worth further experimentation. As in lasagna gardening, you could start now, but it won't happen over night, but it could happen soon in one area. If you put the cardboard and straw down now in several layers, add those dreaded, soon to fall leaves to it, Voila, by later winter(especially if it is wet, you should be ready to plant some stuff in your first bed.)
The weeds are a tough problem, but I know a great trick if you are prone to liking weed cloth for some areas or paths. It is that rolled roofing paper. If you get the thicker grade, it really last a long, long time, but the cheaper stuff, still works. Then put wood chips etc over it.
My dogs run on it and it gets sprinkler water and nothing, no weeds get through either. Even in a flower bed or planted bed, you can use it in strips that you tear to keep weeds out in between.
Now that I solved your issues let me say, my yard and climate suck and seem overwhelmingly hopeless sometimes with all the obstacles. Time is the enemy. A lot of the solutions take a long time and money or work...uh oh and more time...Did I mention time?
The woman who's husband won't let her plant more than two more patches in the yard. I feel for you, my husband is that way inside. I miss my x husband's, Do what ever you want with the house and yard, just leave me out of it" attitude. That is all I miss though. |
valleylynn
Dallas, OR
(Zone 8b)
August 27, 2009
10:36 PM Post #6996369
| I'm there with the vote for weeds. It is getting better the longer we have lived here though. |
Loligo
Murphysboro, IL
(Zone 6b)
August 27, 2009
11:09 PM Post #6996509
| Time is definitely the challenge! Our yard isn't fenced in, and if I take my wild toddler outside with me, he heads off for parts unknown the minute my back is turned! When his older sister was his age, she was already interested in helping me with the plants, but he just wants to smash things and endanger himself. Typical boy ;-D. |
missingrosie
Hillsborough, NC
August 27, 2009
11:22 PM Post #6996535
| I automatically thought - the deer! the rabbits! and the solution - add color through (hopefully not too many) garden ornaments...
but I have changed my mind... my biggest obstacle to doing what I want to do is physical strength and stamina. I don't manage the heat as well... I can't dig for as long or cart things across the yard like I used to be able to do.
I just poop out. It causes great anxiety and frustration because there are a million things to do... I can truly find the time... I just ain't up to the task. oh woe is me... (snort!) |
yardqueen1948
Emory, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 28, 2009
12:40 AM Post #6996692
| I voted other, because so far I have enough space. Pests are not a big problem...no large ones anyway, just a few catapillars, ocasional aphids or mealy bigs. Money is not a problem. We're in texas so we have a nice long growing season, but the heat does make watering more necessary rexulting in a $200 water bill last month. We are retired so we have enough time.
My biggest gardening challenge is I am continually aquiring too many plants. And I show no sign of stopping. I plant a lot of seeds, mostly wintersowing. I propagate through cuttings, I trade seeds and plants on Dave's and I STILL buy more! I keep saying I will quit, cut down... Uh... And I also keep giving them away to anyone who comes near our place. No one leaves here without at least a few pots! It seems though that for every plant I give away I have 2 or 3 more coming in!
Plants. anyone? |
ptooming
Titusville, FL
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2009
01:40 AM Post #6996776
| I voted space because when we bought this 55 year old home a little over a year ago it looked pretty open and workable.
Only .18 of an acre but that is some what typical in Fl in town.
Then as soon as I started to divide up areas for beds and purchased plants online and made all these plans then I started to dig, or rather I should say I tried to dig. My husband came home to find me close to tears in the yard, I had removed yards and yards of sand 3 inches deep from on top of all the coquina rock that had been used as pavers from fenceline to fenceline covering what seems to be every inch of the back yard, now our first tool when making room for a vine along the ugly fence is a sludge hammer...cool roots warm tops, I must say I have beautiful vines. My wonderful husband removed the rest of the 3 inchs of sand covering the coquina rock of coarse set in with concrete many years ago, he had a 5 yard truck bring in soil one day I came home to all the plans I had made in above ground beds on top of the rock, there is a benefit to marrying a master carpenter who doesn't want to see you cry as you throw a shovel across the yard in disgust...LOL Now 1 1/2 years later I have the startings of beautiful gardens even he is amused with. |
nanny_56
Putnam County, IN
(Zone 5b)
August 28, 2009
09:25 AM Post #6997286
| Space, space, space... and a DH who thinks one must have a lawn!!
Would love to have 2-5 acres to just do and plant whatever I want...*sigh* |
dixiegril
Jesup, GA
August 28, 2009
12:02 PM Post #6997795
| Job, grand kids, house work and husband. It gets crazy at times. Some times it seems as though theres not enough hours in the day. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2009
12:44 PM Post #6997934
| ptooming--- Hey, you gave me such a good idea, you know, the shovel? Maybe if I wait till my husband & at least one teenage son are home, I can throw my shovel across the yard, my sweat mixed with tears, and one of them will come running out and help!...but how do you know when someone is looking out the window? |
Overwhelmed
North Olmsted, OH
August 28, 2009
02:06 PM Post #6998271
| Too much shade and then too much sun. We have many big trees in our yard and the surrounding neighbors yards so I planted Hostas which did very well. Then one of the neighbors cut her tree down and all of a sudden there was too much sun - fried all of my hostas. I am constantly moving plants around. |
Aunt_A
Tulsa, OK
August 28, 2009
02:14 PM Post #6998321
| 1.) Clay soil (Think Frankoma Pottery!)
2.) Weeds that grow to China in stupid clay soil
3.) Time to remedy the above
4.) Rain: Too much and too little
5.) Weather: 100 to 108 for ~ 2 months
Mix all that together in one big bowl and dump in on your plants. Unless they are tough and hardy, forget about 'em.
