Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners #15

I got towels from Step.

Have made a couple bedspreads for DD,s and numurous afghans for other family members. Right now am working on an afghan for grandsons girlfriend. At least i can do something useful when i can only sit around.
My fuzzy white kitten has a reddish tail and has finally received the name Foxy.
Carrie it is funny how the mind can conjure up memories of old friends and times. But for me, it is usually a good thing.

Three weeks since my surgery. I'm still pushing the physical therapy - stretching and bending and icing. I'm grumpy so I think I'm getting better. I've made vegetable flowers (onions, radishes and peppers) and soaked them in ice water overnight. I'm going to go to the hospital where I had the surgery and give them a couple of "bouquets." I think if I'm enough better to be grumpy I'm enough better to start giving back.

Must see doctor before I can go home. Knee class tomorrow morning.

hugs, katie

Grumpy is an excellent sign. it means you are alert and interacting with the environment (instead of just zoning out on pain meds) and thinking and using your brain. Always good to keep that part active and stretched! Can you take a picture of your vegetable flowers? I'm not visualizing the pepper....onion and radish, yes,but not the pepper.

I tried to talk to the social worker they hooked me up with about volunteering and giving back. I mentioned possibly teaching English as a Second Language and got a diatribe about how "they will never learn English!" (In which "they" are people who didn't grow up speaking English...) Yeesh, mind will only fully function when open. I mean some people learn English and are totally bilingual and some people never learn English, some people don't care whether they learn English and some people work very hard to master grammar and idioms and spelling and pronunciation.

Katie, Grumpy is good!!! LOL
I'd love to see your veggie flowers too.
ALAS I'm one of those who never learned proper English. But I sure do have fun with people sometimes.My southern drawl can get thicker than ticks on a dogs hindleg.
That poor dear ignorant social worker should take a trip to Europe.Where 3 languages are common. But then Social workers are not far up the educational ladder.Are they? poor dears!
Espanics can speak excellent English and yes they even manage to go to American collages.
My rant is over!!!!
I took my new kitten,Foxy to the vets today. She quit eating and got lethargic. They kept her. The vet told me she was 6 weeks not 8 weeks.I'm praying hard for her.But I know she is in good hands.
Vickie

New here. I have a bad back (since age 13, now 39) and am finally coming to terms with my new normal - not being able to do much physically. I also have chronic depression (dysthymia). Gardening was my outlet for my depression and I just can't do what I used to do anymore. So I have some questions for you all.

How did you come to terms with your physical limitations? I imagine it is mostly time and reframing the issue (focusing on what you CAN do), but that is unsatisfying in the beginning! Coming from the spine specialist today I cried knowing that all the landscaping I've done is a thing of the past (used to pull up the grass - yeah, hindsight says that was a bad idea! stupid hindsight). I realize I need to mourn.

For those specifically with a bad back:

Do you use any tools that help get certain things done? For example, I found this recently, which could help cleanup when I weed http://www.amazon.com/Radius-Garden-500C-Gator-Grabber/dp/B0042F8E9I/

Are there any techniques you've found that helped limit the pain? I know I need to remember to put on my corset before I try to do anything (I always forget). I also know to not do one thing for a while - to mix it up.

Thanks for any advice/tips!

Welcome, evie_beevie!

We are a strange little bunch, sometimes we sit around and commiserate and other times we brainstorm. My husband has a terrible, awful back--he broke it 5 years ago--but he won't admit that he needs anything different. In MA we had a self-propelled (is that what I mean?) lawnmower so he didn't have to drag it around on the hilly parts of our yard. Here in Texas he bought a push mower! The last time he lived in Texas he was 18 and 180 lbs and in the Air Force and running 5 miles a day. I think he thought somehow he would magically be restored to that 18 year old body when we got here. No such luck. Now I'm wondering if I should get him one of those things you linked to.

Our back expert, and really, our adaptive stuff expert, is Jim, who I'm sure will pop in sooner or later.

You do have to mourn, and scream, and cry, and all those Elizabeth Kubler-Ross stages. The thing that makes chronic illness so difficult is it's chronic. I mean a broken leg gets better, cancer you die or something dramatic but chronic illness you just linger. After the initial OMG! everyone forgets about it and you're left to cope.

