Gardens Home & Garden

I been trying to sort my garden out bit by bit over the last 4 years and putting plants in it, but I have had to put chicken wire around my borders as Beau isn’t to fussed if he breaks them or tramples on them all and flattens everything down I have been trying to teach him that he has to wait if the ball goes over the wire, but no impatient harry has to jump over it and breaks down the wire, so I have to put it all back again, it has saved a lot of the plants though ​

That’s was my begonias this year they done well and are just starting to go over now the cold nights are starting

One is before I got all the plants in and Woodys sat in the garden and the other is with plants in it, but most are going over this time of the year and Beau standing there. He has turfed up most of my grass now

Hope you get your car sorted soon. I bought a Ring jump starter when I first had this car, should have realised that it was a faulty battery. It's been a steep curve since Chas died.
I think my trailing Rosemary is about a year old - it isn't on the photos from when I had the slate laid. It looked just like yours when I bought it, all I did was re-pot it, stick it in an old milk churn, and take the upright sprigs as and when. The flowers were lovely in the Summer, (we are heading into Winter now), this is how much it has grown.


I had an upright Rosemary at the last house but found it very difficult to keep compact so I rather like this one. The problem will be finding a tall home when it needs potting on. Might have to think about having a raised bed and let it spill over.

@CaroleC , that looks lovely like that, maybe a half barrel if and when it gets to big and then it will keep it compact aswell, I can keep plants outside and they grow lovely but indoor plant just don’t seem to like me looking after them. I do have a raised border at the top of the garden but I found you have to keep topping it up with compost as it drops and gets lower, but it keeps the dogs away from the neighbours dogs and teasing each other, they all walk around together when we’re out but for some reason they wind each other up at home on their own territory.

These are lemon (top) and mandarin (bottom) trees that I have grown from the seeds, I am really surprised they have lasted this long, I do keep them in the window where the sun is, please excuse the mess behind as they are where we keep the dogs treats and food.

Thanks. It is most likely the starter or solenoid gone bad. The battery is just a month old. I have at least 6 of the little jumper packs. I had two in each vehicle (this and the motorhome I had) for jumpstarting if needed. And then I kept a couple more in each vehicle for charging my phone, kindle, etc, when I was camping. Sold the motorhome but kept all those jump packs. I suspect the door lock is just the lock motor gone bad and the window will need a new motor and pulley (replaced the driver window and passenger window in the past few years).

Over 20 years ago now, I found a great shop run by a woman. No more male attitude. After a few years, she and her partner closed that shop but kept his main shop going. So I started going there. Spent a lot of time there with the motorhome over the years. About 5 years ago, her partner sold the shop to another longtime shop. She came with the shop. It's so nice dealing with her. None of that male attitude. Her partner was always good about that too. The new owner is arrogant but he's like that to everyone so it's OK.

Tornado-dog and Cat-dog have trampled a few plants. I got a bunch of wire fence panels and use those to protect them now. One of my lion's tail has grown sideways instead of straight up because Tornado-dog kept trampling it. And I lost a lello sage because I planted it where Cat-dog likes to lay. The fence panels work well.

My only raised bed is for the blackberry and raspberry bushes to keep them contained. Tornado-dog decided it was a great spot to keep eye on the enemy squirrel so I had to put fence around it. The bushes should be massive enough to remove the fencing next spring.

@CaroleC that rosemary looks great. I was going to put mine under my sundial in the front, but it will get too big for that so I'll have to find it another home. It is difficult finding a trailing plant that will stay fairly small.

I lost most of my potted plants this summer in the heat waves. I only saw them in the dark when I watered so never got a good look at them to see if they were happy or not with the schedule.

This time, I moved the stands to the walkway in sight of the backdoor. So whenever I let the dogs out or in, I can get a good look at the plants. And the porch light reaches them so I can get a good look. This location also doesn't get the late afternoon sun. The back patio is very harsh hot sun all day long. I figure I'll move these to the patio when they get repotted into large pots and by then I'll know their watering needs better.

They'll have the winter to grow before the heat hits again. The stands are all on wheels so I can move them during the wind storms.

If I lose these, I'm going to give up on container planting in the back. The front container plants have been happier. Less harsh sun and more consitent watering. I have nine ice plants on the front steps (one died). I'm going to move those in ground by the pineapple guava tree, who is doing great. I just ordered six different coneflower varieties to go in those pots. The three poker plants will get moved to those pots too once they get a bit bigger.

Fortunately I got the hours in for work last month to pay for all these, plus the tire and alignment I need on the car.

Well I did have an ice plant that I have had for years and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger but this year when it was half grown through the summer Beau jumped straight into the middle of it and that was it it just looks a complete mess now, it’s spread eagled and the flowers don’t look that good on it. But I seem to do better with pots in the garden and then I move them over to the ground and they look a little sorry for themselves or they die, I did get some nicotine plants grow this year and I never even planted them and they are going mad flowering, mostly white and just the one purple. Not a clue where they came from!! I have a couple of acers that I really would like to put in the garden but I will have to wait until they are bigger as I know he will run at them and break them and I’ve had them since they were saplings.

