a good site survey and some work with
a dozer can prevent much later back
breaking work. um, i wasn't here...

this is my way of saying hello to the
group, i've been enjoying the read
through recent posts, and hope to
stick around.

currently i am helping to take care
of about an acre of gardens/decorations
and i like to tinker and putter around
(and play in mud too ). i just quit my
part-time job in time for the summer
gardening season. i hope to not have to
work again, but we'll see if this round
sticks. we're down to about 20%
grass (or more accurately mown areas)
and if i had my way that would be zero.

as a kid i loved growing houseplants
and had a small rose garden out front.
that was someplace else.

this is not the place for roses (well at
least the low spot in solid clay was not
the place for 30-40 of them).

now we have an 8 foot fence (deer)
for a large enclosed area (again mostly
clay, low area). this is mostly for
veggies and whatever flower beds that
we can come up with. most of it is
actually pathways and decorative rock
arrangements.

this year we have planted tomatoes,
beans, onions, beets and peppers. these
have all done well here (in spite of the
clay) and i have restarted strawberries
(they were ripped out years ago) and
will see how they go.

also in there are the tulip patches and
the other spring cut flowers (daffodils).
i'm hoping to get more of the daffodils
moved outside so that area can be
used for veggies and cut flowers next year
(or the year after -- i think i'm going to
be maxed out on big projects this
summer -- i've got the berm to redo
and the tulip gardens and ... .

outside the enclosed garden there are
the grapes, the front gardens full of
various perennials (that the deer haven't
managed to do in yet, but they do eat
the dead clematis and bed down in the
flashing lights (which i call the red patch
see www.anthive.com for some pics
i haven't added any recent ones in a bit
now, but it gives some idea of things).

rhubarb is my favorite. early and
plentiful and makes close to apple
sauce without the seeds. quick to
cook... i've been trying to get some
transplanted for a friend and expected
it would be impossible for it not to
take, but my methods were not at
all researched so i deserved what
has happened (nothing). he won't
be available for a while now so i'm
thinking of taking another plant up
now and potting it, putting it back
in the ground (to keep it cooler and
so it won't dry out too quick) until
he's back in action. then we can
move the whole thing and it will
likely be ok. this time.

there is a border around the front
gardens where i've alternated
daffodil and tulips every six inches.
i'll be messing with that some this
year (moving things closer to the
border and underneath so that they
can come up in between rocks and
not get eaten back to the ground
by the deer if they find them). i have
several hundred species tulips and
others coming and some will go
there (along with backups in the
enclosed gardens to tinker with
and for the cut flower garden).

i love tinkering and so this year i've
given in and taken inventory of the
existing tulips and did some cross-
breeding and also planted seeds
from last year's tulips and have to
keep them coming along (and have
to keep track of what is going where
to see in several years if they results
are anything like what i expected).

um...

did i say anything about the iris,
crocus, ...? hehe. i admit it i'm a
plant junkie... i've got some seeds
here, the first ones are free. *cough*


songbird