How do you keep your hosta's looking beautiful?
bishop5
8 years ago
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mac48025 ( SE michigan)
8 years agoI'm sure you'll get many suggestions and the truth is they probably all work. I use a simple approach. Good soil, raised bed, lots of water and deadline for slug control. It's the only chemical I use in the garden as I can't stand slug damage. It's not as easy to obtain as the ortho product but it works so much better. I fertilize in early spring with an organic fertilizer and try to place my hosta's in the best lighting as possible and I'm still learning which prefer more or less sun. I'm not saying mine is the only or best approach, but simple is best works for me.
Sounds like the hubby has been busy and you have a lot of new beds to plant. Have fun wandering the gravel paths!
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Comments (20)I have a database in the computer with all my perennials/bulbs/shrubs recorded in it. Each winter I make sure that it is fully updated and then in spring I make a hard copy that I usually keep in my vehicle to have with me all summer. In my database I record... name, common (eg. bellflower) name, 'real'...(eg, campanula for the bellflower) sun and/or shade height/width color of flower description of plant location in yard year acquired hybridizer year registered by hybridizer what I paid and if in a trade what it would be worth who I got it from awards it has received bloom time zone requirements parentage dates I took a picture of it date the best picture of it was taken so as to quickly find the picture if someone wants to see a picture of it. size of leaf (for hostas) size of flower (needed for my daylilies) pruning group (for clematis) There are now over 2000 different perennials in our yard. I spend time each morning taking pictures of what is newly blooming in the yard. This is recorded into a binder and then transferred into the computer. In the winter I will take the time to label each of the pictures and transfer one good one of each perennial into my Photobucket album. With hostas I like to take a picture of the individual leaf, its flowers and a clump picture. Each perennial also gets a homemade copper tag made up for it which is placed immediately behind the plant. Since I have traded all across Canada, sell/trade privately in our area and have a table at the local farmer's market with my perennials, it is very important for me to know the name of each perennial and what it should be worth. I could never go by memory with my plants. Hats off to those who can. Brenda...See MoreRetail employees--how do you keep your cool?
Comments (25)viola, I sympathize entirely :-)) Between my managerial/buying position for a retail garden center AND running my own design business, spring is a tough time to even slow down enough to take a breath. And in my 12 month gardening climate, I doubt even our spring rush can compete with those located in more limiting climates. My day at the nursery passes in a blur but even with the seasonal crunch, schmoozing with and helping customers is the best part. Unfortunately, I seem to get tied up with more office work at this time of year than I'd prefer. Taking enough breaks is really important - that few minutes away from the sales floor can make all the difference in attitude and enthusiasm. And try to compartmentalize as best as you can - it's tough to give good customer service when you are preoccupied with restocking or ordering for the coming week. And don't forget to have a social life - as tired as you may feel, meeting friends for drinks or dinner occasionally can really recharge your spirits, not to mention spending some quality time with your family or just by yourself. Don't skip days off just because it's the busy season - good garden center managers understand that proper time off is essential to having a good humored and well balanced, enthusiastic sales staff. Organize an afterhours potluck or other gathering - we had a Cinqo di Mayo BBQ afterhours last week to unwind from the Mother's Day weekend prep and gear up for the coming weekend and it was a great stress-reliever (not to mention a ton of good food - don't all nursery workers focus on food??). Believe it or not, I find coming home and spending a bit of time in my own garden is a great diversion from all the other activities. Yes, I work with plants all day long (and with garden designs well into the night) but finding a few moments to spend putzing around my own garden seems to put everything else into proper perspective. But I sure wouldn't mind having a personal assistant to tend to my other affairs - just finding time to return calls, pay bills, take the dogs in for grooming (or me for a haircut) and the car for servicing, even emptying the dishwasher sometimes seems more than I can manage. Just remember that the crunch period passes - sometimes all too soon - and pace yourself....See MoreDo you keep a gardening journal? and if so how do you keep it?
Comments (15)A nice "take with you to the garden" journal consists of using a recipe box (I prefer the 5"x8" size) and use two types of dividers (Alphabetical A-Z and Monthly Jan-Dec). I then file a card for each plant/tree/shrub by name of plant and also include plant detail/care/other information, where/when/price purchased, and where planted in the alabetical section. I also can place a photo protected by clear tape on the back of the card. In the monthly section, I file general cards noting "TO DO'S" that I would like to accomplish that month so I don't forget seasonal needs (fertilize, prune, etc). One could also add additional sets of alphabetal A-Z dividers in possibly different colors to use to further divide different groups (annuals, perennials, trees/shrubs, etc). You can also use the monthly section for other monthly reminders you may want to remember (birthdays, anniversaries, or special "to do" reminders). Hope this is helpful - Works for me!...See MoreHow do you keep your TV from sucking the life out of your decor?
Comments (38)A few years ago, DH asked for a giant flat screen tv for Father's Day ~ so sweetly and pitifully, that I couldn't say no . . . although I wanted to! The problem was that our family room has only one (semi)unbroken wall to it and anything on that wall competes with our hand-painted kiva fireplace in the corner right next to it. AND, to complicate matters even more, that wall (pretty much the entire house, actually) is made of real adobe bricks, which look awesome but are a bear to try and hang anything even kind of heavy on. Too heavy or put a nail in at the wrong angle and you can end up with a 3" wide and deep hole, where adobe dirt and hay fell out of the brick . . . and you can forget ever hanging anything on that brick again, even once it's patched! I really wanted an EC like Goldie's that had a wood back to hang the tv on, but it would have totally overwhelmed the room :~( A great credenza, like Haley's or Bepeace's, would have been nice but I was afraid to hang the tv on the adobe wall and I couldn't find one to hold ~AND HIDE~ all of our DVDs, tapes, and components. I wasn't so concerned with hiding the tv, but thought that the components and DVDs would clutter up the area too much. And then we found a tv lift console that solved all our problems- it hides lots of stuff inside of it and the tv sits down in it, as well, when we aren't watching it. When it's down, it doesn't compete with our fireplace, which is a huge bonus in our small family room! I do have to tell you, though, that it was a huge PIA to actually get that tv hung on the console's hanging bars! But now that it's done, we love it. The motor is quiet and smooth and the remote easy to use. Another downside, for anyone contemplating buying one, is that you can't put anything on the top of the console, decoration-wise, as the back two-thirds of the top section opens up as the tv slides up. We bought a narrow tower to sit next to it and I have a lamp on that. We also have a set of three framed Indian artifacts that we've hung over the console. They were a huge PIA to center, but they work with the kiva instead of competing with it. So, that's one more solution to consider, not so much to hide your tv, as ours seems to be up more than it's down like most people, I guess, but it is a tv hanging/storage place. I do want to make it VERY clear that I'm not criticizing leaving a tv out on display all the time. I think it's a perfectly ok thing to do. I just wanted to show you another option for any flat screen tv and explain why we went with this option. Lynn Our flat screen up, before we hung our art over it: And with the tv down:...See More
DelawareDonna
8 years agostoc zone 6 sweden
8 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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8 years ago
funnthsun z7A - Southern VA
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