Re: [gardeners] Who's out there?
Martha Brown (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 28 Jan 2000 14:05:10 -0600
Lucky you to live that close to Denver. The past few years I
have driven the 600 miles one way to Denver for the Horticulture
Magazine Symposium at the Botanic Garden the first week of
February but due to illness this year I couldn't go. It will be
Feb 1st and I wish I could go. The theme this year is "Fitting
in Naturally." The speakers include Neil Diboll, Lauren Springer
(whom I would make the drive to see if they didn't have the
rest), C. Colston Burrell and Daniel J. Hinkley from Heronswood
Nursery. The cost is about $100.00 but I have always found it
to be worth it.
We live on 10 acres outside a small town in NW Oklahoma. I have
2 grown children. My husband has a Diesel Mechanic shop and I
have a Bookkeeping Office both here on the 10 acres we live on.
I started landscaping in 1996 in the area within the circle drive
around the house that measures about 250X350 feet. The shop area
covers about 21/2 acres in one corner of the 10 acre site. My
plans are to gradually expand the landscaped area to cover about
3 acres leaving almost half in trees and native grass.
At the present we are in the middle of a two year remodeling
project on the house and in the spring will be putting in another
water garden on the west side of the house as the drive
approaches that will be about 10X35 feet in a Japanese influenced
garden area. We added a 45 ft long 8ft tall trellis last year
ending in an 8X8X12' tall arbor on the south of the house. I am
planning to plant climbing roses, clematis, Coral and Goldflame
Honeysuckle along with annual Sweetpeas and Moonflower on it to
block the view from the highway this year.
I like your idea of no grass. In the area around the house I am
installing native flagstone like walks, lots of beds of shrubs
and perennials and water gardens. There will be an oval of
cool-season grass about 15X25 feet left for the winter color
since it stays green all winter most years. My DH says its
because I like to walk barefoot on it in the summer. I like the
fact I can mow it in 5-10 minutes with a push mower.
I have 4 small patio type seating areas in different parts of the
garden in addition to the 50 foot long porch on the south of the
house. I have plans for at least one more and another screened
porch for a summer kitchen with the grill and an extra
refrigerator etc.
I am adding a lot of reblooming iris and daylillies in raised
beds along with various annuals for cutting in the "service area"
of the yard. Most of my vegetables are also in raised beds in
this area. So far I have 12 raised beds measuring 4X25 feet
each.
Martha
M Brown
NW Oklahoma, USA
USDA Zone 6b, Sunset Zone 35
----- Original Message -----
From: Seana Ames <amesfam@hotmail.com>
To: <gardeners@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2000 12:19 PM
Subject: [gardeners] Who's out there?
| Hi again,
|
| Just wondering does anyone know how I would check to see how
many people
| belong to the list? Maybe I just missed it in my 1st post but
I recall
| seeing a past post where someone said the last time they
checked the list we
| had 25 or 30 people. How come I've only seen maybe 6 or 7
people write?
| Are you guys hiding? Who are you guys? Where are you & what's
happening in
| your gardens? What zone are you in & are you staying warm
enough or are you
| too warm? Just give me all the facts!!!
|
| I'll start.
| My name is Seana (pronounced Sean - a or for those of you who
don't know
| Sean try Shonna. I get weird variations all the time
everything from Se ana
| to Seena so now you can think of me right.). I am married to a
wonderful
| man & the love of my life - Erik. Erik is a Glazier &
supervises putting in
| glass in the high rise buildings down town. I only work one
morning a week
| now at Sears Portrait Studio. I love the job & just can't seem
to give it
| up.
|
| I have 3 children, that we homeschool because we were'nt happy
with the
| quality of the education they were getting & 2 stepsons, who
visit every
| other weekend. Ages 13,12,2 & 7 & 10. Yes, I know we are
entering the
| difficult teenage years. Don't remind me.
|
| I live in Thornton, CO just about 15 minutes north of Denver.
Zone 5 they
| say. I live in a mobile home park for now. Denver has become
a prime place
| to move & we have had a lot of people from all over move here
over the last
| 4 - 5 years from places with a much higher cost of living. It
has really
| driven housing & rent costs up. We decided that we would be
better off
| living in a mobile home, that costs the same per month as
renting a 1
| bedroom apartment, than renting & getting nothing out of it.
We were lucky
| to get one of the larger lots in the park. And you know they
actually let
| us trade a extra car in as part of our down payment on the
mobile home -
| weird huh? I have room to have flower beds & a small vegetable
garden. Not
| enough room you understand but at least it isn't an apartment.
I suppose
| I'd manage in an apartment though even if I had to have window
boxes or
| accost the landscaping in front of the building.
|
| We have hopes of moving to the country in a couple years, where
I can really
| branch out. I love flowers & if they have a nice scent I adore
them even
| more. I enjoy the vegetable garden but my first passion is the
flower beds.
| I have flower%20beds in every conceivable place possible. If
I could get
| away with it I would get rid of the lawn entirely & just have
little brick
| or stone walkways. It would take care of mowing now wouldn't
it. After
| that I suppose I'd have to see if the park has any regulations
on planting
| the roof of your home.
|
| We have 2 Italian Greyhounds, 2 nothing cats, and a guinea pig
named
| Matillida( it's my daughter, she is a magnet for animals - we
would be
| overrun if it weren't for her father cause I never could say no
to a
| homeless animal).
|
| For those of you under the impression that we have large
amounts of snow in
| the Denver area - that's what the ski resorts want you to
think. Denver has
| the perfect climate as far as I'm concerned. We have seasons
here. It does
| snow & about every 4 or 5 years we get a doozy, but for the
most part the
| snow comes down & is gone in a week at most. Having lived all
over the west
| I can say I have never seen snow quite as slippery or sparkly
anywhere else.
| It gets good & hot in the summer but it cools off in the
evening. The
| only thing I would improve on is the variety in colors in the
fall. Yellow
| is nice but add a few other colors for contrast & it is much
nicer.
|
| So tell me about you. What plans do you have for your yard?
Any
| suggestions on my roof idea?
|
| Seana(-:
| Thornton, CO
| Zone 5
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