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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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The impatient gardener: from straw to strawberries
Posted Mar 2, 2011 by Kim Franke-Folstad
Updated Mar 2, 2011 at 05:28 PM
I gave my three purple fountain grass plants their Friends of The Dirt-prescribed haircut last weekend.
Crew cut, that is.
After our cold winter, they looked like this.
They are now about 8-inches tall.
Thanks again for the tip on tying off the top of each plant before clipping. That made it so much easier.
What won’t be easy is waiting for them to grow back. I hope they recover faster than I did from the buzz cut I got last May! Water and fertilizer didn’t help me much, but maybe it will work for my fountain grass.
Speaking of instant gratification (because, really, that’s what this is all about—my impatience), I wanted to show off my first strawberry of the season.
Yes, seed people, I know there is even more pride involved when your homegrown plants bear fruit, but it isn’t so bad when you get them at Lowe’s one weekend and have a plump red berry a week later, either.
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Reader Comments
Posted by (Chip) on March 02, 2011
You did the right thing Kim and at the right time of year. They will grow without a crew cut, but they would have been all ratty looking. You can do this with most grass type plants. give them a shot of spray-n-grow or just do one of them with spray-n-grow and watch it out grow the others….“Chip”
Posted by (Kim Franke-Folstad) on March 03, 2011
Well, that was just the start of a lot of trimming that has to be done. I have a bunch of trees that are aching to be shrubs!
And BTW, that strawberry is much, much, MUCH bigger in real life than it appears in this photo.
Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on March 03, 2011
Congrats on the strawberry, Kim. How many strawberries does one plant produce? I’m with ya on the pruning thing. Many weekends ahead for tidying up and making way for new plants or the sprouts that are underneath the debris.
@Penny—I wrote down tweedia seeds on a wish list somewhere and now I forget why. Hope yours make it to adulthood. We’ll need a picture, of course.
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 03, 2011
Speaking of Monarch butterflies, I wanted to post an update on my milkweed seeds. Last year I collected zillions of seeds from a couple of milkweed plants in the yard and stored them in a coffee can.
I planted some of the seeds just before the freezes started and they are all coming up now. Today I planted all the seeds I had left.
I put the seeds directly into the ground. I just brushed back a thin layer of soil, spread the seeds onto the dirt, and sprinkled the sand and a little mulch over them and watered.
Posted by (Gardendipity) on March 04, 2011
Groupon.com has an offer for Bok Tower:
$8 for Admission for Two to Bok Tower Gardens (Up to $20 Value)
The Bok Tower offer is in the “Tampa Bay Area” section.
Several months ago Bok Tower had an offer to get half-off an annual pass, and we participated in that deal.
Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on March 05, 2011
Plants are trimmed, leaves raked, annuals in for color and this weekend mulch goes down.Happy gardening garden friends. Pumpkin
Posted by (Chip) on March 05, 2011
Way to go Pumpkin! I am so not done and not ready yet. dip good find on the coupons if anyone go’s to bok gardens I recommend taking a picnic lunch have good batteries for the camera! ....“chip”