I'm gonna use this thread for a mini neighbor gripe I have myself. My next door neighbours are not tacky, nor are they crappy. In some things, they are just oblivious.
I know I've mentioned this on A2K before, and I am going to bring this up in light conversation the next time I see them, but I guess I'm using this for practice on how I should say this.
First though, what I am NOT going to say, and what's going on.
ok, I'm aware that we are in a drought. It seems we've been in a drought since I first bought my home in 1991. I got rid my my lawn, planted low water plants, mulch, etc. and now it's paying off. From the pics below, you can see things are growing, nay, thriving.
That's because even if there's a drough, plants ******* need water. A nice deep slow drink once in a while.
I guess I now consider myself a gardener, pretty much self taught, with friendly advice from others. I've had my share of failures, which is part of the game.
NDN (next door neighbor) have a great house, have spent a lot of money on it, built it from the ground up. Most recently they have spent what I estimate to be a shitload and a half on someone coming in, planning landscaping around the entire house, buying, planting, etc. etc.
They had a sprinkler system put in, and when they built the house they had a fancy schamancy cistern installed.
What they fail to realize is, when you put a plant in the ground, especially before it gets established, it's not like putting a pretty vase up on a shelf, and walking away from it.
Their sprinkler system (which would be better suited to a lawn, not the plants they have paid a lot of money for) is on a timer, that goes off every few days, for, no kidding, like 5 minutes. The ground is so dry, it mainly just runs off. Even if it were lawn they were sprinkling, at that rate it would only promote shallow roots. Oh, they also have the sprinkler set to go off at around 5pm, the hottest time of the day. God only knows how much of the water is evaporating in the air. Last year, before the landscape artist got around to their front yard, they had planted a vegetable garden (she fancies herself a gourmet cook. The kitchen was by far the most expensive room in the house to build. Professional grade stove, oven, etc) I think she got a totally of 3 crappy looking tomatoes from the deal.
Sometimes you have to be absent from somewhere for awhile to see what it really looks like. At least I do.
While I was on vacation, my neighbor Bill gave our crepe myrtle a really good, slow soaking, and the tree was entirely in bloom when we came home. In fact, it's the only tree on our entire street that blooming.
The lantana were blooming, the cigar plants were twice as big (they still have a ways to go) I immediately picked 20 ripe tomatoes, 1/2 dozen bell peppers and 10 cucumbers.
I'm not bragging, I'd never grown food before in my life, and only now am I getting my gardening legs under me, so no one is more surprised than me. The point is, I'm amazed at what some good soil, a little fish emulsion and some water will do.
The next morning (I was still on vacation the rest of the week) I went outside and was dismayed looking next door. When I first moved into my house, for the first 12 years my neighbor was Andrew, who lived in what was then a little 600 sq foot cottage. At the border of our property there was, and is a mountain laural. Each Spring, beautiful purple blossoms, bright leaves...a happy bush.
I looked and realized how distressed Andrews mountain laurel was, as well has some half dead rose plants that they had put in last year around the laurel.
The sprinkler system does not extend out there.
I knew Andrew would be clutching his chest in horror if he saw this, and I realized "This is enough" and left my hose running over that area for a few hours, at a small trickle. The next day the laurel looked better, the roses plants (no flowers of course) looked bewildered. I felt like I was looking at neglected little children and realized I couldn't let them go back.
I got out my nursery style watering device, and gave them a long overdue drink.
Right now, most of the rose plants have sprouted new leaves, and 2 of them have actually put out little buds, one of which is blooming. I don't know if it's too late in the year, but I would love to get Andrews mountain laurel to bloom.
Sooooo.....between the time the plants perked up from their slow trickle watering, and the time I just decided to give them a good soaking, I was chatting with the neighbor over the fence, so to speak.
I said (in an indirect way, that's the way you do it in Texas) "I hope you don't think I overstepped my boundaries, but when I was watering last night I noticied your laurel and roses looked a little distressed (a little, yeah
), so I took the liberty of laying the hose on them for a couple of hours. They look much better.
She absently looked over there and said "oh.....well.....be my guest"
Be my guest?
Internally I was thinking "Honey, you have about $500 dollars (or more, and that wasn't paying for the labor, or the designer) worth of unestablished plants here that are barely hanging on, some plants you put in the ground last year that never bloomed last year or this, and are shell shocked, a beautiful old bush with many years ahead of it that distressed, and some new trees that at 8 o'clock in the morning have drooping leaves."
What I said of course was more like "How 'bout them Lakers"?
I honor/memory of Andrew, I've made up my mind to take over the care of mountain laurel. But I'm not their gardener.
Next time I see one of them, I was going to bring up this...
I thought it might be good to say something like "You've invested so much money on these beautiful plants, I hope you don't mind a little advice"
I think he'll listen, though I don't think he's really get it....A month ago, when he was slamming something into the ground, I mentioned how it's visually pleasing to have plants in groups of 3 (I more meant in groups of odd numbers, like 3, or 5). It was totally off the cuff, and I didn't even think he heard me. But, next week, when he was back at it, I had to laugh because he had bought 3 of everthing.
I think in the long run you don't use much more water taking care of something right, like deep watering occassionally, then by torturing the plant with barely enough to keep it alive.
I do know the plants and trees give back more to the environment, and to the eye, when they are healthy.
