Lust/desire for flowers, gardens

[Opti]

I'm still in very sick sinus mode, barely sleeping, so not sure how to phrase this. Does anyone else get cravings to garden or plant things this time of year?

I had two errands I needed to run this morning and then I stopped by a greenhouse. The flowers and shrubs were so pretty and the greenhouse was having their summer sale. I wanted to take lots of things home, but I only have a small portion in front of my building to garden with right now.

I bought a 4 pak of Marigolds on sale and want to go to Home Depot and purchase some herbs/flowers since they are having a 4 for $10 sale. Not sure if I should do a small cutting herb garden, but seeing Thai basil, cinnamon basil, lemon thyme, German thyme, etc. makes me want to take them home.

[Jaguar]

Fresh herbs are a real luxury.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 1, 2015 21:26:09 GMT -5 Opti said:

I'm still in very sick sinus mode, barely sleeping, so not sure how to phrase this. Does anyone else get cravings to garden or plant things this time of year?

I had two errands I needed to run this morning and then I stopped by a greenhouse. The flowers and shrubs were so pretty and the greenhouse was having their summer sale. I wanted to take lots of things home, but I only have a small portion in front of my building to garden with right now.

I bought a 4 pak of Marigolds on sale and want to go to Home Depot and purchase some herbs/flowers since they are having a 4 for $10 sale. Not sure if I should do a small cutting herb garden, but seeing Thai basil, cinnamon basil, lemon thyme, German thyme, etc. makes me want to take them home.

Check around Home Depot's dumpster for discarded herbs and flowers. When new plant and herb deliveries come in, the more beaten down ones get tossed, especially herbs. You may be able to get some freebies. I have checked around the dumpsters and gotten free herbs in the past. I didn't dumpster dive though. Just checked the edges.

[busymom]

I LOVE gardening!

Check with friends & members of your family for plants.  Most people need to thin out their gardens, & it's a great way to get something for free. 

[Bluerobin]

Opti, do nothing.  The urge will pass!

[Deleted]

Jul 1, 2015 21:26:09 GMT -5 Opti said:

I'm still in very sick sinus mode, barely sleeping, so not sure how to phrase this. Does anyone else get cravings to garden or plant things this time of year?

I had two errands I needed to run this morning and then I stopped by a greenhouse. The flowers and shrubs were so pretty and the greenhouse was having their summer sale. I wanted to take lots of things home, but I only have a small portion in front of my building to garden with right now.

I bought a 4 pak of Marigolds on sale and want to go to Home Depot and purchase some herbs/flowers since they are having a 4 for $10 sale. Not sure if I should do a small cutting herb garden, but seeing Thai basil, cinnamon basil, lemon thyme, German thyme, etc. makes me want to take them home.

I wish I could send you some plants.

Get some herb seeds. It's not to late and they are inexpensive.

[Deleted]

I love the smell of the plants! I wish I could garden, but I am just awful at it and kill most everything   I have had some success with window sill herb gardens, I think because they stare at me and remind me to water them daily!

I grew cherry tomatoes outside for a year or two, which I really enjoyed. Aren't you in an apartment? Do you have private area where you can grow things & other people won't bother them?

[weltschmerz]

Jul 2, 2015 5:16:26 GMT -5 Bluerobin said:

Welts, do nothing.  The urge will pass!

Huh? What urge? I haven't posted in this thread.

[kittensaver]

Jul 2, 2015 8:23:07 GMT -5 @xmascookie said:

Jul 1, 2015 21:26:09 GMT -5 Opti said:

Get some herb seeds. It's not to late and they are inexpensive.

[Bluerobin]

Jul 2, 2015 13:52:06 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Jul 2, 2015 5:16:26 GMT -5 Bluerobin said:

Welts, do nothing.  The urge will pass!

Huh? What urge? I haven't posted in this thread.

Corrected. 

[haapai]

Yes, I get those cravings pretty much all year.  They lead to dead and sickly plants in pots, small plantings of cheap annuals, and a plethora of mismatched perennials planted anywhere that they will fit. 

I've started buying seeds instead.  The seeds tend not to get planted and the packets show up everywhere but I find them less painful than dead plants and stacks of plastic pots. 

I'm not good at watering anything regularly, why do I keep forgetting this?

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

You don't need a garden plot for an herb garden. You can grow them indoors year-round as long as they get plenty of sunlight - such as a windowsill or table/ledge near a window



Link - Indoor Herb Garden

[haapai]

If you really hate killing plants, the pot and saucer that you put them in can make a huge difference.  Larger pots and saucers that will contain overflow and/or act as a water reservoir really, really help.  It's not as romantic as a clay pot of geraniums with foliage that's twice the volume of the pot, but it's much, much less likely to dry out. 

It can be hard to get yourself to buy the more expensive pot, or devote more space to the larger pot and saucer combo, or get used to the unmagical ratio of pot to plant that looks nothing like the glamor shots that you lust for. 

Many herbs are basically weeds.  They sprout and grow fast given half a chance.  Often, even the saddest little pot of herbs from the produce section will do beautifully if repotted into something larger and given light and water. 

[gooddecisions]

I love growing pretty flowers and even edible things, but I live in the south and I learned a long time ago never to plant anything in June, July, or August. If it is not in the ground by the first week of May, I wasted my time and money. I might buy an orchid or potted flower to keep inside for a few months.

[Deleted]

Jul 1, 2015 21:45:42 GMT -5 busymom said:

I LOVE gardening!

