Plants & Gardening General Discussion

[Kitsuragi]

not sure if we have a thread like this right now cause plants & gardening are pretty generic terms to search. lets talk about our green friends! i have a lot of plants at work. some of them, i dont even know what they are. i'll show some of my faves as the collection is expanding and dont want to paste too many images in this op.

Spoiler: not sure what these are called

i have no idea what these are but theyre growing quick, and theyre so colorful and pretty, but theyre getting long and falling over. i might need to put something in the pot to keep them upright.

i also have a polka dot plant that i adore. this was him at his prime, i've cut down his legginess in favor of him looking more bushy. he's currently at home waiting for a new planter. this image doesn't show but the polka dots are pink!!

Spoiler: Hypoestes phyllostachya

anyone do any gardening this summer? have some plants of your own? just like flowers and wanna chat? post here!!

 

[slzzpz]

i'd like to get into gardening honestly. my back and front yard need so much attention. i feel like digging up everything and starting from scratch.

 

[Snowesque]

Not myself, but my partner took it up this year on our little patio slab. Currently they've large tomatoes, garlic, hot peppers, carrots, chives, hydrangeas, sundews, pitcher plants, and other perennial flowers. The fruiting plants were planted pretty late so we weren't sure if they'd fruit, but we're just now getting the first tomatoes plus the garlic, chives are doing well too. Pretty nice for a first attempt I'd think!

 

[-Blue-]

@Franny They look similar to a plant called Dragon's Breath. I knew it started with Dragon something. Celosia is also another name for it that came up when I searched it. I'm not sure if that helps.


I have a big garden. Tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, peppers, ect. Then I built planter boxes for single crops like carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, ect. You can see the boxes at the end of the lattice fence on the left side. I have blueberry bushes and grape vineyard rows at the end.

I also have an asparagus patch and many other types of plants all over my home.

 

[Kitsuragi]

@Franny They look similar to a plant called Dragon's Breath. I knew it started with Dragon something. Celosia is also another name for it that came up when I searched it. I'm not sure if that helps.


I have a big garden. Tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, peppers, ect. Then I built planter boxes for single crops like carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, ect. You can see the boxes at the end of the lattice fence on the left side. I have blueberry bushes and grape vineyard rows at the end.

I also have an asparagus patch and many other types of plants all over my home.


View attachment 449162

celosia looks correct!! thank you! i literally just got them at a "clearance" plant sale at a local greenhouse and it wasn't tagged with a name.
i want to have a produce garden someday, fresh veggies and fruits sound delicious. i love seeing asparagus grow, they look so goofy haha. you have a great garden!

Post automatically merged: Jul 26, 2022

Not myself, but my partner took it up this year on our little patio slab. Currently they've large tomatoes, garlic, hot peppers, carrots, chives, hydrangeas, sundews, pitcher plants, and other perennial flowers. The fruiting plants were planted pretty late so we weren't sure if they'd fruit, but we're just now getting the first tomatoes plus the garlic, chives are doing well too. Pretty nice for a first attempt I'd think!

for a first attempt thats great! my dad planted some tomatoes, pears and i don't remember the other veggie, but we didnt get anything the first year haha.

 

[nightglow]

Not this year but past years id throw a wildflower mix out.
I have some creeping phlox on pots outside and a couple of rose of Sharon bushes.

Next year we are hoping to plant potatoes in an elevated thingy that we are hoping to get if they go on sale this fall. Our long term goal is growing our own veggies.

 

[amemome]

I love gardens and yardwork even though I'm not the best at gardening and am a complete novice.

I'd really like to start an herb and chives portable garden next spring. chives are a great component of a lot of my favorite meals. and i think they grow back each year too! herbs like basil are really convenient to have around too, so I'm hoping to propagate a couple pots of basil.

If I get a dedicated garden area, I'd also like to try growing garlic scapes. Stir-fried scapes are one of my absolute favorite side dishes to have with rice.

 

[Kitsuragi]

Not this year but past years id throw a wildflower mix out.
I have some creeping phlox on pots outside and a couple of rose of Sharon bushes.

