Speedie, Something to consider, my one boss was very attentive to trends in the local economy, he decided that many people either had a homecation or returned from vacation the end of June and wanted to pretty up their yards. He started to order small quantities of annuals and some veggie plants for delivery about that time of year. Just like nurseries in vacation areas, like the Poconos and Catskills, they sold, as did tools and products that supported the effort. All the box stores have moved on by then, so just monitor your request to see what may be needed for your local area. We also often sold fall veggie plants about the mid way thru August, into early September, for those who remember what Grandma did. I'm not suggesting you make a major investment here, just follow you market and meet the need. That creates loyal customers who will buy from you as long as you as somewhat competitive in pricing, you'll never beat someone like Walmart, but may give a local hardware a run.
Your Neck of the Woods part 7 Galloping into Spring
Those grow bags might certainly be something to consider, I'll check into them, and their pricing.
I probably WILL have my own fairy garden, but mostly I think it will be for display at work; Our Estimate Guy is already "into" fairy gardens, so I have his support. He's already brought one in to temporarily display, (but had to take it home again - is meant as a gift to his Mom), and he intends to bring more. But, they are his personal ones from home; I want to create one to STAY at work - to not only show how fun they are, but I also want to do something in it that could be duplicated on a grand scale, to show what the landscape guys could do in a full-sized yard for them! =) "Hey, this is cool, huh? Ya want your whole yard to look like this? We could do it for you!" That sort of thing. =) I'd want a mini (bonsai?) tree, a dry-brook bed with a bridge, table/chairs outside, a mini potting table with teeny pots and watering can on it. A bit of grass, maybe... with a teeny lawn mower. ;) I'd want the flowers in it to be white and purple... have NO idea what to use there! ... not sure what all else, really.
Ric, I'm right on the same page with you! That's why I've been asking around in here (on different threads) what sorts of things interest you guys, and I always strike up conversations with customers at work. I write down EVERYTHING that people mention, even just in passing, or come in to specifically ask for, and WHEN. We've had SEVERAL queries for African Violets last year, and I've already had my first one for THIS year just yesterday. I keep telling Bossman, African Violets and indoor plants NEED to be on our menu. Also yesterday had a query for air-gardening. Thanks to the articles here, I actually knew a bit of what I was talking about with them! =) Too bad, so far, all our vendors keep telling me that, what's used as "indoor plants" are not really available until closer to Fall. =( (most people are looking to grow OUTdoors this time of year, not INdoors). I think I need to start some call-backs to let them know they're not quite right about that.
Anyway, and Bossman thinks just like you do too, thank GOD! He's a very sharp cookie! =) You're right, LOADS of our customers come in with memories of Mom or Grandma in the garden... YES, we want to support that!! And, why on EARTH have we never before (under the old ownership) carried greens like collards and chard!?!? THAT is going to change this year, let me tell you! < =D Toooooo many people come in asking for it, ain't no way I'm gonna say "No, sorry, that's not something we carry" EVER AGAIN. We've had decorative cabbage and kale in the Fall, but why not the edible ones!? Everyone asks for them, along with the wonderful greens.... need to pay attention to what customers want!!
I can't tell you all how much FUN it is; I'm LOVING it! < =D And I can't tell you all THANK YOU enough - all your brilliant insights are what make me look like I actually know something; it's NOT me, it's YOU!!! ♥
Speedie, I saw this on pintrest. I have seen this type of thing before but I really liked this one. At first I thought it was made from terra cotta drain pipe but then I thought it is probably PVC with a terra cotta paint job I don't know what they used for the strapping but I like the black with the terra cotta. It is a bit more dressy than the other ones I have seen. Might be a display idea if you have a place to hang one. You wouldn't have to plant it just set the potted plants right in it and maybe give someone an idea for window box combos.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/5981411979890922/
That is a really cool idea Holly, thank you! We've got some really creative guys at work, I'm sure they'd be able to figure out a way to make a display like that... and the materials to sell... just gotta figure out where we'll find the space for the stuff! LOL!! That store is getting sooooo full of stuff, space is at a premium - and a half! =)
Got this other cool idea from somewhere (don't remember where) for a display of hanging plants. I think we could make this quite easily!
speedie----
You could buy PVC pipe to do the W-Box thing.
