Tell The Truth Tuesday #4

 Continuing the project of several weeks ago, completion of the paint job on the second compost barrel.  I bought a rattle can of a subdued green to use as the base color.  The leaf silhouettes were done over the green base with ivory and brown.  This barrel turned out a bit better than the first.  I went over the first one with a light spray of green so it would look more muted.  
Practice helps? The second attempt is better than the first, but it looks like military fatigues fabric:  
The surprising thing learned via this attempt at beautification is:  spray painting is fun.  No wonder teenagers spray paint stuff.  I enjoyed it.
Any improvement over the originals? 
Here's something that looks fine, but holds an embarrassing secret:  the 'Sticks-on-Fire' Euphorbia tirucalli in the corner.  I originally stuck it there because it kept falling over and falling over and I was too lazy to anything but stick it in that corner.  It inadvertently worked, color-wise, with the 'Brass Band' rose and 'Kalaidescope' Abelia there on the lower left.  It also covered up some ugly but necessary pipes.  None of this is the embarrassing part.
 The embarrassing part is the size of the pot it is in.  This pot is only about 6" (15 cm) wide and 14" (35 cm) high, containing a plant over 7' (2.1m) tall.  I assume the root system has grown out of the pot's very small drain hole, and into the ground.  Actually, as I think about it, when the Euphorbia needs to be moved, I can just cut the root going into the ground--no digging required. 
 To tell another truth, I buy cheap Dahlias, not the good kind from mail order specialty growers.  I get the big-box cheapos bagged up by the hundreds of thousands (millions?) in Holland.  Four for $9.98!   I'm picky about plants, but not when it comes to Dahlias. 
 'Tahiti Sunrise' got planted along the top of this raised bed that was formerly reserved for tomatoes.  I'm giving up on tomatoes this year.  Last year, Beloved said the ones from the store had more flavor than the ones I grew.  Boy, was that humiliating.  

Extra added embarrassment in the photo:  the state of that blueberry bush in the top right corner.  Give the poor thing some N already!  The rest of the bed I planted with onion starts right before last week's wonderful rain.  Onions must be the easiest edible ever.  Plant.  Make sure there is irrigation.  A few months later, harvest.  
 Besides Tuesday truth telling, I've been back at rose pruning.  It was too rainy last week to do any outdoor gardening.  

Pruning bouquets:  The red-striped rose is 'Red Intuition'.  The orange-y one is 'Easy Does It', pale pink is 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', lavender-pink one is 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh',  floppy mid-pink buds are 'Belindas Dream'

 This is the state of the roses now: 
 Prickly 'Tamora'
 I wondered if Aloe capitata ssp. quartziticola 'Yellow Hoodie' was going to bloom this winter, but decided it doesn't have to.  Incredible cool pink foliage color, the same color as the flowers of 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh'.  Who needs flowers? 
 To end, the colorful bracts and pollen-rich cone of Leucadendron 'Rising Sun'.  It truly looks pretty sunny. 
 Check out the Tell The Truth Tuesdays at Bonney Lassie.  TTTT is about admitting we don't blog about the embarrassing parts of our garden unless there's a meme for it. 

Comments

  1. I've been tempted to buy cheap Dahlias by the bag at Fred Meyer, but I've worried they won't grow. Perhaps I should just buy some and fill some empty spaces with them. I like what you're doing with your compost barrels. I don't bother growing tomatoes any more either, we can get such good organic ones grown locally here.

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  2. I've got something of the same issue with my 'Sticks on Fire'. My "mother" plant is in a strawberry pot that's much too small for it but, as it's happy there, I've let it be. Cutting it back seems to make it grow wider and wider and one day I expect I'll have to break it free but, by that time, I'll have filled all the empty spots in my garden and neighborhood gardens with its progeny.

    Best wishes with the remaining rose pruning!

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  3. I bought, at a different shop, the cucumber as it was when I was child, with a bitter thick skin.
    And went back to our usual shop, and their English or Mediterranean cucumbers - which I could devour every day!
    Currently growing tomatoes from seed my sister gave me ... we will see, if they stay yellow. And if they taste good?

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  4. :: Onions must be the easiest edible ever. Plant. Make sure there is irrigation. A few months later, harvest. ::
    And no humiliating criticism of the flavor from Certain Household Members! They are simplicity itself if the soil is fertile, friable, and weed free. In the open ground, they're a lot more work because onions, with their short roots and compact above-ground foliage, are less equipped to fight for their ground than most other veg. Because of that, non-organic commercial onion fields get some of the heaviest chemical treatment -- another great reason to grow your own.

    That two-toned stripey 'Red Intuition' rose is just gorgeous (and the softly shiny green container perfect for it). Ideal for cutting, since I'd imagine the stripes aren't very visible outdoors or at any distance? Perfect to celebrate today's victory for public education! ;>. Or, if you prefer, an early Valentine's Day bouquet.

    I'm afraid the camo effect of those trash cans overwhelms the attractiveness of the leaf-prints for me. Hey, it's truth-telling day...

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  5. I think your paint job is a great improvement of your compost bins. Now that you have your technique perfected you can to on to other things that could use a good paint job. It looks like you have been keeping busy during your rainy spell. You have a nice collection of roses. The firesticks are just amazing to me. I only see them in small pots around here and they usually don't have that beautiful color. Enjoy your winter tidying.

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  6. A great improvement over the original compost cans! Maybe spray paint is the answer to your remodeled bathroom color question:) Nothing embarrassing in this post. Gorgeous roses in December? Swoon.

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  7. Roses! Love those colors. I do not envy you having to prune Tamora.

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