Propagation: 2015 Seed Starting, Part 5, 3 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
Hey, I'm in awe of you. I have no idea how I would maintain a garden the size of yours, especially traveling between two homes. Everything would probably look like my office desk, which is a disaster 365 days a year.

I think my favorites were the weird combos from seed. I never liked petunias until Tidal Wave Silver came out, and I discovered that I could not only grow them but overwinter them. I grew them for my hanging pots in the front, but found they looked smashing with eragrostis tef and two colors of heliotrope (OK, I bought the white). A lot of the time I would just put seedlings in pots and let them develop.

I am thinking of putting in hardscaping because I loved it so much. Some of it was serendipitous. A lovely 26 year old named Adam had just started his own company, having worked for other people. He had helped build a patio and deck for a friend of mine. The friend was anal, and the work was gorgeous, so we contacted Adam. It was his first project on his own. It started small and got bigger and bigger. It also ran over time and budget, but he worked so hard, the result was stunning, and it was easily 30% under market. Better yet, we decided that we needed something between our two walls to give us privacy, so I ordered a huge redwood trellis. He felt strongly about the project and wanted to do the trellis. So I had it delivered to his house, where he put five coats of paint on it, and delivered installed it with cement - for $500.

Then I found a big red zone 4 Canadian rose, Quadra, bought two, and within about three years, complete freaking privacy!!! There is a huge table, 8 chairs, an umbrella, and a big grill on the deck, and you can't see any of it. You could go naked in the yard if you so desired. Would you believe this is 2 roses? And they could be left on the trellis all winter. And the new growth was soft, so it was easy to train. Beautiful flowers, too (alas, no scent - but you can't have everything).

I miss my garden! I am so happy for you that you have the ability to create whatever you like in the country and then go to a really lovely section of New York for the winter. You are obviously such a doll - no one deserves what seems like a nice life more. The country is nice, the city is great. It's all good.

Merry Christmas country mouse, city mouse!

Donna