How does your garden grow (without water)?
With all the strict restrictions on watering, how do you keep your garden alive? Do you have creative ways to come by water for your plants? What are they? We’re thirsting to know, and so are our readers!!
AJC.com > Gardening > Blog > Archives > 2006 > May
May 2006
The dought hath struck — the garden’s fried
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The current dry spell is taking its toll on the spring garden. In the Cobb area, we haven’t had a significant rain in roughly a month. (Those of you in North Ga., be thankful you’ve gotten all those storms).
Now I’m paying the price along with a lot of my fellow gardeners having to lug hoses and watering cans around just to save the landscaping. I’m really kicking myself for not paying more attention to choosing plants that thrive in dry, hot weather. We’ve been fortunate over the past couple of years with adequate rain. This season is beginning to remind me of a few years back (2001?) when we had no-watering restrictions and the azaleas all burned up.
How are you coping with the drought? Are your tomatoes and veggies sagging? Are you watering or giving up? Buying replacements? Or, are you gloating because you’re in the part of town that has gotten rain.
UGA recommends the following plants for dry, hot conditions: periwinkle, moss rose, rudbeckia, stonecrop, gazania, globe amaranth, strawflower, cosmos and verbena. Those are all sunlovers.
Here is the full link to the UGA article on buying the right plants for dought conditions .
I’m going to pick up a few replacements for dead petunias. I think I’ll invest in moss roses this time!
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Have a new garden product you like?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’ve tried a new home or garden product (or even an old product you’ve just discovered), let us know what it is, how it works and where you got it.
We’re always looking to get ahead of the curve with home/garden solutions.
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Slugs banished; the zinnias win
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I recently lamented the fact that we usually plant large quantities of begonias in our neighborhood entrance way. This year, however, we gambled on possibly being ex-communicated from the ‘hood and went with the short, narrow-leaved zinnia angustifolia.
They’ve been fabulous so far. They’ve held up to drought (has it rained in a month?) and slugs, which decimated the begonias in past seasons.
If you haven’t tried any of the narrow-leaved zinnias. I’d highly recommend giving them a try. But you have to like eye-popping color. They’re not subtle. They even seem to perform in partial shade.
Home Depot Landscape has been selling them in flats as of last weekend.
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The BIG TV dilemma — how did you solve it?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The latest battle of the sexes is over the TV. He wants the biggest screen his money will buy. She wants a stylish room that’s not dwarfed by a Hummer of a TV. We’d like to know how you resolved the drama. Peacefully, we hope!
New products: Outdoor party lights
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Goodbye tiki torches. There are some interesting new deck/patio/backyard lighting products out that could make your next party a knockout (after the food, comes the mood).
Gardenwinds.com is selling solar globe lights that come in brilliant colors. You can sit them along your paths or deck, or float them in a pool . $29.99 each. 6 1/2 inches in diameter.
Also from gardenwinds.com, solar light sticks, similar to the bright-colored globes, but in 18-inch-tall stick. $49.99
From Solutions catalog , Japanese-style lanterns that resemble traditional paper lanterns but are battery operated LED and made of ‘silky’ polyester. Set of three (eight inches in diameter) for $19.95
thinkgeek.com also offers Japanese style lanterns. The LED can be switched to produce either constantly changing colors or be stopped on a single color. The globes are 8 inches in diameter. $15.99. The shells are made of plastic.
Confessions: Do you have a plant you hate?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s that time of year to change out the flowers in the neighborhood entryway. Every year we do begonias. Red, pink, white, whatever. I know they stand up to heat, humidity, reckless trucks and runaway dogs, but I have to admit I hate them, even if they do look nice from the street.
Do you have a plant you hate? Or dislike immensely? A relative who shall remain nameless hates petunias — mainly because she was forced to deadhead them as a child. (Now that’s a punishment!) Are you brave enough to put something bold in your neighborhood gardens?
My begonia bashing is mainly because they clump. They don’t spread and fill spaces, they clump. Marigolds are also on my death list, mainly because they always die of slug damage.
So it’s off again to the begonia store to fulfill the neighborhood wishes. Maybe I can sneak some ‘whirling butterflies’ gaura in when they’re not looking!
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