Limiting pain....have you tried Physical Therapy? I was just talking to my PT today about how when it hurts, you try not to move, and when you don't move you get stiff which hurts. I am sure (I am omniscient; of course I know) DH would benefit from PT or yoga or stretching but he says it all hurts too much. But every year he gets more hunched up.

Vickie, she is an MSW, which means she should at least have a Master's degree. They used to require two semesters of a second language in college, but you can squeak by with "Spanish for helping professions" or something, which is for helping poor stupid immigrants who refuse to learn English. (I'm taking her side to illustrate who's REALLY stupid in this situation.) I doubt she's ever been out of Texas.

I don't know how you can tell how old a kitten is, but isn't someone usually around when they are born or very new? That's a strange mistake, and kind of a serious one, too. Once I got a kitten and we specifically wanted a male. 6 weeks later we took him to get neutered, and found out it was a female! Big difference!! I'm glad Foxy is at the vet where she will be safe and cared for.

Thanks, Carrie. PT hasn't been much help. However, I just finished a little stint with aquatic therapy and am now keeping it up on my own (literally this week). I highly recommend it to your DH - it is the first time exercising doesn't hurt (they are small exercises that you can build on so it isn't a lot at once, it hurt a bit at first but quickly got better esp as therapist tweaked the exercises).

He has trouble swimming because you have to arch your back ? Not exactly sure about that, but I know pre-injury he used to enjoy swimming and now it hurts too (like everything else). But he is not likely to be willing to try something because someone on DG suggested it, lol. Have to get an MD to order him to do it. He has just been referred to a spine clinic out here. (Of course now it's my job to make the appointment!) I'm sorry PT wasn't helpful. Maybe it depends a little on the individual therapist, because I've had horrible ones and wonderful ones.

You're Eve, right? We have a real names thread around here somewhere....

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1103477/

Yep, that's me.

There's no swimming in aquatic therapy. Basically, walk forwards in water for 5min, backwards for 5, side-step for 5. Then some standing exercises where you keep your posture but move your legs and/or arms. No bending, arching, etc. Example: http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_14_3_6.htm Then some floating exercises which really help the core because you have to keep your balance while moving your legs. Again, no bending, arching, etc. More info: http://www.hiphelp.com/pages/exercises.html

Jim popping in. ;) Welcome to the forum .
Raised beds and long handled tools are what keep me gardening. I read a book a few months ago written by an elderly woman who had gorgeous landscaping and didn’t want to give it up. I’m having a Tramadol moment and can’t remember the title and author at the moment. I’ll put it on my next post. Nadine forgot to put our book list in the thread intro. I’ll correct that. I found an excellent container gardening book to add to the list.
I just sort of exercise in the water. It is nowhere near as painful as regular PT. If you have access to a heated pool it is great. Unless it is high summer, an unheated pool, even an indoor one, doesn’t have the same effect.
Love those long grabbing tools. I can hook the wagon up behind my riding mower and when I come across a pine cone or small branch on the ground. I can pick it up with my grabber and toss it in the wagon.
Do you still have the black cat that has been with you so long? Hope Foxy does well. Then you can have salt and pepper cats.
Planted purple-top turnips and carrots today. Spied a canna in the CanDo Container Garden I’m going to plantnap for my Old Soldiers Garden. It is called ‘The President’, I think. It has a very large, cardinal red flower. (I have Kay’s permission. The CanDo Garden is supposed to be all pastels.)
Kay’s rearranged the front garden so I can see the bird bath, seed feeder and the hummingbird feeder out the kitchen window. (I removed the lower cabinets from in front of the window so I can sit in front of the window on bad days when I’m using the w/c. ) It was worth the effort. I got to watch the antics of four hummers, a summer tanager and more butterflies than I could count. Love this time of year! . (Jim)

Eve, I will convey your info to DH. I still doubt he'll do it.....maybe I can tell him he needs to bring ME to aqua therapy! It is supposed to be good for MS. I've always stayed away from swimming in New England because the water is too cold for me. Swimming pools around here are more like the temperature of soup, I've heard. On the other hand, now that school is in session, I don't know if our local pool is open. When it is103-115 out, going to na nice warm pool is not really safe for MS.

