I have a fairly large back yard. When I first moved to Scottsdale, we (David & I) had a big vegetable garden that took up most of the yard. We grew just about everything except potatoes. There were two mesquite trees in the yard and after three or four years they grew so big and completely shaded the area that we used for a garden so we gave up on growing vegies and started growing plants. We had aloes all across the back of the house on the bedroom wall and other plants on the kitchen wall. For a long time we had holly leaf ferns there. I think they finally died out from old age. There was some Creeping Charlie in that bed also. Probably some Sansaveria too. It has been a long time now and I can't get a good mental image of that bed and everything that grew in it. There aren't any "in the ground plants" in the back yard now. I have a lot of things in pots sitting on tables and plant stands where the garden used to be. The big mesquite tree was taken down about three years ago so I had to build a shade structure over that area. I have most of my blooming plants in the front now. I will eventually move all of the plants that are in the back yard out to the front. There are really more than I can take care of so will probably be giving some away. I plan to extend the roof overhang at the front of the house by a couple of feet which will afford more shade for the plants that I intend to keep.I have only had one bloom on the bearded iris so far. No sign of others yet. The plants are certainly healthy enough. I have also had a bloom on the dutch iris that I put out back in the fall. There are at least a half dozen others with blooms that have yet to open. The first one was white. I can see yellow on a couple of the others that haven't quite opened yet. There should be some blue ones also. I have Mexican Poppies in bloom (lots of pink) and Angelita Dasies (yellow). Also some gazanias, geraniums, and pansies. There are still a few African Dasies. I have removed about 98% of them as they have bloomed out and were beginning to set and drop seeds. I don't want to have the front completely covered with them next year. No cactus blooms yet. I do have aloes (yellow) in bloom. The red ones are in pots and have already had their first blooms. I expect there will be more before hot weather sets in. Robert E Paty, Scottsdale, AZ aka Mad Hatter > Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:33:54 -0500 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ML] gardens > > We always put out a big garden. Since my husband died my son, > grandchildren and some friends will help. It has been so dry the last > two years it hasn't made much, but maybe this year. I have 45 lbs of > potatoes already planted and about 15 more to put out, onions and 2 > rows of corn. Garden is about 75 by 25 I guess so is fairly large. > Thank goodness none of it is up since it may get down to 29 tonight. I > have also started some plants inside, love flowers have lots of house > plants and flowers outside. Been moving some bulbs an other plants > while it is wet. We are going to try some raised beds this year. > Always plant some tomatoes and lettuce In containers and then move > them inside by my patio doors in the fall and and have them till > Christmas or so. I hope to get a glassed in porch by this fall. > Pat > > On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 5:14 PM, helen ware <[email protected]> wrote: > > How many on this list are to have flower or vegetable gardens this year? > > I have just started a few plants from seed and have them in a sunny window-we can't safely put out plants until after Mother's Day. But it is fun to start them inside and watch them grow! > > I may put a couple of tomato and pepper plants in here, or maybe just in containers--I have a small garden plot here and last year just had a flower garden. > > Has anyone done container gardening and has any good hints to offer to get me started? there is both shade close to the house and sun out further. We do have to water by hand so that is a job-I need a bigger watering can than I have now! > > Helen > > > > > > > > > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbousman1/memory.htm > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbousman1/memory.htm > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Helen, I am going to send you a FB friend request and then I can send some information on container gardening. You would be surprised at the things you can use for gardening in containers. I have reduced the size of my gardens due to age and reactions to heat. I may try some containers this year as I do not think they would need weeding. I have grown more selective in what I plant and will probably limit my planting this year to tomatoes, peppers, and various members of the squash families. Marilyn On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 12:40 AM, ROBERT E PATY <[email protected]> wrote: > I have a fairly large back yard. When I first moved to Scottsdale, we > (David & I) had a big vegetable garden that took up most of the yard. We > grew just about everything except potatoes. There were two mesquite trees > in the yard and after three or four years they grew so big and completely > shaded the area that we used for a garden so we gave up on growing vegies > and started growing plants. We had aloes all across the back of the house > on the bedroom wall and other plants on the kitchen wall. For a long time > we had holly leaf ferns there. I think they finally died out from old age. > There was some Creeping Charlie in that bed also. Probably some Sansaveria > too. It has been a long time now and I can't get a good mental image of > that bed and everything that grew in it. There aren't any "in the ground > plants" in the back yard now. I have a lot of things in pots sitting on > tables and plant stands where the garden used to be. The big mesquite tree > was taken down about three years a! > go so I had to build a shade structure over that area. I have most of my > blooming plants in the front now. I will eventually move all of the plants > that are in the back yard out to the front. There are really more than I > can take care of so will probably be giving some away. I plan to extend the > roof overhang at the front of the house by a couple of feet which will > afford more shade for the plants that I intend to keep.I have only had one > bloom on the bearded iris so far. No sign of others yet. The plants are > certainly healthy enough. I have also had a bloom on the dutch iris that I > put out back in the fall. There are at least a half dozen others with > blooms that have yet to open. The first one was white. I can see yellow on > a couple of the others that haven't quite opened yet. There should be some > blue ones also. I have Mexican Poppies in bloom (lots of pink) and Angelita > Dasies (yellow). Also some gazanias, geraniums, and pansies. There are > still a few African Dasies. I h! > ave removed about 98% of them as they have bloomed out and were beginn > ing to set and drop seeds. I don't want to have the front completely > covered with them next year. No cactus blooms yet. I do have aloes (yellow) > in bloom. The red ones are in pots and have already had their first blooms. > I expect there will be more before hot weather sets in. > > Robert E Paty, Scottsdale, AZ aka Mad Hatter > > Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:33:54 -0500 > > From: [email protected] > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [ML] gardens > > > > We always put out a big garden. Since my husband died my son, > > grandchildren and some friends will help. It has been so dry the last > > two years it hasn't made much, but maybe this year. I have 45 lbs of > > potatoes already planted and about 15 more to put out, onions and 2 > > rows of corn. Garden is about 75 by 25 I guess so is fairly large. > > Thank goodness none of it is up since it may get down to 29 tonight. I > > have also started some plants inside, love flowers have lots of house > > plants and flowers outside. Been moving some bulbs an other plants > > while it is wet. We are going to try some raised beds this year. > > Always plant some tomatoes and lettuce In containers and then move > > them inside by my patio doors in the fall and and have them till > > Christmas or so. I hope to get a glassed in porch by this fall. > > Pat > > > > On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 5:14 PM, helen ware <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > How many on this list are to have flower or vegetable gardens this > year? > > > I have just started a few plants from seed and have them in a sunny > window-we can't safely put out plants until after Mother's Day. But it is > fun to start them inside and watch them grow! > > > I may put a couple of tomato and pepper plants in here, or maybe just > in containers--I have a small garden plot here and last year just had a > flower garden. > > > Has anyone done container gardening and has any good hints to offer to > get me started? there is both shade close to the house and sun out further. > We do have to water by hand so that is a job-I need a bigger watering can > than I have now! > > > Helen > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbousman1/memory.htm > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > > > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbousman1/memory.htm > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbousman1/memory.htm > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- "If you don't get outside every day, even for a minute, you have not appreciated what God has done. It makes you grateful for our surroundings, and it starts your day differently." Johnny Cash