Gardening Question of the Day for Monday, April 6, 2009
(Via Gardening Question of the Day (from The Old Farmer's Almanac))
I want to plant roses, but sunlight is scarce in my yard. Can I do it? (answer).
I want to plant roses, but sunlight is scarce in my yard. Can I do it? (answer).
From The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Dear Dee and Carol, (April 5, 2009)
(Via Idaho Gardener)
I am still entertaining myself by spending long hours (too many) ogling back issues of Gardens Illustrated and making plant lists as I go along. Betwixt & between horizontal snow flurries, driving rain & what I swear to you are unseasonably cold temperatures, I wander aimlessly along the flower beds, notebook & pen in hand. I am creating and recreating knock ‘em dead planting schemes for the warm, scorching days I know are coming.
A compulsive list maker, I have four going right now: ideas for containers, new perennials & trees, combos I want to try and “heavy stuff I need help with”. A sampling:
Ideas for containers
I am seeing rhus typhinia ‘Tiger Eyes’ used to great effect; I will try two of them as the “thrillers” in some jumbo pots.
Guara, the deepest pink, for “fillers”. That blowsy look is good.
Callibrachoa did really well for me last year. I will try a hot pink one for the “spiller”.
I ordered some Espresso glads from Select Seeds. They should be arriving in the next day or two. I’ll manage to cram these into the containers as well. Dee, you talked me into the glads. Now how do I plant them?
Perennials/combos/trees
Pendulous, weeping Blue Atlas Cedar. They look especially nice against the peach color of my stucco, and I want to get one established with the penstemons grasses. What? You say I should have STARTED with backbone plants like conifers? Conifers are pricey, and I, like so many other gardening enthusiasts, have been known to do things backwards.
Mooncarrot (a pudgy Queen Anne’s lace look-alike)
Veronicastratum (gotta have it cuz Piet O. uses it all the time)
Rattlesnake master (I saw this in the Lurie and Piet O. was responsible)
Persicara ‘Firetail’, doing really well in the front bed, need a boatload for the back perennial garden
Rhus typhinia ‘Tiger Eyes’
Sambucus ‘Black Beauty’
This brings me to the next topic, the back perennial garden. When we re-graded the back area, we made borders on each side, plus a long expanse of mixed fescues for a wooly and untamed look. Well, Flyboy can’t help himself and has to mow the damn thing. This defeats the whole intent of wild and wooly when it’s mowed and clipped to parade rest. I have been campaigning for two years to do away with this motley mess of half-assed turf. It’s not doing well as a turf lawn and not allowed to grow wild, therefore, not thriving. He has reseeded and reseeded the bare spots. I am not sure how to prevail, but know that I will. I want to plant the entire area as a shrub and perennial garden w/a wandering path of gravel through it.
If “turf wars” aren’t enough to make me tear my hair out, I am having some planting issues. I tried to sit outside last night, just long enough to admire the sunset and have a glass of wine. The entire frigid yet bucolic scene was cut short when I thought I saw fresh gopher mounds exactly where I had just planted the digitalis ferruginea, and where my coveted eremurus are popping up. Then I spied the cattywampus clods of plants cast about and realized who the evil doer was: Cash the Wonder Dog. I changed his name to Mud.
And now, ladies, I bring in the big guns. Sometimes you just have to get yourself a good man or three. In my case, I caved last year and hired a team of big, strong guys to tear out old shrubs, limb up the 25 foot deodora, dismantle a sloppy 50 yr old stone retaining wall, and haul all the cuttings and stuff out of here. These fine fellows are coming again on Monday, over the feeble objections of Flyboy.
Tactic: “Honey sweetness, why don’t you go fishing with your brother? I’ll pack your lunch and flyrod.” He fell for it. So, I’ll have three men here for about two hours, taking out the straggly Diablo ninebarks, lifting and splitting the miscanthus gracillimus (to be replaced with the much shorter Adagio), and yanking out the hideous school-bus-yellow rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne.’ In my garden, that color is like fingernails on a chalkboard. I would not be surprised if some of the ailing turf happens to disappear on Monday. Ahem.
As for keeping up with the Joneses, yesterday I started the seeds for heirloom tomatoes and Italian roasting peppers (thanks for sharing Dee), basil, Giant Indiana Cockscomb , Turkish Orange Eggplant and nictotiana mutabilis. My thought is to direct sow some of the nicotiana and cockscomb outdoors when the time comes and see which plants do better.
