I wanted to say hello to everyone here, my name is Tim, at least what I respond to :)
I have attempted gardening in the past only to learn there are black and blue thumbs (opposite of green) on this planet, and I am the king of the poisonous ones! If I plant it it will die, and if I look at it it shall wilt.
It is time to overcome the fate of the dreadful killer thumb and hopefully grow a new greener one.
I am actually taking this on as a hobby to build a bridge with the greenest thumb I know, my mother. I have always loved her gorgeous flower beds and need to find a way to keep her involved in her greatest passion, as things change for her, certain abilities fading away, and clouding over the joys she always knew, so what better way than to get involved than in one of her passions. This has been a tough year so far for her, and after realizing she can no longer tend for the flower beds, I began to focus on her fairy gardens, and how this can still be something within her grasp. So far success, but now I have to learn how to be a green thumber rather than a killer thumber.
With all that said, not just for the sake of keeping dreams and activities alive, "I" too want to learn this, and tackle the weakness's that have spoilt my thumb.
So thats it in a nutshell, and you will most likely find me hanging out in the miniature garden threads. My plans are to start my own miniature garden and most likely post images of my progress (Or lack of; "failures") for anyone reading to get a good laugh and chuckle if nothing else. I do know that there is one option of raising plastic plants if all else fails.
Tim

Hi, Tim. Welcome to NGA. Many of us started out with a "killer thumb," so we know how you feel. Please don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you wish. Our members are extremely helpful.

Tim! We're happy to have you. Maybe your Mom would enjoy membership, too?

Karen

Thank you for the welcome zuzu and Karen.
It would be difficult for mom to get involved directly here, but through me I will be happy to relay her thoughts and or questions. Mom has now left her computer behind, as it is too difficult for her to navigate and read. I appreciate the thought though and will relay this request to her anyway.
zuzu, for some humor here, since all I have to do is look at a growing plant, and.. well as I am getting into this hobby I might have met my nemesis as well on the opposite side of a coin. Mom has a weed in her side garden, in the day lilies, iris, tulips and a rose, it is called Nutgrass, and the joke is when I want something to die off, a plant that can not be killed finds me! Now just go figure huh!
It will be a lot of digging, and washing out root systems for sure, and not sure about the Rose making it through the torture involved to get all the Rhizomes.
Tim

Yes, if only those black thumbs worked on nutgrass! I had a similar situation and ended up moving all the good plants into containers before I tackled the problem.

Hi Tim, from me too!

I commend you for trying to learn about the plants your dear mother loves and I know she will enjoy the fact that you are willing to take on the task of learning about gardening and helping to keep her flower gardens growing!

Gardening can bring many successes and failures, even to those who've been gardening for many years so, don't give up. As zuzu stated, never hesitate to ask questions here on our forums; we have so many knowledgeable folks who are always willing to offer advice and tips!

LOL, I think many of us are very familiar with Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)

zuzu said:Yes, if only those black thumbs worked on nutgrass! I had a similar situation and ended up moving all the good plants into containers before I tackled the problem.

That's good to hear, moving the desired plants to containers and is encouraging since that is what I am doing. I decided to put everything to be kept in pots, and the Iris, Tulips and daffodils are going to be prepared to go dormant until Fall. That should give me time to totally clear the area and verify no new growth before putting in new soil. I am not sure yet on the Rose, but currently planning removal after the blooming, trim it back and start it back up in a large pot, long enough to verify no Nutgrass remaining in the roots, and that the Rose survives. I am going slowly a bit at a time to go deep enough to ensure all of the Rhizomes are removed.
If nothing else I should learn a bit about eradication from all of this.
Thank you for the response and supportive thoughts here.
Thank you Plantladylin for your encouraging words as well. I will be asking a lot of questions soon.
Tim

That sounds like a very, very good plan. I'm sure it will be successful.

And if your Mom can't crawl around on the ground, raised beds might be a good option going forward. They can be built or bought

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/g...

Karen

kqcrna said:And if your Mom can't crawl around on the ground, raised beds might be a good option going forward. They can be built or bought

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/g...

Karen

YES yes yes, exactly Karen. That is one of my goals to make gardening easy to access, thus focus on the fairy gardens. I have help with the weeding part of things for all of the lawn gardens (thank goodness) but even so the focus is not about others doing (taking away) but what and how to bring the garden to mom's level. Mom is very well set up of course for "gardening" and with a bit of adjustment, I think "MOST" of the actual gardening can be brought into her realm, the potting, planning, basic tending like right now taking her bulbs and trimming them at a table, washing out the root structure, and using her knowledge to put these fellas to hibernate until I can prepare the bed for the replanting..
Thank you for sharing the idea as well as I am looking for anything that helps move the gardening to a new level for her, instead of a loss of letting it all go.
Tim