Jim, that is exactly what you need to do to make the kitchen and bathroom truly wheelchair accessible! Welcome to my world, I'll just move over....there's plenty of space. If you do the whole 9 yards (more like 90 yards), you need a shallow sink and insulated pipe and no under-the-sink cabinets in kitchen or bathroom. Or above cabinets either, unless you don't mind that you can't reach them.

Vickie, I have the phone number of the agency that sent this lovely Social Worker, but I am afraid to call! I hope the nurse (who is great) is calling. DH scared me by saying "don't say she's racist; everybody's that way in Texas. Don't say she doesn't take your ideas seriously; she can twist that around and say it was a therapeutic tool to see if you really meant it. Don't say this, she'll say that. Say that she talks about her husband's bad back too much and asks you about door measurements." I know he's probably used to documenting everything at work or in the AF, and knows how big government agencies work as well as anybody. I know he's trying to be helpful. But my natural scaredy-cat tendency combined with his warning me against every possible error I could make has got me incapable of making a simple phone call. I'm pretty sure someone else, like maybe the nurse, copied down the information on this brochure. (I asked him to call for me and he said no, no, no, if I call that will set off all the warning bells that I am too controlling and you're not competent to handle your own affairs and need a court-appointed guardian or something!)

So I've been staring at this idiotic brochure all day.

Oh Carrie, Your DH may be right. Wonder if you could say you two just clash personally and can't seem to come to terms.(No fault -no blame) Whatever happens,hope you can work it out.That sucks. CARRIE YOU ARE NOT AFRAID OF NOTHING!!!!!(OR ANYTHING) Good luck.
Welcome Evie, I have chronic Depression too.Seems to be worse lately So I try to stay busy at things I usually injoy. I can't handle a regular garden anymore. CHF and bad knees. But I have 40 or 50 large container pots and have Daylillys and annuals. I can sit in a chair and garden in the dirt to my hearts content.(I bought my pots a few at a time when they were on sale,about this time of year.)
I've taken water exercises before. It's fun and not strenous. I could take some now but am too lazy to drive 30 miles everyother day. One of the colleges might offer classes for local folk. Ours does. Think ours is $50 a year.
Jim, Am so glad you can keep an eye on the local wildlife. Yes,I've still got my mean ole black cat,Miss Kitty.(Love her to death) She is much too good to have anything to do with any other cat. Also have 2 grey cats They are outside cats. In my old age I wanted a lap toy. LOL Also have Cricket dog and Dillen. So I never want for love.
Foxy is doing good. My vet said she is younger than I was told (about4 weeks old.) So she's getting kitten formula and she was sick so also getting anti-biotics. The vet said our humane society was a sorry bunch,and most of their animals were sick.Foxy spends most of her time in my arms. Which means I don't get much work done. She gets fed every 3 hours.
Had the use of a breathing machine at the hospital last night while DD babysat.Guess I'll be getting one.
The mask did'nt bother me near as much as I thought it would. Got to go to Hobby Lobby. Was in Seventh Heaven. Found a string of lighted angels for the Christmas tree and some fall leaves window clings.

Carrie, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the phone with my eldest SD. She is a Texas native. We were talking about the problems of being a liberal in Texas. She uses what she calls her Texas Sweet Briar approach when dealing with people like your PA. She explains the TSB approach as keeping one’s voice rose sweet, but not removing the barbs of truth in what you say. She says her response to a remark like your PA made would be some3thing like: “Yeah, that is true. I guess the poorer Mexican Americans are to tired from building and cleaning our houses to have much time for learning the language. There seems to be a version of the Texas Sweet Briar approach throughout the south. It is effective. My problem is I never think of the right thing to say at the right time. Ten minutes after the fact, I always know what I should have said.
Thanks for the link,, Evie. I need a more organized approach to my aquatic work –outs. The title and author of the book I was thinking of is: Gardening for a Lifetime by Sydney Eddison. During the high summer lol, I do more reading about gardening than actual gardening.
.
Planted carrots in a large, raised planter. Carrots are so slow to germinate I’m trying some new techniques. 1/3 of the planter was planted as usual, another ½ after soaking the seeds. And, the last third was planted using the paper towel seed tape method. We’ll see which works best.
Kay’s eldest is seriously ill and coming to live with us. We’ve been busy moving things around to make room for 4 adults, two big dogs and a preposed cat. Nadine insist Tara, would gain much therapeutic benefit from caring for her own pet. Uh-huh. I’m sure Nadine is being purely altruistic and her recommendation has nothing to do with the fact she has been bugging us to get a new cat for years

