Any Block Island gardeners here?
bill_ri_z6b
11 years ago
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pixie_lou
11 years agobill_ri_z6b
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Looking for Garden plans - Bed/island garden
Comments (11)All the above is great advice. Here's a little more. The problem with pre drawn plans is they are for that evasive "average" garden. They can never take into account your specific site, light, water, soil and tastes. Here's a very simple process that may help you get started. Do know that the real pleasure is in the process, so don't be afraid to experiment, move around, and even start over. 1. Decide where the bed will go, and lay out the shape. Think big! For an island I like it to be 14 to 16 feet deep. 2. Using graph paper, with one square being equal to one square foot, draw out the bed. Make several copies. Note light conditions, moisture, etc. 3. Choose a color scheme for your bed. This will not only make for a more beautiful bed, but will also help you begin to sort out which of your favorite 300 you should use in this bed. (You can always build others for other colors later.) 4. Start choosing your plants by starting with the "bones". These are the plants (often, shrubs or small trees) that you see 12 months a year either because they are evergreen, have showy bark, or have great form and structure even when their foliage and flowers are gone. Choose only plants that will grow well in your area!!! Draw them onto your graph paper, allowing them their full mature size. Put the biggest ones toward the center of your bed. Remember they will be seen from every side in an island. This is a good time to draw in any hardscape features like a statue, pot, fountain etc. too. 5. Go to books, plant encyclopedias, seed and nursery catalogues and begin looking for plants you want. Think in terms of how many square feet each one will need. Give approximately 1/3 of the remaining footage in your bed to spring bloomers, 1/3 to summer bloomers, and 1/3 to fall bloomers. Remember that any plant will look better in a clump. Don't plant 300 plants, one of each. You'll get a more pleasing bed by planting 5 each of 60 (this is just an example, remember!:) The smaller the plant, the more of it you will need to make an impact. The larger the plant, the fewer of it you need to plant. As you choose your plants keep the following in mind: does it work with your color scheme? Does it thrive in your area? Sure, it has great flowers, but how does it look the rest of the year? Choose plants that have good looking foliage and form, as well as blooms. Choose contrasting shapes, forms, and textures: rounded, spiky, upright, fountains, vases, barrels, bold, fine, etc. Color is important, but it's not all there is. As you draw your choices onto your graph paper, picture them as they will relate to the other plants around them. Will they be hidden by something? Will a larger plant shade them, and if so will that be good or bad? How does the foliage look when paired against its neighbors? Are they in a place where they can get the amount of water and sun they need? I like to have my blooms for spring, summer, fall, etc. coming and going all over the garden throughout the season, so I spread them out and mix them in to other season's bloomers. This is another reason to consider the quality of a plant's foliage. Make room for annuals. They will keep the show going when the perennials are resting. I like to put annuals in the front edges especially. This is a very simplistic formula, but I think you will find it to be a helpful starting point for the design process. (Soil preparation, edging, etc. are equally important considerations.) By all means, read! There are so many great books out there. I spend every winter reading, learning, dreaming, and planning. It never fails to pay off....See MoreAnyone here use cement blocks for raised beds? Questions
Comments (24)Hi John 1931, I am a quilter too, so laying out blocks is a nice puzzle. A picture is worth a thousand words, But here's a try. Maybe some index cards or dominoes, Lego bricks, etc would be helpful to fidget with (I used index cards). Lay out a square pattern to show the corners of the first tier, with the blocks making a kind of circle, like this. N N N D B O O D B O O D B H H H (3 letters make a block, the O's are just dirt.) If you now flip that layer over D N N N D O O B D O O B K K K B it will sit on top of the first layer perfectly, and stagger all the joints. Of course you can stretch the sides by adding blocks, but with this corner pattern reversed for each layer, you should need no partial blocks and the joints would always stagger. Just avoid the symmetrical layout: N N N H O H H O H H O H N N N That gets you in trouble on the next tier. Hope this made sense!...See Morepics of the glass blocks on sale here in Ohio
Comments (7)I made a few neck coolers this past weekend also.. and this time I did not put very much of the crystals in them and they worked better.. We have a marathon here in Cincinnati, and one of the girls at work is going to run in the marathon.. listen to this it is called "THE FLYING PIG MARATHON." lOL so I am going to try and find some fabric with little pigs..LOL or wings.. or something.. and make some neck coolers for some of the runners.. only thing is some times it is cool when they run.. I will just play it by ear.. we have a lot of walkathons and I may make up some to just give to the walkers.. and by word of mouth it could work into something and if not then I have done a good deed. Huggys...See MoreAny rose gardener/scooter/motorcycle riders here?
Comments (7)Hi Daisy! I am so glad to see one more motorcycle/scooter rider in the garden forum! :-) Three of us, we all have/had Honda bikes! You are the captain rider here for sure-started riding in 1967. :-) I started riding in 2008, purchased my first scooter-2009 Honda Ruckus(50cc), had so much fun, but couldn't keep up with Harley one day on my way to a friend's house, so moved up to a Honda Big Ruckus (250cc); then fell in love with a Piaggio Mp3; then one of my back street neighbors stopped by with his red Vespa 2 summers ago, he needed to sell it to buy a car.......it's like God dropped a Vespa right in front of me, I couldn't say no! :-) Not good at selling things, so I keep them all. Still ride Ruckus a lot within 3 miles range-gym, library and stores. Ride the bigger bikes for longer rides and busy roads. Can't wait for Spring, really miss riding, still have a lot of snow on the ground, and salt on the road. Do you wear riding gear when you ride? I only wear riding gears and fullface helmet for bigger bikes, may be I should use a gear for Ruckus too. You're in zone 10, so you can ride all year round! :-) Hope Ken can come back here with another Honda. :-)...See Moreprairiemoon2 z6b MA
11 years agorockman50
11 years agobill_ri_z6b
11 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agobill_ri_z6b
9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years agobill_ri_z6b
9 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoemmerick
9 years ago
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