ThankGod4Gardening

My husband swears he saw that truck with 8,000 plants pull away from our house! We went from barren flat grass to a rolling mini park in about 3 years. And with that came a lot of planting and tossing as I learned. Your list would have come in very handy. Love your attitude and your logic. I have vowed to focus on keeping gardening fun and so I some adjustments I made when sorting through my truckload. With that in mind here's a couple things I've learned along the way...

1) I hated, hated, hated...did I say hated?!!! weeding my vegetable garden, but I loved the fresh vegetables. I dreaded it because it always seemed like work. I noticed I didn't have the same feelings about spending time in my flowers. So my solution...I planted my vegetables in with my full sun loving flowers. The plants didn't care!

2) When I find an area that doesn't seems to be getting the attention it needs from me, I try adding a reason to go there by adding a new favorite plant to watch, a seating area or even a bird feeder. And if that doesn't work, I’m not afraid to bulldoze it...returning it to grass or rock is always an option and it beats that feeling of being overwhelmed—I've learned it's okay to recognize when we need to cut back.

Note for Liz77 - A great way to find new plants...When I see a yard with something I like in it, I’m not afraid to talk with the owner about what it is or how they did it...gardeners generally love to talk about gardens. I've made many fun friends that way—and sometimes they've offered to share plants or have told me where to get them, and I've done the same.

Also a note for DebraLee on Irises - if you have children...don't get frustrated when they misbehave, enjoy it... sentence them to yard duty!!! Ground them until they moving those Irises for you (it's hard to hurt an Iris!). It worked great for me! And it's a good excuse to spend time together. (If you don't have children the right age you can borrow some--parents are always willing to loan misbehaving children!)

Congrats on going for it! I almost put off my dream too long. We had put off the addition of a deck with just a few simple flowers around it…it stayed on the back burner until I fell 6 ft when our old worn-out back stoop collapsed with me on it. The doctors said I should not to expect a full recovery, that is until I added dirt and bricks to my rehab...I called it occupational therapy! (ThankGod4Gardening) That unleashed the hidden gardener in me—life’s too short…no more putting off for me! And now after a full recovery, my gardens continue—what joy it’s added to my life. .I always loved colorful parks...now I get to come home to MY own park! And less mowing for my husband!

My advice to any of you stepping out into the landscaping your yard is for you to pause to dream, but don’t stall your dream. Forget the cookie cutter. As you’ve seen with all the beautiful photos on this website there is no right or wrong when designing a garden, if it makes you happy, try it…if you don’t like it, you can always dig it up again! Yes, some things will be successful and some will fail—that’s gardening. There are plants that prefer certain conditions, but don’t get hung up on it…I have sun plants growing beautifully in full shade, annuals that have chosen to become perennials and bog plants growing in raised beds because I didn’t know the difference at the time; and nobody told the plants! Take time to define your own style of gardening—is it specimen plants or mass planting, more flowers or more bushes, brick or stone, squares or curves…look at photos...lots and lots of photos, break them down, pick out what it is in each of those photos that makes you smile and go for it…create your own design guided by what you like and what you’re willing to maintain in terms of labor and money. Remember to use the wealth of knowledge around you…whether they grow using only a single pot or on acres and acres—one thing all gardeners love to do is talk about their gardens!! So don’t be afraid to ask other gardeners questions. And lastly, gardening is an adventure not a destination…so enjoy the process!!!

I hear Waldo tastes like chicken?!!!


Sorry about that--all in fun, I was having flashbacks about the damage his cousins did in my gardens this winter.

Cute photo!

Beautiful photography...this is what spring is all about!!! Thanks for sharing.

Today is predicted to be wind with cold rain turning to snow here in the mid-west, but I managed to take a brief sinking walk through our soggy, thawing yard yesterday only to find the damage little critters left as they struggled through our unusually heavy snow cover this winter. The unusually high snow drifts allowed the rabbits access even to plants that had what was suppose to be protective wrappings. I'm anxious to see what has survived. I have garden fever bad…but even the roots of a forgotten weed I tried to pull were still firmly frozen underground… so I’ve returned to my garden catalogs… looks like I’ll have shopping to do! Your photos to reminded me of the bulbs that I planted last fall and rekindle my hope that spring is coming. Thanks for caring and sharing it was just what I needed today!

Let me say this flower is as pretty in the garden as it is pictured here. I was given a few seed pods by a neighbor. I simply pressed them into the soil and have been blessed with the return of this plant each year from the seeds it produces. I have continued to enjoy its return for many years, but I never new the true name until now.

Just a couple of things I have noticed with this plant...It sprouts very quickly and reliable for me here in zone 5...I control the reseeding by breaking off the seed pods and pressing them into the soil at the feet of the parent plant...I have been able to see several generations of flowers within one growing season, if I pay attention and utilize those seed pods promptly. It’s a favorite of my grandchildren. It is a very happy flower that just makes you smile at the fluff of the leaves, those colorful seed pods, and then there’s the mystery of how the flower seems to bloom inside out. —a great addition to any garden!!!

Thanks for sharing!

I appreciate your help in solving this long time mystery. I had spoken with a couple people at the nursery where I had originally purchased this plant; and even though they loved the one owned, they couldn't ID it.

Because of your tips and suggestions I have been able to identify this plant as a Persicaria polymorpha [Common name: Great White Fleece Flower; Giant Fleece Flower] I have been able to research from there to understand how to divide the plant this spring.

It has been a model plant for me...no fuss, constant flowering and after a simple spring clean up, it has needed little or no care with the exception a few times when summer storms laid down some branches...even then it bounced right back after a little trimming.

I have not found anything on the expected life span of this plant so, if anyone can comment on that I would appreciate the info.

Thanks for your caring and sharing, sk

What a wonderful bit of whimsy. I’ve always judged a garden by whether it makes you smile…and this one maked me chuckle! With this, when it no longer makes you smile you’re left with no more work to remove it than you would have had in the beginning; and it has given you valuable time to focus on relocating any plantings underneath, which might be damaged with the removal of the tree roots or the increased sun exposure. Variety, height and color…what more could you ask for? Great job!

Beautiful photo! I have also mixed Clematis varieties with those having different bloom times together so I could extend color in an area throughout the summer...I have planted as many as 4 varieties on one trellis spacing them as if they were in a square foot gardening plot--planting in an X shape spaced around the trellis...one on each end, one in front and the other in the behind the trellis...stacking a small mock brick wall in front for shading their roots. It gave room to grow and kept them shaded, happy and always a focal point. Clematis vines have also worked well for me when grown on the same trellis with a continuous blooming rose--either using a taller rose or trimming down a climbing rose to match the size of the Clematis. The color combinations were awesome! It worked best when I trained them to grow with limited branch entanglement...it made trimming out winter dieback on each plant much easier.