I decided my peace garden is going to be a melon and pumpkin patch. I planted cantaloupe, watermelon, and pumpkin seeds. It's just a mound of bare ground now, but I'll post pics once I get some sprouts. I've never tried melons before, but I grew pumpkins a few years ago and they were fun. The only problem? Squirrels! Luckily the little bastards (who were also eating our roses that year!) tried a few pumpkins while they were still green and yucky and gave up on them even when they were orange and yummy.
To get the peace started sooner (it's going to be months before I have any fruit), I also filled some pots with purple petunias, yellow and orange marigolds, red zinnias, a yellow & purple annual called sunsatia mango and some vining flowers called bacopa orange (bacopa is apparently an herb used for memory enhancement. who knew!). This is the most vibrant color combo I've done in a long time. I wanted the peace to be seen from a distance!
16 comments:
Love the colors in this photo. I have got to get some more gardening done. Parts of my garden look fine. Parts look....neglected.
I am the procrastinating pajama gardener. I really wanna plant stuff, but I never seem to time it right. BUT, for someone who is no good at this, I am proud to say that the purple asters I planted a couple of years ago came in again and this year they've really spread into a long violet bed across the front of the house. Woohoo! I'm a gardener...right?
I like those color combinations of the flowers! Makes me want to plant a couple of pots.
Oh my, you're planting melons? I thought about it, but the loooong vines drive me batty. I planted cantelope and watermelon one year... got a ton of vines, and the no edible melons. ~sigh~
I have a "peace" section/row in my garden- contains arugula, stevia, mint, basil, rosemary, lemon balm, cilantro, etc... Look out for pics next week.
I love the concept of a peace garden, though each time I look at any flora I'm instantly soothed. I suppose it's in the intention. I'd never heard of sunsatia mango, now it's on my list.
I did my pots yesterday, churned the flower garden over the weekend and fertilized all of my trees, yet there's so much more to do. As for protecting your melons, fox urine around the borders will prevent squirrels, deer, and most all herbivores from attacking them. And nothing is harmed in the process.
Amy
My wife has been pushing me hard to rototill her garden but dang it, the fish are still biting.
Barrie, Hey whaddya doing with your time, writin books or somethin?? :)
Lisa, Definitely. You've got living plants, you are a gardener.
Ladylee, I'd really like to hear how the stevia does. Do you use it for sweetener?
Amy, This might sound stupid, but does it smell? We bought this liquid fence spray that smells so horrible I can't bear to use it!
Travis, Take a man fishing and he'll eat for a day, but teach him to listen to his wife and he'll eat forever. :)
I buy stevia plus, and use it as a sweetner, but I found the plant in the herb section of a local Lowes. I'd never seen it sold before.
This stevia plant- the actual leaves are very sweet.It seems to be growing very well. This suprises me, as I thought that this plant was grown in tropical climates.
I have a "dry" setting on my oven, that is supposed to be good for making beef jerky and what not. I'm going to make an attempt to dry some of the stevia and crush/grind it up and use it that way...
But I have found that placing a leaf in a cup of tea works well for sweetening the tea. But I am really interested in how it will work out when I dry it out.
Carleen, not to humans, it doesn't. I have an extremely sensitive olefactory sense so I couldn't use it if it did. It's a gentle, natural way to ward off garden nuisances. I've heard cayenne pepper works for some, but it dissipates in rain and I didn't find it nearly as effective.
I love having someone to talk to about gardening, thanks for starting this!
Amy
Ladylee, Wow. Good to know! I bake with stevia sometimes (works real well for things like banana bread).
Amy, Thanks! I'm going to give it a try. I wonder what my cats will think of it?
We've had foxes in the neighborhood, but I haven't seen one in a while. Though I did hear one calling to its mate earlier in the spring.
Your descriptions are simply delicious!
Nice love the colors...oh and squirrels I heard that moth balls and peppermint spray help keep em away...now our problem is rabbits...sigh.
BEautiful garden! I wish I had that great gardening ability. I have none. but I enjoy looking at yours!
Gorgeous on the peace garden!! I love bacopa and use it every year -- but I didn't know about the memory aspect! That's cool!
Gorgeous! As they say in church, "Peace be with you."
Like Lisa, I want to plant and to look on beauty in my yard like I see here, but then I get caught up in blogs and books and...well, you know how it goes.
At least I can come here and revel in your peace garden.
P.S. Finished your beautiful, thoughtful novel last week when I was away. I want more!
Thanks everybody!! Patry, thanks too for the kind words about the book!
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