Gardening and Plant Thread -

[Bugaboo]

NO, DON'T MAKE WEED FARM JOKES HERE PLZ

Show me your gardens and plants kiwis, I have a small container garden I started this spring. I am currently growing:
-1 Giant 5 Feet Tall Tomato Plant
-1 Million Bells
-1 Dwarf Blueberry Bush
-1 Cape Angel
-2 Mint plants
-4 Morning Glories
-4 Sugar Snap Pea Plants (already produced and died, they were huge)

I also went crazy and started to try and get into carnivorous plants, I started with a flytrap and 4 tiny flytrap seeds. Then I went to see a man who was selling Sarracenia, I intended to come home with one plant; I came home with 7.
-4 Sarracenia (North American Pitcher Plants, all 4 are different species)
-1 Sundew
-2 Flytraps

Pics tomorrow, I must show you all my pride and joy tomato plant which may or may not be on steroids.

Show me your gardens kiwis, got any giant or unusual plants?

 

[Mourning Dove]

There are a lot of plants at my house. So far here's a list of the ones I'm responsible for acquiring/planting (that haven't died yet):

Houseplants
Euphorbia obesa/Baseball plant - It's a couple of years old and not "baseball" shaped anymore.
Rebutia cactus - It's also a couple of years old. It hasn't bloomed in a while. It probably needs to be outdoors for that, but I don't want to sunburn it.
Medicinal aloe - It's still small, but it's always good to have aloe plants around for burns.

Outdoors
White Minirose - Originally was a Mother's day or birthday gift to my mom years ago. Got planted into the ground outdoors and now it has gotten huge. I haven't pruned it as much as I should have and had to significantly cut it down.
Raspberry bush - I also planted it years ago. I originally didn't expect it to survive past the first year but now it's also gotten huge.
White Salvia? I think? - Also planted years ago and didn't expect to live past year one. Its leaves kind of smell mint-like.
Butterfly weed - I have three of these. I love these native plants for their hardiness and how they attract Monarch butterflies.
Echinacea "Cheyenne Spirit" - Planted recently to replace the lavender plants that kept dying every year. They are doing quite well.
Illinois Everbearing Mulberry - Like 3 years ago a storm caused the 47-year-old thornless Honeylocust tree in the backyard to fall down/die. To replace it I planted this mulberry tree, since I've always enjoyed eating the fruits. I ordered this tree from that website and came as a budded stick. Now it's taller than me (easy to do, since I'm short), has big green leaves, and has some mulberries, but not too many. I keep on watering it during the hot summers so it can thrive.

 

[Bugaboo]

HERE ARE PICS

Spoiler: Huge ass pics

Flyraps and Sundew, I think I may have buried the little flytrap to the right, I need to go save it

Sarracenia plants

The mint, the one closest to the top I just got from my grandma so it needs to establish itself (I'm gonna cut it down so it will spread out

The Cape Angel, it had blooms when I bought it but they all fell off, it's continued growing though

The Tomato is so huge I can't fit it in landscape view

Itty bitty blueberry bush, I just bought it a few months ago, it won't make blueberries this year

A shit ton of parsley

My tiny morning glories I did not tie to the banister when they were growing because I'm an idiot and I thought they would find it themselves

Beanz

The final resting place of the pea plants, soon some morning glories will sprout

More Sarracenia and all their glory. The bog gardens are a WIP, I'm going to replace to the peat/perlite with peat/silica sand and figure out a good drainage system, I thought maybe drilling a hole in the side of the planter.

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

Currently working on a permaculture garden around my patio. I've got about 25 square meters of planting space and an arbor for the vines. I've got a number of established herbs in pots ready to be split and planted out. Part of it will be a chamomile seat as well. I'll also be interspersing with Saffron Crocus so I can pick and dry saffron in usable quantities. On top of that I'll have hardy grapes and the ever AWESOME cocktail kiwi plant growing strong soon. Got some bay globes ready to plant out and a few fruit trees, apple, plum and pear for my orchard. I also have a decent hedgerow crop every year of Blackberries, redcurrants, sloes, elderberries, elder flower and beech nuts. Fuck flowers man, just fuck em.

