~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

A place to share garden and outdoor spaces plans and activities.
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Lynlee
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~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Lynlee » Wed Jan 02, 2019 8:02 pm

If you have an outdoor space, area or garden please share your activities there.

Some may have a beautification project happening out there.
We would love to hear about your plans and of the reality in action.

Perhaps some have a productive backyard.
Tell us of your success.

Others may be fighting to bring order into a space of where survival of the fittest and natural selection is the way of back to the wild, and the word 'garden' seems too removed from reality to be true.
Please share your plans attempts to tame and maintain it.

As with many things, first things first, one thing at a time, and baby stepping is the way of making things happen, unless you have the where-with-all of a landscape designer and contractor to quickly whip it into shape.

This is a place to record and celebrate
that flower that blooms,
the food items that can be sometimes be gathered,
the ongoing action maintaining a pleasant space,
taming an area that wants to be wilderness,
and planning and creating the change you envisage.
Just begin.
Living this day, today
Take a reality check; Remember to breathe; Do what I am able to do.
Look for the good in all.

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Lynlee
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Lynlee » Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:08 pm

Flowers that are currently in my yard.
One lone azalea blossum. I'm guessing its 6-7 feet from the ground as the azalea grows amid a gathering of shrubs.
In the grass there are 1/4 inch white flowers, I don't mind them at all.
Overhanging my fences from the neighbours there are flowering trees, 2 lillipillies and a red bottle brush.
Unwanted flowers are a miriad of weeds, some progressed to waiting seed pods, rampantly doing their thing.
If you live in an area that will grow a rainforest, I suggest not to plant rainforest trees. The 'forget its name. Its a native that starts with L, and I'm unable to easily find its name) is flowering heaps, and it grows from seed so well the tree is now on a 'not to be sold' local list as it wants to make its own forest, and seedlings aren't readily pulled out.

Yesterday I did attack some seeding nasty wiry grasses growing between my carport and the gate.
And some weeds there as well. There are some other nasty seeding weeds I need pull the seed heads from urgently.

Fruit - Lychees. The birds and bats have left me some that look well enough this year. I need to harvest them, unless I mean for nature to have them.

There is too much to do out there I don't want to think beyond picking those weed seed heads, and collecting the dropped flower heads from the rainforest tree before the seed pods open.

Yes I do need paid help out there.
Just begin.
Living this day, today
Take a reality check; Remember to breathe; Do what I am able to do.
Look for the good in all.

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Harmony
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Harmony » Wed Jan 02, 2019 10:05 pm

Lynlee, sounds like the problems of living in a tropical climate like we do. We get loads of vines that cover trees and just look awful and are tough to pull out and cut hands and tangle feet (remember my badly sprained wrist from getting tangled and falling trying to pull them out). At least we don't get kudzu. You don't get that, do you?

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Lynlee
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Lynlee » Wed Jan 02, 2019 10:42 pm

Harmony I have this one -
Singapore daisy Sphagneticola trilobata
This plant forms dense mats of runners on the ground that smother native plants. Leaves are glossy, notched, somewhat fleshy and often lobed. Flowers are a bright yellow daisy. Able to reproduce by small seeds but are more likely to grow from a section of stem or root. Spread by water, garden dumping, mowing and vegetative spread.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphagneticola_trilobata
for a photo
Note it is called Singapore Daisy but it comes from central America. It was introduced as cover for coastal sand dunes, before they said oh no, and people had taken bits and let them loose elsewhere to become a problem.
Bumpkin to it growing to a foot high, if only there is nothing for it to rest upon.

