The Summer Garden Has NEVER Looked This Good!
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- After a long trip, I came home to one of the most abundant summer gardens I've ever had at the homestead. So much has grown in over the years, but even the annuals are doing well - proof that continually improving soil health over time pays big dividends.
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Well, after jealously admiring your homestead for years, I’ve finally got my own. Two weeks in and putting plenty of the knowledge learned here and from Charles dowding to practice. Thanks for sharing all these years Kevin and epic crew👊
congratulations!!! that's my dream too!
🎉❤
Congratulations!! 🎉 Wish you all the best!!
Congrats and good luck❤
Outdoor shower plant ideas:
1. Long narrow deep planter pots, put the horsetail plants in the planters to contain them.
2. A small clumping species of bamboo, or contain a small spreading one in planter pots.
3. A narrow hedge.
4. Espaliered dwarf trees or shrubs.
5. A gentle climber that will cling to the outside of the decorative panels and not rely on staying up by entangling itself through the gaps in the panels (eg: some types of ivy, virginia creeper)
6. Cover the walls in little pots full of Australian species' Dendrobium orchids - they're sun loving orchids, the leaves will burn and look a bit rough in the sun, but they'll grow and flower like crazy and they'll grow upwards, sideways, and hang down, covering quite a bit of space with each plant.
7.If you don't like orchids, then wall pots with any kind of hanging plants, herbs, strawberries, lettuce, whatever.
8. Tall flowers blended to alternate so whilst one is dormant and cut down, another is acting as the cover, egs: tree dahlias (they should grow great in your area), sunflowers, tall lily varieties, tall irises, hollyhocks, etc.
9. Reverse the whole thing and put planters at the top of the walls and grow plants that will hang down.
Ah, Kevin, I just love walking around your homestead! As someone who began watching your videos before the homestead was even a twinkle in your eye, you have done an amazing job of gardening. But, speaking as an older person who devoted her younger days to growing children (2 generations), I think the most marvelous and inspiring thing I delight to see is how much you have grown and evolved as a person through this epic journey. The examples of building an urban homestead are truly inspiring; but, the examples of keeping an open mind, being willing to learn about and try new ideas, of creatively solving problems with simple solutions, of accepting failure as the first step to growing better (in the garden and in life) are an ongoing gift of encouragement and a delight to share with you. Thank you so much! "And, keep on growing." ... Oh! And posting to UA-cam! 😊🙋♀️👏👏👏
I have moved away from stressing over maximizing production to growing more for beauty, wildlife, etc. Making that shift has hugely increased my enjoyment of the garden.
I've been growing for variety this year and it's been great to have a little something new every couple of weeks
Absolutely need a combination of beauty and necessity. When people visit our garden, they describe it as magical. We have lots of butterflies because we have the greens for the caterpillars as well as the nectar for the butterflies. You want a feast for the eyes and soul and feast for the body. It satisfies deeply. Love your posts, I'm learning and laughing a lot more.
i love when people are willing to share where they "failed" so others can learn.
This was such a chill catchup, thanks Kevin.
Star Jasmine or Bleeding Heart vine would be perfect for your outdoor shower. 👍
@GardeningwithPurpose329
I was thinking Jasmine too.
A mix of day & night blooming varieties would be nice!
Only...
I was wondering if they might be a bit TOO GOOD at covering those pretty panels... ?
Horsetail is a beautiful architectural plant and looks great there. Put it in some fancy planters to contain it!
We moved 7 years ago to a blank slate and each and every year is different. We have 6 raised beds, in ground planting and lawn and I have to say that I love it more and more each year. Each year I focus more on what our little family enjoys to eat and the flowers I love to grow. There are challenges and wins each year. My nemesis is fruit trees. This year out of 10 trees, 2 died, 2 are on their way out, 2 didn’t produce anything, 2 died last year one had plums that a bear ate and one is still growing apples. Aaaahhh! I feel like pulling them all out accept the apple fill in the holes. Oh well, the berries and veggies keep on growing and producing!
Your Amaranth looks amazing and adds so much to your space.
