The BIC Plant and Gardening Thread

[sister13]

Hello BIC friends and fellow gardeners! Whether you have a container on your balcony, some indoor plants, a whole garden, or even if you just happen to visit a botanical garden or see a lovely space or plant in your neighborhood you want to share, this is the place! Please share pics, tips, plans and tricks about all things gardening!  

For many years I had a container balcony garden with mostly flowers and herbs (when travel allowed), and I am now embarking on my first backyard landscaping and gardening journey. 

I am often taking inspiration from the natural world around me and have recently had some spring inspiration for the Makeup Challenge of the Week and have loved chatting about gardening in our other threads, so I thought a new thread would be nice. 

It’s always so interesting to me to see plants and gardens from different regions and countries, so I hope you’ll join the conversation!  

PS: if you create a makeup look based on some plant or garden inspiration, please feel free to post your look or flat-lay here, too! 

Here are a few pics of my spring bulbs to start and I’ll share more soon (kindly ignore the weeds)! 

 

 

My old balcony (from the outside) - I’ll try to find an internal pic too:

[dimesandnichols]

Thank you @Titian06 ! I live for bright colours 💕

[JoSometimes]

@sister13’s alliums are doing so well! Mine is… not happy about being relocated from its awkward spot by the driveway to this planter. The planter also includes some chives, creeping thyme, and, if I remember correctly, some day lilies. I put it together from some scrap wood my uncle was trying to toss. Triangle shaped anything is hard to do. 📐

This little bee was very happy to find the allium though and spent a few minutes with it. 🐝

[sister13]

Oooh, your triangle planter is so nice! It’s nice to have custom items that fit your home/yard and to upcycle/recycle some things! Is that allium the stubborn volunteer you mentioned? It’s doing great, if a little dramatic, lol! I have been seeing so many bees and moths and a hummingbird moth on mine, they are a big hit!  Plus, we are in a new neighborhood and there aren’t a lot of flowers, especially in the backyards, so I’m glad to be providing some food for the pollinators! @JoSometimes 

[JoSometimes]

Thanks @sister13! I didn’t have much to do 3 years ago when the pandemic hit, so I did a lot of work in the backyard. I rebuilt some of the deck, made a few raised planters, added a small fire pit area, and made a shelter for the garbage bins to name a few. 

And yes, that was the allium. I have a section of hedges that borders the driveway and separates it from the front lawn. I laid down some landscaping fabric during the pandemic to keep the area weed-free, but some how that allium sprouted up last year. It came back this year even taller, so I decided to move it. I’m all for helping the pollinators. Without them, we’d all be starving!

[sister13]

That’s so great! Good for saving that allium, I’m sure it will get settled and show some gratitude for its new home out from under the landscape fabric.  My mom always did so much woodworking and building and that was before you could just google anything! @JoSometimes 

[JoSometimes]

That’s impressive that your mom could do this without Googling anything @sister13! That’s some real craftsmanship!

[Saradestin]

That planter is so beautiful @JoSometimes! And your allium is so beautiful 💜 If I were a bee, I would go to your beautiful garden as well!! 

[JoSometimes]

Thanks @Saradestin! You’re too kind!

And I’d totally visit your area in a heart beat if I could. I’m sure the plants where you are probably seem normal to you but up here in zone 6, they’re considered exotic plants to us!

[Saradestin]

I find them exotic as well @JoSometimes ! I am used to the plants that grow in your area, because they are the ones that grow where I was born. But the really exotic ones are the ones in south Florida 😍

[sister13]

Updated allium pics! I’m so thrilled with these and can’t wait to plant more in the fall, lol! 

[dimesandnichols]

The allium are so beautiful, I love the colour @sister13 

[sister13]

Thanks @dimesandnichols , I’m so happy with them too! 

[Saradestin]

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous @sister13!!! They are so beautiful!! 💜💜💜💜 and adding more is going to make the area look even more spectacular! 

[sister13]

Thanks! They are so fun! And I think people acan be  intimidated/not interested by gardening, so I’m realizing many people have no flowers in their yards, so I’ll have to make up for that, lol. @Saradestin 

[JoSometimes]

Your alloums are growing so well @sister13!

[sister13]

Thanks! I’m honestly as surprised as anyone, but so glad they have turned out so well! Our soil is straight up clay so I don’t know how anything grows in it but hoping some of the native plants and others I’ve chosen will thrive like the bulbs have. @JoSometimes 

[JoSometimes]

As things grow and decompose, the soil will improve. You’ll have a lush, green garden in no time @sister13!

[sister13]

Yeah, I wish I had gotten to do the sheet mulching everywhere I wanted to do over the winter (and didn’t get to), but I agree, it’ll get there eventually! @JoSometimes 

[Saradestin]

Onions and garlics don’t require rich soils so I am

sure that they will grow as happy as you can already see @sister13 

[Titian06]

Your allium are gorgeous, @sister13 ! 💖💖💖

[sister13]

Thank you so much! They have been making me smile, I don’t know how they stand so tall and straight even with our crazy wind and driving Rain this spring! @Titian06