It came here a major runoff from one of those 6 inches rain in about an hour events.
At the time it seemed like not such a big deal. There were other issues to take care of, like the lowest corner of fencing that disappeared.
Yes to bringing down it my chicken wire fences. And being up amongst the grouped shrubs, making it hard to get to to dig it out, itty bit by itty bit of stem that that roots at every leaf node.
At times I've made inroads to it as it went creeping across mown grass areas.
I'm trying to keep it in a 'holding area' atm, and just pull bits from the edges at times. :roll:

There are other things I brought here against the advice of the people who originally had them.
And some my parents brought here and planted without my knowledge.
Fish tail ferns that grow like the dickens here as opposed to their place. I'm responsible for the much regretted sacred bamboo that I also brought from their place. Again, rainfall differences make a huge difference.

Many other weed trees species just jumped fences or came with the birds.
Yes I have a jungle thing happening way down the back where no one can easily wander.
The soil that eroded beneath roots way back with that 6" rain even from a low off the coast meant mowing down there stopped happening.

Its raining here.
To the north there is another cyclone that is having its second turn at being a cyclone. I don't think that is what is bringing today's showers though.
This season elsewhere has had numerous hail storms, or tear thing apart storms, so I shouldn't complain.
Just begin.
Living this day, today
Take a reality check; Remember to breathe; Do what I am able to do.
Look for the good in all.

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Harmony
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Harmony » Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:43 am

Wow, I could swear we plant that daisy here. Hard to tell, not seeing the whole plant.

But the way you describe it as rooting from stem sounds like the problem I had with Creeping Charlie (I don't know the scientific name for that) but we had it bad at the old house. I painstakingly pulled those vines over and over. We devised a hard pipe thing that would go onto the sandy soil so we could easily pull up the tap root that goes along with the vine. Unless that is gone it will return. At one point I had the whole yard completely cleared of this thing... but by that time that vine and another thing with purple flowers had choked out the grass. We basically lost our whole yard.

That's why DH goes out once a week for hours and pulls every single weed and other type of grass. There are granules one can use that is supposed to kill weeds and fertilize but people who really know what happens will tell us that eventually that kills the grass also.

Every place has invasive stuff I guess. We have pepper trees that are spread by the berries the birds drop and they choke out everything. Now if we pull permits to add space or build a house we are required to get rid of every invasive thing on the property.

I wish you luck with your property. Just recently I was looking at the honeysuckle growing all through the empty lot next door. A previous owner in back planted some along the property line and it just took off. Now it's all over the place, running wild. At least it has a pretty flower.

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Nancy
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Nancy » Sat Jan 05, 2019 9:04 pm

I moved a large empty planter in the back yard, new to me not sure what it will be for maybe for bagging up leaves when I clean up the beds later. Picked up the back yard today. Trying to think where I can plant mini pumpkins maybe in the hens run now that they are gone.

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Lynlee
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Lynlee » Sat Jan 05, 2019 11:41 pm

Harmony - I looked up creeping Charlie and a different weed in the mint family came up. It could be that different names are applied to the same plant in different location though, so its not certain in my mind that its the same or different from what you have struggled with.

Sphagneticola trilobata, commonly known as the Bay Biscayne creeping-oxeye,[3] Singapore daisy, creeping-oxeye, trailing daisy, and wedelia,[4][5] is a plant in the Heliantheae tribe of the Asteraceae (sunflower) family. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, but now grows throughout the Neotropics. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental groundcover.
wickipedia.

The one I have here doesn't have particularly long tap roots, unless its a really old piece. My soil is more clay.
I am hopeful that if I can remove the root bit with the leaf node that piece will die, so long as it is all removed. I do break off the rest of the roots.
Anyway - we both know what nasty invasive smothering type creeping vine plants can do to a space, especially when you and the neighbour both have it, and it never wants to give up the ghost.

Nancy - Its good to have you stopping by. Great work happening at your place.
The planter sounds like a good find. I'm sure pumpkins would love a chicken yard.

I've just pulled at some seed heads from a different legume creeping nuisance that grows around the house.
Today someone from church offered to come and help with the mowing.
I really need to find someone to mow and do other land care things for me, who wants to be paid the right amount for the privilage. The person who has offered is not that person, unless he is looking at as more than just doing a good turn. I'm thinking I want a more professional approach between the gardener and I as well.
Just begin.
Living this day, today
Take a reality check; Remember to breathe; Do what I am able to do.
Look for the good in all.