HD sells a spray paint that is called "Stone Paint"... Comes in many colors...
Spray it on--and it looks like concrete--or brick--or aged gray stone. whatever you choose...
Re the Faerie Garden--I have a HUGE tote full of silk flower heads and also
a HUGE bag-full of dried flowers and stems of all kinds....
Thinking--you could make some really realistic trees...and, maybe, flowering shrubs...
You can buy all kinds of Moss in Michael's or AC Moore Craft stores. Joanne's too.
Look in the sisle where the styrofoam forms and wire wreath forms are found...Lots of mosses---
Raindeer moss is nice---so is "Sheet Moss"--green and low--usually used in
artificial flower arrangements to cover the floral foam with.
Heep on trucking, girl!!! You're om a rolll!!! G.
Cute teeny little flowering shrubs, great idea! Gonna try to steer away from buying anything at another retailer -- that sort of defeats the purpose. ;) Need to be able to say to customers "Oh, you like these bits? Here, let me direct you to the shelves where we carry them"! =) We have a couple wholesale companies from which we can find most, if not all, of that stuff. Apparently at least the moss can be found from one of our wholesalers, considering that BossMan has already ordered some for "MY" fairy gardening! LOL
Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'.. raw-hiiiiiide!! =)
Do you know which mosses he ordered? Irish, Scottish, other? This picture is from last years Md. Home & Garden Show. I would love to remove all the grass in the Secret Garden and put something like this in. Maybe a different pattern but something like this. There isn't all that much grass in the secret garden and there will be less when I get the walkway in there. But at 4$ for a 4in pot it would be a very expensive experiment. Maybe when I get to the spot that I might actually do it I can find it wholesale.
Oh forgot the pic.
Holly---I took a picture of that same moss last year too..
One can sleuth around a shady, moist woods and find a lot of green moss growing..
Take along a shallow scoop (kitty litter one) and a shallow cardboard box
and gather some. Especially in a pine/evergreen forest--as mosses love acid soils.
It would be, probably, hard to maintain a moss out of its natural element, though.
Somewhere in my brain's cobwebs--I remember that powdered milk has some
kind of role in growing moss. Not sure...Google it...
Just food for thought....G.
Wanna see some moss? These are abandoned grave sites we came across
while in Latvia in 2008. People fled--and left their family graves unattended.
No one was left to tend to them, which is, almost, a holy task over there.
No one there abandons their family grave sites!
They are lovingly tended to, raked --cleaned and always fresh flowers left behind.
We drove 3 hrs. to go to our home town to visit here.
#2 is my Father's grave marker.
He died at 36 (of cancer) when i was only 2 . I have NO memory of him.
(sorry about the "side trip"--but I wanted you to see all this beautiful moss)
I found this sight profoundly sad.. Gita
This message was edited Mar 27, 2014 8:06 AM
It is a beautiful spot Gita, so sad to have no memory of your father. I have a few nice patches of moss in the yard and have been harvesting a bit of it for my terrariums. I like the Irish & Scottish mosses.
I bought sheet moss from this place last year in the hopes that moss, at least, would grow in the shadiest part of my yard (it didn't): http://www.mossandstonegardens.com/mossrocks.php
The "how to grow moss" section on this site is very informative and entertaining (scroll to the bottom and you'll see what I mean!).
I have a small moss garden by my front steps. Ric laughs at me when I get out there to groom my moss.
The best way I've learned to spread moss is to start with a locally growing moss. Put it in a blender with 3 parts beer and 1 part sugar, then pour your culture in a suitable area after moistening it well. Keep the area slightly moist and soon you will see new growth. Moss often goes dormant in high summer or periods of drought, it just sort of browns out and returns to green in the fall.
Where Gita got the powdered milk. Some gardeners prefer to use skimmed powdered milk as a culture starter, other advocate buttermilk since many mosses like a bit of acid. If you have seen moss you like and it's brown it's still viable and can be collected for the spores.
