Turtle Garden - Please Tell Me More

14 years ago

I keep reading about Turtle Gardens in this forum and I have NO CLUE as to what it looks like. I've got several "stationary" turtles (or do you use real live ones?) and they currently reside in the sandbox where the grandkids play with them.

Are there any special plants used in the garden?

I'm thinking I have another theme garden in my future (don't tell my husband!!!!)

Can't wait to hear more - us Iowans are game for anything new....

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Marlene Kindred
14 years ago
Hi NB~

Welcome! A lot of us GJers have themed gardens...some like turtles while others like fairies, angels, etc. Big_Deck has a neat turtle garden...it's a garden with lots of turtle statues, plants, etc. If you put in turtle garden in the search bar at the bottom, you'll probably find some of the posts relating to them. The plants you use is, of course, your choice! Can't wait to see your yard!
nbacres
Original Author
14 years ago
Marlene,

Thanks for the info. I checked out Big_Deck (WOW, awesome pics and love his commentary) and in the search process I've learned that it's good to have the turtles since they bring good luck - trust me, us Iowa farmers need everything we can get sometimes!!!!

So, I'd better start naming the 6-8 turtles that are playing in the sandbox (maybe have some of the 12 grandkids work on that project) while I get a new garden spot prepared. Do you think my DH would mind planting a little less corn & beans so I've got more gardening room????

I'd love to see more pics if anyone else has tackled the Turtle Garden theme - BTW, I've got some frogs "residing" in the sandbox also, do they bring good luck also??

Here's to forever fun in the garden & pond.
Related Discussions
Please tell me I didn't ruin my garden!!
Q
Comments (2)
If you didn't hit the plants with spray, you'll be fine. If you did hit the plants with spray, you'll know it, they'll likely show it within a week. Don't forget 'roundup ready' corn, soy, canola, and so on, brought to you by your friends at Monsanto, made to be sprayed.
...See More
Please tell me more about 'French Drains'
Q
Comments (13)
I can manage the small french drains easily next door, that's not as much of an issue as it is getting my own in. Which may need to be put in sooner rather than later. We have standing water in our heat ducts now, from the storm last night (it had also been moist in there awhile, but worse after last nights rain)....I wish we had a conversations forum here so I could ask more about that (hint hint, someone please email me if they can recommend good HVAC since now I have a large replacement of duct work to do, and SOON!!!!) I didn't know they made grate ends for the end of the pipes! That is good news. I can use that for french drains that do not die into the gutter system. Kathy, do the drain boxes fill up with debris like mulch, or do you put them very close to the say, driveway where it is less likely for debis to get in? I have water that runs from my driveway into that area beside the house nextdoor too, so I could really use a drain box and can tie in that line with the french drain line going the other direction, very easily. Now, my next question would be, what about drain lines that get burried that are run from gutters? I will have some that I want to be placed either under a garden by the deck (which is where the french rains would also eventually go from my house) or come out into a swail around the garden. I'm wondering about gutter debris getting caught into this system. With lots of trees, we can get a lot of debris. Our roof pitch is so steep my hubby and I don't clean the gutters ourselves but have someone do it twice a year. Sometimes I think they could be done 10 times a year, lol! GGG
...See More
Bread Machines for Mixing & Rising/Please Tell Me More
Q
Comments (12)
Posts by Annie & Grainlady convinced me that I should buy a Zojirushi. So last year my husband got me one the larger one for Christmas. I use it exclusively for kneading & rising. (I don't care for the way the crust turns out when the machine does the baking. I had another brand years ago and the crust was the same, so I think it's just part of the bread machine experience.) My husband is on a low sodium diet, so I make all our breads and cut the salt content by half. We're not big toast eaters so I usually make sandwich buns, dinner rolls, bagels, etc. and keep them in the freezer until needed. Because I bake the dough myself, I don't fuss with special bread machine recipes. I just put the ingredients in the machine following the recommended order. I let the dough rise in my machine and then take it out to form and bake. However, while it's kneading, I check it to see if it needs a bit of extra liquid or flour. You can't just dump everything in, walk away, and have a perfect loaf. There are so many variables that I think it's really necessary to check the dough while it's kneading. One advantage to baking it yourself is that if you find that, for some reason, the dough is still too dry or too wet, you can adjust it before sticking it into the oven. The large machine is perfect for marathon baking days. I've used it to make three different breads in one day. I'll get one recipe going and pull out the dough to rise in a bowl while I use the machine to mix up & knead another recipe. Then I'll do the same thing. Only the last recipe made will actually rise in the machine. That way I can get almost a month's worth of sandwich & breakfast breads baked in just one day. I also use it for kneading sourdough bread. But I take that dough out and let it rise on its own, many times overnight. The instruction manual for the Zojirushi gives the times for the different processes (pre-heating, kneading, add-ins, rising) so I just set my kitchen timer a few minutes past the beginning of the kneading cycle to check the dough. Then I set the timer again for the beginning of the rise. I usually rub a bit of oil on my hands and dab the top of the dough ball so it won't dry out during the machine rise. I make pizza dough in it all the time and let it rise in the machine unless I'm doing one of my marathons. I think using the full operation, from pre-heat to final raise, probably takes longer than if you just took the dough out and let it rise on its own. Before I got the bread machine, I either made bread by hand or using my food processor. There was nothing wrong with those methods. The thing the machine did for me was allow me to make larger quantities of bread products at one time to accommodate my husband's dietary requirements.
...See More
Two more turtles WIP
Q
Comments (18)
Thanks everyone... you make me feel so good! And... I'm ready to start a turtle to keep finally. :) Everyone liked their turtles... and each of the three called yesterday to say that they took a better look at it.. and loved finding all of the "stuff" in the sand. So... thanks to everyone here for all of the help and support! Y'all are WONDERFUL teachers!!!
...See More
akup_a
14 years ago
"Do you think my DH would mind planting a little less corn & beans so I've got more gardening room???? "
What hubby wouldn't want to do that? hehehe

