Houseplants, Julie's Blog by Julie Day
All summer I have been scratching my head over this one. I have a large concrete planter on my porch that I filled this summer with a mix of portulaca. At first, it seemed like a winning combo – the drought-loving plants settled right into that sunny, dry planter and bloomed like crazy.
Then, one day, my happy portulaca looked a wee bit wilted. The next day, it looked downright discouraged. Within a couple of weeks, the plants were completely dead, rotted away to stubs. All summer, I have been scouring my sources to find answers, and yes, there are some fast-acting diseases out there, as well as a thriving online support community for survivors of sudden portulaca death.
Finally, though, near the end of the summer, I happened to open my door at just the right moment, and the answer to my question was looking me right in the eye – literally:
Meet Houdini, who generally runs the place by using his 14 pounds in whatever ways he sees fit. In this case, he declared eminent domain over a cozy napping spot, and as you can see by the look on his face, I was disturbing his peace and quiet. Next year, instead of the portulaca, I’ll just put in a blanket and the TV remote.
Gardening Basics, Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
The other day, I was working in the front yard when my neighbor stopped to chat. We discussed her unhappy dogwood trees, and before she left she said, “How do you KNOW all this stuff?” I puffed up with pride and said, “Because I’ve killed nearly one of everything.”
It’s true. I’ve contributed to the demise of bulbs, sod lawns, trees, shrubs, you name it. I’ve planted sun plants in shade and shade plants in sun, watered too much and watered too little. I’ve over-pruned, under-fed, over-transplanted, and run over with the lawn mower. I’ve also killed stuff by precisely following package instructions.
I’m quite proud of my gardening résumé. The only way to learn about gardening is to plant stuff and see what happens – if you pay attention. The plants that don’t survive can teach you as much as (or even more than) the plants that thrive, and there are almost always second chances.
Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
In the evenings, I like to do what I call the Bamboo Dance, which involves walking around the yard and stomping down bamboo shoots that sprang up during the day. My yard is bordered on one side by a tall hedge of running bamboo, which means that my entire yard is an underground network of bamboo roots (rhizomes, actually) just waiting for me to turn my back.
Running bamboo is an amazing plant – it’s graceful, tough, and spreads like lightning. In the right setting it makes a spectacular screen or dense grove – in smaller gardens, however, it rapidly begins a plan of world domination. It grows through anything, and the roots are tough as steel pipes. It grows so fast that if you stand still for a minute, it’ll grow between your toes. I’m serious - I went out of town for a three-day weekend, and when I returned there were shoots seven feet tall! My own research has yielded only two suggestions:
- Inject the roots with massive quantities of herbicide (which only predicts mediocre results).
- Dig a deep trench around the patch and completely encapsulate the area in concrete (really!)
Since I try to avoid chemicals (and I don’t need a parking lot), for now I’m sticking to the Bamboo Dance - because I can’t possibly appear any crazier to my neighbors than I do already. I welcome other, less embarrassing ideas, and meanwhile I’ll keep you posted!
Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
I love September – the fresh breezes, the welcome rain, the energy in the air as life kicks back into gear after a lazy summer.
As a veteran procrastinator, September always delivers a swift kick in the pants, as I realize that my clever excuses are no longer valid. “It’s too hot” (did you feel that breeze?), “it’s too dry” (hello tropical storm season), “it’ll be crowded until school starts” (two weeks ago), “that should wait until fall” (autumn equinox - Sept. 21), you get the idea.
Not to mention that the mountains, trails, beaches, and backyards are calling like sirens, promising intoxicating beauty, play, and rejuvenation and begging me to put off work for just a little while.
My calendar is always over-full in September, and I love every minute of it. I have too many things I want to do, and I wish the days were 40 hours long. This time of year, everything’s fun, as long as it’s outside, and the energy is contagious.
Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
A few months ago, I had my yard re-graded due to some drainage issues. I filled in a drainage ditch and fixed it up with rocks, raised my front yard about a foot, sloped the earth away from the house, put in French drains – you name it, I obsessed over it. It was perfect.
Nature loves to tease a perfectionist, so here’s where the fun begins. The summer thunderstorm season rolled in, washing away my rock garden. And I do mean AWAY – huge rocks, tons of dirt, and several bales of straw, bobbing off downstream like Huckleberry Finn. Those same storms pushed around my nice, smooth lawn and left me with lumps that were quickly hardened by the sun. Lumps! The very idea!
Naturally, my first impulse was to go rent a bigger, louder bulldozer – to beat that earth into submission, or die trying! However, one afternoon I stopped to notice the breeze, and I heard it – it was unmistakable – it was the sound of nature chuckling at me. OK, you win, I get it, there will be more storms. To make this work, I’m going to have to work with what I’ve got, let go of some control, and relax a little. But only a little – I still have my eye on that ditch.
Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
There’s a farm where I live, where on Saturdays you can go buy vegetables as fresh as they come. Literally, the tractor pulls up from the field loaded with corn. Eager customers start grabbing, and the “cashier” is the farmer himself, calculating change without pen or paper. The summer’s bounty never looked better, and “eating your vegetables” suddenly seems like a treat.
If you’ve never tasted fat, juicy fresh-picked corn, you’re missing out on pure heaven. It’s a totally mesmerizing experience – from the first bite you enter a sort of munchy trance that lasts until you drop the ear to your plate with a sigh. I think fresh corn is one of those treats that makes you think, “Aha, now I know what all that digging was about.” If you don’t have a vegetable garden of your own, keep an eye out for local farms, produce stands, and farmer’s markets – it doesn’t get any better than this!
Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
My home-office is arranged so that all I have to do is glance up, and I can see out the window into my back yard. I love my back yard; in fact, it’s the reason I bought this house. There’s a lovely close grouping of six tall trees, and the first time I ever walked back there, the trees looked like they were having a secret conference – and I wanted to be invited. I didn’t even mind the poison ivy, the weeds, and the jungle-like overgrowth. For me, a “back yard” has always been a symbol of space and freedom, no matter how small it may be. In the front yard, you have to please your neighbors and think about “curb appeal.” In your back yard, you can be yourself. It’s nice to have a space like that. Even if you don’t have a physical back yard, if you live in an apartment or condo, it’s important to have one in your mind – a space that belongs to you and you alone, where you get to decide who enters, with a nice fence to protect it and as many pink flamingos as you want.
Julie's Blog, Lawn and Garden by Julie Day
Hello everyone, and welcome! What an exciting summer this has been so far with ideas, energy, and dirt flying like confetti. Around the Yard is growing, and I’m thrilled to be able to share information, ideas, and gardening experiences with you. As a beginning gardener, I quickly learned that the best source of wisdom was other gardeners. My mission is to make Around the Yard a valuable well of knowledge you can draw from for your yard and an online community to connect with fellow growers like yourself. Above all, the information presented here should be accurate, practical, and clear – and I’m counting on you to help ensure this. Each article and blog entry has a space for comments, and I welcome your experiences, responses, and feedback. In addition, you can use our Ask Julie form to send me an e-mail or question. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!
