joene's garden » GOOPs Day

May Day – GOOPs Day - 2010

joenesgarden — Sat, 01 May 2010 20:01:14 +0000

Just a few short minutes ago I was happily raking sticks, acorns, and leaves from the mossy areas between our lawn and the woods. As my mind wandered it occurred to me that I needed to come up with one of my Gardening Oops – GOOPs – posts soon. I don't know what part of my brain finally kicked in but holy trowel … today is GOOPs Day. I nearly forgot to post my own meme! Even worse, I forgot - until now - that it was one year ago today when I posted the first GOOPS Day (check out a year's worth of my gardening gaffs). Is it the mind that's first to go?

I know a good portion of you think of today as May Day, but here at joene's garden its the one day of the month set aside for sharing my gardening goofs, or gardening oops, or as I like to call them, GOOPs. Once you read mine, either share one of your own in a comment below, or if you have your own blog, share your GOOPs there and leave us a hint about it below.

My May Day GOOPs is not one of my own, but something that occurred naturally, with no human input, many years ago. This birch tree clings to a rock ledge along the edge of my front yard. Long before we cleared the land for the house and claimed this area as our home, this birch made a go of growing atop the ledge. Its roots found their way between tiny cracks, then grew along the top of the ledge. Well you and I know that atop a rock ledge is not an optimal growing location for a tree, but don't tell that to this birch. At some point before we came along, the tree must have blown over or toppled under its own top weight. The roots, however, did not let go.

Seeking the sunlight, the growing tip of the tree took a 90 degree turn and shot upward, leaving the rest of its trunk parallel to the ground and much of its roots perpendicular to their original position.

I have no idea how long this tree will live, but live it does. I love its determination. Each spring we watch its leaves unfurl. We rest under its shade in the summer and enjoy its golden color every fall. During snowy winter days, its contorted trunk and twisted roots become a focal point in the front yard. Now each spring and fall I carefully clear the leaves from around its ground level trunk hoping this will lessen the chance it will rot. As long as it has the grit to grow and not be a hazard this distorted birch will have a place in our landscape. It reminds me that not all gardeners – not even Mother Nature – have perfectly shaped plants. In fact, at times the faux pas turn out to be the most interesting.

Now it's your turn … do you have a GOOPs you are willing to fess up to? Share it here … until next month (I'll set myself a reminder) good GOOPs day and happy gardening.

Categories: GOOPs-Gardening Oops.
Tags: birch tree, Gardening blunders, GOOPs Day.

Now where were those bulbs? April GOOPs

joenesgarden — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

It's GOOPs day - the day I share one of my Gardening OOPs (GOOPs for short). This months GOOPs is not an April Fool's tale … but I do admit to feeling rather foolish whenever I commit this garden rearranging faux pas.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only gardener who has senior moments, but I've made this GOOP more than once. During fall I often transplant perennials to spots that need filling. Unfortunately, I often find spring bulbs living in the very spot I planned to fill. I some cases I get lucky and don't damage the bulbs, but over the years I've lost a fair share of bulbs to inadvertent slices of a shovel. Every year I vow to remember where each clump of bulbs is … then I get busy and, by fall, I forget. I also have a habit of moving spring bulbs around by the clump after they have finished blooming. Again, I often forget I've done so.

I sound like a real scatter-brain, but I'm really just overly busy and often have too many fires going.

This year I'm using my digital camera to document where each and every bulb is planted - and I'm doing so while they are in bloom. Barring the help of the underground mammals that like to rearrange my crocus bulbs, I should have a good accounting of where clumps of bulbs reside and will be able to avoid surprises during fall transplant projects … at least as long as I take the time to properly label all my photos as I download them into their bulb location file on my computer.

So now it's your turn to fess up. What GOOPs are you willing to confess? Do share – just one please, you can GOOP again the first of next month – in a comment below or in a GOOPs Day post on your own blog, leaving a teaser and a link in a comment here.

Happy GOOPs Day – even April Fools welcome here!

Oh … and the narcissi in the photo to the right – just the start of many beautiful flower displays to come. YEAH SPRING!

Categories: Bulbs, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Seasons.
Tags: Bulbs, Gardening blunders, gardening in Connecticut, GOOPs Day.

Generosity Abounds - Gardening OOPs for March

joenesgarden — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:15:00 +0000

Today, being the first day of March, is GOOPS day at joene's garden. GOOPS stands for gardening OOPs. I fess up one of the many gardening mistakes I've made over the years, hoping that my admission will help prevent other gardeners from doing the same. Then I encourage you to share a GOOPs as well.

This month my GOOPs deals with connectedness, relationships, and generosity. A while back I read a press release about a study that reports people act in a more caring manner when exposed nature. Professor Richard Ryan, from the University of Rochester, New York and his colleagues conducted some experiments with 370 people encouraged to notice the colors and textures of computer images of either landscapes or cityscapes. The researchers asked participants to imagine the sounds and smells of these settings. In a separate scenario, each person was randomly assigned to work in a lab that did or did not contain plants. After each scenario the participants answered questions related to aspirations of wealth and fame or connectedness, as in close personal relationships, and community.

Their answers revealed that people exposed to natural scenes were more apt to rate relationships and community more importantly than they had in similar questionnaires answered before they started the study. By contrast, those intensely focused on the cityscape buildings and roads rated wealth and fame higher.

The next part of the experiment conducted by Ryan's group went a step further. In two of the scenarios they gave participants $5, telling each they could keep the money or anonymously give it to another participant who would then receive another $5 and could also choose to keep or give the money away. In doing so the researchers found people exposed to natural settings were more generous.