Here is the book list ill include it in the intro next time.

we decided to keep an updated list of websites and books on different aspects of accessible gardening in the introduction of this thread. Feel free to add or give your opinion of the sites/books listed
WEBSITES: Please let us know about any sites you have found especially helpful or if you found links invalid.
Thrive
http://www.carryongardening.org.uk/
-This site addresses gardening with various types of challenges. This website is based in the U.K... Some gardening vocabulary might be unfamiliar to U.S. gardeners. This is not a major issue, however. Highly recommended
-AgrAbility
http://fyi.uwex.edu/agrability/about/
AgrAbility is a program for disabled farmers and ranchers. The focus is on agriculture rather than horticulture. The link is to AgrAbility “About Us” page. If you need info such as how to get from a wheelchair into a pick-up truck, this is the place to go.

-Gardening from a wheelchair
http://www.mda.org/publications/quest/q31garden.html

BOOKS—All, except one. of these books are available in audio format from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The exception is “Garden Unseen” which is only available in Braille at the time of this post. This list was compiled by a visually impaired person; there may be print books available that are not on the list. Please correct the oversight, if you know of any. The books in this list are, of course, also available in print and may be at your local library.
-Garden Unseen by L. Stevens
-Accessible Gardening for People with Physical Disabilities by Janeen R. Adil (We especially liked the list of recommended vegetables for containers and raised beds found in this book.)
-The Enabling Garden: A Guide to Lifelong Gardening by Gene Rothert--Written by a horticultural therapist employed at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It should be kept in mind that this book was written 17 years ago. Some of the information on raised bed building materials is outdated, but it is still worth reading since the author gardens from a wheelchair. He possesses both academic and first-hand knowledge.
-Gardening Through Your Golden Years by James W. Wilson
-Accessible Gardening: Tips & Techniques for Seniors by Joann Woy
Very comprehensive. No matter what problems advancing age is throwing at you to spoil your gardening fun, you should find a way to keep gardening in this book. Mobility limitations, visual impairment and more subtle issues such as balance are all addressed. Will possibly be updated later this year. .
--The Able Gardener: Overcoming Barriers of Age and Physical Limitations by Kathleen Yeoman
A good book for those new to gardening and those who garden on the west coast. Some information may be outdated, but much garden knowledge stands the test of time well.

Golly, Jim, I have not read a single one of those books, and I am the writers group expert on "gardening from a wheelchair." What a terrific list--thanks, Armagia!

Love your Texas Sweet Briar approach. Sounds similar to "what an ugly shirt you're wearing--it adds 10 lbs to your face, easily, bless your heart." In other words (that wasn't a great example, but then, I don't get much chance to practice) you can say any insulting thing you want to anybody, as long as you add "bless your heart" at the end. (Or "God love her" or some other similar tag line at the end.) My kids say "I'm not saying this to be mean, but..... " and then say the most horrible mean things in the world. Yes, in fact, you ARE saying it to be mean, and if you didn't want to be mean, you wouldn't say anything.

Thanks for the book title; I've added it to my wishlist.

Luckily I started my landscaping with the goal of it being low-maintenance (lots of shrubs, native-ish plants, etc), so I'm not in too bad a shape. But as you know, it is never finished! :D I'm going to try planting some bulbs this week because I hate how this one perennial bed looks in early spring (in Z4 that means there's a whole lotta nothing going on until mid-May or so!).

