The Bearded Gardener

Hi, I'm Matt. I've been gardening since I was a wee lad. I'm a photographer and web designer day to day but try to spend as much time pottering about the garden as I can. I grow a lot of flowers purely for photographs and attracting wildlife. I grow my own produce as well as my own herbs for cooking and medical purposes. I've set up this blog to document what I'm growing, my successes and failures in the garden, to reblog garden inspiration and to post any tips I have or come across. I hope you enjoy my blog.

[eartheasy]

Turn your garden into a bee haven with these common plants :)

[beardysgarden-blog]

This Years Purchases -

Dahlia - Night Queen

Dahlia - Marble Ball

Dahlia - Babette

Zantedeschia - Picasso 

Pollenless lily - Elodie 

Gladioli - Kings Lynn

Gladioli - Black Star

[woodendreams]

(by Patrick :))

[anniesoga-deactivated20190421]

The Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden, April 2014

[nybg]

It’s our last weekend of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary before we move on to new spring and summer exhibitions. We’ll even be open on Monday, April 21 to send it off in proper style. And with the orchids just as flashy now as they were at the start (and the weekend weather promising good things), now’s the time, folks. —MN

[mothernaturenetwork]

Tree tunnels are perfect examples of how nature can be shaped over many years by humans and other external influences. When paths and roads are carved into the ground, nearby trees bend outward into the new patch of light to receive more energy for photosynthesis. This process continues until the tree branches on either side completely overlap, forming a thick ceiling over the pathway beneath. Take a stroll beneath these 9 natural tree tunnels

[plant-a-day]

Photos courtesy of Kallima Garden, sandjd, and Philippe Pechoux.

Helichrysum milfordiae aka Alpine Everlasting and Milford Everlasting. Native to South Africa. Hardy in zones 6-9.

[qdork-deactivated20200126]

[smart-gardener]

Mesmerizing tendril.

[theleoisallinthemind]

[studioplants]

Propagating Succulent by Leaf Cuttings and Beheading

If you caught my previous post, you know of my unsightly echeveria. Well, today was the day to give it a fresh start by creating little babies from it! This is my first time attempting to propagate by beheading the top of the plant so I followed Needs + Leaves guide (it’s an amazing post!).

Completely taking apart a succulent is so daunting, but I thought, what do I have to lose? Here’s what I did:

The Cutting:

Took away all of the middle and bottom leaves by gently wiggling them side to side - they come off very easily!

Sliced the remaining rosette off with a clean, sharp knife/shears

Sliced a bit more of the stem because it’s so lengthy

The Initial Wait:

After removing all the leaves and the remaining rosette, I laid them on top of a bed of soil 

Waited a few days for the ends of the leaves and stem to callous over - usually if the leaves are removed cleanly, they don’t take longer to dry out, the stem may take a bit longer as the “wound” is larger

The Maintenance

Once everything is dry I leave my cuttings by the window with indirect sun

I mist lightly the cuttings twice a day (morning and night) though I know you can do it less if you water more thoroughly. My studio is very dry so I mist more but that’s just what I do

I’ll be posting progress photos at major milestones of this growth journey as they happen. Thank you to everyone who left tips previously!

[hqcreations]

Garden Irrigation with Ollas

Ollas are an unglazed terracotta vessel that traditionally resembles a bulbous vase with a tight neck. The vessel is filled with water then buried in the soil. The water slowly and gently releases through the porous clay to hydrate the plant.

Super bummed out we couldn’t find a pottery studio to make our own, so I’m experimenting with some ~8in high terracotta pots that should serve the same purpose. Protip: reuse wine corks to plug up the drainage hole. I bought matching lids to cover the pots to prevent mosquito infestations and reduce evaporation.

So far so good. I’m only testing on the gardening box that receives the most intense amount of sunlight. The water levels were almost completely drained at 7 days with temperature ranging for 30F to 60F in the past week. I’m sure the water level will go faster in the summer, but at least this means I can take a few days of vacation and not panic. The drawback to my vessels is that it does take away a bit of surface planting space.

I’ll probably do an update this summer to see how things hold up!

[biodiverseed]

Three cheers for osmosis and capillary-action, the two best friends of gardeners interested in water conservation.

#garden hacks #garden science 

[softgardening]

DIY Garden Trellis Projects

[smart-gardener]

Wouldn’t this be pretty for peas? 

[smart-gardener]

why and how to compost

Over 30% of the food that’s produced on Earth goes to waste. Discarded food usually ends up in landfills: It’s a major cause of avoidable carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Composting isn’t a solution to the problem of food waste, but it does keep kitchen and yard wastes out of landfills (plus it’s really wonderful for gardening). Composting is easy, especially if you’ve got some outdoor space: I hope to inspire you to get started with composting if it’s not something you already do.

read more

[thisbeckhamlife-deactivated2020]

My herb garden.  Currently there are only three things in it.  Stevia, mint and chives.  I had actually grabbed seedlings for rosemary, thyme, parsley and sage when I realised that I would never use them.  Well, maybe every now and then, but certainly not enough to warrant planting them.  Just seemed like a waste of time.

I want to get a few more but Mitre 10 didn’t have them and I couldn’t be bothered going back to the Springvale Garden Centre the other day.

I intend to also plant onion chives, lemon grass, peppermint and basil.

I feel like if you take the time and effort to plant and maintain a herb garden it should be filled with things you will actually use.

[smart-gardener]

Love the reuse of the old tub! 

[beardysgarden-blog]

Watch out with that mint, before you know it it'll have taken over the entire tub.

[takepart]

We cannot afford to have lies spewed about global warming - the health of the planet depends on it!

[beardysgarden-blog]

One for the Tomato growers.

Smash up 4-5 egg shells, after having bacon and scrambled eggs on toast, and bury them in the soil under your tomato plant before you've put it in it's final position. If it's already placed, you can put the egg shells on the soil around it. 

If you have a pestle and mortar, grind up the egg shells into tiny pieces so they break down faster. If you don't, just break them up and put them in the soil. You could probably break them up with a blender too. Mix some water in with them when you blend them though.

Hell, you can even sow your seeds in compost using half an egg shell as a pot for an early calcium rich start.

The calcium will result in a stronger plant, jucier, more tasteful fruits and will prevent blossom end rot.

You're welcome.

[petiteplanet]

I planted a maple seedling on a seiryu rock in a keto-like soil, with some mosses

[fuck-yeah-aquascaping]

I decided to put this rock aside, due to the heavy white coloration. It seems it found its role :)

[beardysgarden-blog]

I love this. So beautiful and simple.

[beardysgarden-blog]

Summer Mix #1

I also planted up these this evening. It's a mix of summer flowering bulbs my granddad gave me last year which were too late to sow. 

It's a handful each of Sparaxis Tricolor, Ornithogalum Thyrsoides, Freesia Gemengd, Irises, Crocosmiiflora and Tigridia Pavonia.

Assuming they grow, which they may not as they're old stock, they'll shoot up with no order whatsoever, just entangling with each other in what I hope will be an amazing show of colour on the patio in the late summer.

Here's hoping it all works out...