Next year we are hoping to plant potatoes in an elevated thingy that we are hoping to get if they go on sale this fall. Our long term goal is growing our own veggies.

i want to plant some wildflowers in my backyard, theyre so cute and i love "natural" looking lawns.

Post automatically merged: Jul 28, 2022

I love gardens and yardwork even though I'm not the best at gardening and am a complete novice.

I'd really like to start an herb and chives portable garden next spring. chives are a great component of a lot of my favorite meals. and i think they grow back each year too! herbs like basil are really convenient to have around too, so I'm hoping to propagate a couple pots of basil.

If I get a dedicated garden area, I'd also like to try growing garlic scapes. Stir-fried scapes are one of my absolute favorite side dishes to have with rice.

everyone has to start somewhere! dont be afraid of being a novice, i am too tbh, but ive kept lots of things alive and well and thats what counts(?)

since you're wanting to do herbs for now, have you considered an indoor garden? herbs are very easy to grow indoors at any time of year. there's actually a lot of lil self watering gardens on places like amazon or at lowes if you're in the USA. not sure the out of country equivalent of lowes but it's just a home improvement store.

all you really need is water and a window (a fairly sunny one) or light source to grow herbs. we grow our own basil and i plan to grow some more! ive seen some people simply use mason jars & an aquarium lamp and it works wonders.

 

[Kitsuragi]

went flower picking yesterday the tea event we went to was held on a flower farm that came with flowers to pick & flower arranging. i didnt do much on the arranging end because it was HOT and i wanted to leave. got home and arranged them the best i could, but i didn't choose many cohesive bouquets so they ended up being tons of different flowers, all shapes and sizes and colors. tried to make more sense of it at home.

Spoiler: big images

perhaps i'll get better pics later but there's a ton, mostly wildflowers that you can find a lot in my area. i'm thinking of trying to find ways to preserve their seeds and get some to bloom in my yard but thats probably very wishful thinking.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I always love flowers!! Side note: I have tried growing tomatoes and they always end up good but the strawberries I grow are always eaten by the birds. I even tried using nets but the birds knew how to get to them still??? Here are some of the prettiest flower photos we have on the back deck!! (I think these are from two years ago but we have some of the same ones now!) Enjoy the delicious low quality photos my Kindle Fire can take

Spoiler: Lots of ✨Cronchy Low Quality✨ photos of our flowers!

 

[amemome]

since you're wanting to do herbs for now, have you considered an indoor garden? herbs are very easy to grow indoors at any time of year. there's actually a lot of lil self watering gardens on places like amazon or at lowes if you're in the USA. not sure the out of country equivalent of lowes but it's just a home improvement store.

all you really need is water and a window (a fairly sunny one) or light source to grow herbs. we grow our own basil and i plan to grow some more! ive seen some people simply use mason jars & an aquarium lamp and it works wonders.

I've done them on the porch last year with ok results (the seed packets said they need a lot of airflow and unfortunately the outdoor porch was the place with the most consistent air flow). The sage and basil grew like a charm but the thyme, parsley, and coriander (cilantro) did not do too well. I don't have any eastern or western windows for that consistent sun but I might try again in a pot that I move to different windows around the house.

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[BetsySundrop]

Do I do gardening? Short answer- I try.

Long fairy dust answer - I love gardening. I have very few things I can do (my life puts limits, lol), but gardening is a huge part of my life. The problem is, with the limitations I have (mostly time, money), it never really works out how I planned.
I live on several acres. Mostly weeds, grass, trees, overgrowth, etc. Every winter, I order seeds, plan out the year's garden goals, make a new commitment. Every spring, I start my plants inside, (herbs, flowers, veggies) using a homemade shelf n light setup, repot when necessary, start prepping outside areas (clearing, tilling, amendments, etc), then eventually transplant everything outside. All goes well, at first. The plants grow, the weeds are under control, veggies, herbs, and flowers start appearing...all great. But then comes July. It never fails.

