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Penny Carnathan
Penny’s a Nurture And Hold (NAH): Nah, I won’t pull that out yet, it’s still got a green shoot. She likes dragonflies, lady bugs and new stuff only after weeding, pruning and fertilizing.
Kim Franke-Folstad
Kim’s a Want It Now (WIN): Everything pretty, everything now. She will resort to full-spectrum insecticides in desperate situations, and believes it’s her duty and right to buy new plants every weekend.
Both advocate Plant Choice (SOMEthing besides crotons. Please!), lots of color and low maintenance. We don’t agree on everything, but we’re smart enough to learn from each other - and from you.
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In celebration of rain: Garden good stuff. Pumpkin’s “rose,” Janna’s waterfall, Grace’s new look
Posted Jun 16, 2010 by Loren Omoto
Updated Jun 16, 2010 at 09:58 PM
Today I waited 4 hours for the Bright House technician who was supposed to come between 10 and noon.
Then I got rained on while stopping at the bank to deposit my son’s rent money (again) because he bounced a check.
And tonight, I cleanly decapitated a lubber, only to watch the head and body try to crawl toward each other and reattach. (The head was quite innovative, using its antenni as little feet.) I considered videotaping it, but decided I’m already paying the price for dispersing bad karma. And FOD Kay just might boycott us!
So it’s happy thoughts, today! 
See? Happy!
Back when I was angst-illy boarding Carnival’s Inspiration for a clan cruise (a rum runner and a good book is the cure for that, btw) the talk here was all about rose of Sharon. Someone had asked whether it grows here, and Pumpkin emailed some photos to prove that, yes! it does!
I share one of those photos now, in case you didn’t get to her blog, Graceful Cottage Gardening, to check them out yourself.
Pumpkin grows a lot of plants that aren’t supposed to survive us. Her No. 1 big secret is good soil. She amends it twice a year with compost and other organic stuff. (Correct me if I’m wrong on that, Pumpkin.) That’s really the secret to growing anything but the hardiest natives. I learned the hard way that compost, peat moss, oak leaves and all that other good stuff gets used up just like your morning Yoplait. If you don’t keep adding, you’re running on empty.
She also swears by Mills Magic, a fertilizer marketed for roses. She uses it on everything. In Tampa, it should be available at Shell’s Feed Store.
You may have problems finding rose of Sharon in the Bay area. Look for it on-line or in your travels.
Another really happy note is FOD Janna Begole’s new waterfall!! I don’t really believe her when she says her husband was inspired by a photo of my little, tiny (itty bitty) pond waterfall, but hey, I want to believe.
After the freeze, Janna had a big, empty spot along her back fence. A bougainvillea had covered the fence, but froze to the ground.
Janna’s husband, Rick, quite the gardener himself, decided the perfect thing to fill that space was a water feature. They interviewed three entrpreneurs and went with a young guy who had a lot of enthusiasm for the project. Brian, owner of Bam Landscaping, exceeded their expectations.
“Brian designed the waterfall and hand-picked the rocks,” Janna says. “They dig a hole 3 feet deep that the heavy liner goes into to contain everything. ... The liner holds the pump and supports and rock for the ‘pondless’ portion.”
Brian’s on the left; helper Brandon on the right.
There are plenty of spaces to insert plants—Janna hasn’t used them all yet. And you can walk on the rocks where a pond would be. This waterfall recirculates; the water flows into the bottom rock area and is pumped back up to a small pond area at the top of the structure. It also has cool lights for illuminating at night.
It’s absolutely beautiful. (I’ve seen it up close and personal.) How much did they pay? You’ll have to ask Janna. I think it’s protected info under hippa. To give you a hint, it would be a little more than two income tax refund checks for us!
I think this was a Mother’s Day present. Isn’t that totally sweet?
Last but not least, Grace Payton is a Sun City Center gardener who reads The Dirt in The Tribune. She’d be a great FOD if we could coax her on-line!
She had sent me photos of her garden last year, and sent some more recently to show how much it has changed since the January freezes. She loves durantaerecta, also known as golden dewdrop, and purslane, both of which she grows from cuttings. She’s giving up on split-leaf philodendrum and ixora.
She laid all those pavers herself (and she lives in Sun City Center, so I’m thinking that’s worthy of major applause!) She puts purslane cuttings between the pavers—better to choke out the weeds, right?
Here’s her side yard. I hope you can see the duranta, it’s the smallish specimen tree with the little purple blooms to the left. It’s one of her favorite plants. They can be pruned to be small trees, or left alone to be big shrubs. They like full sun but require some cutting back to manage.
OK, that’s my happy karma for today. I’m hoping it leads to mole eradication for Chip’s daughter; tea olive joy for Susan; a sudden opening of space for Mango; rain for Kay; and lubber eradication for Pumpkin. And plenty of rain for everyone else. (But not too much.)