I have this clay soil junk that is goopy when wet and rock solid when the 100 degree temps make pottery (complete with huge cracks).
Why do weeds still like to grow when my sweet plants do not. I just love Crepe Mrytles; they can take the abuse Oklahoma dishes out.
Rain, rain, rain...when it arrives, it usually provides gully washers with flash floods, hail and tornados. When it does not, our plants have adjusted to the gully washers and they are starved for water and could use water at least 2 times a day. People and businesses with beautiful plants in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area use way too much water in July, Aug, Sept every year. Crazy fluctuations in the amount of rain cause many problems.
What can you do when the rain has stopped but the sun continues to boil dirt?
Sigh...I loved the soil we had in Upstate NY; dark black, rich, full. The plants begged to be tucked into that soil. I don't miss the lake effect snow that helped make that beautiful soil great.
LOL
Oh...why
| Quoted: |
I keep hearing how important "manicured lawns" are to American men.
Why is that?
|
I think somebody sold somebody a bill of goods and the Americans believed it. Perhaps it is pride. Perhaps it is "if my yard looks perfect, people will think I have the perfect family". Perhaps it is winning the neighborhood perfect yard contest. Perhaps it is looking like you are keeping up with the "Joneses". Perhaps it is a control issue. Perhaps it is good advertising by the people that stand to make the most money by all the products that are sold to manicure the lawn.
LOL; my yard would not win any contest. |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
August 28, 2009
02:36 PM Post #6998419
| Like a lot of you, my biggest problem is WEEDS! It's a constant battle! Acquiring new plants isnt a problem--there are always plenty of generous DGers who are willing to share what they have. Probably at least 50% or more of the plants in my gardens have come from DGers! Also, like some of you, my aging body is a problem, along with our Arkansas summertime heat. I have to get outside in the gardens very early in the morning or late in the evening. It's much too hot in the middle of the day to work outside.We also have fire ants here. I'm thinking of hiring a professional to deal with them--they seem to be multiplying exponentially!
This message was edited Aug 28, 2009 9:05 PM |
hummer_girl
Saint Louis, MO
(Zone 6a)
August 28, 2009
02:44 PM Post #6998446
| 5 fenced acres so I don't have the horrible children (and their 2 dogs) who presently live next door trying to destroy everything I plant. A kicked ball hit the pickup truck last night, and broke part of my Toad Lily the night before. The Toad Lily is just coming into bloom, and it will take the broken part of the plant a year to recover. Me? I am tired of trying to talk to parents and children who have no respect for other peoples property. Their dogs have actually jumped into my raised beds! |
Pillita
Keystone Heights, FL
(Zone 8b)
August 28, 2009
02:48 PM Post #6998457
| Sure wish I could all of the people who voted for weeds. I don't mind it at all, but don't see too many job openings for weeders! |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 28, 2009
03:16 PM Post #6998541
| Dogs (and people) that don't respect boundaries can be a problem. You might consider reporting them to animal control hummer_girl. |
dahlianut
Calgary, AB
(Zone 3a)
August 28, 2009
03:20 PM Post #6998553
| Damien the Spawn of Satan Tree Rat. He is immortal and truly evil. |
NancySLAZ
Sun Lakes, AZ
(Zone 9b)
August 28, 2009
03:57 PM Post #6998650
| Climate for sure. I live in the Phoenix Area with hot, hot summers day and night. No rain or humidity because we've had no monsoons. Of course the soil is poor with caliche and the water we do have is very salty and hard on the poor plants that do survive. That's about it! |
holeth
Lehigh Valley, PA
(Zone 6a)
August 28, 2009
04:46 PM Post #6998819
| tree rats? There is only one way to deal with squirrels, similar to martial art techniques: take their existing momentum and follow through to use it against them.
The squirrels aren't going away. If you trap a few, the neighbors will move into the new territory. I suggest baffles, rubberized "hardware cloth" (nice term for chicken wire), and a diversion: I had a hinged metal box full of nuts-in-shell or other large seeds. Other folks prefer various corn impalements.
I kept my costs down: I'd sweep up acorns or black walnuts in season. I gleaned feed-cornfields (post harvest - lookup gleaning - protected right in some states). When the furry buggers planted sunflowers, I'd let them grow if they were in a spot that wasn't terribly out of whack, then I fed 'em the seed-heads. They also enjoyed apple cores, peach pits, cherry stones, pumpkin & mellon seeds, etc. |
dahlianut
Calgary, AB
(Zone 3a)
August 28, 2009
04:50 PM Post #6998831
| Ah the gluttony torture. Very sneaky holeth. |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
August 28, 2009
07:11 PM Post #6999235
| RAIN...RAIN...go away. Don't come back another day.
most of my garden rotted away. the ground turned black. YUK
and for August 29-30...lows of 49-51? whats up with that!
I want my summer back. |
ptooming
Titusville, FL
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2009
07:43 PM Post #6999377
| Well petalpants:
As it was I had hundreds of dollars worth of plants begging for me to have a a couple of days off so they could be tended too. When that day came my Honey decided he had some time to himself and went swap shopping for Motorcycle parts an all day chore I hate, but it rocks his boat!!! so after many hours when he came home and saw the mess I had made large piles of worthless sand everywhere and the mess I discovered all these huge rocks set and concreted in, he felt really bad he knew how badly I needed to have a garden. It took about a week but he helped out in the "NEED" department this doesn't often happen mind you. I most often have to cry, sweat and maybe draw a bit of blood before the point hits home.