July- my archenemy - this is when the bugs swarm in for the feast. I do not use any pesticide or bug control, so the bugs go crazy. Then the rains. It rains soooo much. It's like in ac when it rains and rains and you can't keep up with the flowers. The grass and weeds grow out of my ability to control. And the snakes....ugh. July is also when I have to start keeping an eye out for the snakes. By the end of the month, I have a veritable jungle, no time to deal with it, and I swear that next year will be different. Every year I swear this. But I do love it. And sometimes there are good surprises.
Loss of equipment had us unable to mow our back 3 acres. So we just let it go wild. For years, we were just like, well, that's our wild kingdom area, enter at your own risk. Then we could afford (ish) a tractor. So we mowed, but discovered it was all brambles and young trees. So we only mowed a wide area for walking, leaving the trees and brambles. That summer we discovered that all those brambles were blackberries! Wild blackberries on most of 3 acres. (And tons and tons of different kinds of bees, wasps). So now every year I have enough blackberries for the year.

Ultimate goal is to attract beneficial insects to balance things, grow most of what we eat, make my real property look as good as my animal crossing, and one day be able to actually manage a garden all the way thru the summer.

Post automatically merged: Aug 23, 2022

@Franny They look similar to a plant called Dragon's Breath. I knew it started with Dragon something. Celosia is also another name for it that came up when I searched it. I'm not sure if that helps.


I have a big garden. Tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, peppers, ect. Then I built planter boxes for single crops like carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, ect. You can see the boxes at the end of the lattice fence on the left side. I have blueberry bushes and grape vineyard rows at the end.

I also have an asparagus patch and many other types of plants all over my home.


View attachment 449162

What are you using for the weed blocking, if you don't mind my asking? Your garden looks great!

 

[amemome]

Seeing this thread reminded me to water my plants... thank you!

I currently have a couple of succulents a (classic jade + gollum/hobbit/ladyfingers jade) and a crown of thorns in my room. I get a lot of morning sun directly through my window so I leave the shade down until noon, then open the curtains so they get some good sunlight.

I water maybe once a week or once every two weeks depending on how dry the soil looks, and I lace my water with plant food. It seems to work really well for my plants! My ZZ plant absolutely thrived in those settings and probably grew twice its size. Same for my pilea. That thing made a ton of pups that I split off, and those pups grew huge and got their own pups

The jade is doing really well with the set up (it's getting really big and chonky now) and I get new blooms on my crown of thorns every week. The gollum/hobbit/ladyfingers jade is a cutting that hasn't established itself yet but I imagine it will do well once it figures itself out.

I think I'd like to try keeping a cooler-looking jade plant next if I can find one.

 

[AppleBitterCrumble]

I'm new to the gardening scene but I just got a hypoestes for my 21st birthday So far it's doing amazing, I water about every 5 or so days and keep it in indirect sunlight. I'll probably need to repot it soon with some fresh soil so it can have some more room to grow, and also I need to definitely cut back its legginess sometime in September xD

Spoiler: My Round 5 WQ Entry ft. my Hypoestes

I also have 4 cactic plants (super cute and super easy since they don't really require that much water). I have 3 other succulents, one has grown a bunch over the past year, one looks pathetic, and the last one is hanging on there. I think once I get settled into my apartment I will be able to better care for them. I'm planning on branch out from succulents to get more actual houseplants, and maybe I will eventually have a small home garden one day!

 

[-Blue-]

What are you using for the weed blocking, if you don't mind my asking? Your garden looks great!

Thanks! It's taken a few years to have it come to that set up. A lot of things were slowly added. Like the lattice was last year I believe. And the mulch/marigold outer-field was this year.

As for the ground cover. It's industrial strength felt. You're not going to find it commercially. I have two rolls from a job I used to do and they were going to throw it away. It's insane how people just trash perfectly good stuff. It doesn't last forever so I have to cut a new length every 4 years or so.

I just found one on Amazon, but I don't know the quality of it and it is $200. You can find some in places like Home Depot, Lowes, ect, but they're all of a lesser quality. I can't guarantee it will last a season and it could just be trash. Sadly a lot of stuff is garbage these days.