Anything that vines would be perfect for the shower. My friend has a wall of morning glory.
Such a nice garden. Amaranth is so pretty. I've been gardening for decades. Now that I have a routine...its so peaceful to be out there.
I've been following you guys and learning from you for 2 years, but didn't start gardening til only 4 months ago. I started planting indoor plants last year to add aesthetic to our home, but the giddiness I get from looking at my veggie garden, my guava tree in its own Epic tree surround, and the cosmos, the alyssum, the lupine and the marigolds, aaaand cooking the shishito peppers I grew myself, all these surpass the happiness I get from watching my pothos and monstera grow. I encountered my first tomato grubs yesterday 😢 and wanted to quit gardening so badly but I woke up this morning and looked at my mammoth sunflowers as big as my head and I don't think I can quit yet! 😊 Thank you so much, Kevin and @jacquesinthegarden for keeping me inspired ❤
for shower plants…maybe use large pots instead of the small planting area and plant jasmine vine?
The growth habit of that horsetail plant is no joke. I've seen it do some CRAZY things. It's super cool looking, but it's good that you're going to let it go before it takes over. What about a nandina/heavenly bamboo instead? They can be kind of soft and lacy. Your garden looks great. I totally hear you, Kevin, about developing more interest in the landscaping/beautification aspect - on that note, have you ever checked out the Northlawn Flower Farm channel? She has a productive flower farm but at one point she got away from rows and started growing in landscape beds. She's created something really special and productive. Her eye for composition and design is really advanced. Happy growing, everyone!
Your garden looks great! And yes, my perspective and garden has changed a lot. I would say mainly in fruit tress, also plants. A couple areas, particularly the “tropical” look and feel in one corner by our spa has stayed much the same since I first put it in 2006. Still my favorite spot!
This year I am fighting infestation of different insects on different plants at different times just a constant fight. I’ve been gardening for 3 years now. 1st year was ok, I killed a lot of things while learning. My 2nd year was abundant my successes outweighed my failures. This year is terrible😂Ga heat wave, 4 weird new insects/foes were attracted to my garden this year. Lastly a tornado like funnel came through yesterday and trashed my greenhouse. 2024 garden is a hot mess. I’m still going to be planting my fall garden though😊
For the shower enclosure, I'm sure that one of the native prairie grasses would do well enough. That's a pretty narrow bed, so I'd still with something like Switch Grass. There are a lot of cultivars on the market and maybe Northwind would work for your application. You'd have to cut and divide it every other year, but that's just giving you a ton of free mulch to use around the garden. Panicum "Northwind" gets up to 6' tall and has a good vertical habit. Or, look into Little Bluestem "Standing Ovation" as a shorter and more compact alternative. Legendary root system that builds the soil, and about 4' tall at the most. I think it'd fit in that space without any worries. Again, a good upright growth habit that'd not impede on the walkway too much.
I love horsetails especially with your style! Transplant the horsetails into a tall narrow trough planter that matches your screens. It will now be elevated to provide you more coverage and it will stay contained. If you still decide to replace the tails, I’d be happy to take them off your hands. If you want a vine, I love stephanotis. It’s tropical, thick leaves, grows beautifully and fast, and the blooms smell sooo good!
Ferns would look awesome by the garden shower. There are so many kinds of ferns, surly there'll be a great one to use.
Those might be ant alates (kings and queens with temporary wings to fly and meet other ants). You probably have an ant colony there and they were coming out for a mating flight, somehow other ant colonies of the same species know to go out on the same night
Been gardening my whole life in a backyard suburban garden (50..ugh...odd years); first as a helper to my parents putting seeds in holes barely out of diapers....now in raised beds edging my condo back patio. I've gone from fun plants to now trying to maximize every inch of productivity and preserving health food.
Oh no.... horsetail is SO invasive. Honestly, I have heard that the only way you'll be rid of it is to move to a new house. Your horsetail variety looks a little different from the truly invasive stuff we have here in the PNW, so I really hope you'll fare better. Good luck!!
