Let's Talk about Gardens

Hi Sue,
So,so glad there is a plant EXPERT among the crowd. Definitely will not touch the Rosa rugosa plant. Don’t need any suckers, or thorns. And to invade the lawn, no way. Like you deer have never touched my roses, nor my neighbors who are backed up to open space. Yes, the rabbits will touch the flowers.
The landscaper put in a few more small trees, and bushes. Took several days. He wanted to plant some Hostas in a shade area. Do you know that plant?
Are you sure you love Minnesota?
Would love for you to live near by. You need a sign on your door that says SUES SUPER SERVICE —- LANDSCAPE EXPERT
Santa Barbara, and surrounding area is a beautiful place to live. You can have the dirty Pacific Ocean near by. Wonderful restaurants and high property taxes all in one area, not to mention the rare chance to catch a glimpse of Oprah, as she lives in the area, but as of yet have never seen her in person.
And don’t forget no snow, or frozen pipes.
Take care, and I so appreciate your good advice.
Funcountess

I only garden in pots now. At least it is something.

@gingerw @funcountess @sueinmn and others.

Rosa rugosa - I've had them for around 15 years, and have never experienced anything like suckers or invasiveness. Interesting. Maybe the climate here keeps them in check. I figure that they aren't attractive to the deer because of the thousands of thorns. In my last residence I had put bird netting over a flower bed where I had a rugosa. A friend told me one day, after I found the netting was gone, that he had seen a buck wearing the netting in his antlers. As @sueinmn mentioned, which I didn't know, they're in the wild rose family (did I get that right, Sue?), and I like wild roses. I dug up a start of an orange one that's in full bloom right now. I haven't seen deer eating them. I'll try to figure out how to share a picture of it. I'm wanting to get a start of a yellow one, as soon as I can figure out where to put it. The orange one is on Barnabas' burial mound.

I mentioned my vigorous yellow clematis tangutica. It was well out of bounds, and I have to keep it cut back off the deck stairs. I did a radical pruning on it a couple of weeks ago. My wife doesn't like it but I'm the one who does the outdoor stuff, so I don't always consult with her.

I planted more asparagus and made a strawberry bed today, and it should go without saying that I weeded. I tend to be OCD about weeds.

I think that the problem I had the past few days was a side effect of Prednisone, which I started on Thursday. I was mowing and had to keep stopping and resting and felt like I was going to pass out. No problem today, thankfully.

@funcountess I like hostas. They're a shade loving plant, and are mostly a foliage plant, though they do have blossoms. I suspect that rabbits would think that you had put them out for their dining pleasure.

Jim

@Parus, I just have one "sunny" area in my house and have started several small pots of "veggie scraps". Really having fun watching their progress. I've planted a few flower seeds in front yard but nothing yet in back. Did add some potting soil to a few pots to place in my courtyard because it will be easy to water. Hoping to watch and care for outside potted plants because the diversion will add a bit of color and cheer. Still more clearing and prep in back and just can't seem to stay with it long enough to finish the job. What have you planted in your pots? I agree! Something is something!! I just can't decide which seeds I have on hand to start.

@parus I am learning about the plants that were here when we moved in almost a year ago. Found out the sellers plopped some in the ground that made it look good, but were not right for this area. Looked good for the sale but failed miserably in the long run. So, they got yanked out. Just planted some zinnia and sage starts from the neighbor in a raised stone bed on back patio. I decided to not pursue a lot of gardening this year, just learn what is here. Next year do at least a straw bale garden. The soil is not very agreeable to a lot of planting [but weeds grow abundantly!], so there will mostly be containers.

Can you post pictures of your container gardening?
Ginger

We had our first day of summer Saturday and I was able to clean up the chives. It's hard to keep a farmer's daughter's hands off weeds.

On my parent's farm weeds grew much better than fruitful plants. Sometimes it was all Mother could do to clean directly around the plants so they wouldn't be choked off by weeds. One summer she send my older siblings out to remove the weeds between the rows of the plants. When they came back into the house in 1/2 hour and said they were done, she had to go check. They had pulled every plant from its clearing and the weeds grew on!

Hi Jim,
Gardner’s have been at house since 7:00a.m. They said the nursery they buy their plants from have never heard of deer eating roses, and the Rosa rugosa can be invasive, it does depend on species.
It’s best to always contact a local nursery in your area, since they know the growing habits and weather conditions.
They need to pull another damaged tree out, and will replace with 2 very tall bushes, probably oleander.
Since you are on Rx try not to work outside when it’s hot. I go outside very early, or after the sun is over the mountains.
Between 10:00a.m. and 5:00p.m. During summer I’m in.
Funcountess

@jimhd I agree that rugosas act differently in different places and soil types. I live in sand, where many things "go wild". My m-i-l lived in rock/clay in the very Northern part of MN, and her bush behaved nicely - didn't even try to climb her stucco.

@funcountess I am familiar with hostas and there are so many varieties to choose from it can be mind-boggling. HOWEVER, Jim is right, rabbits lover tender young hosta plants, so you need to protect them. I do this with a spray called "Deer and Rabbit Repellent" that I spray on every 2 weeks or after a heavy rain until the plants are full-sized. Other considerations - slugs love to munch on hosta leaves and hide under them, so if they are a problem in your area, you have to deal with them. Many hostas need to be divided every 3-5 years to stay healthy and look their best. If you have someone to do that, life is good. If you have to wrangle them yourself it can be a chore.

@gingerw Watching your new yard is a great idea. It's especially good to watch the sun/shade patterns to know what will grow best in each spot. When you're ready to buy, ask neighbors for starts or buy locally grown plants for best success. Here's another tip - watch later this summer at yard sales and big box stores for containers on sale. Vegetables, other than greens, need pots with a capacity of at least 5 gallons, so the investment can be significant if bought at full price.

Happy gardening everyone.

Sue

@sueinmn @jimhd The deer are leaving my rose bushes alone. But they are nibbling on the neighbor's bushes across the street. We visited a rest stop last week on the way back from town. One thing this state has is absolutely gorgeous rest areas. There were two gardens of roses, all the plants flushing with blooms. Two lavender roses in a spot, with one sporting a lovely cane growing out the top. I mused if we are paying our taxes, that cane must belong to me, but just could not see me cutting it off, especially as there were others around.
Did I tell you that as I have been weeding, I came across a lot of fake flowers the seller put in the ground? That's a new one!
Thanks for that tip on the containers!
Ginger

@gingerw.. I have a question for all the gardening experts... Does avocado tree attract rats? My daughter's gardener told her not to have one. My neighbor has one in her front yard in a pot and she had a dead rat in her patio. I had one in mine too not long after that. It was really gross. I came home one day and startled this gigantic crow (we have alot in my neighborhood), it was hovering over this dead rat. I'd like to think of it as a field mouse, less scary. My daughter said to call Animal Control next time, they will come and pick it up. I had double rubber gloves and got rid of it. Then I spray a whole can of lysol over the spot. Yikes yikes...