Planning a Garden

[the_z]

I'm planning my garden for this year. We'll be re-painting the house in yellow/cream and red accents. I should probably get ornamental plants to reflect this, but the blue hydrangea many of the bulb companies are offering this year look so enticing! There are some beautiful dutch irises too in blues and purples that really tickle me. Oh god, and

Comments

[xvolph]

It's hard to go wrong with your own vegetables. Whatever tomatoes don't get used right away can be canned and used with meals over the winter, or used in sauces and soups. Extra veggies can be blanched and will freeze well and can be kept over several months.

Green beans and eggplant are also good ones to go with, but they need room to spread out. They should give a nice yield.

[the_z]

I used to like eggplant more as a tiny, but I don't really care for it anymore. I wonder if I had a bad meal at some point. Green beans sound great and I think Andi will love those, or peas. Peppers always do well in this region, too. Those sorts of plants take a bit more work, but I bet it'd be a good learning experience for mini me.

[xvolph]

Something else which might be fun and interesting for Andi would be cherry tomatoes. Dad had me raising them as far back as I can remember. Most of the plants would be in the garden, but he'd always keep a few aside and put them in large pots in front of the house. The pots make upkeep easier since it minimizes the necessity to weed them. And with the colors it sounds like you're picking for the new paint on the house, red and gold cherries might be a nice accent on your walkway.

[the_z]

I think that'd be beautiful! and fun for Andi too. I might use that idea but with strawberries. She adores picking berries.

[tim_almasy]

Man, you're talk of gardens reminds me of my childhood. Mom was always planning these big elaborate flower and vegetable gardens, always making sure they matched with each other and accented the color of the house... Good times. Of course, mom always loved to grow things like green beans and sweet corn and then make me break them down. Boring work, but... I suppose it kept me from breaking stuff. As you can imagine I was a terror as a child. >_>

I've always thought baking bread was rather hard. Mom tried to teach me when I was younger and I was never really very good at it. Pies on the other hand, pies I can make. I've always found it was all just in getting that perfect cooking time... which... I admit, I've screwed up on numerous occasions.

[the_z]

I think pies are supposed to be the easier thing. c_c I have only once made a decent pie from scratch and I'm sure it was a fluke. I do make a good quiche, though.

I bet you were a pain in the ass as a kid XD It's great to have memories of such things, though.

plant geek peeking in

[iamzuul]

Just as an aside, hydrangeas change color depending on the acidity of the soil. If you buy a 'blue' hydrangea, but have an alkaline soil, more likely than not you'll end up with a pink plant.

Also, hydrangea and especially foxglove (digitalis) are toxic. You'll probably want to plant them where the tiny can't get to them, and keep a close eye on her when she's near them.

Re: plant geek peeking in

[the_z]

Thanks! I didn't realize that about foxgloves. I did know about the hydrangeas, though. There's something else-- oh yeah, pink pampas grass, that I'm considering planting, but its color depends on the soil pH too. I wonder if I should test my soil.

[iamzuul]

You can probably get your local extension service (usually associated with a nearby college or university) to do it for free or at a reduced price :)

[the_z]

OH! Good thought. Thanks for the tip.