Equal opportunity Gardner 😉 everything very pretty even the little kitty 🐈 your overall developing design continues to have a natural harmonious flow
Glad to hearyou are enjoying your garden in a different more relaxing way😊
Iʻm still a beginner in the garden but older in age so I went right to the relax stage and learning from your channel on how to do the best I can. Thanks!
Kevin, I’m so happy you are finding joy in the flowers! I’ve been gardening for 34 years. After my first taste of a homegrown tomato I knew I needed to learn to grow food. I’m letting myself relax into finding serendipity in the garden. I used to weed out anything sus immediately! This year I lightened up and discovered helpful native plants and flowers that re seeded themselves. I’m enjoying my garden more than ever. Isn’t that what our gardens are meant for?
Great tour! Another benefit to having your own chickens is that you know exactly what goes into the eggs you collect. That's a big benefit! Greetings from Michigan! 😊
The gardening journey or life cycle has been on my mind lately. The parents, grandparents, and other adults I used to observe gardening when I was a child learning from their experiences, many now have scaled back their gardens or given them up altogether (or have passed on). Just as we younger ones are coming into our own gardens, the older generations are letting go. It’s an exciting time for us, but bittersweet as I garden and recall sweet lessons learned from my elders in the garden.
There’s some good ideas here for the shower area. Another thought might be canna lilies. They would enjoy the extra water and would be perennial in your area. Concerns would be are they too wide and how much sun. But would certainly add drama!
Garden’s looking great, thanks for sharing 😄
Wait on moving the roses until winter...they will do better if transplanted while dormant. I'm in 10a and don't do that until Dec/Jan. And for the love of god, don't plant running bamboo around the shower. But there are some good clumping varieties that might work. Just realize that they too can spread (slowly) if watered. Keep them pretty dry after established. 💚
I’m glad I’m not the only one concerned by the bamboo suggestions!! Like talk about spreading problems.
Laura has a couple of in-depth rose pruning videos … specifically the arbor roses at either end of her raised bed vegetable garden. I think you’d like it.
That’s one epic garden!!!
What about just using an ornamental grass around the outdoor shower? It should get pretty tall fairly quick, especially with extra watering, and I'm guessing that you could pick a variety that suits the area and gives you only the amount of spreading you want.
This! There are some native species to California that get super tall and beautiful
Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden. It brings me joy to watch the progress and get some inspiration for my own small container garden. I have been interested in gardening since 2008, but waited until 2022 to do anythjn. I am a renter and my garden goes with me. Because of videos like yours I find a great amount of joy and aspire to have a little homestead (with chickens!?) one day. Take care!
Love gardens that nourish my soul and spirt as much as nourishing my body.
Oooooo what about something like bunny tail grass by the shower? I think that would be so cute and give a subtle beachy vibe!
My first thought was also some super tall pampas-style grasses!
Everyone is suggesting vines but I think some tall grasses would be a better replacement for those architectural looking plants. There are some really cool California native grasses he can pick from as well.
Great comments by your viewers, Kev. I particularly love the idea of star jasmine on your shower. Another idea is clumping reed grass. I've been gardening for over 40 years, was a master gardener for a spell, and have to say your garden rocks. You're doing such great work and sharing it with us - this old girl is still learning good stuff from you all. And, the older I get, the more I appreciate the aesthetics of a garden, not just its productivity. Carry on. 😊
I’ve been waiting for a tour! Your garden has looked so good in recent videos. Middle of winter here in Australia and your garden is giving me life! 🌿🌻☀️
Pampa grass to replace the horsetail? They come in white, brown, pink, etc.
climbing ,roses can be pruned after bloom is done. the ownroot roses would probably be easier to move in january after pruning.
Hmm... If that areas where the horsetails are doesn't get regularly watered, I would suggest Pedilanthus bracteatus. It's a type of succulent that's tall and slender. Or plant some Strelitzia juncea (the Narrow-leafed Bird of Paradise). They produce rhizomes, so I don't know if they're as aggressively invasive like the horsetails.