Bulbs are good, lots of work now but lots of results later. Plus you can stagger perennials to cover ripening bulb foliage without too much trouble. My DH used to HATE waiting for the foliage before he could mow in the spring.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2451/

Evie, LOL You've caught that dreaded disease called Gardening addiction. You'll never be the same.But gee will you have fun.
Vickie

I would like to add some more hyacinth bulbs myself. Rural VT has such natural beauty, a naturalized, semi-native landscape sounds very doable. I always loved the birches. River birch is the only one that is possibly hardy here. My SIL lives in St. Johnsbury. She finds the timing of my visits suspicious. I confess. I’m a leaf peeper. We don’t get much autumn color from the trees here, but we are compensated by having things still in bloom on Thanksgiving day. Do you get much autumn leaf color in the mountains, Vickie?
Every year I say I will preserve some of the muscadine and scuppernong grapes, but once again we ate them all fresh. Maybe when all the vines are producing We’ll have enough to make jelly or something.
It has been ginger time the last few days. We had ginger bread for breakfast this morning and ginger beer yesterday. I cut off a few growing tips to have ginger growing inside this winter.
Moved my bottle palm inside yesterday. Bottle or ponytail palms are tough as nails in most respects, but can’t tolerate much cold. Woke up to morning temps in the high 60;s. What a blessed relief. (Jim)

Oh, reminds me, I'd better tell my DD in Boston to bring the houseplants inside for the winter soon.

We usually have great colors in the fall. We may not have the brightest colors this year because of drought.But we'll still have a lot of visitors. The mountains give a chance for good vistas. Than the leaves will fall and everything will be drab till spring. Except inside my house. I'll have both artificial and real flowers in all rooms. Winter is not my favorite time of year. Flower catalogs will be my lifeline to sanity.

Where is everyone?
It rained here and than rained again. everything seems to be trying to make a fresh start. There is real green stuff out there.
Still havent got my breathing stuff,mainly because i have'nt gone to get it. Will try to go the first.

I'm right here, Vickie. Not much happening. You need your breathing stuff.

Glad to hear from you Carrie. I've done without it this long. It'll wait a couple of weeks. I got caught short of money this month. At least me and my pets have plenty to eat. I really miss my two that are no longer here.
I did find a check,I thought I'd already spent. Hurrah I can go to group this week.
The economy keeps going south. I may have to move north. I know everyone is feeling the pinch now days. I'm trying to crochet everyday to keep a step ahead of depression. My knees don't want to co operate in going for walks and i do love to be outside in the fall. So do mosquitoes!
Has anyone heard from Jim,Kay and Nadene?
I've got some windows to wash so had better go.
Vickie

Not I. Maybe their service is down?

So you did mean 10/1! Are you sure that's wise? I don't have asthma or anything, so my daughters say "mommy, I can't breathe, I need my stuff, it's gonna cost ___" or more likely, "can I have the credit card?" I'm so scared I just pay.

Carrie, I sleep sitting up in a recliner. So no problems. I prefer my recliner so will stay there. I don't have any problems awake, just in my sleep.
My girls don't want credit card, Just cash.

Whew! I finally have some free time to write.

Have you gotten outside to enjoy the cooler weather, Carrie? Do you have an accessible patio or something like it there?

Kay has been having more than her share of challenges lately. I recently rushed her to the ER thinking she was having an attack of appendicitis. It turned out to be an inflamed muscle. The doctor gave her an anti-inflammatory and Flexeril. I’m jealous of the latter. That is a muscle relaxer that truly works, but it is only for acute conditions. None of the muscle relaxers doctors will prescribe for chronic conditions like DDD work very well for me any longer. .

We are finally set up for another person living here. (Moving things around is probably how Kay injured her back.) If SD#1 changes her mind about living here, there is no way we are going to move it back to the way it was.

Vickie, you must be far from the only one who finds it easier to sleep in a recliner. While I was at the furniture store buying a new bed, I saw a recliner that was specially designed for just that. I think that is what I will buy when it is time for a new recliner. I tested out the feel of both the sleeper recliner and the one with the heat and massage. I preferred the sleeper.

I’m beginning to get this pottage garden concept. The celery among the Bull’s Blood beets looks totally cool. If it all taste as good as it looks, I’ll be 100% sold
I planted some ‘First Lady’ snapdragon seeds. I’m not sure about the timing of my planting. The seeds were on sale though and contained colors I don’t already have. The tomatoes have started flowering and producing again. It looks like I will have a good crop of banana peppers. I was surprised at how much shade the peppers tolerated. The leaves are far larger than the peppers grown in full sun, but they are producing as well as those grown in sun. The Japanese hardy oranges are larger than normal and maturing early. Kay flavored a pitcher of ice tea with the juice of two of them. It tasted good. They might have more than ornamental value after all. I hope their being a full two months early doesn’t indicate a colder than normal winter coming. My Owari mandarin orange tree is much more tender than the hardy ‘Flying Dragon.’ (Jim)
1&2) Not sure what we planted there but I love the powder puff balls and the blue/ purple color of the flowers

Second picture loaded as the same try again silly JW. (Jim)

I forget if "A" is warmer or cooler than "B" Jim, but you planted them in the ground? Hmm, maybe I should go out there (outside).

