Let's Talk about Gardens

I too have ordered my plants from a local greenhouse - what an odd experience, as I'm the sort that appears in the morning as they unlock the door and browses for a long time selecting just the right plants - then repeats several times to fill all the pots and empty spaces.
This was also something of a mitzvah - the small business had many plant sale orders cancelled, the owner just restarted chemo, and cannot open his doors to the public even if allowed, so all orders are being put up for driveway pickup. So I sent the list round to a number of friends and family and we placed a large order, which I will sort out here & it will be picked up from my driveway.
On a bright note, I have now cleaned out 3 of 9 beds since getting home, and begun inventorying what needs to be dug and moved. Today we uncover the pond and put the fountain back in, so I can enjoy the peaceful splashing as I work. Staying close to home this summer, I foresee many hours on the patio enjoying it. I was even contemplating whether I can move my sewing machine out there like I do in Texas...of course here it would need to be carried in each night as the patio is uncovered.
Next week is gardens chapter 2 - the diggers come to remove excess plants to new homes in their yards. This week I shall be placing labeled flags near each plant that goes, and will direct the volunteers from a safe distance on my patio. This event has resulted in a number of new gardening buddies over the past 3 springs.
Happy Gardening! May the sun shine on your plants and the rain fall when you need it.
Sue

@sueinmn That is a great system. I would love to live in your neighborhood and soak up lessons from you and your garden. I am a budding gardener, having successfully avoided that most of my life. Cactus/succulents and roses are happy with me, because they all are pretty much ignored. Gardening is like fire-tending, you gotta keep after it. I lose my concentration, or get involved in other stuff, and forget. Just as we moved here, I met a fellow Zentangle teacher who lives in the next town down the interstate. She is a master gardener per her proclamation. I would love to get tips from her for our property, but she only came out here once, and claimed it was too far to go!
@jimhd and @funcountess I have an orchid cactus on its way this weekend from southern California. It will be fine for here until the winter, then I will have to think what to do. No greenhouse, no cellar, no extra room for plants to overwinter.
Ginger

@ginger As for maintenance, mulch is your friend! I would not be able to tend my beds without it - 4" deep over everything, it conserves moisture, keeps the weeds down, and as it breaks down it feeds the soil.
As for being a Master Gardener, it is not a title one adopts, it is conferred through participation in education and volunteer service through a land grant university. I work in two states - Minnesota & Texas - so vastly different!
And wow, is this a different experience with Covid-19 - instead of being out in the community, doing plant sales and educational booths, we are trying to do what we can remotely as our governor and board of regents have prohibited in person contact until July.
Today I have a Zoom meeting to figure out how to schedule Zoom "Ask a Master Gardener Booth" sessions for the Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons we typically spend doing this in garden centers and farmers markets. The local garden centers have agreed to put up posters for us if we do it. And many of us will be doing weekly "This week in my garden" educational spots for our county Master Gardener Facebook account. I will be showing planting and tending my straw bale vegetable row along the garage, among other topics.
As far as losing focus, I do it too. It works really well for me to have a dedicated time to walk the yard each day, and make a mental plan. If the weather is good, I do it first thing in the morning, before or after my walk, with a cup of coffee in hand. And now, being "locked in" at home, I have set a plan for 2 hours after lunch in the garden each day - this will be Day 4, hope I can make it a habit.
Happy Gardening
Sue
PS - where are you located? I think you may be able to overwinter the orchid cactus outdoors with protection.

@sueinmn That is a great system. I would love to live in your neighborhood and soak up lessons from you and your garden. I am a budding gardener, having successfully avoided that most of my life. Cactus/succulents and roses are happy with me, because they all are pretty much ignored. Gardening is like fire-tending, you gotta keep after it. I lose my concentration, or get involved in other stuff, and forget. Just as we moved here, I met a fellow Zentangle teacher who lives in the next town down the interstate. She is a master gardener per her proclamation. I would love to get tips from her for our property, but she only came out here once, and claimed it was too far to go!
@jimhd and @funcountess I have an orchid cactus on its way this weekend from southern California. It will be fine for here until the winter, then I will have to think what to do. No greenhouse, no cellar, no extra room for plants to overwinter.
Ginger

Hello Ginger,
I called a plant nursery this a.m. the man said there are many varieties of orchid cactus, and some do better in very cold weather then others. He said generally the darker the flower the more hardy the plant is.
The one you are getting was it in the ground, or a planter container?
Do you have a covered patio, where you can keep it during the winter, or near your front door, maybe near a window inside?
You can always buy that green netting nurseries use, just make sure it has holes in it,so the plant gets air and sunlight.
I had no idea Oregon gets so cold, always thought it had moderate temperature.
I learned something new.
How long did your beautiful quilt take you to make, and when did you find the time if you had a full time job.?
With me it’s about time and energy, some days I have plenty of energy, and keep going all day long with cleaning and chores, other days not so much.
Take care,
Funcountess

@funcountess The flower on this one is creamy white. I have had it for about 12 years, and it was a rescue, in a huge pot. Our little valley seems to have its own weather pattern. Today I trimmed back two Japanese burberry bushes that flank the west facing livingroom window, and hope to get an hour or two in each day on yard work. You know, a little piece at a time.

The quilt was done in 1999. It hung in an annual show in that same year, put on by the Glendale [CA] Quilt Guild. When you have a passion to see a "mind's eye" project turn into 3D, you find the time.
Ginger

@funcountess Are they hardy to -10? I have a collection indoors, but don't ask me their names. My cactus guide is out in the garage, and I won't get out there until tomorrow. My feet and back are hurting too much to take any non-essential steps.

This week I laid a path from the deck to the cellar, using 12" pavers. Today I trundled dirt with my wheelbarrow from the pile out at the northwest corner of our place to the new path. I needed to put quite a bit of dirt next to the path to make it level with the lawn. Several years ago I made the path, two pavers wide. Over time the shrub and a bunch of blue fescue clumps had grown and nearly covered the path. So I moved the pavers a bit and pruned the shrub (the name of which is buried somewhere in the back of my brain) and made the path three pavers wide. A lot of work down on my knees.

After moving dirt and some rocks to put next to the path, I weeded my Barnabas garden. Barnabas was my service dog for 7 years, and one night he had a stroke or some other brain event and couldn't walk. Having him put down the next morning was a really distressing job. At the vet's office they have a quiet room, and I sat next to him and cried for an hour. One of our neighbors came over with his bobcat and dug a big grave for Barnabas. I planted an orange wild rose, along with several other things, to mark his new home.

I put the Barnabas garden next to the fence, which may not have been the best place. Our neighbors have their field in pasture grass, with 2 or 3 cuttings a year, and their grass makes its way to our side of the fence, so it's an ongoing chore keeping the fence line clean. That accounts for 90% of the weeds in his garden.

Time for supper now.

Jim