You can try throwing your gloves at the window when some walks by when they look start pitching a major crying fit whine a little...it helps really I know this for sure. Then when they come out explain what you need done, excuse yourself to the bathroom get some drinks and lavish them with "my goodness I have the greatest boys" I wish you would help more often I adore your company, just keep stroking...LOL |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2009
09:21 PM Post #6999713
| Oh, ptooming--- You are so cleverly deceitful...I love that idea! Thanks! =) |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2009
09:34 PM Post #6999766
| Aunt_A (from Tulsa): I have relatives in OK., & when growing up we went to visit almost every Summer for 1-2 weeks; I Believe you when you say it's hot; I actually think it's worse than S.TX, depending on Who gets rain! One Summer while up there playing with my cousins, we wandered to the street, and the asphalt was actually melting---and the black, gooey stuff was hot and stuck to our bare feet! ( Frankoma pottery---my Mom had a whole set of those dishes; we used them the whole time I was growing up; they were greenish, and durable.) |
Aunt_A
Tulsa, OK
August 29, 2009
12:58 AM Post #7000382
| Petalpants,
Frankoma was made with this wonderful??? Oklahoma soil that eats foundations and plants for dinner. They went out of business not to long ago but started back up again. The originals might be valuable some day. LOL
|
susan505
Roswell, NM
(Zone 6a)
August 29, 2009
11:55 AM Post #7001349
| Mine was no of the about but its really all of them plus bad soil and water. Have ph of 7.1 to 8.9 in the soil and our water is sodaie, not sure if thats a word, it taste like and test like you took a glass of good water and put a cup of baking soda in it. Makes it hard to get things to grow so my yard is the servival of the fittest. Susan |
ericabelle
West Plains, MO
(Zone 6b)
August 29, 2009
11:55 AM Post #7001350
| HARD RED CLAY AND ROCKY SOIL! Plus, we live on sloping ground, and the upper side of the hill is very dry and the lower side is very wet. Raised beds and amending the in-ground beds have been our solution - more laborious, but worth it to be able to enjoy a garden! |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 29, 2009
05:03 PM Post #7002197
| marsue has edited me out!!!
The story of my life!
Potagere |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
August 29, 2009
05:06 PM Post #7002211
| LOL, Potagere!!--I thought maybe I had embarrassed you with my marriage proposal!! LOL
edited to add: Hey! I just noticed that we are in the same zone! How cool is that?!!
This message was edited Aug 29, 2009 4:09 PM |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 29, 2009
05:19 PM Post #7002261
| Well, you know how those zones go! Even the G-zone seems to be "negotiable"!
Dmail may be mre appropriate.
What do you think?
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
August 29, 2009
06:26 PM Post #7002474
| Oh that Corgy is so cute.
Stop flirting you two. This is all about us day. Your day is next month on the 31st.
Soda water, yuck, but I relate to the rich mineral bath, not working well for the plants. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 29, 2009
06:49 PM Post #7002529
| Not too many recognize a corgi
Beyond that, I'll admit that most of your post
left me in the dark.
Potagere |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
August 29, 2009
09:36 PM Post #7003038
| Were you referring to Halloween, hellnzn11? If so, that is in Oct.--Sept. has just 30 days. --and, just for the record, I wasn't flirting--just making a joke--certainly didn't mean to offend anyone. :o)) |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 29, 2009
09:37 PM Post #7003042
| it's finding a place to put my gun while i dig that prevents me from doing my best work. it's not fashionable to wear gun holsters these days. so what is one to do? lol. |
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 29, 2009
09:39 PM Post #7003050
| Do you shoot the weeds? |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 29, 2009
09:44 PM Post #7003066
| lol. not really. ol potagere up there just thought all texans had guns. and i 'aim' to please. |
docgipe
NORTH CENTRAL PENNSY, PA
(Zone 5a)
August 29, 2009
09:47 PM Post #7003077
| Animals...deer, bear, turkey, rabbits, groundhogs, squirrel, chippies, mice, voles and skeeters so large they have a town meeting to discuss who they will eat next and if to do it where the person is or drag him home where they fear the really big ones would eat the find first.
Oh me oh my...I use lots of organic controls, fencing, have a heart traps, leg hold traps, deadfalls, snares and a very quiet Model 9 Beeman one break pellet gun. I feel the proper place for deer is venison right beside the mashed tatters, bear makes great saussage to go with the aigs. The rest are fine to eat but I could never eat away our problems...not ever. I do what I have to do to keep things in ballance. Our whole family harvests and eats what we take. We live by the reasoning that...sometimes we eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats us. Yes I am speaking of a surburban back yard. I have no neighbors that help either with the exception of a few road kills. |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 29, 2009
10:21 PM Post #7003213
| Normally our only disadvantage to growing outside is our excessive amount of wind every day of the year. This year we are still in a drought, so it is impossible to do anything but try and keep plants alive...forget making them pretty! Not a drop of rain since January. |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
August 29, 2009
11:40 PM Post #7003476
| OK, this went a rye somewhere. I was just joking because you said:
marsue has edited me out!!!
The story of my life!
Potagere
LOL, Potagere!!--I thought maybe I had embarrassed you with my marriage proposal!! LOL
Hey! I just noticed that we are in the same zone! How cool is that?!! So I said:
"Stop flirting you two", (as a joke, as you were also joking.) I was just making a joke that we are all here too, because Potagere said that you should more appropriately send a dmail. I said, in agreement, meant as a joke, "This is all about us day. Your day is next month on the 31st." (Just another bad presented joke because there is no Sept. 31st, so it was not going to be your day either.
this comment was for Susan who said;
"Mine was no of the about but its really all of them plus bad soil and water. Have ph of 7.1 to 8.9 in the soil and our water is sodaie, not sure if thats a word, it taste like and test like you took a glass of good water and put a cup of baking soda in it. Makes it hard to get things to grow so my yard is the survival of the fittest."