Yours in mud and sunshine,
Mary Ann
Ps, all the greens I planted are up. In 6 days. Teen-ninesy but up!
a
Comment on Getting Organized by Jessica
(Via Comments for Anne's Garden)
Hey, you had someone prune and spray for you? Who/where/how much? I think we need to do that. We’re not ready to figure out all these fruit trees yet!
The hidden costs of doing business
(Via The Blogging Nurseryman by Trey Pitsenberger)
Why is it that seed companies, or at least the seed company I want to do business with, require that you purchase the seed rack? You know, the metal spinner that holds the seed packs. If I don’t have to buy the rack then they require that I pay the freight to get the rack [...]
Why is it that seed companies, or at least the seed company I want to do business with, require that you purchase the seed rack? You know, the metal spinner that holds the seed packs. If I don’t have to buy the rack then they require that I pay the freight to get the rack [...]
Creating a Garden Entrance
(Via Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas)
It's always a wonderful experience entering a garden but often the garden entrance can leave a little to be desired. In many cases the entrance to the garden can be understated (at best) or completely unrecognizable (at worst).
It's always a wonderful experience entering a garden but often the garden entrance can leave a little to be desired. In many cases the entrance to the garden can be understated (at best) or completely unrecognizable (at worst).
And, to be perfectly honest, there doesn't even need to be an entrance - but we often expect to see some delineation between what is, and what isn't, the garden. Logically we expect to see a location where the garden begins.
The garden entrance could be as simple as a gate or elaborate as a hedged pathway passing between a dry-stone fence. Fortunately there are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes an entrance point to the garden but they are significant in the way they filter visitors into your yard.
So why have a garden entrance? Is it a necessary component of the modern garden?
As homes get smaller and smaller many home-owners have opted for more open yards. The reasons are simple; gardens aren't so cluttered, they're easier to maintain and it keeps the costs down for landscaping the garden. But, it doesn't offer a lot of intrigue to the garden or any privacy.
How can you create a stylish garden entrance?
The first step is identifying how people approach your yard. Our garden, as an example, started very open. A large part of the landscape was our double-width driveway that seemed the logical starting point. People who arrived in cars would park on the driveway and then access the garden, and our house, by this means. Visitors walking off the street would then have to bypass the cars and access the garden through another point.
It seemed logical to divert this traffic into a common focal point and hence the birth of our garden entrance began. Apart from the driveway the remaining front garden is hedged with some westringea and this is interrupted by a rose arbour - the garden entrance.
The next step in creating a garden starting point is to understand how visitors are going to traverse your landscape. But even more important is what you want them to see and experience. If convenience is your aim then choosing the most direct route is probably a key factor. However, if your desire is to engage your visitors with the garden then directing them through garden beds, annual plantings and landscaped features is part of the journey.
The final step is choosing what design would make an appropriate entrance for your garden. Should it be ostentatious? Secretive, and deserving of further exploration? Or something a little more minimalist? Whatever you choose it should reflect the current design and style of your garden. Here are some ideas;
- Simple fence and gate - the easiest of garden entrances is just a simple garden fence with a gate to break the barrier.
- Arbour or Pergola - covered in a creeping rose or some climber this entrance can offer some romanticisim and mystery into your garden. It provides a very welcoming gateway to your yard.
- Stone Pillars - a formal structure such as pillars can easily direct traffic to a centering focal point and inform your guests as to where your garden starts. Using materials such as stone or local rock can even offer some age to your garden.
- Archway - not to be confused with an arbour or pergola an archway is fairly two-dimensional. It draws a garden entrance together by keeping some continuation but adds the dimension of height and use of curves to delineate the starting point.
If your garden is lacking a focal starting point consider one of the options above or try creating garden entrance that fits your current style. Your visitors will thank you for it.
Gardening Question of the Day for Sunday, April 5, 2009
(Via Gardening Question of the Day (from The Old Farmer's Almanac))
I live in the Midwest and am interested in planting day lilies. What time of year should I plant them? (answer).
I live in the Midwest and am interested in planting day lilies. What time of year should I plant them? (answer).
From The Old Farmer's Almanac.
