Now this is my kinda thread..!

I started gardening when I was 15 because I lived in an area that was extremely rural and rather boring in northern California, so I had to do something; plus I always loved plants as a kid. A veggie garden was my first experience. I first started with tomatoes, cucumber, and summer squash, and then eventually graduated to watermelons, cantaloupe (aka rockmelon), bell peppers, artichoke, and eventually began to grow strawberries and an assortment of peppers. I also started growing little planters of simple flowers, like pansies and marigold. I got old horse troughs, repainted them bright, fun colors, and set them near the porch. It was GREAT, but then I moved. But, as much as I want to have another vegetable patch, I still haven't done full research into how to counter Australia's cockatoo problems...

So I'm now back to gardening, and this time I'm trying a variety of flowers I've always had a love for. I started off growing oregano and basil in a small planter (some babies I got for Christmas), but this week I've bought a hydrangea and a small pot of violets. Hopefully soon I can find some peonies since there in season here, and maybe get some roses? I'm keen to start a new garden out at the front of our house solely consisting of native plants, but I'd love to do a corner of succulents too. Succulents are much too good for the soul <3

I'll eventually gather photos. I'm so glad to see there are other plant enthusiasts out there!

@Jelly
Ah, Australia is a pretty good climate for succulents! I'd also love to see photos of what you're working on in your new garden. What kind of native plants are you looking at getting?

@goatcheese
Ooh I love strawberries. When I was little, there was a wild strawberry bush growing beside my house in the middle of suburbia! I loved eating the berries, even though they tasted a little odd. :P Also, how long does asparagus take to grow to where you can eat it?

@goatcheese
Nice! :D I hope they taste amazing!

oh man maybe i can get some help here lol
OK SO i got a succulent from a friend for christmas but!!! i have no access to sunlight in any room in my apartment and i asked my sister to take care of it when i was on vacation but my sweet babie turned from

into this poor soul


i can't afford the electricity for a sunlamp so is there any way for me to keep this thing alive until spring when i can put it outside once in a while

i love succulents but i can't really keep any of my own bc unfortunate apartment placement but!! is there hope for this child

I used to have a 'pet' Norfolk Pine when I was a little kid, but... after we moved it stopped thriving and slowly died

I wanna get another one... or maybe a cactus baby. I wonder what I'd name them...

Hello :)
Those succulents look so pretty! I must admit I know very little about them, even though I have some (outside). I bought them in a pack for pretty cheap to place in a little stone wall and they looked really great. I lost some over the years though and there really were only two kinds so maybe I should get 1 or 2 new ones this year.

Seeing these pictures I kind of want to get some for indoors too... but I have a bad track reckord with indoor plants and it would probably be a waste :/

YES, spring! yes, yes, yes... I was so happy the last few weeks with all the sun we were getting and everything looks so promising this year!

I have been shopping but havent't bought many plants yet. Just some cucumber and pointed cabbage saplings^^ I needed some other things and it was soooo hard to resist all those colorful pansies though. Thankfully I have a lot blooming in my garden already so I can save my money.

I have been getting a lot of work done in the last two weeks though. I made a ton of cuttings that are all doing really well and I'm so, so excited for them to get strong enough for me to plant them/gift them away. (gonna take a while though xD)
I rebuild part of the small wall of one of the flowerbeds, cut away most of the dead parts of my bushes and prepared and planted my vegetable garden.. I got so carried away with all those other things that I haven't started any seeds yet except for the ones I need for my vegetable garden. I need to get that done in the next few weeks or else I'm going to have some empy spots in the summer. On the bright site since I'm late with my seeds this year I might change it up for once and don't grow the same flowers as I do most years xD I really want some strawflowers...

Oh and I got a (indoor) succulent much like the one inusui posted from a relative that was rotting and falling apart so I cleaned of the parts and put them on some soil and have been watering them very carefully and they haven't died yet. One part seems to grow a tiny root so I'm hoping I can grow a new plant from it... I suck at indoor plants though so idk xD

@Inusui
I'm so sorry - I know this is a thousand months too late but I just noticed your poor succulent post from January! It looks like a classic case of rot from either watering too often or from a soil and/or container that holds too much moisture. Unfortunately, most succulents are sold with improper soil or containers. They need gritty soil (at least 50% rocky substrate) and a container with a drainage hole, and only to be watered when the soil is fully dried out. (For me, that's about once every 2 weeks.)

Basically, when moisture sits around a succulent's roots for too long, it weakens the tissues, which opens up a gateway for common soil pathogens to enter. In the wild, succulents live in well-draining sandy soils and on rocky slopes in shallow grit-filled crevices. They're not built for the dark, peat-rich potting soil we use for most plants!

I know it's probably too late for your beb at this point, but I hope this helps you understand what probably happened!

I just left a job in which I got to take care of plants all day, which I loved! I've got about a billion pothos clippings - my S/O started getting worried as every day it seemed like I came home with another cutting in a paper cup. /sweats
I also have a lovely jade plant which was given to me by a friend from work. He hangs out with me at my desk:



(my apartment is north-facing so he doesn't get as much sunlight as he would like :( )

With Mother's Day coming up, I've made my Mom and my Grandma each a succulent fairy garden! (Apologies for the pollen-covered table in my pics!)

Mom's takes inspiration from Asia, with a Japanese fairy, cranes, and dragon statue. I'm really proud of this one!



Grandma's is a little more traditional. I might clean it up a little more before giving it too her... it feels a little chaotic. But she likes bright colors and critters!