We're spending the morning grooming plants and moving them all to one side of the GH, as much as possible. Our seedlings are coming this afternoon for hobby GH. We will go about lunch time to unload them and breakdown the orders, bringing ours home. We haven't found many insect pest as yet, a little scale on a picture plant, some spider on our bucket of over wintering pond plants (water lettuce and hyacinth) and 1 mealy bug on the only surviving Persian shield cutting. Since it's overcast I can bomb the GH as soon as we unload the new plants, to try and not bring any new pest in.
Delicious moss recipe, Ric. I say we add butter and chocolate. LOL!
All kidding aside, I remember seeing something on TV about using yogurt to grow moss on new planters to give them an aged look, a similar idea.
Holly you know I would join you anytime for moss grooming!
Wow Gita, those pics of the graveyard are beautiful!! I think it would be great if more cemeteries looked like that over here! I think there's something to be said about new life growing out of old...
You have NO idea, jeff, what the larger Cemeteries have as monuments.
Large--life-like statues of angels and grieving people.
The one with the moss is a small, ruralk cemetary and we never really cruised through it--
just enough to find our Father's grave site--spiff it up a bit and leave some flowers.
I could spend days in these kind of cemeteries.....just lost in awe...
I also hate the cemeteries we have here--you walk all over the graves.
That would be a total sacrilege in Latvia. Besides--as you sawin the moss covered ones,
a grave is always made like an elevated "bed"...right where one is buried.
Here are some monuments from the "National Cemetery in Riga (our capital).
A most sacred place--and very picturesque.
I k now I am digressing again--forgive me--but I want to show Jeff some of the monuments.
#2--was some kind of a Poet or auther
#4 was a beloved conductor of the Symphony
#5--main entrance to the national Cemetary
OK! No more--I promise.....Anyone want to see more--there's always Google.
G.
I would love to go exploring those cemeteries! I find it interesting to see when people lived.
Jeff--
There are a couple old cemeteries here in Baltimore....
Around Halloween--they do guided tours of some of these Cemeteries.
One of the oldest is the Greenmount (also a street name) Cemetery.
http://www.greenmountcemetery.com/greenmount-cemetery-features-history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Mount_Cemetery
Another one is the The Baltimore Cemetery at the end of
North Avenue. Both are very old....
https://www.google.com/search?q=baltimore+cemetery&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb
I have never been to either of them--hey are both downtown--a good 40 min. ride from my place.
Also--as you may know--Edgar Allen Poe is buried in a small Cemetery in the
Baltimore area. Lots of lore surround this one.
http://www.eapoe.org/balt/poegrave.htm
Want to have a real thrill??? Google "Black Aggie"..Brrrr....
http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-black-aggie.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/druidridge.html
I am sure many stories like this abound....
Have fun! G.
This message was edited Mar 28, 2014 10:41 PM
OK! Back to gardening....
Finally dug out my OLD Gooseberry bush (possibly from the late 70's--early 80's ??)
and potted it into the big, black pot you see. Could have used a bigger one--
had to cut back a lot of roots....but we will see...It has not borne fruit in years.
Got another small start that came off. I potted it up.
Gooseberries are not hot-weather shrubs. They do better in more northern zones.
Just ONE year--long, long ago--I picked enough berries to make some Jam.
http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/5766/how-to-grow-great-gooseberries/page/all
This bush has been languishing in the corner of this bed-by the bird bath and
under my Lilac bush--which is also not doing much any more--for eons...
This bed started out--years and years ago--as two whiskey barrels. side by side,
on the ground. Nice sunny spot--no big trees--open yards (no fences) etc.
In about 3 years--these whiskey barrels were totally full of maple roots which sits
ONLY 4' away from my YUK bed and this small extension to my YUK bed.
So--I asked my DH to fill in around the barrels and make it a raised bed.
We removed all the stays as the bed was filled in.
It was usable for a few years--but I had to rip out the roots every time I wanted to
dig a hole it there. So--I gave up--and it has just been sitting there with the Gooseberry
bush at the far end, a big clump of trailing Vinca at the other end.
Slowly--nature has shrunk this bed down to only about 1' deep.
The empty bed you see now, is doomed to be totally demolished as nothing grows there.
It is matted full of tree roots. Don't know how I am going to accomplish this.
The soil is pretty good in it....I want to just toss it on the YUK bed right next to it
to amend this bed. It sadly needs some good stuff in it.
It will be slow goings...picking all the roots out by hand ...or axe and lots of shoveling.
Then again--been there done that many times.. any time I plant something in m YUK bed.
WHEN and IF I get this bed about level to the ground--I will put pavers over it and it will
become a nice flat place to set bigger pots (like my Amaryllis??) for the summer.
The rotting landscape edging will be removed (so SHE says) and taken to the Land Fill.
Wish me luck! G.
1--This doomed bed looking towards my YUK bed. The green fencings are
from last summer--as the rabbits chewed off all new growth and many stems
from my Heliopsis and NE Aster in this bed.
2--The bed looking the other direction--the pot in front is the re-potted Gooseberry bush.
3--This is the still empty "kitchen side bed" full of nothingness...The two big ferns
are one in either end of this bed. The ones I just now dug apart and potted some of
the clumps. On the left is the Autumn Fern--On the right--the Korean Tassel fern.
The Endless Summer Hydrangea sits totally dormant
on the left. Normally--it would be in leaf-bud by now.
4--This how you may know this bed better....from July 2013
5--the far corner of my YUK bed--June 2013. All this comes up automatically.
They are all perennials that make-do in this yukky bed....Bless their "hearts'...
Lot of work!
I have read about gooseberries since getting the cuttings from Theresa's brother at seed swap couple years ago. Like many berries they need some pruning. Something like remove all canes older than three years.
Spring is going to gallop in this coming week with the sun and milder nights!
Gita! You have PLENTY of opportunity for adding plants out there! :-)
Suggestion -- instead of trying to get that root-packed area to ground level (TOO much work!), put a new edge around it and then top it off with pea gravel or river rock -- no more expense than pavers and just as good for setting pots on. :-)
With the time you saved not digging out maple roots... GET RID OF SOME GRASS! Do it a little at a time, as you find things you would like to add if only you had some space. Even just making the corner areas of your border beds bigger would give you planting space. Or how about the strip on the other side of the walkway past your kitchen bed? Take out enough grass to put in a shrub or a few perennials... do the same in another spot on that strip... eventually, the little "planting islands" will connect up to make a beautiful side garden.
Gita, if only my regular beds looked as nice in bloom as your 'yuk' bed! :-)
That's what I'm doing -- getting rid of my grass! At this rate, I'm only going to have a narrow patch of grass left over, which will be used as a pathway between planting beds. Nothing takes foot traffic like turf grass.
Like this: http://www.gapphotos.com/imagedetails.asp?imageno=236518
or this: http://garden-photos-com.photoshelter.com/image/I00000ieKzBxp7Q4
gorgeous links, SSG--that's what I want, too! Grass just takes up valuable garden space. ;-) I extended two of my beds this past year. Would like to do some more for next.
jill--
Your idea of the gravel could work--but putting a new edge around it--??????
The back side of this bed is just about12" from the tall fence and there is about a foot
step down into a deep drop. Can't even move around once I step down there..
No way I could do this myself. Could YOU?
If you were me--would YOU be able to do all you are suggesting to me?
You would hire someone to come and do it all at the cost of hundreds of dollars.
Right? To me--that is not so necessary and practical either.
Besides the impossibility of digging grass off anywhere in the back--is ludicrous!
because the roots are ALL OVER the back yard--they protrude all throughout the lawn.
I trip on them and mowing the grass back there is like a bumpy ride.
Also--another BIG reason to not even consider all this is---I have about 30+ year on you.
Just can't do it all any more..... Can't kneel and can't squat---bad back...bad right arm...
(just for now) I'm having carpal Tunnel surgery on 4-17. Sure will cut into a bit of my gardening..
The only bed I am toying of "maybe" enlarging a bit is the small one in the front.