 

[Bugaboo]

Currently working on a permaculture garden around my patio. I've got about 25 square meters of planting space and an arbor for the vines. I've got a number of established herbs in pots ready to be split and planted out. Part of it will be a chamomile seat as well. I'll also be interspersing with Saffron Crocus so I can pick and dry saffron in usable quantities. On top of that I'll have hardy grapes and the ever AWESOME cocktail kiwi plant growing strong soon. Got some bay globes ready to plant out and a few fruit trees, apple, plum and pear for my orchard. I also have a decent hedgerow crop every year of Blackberries, redcurrants, sloes, elderberries, elder flower and beech nuts. Fuck flowers man, just fuck em.

I feel you man, plants need to do something in exchange for me taking care of them. The only flowers I have are for the hummingbirds and butterflies, I want to get a trumpet vine for the hummingbirds as well but as I understand if I don't keep an eye on them they will take over the world

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

I feel you man, plants need to do something in exchange for me taking care of them. The only flowers I have are for the hummingbirds and butterflies, I want to get a trumpet vine for the hummingbirds as well but as I understand if I don't keep an eye on them they will take over the world

Just buy wildflower seed, foxgloves and butterfly mix, stir it all together and spread evenly across rough ground. Resist mowing it and the year after you'll have more butterflies, bees and ladybirds than you can ever use. The ladybirds are good because you can gather them in a jar and pour them on your useful stuff to wipe out greenfly without pesticide.

 

[Mourning Dove]

In my experience, the lowest maintenance plants for the outdoors are those native to my area (United States Great Plains). They are deep-rooted perennials that once established, resist the super hot summers, super cold winters, and dryness in general. Like @LazarusOwenhart mentioned, just scatter wildflower seed (preferably of plants native to your area) on a bare patch, water it every morning, and watch it grow.

IDK where you guys hail from, but I like this website to supply me plants and seeds native to the Great Plains.

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

In my experience, the lowest maintenance plants for the outdoors are those native to my area (United States Great Plains). They are deep-rooted perennials that once established, resist the super hot summers, super cold winters, and dryness in general. Like @LazarusOwenhart mentioned, just scatter wildflower seed (preferably of plants native to your area) on a bare patch, water it every morning, and watch it grow.

IDK where you guys hail from, but I like this website to supply me plants and seeds native to the Great Plains.

I'm from the East of England my good fellow. Where gardening was invented don't you know old chap. I buy all my seeds from Suttons, can you get Suttons Seeds in the US? They never fail, seriously, guaranteed germination every time or your money back.

 

[Mourning Dove]

I'm from the East of England my good fellow. Where gardening was invented don't you know old chap. I buy all my seeds from Suttons, can you get Suttons Seeds in the US? They never fail, seriously, guaranteed germination every time or your money back.

Oh you mean this Suttons? Looks like they only ship within Europe, but this website is a good resource about plants nonetheless. I suppose it's best that seeds/plants can only be shipped within their country/continent of origin, to prevent invasive species of plants and pests if they ever break out.

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

Ye

Oh you mean this Suttons? Looks like they only ship within Europe, but this website is a good resource about plants nonetheless. I suppose it's best that seeds/plants can only be shipped within their country/continent of origin, to prevent invasive species of plants and pests if they ever break out.

Yea they're the ones. They're amazing. I went from amateur to gardener in two years using nothing but the instructions on the back of those packets. You struggle NOT to grow Suttons. Friend of mine bought some fennel from them a few years ago and his son ripped the pack when they were walking across the lawn from the car. Fennel is bad enough, but guaranteed fennel, we're probably going to have to napalm his garden and start again.

 

[Ariel]

I have a grand number of succulents & geraniums.

I love seeing the flowers succulents have if they aren't in crappy soil. Some of them are really beautiful.

 

[Trombonista]

I need houseplants.

