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4th-May-2008 09:49 am
striped (pronounced stripe-ped)
 Yesterday:

Woke after a little nap (prior to nap, I'd read some short fiction prior to the nap, a story or two out of Jonathan Strahan's Best Fantasy 1) and worked on the opening of a fantasy story, mine, about community and fairy tales and legend tripping, but I'm not for sure yet, because it is only part of an opening.  

Rushed Josie to the high school so that she could take her SATs.  She plans upon graduating next January, attending a small school in Indiana, majoring in education, grade school ed.

Back home to load the truck with big pots and big buckets and a little bucket, plastic bags and Will.

To Wal-Mart, for a spade, but actually two of them, and batteries.  To Burger King for Cini-Minis and water.

At the community recycling plot, with Will, filled pots and buckets and bags with fresh black soil-- only a little twiggy and rocky but it depended upon where one dug.  Heard and watched the geese at the closeby, tiny pond carry on.  One breeding couple with six babies.  Also killdeer flying and crying.  Took a break to eat breakfast.

To the car wash, to wash the mud from the community plot, off the truck.  

Home, again.  Plant tomatos and peppers in the pots.  (Dale every-single-year wants to plant tomatoes and peppers and although we have tried vegetable gardens a couple of times, that does not work for us.  The past five-six-seven-eight years  we have done nothing except hang a planter or two.  This year I determined Dale would have his goodies)  Also, there was pick-up the yard.

Checked email and read LJ friend list.

Picked up Josie.

Took a nap.

After nap, to the drive-in, in business since the late fifties, for dinner.  Mine vegetable soup, grilled cheese, onion rings and Pepsi.  I couldn't eat it all.  I'd sent Will to KMart to look around while we waited, so after the pick-up, browsed the garden shop for potted plant ideas.  I love leaves and plants made of vine.  The front porch is north facing and doesn't get much sun, any suggestions?

After dinner, housecleaning.  

Picked up Josie from work.  

Checked LJ friend list.  Answered a question on a post.  

Josie, Will and I saw "Iron Man."  Oooh, lovely fight scenes, flight scenes, and I get all geeky over genius.  We were among maybe a dozen people who stayed past the credits for the treat.  

Dale Sr was sleeping when we came home, so I quietly did some housework for a couple of hours.

Then, finished reading Sybil's Garage no. 5, which I will discussion as soon as I get a chance to write something up.  Fell asleep after three am.





Comments 
4th-May-2008 02:55 pm (UTC) - Plants for the porch
Nothing beats coleus for leaves! I used to get them at Kmart and Target garden centers. They love shade and part shade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Coleus_hybrids_Wizard.jpg

And hanging fuschia are beautiful. You can get single and double flowered varieties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fuschia.jpg
4th-May-2008 03:20 pm (UTC) - Re: Plants for the porch
Thank you, Jaime. I believe I've seen the Coleus at WalMart, not as such variety as in the picture, but some green and red variable. I'm making a list for next weekend, what I should look for. These two are on it.
4th-May-2008 03:12 pm (UTC)
Are you looking for annuals or perennials? There are lots of shade perennials -- namely hostas but there are also quite a few varieties of ferns which do quite well in the shade, bleeding hearts, columbine, ground covers like periwinkle (sometimes called vinca) and lily of the valley.
4th-May-2008 03:33 pm (UTC)
This is the area where I am at such a loss.

A friend told me about hostas, so I know what they are. They'd look nice I think in front of the house, if there was lots of them or they were huge. What I want to do, eventually, something with a few groups of oriental grass, some leavy greens and ...(okay, so I don't have a clue what else it needs). The other plants you mentioned almost bring an image to mind.

I was thinking small this summer, maybe a few pots sitting on the porch and a hanging planter or two or three. I can take a few items into the house over the cold season, but I have really the worse luck with plants. The only plant I've kept alive in the house is a vase with two bamboo plants in it.
4th-May-2008 04:04 pm (UTC)
The thing to keep in mind with grasses is that they're grasses and, as such, will eventually take over everything. If that's what you want, go for it, but if not, you should stay away (I made the grass mistake when I first started gardening).

Bleeding hearts do fantastic in the shade and can get quite large but also provide some nice color in the spring and early summer. Hostas also will eventually get big but take time to do so and send up white flowers from the center in the late summer/early fall. Columbine will also give you some nice color in the early summer but doesn't get so big ( looks very nice, though).

One thing you might want to do is go to a reputable garden center (not a chain employing teenagers but one where the people actually know what they're talking about) and talk to someone there. Most good garden stores have people who are really good at helping you select what to plant, where to plant it and how to take care of it.
5th-May-2008 12:14 am (UTC)
Grasses, okay, so that is why grasses are usually in isolated areas surrounded by some sort of barrier. Maybe I need to rethink that.

Talking to an gardening expert sounds like a good idea, I could take notes.

Thanks for the tips, Jan!
5th-May-2008 12:38 am (UTC)
You're welcome.
6th-May-2008 01:01 am (UTC)
Caladium are great in shady planters and come in white, pink, and red foliage. You can save the bulbs for next year, too (thus not have to deal with keeping them alive in the house!) I watch for cheap indoor tropicals (home depot or Lowe's) (divide them if they're big) and use them outdoors in my north facing well shaded planter; they provide interesting leaf shapes, and the coleus fills in (and overgrows! but can be cut back.) Have fun!
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