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Harriet
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Harriet » Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:54 pm

Just recently, honeysuckle has turned out to be the first plant shown to actually inhibit virus replication, tested so far on Influenza A viruses H1N1, H1N5 and newer strain H7N9, keeping mice well. Who knew! No one's made a projection yet of how much people should take to have the impressive effect it's had in mice studies, but the flower is now available in capsules. Here, honeysuckle is almost a nuisance plant but if it could keep people from getting flu, it might suddenly start getting a lot of respect!

In our hen house, only Ophelia and Octavia (Buff Orpingtons) are still with us. Robin (the last New Hampshire Red)passed away after a long life. No eggs now in the deep winter, but their combs are very red and their bottoms clean and fluffy, so I'm happy with their health. (embarrassed that I didn't delete that photo as I said I would back then after Kathryn got her photo question answered - it will only be up a little longer! I'm actively deleting some lately.)

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Harmony
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Harmony » Tue Jan 08, 2019 2:27 am

Lynlee, I think the weed I had is Glechoma Hederacea. Think. Most of the pictures of this thing I saw were lush and green and pretty leaves covering the actual vine stems. In reality it is extremely ugly with vine stems bare for inches and then leaves then a lot of bare stem, etc. If one pulls it out and leaves it lay it'll just root and take off.

I've pulled so much of this stuff that I recognize it when it is only an inch or so high. It does not survive in this yard, goes right in the garbage can to be hauled away.

Bamboo can be invasive too. There are a couple kinds, the kind that spreads and takes over and the kind that stays put. I'd be afraid to plant either kind in case I got the wrong one!

Interesting about Honeysuckle. I had Cape Honeysuckle. It bloomed like crazy. But it also shed leaves all year long, loads of them and spent blooms too. They blew in the garage. They blew in the front door. They blew onto the porch and the pavers. They blew all over the driveway. I got tired of it all and pulled it all out. I got used to the bare white trellis arch. DH planted the passion fruit vine that neighbor gave us. It grows passion fruit that is sour. It has bigger leaves than the Honeysuckle. It sheds those leaves occasionally. They blow into the porch, the pavers, the driveway, the garage, the front door........

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Lynlee
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Re: ~ Outdoor Action ~ 2019

Postby Lynlee » Tue Jan 08, 2019 3:53 am

I have new blooms - a pink bottle brush type flower that fades to lemon - fortunately its just bush height.
Helper called in today, just dropped off a wheel barrow so he had room in his trailer tomorrow for mower etc to make grass collection and dumping in piles easier.

Wheely bin for green waste is mostly full of palm seed and flower branchy thingos. I had to chop them up to make them fit in the bin. Lantana got chopped into there too(I shake my head at that one being here in a new place.), plus something else - weedlet tree wantabes - former master gardener's wonder pick tree of the year that a neighbour once planted. It likes to go feral and is still persisting years after the big tree got the chop, and a Chinese elm that rather likes it around here too. Always on the lookout for those leaf shapes while the plant is small enough to just pull out by hand.

Harmony - sounds like there are a lot of things that enjoy to grow in an unrestrained way there, as there is here. That looks like the one I found when I googled creeping Charlie.

My dd is trying to get an unrestrained passionfruit vine going along the edge of her upstairs deck to screen the neighbours kitchen. Potted - the possums liked to chew it quicker than it could grow, so there is another planted in ground that is just reached the height of the upstairs deck now. I don't think it occurs to her the need to sweep up leaves.

Honey suckle is one of those declared nuisance plants here too, though I'm sure it has many uses.
Creeping charlie reads as a herbalist's delight as well.
Just begin.
Living this day, today
Take a reality check; Remember to breathe; Do what I am able to do.
Look for the good in all.


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