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Reader Comments
Posted by (Pumpkin) on June 16, 2010
Janna, Your waterful is beautiful! We are going to have to have a Dirt garden tour.
Grace your garden is just beautiful, thank you for sharing.
Last but not least I am having surgery Friday and will be healing for a couple weeks, if I feel well enough I will try and keep up. God bless Pumpkin
Posted by (Chip) on June 17, 2010
Happy thoughts indeed, I hope everything turns out OK for you pumpkin! My thoughts will be with you today. Very cool waterfall Janna I bet it make a nice peaceful addition to your garden. I haven’t done anything in my garden for a week and it looks bad, weeds everywhere! My daughter wants me to put in a garden for her and I would love to however someone would have to dedicate an half an hour of work on it a day [minimum]. She came up with the Idea of earth-box’s sounds good to me! I have heard a lot of good thing’s about them and as soon as Diane and Becky get through going over seed catalogs I can get started…“Chip”
Posted by (Janna) on June 17, 2010
I’m glad you like the waterfall, Pumpkin. We are really happy with the way it turned out. Your rose of Sharon is beautiful! I’m convinced that you can grow anything and would LOVE to visit your garden one of these days. My prayers are with you for your upcoming surgery.
Nice garden, Grace! I really like your choice of plants and think that the purslane between the pavers is a great idea. Would love to see you here on the blog!
Posted by (Janna) on June 17, 2010
Chip, the waterfall does provide a peaceful and soothing ambiance. Btw, what is an earth box? I have weeds everywhere in my garden and will be addressing that as soon as I get home from vacation. We are in Michigan now visiting friends. The gardens here are beautiful - so full of color!
Penny, thanks for posting all these pictures and for the happy thoughts! I love to see other people’s gardens and plants.
I’m SO glad to hear that Tampa has been having rain! (My daughter’s happy too, since she was in charge of watering…)
Posted by (Janna) on June 17, 2010
Penny, you have to believe. Rick WAS inspired by the photo you posted of your waterfall! Just days after he saw that, he was on a mission to have one constructed.
Posted by (Chip) on June 17, 2010
I have been thinking of pumpkin all day and I am sure she is doing good! And Welcome Grace what a nice garden you have! Oh boy is it nice to check out other gardens in the comfort of the A.C.! I have heard nothing but good things about the earth box’s and from what I have seen would be perfect for patios, folks who live in apartments, and for daughters who do not like weeding!...“Chip”
Posted by (kgardens) on June 17, 2010
First, let me add my prayers for Pumpkin’s surgery. While you’re healing I hope you get to do lots of on-line garden dreaming. And I hope Mr. Grumpy will do your weeding for you.
Janna, that waterfall is something spectacular. I love the idea of the recirculating water without an actual pond at the bottom. Can’t wait to see it all planted up.
Grace, you have a beautiful garden. Love your plant choices. I bet the butterflies are all over.
Posted by (kgardens) on June 17, 2010
Chip, look on-line for homemade earthboxes. They seem pretty easy to make and a lot cheaper than the real thing. I do have one of the real Earth Boxes and I love it.
Penny, you are trying to make me crazy aren’t you? Lubber stories are just too scary for me to read anymore. I went over to the USF Botanical Gardens just to look around the other day and they were covered up with big yellow lubbers. I had to leave.
Posted by (Chip) on June 17, 2010
I think you are on to something about building a earth box on my own. Becky has already bought two box’s so I guess she is serious. that should make building the box’s easier. With all of this talk of lubbers got me thinking I bet a bunch are hitching a ride on plants being bought at garden centers. I think everyone should give everything we bring home a good look before bringing home an unwanted pest. Of course a neighbor could do this for you so spread the word…“Chip”
Posted by (Pumpkin) on June 17, 2010
Thank you all for the kind thoughts. Pre Op done now just waiting for morning. My surgeon is a gardener too and on my last visit I asked her could we talk about gardening instead of all the icky surgery stuff, she said let me fix you first then talk about the little gardening you will be doing. She threated me if I over did anything. Pumpkin
Posted by (Chip) on June 17, 2010
I will say a prayer for you Pumpkin! Let us know as soon as feel up to it how you are, I will pull a weed or two in your honor…“Chip”
Posted by (kgardens) on June 19, 2010
I’m finally getting some rain! yay!
Posted by (shirlgirl) on June 20, 2010
I just got back from a visit to see how Pumpkin was doing and she is recuperating just the way you would expect, she has garden magazines to look at. It just kind of makes it harder on her though because she can’t get out there and do the ideas she is seeing in those magazines. Pumpkin is the one that got me reading the dirt and though I don’t always have something to write about I sure do enjoy reading the column and the good ideas that you all are always coming up with. It is a great help to me as I learn more about gardening. Such a great group.