Check with friends & members of your family for plants.  Most people need to thin out their gardens, & it's a great way to get something for free. 

yes!

[Opti]

Jul 2, 2015 8:56:26 GMT -5 @rockit said:

I love the smell of the plants! I wish I could garden, but I am just awful at it and kill most everything   I have had some success with window sill herb gardens, I think because they stare at me and remind me to water them daily!

I grew cherry tomatoes outside for a year or two, which I really enjoyed. Aren't you in an apartment? Do you have private area where you can grow things & other people won't bother them?

Yes I am in an apartment, but mgmt. seems to let people plant flowers/herbs/etc. around the complex within reason. The vast majority of the planting is done by the folks who live in two bedroom townhome places. However, the most impressive planted area is done 3/4's by a guy who lives in a single bedroom apartment like myself. The Hostas near his building and porch are old and planted by former residents. However, he's really got into to it. He's bought baby plants of many types and is out watering them and checking them in the evenings. One tree is ringed by normal begonias. Another area is much bigger and like a small mulched pond oasis bounded by a few trees. He  has some perennials in that area, annuals, and has plants like really small baby Hostas and coreopsis.

[Opti]

Jul 2, 2015 14:27:01 GMT -5 haapai said:

Yes, I get those cravings pretty much all year.  They lead to dead and sickly plants in pots, small plantings of cheap annuals, and a plethora of mismatched perennials planted anywhere that they will fit. 

I've started buying seeds instead.  The seeds tend not to get planted and the packets show up everywhere but I find them less painful than dead plants and stacks of plastic pots. 
e
I'm not good at watering anything regularly, why do I keep forgetting this?

Sorry to hear it works out this way for you. I had some great gardens at my first house, and growing up my Dad & Mom had  a large vegetable garden plus fruit trees, tiger lilies, etc.

I only buy seeds if I am going to use them. The first home I owned here with my XH we had a contraption/not greenhouse that we kept in the basement to start seeds early enough.

I miss being all aspects of myself, and one of them is a woman who gardens and likes flowering plants and fresh edible herbs grown by me. I had a wonderful sage plant that over-wintered nicely for a few years even though the books led me to believe it would be toast. Fresh sage always made a great addition to stuffing and Thanksgiving turkey.

[Opti]

Jul 2, 2015 8:38:46 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

Not to be nosy,  but weren't you just asking about how to trim $60 off of your annual insurance bill and saying you were running in the red by $100s of dollars each month?

Obviously none of my business,  but I feel like I'm missing something

You probably are missing something. Our personal philosophy on enjoying/thriving in life, no matter one's income, is likely very different. Not spending $10, $20 or even $50 once on some plants in one month is not going to bridge the income/work gap which is driven at work by census(low) and various polticial things.

I don't remember needing a certain Number like $60 off my annual bill, but preferring it. Cutting down coverage in various insurance categories saves me money over the 6 month terms  here, but also will cut down future insurance 6 month term bills, because I will have lower allover coverage.

I'm a bigger believer in scope AND a huge believer of doing what you need to, to get through the day. I am currently watching the movie, "Life Itself" about Roger Ebert. In it, he notes several times he might have died left the planet & not cared about that at all. I'm glad he soldiered on and met Chaz. That he was able to still give and be useful in spite of his limits, which in his case were health constraints, instead of living how the masses thought he should live his life once he was sick and disabled.

(OT, but I just finished the part where the creator of the film, Man Push Cart, got a jigsaw puzzle from Roger Ebert as a gift. The guy wanted to turn it down because of the history. Roger told him he could not refuse, because of its history, and that he was to hang onto it until it was to go to someone else and inspire them. The chain is something like Alfred Hitchcock gave it to Marilyn Monroe while they were making a film together .... it ends up in actress Laura Dern's hands who eventually gives it to Roger Ebert with a letter. )

[Opti]

Jul 2, 2015 19:49:05 GMT -5 @xmascookie said:

Jul 1, 2015 21:45:42 GMT -5 busymom said:

I LOVE gardening!

Check with friends & members of your family for plants.  Most people need to thin out their gardens, & it's a great way to get something for free. 

yes!

I'll check with friends from church, PSGCNJ, and perhaps other folks. I'm hoping to find someone who has an extra trowel they are willing to give to me and perhaps  a shovel or spade I can borrow. My Family is at least a 16 hour drive away, I doubt they garden now, and that they would ship me something just because. I doubt they aspire to be Bluestone Perennials, which used to ship under-sized plants, which saved $$, and looked just as great if you had the time/patience to wait two to three years or so for the plant size you wanted.

In the past I have had success in getting plants, ShopRite or Garden centers are about to toss. I am not a master gardener, so these plants do not always do well. I've also discovered because of the bug issue, all plants that were ever grown outside, I like to keep outside. There are some beautiful begonias out now, and a reasonable prices when ShopRite or others do promotions. I can find shade to part sun inside. That doesn't exist outside my building in the gardenable areas unless one wants count space under an everygreen shrub.  (Sorry for the TMI. Rough night, but its past 7AM now. Wipes sweat off forehead.)

[Deleted]

Check if your neighborhood has a facebook website for the community where you can ask for stuff.
Also get on free-cycle for your area, it seems like every area has a group! 

Does the food bank ever get seeds where you live? Here they do actually ask for seeds as donations, so wonder if other areas do that too.  

What happened to all the stuff you mention? Did you just walk away from the home with only a suitcase?