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gardening2011-05-02 01:56 pm
teapot_rabbit) wrote in gardening2011-05-02 01:56 pm
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Introduction and some photos
Hello all! Seeing other people's photos has made me even more impatient for my seeds to sprout and my seedlings to get big enough for transplant. The recent warm weather isn't helping either...
So, I'm in the California Bay Area; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9a/9b, Sunset Zone 15. The weather this year was really weird - dry over the winter and then several huge rainstorms just when I'd usually start planting (it was so wet my peas - sugar snap and snow - rotted in the ground. That has never happened to me before.) As a result, I feel like I'm behind in getting my garden started.
I mostly grow vegetables at the moment, and I have a rather cottage-garden sensibility when comes to landscaping and flowers. I love roses, but since I'm renting at the moment, I can't really indulge myself there.
The second photo is taken from right in front of the reddish-brown gate in the first photo. This is the space I have to work with - a long, narrow back yard. The beds against the house about two feet wide, and get morning sun. The beds against the fence are about 11 inches wide, and get afternoon sun (these are good for trellising.) In addition to this, I have an assortment of containers out in front of the house, which get full afternoon sun.
Everything is a bit bare and messy at the moment because I just moved in last year, and when I did, the ENTIRE area was hip-deep in weeds.
Does anyone have any idea what this plant is? All I know is that it's evil - seriously, this stuff had very nearly killed the mint! The leaves are rough, so they stick to everything, it grows to be about three feet tall, with brittle, branching stems, and it doesn't flower so much as just release masses of pollen. There was a lot of sneezing involved in pulling it all out.
I love nasturtiums! They're so cheerful and easy to grow, and they remind me of my Granny. Her garden always has nasturtiums everywhere. I trellised them up the fence right in front of the kitchen doors, so I can look at them all the time. The creamy blossoms in the background of this photo are probably Yeti, from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I tossed the last of those, plus the remains of a packet of their Tall Trailing mix, some Spitfire, and assorted seeds saved from last year, all around the garden.
I live in the middle of suburbia - all concrete and lawns. I noticed last year that there weren't many pollinators in my yard - so this year I'm working to remedy that with bee- and butterfly-friendly plants. Where I can, I'm using California natives, like the creek monkeyflower above. Isn't it pretty? I love the white markings on the tongues.
And finally, just a few pictures of produce from last summer. ^_^ I loved the colors here - basil, of course, and sungold and stupice tomatoes, and a few small purple onions.
For scale, this trug is about twenty inches long. (It's a small, late-season Mortgage Lifter.) I have always been a giant fan of tomatoes, and ever since discovering Baker Creek Heirlooms, I have developed a huge tomato variety addiction. :P I spend hours staring at all the varieties and trying to convince myself that no, I do not have room for ALL of them. Not shown from last year: Paul Robeson and Fox Cherry. Anyone interested in tomato reviews?
So, I'm in the California Bay Area; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9a/9b, Sunset Zone 15. The weather this year was really weird - dry over the winter and then several huge rainstorms just when I'd usually start planting (it was so wet my peas - sugar snap and snow - rotted in the ground. That has never happened to me before.) As a result, I feel like I'm behind in getting my garden started.
I mostly grow vegetables at the moment, and I have a rather cottage-garden sensibility when comes to landscaping and flowers. I love roses, but since I'm renting at the moment, I can't really indulge myself there.
The second photo is taken from right in front of the reddish-brown gate in the first photo. This is the space I have to work with - a long, narrow back yard. The beds against the house about two feet wide, and get morning sun. The beds against the fence are about 11 inches wide, and get afternoon sun (these are good for trellising.) In addition to this, I have an assortment of containers out in front of the house, which get full afternoon sun.
Everything is a bit bare and messy at the moment because I just moved in last year, and when I did, the ENTIRE area was hip-deep in weeds.
Does anyone have any idea what this plant is? All I know is that it's evil - seriously, this stuff had very nearly killed the mint! The leaves are rough, so they stick to everything, it grows to be about three feet tall, with brittle, branching stems, and it doesn't flower so much as just release masses of pollen. There was a lot of sneezing involved in pulling it all out.
I love nasturtiums! They're so cheerful and easy to grow, and they remind me of my Granny. Her garden always has nasturtiums everywhere. I trellised them up the fence right in front of the kitchen doors, so I can look at them all the time. The creamy blossoms in the background of this photo are probably Yeti, from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I tossed the last of those, plus the remains of a packet of their Tall Trailing mix, some Spitfire, and assorted seeds saved from last year, all around the garden.
I live in the middle of suburbia - all concrete and lawns. I noticed last year that there weren't many pollinators in my yard - so this year I'm working to remedy that with bee- and butterfly-friendly plants. Where I can, I'm using California natives, like the creek monkeyflower above. Isn't it pretty? I love the white markings on the tongues.
And finally, just a few pictures of produce from last summer. ^_^ I loved the colors here - basil, of course, and sungold and stupice tomatoes, and a few small purple onions.
For scale, this trug is about twenty inches long. (It's a small, late-season Mortgage Lifter.) I have always been a giant fan of tomatoes, and ever since discovering Baker Creek Heirlooms, I have developed a huge tomato variety addiction. :P I spend hours staring at all the varieties and trying to convince myself that no, I do not have room for ALL of them. Not shown from last year: Paul Robeson and Fox Cherry. Anyone interested in tomato reviews?
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ID - perhaps?
If you kill it with fire everyone in the neighbourhood with even the slightest allergy will be very, very happy.
Sadly, "kill it with fire" is easier said than done (at least in the long-ish term). :(
Re: ID - perhaps?
Re: ID - perhaps?
Actually, the lesser reatives of Agent Orange (IIRC we're using RoundUp?) do a half-decent job...for a few months. Then it grows again. And again. And again. =_=
It will re-seed eventually, since it can grow in growth-unfriendly conditions (rooftop? check; crack-in-stone? check; bark of a vine? check) but it's always worth to keep it down.
Bring on the tomato reviews! :p
Re: ID - perhaps?
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