Grateful Dead

I love gardening and live in southern California, so the growing is pretty easy!Under normal circumstances.... My back yard is dominated by an enormous avocado tree and underneath it is a large dirt patch. I wasn't sure what to plant there since it will receive no sunlight at all, but my friend convinced me to try putting my potted aloe plants under the tree to see how they would do. Aloe is a plant that I always assumed needed lots of sun, but all of my aloe was pretty sunburnt, so I took my friend's advise. Lo and behold, the aloe appeared to be growing beautifully under the tree, so I decided to transplant out of the pots and into the ground under the tree. Then I come home to find my golden lab had dug them all up and made a mud bath in their place...grrr.... I scolded her and replanted. 2 days later the same thing happened... After going through the same routine a few times, I finally had to give up! The dog beat me... I thought that aloe would be uncomfortable enough for my pup that she wouldn't try to make her bed there, but obviously my hound is smarter than I am... My only consolation is that maybe the dog is giving the tree some added nutrients. Still looking for a good place to plant what's left of my aloe.

every year i plant scarlet begonias on the front porch-this year's are the best. trying to get some magnolia to grow-we'll see next year. yes, there is a theme to my gardening. anybody think of some lyrical botanical i may be missing?? nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

Obviously, a GD garden must have

thanks stellablue!!! i do plan on doing some nice rose bushes in the spring of '08. nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

....they're turning orange now. My wife planted one for the first time ever at our new home and it went crazy. We have 13 nice sized specimens now, with possibly more on the way (I may insist we keep only 13 - just kidding). I plan to spend all Halloween night waiting in the patch for the Great Pumpkin. "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."

gotta be a sunflower there ...and a china cat to go with it

i have the sunflowers, first seed born(LegaL) plants i ever succeeded with. but is there a connection of the pumpkins and the dead that i am missing, or do u just like pumpkins and charlie brown?? nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

No sweat gypsy soul, there are several references to GD but none are songs. One is very obscure and I wouldn't expect most folks to "get it". Give it a try first, then I'll reveal. Don't make me add Impatience to my list of flowers to plant. "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."

'High green chilly winds and windy vines in loops around thetwining shafts of lavender, they're crawling to the sun' How beautiful would that be, but can you count chilly as chile? ’to lay me down with my head in sparklin' clover’ this is fun

Underfoot the ground is patchedWith arms of ivy wrapped around the manzanita, Stark and shiny in the breeze. This is gonna be one heck of a garden!

Going to plant a weeping willowOn the bank's green edge it will grow, grow, grow The Dude Abides!

I can't spell it but do you mean IMPATIENS, i have them too, lavender is coming next spring, as is the ivy. still thinking about the pumpkin thing..... nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

...homonym of the pronoun, impatience. You are correct. I was trying to be funny not intelligent, which is one of the few acts I can accomplish without effort. "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."

All the leaves turned to watch him die. He had to die. "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."

i appreciate your humor. ok are we talking about the great pumpkin, peanuts, pig pen connection??? nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

Yes!!! You are correct!!!! (I wish I had a prize to give you). In addition (of course) to the total Halloween - Dead connection. I mean the holiday seemed to be OURS, if you know what I mean. It was a stretch, I'll admit but you guys were just talking about him in another post and the origins of his nick name.Anyone want to try the other GD reference? "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."

Everyone must understand that Golden Road is a Mog; half man, half dog. He's his own best friend. Opps, I should've posted this over in the movie section - sorry. You're not wrong Walter, you're just an asshole!

So I think I'll drift for ol' where it's at, where the weed grows green and fineAnd wrap myself around a bush of that bright, whoa, on Oaxaca vine. Yes, it's me, I'm the Pride of Cucamonga, I can see golden forests in the sun. Woops, better leave this one out unless you're into being incarcerated

All around the garden grew scarlet and purple and crimson and blue.She came dead and she went, and at last went away, the garden was sealed when the flowers decayed. On the wall of the garden a legend did say, no one may come here since no one may stay. This is too much fun, I better get back to work

its getting tough now

Life sucks for me at the present time. Three months now since she's been gone... I just heard 'Never Trust a Woman' resently and I think I'm going to take it's advice... I'm going to New York and hopping on the Rat Dog Tour in Oct. and following it till Unemployment runs out ( 25 weeks)or my car dies.... Love.....

alright, i have some golden sage growing already. i will add the rosemary, can't do the other "herb" mentioned-oaxaca vine sounds like it may not do well in my climate, but i will look into it. next summer, i will share photos of this family effort. thanks for all the suggestions and keep 'em comin'. and hey jaimealphamale-sorry dude be safe on the tour. still thinking about the other pumpkin reference. peace all nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

haven't got a garden now , but the roof terrace always has a Scarlet Begonia Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

Glad you said that, Bob, about the begonias. Means I can have some on my balcony. What else grows well in a pot in southern Spain, and looks nice? Are orange trees on all of the streets of Sevilla, so perhaps a small citrus tree would work? Lemon? José said that all of the wild Sevillian oranges are sold to Britain to be used in bitters.

two in one from mountains of the moon... Hey, Tom Banjo hey a laurel, more than laurel you may sow. More than laurel you may sow. Hey, the laurel, hey the city in the rain, Hey, hey, hey the wild wheat waving in the wind. there's a member calling himself Tom Banjo somewhere out there I seem to recall........

mountain laurel just happens to be out state flower!!! i don't know if i can grow wheat in my yard though! nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

Geraniums and Carnations The seville oranges are used in making Marmalade A citrus tree would work fine Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

Hey Gypsy Soul,Know is not from Dead lyrics or anything, but lavender planted amongst rose bushes is a wonderful non-chemical pest repellant. Helps with things like aphids. The color contrast can also be really lovely, depending on what color roses you wanna plant, AND the combination of odors is like some wonderful natural perfume!