Your set up sounds amazing though. I don't bother starting by seeds anymore. So that is really awesome, good job! It takes a lot of time and with my life/work schedule and just people in my life being overall needy, I often forget or don't have the time to nurture the seeds correctly.

Like when I was really young my sister would just let our family pets in the spare room (where the seeds were) and then it was all ruined. Wasn't worth all the aggravation lol.

The grass and weeds grow out of my ability to control. And the snakes....ugh. July is also when I have to start keeping an eye out for the snakes. By the end of the month, I have a veritable jungle, no time to deal with it, and I swear that next year will be different.

Sounds like you're calling me out lol. Every year around summer is like the time everyone just doesn't want to stop bothering me. So I always end up letting the garden go for a day or so (or more) and the tomato stalks end up growing too far to be fed back into the cages. So I just kinda loop them back in at the higher parts or give up lol.

What kind of insects are causing you problems? And what do you normally grow? I tried potatoes one year and it was just not worth it. I had to Google the pest since I was certain they showed up due to the potatoes. I called them potato beetles and sure enough that was what they were. Big orange beetles that had some kind of defense mechanism where they exploded into orange goop whenever I touched them. It was so gross. I hated it lol. Matt Damon never had to deal with exploding beetles up in Mars. What's up with that.

celosia looks correct!! thank you! i literally just got them at a "clearance" plant sale at a local greenhouse and it wasn't tagged with a name.
i want to have a produce garden someday, fresh veggies and fruits sound delicious. i love seeing asparagus grow, they look so goofy haha. you have a great garden!

Sorry my reply is so late! I just noticed your replied to me when I came across Betsy's mention. I only know it was called Dragon's breath since I am always drawn to the red version whenever I go to different stores and or nurseries that sell plants.

If you have the room, patience, and can afford it, gardening can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Nothing is 100% surefire though. So you could put out so much energy and time and have it all go up in smoke for many reasons. Weird weather, pests, ect. For example I have a peach trees that yield so many peaches, but before they are even close to being ready the beetles swarm the entire trees and destroy/eat them all. They're the equivalent of disgraceful frat parties. Eating everything, trashing up the place, and 'partying' I take pleasure in squishing them. I hate them so much. It's not worth it so I just buy peaches when I want them lol.

But don't let that deter you! Just start out small and go from there.

 

[Bluebellie]

Soo…I love plants. I’ve always wanted to have a beautiful garden with flowers all around, something like Sleeping beauty’s cottage garden, or like the secret garden in The Secret Garden. Unfortunately, I’m the opposite of a green thumb. I like to have plants, but I don’t like to water them, or take care of them, so they die .

Just recently, I got my first house, and it came with this beautiful bush full of flowers. Flowers that I have not watered or taken care of since I moved (about 5 months ago). It got me to doing some research, and it turns out that the these flowers do not need water (well they do, but rain water is enough). They are drought resistant and could be left in the sun all day long. They also flower all year long where I live. I found the perfect plant for me.

I’ve been planting them all around, and they are doing great.

One of the plants I planted:

Spoiler

What I hope it will look like some day:
(this is not my plant, just my Google inspiration)

Spoiler

The best part is that they are blue. I knew I wanted to have some sort of blue flowers. They are called Plumbago if anyone wanted to know.

 

[BetsySundrop]

Thanks! It's taken a few years to have it come to that set up. A lot of things were slowly added. Like the lattice was last year I believe. And the mulch/marigold outer-field was this year.

As for the ground cover. It's industrial strength felt. You're not going to find it commercially. I have two rolls from a job I used to do and they were going to throw it away. It's insane how people just trash perfectly good stuff. It doesn't last forever so I have to cut a new length every 4 years or so.

I just found one on Amazon, but I don't know the quality of it and it is $200. You can find some in places like Home Depot, Lowes, ect, but they're all of a lesser quality. I can't guarantee it will last a season and it could just be trash. Sadly a lot of stuff is garbage these days.

