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ilovetogrow

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A good day under the palms! Happy Fathers Day! Paula

Comments (27)

  • Linda's Garden z6 Utah
    10 years ago

    Wow that's quite the collection you have there! Love the stadium seating for the plants. I see cactus, succulents, hosta and what else?

    BTW, I am jealous of your palms!

    Linda

  • User
    10 years ago

    Gee, Paula, what stadium seating did you commandeer for your containers? That is a great way to see every one. I'll have to see what I can do to elevate some of mine.

    Beautiful collection too.

  • jadie88
    10 years ago

    Ha, love the stadium seating! Are they all Miami Heat fans? :)

  • ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    OMG No Heat fans here otherwise it would fall in. I just use good 2" thick boards and cinder blocks. Cheap easy movable. I have hosta up on some too. Linda that palm was a volunteer. I also grow canna, caladium, begonia, Crown of Thorns, daylilies and adenium. Some plumeria and coleus. Tomatoes too. Heuchera. Mocc I have elevated just about everything saves on my back. Thank you for your comments. Paula

  • hostanista
    10 years ago

    Seriously Paula, how much time do you spend watering every day?? That would drive me crazy!

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago

    Oh my! I love the term "stadium seating".

    You've got two more upper rows to add to that stadium, and fill...with HOSTAS!

    -Babka

  • Gesila
    10 years ago

    Amazing display. I love the stadium seating too, what a great way to make each one of your plants a specimen.

    Now, let's see a picture of the other side!

    Gesila

  • weekendweeder
    10 years ago

    That is AMAZING! Never seen a garden like that one before. Does everyone have a permanent seat, or do you like to move stuff around?

  • ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hello I had to go to work. I move things around all the time. I thought that that was what Sundays were for. I enjoy my yard very much and thank you for the complements. Oh and by hand watering roughly 4 hours all of it. I have systems set up here and there which helps.

    Babka I wish I could go higher. The wind knocks them down there. I have tried as I am running out of room for cacti.

    Gesila here is a small tour.

    One of the hosta beds.

    Back wall. Hosta along the fence.

    Looking back at the cactus. I have 2 that have been with me for 36 years.

    Shot from the cactus

    Another stadium set up.

    and the other side from Cactus area.

    Thank you again for looking. Have a great day. You just made mine!

  • egflynn
    10 years ago

    I'm smiling at your photos, ilovetogrow! I've done something similar with most of my hostas, using shelves hung on the fence, landscaping blocks, and wood salvaged from pallets. DH calls that area hosta stadium. Anyhow, your plants are gorgeous!

  • bkay2000
    10 years ago

    I like the stadium thing. I may borrow that idea to get my hosta out of the sun for the rest of the summer.

    How close do you have to put the cinder blocks to keep the boards from sagging?

    bk

  • bkay2000
    10 years ago

    duplicate post

    This post was edited by bkay2000 on Tue, Jun 18, 13 at 10:02

  • jadie88
    10 years ago

    Wow...palms, cacti, and hosta living together in harmony. :) now that's a gardening accomplishment if you ask me!

    And four hours of watering! I will think of you when I tell myself I don't have time to water. You inspire me!

    This post was edited by jadie88 on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 18:16

  • ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    bk on the 8'x4"x2" boards at the ends
    on the 10'x8"x2" the cinder block is at 12" from the end. this I am up 4 tiers high.
    on the 12'x6"x2" cinder block at the ends and one in the middle.
    cinder blocks measure 16"
    end shot of the Agave Welcome Center. I slid a couple of 2x4s in and with some bread trays (inside) I had extra storage.

    egflynn my 12' boards were salvaged. They were an awesome find ... right next door.

    jadie get up and go water. Thank you.

  • User
    10 years ago

    This is a very educational and inspiring topic, Paula. I am very impressed, and have further ideas to consider as I continue to expand my hosta count.

    I noticed on one of the raised platforms you had some white coated wire shelving. Was that to provide best drainage for some of your succulents/cacti? I also like that you can apparently move these around a bit, for it does not seem to have any weed whacking done around your blocks....your lawn is absolutely manicured, nothing sits on the ground or grass. That is quite an achievement.

    I opted to do away with the lawn which might have been beneath the hosta display areas. I say "might" because we had cleared it of 60 years of rampant unchecked growth just the year prior to the hosta explosion. So no lawn was sacrificed to the hosta madness. With my shredded cypress mulch, I sometimes get the idea I am at a county fair or a carnival with wood chips or sawdust beneath my feet. I will reshape some pot arrangements when I get more 2x2 lumber for pot lifters or pot feet.

    Only little H. 'Derriere' gets special feet. :)
    ILOVETOGROW, this whole topic is a keeper.

  • User
    10 years ago

    EGFLYNN, would you mind posting pictures of your setup for hosta growing? We are always interested in ways to cope with hosta on a city lot, or even in a small condo garden.

    Just so we DON'T BLOCK THE EXITS, it's all good! :)

  • don_in_colorado
    10 years ago

    Lots of awesome plants, Paula. Looks great!