Skippin' through the lily fields I came across an empty spaceLily's are nice. I believe these were already mentioned. And yes gypsy soul, you are probably correct that oaxaca vine would not do well in your climate, especially the present legal climate as it is a reference to the "herb" grown in that region of Mexico.

are so dull. How about bourganvilla (sp?)? Have seen it growing all over Lisbon, so perhaps would work in Spain too? Think I will have to do some internet research.

We have parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme in our garden. And the Dead connections could be that Scarborough Fair is a folk song, which Jerry and Bob played lots of, probably even this one at some time and. Made famous by Simon and Garfunkel and I read that Jerry states that Paul Simon was an influence on his songwriting. Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman-Song of Myself

The big trailing carnations you get here aren't boring bougainvilleas grow really well here Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

Maidenhair ferns are a favourite of mine too.. but I have also killed off more than my fair share. Near my house there is a deep shady place under a crumbling limestone cliff in the forest where little maidenhair ferns flourish in the cracks and crevices. I have so far resisted the temptation to take some home, because I know what would happen, so I just visit them now and then. If they have found their way to Marye’s place, they must really like it there!

I will miss my tiny little pond and waterfall that is in a sunny corner of my garden. The pond that was so much work to make, but has brought so many hours of enjoyment. Have spent some wonderful evenings sitting in the yard listening to the waterfall, and summer afternoons enjoying the waterlilys that thrive in this pond. Have made gallons of tea with the water mint I planted, and spent hours on my knees with the kids, watching tadpoles turn into frogs, or dragonflys slip out of their cocoons, or water irises bloom. Has been a 6 year battle with algae and mosquito larvae, and probably about 300 hours explaining to the kids why is not a good idea to sail boats in this pond, and major battles with the dog's mad desire to jump in, in hot pursuit of a frog, or arguing with the neighbor about how the frogs croaking at night are a natural sound and NOT noise pollution; but has all been worth it. Digging and filling and planting and populating this pond has been an amazing ongoing microcosm/biology/botany lesson for the kids that can't be beat.

on rereading, noticed that I misspelled waterlilies. Damn!

You can always go out into Donana or to the ocean Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

...blossom's blooming She's got everything delightful She's got everything I need Rolling in the rushes down by the riverside She's got everything delightful She's got everything I need A breeze in the pines in the summer night moonlight Sunshine daydream Walk you the tall trees Going where the wind goes Blooming like a red rose Breathing more freely Light out singing I'll walk you in the morning sunshine Sunshine daydream Walk you in the sunshine Oh yeah! "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."

Marye All I know is that Maidenhairs like limestone soil and that all ferns prefer rainwater......I collect it for mine whenever it rains.....but I suppose with so many you could set up some trials. Where did the compost come from that is in all the pots ..from the same source? we have a nice piece of land, but most of it has only 0-6 inches of soil over limestone. Its not so much gentle gardening round here as rock farming! Planting anything large requires 30 minutes with a pickaxe, but once things get going they can push their roots though the rock. We have an old ash and a walnut over 40 feet high..I do not know how they do it. But the wild limestone plants are amazing (four species of wild orchid in the garden and another 15 species in the area) ..so we are trying to encourage them. This year we rebuilt 20 metres of dry stone wall and inserted all sorts of ferns as we went and they are all doing fine. Now we are going to get some haybales from flower rich meadows and scatter them over our place for the seeds. We want a pond too, but will require rock drills to dig it and then we would have to line it as water just disappears through the limestone I tend to work on the computer for 2 hours and then do 30 minutes in the garden all day long ..its a great routine all round...feel so lucky

Me too! And lining a pond is expensive, but works well. Had to do that too, as the ground we have is all sand, under the dirt. Marye, can second badger that ferns like limestone soil. A couple have taken root on the little hill we built for our waterfall, and this hill contains ALOT of rubble from the old farm building that is right in behind the pond. The wall surface is crumbling, and this wall consists of sandstone bricks, and a lime coating. The ferns seem to like this place, as they are thriving, as I said,came on their own, and seem to like the moist air from the waterfall. Will be crossing my fingers that you keep some alive, 'cuz sounds like a small miracle. Am slowly under the impression that ferns are very free-spirited and independant plants. Really cool!

although poisonous( i did try to eat a berry before i knew what it was), i have a bunch of Poke (or polk) salad growing in the back. also known as inkberries-taste terrible. didn't think that it grew in the NE of the US. not dead related, but it does have a song named for it POLK SALAD ANNIE. PEACE nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile