Grow Your Own - Gardenerd on ABC News: Nightline

Interesting video about the new wave of victory gardening-I thought this was interesting:)

All I want for xmas!

Dear Santa,
I hope you have had a great year and that all the elves and all your animal friends are doing really great this holiday season! I thought I might take a moment to make a xmas list this year, something I never do...but probably should!

1. I'd really like all my aches and pains to go away:)If you could do that I don't want anything else!

2. The next best thing would be a really good wrist brace and elbow brace and foot brace...and a year of visits to the chiropractor. If you have extra in the budget I am pretty sure some time with an acupuncturist would help too...

3. I'd also like some Gift Certificates to get a massage or two or 20!

5. I'm pretty sure a hot tub could be beneficial as well...

6. After all those I could use a new flat head spade, a new pitch fork, a new wheel barrow, oh and definitely a new truck!

7. Several yards of compost spread all over all my beds would be next to the best thing ever...

8. I would definitely enjoy some of those super soft garden gloves I see at the store that I totally can't justify purchasing since they will be dirty and torn apart in one day-for sure.
9. I could use a really good garden helper who knows the difference between weeds, perennials, and annuals...who would not mind working really hard for 10.00 an hour 18 hours a week...is that too much to ask for?

10. I would like a gallon of technu poison ivy soap.

11. I would like some brand new really sharp bi pass pruning shears.

12. I would like a small chain saw that is easy to start and doesn't scare the heck out of me:)

13. Or a really hot guy to do all my chain saw work for me;)Maybe you could mention that to my boyfriend...

14.I would really love a green house...that might be pushing it...but that would be a dream come true...

15. I would like some really cool garden decor like some gazing globes and some super cool bird feeders-Oh Wait! I even know where you can go to get those-Cool Garden Things

What would YOU like for under your tree this year?

Fall Scans

Just playing with scanner and photoshop. I always feel to desperate to preserve the last vestiges of summer and fall...soon it will all be gone...

Cold Fingers in the Garden

Well, here we are and it is already Fall. Where did spring and summer go? Soon I'll be wondering what happened to my 40's...I spent them gardening!

This is really the best time to split plants and move them around.

My Black-eyed Suzans are growing out of control and need to be split before they start to over-shadow other plants and impact the positive growth of other plants. So now is the time that I cut them down and seed out the seeds in a few places. I also dig up and split the growth that is intruding on other plants and move them to areas of my garden that needed some more late summer color. Because we all know that they have great foliage and awesome late summer appeal.

Evening primrose is definitely another plant that needs to be taken care of. I usually have to dig it out of my beds and just leave a few small areas intact...it spreads like an invasive but is luckily fairly easy to pull out. It can also be spread to other parts of the garden. I'm one to battle invasive against invasive so next year I'll be putting it with my evil snow on the mountain...yes I have some...don't put it in your garden...but since it's already in mine I thought I would see how these two hold up together.

I also want to say that some of my grasses are getting kind of large. I'm going to wait till spring to split, though, as I find they make a nice place for critters to overwinter.

Perhaps you did not like what was happening in some part of the garden and you want to move plants to a different part of the garden. For example you may have to move some taller plants to the back of the bed because it covered up some shorter plant. It happens, this is the time to do it!

GartenGrl

Growing Plants from Seed

I have a client who wants a very flower abundant garden. Very English cottage meets field of flowers kind of thing. This has been a new kind of project for me as most of my clients prefer a more structured and controlled looking kind of feel. I am personally inclined to the natural and wild looking garden.
I was surprised to find that this "easy looking" style of gardening required just as much work as the more formal garden. Which is funny, because you would think there would be less maintenance! Ha!
You still have to weed out invasive and unproductive weeds. You still have to split and divide plants. You still have to plant for the best location. Watering and pest control are still on the munu. Etc. Etc.
One thing I am doing with this garden, though, is using and broadcasting seeds. And that is something I don't usually do as seeds can be kind of hit or miss depending on if people are using things like Preen in their garden. Overzealous weeding...etc. etc.
I came across this useful link describing what time of year it is best to broadcast certain seeds...
http://flowergardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/fall_sowing_of_seeds_in_the_flower_garden

I found it very helpful...I think you will too.

P.S. Check out our gazing globes and very cool looking ceramic bird houses at Cool Garden Things

Need Help To ID this Plant

I was weeding a client garden...and over the last month I noticed this problem which I promptly attempted to ignore. But can no longer ignore!!! If anyone can help me to identify this Michigan late season blue/purple flower perennial and the disease and what to do...I would be very grateful!

Thanks, GartenGrl at Planning Plants to Plant

Butterflies in My Garden

Well...I know my blog is supposed to be about the plants I like to plant...but I get distracted on occasion.
But one plant I really love is regular old-fashioned Milkweed...it can grow up to 7 feet tall or more in my garden! And I love it's big dusky rose colored pom poms that smell like honey...mmmmm. And all the bumble bees and honey bees go absolutely NUTS over it.
A few day ago I was like, sigh, how come I never get any butterflies in my garden...I work so hard and not a single butterfly...whine, whine, whine...yada, yada, yada....And then the very next day I saw a monarch butterfly all over that Milkweed! YES!
And today I was whining to my dad about how I was not going to get any caterpillars because all the ants would eat them first...and low and behold-I saw TWO baby monarch caterpillars!!! YES!
I realize that two does not bode well against legions of predators...but I feel very happy none-the-less!
I even saw a hummingbird buzz by to check out my first time in bloom Trumpet Vine...only took 5 years...but hey...gardening is an exercise in patience and hard work!
I can thank both my parents for leading me to the joys of gardening and bird watching. I'm sure I thought they were crazy when I was a kid, but now I totally get it....
If you enjoy really cool garden things....like gazing globes and bird feeders and fire pots check out
Cool Garden Things!