I forgot to say this comment was for Susan.
Now that we got that straight and acknowledge that my humor does not translate well on screen... Carry on with you guys and your yard issues. |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 30, 2009
01:39 AM Post #7003714
| hellzn11...did you move? |
kathymac
Citrus Heights, CA
(Zone 9b)
August 30, 2009
03:34 AM Post #7003794
| Definitely not enough time! Work 8-5 M-F, one hour commute each way. So far, i only have a container garden on the patio and a couple of big planter boxes out front, all of which I have to water before and after work (during the summer) . The rest of my gardening gets done on the weekends-weeding, deadheading, fertilizing, etc. Next spring I plan on doing raised beds in the front yard...will need to find time to do that...and enlist the help of dh, son, and a couple of friends...with the bribery of plenty of food and beer!!! |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 30, 2009
06:57 AM Post #7003881
| Morning, All!
marsue and I were just foolin' around! I hope we didn't offend anyone!
hellnzn11, I was really confused, so thanks for the clarification. Conan thinks you're really cool because you know he's a Corgi! People are always coming up and asking what he is!
mamajack, I'm sure not coming around your place unless I know you're weeding and not packing!
Potagere
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 30, 2009
10:07 AM Post #7004273
| When people ask, "What is he?", why don't you reply, "A dog". |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 30, 2009
10:41 AM Post #7004383
| potagere, you are a great wit. how is it that you speak english so well? |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 30, 2009
10:56 AM Post #7004429
| Mother tongue!
Je suis Americain! |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 30, 2009
11:07 AM Post #7004460
| y'are? where are you from? i bet you're a closet texan. lol. |
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 30, 2009
11:10 AM Post #7004472
| I'll be he's from the northeast - maybe Boston? |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 30, 2009
11:14 AM Post #7004494
| bah-stun! y'think? |
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 30, 2009
11:26 AM Post #7004551
| We'll find out. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 30, 2009
11:41 AM Post #7004607
| Scintillatin' Spokane! |
CapeCodGardener
Mid-Cape, MA
(Zone 7a)
August 30, 2009
11:53 AM Post #7004636
| Just saw this hilarious thread (been away for a couple weeks at family weddings.)
I find it interesting that there is no really clear "winner" as to which is the greatest challenge to gardening, though lack of time and lack of space are in the forefront. But it seems like we all have our horticultural challenges, some of us multiple (like me: pests, soil, and climate. And don't even get me started on fungus diseases this summer!) Yet we keep on keeping on. Two questions: are gardeners masochists? ;-)
Would we ever feel we had achieved just want we wanted in our gardens and had no further challenges? I know I wouldn't. |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
August 30, 2009
02:13 PM Post #7005100
| is wanting 'more' being a masochists? (ohhhh we said 'masochists' on DG ;)
( haha,why is everyone pointing to me? ) =)
then to answer your questionsCapeCod... Yes.
and Heck No. but look at what we DID accomplish this year.
thats why I want more.
and ohhhh...i just love it when Jim speaks français |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 30, 2009
02:54 PM Post #7005261
| Merci, Phyl, ma petite chou! Voulez vous faire le jardinage avec moi ce soir? |
pirl
Southold, NY
(Zone 7a)
August 30, 2009
03:07 PM Post #7005308
| Maybe she'll "Tiptoe through the Tulips" with you. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 30, 2009
04:31 PM Post #7005567
| Ha, French, huh? Well, I may be Texan, but I think Jim just said something like, "Thank you, my little lady, would you like to go in the garden with me this evening?", or something like that! It's been 30 years or so since my one year of college-French ( just in case I ever got to go to Paris, I thought!), and never did...I've forgotten most of it, since I never used it after taking the course! I had 2 years of Spanish in High School, & learned it better, but don't use it much either, although down here you really need to know it. I just like the fluency of French; it just sounds so romantic, don't you agree, ladies? When I get to use my husband's truck with the Satellite radio, I turn it to that Canadian station that has a mixture of English & French songs; my teenagers think I'm crazy since I don't know what they're singing about, but I just say, "Oh, it's gotta be a Love song!" Ha!! =) ...oh, yeah, Gardening woes... yes, they're awful, aren't they? |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
August 30, 2009
06:43 PM Post #7005942
| not enough sun! |
dparsons01
Albuquerque, NM
(Zone 7b)
August 30, 2009
06:44 PM Post #7005944
| Masochists? I think no. I think gardening is about creating something. Masochism is just pain for no purpose outside of itself. |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
August 30, 2009
09:26 PM Post #7006456
| Sometimes I think I am a masochist when I am out pulling weeds and the sweat is pouring down my face, neck and back and my hair is wringing wet! Who else but a crazy gardener would do that to themselves on purpose when it's 90F in the shade and the humidity is off the charts!! Oh, I forgot--the purpose is to have a weed-free flower bed! I guess that isn't masochism, after all--
Sweat with a purpose--that's it! Oh, wait--Southern ladies don't sweat--we "glow"!
Carrie: in my yard it's too much sun, not enough shade.
Petalpants: I agree--French does sound romantic--even if I don't understand more than a couple of words. :o)) |
birder17
Jackson, MO
(Zone 6b)
August 30, 2009
10:02 PM Post #7006633
| My biggest problem is a disability. Dermatomyositis is an autoimmune disease that attacks one's muscles and skin.
