Interesting perspective: a garden may need a makeover because it has aged. I have an aging part (big planting circle in the middle of the driveway) that I’d love to re-plant!
1 Like
Probably true - but sounds exhausting!
1 Like
I could put this in the “Say It” thread but it’s a good thing, not a bad thing and I think you all would appreciate it….
All 3 kids + daughter in law reached out to me multiple times this weekend as they planted their little home porch gardens and raised bed. My one daughter said she told her husband that she thinks gardening is one of the best interests I past onto them and that it makes them all so happy this time of year to develop their plan.
Makes me so happy to see them create their own garden journey be it flowers, vegetables, herbs!
6 Likes
So on my weekly Weds morning walk with a neighbor, I stopped and coveted her hydrangeas!
Upload: IMG_0981.jpeg…
I am pretty sure my lawn guys cut back my bushes last year when the trimmed the azaleas
only one teeny bush has a few flowers
3 Likes
Mystery solved then.
2 Likes
Its my best guess. Some look like they may flower— probably when we are away!
The birds have learned that they really like the taste of Barbados cherries. I am irritated by this.
And one of the annoyingly loud brown birds that eats my figs when they’re almost ripe apparently likes the taste of lizard because we saw him kill a lizard a few days ago in the front yard and fly off with it.
I actually got 3 blueberries off the bush before the birds got them!!
2 Likes
I have had a battle over the past three years regarding blueberries. At first I blamed the birds. However, throwing a net over the blueberries appears to be sufficient to stop the birds, but is not sufficient to save the blueberries. Eventually I realized that a net that will stop a bird and even stop a squirrel might not be sufficient to stop mice and chipmunks. They can sneak through small holes and climb pretty well. They will also chew holes in netting. I think that all of the above creatures are problems if you want to save your blueberries.
I have eventually come up with two solutions. Both are somewhat drastic in the sense that they take some investment on the part of the gardener.
I have ten full sized blueberry plants. They are about six feet tall, and cover a rectangle that is something like 10 feet by 20 feet. Fortunately they are way in the back of the yard in an area that is somewhat “utilitarian” rather than “pretty”. I planted them more than 20 years ago, and got about three berries per year until last year. Finally I came up with a solution that works. I call it “Fort Blue”. Fort Blue is surrounded by a fence that is made up of 1/2 inch hardware cloth, that is buried about six inches deep and is about 18 inches high. This forces them to climb the fence. However, the fence is protected by an electric fence that is set to mouse height from the hardware cloth. This means that the wire is only about an inch off the hardware cloth fence. This in turn implies that sometimes it shorts out. To protect against this I have strung the electric wire with plastic insulators that look like big yellow beads. If I have a short, then I find the short, and push the nearest plastic bead to interrupt the short. Fort Blue also has large posts in each corner (about 7 feet high). I string rope between the posts, and throw a big net over the entire thing. Since the net is plastic, it does not short out the electric fence. I can actually tuck the plastic netting between the hardware cloth and the electric wire. This is not fully deployed right now so I do not have a picture.
This might seem a bit drastic, but it does seem to work. Well, at least it worked last year. We have yet to see whether it will work again this year.
I have a small number of “half high” blueberry plants. They are currently a bit over 3 feet in height. I also have an almost uncountable number of wild huckleberry plants. They range from tiny to perhaps a foot high to perhaps two or three plants that are about 3 feet in height.
Last year I made a small barrier that successfully protected one of the smaller huckleberry plants. Encouraged by this success I have produced a range of stackable barriers to cover more of the half high blueberries and huckleberries.
In the picture below the barrier on the left is what I call a “bluebarrier”. It is 4 feet high and is made of the same 1/2 inch mesh hardware cloth. The barrier on the right is what I call a 3 foot high “hucklebarrier” and it is protecting a huckeberry plant. There is a small cluster of huckleberry plants in the back that are protected by another hucklebarrier. For storage, all three of these, plus two smaller barriers, will stack inside the largest of these which is the one on the left.
I have wondered if there is a less drastic way to protect blueberries, but if there is then I have not figured it out.
If anyone wants to try this then please be very careful with the wire. Eye protection, gloves, and up to date tetanus shots might all be a good idea.
3 Likes
Excellent!!! My husband gives you a high five! 
As someone said, “Gardening is war!” 
2 Likes
Whoa! Impressive! How do you get in to get the berries?
Do you lift up the whole cage thing?
1 Like
For Fort Blue, I turn off the electric fence and lift up the netting. However, I only lift up part of one side and then walk around inside under the netting.
For the hucklebarriers and bluebarriers, I do indeed just lift the entire thing up. They are held down with ground staples which I pull out first. I have not yet actually figured out whether the largest ones need ground staples, or if they will just stay in place based on their weight.
2 Likes
I have one blueberry bush. I had 2, but one died. I think I’ll maybe put a picture of a cat or an owl in the window near the bush.
I have a pretty bunch of low pink blooms. The Seek app has been showin it as “Stone Plant”, but today I got a more precise result
2 Likes
Pretty! Does it last for a bit or just a spring flower?
It lasts a while and then I think comes and goes in summer.
Moving my tomato starts outside and planting those that have been acclimated to the outdoors a little bit. This May wasn’t the warmest one… but I hope the garden will take off in a few weeks.
2 Likes
Good luck!
We’re gone most of the next month and I’m trying to decide what to do with my tomato starters. I have 12 and they are in vented solo cups that fit in a large disposable roasting pan. We also had a very cool May, and they didn’t need too much water. I’ve been watering from the bottom about once a week with 1/2 strength liquid fertilizer every other time. The plants look healthy enough, just aren’t growing much.
We’re going to gone a little over two weeks starting next week. I’m thinking about putting them inside near the kitchen window (plants always do well there). Here’s the plan: place a sponge filter pad (like for an aquarium) under the cups and put some cotton wicking cord fed from a container down the “aisles.”
Hopefully they’ll be ready to go in the ground, a container or give away when we get back from the next trip in July.
Any advice welcome!
A timer and drip irritation line attached to the outside faucet? I’m afraid one hot day will do them in. They will need bigger containers soon or they will be root-bound.