TheBip's Blog at GardenStew.com

Cleaned up moms rose bed and started a walkway (pics added!)

TheBip — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:03:08 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:03 am (GMT 0)

Note: I have pics on my phone but not on the computer yet...will add them whenever ;)

Moms roses were getting weed infested, so I weeded the area, put in some landscape timber and added mulch. Looks great! Oh yeah, I also need to get some trellises for the 2 climbers. And the plant on the left is a lilac hehe. Im going to add a few more roses, I have some just waiting for me to have a few free hours (and a vehicle!)

moms roses before ( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

moms roses ( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

I started on a walkway between the patio and mini barn because the area tends to get muddy when it rains and the dogs run through it. Landscape timber for the edging, dug about halfway down (put it on its side) with weed fabric underneath. It'll be slightly shorter than 3' wide, about 16' long. Going to add stepping stones with small rocks around them.

Ok, so I started to do it the "lazy man's way", putting the fabric down right over the grass...then last night I was thinking, and it hit me...the filler rock would simply roll right off the path onto the patio! So Im gonna do it right and dig out the grass in the middle of the walk so the edge of the patios will hold the rock...

This is all I got done before I had to go pick the bf up from work.

Starting the walkway ( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

Oh yeah. Also added some marigolds in the raised bed along with a new strawberry plant and snapdragons in my front garden (dont have a pic of that though).

It's done!

TheBip — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:41:50 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 1:41 am (GMT 0)

Omg...I could use a back rub now, and lotion for my hands and a proper bandaid for my finger (I scratched it with the chicken wire).

my homemade wheelbarrow! ( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )
Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries

( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )
Ive got (from back to front) 2 Ebony King blackberries, Jewell raspberry, Fall Gold raspberry, Jersey blueberry and Bluecrop blueberry. Also 2 strawberries front right and a lilac front left :)

( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

Update on raised bed

TheBip — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:48:40 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:48 pm (GMT 0)

Well, I got the bed part done. Now all thats left is to fill it with soil, plants the berries and put up the chicken wire. Hope Saturday is a nice day so I can get it done!

Ok, got pics added. When I was about halfway through, I realized I made a mistake and used a 5' board where a 4' board should have gone, so I wound up 1' short on one side of the bed and 18" short on the other side...so back to Home Depot for more lumber. I also bought some lumber straps to attach the boards together side to side. I also bought some deck screws (did I mention that in my other post?), which worked WAY better than the regular wood screws! After I got it together, I threw in a few bags of Moo-nure (brand of compost we sell ;) ) I had in the shed. Gotta buy more though. And mulch. Probably gonna use cypress, its about $2.75 for 2CF.

( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

Got the raised bed started...

TheBip — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:43:12 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:43 pm (GMT 0)

Finally! I went to moms this morning after dropping the bf off at work (11am). I really did mean to start the bed then and there, but I got distracted by Bobs (the bf) very messy van. I took it upon myself to grab a trashbag and 2 grocery bags, and put trash in the one and recipts and important looking papers in the sacks for him to go through. Then i moved all his cleaning/car products out of the way (he has a carpet cleaning business) and used my tiny little shop vac to sweep up all the dirt and candy wrappers that were to small or gross to pick up *lol*. then I put everything back neatly...hes gonna be shocked :D Then I went out back and started working on the bed. I got 2 boards up with the corner stake. I hate the screws I got from Menards. The heads strip too easily. A coworker said I should try deck screws instead of basic wood screws.

Gonna end this now. Will post pics when i get home to my computer. Right now Im on my cell phone at work, trying not to get caught using it! *lol*

berry bed ( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )

Start of berry bed ( photo / image / picture from TheBip's Garden )
The bed looks a little crooked cause the yard slopes a tiny bit.

Ye gods Im tired now!

TheBip — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:54:44 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:54 am (GMT 0)

Today I was going to build a raised berry bed surrounded by chicken wire (so Jude wouldnt eat the plants!) next to the mini barn. Well, I got everything I needed, but I havent got it built yet!

I went to Home Depot today (thats where I work hehe) and bought plants (2 Ebony King blackberry, 2 kinds of raspberry [yellow and black] and 2 kinds of blueberry [Jersey and Bluecrop]) lumber, fencing, stakes, and went to Menards for some screws (they had em cheaper). I put a stake in the back corner of the shed, and attatched a board to it. Then I was about to attach the next board when I realized the first board was a 5 footer instead of the 4 footer I was supposed to use (ARGH). So I pulled the stake (and board with it) out adn set it aside. The screws were giving me hell too. I had to pre-drill a hole. Then I put the screw in, but the screw was longer than the hole, so the head got stripped cause the d***ed screw wouldnt go in by itself! So I went inside to get some shorter screws out of moms junk box, but by that time I was so tired of fighting with the wood and the screws that I just lay down on the floor for about 10 mins, then picked myself back up, went outside, put everything away and went in and took a 1.5 hour nap.
Whew...

Walkway plans

TheBip — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:35:58 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:35 pm (GMT 0)

Well, have I got some plans for moms yard! She's not much for gardening (though she likes plants, especially roses) so she said I can do whatever i want in the yard.
Im going to put in a walkway between the patio and mini barn cause it gets pretty muddy, and grass wont grow because it gets trampled by the dogs.
I was thinking a mixed path. Stepping stones with gravel around and between the stones. Guess I better get my muscles ready for all that digging! 2 inches or so of road-grade gravel, then 2 inches of paver sand, then maybe some landscape fabric, then the step stones and gravel. It would be about 2 feet wide, I dont recall how long it would have to be right now. I dont want it too complicated, because over the years I want to add more paths through the yard, and plants, with a special spot just for the dogs to do their thing.
I also want to put a similar path in front, between the driveway and my flower bed, because the grass there got pretty much worn away, and its muddy too.

