11 replies to this topic

[Henri]

I wanted to create this topic for everybody who likes to talk about garden, plants and nature. As far as I know gardening is one of the most common hobbies around the world and I assume that there has to be people also among us who enjoy garden and plants.

I have always been interested in plants. First there was wild flowers and then garden plants and finally crops.

Share your ideas and pictures.
Show your creations and plants.

Let's not make this too narrow, you can talk about nature and everything you think it has connection to topic, even fungi.

Have fun and get inspired  

[celine4evauk]

Henri, on Mar 5 2012, 12:16 AM, said:

I wanted to create this topic for everybody who likes to talk about garden, plants and nature. As far as I know gardening is one of the most common hobbies around the world and I assume that there has to be people also among us who enjoy garden and plants.

I have always been interested in plants. First there was wild flowers and then garden plants and finally crops.

Share your ideas and pictures.
Show your creations and plants.

Let's not make this too narrow, you can talk about nature and everything you think it has connection to topic, even fungi.

Have fun and get inspired  

I've got an allotment - it's bloody hard work!!

[sfbaysinger]

I was always fascinated with my Mothers flower garden. I can only see a little bit, but I would get up reeeeeeeeeeally close to the flowers to see, and of course, sniff them. I developed favorites over the years...merrygolds, daisies, purple pansies like the patch that grow near my house. I do not get along at all with my mom, but those flowers in particular make me think of her and smile...I also loved her white cosmos. They feel so, funny if you actually just touch them. I think people should get sensory with their flowers. Dont just see them, touch them, sniff them. Close your eyes.
When I got my first real apartment outside of my family, I tried to grow a garden. It was doing pretty good for a while. I even had some crystals in the pots to encourage the flowers to grow, as I loooove crystals for their beauty and for their holistic/healing properties.
Anyway, I was turning the flowers as needed so they could be in and out of the sun, spilling the water out of the can as I carried it out of the house and out to the plants, LOL, and things were going okay for a time. But unfortunately my rommate at the time had people basically practically move in and started drinking/smoking out on the patio and leave their beer cans/cigarette butts litterally, In my flowers. I was soooooooo mad. I moved out very quickly/unexpectedly/suddenly and the good church people I knew at the time who spent over 130 dollars on soil/dirt, an adorable little blue metal watering can, (I miss it the most) pots and plants (boy did I feel GUILTY when I heard that staggering total...) had to leave them all there and have never seen them again since I left their area to thank them!
I used to think you have to see to garden, but I know now that is not true. And if I ever get the chance again to have a garden, I want to grow red roses and pink daisies and all sorts of things.
As far as nature, I love it. I love the sound of rushing/running water. I dont get out in it enough, even though we have a park with a gargling creek right by my house...And I will never forget my favorite summer camp located deep in the hills/vineyards of Napa, California. After an almost ten year absence from it, about eight months ago I was able to return there. I roamed around, hiked, rode horses which I have not done in forever. No city traffic noises, just birds, which I also love the sound of...
Amazing topic, hope it comes back to life.

Edited by sfbaysinger, 16 April 2012 - 12:27 PM.

[Henri]

Mid-summer is here, finally. All flowers are in their full blossom. This summer has been cold and damp, it has rained pretty much, except here northwest coast of my country.

I have recently learned that chard is no use to grow two years in row because it is indeed biennial and grows few edible leaf on its second growth year. I thought in spring that I don't need to sow chard because it seemed to overwinter. Now I have some flowering chards on my vegetable garden and no chard to eat  

celine4evauk, what do you grow there, vegetables, berries, fruits or flowers?
And allotment doesn't need to be a penal colony, it is supposed to be fun.

sfbaysinger, you are so right about not only enjoying plants with vision. I always touch plants when I study them, I can recognize some plant species from other species by touching them. Also trees and grasses sounds different sometimes. Another day I walked past one shrub, Philadelphus × lemoinei (sorry, I don't know its english name), and the strong scent recognised something very familiar, aroma of strawberry.

[celine4evauk]

Henri, on Aug 2 2012, 10:43 PM, said:

Mid-summer is here, finally. All flowers are in their full blossom. This summer has been cold and damp, it has rained pretty much, except here northwest coast of my country.

