Garden

I enjoy gardening and yard work. I sometimes call this document site my little digital garden. I met my wife in a History of Landscape Design class while in college. We just started watching Gardeners World and I've got a lot of time outside with Iris. I've always got some kind of yard project going on, so I'm going to leave this page here as a place to make notes.

Log

24/04/30 - added pests
23/05/23 - oak tree removed

Notes

24/04/39 - we noticed the first flea of the season. Adding pests to the TOC here to keep notes. Going to try using nematodes this year since the diatomaceous earth tends to get wet in our humid environment too quickly.

24/04/02 - Since Iris has been tearing up and making trails in the yard, I've been thinking about switching out part of it to more wild grasses ( and weeds 😂 ). More of a Laissez-Faire Meadow[^1] since I manually pick some of the weeds.

23/05/23 - After watching Gardeners' World and realized that I don't know half of the plants that are planted in the beds. I started mapping out our yard to label the tree types, called in a tree guy to look at one of the oaks, ordered new sheers, gloves, and trays.

Soil

Ph generally comes in acidic in the low 5s. Need to apply lime.
clay is heavy. helps to apply gypsum

Trees

White Oak (3) / Red Oak (5) / Magnolia (5) / Hickory ( 7 - my favorites ) / Tulep poplar / White Pine (1) / Loblolly pine / Sweetgum / Mulberry / Dogwood ( 12 ) / Chase Tree / Poplar / White Pine ( 1 ) / Cedar ( 1 ) / Cedar Evergreen / Sweet gum ( 2 - don't like em. would like to have them removed )

Shrubs

Azaleas ( 27 ) / Box Hedge / Holly / Japanese Maple ( 4 ) / Japanese Anise Illicium anisatum / Golden Euonymus Euonymus japonicus / Sasanqua / Rhododendron / Ligustrum

Borders

spider Grass - Liriope mondo grass - Ophiopogon japonicus

Groundcover

ginger

Mushrooms

poisonous mushrooms /

Lawn

Grass

This is a sticky subject between my wife and myself. I'd prefer a lush barefoot St. Augustine lawn, but since we don't use chemicals, it's pretty tricky. White clover, crabgrass, dandelion, goosegrass, spurge, chickweed, quackgrass, buckhorn, sedge... we got em all. Trying to minimize the yard size to minimize the yard work. I just need a space big enough as far as I can throw a ball for the mut.

Moss

Beds

I built several raised garden beds in the middle of our front lawn which I keep a variety of plants going. Sometimes I plant a bunch of summer vegetables, but it's mostly herbs and flowers.

Perennials

Annuals

Potted

pothos / african violet / orchids / Lemon tree / Ginseng Ficus / peace lily / Dracaena / jade plant

Pests

Bugs

The only two pests we've had issues with are ants and fleas. Lavender, cedar, clove, peppermint, Eucalyptus oils act as repellents. We use a good bit of cedar mulch and I've used clove oil spray. Rosemary, lemongrass, basil, mint, catnip, sage, Chrysanthemums, wormwood, and marigolds are also deterrents.

Nematodes - have ordered some nematodes to try this year.

Weeds

I try to let native plants run and I generally refer to the USDA Invasive Species Information Center. I just go after the one's that tend to be invasive or have cause pain. I call it plant racism, but I also don't like using the nationality names on the plants because I think that's a bit racist. These are the ones I'm pulling, cutting, and digging out:

Poison Ivy - Toxicodendron radicans
Autumn Olive - Elaeagnus umbellata
Privet - Lugustrum sinese
Stiltgrass - Microstegium vimineum
Creeping thistle - Cirsium arvense
Ivy - Hedera helix ( my neighbor has let it overrun their yard )
Virginia creeper - Parthenocissus quinquefolia ( not invasive or non-native, but I don't like it )

Materials

Mulch

cedar / pine

Potting Soil

Fox Farms Sea Floor/Happy Frog

Equipment

Cub Cadet XT2 LX42 / Craftsman 150cc 21in / DeWalt Pole Saw / Hedge Trimmer

Providers

Timberline Tree Service ( Troy ) (864) 953-0002 / Facebook
Landscape Supply - (864) 388-2138 / Facebook
Jerry' Greenhouse - (864) 229-1591 / Facebook

[^1]: Healthy Yards - https://www.healthyyards.org/create-a-meadow/

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