I have my very first Pink Lady apple growing in my mini orchard! Most of my trees were planted last season. I'm not seeing disease, but pest pressure is ugly. Vine borer got my Blue Hubbard squash, earwigs are prominent (that's why you soak your artichokes in salt water), there's a gopher that killed 2 artichoke plants and several perennial flowers (Grrr!). Kevin, did you know your chickens can have the Amaranth flower heads as a treat? You could water glass your extra eggs in order to have them in the winter. When I lived in SoCal, my girls laid eggs all year long. Now they've acclimated to the Boise, ID weather and did not lay eggs last winter. As to your outdoor shower, what about a container garden of Zebra grass?
you can crack and freeze the eggs in ziplocks to use in the less egg season. crack in large bags a bunch for quiche and scrambles. smaller bags with just a few for baking, meatloaf, etc..
It would be awesome if you could have a drone shot and jump to that shot and highlight where you are in the yard, Kevin. It's hard to stay orientated without seeing the bigger picture... Maybe talk with Eric and see if he approves of a tour video with highlighted drone area shots 😂😂 I have also had a lot of disease and pests this season. I've had early blight which is something I've never dealt with before.
I'll see what Eric can do!
Plant butterfly ginger behind the shower!
I had a cluster of passion fruit come up right under my cattle panel trellis. I didn’t know it would grow here but an animal must’ve dropped the seeds. We have a native variety and I’m not sure if this is but I’m letting it grow and we’ll see what I get!
Kevin, you can Air Layer one of the Avocado limbs, therefore you will have a small tree with roots of the exact tree.
Also, those look like termites.
Your garden has grown in so well. I love it!!
I'm new to your channel after meeting you for the first time during Your and Laura's (Garden Answer) visit to the Aquascapes ponds. I am in to vegetable gardening and find your channel very enlightening though your zone is quite different from my muggy, wet zone 8B in eastern NC. I like your concise and educational videos and will probably back up and watch you from the beginning. Oh yes, just found out about Epic Homestead too from the Epic Gardening channel! I appreciate how you have input from a NC gardener too!
Hey Kevin, love the roses and suggest to plant them in more of a shady area, if you haven't already and a bit further apart. Roses stunt each other's growth unless you graft them. But then it becomes a pain when cutting them back. Differentiation in case of a necessary cut back can ultimately remove the grafted variety.
The shower: LOVE THE SHOWER
Root barriers for the beautiful horsetail all around. OR... monstera, strelitzia or an edible like Lemongrass, Taro for roots or leafy taro for the stalks and leaves. You have enough moisture and it looks as if you're using the plants to soak up the shower water. That means you can introduce more tropical plants.
If you'd like something more fragrant you can have a jasmine climbing up or for texture and food: longevity / malabar spinach. Grapes would make a good addition as well but get very woody. To grow something below the vines, edible Lily or Iris is stunning. And as a cover crop creeping thyme, rosemary, Irish/Scottish moss. If you walk on the first options, you get a scent with every step you take... they also look fantastic in the cracks of the pathway.
I'll be looking out for your choice(s).
Honestly I just started recording my gardening journey and taking pictures. I hope to post a journey soon, just figuring out how. Your videos are incredibly inspiring and high production. I'm only a few seasons in but I decided to start rescuing roses and different trees from local big box nurseries and it's been really nice Addi lots more color and height. Also adding some shade cloth for my kids. These 105° f days are really harsh and my poor plants get get water later in the evening and by 2pm next day the leaves are all drooped 😅 clay soil is so much fun to grow in
Am I the only one bothered and stressed out by how chill that cat looks, while it's tail is sitting right under that rocker chair? LOL!
I have gardened for decades, and it's always evolving. Early on decisions were definitely based on cost and time.
Now I'm still frugal, but I've realized that it's my main hobby and I get so much pleasure from the process and all the harvests are just a bonus.
About 5 years back I put in stone raised beds....contractor thought I was a bit nuts with my design and all the cuts needed to construct, but I love it and it's now a garden I can age well in and enjoy. It has beauty and great function. It's also not a cookie cutter look in anyway.