We were travelling most of last week. We had passes on USAirways but they stink compared to JetBlue. For some reason it made sense to go Las Vegas - Boston -DFW instead of Las Vegas - Phoenix - DFW, because via PHX there would have been a good chance of spending the night and if we have to spend the night, why not do it with our daughter in Boston? Ray had a work conference in Las Vegas and there's no way I can stay by myself any more. So I went along. The hotel was huge and everyone ate breakfast at McDonalds in the lobby, yuck.

The craziest thing was I get individually patted down on every single TSA line in every single airport, b/c I can't walk through the metal detector thing. That's been true for years, since before there was a TSA. But this time, before the checkpoint, I misplaced my reading glasses, and for some strange reason this time I didn't have an extra pair with me. And I brought a 2 inch thick book with me to read on the plane! So we bought another pair of reading glasses. And then at the checkpoint, they asked (as they always do) "do you have anything in your pockets?" I was wearing clingy knit pants and I stuck my hands in the empty pockets and wiggled my fingers and said "see? They're empty." (Or something along those lines.) Then the agent patted me down thoroughly, had me lean from side to side, felt along each leg, behind my butt, behind my back, around my waistband, all under the supervision and watchful eye of the woman who was training her. Then Ray collected me and I put my sweater, computer bag and purse back on and he pushed me along to the gate. Once we found the right gate, he transferred me from the wheelchair to one of the rows of chairs that were there. First a big PEN fell out of my pocket (the one I was sure was empty) and then we found my best READING GLASSES in their case behind me. Now the glasses were in a little nook, and I've lost them in that exact spot before, and they're only plastic anyway. But the pen? This was a big, jumbo, ballpoint pen, with the spring mechanism and everything. And she asked me if there was anything in my pocket and I put my hand in my pocket to take anything that was in there out, because I had no idea, so I searched the pocket and she searched me, but somehow I smuggled this highly dangerous pen through. Beware of pale women in wheelchairs when you're flying; they could have contraband pens!

Jim, I guess what I'm asking is, if I can get DH to take me out to the patio, is it not too late to plant seeds?

And thank goodness Kay only has a strained muscle and not appendicitis! Those things are irreplaceable! Hope she's feeling better, and can take it easier.

Carrie, What kind of seeds? Its too late for most things, but turnip greens,mustard greens would probably make ok. I remember we planted our fall garden in August in ETEX.
Hugs to Kay! I got appendicitus between NY and Turkey. They opeated in the middle of the night. Thank Heavens for AirForce hospitals.

I don't know, cosmos, marigolds, zinnias, easy flowers. Spinach?

What were you doing between NY and Turkey? The country of Turkey? You exotic world traveler, you! I always forget that everyone hasn't always lived exactly where they are right now.

Carrie, here is an easy garden project you should still have time for. It is a way to get celery early and easily . You can root celery you buy from the grocery store. Next time you buy a bunch of celery,, carefully remove the remains of the outer stalks. You should find a tiny stalk a couple of inches tall at the center of the bunch. (The height at which most cooks cut celery off leaves the tiny central stalk untouched.) Dampen the white bottom so rooting hormone will stick. Brush on the rooting hormone and plant in fertile soil. What will grow usually never reaches the size of the bunch you started with, but you can cut tender and delicious stalks off the growing plant as you need them in the kitchen. I would rank celery as the #1 hardest vegetable to grow so some foolproof “cheat celery” lessens the trauma of failures. This may be old news to you. but it was a new one to me. I’ve rooted grocery store carrots, avacadoes, Irish and sweet potatoes, but celery was a new one on me.