I can hardly get back up after pulling weeds because my muscles are weak. I have to garden when it's sprinkling/raining out, or very over cast, or early in the am or late evening when the sun shine is very weak. The disease attacks the skin as well and makes the skin extremely sensitive to the sun. If I'm in strong sun 15 minutes, I will burn. If I get too much sun, it makes me sick like I have the flu. I love gardening, being outside, nature, birds, butterflies and I cannot make my disease get the best of me. I would like to get more involved in helping others, volunteering etc. but I never know when I am going to have a bad day.
Weeds are a big problem here as well. I use some landscaping fabric and that has helped a lot.
The soil here has a lot of clay. Composting is great, but it's hard to do.
Squash bugs seem to eat everything including tomatoes.
We have a simple irrigation system and that has helped a lot.
I am starting to use more native plants/shrubs because of limitations, but I am really enjoying and appreciating the natives and the birds really like them!
|
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 30, 2009
11:12 PM Post #7006954
| PETAL good seeing a fellow texan here. where do you keep your gun?
POTAGERE...the pnw. why are you in france?
and yall just continue on with the topic at hand and never mind me. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 31, 2009
09:25 AM Post #7007968
| Mamajack: Ha! Well, to be truthful, did you say 'gun' as in only One?? No, we have more than one, don't ya'll?--- after all, we live in Texas! You know, some are for hunting and some are for protection against intruders...but we don't keep them in a gun cabinet, like on that old 'Bonanza' show; ours are kept put up, but handy---till they are needed. I don't usually carry one while out in the yard gardening, however, as holsters get in my way while weeding! And I generally would just rather use a 4-10 Rifle, but you know, rifles are like having to carry an extra shovel around--- kinda long, and you don't want your rifle to get wet! So I venture out in my yard weaponless, Ha!! Cannot think of where Fate is located at in TX.; is it out in the middle of nowhere, or a suburb of a city? And where did they get that Name for the town?! =) |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
August 31, 2009
09:59 AM Post #7008119
| Long story, mamajack.
Short version: Ms Marta works for the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, just across the border. |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
August 31, 2009
08:41 PM Post #7010469
| lol...petal you are girl after my own heart. fate WAS in the middle of nowhere until a couple of years ago. now we have 2 HOA housing developments in our midst. whoo pee.
potagere...and is ms marta your wife? and a un worker? how exciting. yall got one of those secret ubs accounts? i don't. hehe
yall answer back and then we prob. need to quit talking on the voting thread. i have to say that on just about every thread i get on. so sorry. |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 01, 2009
12:18 AM Post #7011448
| haaaaaaaaa i'm still laughing over my petite...muuuuahhhh Jim
i love hearing the language even ive forgotten more than i ever knew about it.
marsue...in this part of the south, us su'thern wem'un don't sweat...we glisten ;)
oh man...i'm fighting back the urge to say we don't spit either. ; o
ok. climate and weeds and sweat. and DEER!!! and racoons eating my corn.
|
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
September 01, 2009
11:44 AM Post #7012876
| When gardening in S.TX., ladies, you 'glow' when you walk out to your garden; you 'glisten' for 2 minutes in the sun; after that you 'Sweat', period. |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
September 01, 2009
08:36 PM Post #7015006
|
See, we don't even have to pull those weeds, cuz if'n the glistenin', glowin' and sweatin' falling down on the weeds don't kill them, the spit'n surely will! We southern 'wimmin' are a tough breed! LOL |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
September 04, 2009
02:20 AM Post #7024221
| Nobody offended me, sorry it took me so long to get back. I have been burning the candle at both ends uhg!
I hope I did not offend anyone. My humor needs to be in person so you can see facial expressions and voice fluctuation.
Hey Potagere, I don't know but I think that was a song. Who knew they were singing about Gardening adventures?
I used to have a 1/2 French bulldog and 1/2 Corgy and my friend had a Cardigan, so I love the breed. My h does not have the same attraction, but they are great.
We are total gluttons for punishment and this whole thing could be it's own Support Group thread, in itself. The Martyr Thread. Not sure if I spelled it right, I am on IE. lol |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
September 04, 2009
08:01 AM Post #7024542
| Oh, good, helln, glad to hear that--and we can put it behind us! :o))
Somebody "up there" on this thread said we needed to get back to voting but, hey what would DG be if we couldn't do a little talking, too--okay, a lot of talking! LOL However, I'm still voting for those big, bad weeds as being the worst problem in my garden!! (or maybe it's my aging body that is the problem!) |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 04, 2009
08:33 AM Post #7024599
| I could be wrong, but I think that since The Voting Booth has moved on to a new topic, we can probably chat here!
Helln, I think the words to that song were a bit more risque. Check out this link to "Lady Marmalade"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfgHzBfZ1zE&feature=fvw
1/2 Corgi and 1/2 French Bulldog?!?!? That must have been an interesting looking dog! Can't see why anyone would not love Corgis! They are extremely loyal and affectionate, besides being so cute!
We've taken a sharp left turn towards Autumn this week, so I've been busy "rescuing" tomatoes before the various fungal diseases can get them (I was too late to save my peaches!!!), making sauce, freezing, and just generally trying to stay one step ahead of the season!
Potagere
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
September 05, 2009
01:06 AM Post #7027723
| My dog was odd looking, very odd, looking, like an old horse with a sway back because of the long body.
