Discussion: Perceptions of a garden being 'dated'
sujiwan_gw 6b MD/PA
16 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
16 years agoEmbothrium
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Garlic discussion
Comments (15)As a small commercial grower, I can tell you that the best garlic to grow in the valley is soft garlic, not a hard stem garlic. This was what Catboy was refereing to. It will grow, but will not do as well in the heat. If you want to get serious about garlic, buy the product from Dutch Valley Growers. They are on the internet. Their product is a California White garlic that is ideal for this area. Garlic is best planted in October, and it will come off ( depending a lot on the heat) in late May or early June. I am not sure what you mean by regular garlic, but a lot of the crap in the local stores in coming out of China and it is very old. Do yourself a favor do not buy the stuff. Like I said California White, or Italian Purple do good here. If you want the overpriced exotic stuff because it has a fancy name, and you want to pay the premium prices, then so be it. If you are looking to get a nice garlic harvest of larger garlic, then buy the garlic coming out of California. just be careful as a lot of their stuff is being mixed with China garlic to keep the prices down and also because so much of the garlic soil in the Gilroy area is tainted with disease, that production has started to fall, and this is significant, as 80% of all garlic grown in the US is grown in California. The garlic Catboy talks about, a hard stemmed variety, is best grown in colder climate growing areas like New York and Washington where there is significant acreage of garlic being grown commercially. Let me know if you have any other questions....See MoreBoo in Suburbia, Perceptions versus Reality
Comments (24)Interesting thread. A couple thoughts: Nearly every property I have ever seen of any character whatsoever has had SOME horticultural flaws. For me on several properties it has been run away honeysuckle. Try getting ANYONE to come help haul THAT stuff away? Its just NOT going to happen. Or, it may be ivy everywhere, or privet.... Or, it may be hedges or large trees that have been pruned in such a way that the annual cycle of pruning cannot ever be safely abandoned. Not to mention the offensive aesthetic of mature trees that have been robbed of their natural form by the utility companies- forever. Or trees placed dangerously close to a house with large overhanging branches. Trees with annoyingly shallow roots that are impossible to garden under. ETc, etc. If I were a realtor with clients looking at a house that seemed perfect in every way except for some bamboo that was offputting to them- I would make sure they considered the 101 alternative landscaping nightmares that they either hadn't considered or have just learned to adapt to before they walked away nervously.... Ultimately, I think for most buyers- sufficient proof will be in the pudding- if the hedge is well kept, buyers will see the beauty. If its out of control, they are going to see chaos. Many houses I have previewed come with packets of info highlighting the houses attributes. I don't see why you couldnt include a little faq sheet about bamboo, playing up the positives like its renewability and usefulness and including its manageability with an explanation about annual root pruning. If there is a clumper that does the job you need it to do in your area, then sure that MIGHT be the most saleable option, but only assuming you have a buyer savy enough to realize that there is more than one type of bamboo, or that is willing to listen/read. Remember- most people buying those little plants with the plastic pandas think they are actually getting bamboo and have trouble getting to the correct forum even when they are (obviously) interested in learning more. Im sure there are plenty of people who would be immune to Buddyboy's sign- who think they know what bamboo is and how bad it is- end of story. I wonder if THIS is not the more relevant issue when it comes to resale value and perhaps where the participants of this forum might be blinded.... THE BIGGER QUESTION?!?!?!?!..... Does it ultimately pay to have SO many DIFFERENT types of bamboo on a less than humongous lot? Seems to me that people are VERY VERY fond of their big uninform hedges. And, alternately, that the ones who might appreciate a traditional mixed planting for the variety of plant form and bloom display it can offer may not see enough distinction between 15-30 different types of bamboo to offset what might just be interpreted as irregularity of growth. Have any of you attempted to give tours of your collection gardens and watched your non-gardening friends eyes cross as you tried to explain the difference between this species and the next? Friends who are not altogether immune to the beauty of nature, but just don't have that special bamboo "bug"? Honestly? I've recently been convinced that rhizome pruning is a reasonable and reliable option of control, but THIS is the issue that I'm now struggling with..... Ultimately, I will do what I decide I like but I've bought and sold too many properties not to give this some consideraiton. There has to be a balance, at least from my perspective. Frankly, I guess I still have to make that decision as to whether I find bamboo jum-com-bos aesthetically pleasing myself. I've formed little collections in a number of different plant genera, but in nothing as imposing as bamboo....See MorePerceptions in thriftiness?
Comments (31)It used to be that one of the major goals of the ambitious people in India, pre-Communist China, Korea and some other coutries was to come to the U.S., what in China was called "Gold Mountain". In recent years, as India's and China's economy has grown, with more prospects for the future, many are saying that they'd rather not undergo the rigours of getting established in a foreign land and culture, when it'll be much easier to build a good life for their family and future for their children by staying at home. And their children have known that they must study hard and run fast in order to succeed, while our kids feel a sense of entitlement, and work much less hard. As becomes evident when there are international student competitions and the foreign students produce better results. The East and South Asians did not enjoy the inflow of a flood of money that some countries in the Middle East have received for their oil, but they emphasized the need to educate their chidren and now they are well placed to build a strong economy in future. Many of the immigrants to Europe, having lower levels of educational achievement, and finding it extremely difficult to get relevant work, have become somewhat disenchanted, and some of the youth have turned to disruptive tactics. We in Canada have had many immigrants and have told skilled people abroad that there was need here, but many found on their arrival that their credentials were not accepted (whether appropriately or not) and have turned to much lower prestige work, e.g. people with Ph.D.s driving cabs, women with advanced education doing cleaning in motels. Part of the problem is that our local people consider themselves above that kind of work: many unemployed will do heavy farm work for only about half a day, then leave - so we import hundreds of people from Mexico and the Caribbean to do seasonal farm work, pick apples, etc. annually. What do we propose to do to keep our economy afloat when most of the high-paying jobs have been shifted offshore? And I can't really complain about that, for I've seen the distressing conditions under which many people abroad are forced to eke out a living (if one could call it that) - to stave off starvation. We need to get used to living much lower on the hog than we've known for a couple of generations, for there'll be only a few rich (the entitled) and a multitude of peons in our area in another generation or so. ole joyful...See MoreJane Austen Book Discussion: Pride & Prejudice
Comments (15)Yes, I suppose Mary might not have been quite pliable enough for Mr. Collin's purposes. But I mean is that she would have been good as a preachers wife because she WAS moralizing and followed her 'duty'. She would have been a good schoolmarm or missionary. She probably just ended up a spinster though. Do you think she could ever make a living for herself (such as the main character did in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall?). I wonder how many of us would have been considered 'blue-stockings' back then? I do remember, in the last chapter of the book, Austen mentioning the fates of the two unwed sisters. Let me see if I can find it.... It says that "Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her time with her two elder sisters. In society so superior to that she had generally known, her improvement was great. She was not of so ungovernable a temper as Lydia; and, removed from the influence of Lydia's example, she became by proper attention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid." And it also says this "Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she was neccissarilly drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments by Mrs. Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone. Mary was obliged to mix more with the world, but she could still moralise over every morning visit; and as she was no longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her own, it was suspected by her father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance." That would be terrible to be constantly told that you were not pretty in comparison to your sisters and that you were not an interesting person to be around. CMK...See Moreduluthinbloomz4
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