Your summer garden is amazing. I remember when you first started your garden on this property and it's so cool to see the mature garden. I'm learning so much and getting so many ideas for my own garden. And I'm now defaulting to buying from you instead of the big box stores. Which is going to be a lot as I plan for the fall garden. So thank you for all you do!
My verbena is a perennial that grows 5-6 ft every year and hasn’t grown wider than the “bamboo” sections you have.
Also I have Rose of Sharon bushes that are easy to keep thin and tall. Both have beautiful flowers!
I would use lemon grass around the shower. But I love the smell, so...
Also, I love your channels. Even when presented with "un-success," you stay positive. And your property is amazing, full of health for the body and mind.
Guara looks like dancing butterflies. I’d plant that to screen shower screen walls.
Beautiful gardens! Loved the tour. My favorite part was when you were talking about your neighbor 😊
Scanning through my UA-cam garden shows I came across your face and recognized you from the Pond Tour in Chicago last week! Now you have a new subscriber.😀😀
Cut off the left banana hanging flower. So the fruit can focus and grows faster
I love your outdoor shower! It’s beautiful.
We have also had a lot of blight/fungus or similar problems on all types of crops this year in several areas of the garden, but in other areas, no problems. Bad year for tomatoes and winter squash, but other things like cucumber, zucchini and peppers going ok. Yet to get a pepper harvest other than Guindillas (chilli).
To replace horsetail: Arundinaria gigantea. It's a bamboo native to central & southeastern US. Not too aggressive or too terribly tall, but should nicely shield the area.
I got two roses rooted in 2 inch little pots, moved them up to something bigger, bit of water, and in a window under full shade.
Your homestead is insanely cool Kevin! #Lifegoals 👊🏻🌻👊🏻
Kevin you could plant your pumpkin on the grass area next to your front container gardens
Stonehenge Skinny Yew around the shower, can even get it at Home Depot. Beautiful green, columnar style, great plant.
I think that you should replace the horsetail for some luffa gourds.. Just in case you forgot to bring your bath sponge, you can easily pick it off the plant!
What a beautiful yard! I cant even imagine being in such a warm growing zone. 5b here and its lovely but a short season :(
Excellent 😊🎉
I subscribed to this channel 🙏🌱
Diseases haven’t been an issue this year, but good lord have pests. Overwhelming amount of slugs, earwigs, squirrels, rats, etc.
I’m loving the abundance in your garden! That’s how a garden should be, beautiful yet productive.. my kind of garden Kevin. I’m dead jealous of the hot weather you have, you can grow every single fruit tree in the world.
Plant lemongrass by the shower! Low maintenance, gets super bushy. Something else you can harvest and use and it will continue to make more. But not invasive
You could use Japanese holly shrubs for around the outdoor shower area! They grow very tall and are beautiful ornamentals
Your corn looks great - I got the Botanical Interests Buttergold corn and it looks anemic! I sowed the seeds about May 1 and the stalks are 3-4 feet tall at most with undersized cobs on them. I am not sure what I did wrong - full sun up here in Orange County just 80 miles from you. My beans and pumpkins I planted around them are doing great - I’m doing the 3-Sisters so the beans have grown around the corn stalks (maybe that is the problem - but a common way to grow them).
Since you have those lovely metal panels for your outdoor shower, rather than obscure them with something that grows tall, what about grow something that grows a foot or two high, and on the inside, line the key panels from maybe 2 feet up to maybe 5 feet off the ground with something that is mostly opaque, like darkly tinted glass or polycarbonate?
I love your videos and yes the gardening over the years will change your outlook on your garden. I have been gardening over the past twenty years and I still love my perennial garden. The garden change ever yearand I love it so much. Thank you for all the great tips and info for the veggie garden ideas. I have 8*4 foot raised bed and just grow a few vegetables 😁
so glad babka is still alive
The garden's look wonderful. Not sure why you want to move those roses - I think they look nice. You could plant something to add some color in the off bloom season though. I have been gardening for as long as I can remember (decades), all of it in zone 3. Although I like some things in efficient rows, I quite like the varied heights, textures and wild growth of a "naturalized" bed. Quite enjoyed the tour. Sorry have no real good suggestions for the shower other than things like virginia creeper or planting the grapes on it and letting them naturally flow up the screens. Well done Sir!