Gardening is exasperating here and I lose more than I keep, also, everything leafs out but never flowers or rarely. So horrid. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
September 05, 2009
10:30 AM Post #7028249
| I watched part of the video clip that Frenchy-Jim posted; that definitely didn't look like ladies enjoying gardening activities! I watched till one of my teenage boys came into the room, then zipped out of there real quick...Well, that was different, Potagere; I'm more used to country songs! Ha!! Jim, hope you get all your tomatoes preserved in time.
Helln, that kind of dog does sound strange but cute; I guess he had a good personality to make up for it!? Last July we brought home a little terrier puppy from the dog pound; he was so tiny & cute we couldn't resist! The vet told us he's Yorkie & maybe some Maltese; he's blond & white, and now about 7 months old, I named him 'Ziggy'. My oldest son (19) brought home a puppy 6 months ago; he had His dog in his apt., but kept leaving 'Bandit' here when he went to work; then my son moved back home, and so we have this big dog who 'lives up to his name'--- he steals your socks, shoes, underwear, anything he can get & runs with it! My kids keep trying to figure out what kind of dog he is, with short, thick hair, a curly bushy tail, and big eyes that look like he has eyeliner around them!--- my husband says he's just a 'mutt'! Both of these dogs have really good personalities. Before that, we have had several Dalmatians; the last one was like my shadow and died about half a year ago; I still miss her! A long time ago we had an Afghan Hound, and a Llasa-Apso mix Terrier. Dogs definitely become like a member of your family!
Marsue, Helln, Frenchy-Jim, and all: Have a safe and Happy Labor Day weekend! =) |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
September 05, 2009
02:24 PM Post #7028948
| helln...did you move? |
CapeCodGardener
Mid-Cape, MA
(Zone 7a)
September 05, 2009
05:53 PM Post #7029582
|
| Quoted: | | Gardening is exasperating here and I lose more than I keep, also, everything leafs out but never flowers or rarely. So horrid. |
Hellenzn, I'm a former Californian, and I thought that everything in the San Jauquin Valley would be blooming like crazy (not so where I loved in Monterey, with the lack of hot summer sun.)
Is it colder than I realize where you are? |
Bward
Hattiesburg, MS
(Zone 8a)
September 05, 2009
10:26 PM Post #7030664
| Weeds and more weeds and more weeds. and the list could go on and on. |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
September 07, 2009
12:06 AM Post #7034854
| No I wish I was San Juaquin valley climate and soil, but I am in Kern County, on the border of Los Angeles County. I can stand in my town and run across the street and be in the other county. zone 11 Sunset. grrrrr.
You poor thing, living at the beach, let me poke myself in the eye so I can work up a good tear for you. lol |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 08, 2009
12:27 PM Post #7040479
| LOL Hellnzn11...that sounds like something 'Maxine' from all those Hallmark cards would say.
I might have to borrow that one =)
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hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
September 09, 2009
01:29 AM Post #7043152
| lol |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 09, 2009
04:23 PM Post #7045006
| I can't believe that Petalpants only watched part of that video!!!
Some of those ladies were definitely wearing "petalpants"!
N'est c'est pas?
Of course, if you abandoned the video in deference to teenage boys, you may have missed the real "petalpants"!
But, if you're a dedicated "Country" girl, this may be better. Shania does things that I'm not sure you can do in French here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHbdC1U1EaE&feature=fvst
Meanwhile. Mr Conan is contemplating attending the French National Corgi Show again this year. 2 years ago, he was 2nd place in the "Puppy" Class. He didn't go lat year because we were in The States, and this year he's old enough that he'd have to enter "Open Class" with dogs that have won numerous championships. Tough training to compete. And he really is a pet. We're still thinking this one through.
Sorry to hear you lost your dalmatian so recently. It is hard to get over the loss of a long-time companion. We found our Troika crippled by a Russian troop carrier behind the UN Office in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in the last months of the civil war there. We had her for almost 15 years. With her 3 legs, we always got comments --- some not so kind, but she was loyal, loving, and her death left a huge gap in both our hearts. We got Conan because we thought Troika was at least part Corgi.
Well, maybe she wasn't, but getting this dog was one of the best choices we have ever made. He brightens our lives!
We don't have "Labor Day Weekend" here. Hope you all survived it back there!
Jim |
marsue
Cabot, AR
(Zone 7b)
September 10, 2009
10:25 AM Post #7047305
| It's more like "Non-Labor Day"--lol |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
September 10, 2009
12:38 PM Post #7047728
| Marsue, it was 'Labor Day weekend' literally for my husband, as he had to work all 3 days, but my teens were all home. FrenchyJim, I watched Shania's video, but I didn't think it was Too bad in the clothing department; and in fact, I like that song! Her outfit was skimpy, but the other one, Lady Marmalade, just looks really trashy to me...I Did re-watch it awhile ago. We are going to brave the rain tonight and go to a concert that we already have tickets for: Sugarland, and also Billy Curington. We got tickets 2 months ago; and we didn't buy any for our kids--- it's like a Date Nite!! Jim, let us know if you enter Conan in the dog show! We'll be rooting for you if you do! =)
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Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 10, 2009
02:41 PM Post #7048213
| Well, that sounds like fun!
Hope you have a great time!
Never heard Sugarland or Billy Curington, but I'm a Shania Twain fan! |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 11, 2009
12:51 PM Post #7051585
| I LOVE to listen to Sugarland sing but I hate watching her. to me, she is like Celine Dion...way over exagerated when she's singing. imho. lol and I'm an expert. not. They are locals from the Atlanta area. I keep telling my daughter she needs to hang out at the same bar/club where they started singing together. she could sing or sell songs she's written. see, I think she needs to make it big so I can be a roadie. or stage manager, lol anything.
