{"id":551,"date":"2020-06-27T18:31:52","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T18:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goldenglowbees.com\/?p=551"},"modified":"2020-10-06T00:53:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T00:53:12","slug":"its-not-all-about-vegetables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goldenglowbees.com\/?p=551","title":{"rendered":"It’s Not All About Vegetables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now that our vegetable gardens are well-established, it was time to take care of an eyesore that I couldn’t avoid any longer. Right off my family room, and visible from the kitchen core of the house, is a patio planter box that had been neglected for too long. Unsightly but not out of sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Before and After! (2 months later)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    We received a gift of gorgeous cuttings of hydrangeas from close friends last week. They don’t live far away so I wondered, can I grow them too? I’d always avoided hydrangeas because they are notorious water guzzlers, but surely one or two won’t break the piggy bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Larry & Cindy’s<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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      Cut Hydrangeas<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      I happened to be at Home Depot yesterday and passing by its garden center I noticed glorious hydrangeas in full bloom. A sign for sure, so I bought two, one predominantly blue and one pink. I know the pH of the soil determines whether the flowers are blue or pink<\/a>, and I’m not sure how I’ll keep the soil of one hydrangea acidic and the other alkaline, but I figured if I want variety, I might as well start out with both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Digging up the planter box wasn’t easy because it had been established decades ago and the roots and tubers were extensive. I shook off as much dirt as I could to save it, and then added copious amounts of soil amendments and patio planter potting mix. I like to use the time-release, higher nutrient soil specially designed for containers when plants don’t have the benefit of being in the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n