Love the memorial bench by the pond. Can imagine having conversations with Dad sitting there.
I had 4 hens once, and had more eggs than I knew what to do with. I wound up giving some to my mail carrier. 😂
The property I live on now is in a tiny cramped subdivision, and im so grateful to have space to garden, but I'm REALLY sad there isn't enough space for chickens. :(
Great show Kevin! Absolutely beautiful!
Wow!! The homestead looks amazing!
I've been gardening for over 20 years now and I would have to say I do tend to lean towards the cottage style garden. I thoroughly enjoy the visits from the wildlife (birds, groundhog, etc). I'm super happy that last year's end of season perennials all did well. The veggie garden is more pots as I'm trying to rearrange my garden and the growth hasn't been great. Would love to put in a little water feature too. Thanks for the garden tour Kevin!
For the outdoor shower, why not plant sugarcane around it? It grows fast and tall, and it loves getting watered. I bet it'd be really happy in that space, and then you could eat it in fall.
Two other options that seem good to me are clumping bamboo (not running bamboo unless you want a weed problem, ha ha), or something in the Zingiberales order: bananas, cannas, arrowroot, any of the many species of ginger, cardamom, birds of paradise if you want a pure ornamental, etc.
I remember Rob Greenfield had some banana plants around the outside of his outdoor shower, and they seemed happy there. So I'm thinking anything with shallow roots that wants a lot of water in a hot, arid climate, which means most plants in the same order, would enjoy being planted around an outdoor shower. As a bonus, a lot of them get quite tall and have wide leaves, so they'd work well as a privacy shield.
Cannas are a tasty root crop, by the way, so if you want to have an ornamental that doubles as an edible later on in the season, you could go for those!
Thanks Kevin, my garden is booming this year and it's still Winter here in South Australia! Cheers mate!
I did that trench method this year, and got absolutely nothing! Not one tomato from 3 plants, and one died! I reset the last two by removing old foliage and letting one sucker grow, and one was still struggling, so I pulled it out. The last one is looking good but no fruit. I planted new tomato plants this week, the normal way, they’ll probably catch the last old one. I did notice the plants were putting out roots on the exposed stem too, which didn’t happen in previous years.
Your garden looks beautiful. I love the tall red amaranth. I’m growing a couple too. Too bad you can’t keep the horsetail. It looks really good. 😊 The cats are feeling at home.Sweet
I've been gardening 4 yrs in buckets, on patio chairs, to deter gophers. I started with 6, now I have 50. This yr I'm going to take your advice and keep one chair to sit on and enjoy the garden.
With your climate, you could do Italian Cypress or juniper around the shower.
Love your channel and ace homestead! Thank u for sharing ❤🇨🇦
I like your shared insights and shifts.
I would love to see you and experiment with just one raised 4x8 bed and see what all you could grow. Most tract homes (like mine) do not have a lot of room to grow a bunch of seasonal veg so I think this would be a good seasonal project for you all.
Beautiful!
I love the Bermuda grass meadow. Its such an evil plant and its so nice of you for growing it. haha
Espalier roses along a wall or fence where they have some protection plus reflected light. Avoid planting where you might be scraped by their thorns...maybe on either side of the passionfruit wall. The established dragon fruit are epic. Yay bananas
Verticality is real nice. My tunnel house was lame, but I potted some older taller plants to make it feel more immersive and natural. I definitely need to do the same outside like you have.
🌺Aloha Kevin, just a suggestion, but you should cut the flower from your banana plant. We found that our bananas gets bigger since the energy is now focused on the fruit. I've heard you can also eat the flower, one day I'll try a recipe using the flower. Great seeing your garden. Mahalo for sharing.
Will do!
I havent had much luck transplanting roses. Maybe air layer some cuttings and just plant new ones in case these dont make the move.
I think Canna lily's would be good coverage for the shower area Rio is tropical and pretty and gets pretty tall
I would do jasmine vine by the shower. And love how your garden is showing off 😍