NO tree roots there!!!
That is ONLY a thought right now. But--doable...
Gita
HAHA, Mister I can move anything did a bit of his leverage magic tonight. We got a free Granite slab 42in long 15in wide and 6in thick. Ric thinks maybe 500-600 lbs. Yea he loaded it onto the low trailer with nothing but a pry bar, a couple of wooden blocks, some copper pipe and a couple of straps. Too dark to get a pic tonight but will be out there taking pictures. We think it will make a great bench for the garden.
Gita, adding groups of containers might work better for you in back, given those roots. I know how creative you are -- bet you could find lots of things to repurpose as planting containers, just drill a few holes and maybe give things a coat of paint. And I didn't think there was a root problem in the side yard, another space where you could replace grass with garden... no need to dig if you can do some lasagna garden areas -- let the worms do the work!
I only mentioned adding a new edge to that future container area because you said something about removing the existing old one... and it would help contain the gravel. Maybe pavers or cinder blocks along the back... you can place them (or any edging?) while standing IN (not behind) the bed, add a few rebar pieces if needed for stability. Even pound-in plastic edging might do the trick... speaking of which...
I'm going to try some of that pound-in edging to make "collars" around plants that need extra good drainage... fill with a mound of gritty mix, then plant... easier than making mini raised areas with rocks, and I find when I don't use some sort of surround, my planting mounds flatten out too much over time. Last year, I put some agastache plants in bottomless nursery pots set halfway into the ground... will have to see how they do.
Does anybody else raise up small areas or plant on mounds -- if so, how?
Holly! Great find on that granite slab! I love the similar bench we have on the side patio... but that took a truck with a crane, and we'd never have thought of doing it if we hadn't been getting gravel delivered. Ric is AWESOME!
Holly and Ric, it sounds like an amazing feat to me!! Must be so beautiful.
Wow Holly, you and Ric are great at finding free stuff for the garden! I'd love a slab of granite but I don't know how I'd maneuver it.
Jill, most of my beds are technically mounds, since they were all sheet mulched. I'm constantly having to replenish the mulch. I don't like the look of edgers but the one that Muddy posted looks like it'd blend in really well.
Here is what my Rock Wrangler brought home. I found an add for it in freecycle. We were both out there in the rain trying to get it done just before dark. My whole purpose was to slide pieces of block or pipe under it as he moved it.
awesome slab!!!
My guesstamet was high, it's probably only 400# and slippery when wet. LOL
I'm so impressed by you two. Just looking at that slab makes my back ache. That's going to make a *beautiful* bench somewhere.
Gita, IDEA!!! OK, so I'm picturing this bed you were referring to ^^ up there as something like this... Raised bed at x length and x width; a 1-foot space behind the bed that is at 'ground level'; and then the fence directly behind that. Could you just remove maybe a 1-inch depth of the top of the raised bed's soil, add your landscape fabric and gravel on top and use that as your "raised container platform" -- AND THEN/ALSO, ... in the 1-foot-wide space behind the raised bed, simply lay down some landscape fabric, 1-2 inches of gravel, and then use that as a "tall container" area? Like taller urns n' stuff like that. No? Could give some interesting depth to the whole bed area and would be less work for you. Do you think that would work?
Holly and Ric - MY GOODNESS that is a beautiful slab of rock! Ric, you actually made me LOL when you said "...and slippery when wet". Hahahahaahaaa!!! Do please be careful of your backs, BOTH of you! Leverage is a beautiful thing, huh? =)
Critter, I've not **YET** done any mound-growing, but I've been toying with the idea for a while now... just have yet to decide what to grow in those mounds! ;)
It is a nice piece of rock!! Awesome find.
An old tree in Silver Spring has succumbed to the winter weather:
http://aroundfourcorners.blogspot.com/2014/03/240-year-old-black-gum-tree-falls.html
It was a beautiful black gum. I hope they replace it with a tree that's going to last another 200+ years.
Oh sad, what a loss.
That is a nice piece of granite and will make a great bench! What a find Rock Wrangler Ric!