Vickie, can I send you a book to read? I think Jim Wilson’s Container Gardening is the best book I’ve come across on the subject. I think it has a place in our resource list, but you are our container growing expert. Most of our containers have a soil capacity of 20 gallons or more. I don’t think that counts as true container gardening. It falls somewhere between containers and earth boxes.

Had to tie up my banana pepper in semi-shade, but I will still grow peppers in similar conditions in future because it has been so productive. (Jim)

Jim, I'd love a book on container gardening. Arkansas Gardening usually has an article or two about containers. Want some more white rocks? ROFLO! Actually, Can't you grow things year round? Have been reading up on growing herbs inside(which I use to do outside)
I'm going to try growing the celery. Sweet potatoes make a beautiful vine. Carrots make a pretty fernlike folage. Pineapples make a pretty plant.
Carrie, That was'nt a fun trip. I was joining my DH in Ankara. We lived there for three years. I had my one year old daughter with me. There was'nt a thing I could do till I got her to my DH. They operated at night. Said I just made it. I loved living in Turkey. Muslems by the way are great people. Just like americans ----Some sweet, some sour.LOL

I loved my trip to Turkey too, although I spent all the time in Istanbul, hopping back and forth between Europe and Asia. That trip--probably based on an Agatha Christie book, I went jaunting around the middle east. I would have taken a tour or cruise but there wasn't one that went to the places I wanted to go. So I just went without a tour group to tell me how to act or where to eat or what to buy. Yikes! We stayed at a cheap hotel in Istanbul -- had a loudspeaker outside the window calling the faithful to pray 6 times a day, starting at 5 am. I don't remember if I had even heard of Islam then, but I certainly hadn't expected it to have an effect on my trip. It did. First of all, I didn't know about the praying part, or that they would actually do it. I didn't expect machine guns at the airport. I didn't know (really dumb) that you couldn't travel from Egypt to Israel and back. I was totally unprepared for the Orthodox Hassidim in Jerusalem. So naive!!!!

Anyway, that's a great celery idea, Jim! I love celery....not sure about DH.

We usually take December off, but it is not too hard to garden 365 days a year here. The coldest it has been in winter since I’ve lived here is 18° as a nighttime low. I think it is the roller coaster of temperatures that does plants the most harm in our neck of the woods.. It isn’t unusual to go from shivering in a jacket and sweatshirt first thing in the morning to being comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt by late afternoon. People here do all sorts of things to keep their plants warmer at night. Kay literally puts her plants to bed at night by covering them with old blankets. The few extra degrees of warmth that provides is all most cool season veggies need. The pansies and ornamental Coles look after themselves. .
Vickie, do you still have any walking onions (Egyptian onions, top-setting onions) or did they all walk away?? We grow building onions and garlic,, Welsh onions and onion and garlic chives. Nadine wants to try growing pearl onions since I balked at their cost at the grocery store. I want a patch of walking inions to add to our growing collection and because I think they are cool looking. I was puzzled at first when Kay gave us a packet of parsley to grow with our onions and garlic. She said if we were actually planning to eat all the onions and garlic we would need it. Chewing parsley she told me is a natural way to freshen breath ;-)
Evie, I I’ve been doing a lot of reading on groundcovers and thought of you when I saw interesting ones that it is too hot for here. Have you tried using groundcovers to lessen the workload? We are operating on the “Nature abhors a vacuum” concept. Meaning, if you don’t put a plant you like in an empty space, Nature will put one there you probably won’t like. The trick seems to be finding the right groundcover for your area and for the specific site. One that is assertive, but not too aggressive or invasive. Using groundcovers can put a strain on the pocketbook if you have a lot of land, but it saves the back a lot of strain. We tried mulch to control weeds. The weeds laughed at weed control fabric covered by mulch. I think that technique must work better up north.
Nadine has been teased about her namesake hurricane today. She is renowned for her terrible sense of direction. A GPS system is a must for her. Hurricane Nadine seems to have the same problem. It has made some erratic direction changes as though it isn’t quite sure where it is going. Let’s hope it is as benign as our Nadine.
Carrie, I find it is the experiences that would never make it into a travel magazine that you remember. I had my fellow patrons at a bar in Germany rolling with laughter. Being PA Dutch, I was sure I could communicate with Germans. I gathered from their response my High German was the equivalent of someone walking into an American bar speaking in King James Biblical English. Understandable, but….
If you like pansies, Carrie, they are very affordable right now in big box and even Wal-Mart nurseries. They will go through to spring most years flowering off and on if you remember one thing. After a freezing night, water them first thing in the morning. Not sure why that works, but it does.

