Most people that know me know I love gardening. I love planting something and watching it grow. I know this is the wrong time of year to discuss it, but it won't be long until those daffodils start coming up. Anyone else love gardening as much as I do?
"The thing that scares me most in the world, more than AIDS or nukes, is a man or woman without a sense of humor." - Jonathan Winters
I love gardening too. I'm not a vegetable gardener, although I do grow herbs. I love growing flowers, particularly perennials. And, although it sounds dorky, the other thing I love to do is grow food sources for butterfly caterpillars. I use absolutely no pesticides on any of my plants and I've usually got an annual crop of monarch, swallowtail, painted lady, gulf fritillary and zebra longwings caterpillars, with a few smaller ones thrown in for good measure.
Oh dear! Whatever the opposite is of being green-fingered is what I am! The only "success" I've had (i.e. I can't kill it!) is some sweet peas I put in. The seed packet said they were annuals, but the darned things keep coming back to haunt me. Our back garden is so water-logged through the winter (heavy clay soil - this area's known for its brick-making) that even our grass struggles to survive.
quote:Originally posted by Betts01: I love gardening too. I'm not a vegetable gardener, although I do grow herbs. I love growing flowers, particularly perennials. And, although it sounds dorky, the other thing I love to do is grow food sources for butterfly caterpillars. I use absolutely no pesticides on any of my plants and I've usually got an annual crop of monarch, swallowtail, painted lady, gulf fritillary and zebra longwings caterpillars, with a few smaller ones thrown in for good measure.
I'm a perennial addict myself. I don't care much for annuals - you have to plant them every year! I think the butterfly thing is pretty cool, too. What do you feed them, exactly? I'd like to get some more butterflies in my garden.
Actually, there are food plants for adult butterflies and food plants for caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars will only eat the leaves of the milkweed family. I grow aesclepias tuberosa or butterfly weed for them. Painted lady caterpillars eat hollyhock leaves and a variety of other things which I don't grow. Swallowtails like to eat dill, fennel, rue and parsley. Gulf fritillaries and zebra longwing caterpillars eat passion flower vine, annual or perennial. But if you live in Utah, there are probably other butterflies and plant sources. You can look them up on the internet. Adult butterflies also love butterfly weed, butterfly bush, lantana, sedum and a host of other plants which I'm drawing a blank on right now. But I'll look it up and give you more information. There are also great books and articles on butterfly gardening.
Hey, thanks for the info. I just thought that perhaps you had some special food for the caterpillars or something. I know there's certain plants to grow to attract butterflies. I've been considering planting a butterfly bush or two this spring, as well as some other plants for butterflies.
I help out my mom with gardening a lot...but after I realized that worms are around the plants and stuff I've been helping out less and less...worms just make me wanna puke...lol
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
LOL, BnL... I used to feel that way, too. But worms are very good for plants because they break up the soil, and their castings work as fertilizer. In fact, in many garden catalogs, you can actually buy worms to put in your garden. So worms are really our little helpers in the garden!
Snails, on the other hand, are good for nothing. They eat everything in sight! Darn pests.
I'm not a huge fan of touching worms, either, but I do like to see them in my garden, because I know they're good for the soil. We have really bad soil here......red clay.....so when I start seeing a lot of worms, I know I'm doing a good job amending the soil. I'm usually to lazy to use garden gloves, though, which would avert the worm problem.
When I started this thread, I was thinking it was too early in the year to think about gardening... but after the snow melted away yesterday, lo and behold, the tips of my daffodils are coming up out of the ground! Yay! (Now I'll have to go check my crocuses in the backyard, if I can manage to avoid the mud that's out there now...)
We were looking in our mud at school once. We had to use our hands and find things that might be in it. I was the only one that stepped up to look through it...and I stopped because I saw that there were 2 worms and a slug in it. Hehe. Just thought I'd share
When I was little, I'd garden ALL the time. My mom and I would grow Marigolds in the garden all the time. They were *my* flowers. We stopped when my ex-best friend's dad pulled the flowers out because he thought they were weeds...so I told my mom she should start it up again with my little sister.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
Why are you people spending time talking about worms and slugs when you could be talking about about the opposite end of the gross<-------------------------->beautiful spectrum, i.e. Jon's music!
*arts runs back up to the "Jon Peter Lewis" area of the message board, content that she has saved a few lost souls who are grubbing around in the dirt*
**************************** California Christmas this year.
I do enjoy gardening too. We are even growing tomatoes in the house right now so we can have tomotoes when we want them. Around here, some critter has eaten my green beans every single year. I have had many gardens before in several other places in the East and in the West, but never had such a problem with the green beans.
**************************** California Christmas this year.
It has been so warm in Florida this winter that I am already cutting things back and digging up invasive plants. I have lots of penta's and Firespikes, lantana, catswhiskers that attract butterflies and birds. Hummers love the firespikes. I am so envious of gardeners up north who can grow tulips and daffodils. I don't mind the worms. If I see them crawling out on the cement, I will pick them up and put them back in the dirt.
quote:Originally posted by justJackie: Hey, some of us _like_ grubbing around in the dirt!
Tru dat! I don't garden much, but I do love it. On a warm day the earth smells good.
Oh, and worms, slugs, etc? They don't bother me. I spent a significant part of my childhood looking for creatures under rocks... and using some of them for fishing.
when you could be talking about about the opposite end of the
