RE: leaving your garden behind
- Subject: RE: leaving your garden behind
- From: "Marilyn Dube" m*@easystreet.com
- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 18:30:35 -0800
See below........
Marilyn Dube'
Natural Designs Nursery
Portland, Oregon
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-perennials@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of ECPep@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 8:01 AM
To: perennials@hort.net
Subject: Re: leaving your garden behind
In a message dated 12/10/02 11:52:25 AM Eastern Standard Time,
cyberduo@txucom.net writes:
Plan what to grow and cut that amount in half. Check the seedlist and prune
that also. I don't think I will ever be able to do this successfully.
I always have a stash of pots waiting to be planted.
Learn to make beds without digging, there are many ways.
Yes, this is energy saving and makes absolutely the very best beds.
Used raised beds for seeding, cuttings, trials, a few (really just a few)
veggies, holdovers and other experiments. The soil will be perfect, there
is
a place to sit and the area needs so little care you will wonder why you did
not start this way. Soil warms faster and drains better allowing me
to start earlier in the spring.
Find some young man in your area and plan a day for him. Pay him enough to
be happy to come and have him cut, prune, drag off brush, move rocks, mix
soils, unload the car of heavy bags of peat and other things. One or two
days in spring and in the fall will accomplish wonders, keep a list of
things
to do. If you have a son or grandson, bribe him. Yes, well worth the
money spent.
Don't cut grass. Maybe you should not even have grass. Get anybody else to
do it. Cutting grass saps energy and can ruin your ability to do anything
else on a hot day. Some grass framing beds is quite nice but some to me
means around 18 inches or one mower swath. Don't get caught up in weed free
grass. I gave up on "doing" the grass years ago after my 3rd mower
was stolen. A reliable
lawn maintenance person who can mow evenly and edge neatly gives me more
time to
spend on the flowers.
If you always have one part of the garden that never quite gets care and
always nags at you, get rid of it. AMEN!
Buy a cart, any kind you like, or wheelbarrow of the newest weightless type.
Mine can be lifted with one arm and should have been around twenty years
ago.
This is where quality counts. I have 2 great carts - a 20 year old
GardenWay cart with 2 big tires & perfect balance
That will last another 20 years and a professional type metal nursery cart
with a pull along handle like a kids wagon.
They are used every single day of the outdoor season.
If anyone has more practical, truly practical and useful ideas for an older
gardener, I am sure some on this list will be happy to hear them. I wear a
garden apron with big deep patch pockets across the front to carry my
Felcos, small sharp scissors, gloves, twine, seed packets, my favorite
weeding tool (in addition to fingers), a small pad & pencil & sometimes my
cell phone. It saves a lot of time and steps to have those things handy and
useable.
A good idea I saw while on a garden tour was wicker baskets placed
strategically here and there amongst the flowers. That way the owner always
had a place to toss the weeds and deadheadings when she was out walking in
the garden. I really like this idea and have no idea why I haven't done
something concrete about it!
Marilyn Dube'
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