Accessible Gardening: Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners #10, 1 by Sansai87

Sansai87 wrote:
I’ll make you one specifically for outside, Sheri. It would be helpful to know, was it the glitter paint that cracked under outdoor conditions? Or, the filler I used along the rim. I filled the lip of the can so when someone watered the water wouldn’t collect and attract mosquitoes or cause the metal rim to rust. The rims always seem to be metal even when the buckets themselves are plastic.) Do you think an outside layer of clear sealant would help? We always have empty paint cans around and really need to find a useful way to recycle them. Y’all can be my quality control and creative advisors. Amargia’s plants will come in cans from now on. lol. Hey, I’ll put glads in your next one, Sheri. And, I can make your employees their own personalized water buckets, Debra. lol.
By accident we discovered birds like to nest in them. I had a bunch of them hung on a bungee cord in PJ’s workshop. Two Mama birds built nest in the buckets and successfully raised their hatchlings. PJ is afraid since they associate his workshop with home. More will want to nest there next year. He thinks if we hang some buckets with holes drilled in the bottoms just outside his workshop under the eaves, they will not be so tempted to nest inside. That means they need to stand up to southern outdoor conditions at least a year.
PJ tried to call and check on you, Vickie, but couldn’t get through. So glad to hear you are okay. Wow, your part of the world is getting hit hard this year! It’s like one thing on top of another. Is Dylan very old? I noticed Fenny is getting gray around her muzzle. That doesn’t seem possible, but MK says large breed dogs have shorter life spans. Fenny IS big. Tater-dog seems to be in less pain and has simply adapted to getting around on three legs. I saw her chasing a squirrel yesterday. She’s never caught a squirrel, even when she had four good legs so she wasn’t very disappointed when she didn’t catch it, but she was booking! .
MK did keep her word about not buying any more plants until fall. I bought the ones PJ saw on the porch. They were on sale and verbena is PURPLE. Purple was the first color I loved. You never forget your first love. lol.
I agree with you about beneficial things that smell a little odd, Planti. Drinking vinegar sling gives your sweat a vaguely ammonia smell, but I would rather have that than dare the hazards of the mosquitoes and gnats themselves or the harsh chemicals in most effective repellents. It was horrible the time I had repellent on my face and chemical laden sweat got in my eye.
Actually, Debra, ‘Safe Island’ was my second choice. ‘Kachina Dancer’ is the one that grabbed me in that group. ‘Golden Child’ is stunning though.
The gladiolas look happy and right at home. People around here call them wild glads because they’ve naturalized. Officially, they are Gladiolus dalenii ‘African Parrot’. I can remember helping MK rescued the original start of those glads from around the foundation of an abandoned farmhouse that had burnt down. A red and a soft pink variety were in with the ‘Parrot’. Every Summer MK would say she was sure she had all the pink and red ones separated out. The next summer there would always be more pinks and reds nestled in among the orange/yellow ‘Parrot’. So, don’t be too surprised if you get some surprises from them.
I’m glad we have as much land as we do. If we had less land, I would not get to create different garden rooms with such diverse looks. You can have a garden for every mood with six acres and I’m a moody person. I need to go research how to multiply PJ’s lily for my garden. You never know when a dark mood will strike. :-) ~Nadine~