 

[needlebear]

We have a veggie and herb garden. Tons of lettuce, wax beans, cukes and tomatoes so far and yellow squash, beets and carrots coming in. Mint, cilantro, dill, basil. Compost bin on the patio. Also have huge flower beds but no clue what's growing in them.

 

[Bugaboo]

My tomatos were ripe and I picked three, one I used for seeds. The other I gave to my father's girlfriend and the last one I gave to my mother to eat. She said it tasted not like a tomato generally tastes. I'm still gonna keep the seeds because it got so big and impressive but I have no idea what kind of tomato it is.

 

[AnimuGinger]

I'll get pictures later, but I currently have -

4 rows with 6 onions each.
A shit ton of lettuce.
10 zucchini plants.
An assortment of cucumber plants, swiss chard, and random ass carrots.
2 6-foot tall tomato plants growing in this small little section of the deck that I screwed some wooden posts and chickenwire to.
More herbs than I know what to do with.
A 10ish square foot strawberry patch.
A pumpkin patch.

My peas have already produced and died.

 

[Mourning Dove]

One of my butterflyweed plants is starting to produce seed pods! If I can't find enough gardener people IRL to give the seeds to, I would like to give them to fellow Kiwis who are into gardening and live in the United States Great Plains. Because we need to support our bees and butterflies with native prairie plants.

 

[Bugaboo]

One of my butterflyweed plants is starting to produce seed pods! If I can't find enough gardener people IRL to give the seeds to, I would like to give them to fellow Kiwis who are into gardening and live in the United States Great Plains. Because we need to support our bees and butterflies with native prairie plants.

Oh shit dude, I just went out and bought a native milkweed plant to help our friends the monarchs. I plan to take in any babus I find, raise them healthy and safe and then release them when they pupate and emerge.
If you need places to give away your milkweed pods try local gardening clubs or entemology society. Gardening for monarchs has become more and more popular as their population declined a few years back (apparently it has been gradually increasing) and milkweed is a desirable native plant in gardens now.

 

[Mourning Dove]

Oh shit dude, I just went out and bought a native milkweed plant to help our friends the monarchs. I plan to take in any babus I find, raise them healthy and safe and then release them when they pupate and emerge.
If you need places to give away your milkweed pods try local gardening clubs or entemology society. Gardening for monarchs has become more and more popular as their population declined a few years back (apparently it has been gradually increasing) and milkweed is a desirable native plant in gardens now.

Yeah, I remember monarch butterflies being MUCH more common around 20 years ago. I remember those fall days where my sister and I would observe monarchs and other butterflies and bees covering the pink stone crop flowers in our house's front flower beds. Nowadays? Monarchs are rare for me to even find on my butterflyweeds, their supposed favorite foods.

But here's the result of a monarch caterpillar I took in two years ago.

Spoiler: Butterfly

 

[Bugaboo]

Yeah, I remember monarch butterflies being MUCH more common around 20 years ago. I remember those fall days where my sister and I would observe monarchs and other butterflies and bees covering the pink stone crop flowers in our house's front flower beds. Nowadays? Monarchs are rare for me to even find on my butterflyweeds, their supposed favorite foods.

But here's the result of a monarch caterpillar I took in two years ago.

Spoiler: Butterfly

View attachment 40803

The summer I worked at the butterfly zoo was the summer the monarch population plummeted. According to my supervisors they had just legalized a new pesticide in the states that was rapidly killing bees and butterflies (this pesticide was illegal in Europe) and there was a huge storm over the migration area and a lot of butterflies died in that storm on top of that. The year was 2013, you can probably look it up to see the name of the pesticide that was killing all the buggies

 

[Mourning Dove]

The summer I worked at the butterfly zoo was the summer the monarch population plummeted. According to my supervisors they had just legalized a new pesticide in the states that was rapidly killing bees and butterflies (this pesticide was illegal in Europe) and there was a huge storm over the migration area and a lot of butterflies died in that storm on top of that. The year was 2013, you can probably look it up to see the name of the pesticide that was killing all the buggies

Are the pesticides Pancho and Gaucho, by any chance? I learned about these through a documentary I watched in my environmental studies undergrad.