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Flowir
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Recent Entries to this Blog I'm strolling into hosta heaven.................or hell!
Posted: 28 Dec 2008
Totally Tufa!
Posted: 12 Dec 2008

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I'm strolling into hosta heaven.................or hell!

Category: HOSTAS | Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 7:20 am

I have a fascination for plants that require special circumstances. Whatever is wrong with me?

I have been wanting to start an affair with hostas for a while. Well I cant find them down here i south Florida. I think because it is so hot in the summer and it does not get or stay very cold for very long.
Anyhow I bought some hostas on line. I planted them the other day in some pots and am waiting for them to grow. I know they need lots of shade and that they like to be wet. I put them in a mixture of potting soil and compost and topped it off with some pine bark. I can keep them in a shady spot and make sure they are wet. In my feeble mind so far so good right? I really want to do a good job in keeping them healthy.

Any one else out there tried to grow hostas in a hot and humid climate?

I NEED HOSTA HELP!



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Totally Tufa!

Category: HOSTAS | Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:14 am

I just about stumbled upon hypertufa.

As I mentioned before I have been renovating my yard. I initially was going to do a container garden until I realized how expensive it was becoming. Well I had to get the outskirts of the yard done. After planting, moving plants, losing plants, not liking plants after I bought them, the yard started to take shape. I am as happy as a fat clam and feeling good about my gardening abilities. I finally have a half of a garden. Getting there! Well, every time my sister comes over she keeps commenting on the plants in pots. She says, 'The yard is looking good but what are you going to do if we get a bad storm?' How are you going to store all these pots? And I am ignoring her the entire time. Welllll! Hurricane season is upon us and we don't get a storm but there is one out in the Atlantic that is causing quite a ruckus in my yard. The wind is kicking up and everything is blowing everywhere! The umbrella comes down, the chairs are falling over, I am using blocks to hold up plants from blowing over and now I hear in the back of my head, 'What are you gonna do if we get a bad storm?' Thanks Sis!

By now I have over 50 pots in the yard and I am in a pickle. So I start getting BIG pots and combining plants and also putting others in the ground.

Well one evening I am looking up plants that are hardy for my zone and run across a project for making my own pots. I don't just jump in willy nilly, I do some research. What the heck is 'HYPERTUFA'? After I read about a million articles [I kid], I decide why not!

The first pots I made I almost threw away. They looked like I made them with my feet. The funny thing though, after I put plants in them, they were transformed. I moved on and I was making these tufa pots every day. I even entertained the thought of making a big batch and maybe SELLING them at the local green market.

What I like about these pots is that they are porous and they are very earth friendly. I am very much in favor of being as earth friendly I can be so all of my pots are clay. Very natural. Tufa pots have a weathered, aged look and they transform a plant into a work of art. No matter if they are not perfect. They are neutral in colour so they go with everything. The hardest part is finding the molds to make the pots. Anything will work. Cereal bowls, salad bowls, old planters, styrofoam coolers, cardboard boxes. Just let your imagination run wild. Then I tried making yard art. On a whim I made some tufa 'stones' and created a border for some hibiscus plants in my front yard. I used cereal bowls to make the stones. I think it came out very nicely.

I have so many ideas and I plan on getting busy making some larger pots for bigger plants. I also want to try making a fountain. I have to start now cause it takes about two to three months for the pots to be ready for plants. They need to be weathered outside for a month or longer before you can put plants in them. Other projects can be ready sooner.


Any Tufa lovers out there. I would love to hear from you with ideas and pictures.

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