12 grandkids! Envy here. I still don't have one.

Good luck with your Turtle Garden & may it move faster than a turtle!
Vickie
nbacres
Original Author
14 years ago
Vickie:

I'm thinking the "Good luck with your Turtle Garden & may it move faster than a turtle!" is wishful thinking for me..really appreciate the postive outlook tho.

One of the fun parts of having 12 grandkids (just found out there's another on the way) is that you can call them all "Honey and Sweetie and Toots" and they love that (little do they know yet that it's because I'm too lazy to run down the list of all the kids names until I get to theirs--oh yeh, it's my old, cluttered mind!).

We've got them scattered in Texas, Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota and Iowa so they're hardly ever all at the farm at the same time. ALSO, start saving up for birthdays, Christmas, Baptism, 1st Communion, Confirmation, etc (our oldest ones are 14 and think grandparents will help provide driving lessons-NOT).

What projects to you have that keep you busy? I'd love to hear more...

Fun in the Garden & Pond
Purplemoon
14 years ago
Hi there, NB. And Welcome to our craziness here. I loved your comment about the grandkids' names. LOL. I have 8, all here in Phoenix. I do fine with the 4 big ones, guess their names imprinted in my brain before my memory went south on me. But the 4 little ones I tend to switch names on occasionally. I need to try the Sweetie one. LOL.

Have you checked out our Garden Junk albums? If you want projects and ideas, there are a ton to keep you busy.

hugs, Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: GJ Inspiration Albums
susiewantsroses
14 years ago
nbacres,

Frog and turtle statues are really nice around a pond!!! Not sure they have any special powers but wouldn't it be great if they scarred a mosquito or two?

"BigDeck" can really 'do commentary'!!!
akup_a
14 years ago
I'm working on a Fairie Island flower bed. I've built a tunnel (cinder block that I glued stones on) to get over to the Island with the gate keeper & one fairie house. I still have to till/weed the other half of the bed while maintaining the first half. It is a very slow process.
My DH, ODS & I are heading to Colorado Springs to visit DH's family in July. I sure hope it is cooler there than here in Texas!

Turtle Garden - Please Tell Me More

Comments (7)

Marlene Kindred

nbacres
Original Author

Related Discussions

akup_a

nbacres
Original Author

Purplemoon

susiewantsroses

akup_a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Turtle Garden - Please Tell Me More

Comments (7)

Marlene Kindred

nbacresOriginal Author

Related Discussions

akup_a

nbacresOriginal Author

Purplemoon

susiewantsroses

akup_a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

nbacres
Original Author

nbacres
Original Author