    Don B.

  • egflynn
    10 years ago

    Sure! Here's a long shot photo. It looks better in person, though, I swear. All but one (Blue Angel) are in pots. I was so tired of dealing with rabbit destruction and maple roots that I dug them up last fall and potted them. June Colley's hanging garden was what convinced me that hostas in pots was doable. Now they can finally grow in peace.

    There's about 130 back in this area and another 25 or so scattered about the yard and entrances. The top row sit on a shelf hung off the fence with heavy wire. The other rows are on landscaping blocks (5 high, 3 high, and 2 high). Two Sum and Substance and several Frances Williams sit on the ground in large pots that seem to be too tall for the rabbits to hop in. Ditto those in the old washing tubs.

    I'm very glad to have found so many others growing their hostas in containers!

  • User
    10 years ago

    Looks perfectly organized and well maintained to me. I see a LOT of space to expand, so you are not done yet! hehehehe

    Is that bamboo on the right? What gardening zone are you in? Some species of bamboo are quite hardy--especially the running kind. I have two clumping kind which have small diameter canes here. Down at the river lot, the cane is about 2 inches in diameter. I keep promising myself to get some for here before someone buys the land.

    Looks like stadium seating to me.....
    Do you have a shot of the suspended shelf on the fence? I have a LOT of 7 foot tall wooden privacy fencing, some of which can be enlisted in hosta gardening.

    The Hanging Gardens of Hampshire must be the one you refer to. I watch their video every now and then. It is very inspirational for hosta gardening intensively. You might notice a bit of the look in the background of my photos. I don't do much cropping or editing except for adding names and descriptive tags to the EXIF data. Also, I always remove the geo-locator info if there is no other option to leave it out.

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    10 years ago

    An amphitheater for hosta. Do you put on plays for them? You know, like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" or "Under the Yum Yum Tree"? lol

    That is a unique set-up.

    tj

  • egflynn
    10 years ago

    Mocc, yes, that is running bamboo on the right. It's one of the things that drew me to this house. Unfortunately the previous owner planted it with inadequate or no barrier, so we're trying to control it with trenches and rhizome pruning.

    There's lots more fence and maple shade here, which means room for more hostas! I'm gonna steal ilovetogrow's idea of concrete block for more height and shelf support. Here's a close-up of the suspended shelf. It's just 18-gauge wire looped around the top rail and the shelf in three spots. It's not the prettiest but it's functional. Hopefully the hostas will disguise it as they grow.

    Thanks for looking!

  • User
    10 years ago

    It looks like your fence posts are angle iron, which is much stronger than the tubular posts seen with most chain link fences.
    Sooner or later, the weight of your shelving with flower pots, might make your fence lean over. Placing the cement blocks beneath the shelf in a few places could take the load off that fence, as well as the fence stabilize the blocks.

    (Ahhhh, it just started raining...no watering tomorrow...)

    My winter sanctuary for hosta was a bit like your scheme, but intended to tip the pots for wintertime to make sure they drained or stayed dry enough. I'm rethinking the arrangement this year, since so many had squirrels burying nuts or looking for nuts...and some died....mostly the little guys. The strong ones survived. There are now MORE of them, and I'm wanting to do this just one more time and then live with the results.

  • paula_b_gardener 5b_ON
    10 years ago

    Okay, I have seen this phrase twice now - what does "Exit open, path blocked" mean?

  • User
    10 years ago

    Here is the link to that thread, DON'T BLOCK THE EXITS. It is a great new motto for the spouses of hosta-holics.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DON'T BLOCK THE EXITS

  • ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Paula B ~ Great name btw, Don't block the exits was done by babka and as I was looking at the original photo to this post I realized the exit was open but my path way in front of the cactus was totally socked in.

    Mocc that white rack I got from work. I wanted to see if they worked good as shelving and was disappointed. So I just plopped it on a shelf for smaller plants. I was hoping to do something off the fence like egflynn did. The shelving was too flimsy.

    Egflynn awesome plants and so tidy. I do like that clean look of the landscaping blocks. I have found that having my plants up higher has saved my back this year. Do you hand water or do you have a system?

  • paula_b_gardener 5b_ON
    10 years ago

    Hi,
    Can't take credit for the name, but thanks. Mocc sent me a link in the post before yours and I read the original post, I think it is a great phrase :) Just jump the cactus.

  • egflynn
    10 years ago

    ilovetogrow, like you I hand water everything. It's a nice form of relaxation, don't you think? BTW, you've inspired me to buy some cactus for a sunny part of the yard. I can't believe you've had those two for 36 years. Good job! Also, I was going to buy some wire shelving but now won't since you're not happy with yours.

    Mocc, yes, it is a taller and much sturdier fence than a standard chain link. Still, I'm going to use your suggestion to shore up the shelves with some blocks. Better safe than sorry, so thanks! Last winter I did not tip my pots over because it was relatively dry and mild. Next winter of course may be very different . . .

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