Jim...I can send a sample on yahoo to you if you like. I bet you've heard them.
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Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 14, 2009
09:11 AM Post #7062381
| Oh, no, Phyl!!! Not ANOTHER Celine Dion detractor! I think I may be the only person I know who actually LIKES her! Of course, I've never seen her perform, so maybe that explains something.
Thanks for the offer of sending me a sample, but I did get to hear some of their music on their website. Not bad, in a fairly non-offensive way (about like Celine Dion, perhaps), I'll admit I always preferred my C&W a bit rougher in the style of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, David Allen Coe and early Johnny Cash. I'd never heard Sugarland, as there is a dearth of C&W music over here! |
hellnzn11
Rosamond, CA
(Zone 8b)
September 14, 2009
10:00 PM Post #7065147
| Ok guys, we are going into the outer limits. I like Sugarland too. We have steered off course but as you said, Who cares, everyone else has moved on and stopped watching us.
I just dug up a bunch of plants that were not doing well in the location where they were, so it is sort of exciting to see how they do where they are now. I will probably have to see in Spring though. |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
September 15, 2009
10:35 AM Post #7066626
| potagere is an outlaw country guy. i like your picks. you'd fit right in over here in texas pot. i gotta extra gun you can borrow. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 15, 2009
03:10 PM Post #7067545
| Well, you know, I have this old LP (remember those?) of "Circuit Queen" that Marcia Ball signed in some Austin honky tonk that no longer exists after a long night of line dancing and tequila slammers!
I see that she is going to play in concert in Switzerland in November. I wonder if it would all be the same,
Well, no; no need to wonder.
It wouldn't.
But it could still be fun, don't you think?
When I next get to Texas, I need to check you out, mamajack!
Most of my Texas acquaintances done got just plain casual about holding guns,
and they are old folks, crammed up in the cities, waitin' on Mr Death,
riding the music of their youth, and, all too often, they turn those guns on theyselves.
I was thinking about my garden and all my projects,
And I got a few things yet to do,
Even if they don't earn big points in The Scheme of the Universe.
(For serious gun lovers, I've got a fun tale about shooting guns in PRC China) |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
September 15, 2009
05:10 PM Post #7067948
| Oh, wow, Willie Nelson, we have seen him in concert at least 3 times! His 'whiskey' singing voice is fantastic! ---nothing like him singing, "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", amongst many others; people say He's Old; I say, So what?? We love his singing, and his concerts are long---you definitely get your money's worth. The Sugarland concert was really good, but you know some of the songs cross over to other types, just depends on the song; some are almost like rock. I do like some of the old classic-rock songs also, but for the last 30 yrs. or so it's been Country. Of course, Johnny Cash is a classic, with his deep voice! We have been to see Alan Jackson before, and had close seats; he was great, and better-looking in person! =) And we saw Brad Paisley also, Fantastic, his singing and guitar-playing! ---Have to go, I'm getting all worked up thinking about them, and I'm trying to get over the Flu... (cough, cough!). |
mamajack
Fate, TX
(Zone 8a)
September 15, 2009
07:14 PM Post #7068373
| pot if you drink you some tequila it'll come close to being the same. hehe and you are a poet. but the younguns have guns too. lots of texans are hunters still where there are places left to hunt on. and thank God that texas still has a few places left. when you live around dallas it feels like there is no open space left in the whole world. until you leave. always makes me smile to see...nothing. and serious or not i want to hear the china gun story. |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 16, 2009
12:59 AM Post #7069378
| Oh Jim, I have all her cd's and cried in my beer with many of her songs. (well, cried without the beer) but I simply enjoy hearing her than I do watching her sing. i think it got worse after she started doing all those shows in Vegas for all those years. But Willie? it doesn't get much better than him. Slow dancing to 'I must've been crazy to fall out of love with you'. be still my heart. "And I may not be normal but nobody is
so I'd like to say 'fore I'm through
I'd have to be crazy
plum out of my mind
to fall out of love with you
i wonder if he's married? =)
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Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 16, 2009
06:48 AM Post #7069637
| Sorry, Phyl, but ats per latest accounts, Willie is still married to his 4th wife! Based on his marital history, however, he ought to be just about due to become available again, so there IS hope.
I've never been a hunter, mamajack. Well, that's not true. I had a friend in high scholl who was a hunter, and he and his dad took me out once on a pheasant hunt. Man, we drove up and down country roads and we walked seventy-eleven miles through stubbled down corn and wheatfields and we hardly scared up so much as a sparrow. We were hunting without a dog. And, eventually, Elton and his dad each got their 3 cocks, and then they insisted that I had to get a bird. So we drove some more and walked a few hundred more acres, and somewhere out there just east of Eden (yes, it's true, we were hunting the Palouse, just east of Eden, Washington), as we were walking this one old boy's field, and I was toting Elton's shotgun, up roared this entire gigantic flock of about 500 pheasants and I raised the gun and just pointed at the center of the flock and fired. Well, one poor bird must have jigged when he should have jagged, because I got him. I walked out across that field and picked that bird up and felt him warm in my hand, warm and lifeless, and I stroked his feathers and I touched his blood with my finger and I tasted it and I knew I wasn't and wasn't ever going to be a hunter. I took him home and showed him to my mama, and she said "I'll tell you how to do it, but you're gonna clean that bird, not me." And she did and I did and we all had a bit of roast pheasant that evening, and even though I made sure that I got the bit that had all the shot still in it, it made a real fine meal. But these days, I buy my poultry and my meat at the grocery store or at the butcher's. From time to time, one of my neighbours who does hunt brings me a pheasant or a hare or, on particularly festive occasions a bit of wild boar. And I skin and clean those birds and rabbits and I roast or pan fry or otherwise cook those animals and eat them with gusto. And I guess, if push came to shove and I had a young family to feed and I had no alternative, I could go back out again and learn to kill, but my heart would never be in it. And, truth to tell, I really just don't understand, in a modern nation, where the food is all there in the supermarket, what is the thing about hunting. I mean, in a way, I "understand" hunting. I always wanted to find a real hunter to teach me to hunt. Not to kill animals, but to know their ways and to find them and to track them and to get close enough to see them almost "face-to-face". But most of the hunters I ever knew never really "hunted" and they killed their prey from far away with scopes and high-powered rifles; and the serious men, the ones who used un-scoped guns and low loads or hunted with bows would never take me seriously because it was clear that I wasn't out to kill a single thing. So I know scat and I know tracks and from time to time I've gotten lucky and come face-to-face with a flock of bighorns or a herd of chamois and the thrill was fantastic. But, a bunch of good ole boys out in the woods with guns and whiskey? Guess I've just never been that much into male bonding!
