Mother Nature gave me a ground cover...(off topic)
jacqueline9CA
8 years ago
(Trigger warning - lawn purists should not read the below). I
am a very lazy gardener, and our garden grows under a "Laissez Faire" philosophy, to put it mildly. We have two lawns, both of which are mysteriously shrinking because of our constant expanding of the flower beds on their edges. One lawn is very small, and the front lawn is larger. We irrigate them, and my DH mows them and occasionally feeds them, but we DO NOT "maintain" them. My philosophy is that anything which wants to grow in the lawns (other than English ivy, thorned blackberry or poison ivy) is welcome to do so. So, my front lawn has what by now I am sure is hundreds of iris foetida plants, for instance. They get mowed, don't seem to mind, and stay green, so I don't mind.
Anyway, for a few years a small plant has mysteriously appeared in the lawns, mostly in the more shady parts. It has tiny purple flowers in the Spring, and the rest of the year stays green. It makes a very nice mat of flat small leaves (at least in the lawns where it gets mowed - when it strays into the flower beds, it suddenly sticks its head up and gets about 6 inches tall - I do not let it stay in the flower beds). I do not know if it is the drought, the heat, or the fact that the huge Scarlet Oak tree in our front garden has gotten bigger and made more dense shade, but the other day I suddenly realized that this plant is now covering half of the lawn (in the Summer, when the oak has leaves, that side of the lawn is VERY shady). It looks great, flat and dark green. It does not mind being walked on. If I had gone to a nursery and asked about a ground cover to plant there, I know it never would have worked. We did literally nothing. I love it. I tried to find it on the web, and I think I have - it is "ajuga sp" (what a weird name!) also known as bugle weed, and several other names. Listed as an actual ground cover! One of my many lazy theories is that plants in my garden which plant themselves always do better than if I plant them, and this is certainly the case with this one.
So, if you are lazy enough you never know, Mother Nature may bring you a gift! Here is a picture I just took 2 minutes ago of a small part of it:
Jackie
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jacqueline9CA
8 years agotoolbelt68
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Anything You Wanna Talk About V - Prolly Mostly Off-Topic
Comments (150)Thank you, Laura... such wonderful sentiments! :-) Our weather has been crazy, too... but we half expected it. Last year, we were already laying out soaker hoses and starting to water...and this year, we've gotten so much rain that we're completely saturated! We're just now able to get in and cut grass, and talk about tall! It's hard on the mowers, I'm sure, but what can you do?! If it's grass, it has to be kept mowed at least semi-regularly... and if it's garden beds, they must be kept weeded or the grasses, thistles and other nasties take over! So, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't! Mother's Day was nice... calls from my kids, and the husband made a nice dinner... while I spent the day relaxing, for the most part. There are certain chores that must be done regardless of what day it is, like cleaning and feeding dogs and other animals, but that's no big deal... I have it down to a science! ;-) I finally got the old guy to help me get photos off my camera, so I thought I'd share a few this morning... Here's a mama and her twins... My very best mouser... I call her Vixen! The next generation of excellent mousers... one of Vixen's 3 little ones... Walking from the shade garden area toward the new rose arbor... A young Peony Tree in the dappled shade garden... notice the rambler rose runners everywhere on the ground! Closeup of the flower from the Peony Tree... Another Peony Tree in the front yard... north side... And this is a Trillium that opened white and is turning a pale pink shade. It's among a patch of purple flowered hybrid Trillium I planted several years ago... you can see the mottled leaves of the hybrid... I didn't plant the white one, though... And finally, the first of the Irises are starting! I hope you enjoyed a walk around the yards with me... stick around as all the roses begin blooming and other perennials begin to color the gardens a wonderful rainbow of scented color! Thanks, Al... I can finally view Youtube, but the monitor I'm using has no sound on board... for a girl with a technological genius as a husband, I'm always the last to get upgraded! Would you believe I'm still using Windows XP?! I desperately need an upgrade to Windows 7, which should be coming shortly... when he has time to upgrade me. :-) It's kind of like being the plumber with the leaky toilet handle that sticks, or the barber that doesn't have time to cut his own hair... when you're in the business, you're last in line! :-) It looks to be another gorgeous day... sunny and hot with strong humidity... I may spend some time weeding and edging today, instead of killing myself cutting grass! Hope everyone has a lovely day! And... Happy Gardening!...See MoreTotally off topic but....Vintage Hydrangeas
Comments (36)I had an Endless Summer in NC that bloomed 3X annually. It was about 5X5 sheltered by the house such that it only received morning sun and had no competition from tree roots. The color was garish, sorta turquoise, surely some anomaly due to soil type (I only fed it Rose Tone, every plant in my life gets Rose Tone LOL). I'm going to try a Blushing Bride at this house to get the rebloom without a need for sunglasses. I also had a hedge of five Bluebird lacecaps. They were stunning! The bloom period lasted about a month then the spent blooms persisted and turned interesting shades. The nicest hydrangeas I have yet seen were in coastal Connecticut/Long Island....See MoreOff topic, but mentioned in another