Does anyone have experience growing Russian comfrey? Kay says we need to take our compost quality up a notch if we are going to grow high demand vegetables organically. She claims composting comfrey and comfrey leaf tea is an affordable way to improve the soil. I’m afraid comfrey would be like a new version of kudzu or seacane. (Jim)

Richo at www.horizonherbs.com has a couple kinds of comphrey and has written a lot about the plants in their catalog. I think he is also pretty good about answering emails. kb

Jim, I've grown comfrey but it died out after several years. I was told it'd turn wild also but it did'nt. May start some more next spring. I liked the idea of it being a first aide plant. I liked growing clover as a cover crop.tho it's a cool weather crop. also bermuda grass,still have a couple of patches growing around.

Much appreciated, Kb!!! I like the idea of growing some of our fertilizer, but, at one time, SOMEONE thought using seacane (wild cane, Arundo donax) to control erosion on a steep slope was a good idea. We are still cutting and digging it out! Arrrgh!

Vickie, I’ve noticed Bermuda grass is one of the grasses they are using in low mow blends for Florida. I dream of a small lawn of dwarf mondo with paths threading through it. I dream of it every time I have to work on the lawn mower or pay to have it fixed. . a dwarf mondo lawn is actually do-able in our area, just expensive. I went for a nice walk at the local botanical gardens. Sasquatch must have grabbed the chocolate basil and ran with it before we got to the herb garden. Kay took to much time sniffing all the roses. Next time I’m sneaking in and going directly to the herb garden. BTW, did you get your “breathing stuff”? I’ve heard breathing is kinda important. (Jim)

Photo #1: Kay says next year we should offer our neighbors some ‘Full Moon’ pumpkins for their decorating.

Photo #2: There were Halloween scarecrows and follies at the Dothan Botanical Garden, but I spotted something really scary! See her egg sack?

Photo #3: I can relate to this scarecrow!

Photo #4: Witch-in-a-Box

Photo #5: King Kong vs. the Crows.

This message was edited Oct 2, 2012 5:14 PM

I bought roots to start a comfrey patch. Added a small leaf tea camellia, another magnolia and some yucca to the landscape for winter interest. Kay is grumbling about my impulse buying when it comes to plants. I picked up some fox’s grape bellflowers and crocus ‘Goldilocks’ instead of the hyacinth. Now she has to figure out how to work those into the landscape.
I only found three things blooming on my walk that were not yellow. Blue mist flowers, a coral colored canna blossom and a mystery flower.
Photo #1 & #2: Goldenrods. Took this pic at great peril. The bees were all over it.
Photo #3: I believe this is common sneezeweed (Helen’s flower.)
Photo #4: Sunchoke blossom (Jerusalem artichoke)
Photo #5: The pretty not-yellow mystery flower.


This message was edited Oct 5, 2012 5:50 PM

Jim, I think your pink mystery flower is Cosmos bipinnatus. I'm working on an article about them, incidentally. It reseeds, so you could have planted it whenever, and it is one of those "wildflowers" that was from Mexico so may be native to southern Texas or Florida anyway.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/28/

“ Way cool!” as Nadine would say. Thanks, Carrie. I thought all the cosmos had already bloomed. I will definitely re-seed this one. Looking forward to the article.

The ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea is blooming today casting a vote for pink, but Stella d’Oro bloomed so yellow is still winning. Kay and I worked together clearing out the entrance bed for cool season plants.

The doctor called to reschedule my afternoon appointment at the last minute. Since we were already dressed and ready to leave, I just decided to spend the afternoon driving the back roads and sniffing roses with my wife. (Jim)

#1: ‘Gold Medal’ rose is a good modern rose for the south.

#2: I think this one is ‘Bridal Shower’. Definitely, bridal something.

#3: Can’t recall this one’s name, but it was a beauty.

#4: There has to be a beast with all the beauties. The Swamp Thing.

#5: The Stella d-Oro.