Garden Update 2013

[rafique]

I wish i could have an evening among your flowers with a cup of tea. Colors reflecting the hard work behind.

[irfan.siddique]

Rafiq: I was thinking same that you said.

Amazing plant selection and caring. Great work and effort.
Farhan you are really a example for new gardeners.
How much time do you spend in your garden daily?

[Farhan Ahmed]

@Rafique Sb.......You know what the agony is, i never do that(have tea) in garden. Even if i have the tea in my hand i would place it aside and start doing something .....Only time i cherish blooms is when i am deadheading...LOL, I plan to have the relaxed tea only once the picture is complete. Frankly speaking i am starting to think that i am unfit for gardening...i fret and sweat a lot

@Irfan Sb, thankyou.....i am still an amateur and learning. My gardening age is little over an year....and i think it will seize after this spring upon my relocation. Usually i give an hour and half dedicated time in noons as i am not keeping any labor currently. This is during normal days when i have to water & deadhead/clean presently. After rains or on Weekends may be more...

@Tahir Sb....

[rafique]

Frankly speaking i am starting to think that i am unfit for gardening...i fret and sweat a lot

Its too early to think that. I think you will have to be selective, down scaling or add a helping hand. Passion of gardening usually increases with time.
Your gorgeous lawn and praise of all should recharge you instead of feeling unfit for gardening. I am really surprised to read this .

Regards

[Farhan Ahmed]

@Rafique Sb. Wise words, Down scaling, being selective and keeping labor.......Failure to do these are the biggest gardening vices. Rain unable to pin us down has a new weapon in its arsenal.....Wind. Erecting fallen hollyhocks after wind storm, i wondered the same, if there were few of them it would have taken me a lot less time. But on the counter argument i thought, without mass planting could there be a landscape???.......Even if i had labor, Would labor be there at 9pm to erect them??? . I had no answers.

The debate regarding labor had been already undertaken on the forum. There are two problem with Malis
They do it for Job, You & I do it out for love.
They do it by tradition, We by apprehension.
I find them unbearable......they are good for lifting pots only ...lol

Most flowers have a symbolism such as this Peony Poppy...... "signifies a promise of resurrection."

[rafique]

I have my prospect , may be I am wrong in my thought
1. If some one has limited space (small balcony or little patio) because of resources. He is a gardener not landscape architect then what will he do ?
2. Some one has energies at young age to do all gardening jobs either laborious or technical by himself. What about the young man who want to do gardening , love for plantation , erg to do better gardening but don’t have energy to do laborious job because of divine restrictions? Or an aged person who always have been doing the all?
If some want to continue gardening then strategies have to be adopted according to the circumstances. There is always ups and downs in gardening too as in life . No one can run with same pace for life. Life is a matter of moments.
These are prospective things. Everyone has his own view in this regard according to the circumstance.
Sorry for deviation from topic.
Come to the topic tell us about the result of your yesterday effort of covering your plants with plastic sheets?

[Farhan Ahmed]

@Rafique...You have forced me to finalize my thread in theory before the final picture, so be it.......

You are right in every perspective. I am not comparing landscaping with any other way of garden, gardening has to be and can be undertaken in 'n' numbers of ways with similar joy. However i do have developed this perspective that time, effort and space provided, it can be most rewarding because its the way of nature. However i have few submission which are important if read between the lines

(1) The full essence of the gardening journey can be understood with landscaping. That is purpose of my this thread To share " the way of garden".....difficulties faced, labors, joys and sorrows. That is why i create a little drama . I highlight many things in between. Read those and replace "I" with your name and reminisce that don't a gardener goes through the same in some part of his journey? When i say i am unfit for gardening, this in essence sends a message that every gardener will have this feeling when faced with extreme difficulties and failure. There are messages & lessons for new gardeners. My audience is beginners, seniors are already aware........as i said earlier in the thread a bloom will never teach a newbie how to garden. But the journey to that bloom. If i had more effort available, i would have shared every single step.

(2) Can a balcony full of pots elaborate the problems faced through rain & wind. NO, its sheltered......We have to choose a bigger picture for richer learning. Does this mean i am comparing any other way of garden with landscaping. A big No......Its not a versus game neither we are here for comparison

(3) We in this part of world take floral gardens as a garden, which is one form only. Let me share with you a Zen garden. Depicting landscape. A stone symbolizing mountain and moss as grass. Hardly two feet space evincing largest landscape, its our imagination, do we take large space as largeness? Hardly any effort.....no sowing, growing, pinching, fertilizing, deadheading, watering ......no divine restrictions as mentioned by you stops one from making such landscape garden......


Just to intrigue minds "What garden is"????

If you want i can explain every single emphasis that i have given anywhere. Sometimes indirect messages have more effect. For instance when i said i never had tea, i did not mean to narrate my habits, ofcourse which are of no value to any forum member. It was an underlying message that we should stop and enjoy our gardens which gardeners like me don't do because they are so much engrossed in the task.

Regarding labor, you are right, sometimes we need them and i don't deny that but what i am trying to say is how they will work for which either we should be ready or do away with them.

Plastic served the purpose very well on small plants/borders saving them from flopping/flower spoil. However i had to remove plastic from hollies due very high wind, fluttering plastic could have done damage. Important thing i observed is that plastic should be slanting so that water drains. If at any time water accumulates over it, plants will be crushed with the weight of the water.

[Tahir Khan]

Devastating Heavy downpour in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, I hope the plants in everybody's garden survive the wrath of speedy winds

[Farhan Ahmed]

Only job i am concentrating and recommend for other affected gardeners is to erect their plants ,fallen after rain/wind as soon as possible. If not erected they can die(visible roots/stem damage etc) or their shapes can become very distorted.

@Rafique Sb....i wish if you could share your way of gardening. Only if you like. It would be most educational for us........

[rafique]

Only job i am concentrating and recommend for other affected gardeners is to erect their plants ,fallen after rain/wind as soon as possible. If not erected they can die(visible roots/stem damage etc) or their shapes can become very distorted.

@Rafique Sb....i wish if you could share your way of gardening. Only if you like. It would be most educational for us........

Faran my gardening age is about 3 years compare to yours 1 year but your knowledge, exposure and experience is much better than me. We all here are for learning with each others experiences.

As you wish to share my way of gardening, I would like to share my views as I am doing already in your thread provided you allow me?

On your current recommendations I would like to add what I did.
1. Re-erected the plants(annuals) which still have many days to show off their colors.
2. Uprooted many which are about to end in next few days, it will provide the room for remaining ones and new ones to come.
3. Some companions of perennials (specially roses) were really effecting the growth of roses, were removed to provide better environment to rose.
4. For remaining annuals which are effecting but spreading a lot of good colors, I re-erected them right now but there is a big question mark ?