Relaxing in the garden…or not
Here is a photo of part of my neighbor’s garden:
Isn’t it beautiful? Don’t you want to sit on the bench and relax for a while?
Here’s part of my garden:
This is not a place for relaxation. This is where things come to die.
Every year I swear I’ll tend it to next year. Every year I remember I hate being outside, hate bugs, don’t particularly care one way or the other about weeds and…everything dies. Sad, really.
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oh, that is so me! I have hostas for perennials and impatiens for annuals b/c basically, you can’t kill them!! Weeds? I pay my kids to do the weeds b/c I hate it so much. ;o)
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I have hostas and we do perennials, but I didn’t deadhead my coreopsis or daisies at all this year, so they look horrible.
My husband did some weeding this year, probably trying to guilt me into doing it myself, but I just smiled and waved at him through the window when I walked by.
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I love hostas. Unfortunately, when they get nice and thick, the dogs decide that they’re dog beds, and squish them. You actually can kill a hosta if you put a 75-pound dog on it repeatedly.
My garden is like yours. Every spring, I have intentions of doing better, but by the fall, the only thing that’s really thriving is the weeds. Maybe next year… *laughs*
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We had like 45 days over 100+ degrees this summer. It was hell out there and I was more than comfortable in my air conditioned house. Thank God for Biker Dude who went out and watered the bushes and trees, because otherwise they’d be dead by now.
I love gardening. When it’s 115 outside? Not so much. Our vegetable garden was toast by the beginning of July because of the brutal heat this summer. Though funny enough Biker Dude went out last night to rip up the garden. When he pulled up the tomato plants he harvested like 10 pounds of potatoes and an equal amount of onions that had been buried under the stalks of dead tomato plants. So…yay for our unexpected yield.
Also, we have a craptastic amount of jalapenos. They do like the hot weather.
As far as successful gardening? Plant things that require no maintenance other than watering.
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We re-did our landscaping last year. (Before that my garden and front of the house looked a lot like Shannon’s picture. Except browner.) Because it included removing two fairly big bush/trees really close to the house and sidewalk we decided to call in professionals. My only requirement – I needed it to be maintainence free. Nothing annual. Plants that could survive our hot summers without me watering them.
I’m SO happy with that decision! This summer was extra hot, so the plants got pretty brown, but they’ve all greened back up again with no losses. The idea of a garden sounds nice, but the reality of the work involved is not for me!
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Not true that they come there to die. I don’t see dirt! I see plants. Maybe they’re tired, but if they were dead, you’d never see them again
We’ve had more rain this year than ever and I don’t like squishing around in the garden so I haven’t done much either. But I agree with the others. Plant perennials. You really have to work at killing them and when you do have a chance to get out in the yard for a couple of minutes, they really reward you.
And Jaci? I did plant a veggie garden this year for a change. It drowned by the end of June. *sigh* You made me smile because at least you got something!
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Ellen, wow, I guess a 75 lb dog would do the trick. We only have an 8 lb indoor cat so our hostas are out of control huge and I’ve split them twice already!
Jaci–that’s why I love hostas an impatiens. Hostas you don’t even have to water and impatiens can look dead and that reminds you, “oh I should water those” and you do and the next day they are all alive and well again! Love those things!!
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My hostas need to be divided, desperately. But I never think of it except when they’re in full foliage, choking each other. I need to look up whether that’s a spring or fall divide.
And my coreopsis are my favorites. Cheery yellow blossoms that bloom all year if you’re good about deadheading. Sadly, gazillions of earwigs keep hiding in my coreopsis blooms and they’re the only bug I’m afraid of. Seriously, I’ll let a spider crawl onto my finger and release it outside, but an earwig near me makes me scream and run away, hyperventilating. So I’ve neglected my poor pretty plants.