weeds and flowers
2009-Jun-15, Monday 08:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerA weed is any plant that you, the human gardener in your great wisdom, decide is taking up sunlight, water, or nutrients that you want another plant to have instead. With that definition, it's pretty easy to do garden weeding. Just because something unfamiliar shows up doesn't mean that it's a weed that needs to die.
For instance, I had intended to try out different groundcovers that would still allow other plants to grow up in the same soil. I want a groundcover to shade the soil from direct sunlight so that less watering is needed (without the trouble of adding mulch on top). I tried thyme, but the variety that I have now grows too thick for any small plant except strawberries. I'll be planting them together next year. I've also discovered that 2 kinds of clover grow here in Minnesota naturally. One of them, however, is now a weed in this garden.
This first clover produces a pretty yellow flower at the top of each flower stalk. The clover, however, grows very tall and dense. It has already choked out most of the flowers that I intended to grow in a bed next to the house and main walkway. This second clover (2nd and 3rd picture) produces a globe of flowers (like chives do) and grows very scraggly in a way that allows other plants plenty of opportunity for sunlight. It is my new welcome groundcover in garden areas.
Plants that are already fruiting, flowering, or bolting include chives, strawberry, spinach, and sweet pea.
Two plants that I'm glad to see can "go native" and survive Minnesota winters on their own are my much adored strawberry-spinach and the frequently used cilantro. The cilantro has actually been pretty aggressive. You can see it here taking over a corner of the garden area. Not what I intended or expected. I usually think of cilantro as an herb from hot climates but it definitely likes Minnesota.
I have two new additions this year. I threw down quinoa, oats, and barley along a strip by my car, just to see what happened. Only the oats came up. You can see them in the middle section here. I also tried a new kind of lettuce called "Forellenschluss". It's very pretty. It has a very mild flavor, but it is delicate and crisp. I'm sure I'll be collecting seeds this year and using it as my main (only?) lettuce next year.
And, finally, a few overall shots. One is another small garden strip along the back of the house. Here you can see the herbs bergamot (left), cilantro (middle, a slow-bolt variety supposedly), and dill (right). They're all doing well. Plus, a before-and-after photo of the garden. There's still a lot of work to do, but it's starting to look like a real garden. Now that we've finally gotten out of the cold nights, things should start growing much faster now.
I wish I knew how to do this stuff for a living. I don't know how to become a farmer, though. :(
For instance, I had intended to try out different groundcovers that would still allow other plants to grow up in the same soil. I want a groundcover to shade the soil from direct sunlight so that less watering is needed (without the trouble of adding mulch on top). I tried thyme, but the variety that I have now grows too thick for any small plant except strawberries. I'll be planting them together next year. I've also discovered that 2 kinds of clover grow here in Minnesota naturally. One of them, however, is now a weed in this garden.
This first clover produces a pretty yellow flower at the top of each flower stalk. The clover, however, grows very tall and dense. It has already choked out most of the flowers that I intended to grow in a bed next to the house and main walkway. This second clover (2nd and 3rd picture) produces a globe of flowers (like chives do) and grows very scraggly in a way that allows other plants plenty of opportunity for sunlight. It is my new welcome groundcover in garden areas.Plants that are already fruiting, flowering, or bolting include chives, strawberry, spinach, and sweet pea.
Two plants that I'm glad to see can "go native" and survive Minnesota winters on their own are my much adored strawberry-spinach and the frequently used cilantro. The cilantro has actually been pretty aggressive. You can see it here taking over a corner of the garden area. Not what I intended or expected. I usually think of cilantro as an herb from hot climates but it definitely likes Minnesota.I have two new additions this year. I threw down quinoa, oats, and barley along a strip by my car, just to see what happened. Only the oats came up. You can see them in the middle section here. I also tried a new kind of lettuce called "Forellenschluss". It's very pretty. It has a very mild flavor, but it is delicate and crisp. I'm sure I'll be collecting seeds this year and using it as my main (only?) lettuce next year.And, finally, a few overall shots. One is another small garden strip along the back of the house. Here you can see the herbs bergamot (left), cilantro (middle, a slow-bolt variety supposedly), and dill (right). They're all doing well. Plus, a before-and-after photo of the garden. There's still a lot of work to do, but it's starting to look like a real garden. Now that we've finally gotten out of the cold nights, things should start growing much faster now.
I wish I knew how to do this stuff for a living. I don't know how to become a farmer, though. :(
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Date: 2009-Jun-16, Tuesday 12:10 am (UTC)