It's likely no surprise to gardeners that people who focus on natural environments have a strong sense of community and relationships. I also doubt many gardeners are surprised by the study's suggestion that exposures to the natural environment breed generosity. How many plant swaps do we read about each spring?

The GOOPs comes in the nature of gardeners' generosity. When I first began to garden I received many plant gifts from other gardeners. Often not knowing what I was getting, I learned through experience that one or another gift was extremely aggressive. Some turned out to be invasive, but without knowing this at the time, I too shared the excess 'gifts' as they grew out of the space I had.

Years have passed and I know much more about what is currently considered invasive in my locale. Now, unless I am really sure that any swapped-for plant will not become my problem, I keep those I'm unfamiliar with potted until I can research and watch its growth and bloom habits. I frequently use swapped or traded for plants in deck and porch containers, and if I like what I see these gifts are invited to stay. Those with very aggressive underground growth habits – I'm talking runners – often find their way to the compost pile or outdoor fire pit after the growing season is done. The Hakone pictured here is a swap invited to stay – thanks, Debbie. Others, like a plume poppy, did not.

Ok, I've generously shared another of my GOOPs, so how generous are you? You must have at least one faux pas gardening woe to swap. If so, share it in a comment here, or write a GOOPs post on your blog –just be sure to leave a teaser and link in a comment below. If you need a GOOPs nudge, stroll through previous GOOPs posts – maybe you'll get an idea.

Happy 19 days till spring!

Categories: Gardening, General, GOOPs-Gardening Oops.
Tags: Gardening blunders, gardening in Connecticut, GOOPs Day.

Gardening Oops – February 2010

joenesgarden — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. That's my gardening oops this month. Here at joene's garden, the first of each month is Gardening oops - GOOPs for short – Day. On GOOPs day, I fess up one of my gardening blunders in the hopes that you might avoid a GOOPs of your own after reading one of mine. I figure we all learn from our mistakes, and often from mistakes of others. So why not share our mistakes with each other and, therefore, enhance everyone's overall chance to learn.

This month I present a cared for but not nourished basil plant I brought inside last fall before frost. Yes, I watered it regularly, and gave it as much natural light as possible, but you can see it did some serious toward-the-sun leaning . I shoulda picked more of its leaves. I woulda enjoyed their flavor in tomato sauce or on a home made pizza. I coulda done this had I paid a little more attention. But I didn't, and last week when I noticed tiny white specks on its leaves, I knew that aphids had hatched. I shoulda and coulda given my tender herbal companion regular bi-weekly showers to stave off any budding aphid infestations. Had I done this I might have been able to keep the aphids at bay. But I didn't. I have a pretty strict policy of banishing any small, replaceable plant from the house when aphids take hold. I've tried fighting serious infestations in winter's past and it's not anything I choose to do again … I never seem to win the battle. So when the aphids moved in, the basil moved out. Here it is, on the front porch on a relatively warm January day – temperatures in the high 30's F. The plant did remarkably well for the first few hours, then quickly drooped as night time fell. By morning it was dead, aphids and all.

Caring for plants, just like caring for any other aspect of life, requires vigilance … sometimes more and sometimes less. At times, growing plants also means making tough choices, like banishing one to never-never land. Gardening, real gardening, means making mistakes. Joining in on GOOPs day means admitting some of these mistakes. Here you have yet another of mine, and the chance to share any mistake you've made in a comment below. If you choose to share your GOOPs on your own blog, I'm thrilled. Just leave a teaser in a comment below, along with your link, and anyone who reads here can pay you a visit too.

And if you really thrive on delve into past mistakes take a look at GOOPs – Gardening Oops for all the gritty details. Here's hoping my GOOPs do not become yours.

Categories: Edibles, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops.
Tags: aphids, basil, Gardening blunders, GOOPs Day.

Gardening Oops – GOOPS – September 2009

joenesgarden — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:00:00 +0000

September 1, 2009. Another month has passed which means it's time for me to share another of my Gardening oops – GOOPs for short.

I was recently awakened by a nighttime sound that alerted me to movement along my front porch. This area is bordered with long perennial and foundation plantings and lines the walkway to our front door. When I got up and peered out the front windows and saw no large creatures illuminated by the bright moonlight, I went back to bed. GOOPs! The next morning I looked out to the front porch to find freshly pruned New Guinea impatiens – the ones I specifically potted in clay planters to line the front edge of the porch (Never mind the petunias – slugs have been feasting on them all summer – but that's another story). Proof that potted plants on an open deck or front steps are not safe from hungry deer.

Had I opened the front door to shoo away the deer that had obviously been browsing there, my potted plants, and the morning glories trellised on either side of the front steps, might have a few more leaves. Had I kept up my usual deer-spraying routine, I might have saved these, plus the newly nibbled anemone and red-twig dogwood (yes the one that has since been totally defoliated by sawflies).

I've been pretty lucky this year, deer-wise. With the exception of a few unprotected coneflowers, and occasional nibbles to the morning glory vines, deer have done little damage. But the chomped impatiens reminded me that deer spraying must resume. I've already noted an increase in the numbers strolling through the yard during daylight hours, so there must be more 4-hoofed visitors at night. Learn from my GOOP – keep up a spraying routine of every few days (especially after it rains), and alternate types of sprays to try to keep the deer at bay. And, if you have a must protect plant in an at risk location, consider netting it, or protecting it (especially at night) with a barrier deer cannot eat through.

Now it's your turn. Real gardeners make real faux pas. Share yours here in a comment below, or tease us with a GOOPs you've posted on your own blog (make sure to leave your link).

And, if you're new to GOOPs, visit the GOOPs link under the Topics list to the right. Here you'll find all past-posted GOOPs.

Categories: Creatures, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Techniques.
Tags: deer damage, Gardening blunders, GOOPs Day.