Comments (28)I don't know about the e-mails. I began with recognizing your intentions. I told my story and opinion because most people don't think about that any more than I did until it was made very real to me that it is a socioeconomic issue that is largely ignored. I tried to not make it personal by asking you questions, but since the tantrum occurred I will. Do you know the financial status of the child's parents? You didn't know her age so you couldn't have known them that well, right? So you have no idea whether she will get what she wants or not for Christmas and if she doesn't get what she wants she might think it was because she was bad. That's wrong no matter what Christmas spin you want to put on it. We are in an economic downturn. Period. The company I represent just had a lay off. Last week! Granted it was only 12 people, but 12 people that have families. I am guessing there are a lot of children out there right now that aren't going to get much at all for Christmas and we have a lot of movies, songs, store santas, and unwitting older people that make it a whole hell of a lot harder on the parents that are already stressing on not being able to give their children what they feel their children deserve because movies, songs, store santas, and unwitting older people are making children believe that if they are good they will get gifts like every other boy and girl. No matter how good a child is, their Christmas gifts are based on their parents and other family members incomes. Just because a person has good intentions doesn't mean the person did the right thing. Maybe not enough of you on here have been poverty stricken to understand what Christmas can actually mean to poor kids when the better off kids come running into school after Christmas break bragging about all the great presents they got. Just today I heard on the radio that the number of families that have signed up for assistance for their childrens' Christmas has doubled compared to last year while the number of charitable gifts has dropped. Do the math. A lot of parents out there on Black Friday were looking for deals because without those deals there will be no Christmas for their kids. Are you sure you weren't talking to one?...See MoreOff Topic Peony Seeds 10-15 each packet
Comments (10)I just googled and found this... "How to Grow Peonies from Seed Do you have difficulties growing peonies from seed? Despair no longer...help is on the way! Growing peonies from seed is as easy as growing carrots, except it takes a little longer, ( about 3-5 years). The results, however, are far more satisfying. The way I go about the whole procedure is as follows: In late summer / early fall I collect seed pods from many different cultivars. These are strictly open pollinated seeds, so the variety is huge. Simply leave the pods in an open container to dry, then remove the seeds. About the beginning of October fill 4-6 inch pots with moist potting soil. Plant the seeds ~4 cm. apart and ~ 2-21/2 cm. deep. If you wish you may spray the soil with a fungicide (such as ÂNo-dampÂ) or treat the seeds with a bit of Âbulb dust. Rotting is not usually a problem. Place the pots in plastic food-storage bags. Tie with a twist tie and place in a warm place ( ~ 20 deg.C ), leave for about 3 months. During this period the radicle and also a root system. will develop . Soil can be carefully removed for periodic inspection without harming the little plants. Simply replace soil and place back in the bags. When radicles and roots are sufficiently developed place the pots in a cold spot (just above freezing). That old fridge in the basement is marvelous for this purpose! Leave in the cold for 2/3/4/months...until SPRING! Select a spot in the garden for a nursery bed. Carefully knock the soil and seedlings out of the pot (keep intact as much as possible) and plant at the same depth as in the pot. Insert a plant marker with the seedling information. Keep planting area moist (mulch). Throughout the summer you will see the first leaves appear. Some seedlings may not put forth leaves until next springÂbe patient. Leave the little plants over winter (a further layer of mulch will help them overwinter without heaving) until Aug-Sept the following year. Transplant at this time to about 1 foot apart and at the same depth as the plant was growing. The little peony roots look a bit like carrots with coarse roots. With a bit of luck (and good management) you can have a few blooms the following year (3rd year). You can expect to have plenty of blooms in year 4 and 5. What a pleasure... what a thrill and what satisfaction to see the first peony flower from your own plants! Flowers no one in this whole wide world has seen before!" Should be an interesting journey. Thank you again Marian! Daniella...See More
titian1 10b Sydney
8 years ago
seil zone 6b MI
8 years ago
arlene_82 (zone 6 OH)
8 years agojacqueline9CA
8 years agomuscovyduckling
8 years ago
hoverfly - London
8 years agojacqueline9CA
8 years agomuscovyduckling
8 years agomuscovyduckling
8 years agofduk_gw UK zone 3 (US zone 8)
8 years agojacqueline9CA
8 years agomuscovyduckling
8 years agoMelissa Northern Italy zone 8
8 years agotoolbelt68
8 years ago
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