hi,i had never gardened untill 8 years ago and went about it with naive
bravado, keeping most of the land natural and wouldn't dream of planting a
lawn on this windy, arid mesa. close to the house i had planted flower and
vegetable patches. i use no pesticides and have learned what i need to do to
have a small vegetable plot next spring. my neighbor cuts all his'weeds' but i
only have grasses and wildflowers and many birds nest in them; a whole family
of quail last summer. i also feel very inspired by the natural land and a
great regard for it. gardening is an excellent way for me to balance myself
with my studio life getting me down to earth and out of my head.
princess petal, get well soon.
bests, carol :)
Patricia wrote:
>
> Yep, have gone and foregone the route of exotic plants for my area, "gardening by
> mail" catalogues, etc. Much time, much money, much derived, much lost. However, I
> live under two 3-story oaks, got shade, got snails, got earwigs, got potato bugs, got
> water restrictions, got just about everything, including deer, possums and racoons -
> have never had a lawn here - just a tiny house on a large, wooded lot. Finally,
> after a couple of classes in local fauna/flora, accepted the plants that want to be
> in "butterfly town" and shade, et al. French marigolds make them (the monarchs) and
> me, happy, agapanthas are drought tolerant (were free startings from a friend), some
> ferns, euryops and scented geraniums in sunnnier spots, the stronger impatiens
> (except for one window box where I've got the red ones). I don't spray, I just water
> from time to time, or spray off ephids, and we are all symbiotic, and everything is
> lovely in Spring unless the deer romp into the yard and eat the flowers off the
> agapanthas - problem of which seems to have been solved by the neighbor's dog.
>
> PK
>
> ann klefstad wrote:
>
> > You guys, you guys. Some plants bad, others good? Some nature ok, but other
> > nature because it eats some of the nature you planted bad? Living on the edge of
> > the second-growth scrawny and beautiful woods that go on forever (god bless
> > tax-forfeit land) and propagating mostly just whatever happens to grow along with
> > some toughasnails take-over-your-yard in a minute perennials as well as some
> > hand-me-down bulbs, I don't mind the occasional bunny depredation, squirrel etc.,
> > raccoons and the occasional bear in the garbage. We share this place, you know.
> > Just because you paid "money" for something doesn't mean you own it. Relax. Don't
> > mow the lawn too often. You'll get wildflowers.
> >
> > AK
> >
> > Carol Starr wrote:
> >
> > > ah brad,
> > >
> > > the woes of gardening; my sad tale involves gophers who have munched away and
> > > eaten all my prize bulbs. nothing to do about it now as snow is steadily
> > > falling,even as i write, perhaps i can do some drawings of their mounds and
> > > turn it into an art opportunity. the rabbits don't come into the garden
> > > because they are afraid of my akita, but the gophers are fearless. i'm gald
> > > it's snowing and the garden sleeps (with the gophers) until spring.
> > >
> > > whatever happened to the seed project and the tins you were going to put them
> > > in, i have the seeds but haven't made little envelopes yet.
> > >
> > > bests, carol
> > >
> > > { brad brace } wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Earlier this week, I discovered that my new viburnum bush had been damaged
> > > > by a rabbit. It ate a lot of the bottom branches. I was furious, as I
> > > > have been struggling with squirrels, now there's a RABBIT in town! So I
> > > > got my can of pruning spray ( a petrolium based sealer/water proofer) and
> > > > let fly. The goal was to make the little bush taste too bad to eat. The
> > > > next morning, I saw how angry I was: the poor thing looked like it had
> > > > been involved in a forest fire. It is dormant now, I don't think it will
> > > > suffocate. But will the black "paint job" cause it to get too hot in the
> > > > sun, then crack when it gets cold at night? Will a "tent" help? I can't
> > > > imagine how to get some of the spray off without hurting the bark. It is
> > > > only three feet high, and now lop-sided because of that over-sized rodent.
> > > > I'll have to trim off some of the ragged twigs, but that can wait. It's
> > > > still sleeping. Meanwhile, I'm looking for that scraggly alley cat that
> > > > used to hang around here...
> > >
> > > --
> > > carol starr
> > > taos, new mexico, usa
> > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
carol starr
taos, new mexico, usa
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