I just got back from Paris, riding the TGV both ways. What a shame they don't have trains like this in America. I remember once riding the Empire Builder out of Spokane to Chicago and the City of New Orleans down to St Louis. What a trip! But these European high-speed trains cut the continent into easily manageable pieces. 3 hours from Paris to my nearest train station (a 15-minute drive with free long-term parking). And what always strikes me on these trips (or even the long distance trips we make across Europe by car) is how different it is than what an American expects. There really are no suburbs, if you can believe that! There is no long, slow slog through areas of factories, strip malls and/or auto sales yards, or through rat-a-tat riprap cookie cutter housing developments. One minute, you're in the country, and the next minute, you're in the city, wham bam thank you ma'm! And the other thing is that even though, in comparison with America, each of these countries (heck, the entire continent) is small and it's been occupied for something like 6000 years (if you're a Creationist) or 600,000 years (if you're not) and, in any case, there are still these vast areas where there is nothing but Nature! It really is astounding. And, for history buffs like myself, it is nearly incomprehensible how such vicious battles that took so many lives could have been fought across so much of the terrain.
Fate, of course, exists in what must be one of the smallest counties in America. Maybe that's why you feel "hemmed in".
I think I need to save the "Shooting Guns in China" story for another day.
Potagere/Jim
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 17, 2009
02:10 PM Post #7074504
| Jim, I'm so jealous. in a good way. I have such fond memories alllll over France. well, Europe period. I am thankful that I am an Army brat and that I was old enough to remember most of the places we lived in. I feel rather blessed, actually.
When I visted my Aunt and Uncle who lived in Wimbleton, UK (Wimbledon?) and with whom we took a long weekend trip to Paris via the Eurostar (I think that was the name...the memory pills haven't kicked in for this week, lol) are in town (now they live in Thailand/Austin, TX) so we've been talking about that trip so much. I mean, we barely ate the picnic lunch she packed for us and got everything put away, and wham! We were in Paris. From London!
that was in April 1999, and the Eiffel Tower was counting down the minutes till 2000.
thanks for the memory,Jim. now stop that! Willie Nelson - Paris. good memories, indeed.
Jim...my aunt is amazed at our WS..however they don't have winter in Thailand. but she's going to send seeds to me of the "real' hot peppers. My uncle(from here) brought his lot to her for dinner last night and she didn't even blink an eye, while i didnt get my taste buds back till hours later!
he had these small green squatty peppers that were almost lime-carribean tasting. H.O.T. How did your peppers fare this year?
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Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 18, 2009
02:55 AM Post #7076703
| Hi, Phyl, Well, the best things to do in Paris are walk, visit galleries, and eat!
I'd love to get some of your uncle's pepper seeds. Do you know what they are called?
I'd also love to get seeds for Thai bird chiles and for the tiny (pea-sized) Thai eggplants (makkhue puang), so if she sends seeds to you (or even directly to me), I'd be glad to reimburse her!
I mis Thailand, the markets and the delicious and cheap street food!
My peppers mostly did extremely well this year. I have loads of chiles and am still eating fresh red, yellow and orange peppers and freezing quite a few for Winter use. My only failure was a Cancun habanero that bloomed a lot but just never set peppers. I'm going to try overwintering it to see what it might do next year. |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 18, 2009
02:58 PM Post #7078171
| Jim, I'll find out about the seeds and let her know what you're looking for. After seeing my dad's moonflowers and my Japanese Morning Glories, I'll have seeds going to her as well.
She's invited me over for a month or two. Now she lives closer to the beach...I wish. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
September 19, 2009
06:04 AM Post #7080455
| Oh, hey, maybe we'll go in your place!! Where exactly does she live? |
nanniepb
Cumberland Mtns, TN
(Zone 6b)
September 23, 2009
11:50 AM Post #7095813
| haha no fair! I'll find out. all i remember is it starts with a P and its near a beach. she's moving to a 3 bdrm house that has a gorgeous fence built around it made out of the same stuff the house is. I cant wait to see what she plants on the fence.
I gave her the name of seeds you were looking for. I'll keep you posted. We've promised to trade pepper seeds too. How do you freeze yours? ive got a ton here that i'm not sure what to do with. I planned to chop all the bell peppers today along with some onions. She made this concotion of water, vinegar and Nuoc Mam (fish sauce, which has 1420mg of sodium!!) that she covered real thin sliced peppers in a jar to keep in the fridge. i may do that with mine too because i'm on a thai cooking-stir fry-HOT pepper fad =)
uh do we need to change threads? where are the MSNs???
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