Think Ill go pot up some hyacinth bulbs now... ;)

Spring is coming, spring is coming!!

TheBip — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:36:56 -0500

Author: TheBip
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:36 pm (GMT 0)

This winter hasnt been too bad, but Im so excited for spring to arrive. Its been raining for about 3 days straight, but its better than snow! Its been warm!! Right now its 45º :)
I recently moved into my own apartment with my boyfriend, so Im going to be doing some balcony gardening ;) Of course, I can still go to moms house anytime and get my fill of digging in the soil there haha.
For my new place Im going to have a container water garden with a small fountain. Im going to have window baskets that will hang on the edge of the balcony railing since its curved and not wide enough for pots to sit on. Also going to have a hanging bird feeder and a hanging plant or two. The bf is afraid *lol* Ive also got some chairs to sit out there that I stole from mom ;)
Went over to moms Thursday, and did some impromptu gardening. I snipped off old, dead foliage, ripped up the chocolate mint that lived through the winter(heh learned my lesson on that one! I still like it, but Im going to put it in containers from now on!). I had some parsley that will need replaced (I didnt expect it to live). I dont know if my coreopsis and gaillardias made it yet. Need to prune the Butterfly Bush and roses, and I have a rose in the sunroom that wants planting, along with some asters and a lilac. Oh yeah, and my liatris didnt make it :(

How to make your own seed tape :)

TheBip — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:40:55 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 1:40 pm (GMT 0)

Start with black and white newspaper, no color. Tear it into strips about an inch wide.
Make up a mixture of water and flour until you get a fairly thick paste.
Spread the paste on the strips and place seeds in a row down the middle.
Leave strips out until the paste dries, and either plant or roll up and put in a dark, dry place for storage.

Mother is seriously ticking me off

TheBip — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:07:27 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 12:07 am (GMT 0)

I've told her time and time again to leave the area around the tulips alone because I want to make a bed. Yet she keeps throwing down grass seed. The she goes and mows down my purple tulips saying they were dead. The had blooms on them on Friday. I told her multiple times last year to leave the foliage alone as the bulbs need it. But does she listen? NO! She even tried saying "Well they're my tulips, I can do what I want." No they aren't! I bought them, I planted them, I want her to keep her d****ed hands off them!
She doesn't know the first thing about gardening and she wont listen to any of my advice. She throws down grass seed every year on the same empty spots, then wonders why it doesn't grow when she doesn't -do- anything. Doesn't prepare the soil, doesn't keep it safe from birds, hardly even waters it!
Pretty much any plant she buys(usually just shrubs and trees) she just plops in the ground and expects it to grow. No soil prep what-so-ever. They do grow, but they struggle.
She wont take any of my advice at all. It all goes in one ear and out the other, cause I'm the child so she doesn't have to listen to what I have to say.

Ya'll have noooo idea the frustration I have... I really want to leave, but I have literally only a piggy bank full of pennies right now... I couldn't leave if I -had- to....

I think I'm done venting now....

First blog of the year :P

TheBip — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:39:23 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:39 pm (GMT 0)

Jeez, I need to remember to save my blogs before I click anything *deep sigh* Lost everything I wrote the first time... here goes again....

Oh my goodness, It's been nearly a year since my last blog o.O

Well. Most of the plants from last year didn't make it. Either the dogs killed em or my mom killed em when I went to Canada (Id asked her to take care of my plants, and when I came home, Id lost more than a few seedlings, a miniature rose, a plant from last year Id thought died but it hadn't, but now it is dead (Don't know what it was) and my rosemary is dying (Id bought it a few days before I left and it was nice and healthy). Gosh.

I bought a few new plants yesterday though. Yarrow (yellow), Columbine (blue and purple with white in the middle), Strawberries, Bee Balm, Apache Thornless Blackberry, Tulips (white) and Peony (pink). The Peony is Indiana's state flower :) I also bought some roses a few weeks ago, Angel Face and Pascali (I think thats the one).

Two of my roses from last year made it through fine, Nearly Black and Irish Gold. My Norfolk Island Pine is still doing quite well... The main tree is anyway, I separated it from the smaller one growing with it, but the smaller one started drying up after I gave it to my bf :( And no he isn't trying to kill it *lol*

I've also got Pumpkins, Beans (don't remember what kind) and possibly a watermelon seedling. It sprouted amongst the beans, and it looks like the other watermelon seedlings Id had (which croaked). Yesterday I planted some Red and White Sweet Corn, basil and turnips. I hope they come up ok.

Anyhoo, gotta run :)

Wildflower Hike (pics have been lost >_<)

TheBip — Mon, 07 May 2007 10:46:01 -0400

Author: TheBip
Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 2:46 pm (GMT 0)

These are pictures of the wildflowers and plants I saw on my hike in the Ross Camp woods in Lafeyette, Indiana. These are the ones I remember the ID of. Ill add more later after I figure out what they are *lol*

Wild Phlox

Wild Geranium

Shooting Stars

Prarie Trillium

Poison Ivy

Mayapple top

Mayapple Flower

Indiana Banana (not sure the "real" name *lol*)

Wild Sicily (I think thats the proper name)

Spring-Beauty

Rue Anemone

Golden Ragwort