A nearly native drought tolerant garden Tim and Barbara Fruehe came into the True Value Garden Center with a list of needed plants that we could really work with! Their ambitious whole house-whole yard renovation was winding down and they were at the point where the outdoor hardscape was done and the soil was amended. …
Saturday– Hmmm, Tractor Man gone for the day? Having coffee and wondering WHAT to do today. I love having a day when nothing is planned.” Here is friend, Jeanne Sammons’s barn door which grabbed my attention. I first put it in my ‘Idea’ file, but then thought, ‘I have some of the things to make…
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” “Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.” “As…
In 2000, we found and bought 7 acres on the side of a hill in a small town south of Yosemite. In late 2005, we moved into our modest, newly built house, something we never dreamed we’d do. Walking the place for the first time, when we wondered if the old cedar shack came with the property,…
Birdbath love ♥ As the garden flower color takes a back seat here in the Foothills, the wildlife have become the stars. It’s been a regular Birdie-palooza here and I’ve moved the birdbath to a spot on the patio within view of the largest windows, with winter views in mind. When we can’t garden, it’s…
How to do a leaf-casting! A serendipitous discovery of a large leaf in a mountain stream, led me to try molding it with a concrete mix. It was loads of fun creating a lovely molded leaf to save as a garden art piece How I happened upon the leaf Recently I happened to go on…
First Views is a meme that Town Mouse started to show seasonal view of larger areas of your garden, rather than more focused photos of certain plants. She has a Mr Linky widget on her page so others can enjoy this idea, and add links to their blogs. Please visit her page to see her views and add yours: September First Views (Town Mouse). Now on to this month’s views at the Sierra Foothill Garden.…
Last month, my friend, Cheryl and I, committed to giving a workshop to the garden club on a subject we were trying for the first time, “How to make Hypertufa Troughs“. Risky? Foolhardy? Fun! We were interested and I must say, excited to see for ourselves how it would turn out.
One finished trough, the largest one we made with a corrugated box mold
Why make hypertufa troughs? For cost of the materials, Portland cement, perlite and peat, for us $37, you can make any size and shape plant container you want for your plants. These can show off small plants that would otherwise get lost if planted in a garden bed.…
Hypertufa (pronounced hyper-toofa) is a mixture of peat moss, perlite, cement and water.
Old stone watering troughs in England could be found in farmer’s fields, sometimes built into stone walls to provide water for two fields of livestock.
Traditional Stone Water Trough in Britain, Wikipedia Commons Photographer Roger Nunn
These troughs are usually one-of-a-kind, and very rare and desirable to alpine gardeners and plant collectors and are very expensive and heavy, as well. Now you can make them yourself.
There is a natural volcanic rock called tufa, which has also been used by gardeners. There are a few natural deposits found around the world, some in Britain, some in North America and various other areas. In the 1800’s, English gardeners found that by mixing certain ingredients they could make a light weight version of stone troughs. In time, hypertufa will develop the look of weathered stone.
For those who like miniature plants which often get lost in a garden, making your own troughs, and really, any shaped stone-like container, is easy and fun! I like growing succulents and other small plants and after hearing about hypertufa long, long ago, have always wanted to try it.
So,… this past month my friend Cheryl and I decided to give ourselves an assignment: to give a workshop to our garden club! O…K…!…
‘We are guided by nature in composition’ Bartók Down from the top where he goes to get the paper, my husband brought me a thistle flower. Very pretty, I love it! …I’m afraid it’s a bull thistle, not the lovely California native Cobweb thistle, Cirsium occidentale, written up by Town Mouse, here. The thistle bud Town…
The difference between trash and junk I posted a picture of my terribly messy potting bench area on my FB page, Flea Market Gardening, and asked for help with what I should do with it. They posted tons of ideas and I’ve been working on it for the last couple weeks. Here is the “before”: Why…