Your set up sounds amazing though. I don't bother starting by seeds anymore. So that is really awesome, good job! It takes a lot of time and with my life/work schedule and just people in my life being overall needy, I often forget or don't have the time to nurture the seeds correctly.

Like when I was really young my sister would just let our family pets in the spare room (where the seeds were) and then it was all ruined. Wasn't worth all the aggravation lol.


Sounds like you're calling me out lol. Every year around summer is like the time everyone just doesn't want to stop bothering me. So I always end up letting the garden go for a day or so (or more) and the tomato stalks end up growing too far to be fed back into the cages. So I just kinda loop them back in at the higher parts or give up lol.

What kind of insects are causing you problems? And what do you normally grow? I tried potatoes one year and it was just not worth it. I had to Google the pest since I was certain they showed up due to the potatoes. I called them potato beetles and sure enough that was what they were. Big orange beetles that had some kind of defense mechanism where they exploded into orange goop whenever I touched them. It was so gross. I hated it lol. Matt Damon never had to deal with exploding beetles up in Mars. What's up with that.

Omg those beetles sound so gross lol. The main bugs I battle are japanese beetles, grasshoppers, flea beetles, and squash bugs.

I know what you mean about wasted materials. I used cardboard once for weed suppression. It did ok, but not really great. And I do everything as cheap as possible, lol. My seed starting shelf is homemade (2x4s mostly), with led shop lights. I use old egg cartons to start seeds, then repot into solo cups. Then upgrade to hardees 32oz cups. The cups can be cleaned and reused every year. Then I use cheap tubs with lids to put the plants outside early. They stay warm enough at night, but if we get a late freeze I can bring the tubs inside overnight.

And I have missed watering seedlings and had them croak, also my cat gets into the plants,so I know how that feels. Not good, lol.

Spoiler: Seed starting

Post automatically merged: Aug 25, 2022

Soo…I love plants. I’ve always wanted to have a beautiful garden with flowers all around, something like Sleeping beauty’s cottage garden, or like the secret garden in The Secret Garden. Unfortunately, I’m the opposite of a green thumb. I like to have plants, but I don’t like to water them, or take care of them, so they die .

Just recently, I got my first house, and it came with this beautiful bush full of flowers. Flowers that I have not watered or taken care of since I moved (about 5 months ago). It got me to doing some research, and it turns out that the these flowers do not need water (well they do, but rain water is enough). They are drought resistant and could be left in the sun all day long. They also flower all year long where I live. I found the perfect plant for me.

I’ve been planting them all around, and they are doing great.

One of the plants I planted:

Spoiler

View attachment 455038

What I hope it will look like some day:
(this is not my plant, just my Google inspiration)

Spoiler

View attachment 455039

The best part is that they are blue. I knew I wanted to have some sort of blue flowers. They are called Plumbago if anyone wanted to know.

Those are gorgeous!

Post automatically merged: Aug 25, 2022

Uploading pics is sometimes rough (file size too large, etc.) But if i screenshot my pic, seems waay easier/quicker. Here's my cat, eating some of my plants last spring, lol...

Spoiler: Taffy the terrible plant eater

 

[Snek]

I live an apartment on like the 8th floor so every plant has to be in a pot on the balcony. I wish I had a lawn to plant many flowers and other plants but thats not possible right now.

 

[Kitsuragi]

I live an apartment on like the 8th floor so every plant has to be in a pot on the balcony. I wish I had a lawn to plant many flowers and other plants but thats not possible right now.

All of my plants are in pots around my office, I don't have any in my yard yet. I have a fairly decent size yard but our soil is not great. Yard care is such a big undertaking to get it ready for flowers

 

[JellyBeans]

this year I’m determined to get some little plants for my uni house and actually learn how to take care of them properly! I’d love to be someone who just knows the basic ins and outs of taking care of certain plants. my parents are very into maintaining our garden so i feel like it’s inevitable I’ll fall down the same path!
to stick closer to the theme of the thread if anyone has recommendations for indoor plants I can look out for let me know! I’m thinking snake plants seem almost impossible to kill but variety would be nice