Yeah, I don't put groundcover or anything shorter than 24 inches in the ground in the back due to the dogs. I have two salmony pink ice plants that are thick carpets in the pots but refuse to bloom. I'm hoping putting them in the ground will get them blooming. I have three fire mountain reds in the ground already and they are happy there. I have another six that I want to move into the ground. The ones in pots in the back are straggly looking. I'm going to put them in new soil with perlite and see if that helps.

I planted four cliff maids (lewisia) in some painted cinderblocks and they are really happy. I wanted ice plants in the top level holes to drape down but they hated it there. I need to find a trailing plant that will be happy in an 8 inch square pot and that isn't toxic.

Car just got towed in. They wanted to try jumpstarting it - I kept telling them it's not the battery. The battery is a month old and I drove just under two weeks ago... I also said I didn't want anything to blow up or melt like it did when I tried jumpstarting it.

Meanwhile I finally cut the flower stalks off the bear's britches that poke me every time I walk on the walkway. And filled the cats' bird feeders.

Tornado-dog found a wrapped payday bar (had fallen out of the bag unknown). He was prancing around with it and tried to chase Looney2 away. Unfortunately, Looney2 watched Big Cats 24/7 last night with me and watched a leopard tree jump an impala, a cheetah take down an impala, and then two male intruder lions get chased away by the two local pride males. So he wasn't backing down and was going to kill the wildebeest. And yes, Tornado-dog is a wildebeest according to Looney2.

Punx was on her usual perch last night - the back of the recliner in the bedroom. When I looked out of the corner of my eye, she was watching the tv, but whenever I turned to her, she looked anywhere but the tv. But she was impressed with those big cats. I think she really liked how the lions call each other - mine all call each other too.

I picked up a peice of my ice plant and just stuck in an empty pot that I had with some compost in and it seemed of took and flowered, it’s only one stem at the moment so I will leave it for awhile and then plant it somewhere else, but I have noticed they do like full sun. I do like the aubrieta you can get that in red or purple and like dry soil and sunny areas that’s a hanging plant for rockery’s and walls. But I do really like ornamental grasses and have them scattered around the garden aswell.

Well let’s hope they can sort your car out and it’s something really simple that’s wrong with it.
I have a yukka that stabs my legs every time I walk by it when I cut the grass it flowers nearly every year I get new stems on it and it’s still flowering now, well until the frost sees them off. I do try and cut the ends off the leaves so it doesn’t stab me so much and Beau does like to lay under it where it’s damp and cold in the summer.

I love Lewisia but they don't love me!. Just 40 miles South of us they are perennials, with me they are annuals. We have had poor light levels this year, so I have lots of tomatoes that won't ripen. I have a row of them.on my South facing window-ledges - some ripen, but more go rotten.
I bought a trailing Fuchsia this year which has done well in a small pot. It has a double flower which is pretty, but I usually lose the Fuchsias in the Winter.

I'm in zone 9b so too hot for the aubrieta. Ice plants are really forgiving which is why I have so many.

I try to do my research and not select plants that are toxic or thorny/sharp. Even my berries are no thorn types. I was thinking of getting a bougainvillea for one of the arbors, but they have thorns, so I passed on it. I have two coral yuccas in the front and their leaves are fairly sharp, but I placed them away from the walkways so they won't bother me. And I definitely stay away from anything that requires you to wear protective gear to handle.

No lack of sun here. I do like the lewisia. I have the sunset strain and the little peach. I may just end up getting a few more and having the cinder blocks all lewisia.

Shame about your tomatoes. That must be frustrating. Would grow lights work to ripen them on the window ledges?

My tomatoes where a sad effort this year, I had in total 14 tomatoes off it and it didn’t grow above 4 ft, whether it was because it was a late summer and not enough bees around I really don’t know, I’m not the only one that’s complained about it either, but last year I was practically giving them away because I just couldn’t keep up with them and I’m the only one that eats them in my house. The fuchsias should come up every year but every now and again I cut them down so they grow new stems.

@Toedtoes It would be too difficult to rig up a growlight where they are. I love the taste of homegrown toms but this year they have not been worth the effort. A lot have tough skin and blotches.
@Tone Do you take your Fuschias in in the winter? I could try cutting this one back as it's a trailing one and would need a bit of shed space. Last year I had two smaller varieties. I left them out in a sheltered spot but the frost killed them, yet I see some mature Fuschia bushes in other gardens.

I just leave them in the garden Carole, I don’t usually do anything to them, apart from now and again cut back. They do like a sunny spot but will grow if you leave them, yes they look like there dead sometimes but then if you look come spring and the sun warms up they should start sprouting leaves again, just give it plenty of feed, but if you want a large bush then just leave it, unless it’s been a really harsh winter it will die back

@CaroleC these are the fuchsias that I have and as you can see the 2 I have cut back are growing bushy but the big one I just left and it’s quite tall now, which that one is a hardy fuchsia

Nice looking plants.

I planted my autumn sage last night. It seems happy.

I have to plant my grape next. But the ground is so dry, I have to wait until I can soak it overnight.

One of my hummingbird sages was a bit wilted. I gave it a good watering and it is happy, but now the other looks wilted. Since I watered it at the same time, I'm thinking it is overwatered. Arrrggh. Why can't they behave.