I have recently learned that chard is no use to grow two years in row because it is indeed biennial and grows few edible leaf on its second growth year. I thought in spring that I don't need to sow chard because it seemed to overwinter. Now I have some flowering chards on my vegetable garden and no chard to eat  

celine4evauk, what do you grow there, vegetables, berries, fruits or flowers?
And allotment doesn't need to be a penal colony, it is supposed to be fun.

sfbaysinger, you are so right about not only enjoying plants with vision. I always touch plants when I study them, I can recognize some plant species from other species by touching them. Also trees and grasses sounds different sometimes. Another day I walked past one shrub, Philadelphus × lemoinei (sorry, I don't know its english name), and the strong scent recognised something very familiar, aroma of strawberry.

Hi,
Yeah, you're right. It is supposed to be fun - but the committee members are starting to get on my back about keeping it a bit better. It's a bit cheeky considering i work etc and don't have that much time to be over there. And like you said the weather has been rubbish so far. So at the moment it's not much fun for me.
   I grow fruit and veg. This year i have (to name a few) blackberries, currants, gosseberries, raspberries,rhubarb,boysenberries,strawberries, leeks, onions, carrots, parsnips,beetroot, celeriac, beans, peas,swede,tomatoes, sweetcorn, cucumber.
At home i have apples,pears,plums,cherries, blueberries,aronia berries, jostaberries,mini kiwis, cape gooseberries. And i also have snowdrops, bluebells,crocuses,narcissus,lilies,camellias, and tulips.
Wish me luck with it!! LOL

[Henri]

Hi celine4evauk,
You got so many edible plants there, it must be huge work to pick all the berries and fruits. I have never seen jostaberry but I searched for it and it is kind of similar to gooseberry, does it taste the same? Is cape gooseberry perennial there? And I envy that you can grow camellias.
I have to admit that I tend to grow more ornamental perennials than veggies. I do have place for vegetables but this year I took quarter of it and planted some more perennials there just to test them. And then I have few shrubs of red and black currants and two young apple trees and this year I planted new cherry plum I hope it will overwinter.
Few weeks ago I planted over two hundred tulip bulb, most of them were from last year so they were quite small.


Christmas time is approaching. What is your favorite Christmas flower?
Mine would be Helleborus and amaryllis.

[celine4evauk]

Henri, on 21 November 2012 - 03:24 PM, said:

Hi celine4evauk,
You got so many edible plants there, it must be huge work to pick all the berries and fruits. I have never seen jostaberry but I searched for it and it is kind of similar to gooseberry, does it taste the same? Is cape gooseberry perennial there? And I envy that you can grow camellias.
I have to admit that I tend to grow more ornamental perennials than veggies. I do have place for vegetables but this year I took quarter of it and planted some more perennials there just to test them. And then I have few shrubs of red and black currants and two young apple trees and this year I planted new cherry plum I hope it will overwinter.
Few weeks ago I planted over two hundred tulip bulb, most of them were from last year so they were quite small.


Christmas time is approaching. What is your favorite Christmas flower?
Mine would be Helleborus and amaryllis.

Hi,
Yeah, Jostaberries taste like gooseberries/blackcurrants. My mum loves them so i have to be quick to get any of them!!
Wow - 200 bulbs. That must've taken hours to plant all of those. I've still got to get a lot of my bulbs in. Quite bad weather here lately.
Cape gooseberries can be perennial - a bit of protection and a bit of luck too. I've got two plants, will have to wait and see if they survive the winter.
My favourite christmas flower would be the Helleborus x ericsmithii - winter sunshine. I think it's gorgeous!!

[Macaronie]

I took a pic of me garden:

[celine4evauk]

Macaronie, on 25 November 2012 - 03:07 PM, said:

I took a pic of me garden:

What the f***!!!

[Yentl Anchel]

I just planted some green coffee beans (ordered them on seedrack.com), so hopefully I can harvest some coffee in about 3 years.. still need to master the roasting...

[Henri]

Good luck with coffee beans, I've heard they germinate quickly. Don't worry about roasting, you've got plenty of time to practice.
I also put first seed to cold treatment in fridge, Verbena bonariensis and Buddleja davidii. I've tried to grow them before but this time I'm wiser and will sow them a bit earlier.

 IMG_4355-1.JPG   40.69K   2 downloads
Verbena bonariensis, 2010

[celine4evauk]

Back from allotment.
Picked french beans, runner beans, tomatoes,cabbages,welsh onions, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. Gladioli, fuschias, roses, and agapanthus still flowering. Still got lettuce and purple sprouting broccoli growing that's still not ready yet.
Got my pointed and savoy cabbages, romanesco broccoli, cauliflower, and sprouts to plant.
Yay!!! FOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!

Edited by celine4evauk, 18 September 2013 - 05:16 PM.