Bye Yew Hedge, Hi New Hedge: The Optimist's Garden
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- tamara_peters
- Carol Wallace
- biogardener
- Carol Wallace
- biogardener
- tamara_peters
- Carol Wallace
- Carol Wallace
- Liatris
-
Michael Vyskocil
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» tamara_peters - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Very Interesting Optomist's Garden!
In response to message posted by CarolWallace:OMG! I sure don't need any more weeds. Argh! That's one of the reasons I'm getting rid of these gardens; the weeds were taking them over. That, and most of my perennials didn't come back this year.
Hmmm, when I went to the greenhouse, the other day, she said I was the second person to inquire about my clematis not blooming. Wonder what's up with that? Sounds like yours is being stubborn as well.
My clematis has climbed to the top of the whatchmacallit, I've fogged out the name, lol, which is about 6 ft. tall.
I've never fed my plants either Carol, and they're lucky to get water most of the time. :O Another great feature about hostas. 
I spent a couple of hours this afternoon dismantling that front garden. I moved a daylilly to the back and a couple of black-eyed susans. I love those. I'm going to try to save the Siberian Irises as well, but I'm not sure where to put them yet. There wasn't much else growing in there except those darn weeds. LOL
I had planted a purple sedum in that garden, but it seems to have disappeared now. It probably should have been among the rocks out back I guess. I planted some of the rock plants just in front of, and behind, the two small rockwalls.
I didn't try unscrewing the chicks yet. I thought I'd let them be for the time being and do that next year. They're fun aren't they?
There's a couple of big projects that I won't be able to do myself though. We need a new retaining wall for one yard. The present one is slowly disintegrating. I'm afraid that the apple tree, that was there before I was born, will have to come down in the process. It's now laying on that wall and is being held up by a board. LOL I sure hate to see it go though. 
Yeah, I never knew this part of gardening could be so much fun. I don't know what I'll do when I run out of projects. Although, I have enough to keep me busy at least this year and next.
All that hoeing is killing my arms so I guess I need to give it a break.
Thanks for all your help..
-- posted by tamara_peters
» Carol Wallace - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Very Interesting Optomist's Garden!
In response to message posted by tamara_peters:If only we could grow our desirable plants as easily as we grow our weeds, right?
I wonder why so many of your perennials didn't come back? Did you check to see if they were hardy in your zone?
I think people expect to buy a small plant and have it poerform and look like the photos on the tag almost immediately - but in my experience it takes at least three years for a plant to really achieve what it should. Not all plants - some perform quickly no matter what, but many require time and patience. I've found that with clematis, personally. Even more so with wisteria - people are always asking why theirs hasn't bloomed, but very few nurseries will tell you that it can take 7 or more years for that to happen.
Siberian irises like damp conditions if at all possible - or at least a place where they can be watered wasily.
You can plant your rock plants right in the wall if you first stuff the crack with dirt. Sedum and sempervivum are very happy growing in the wall. I was amazed at how they took hold and prospered even during drought when plants in the soil were dying. In the wall they got almost no water at all! We had so little rain that they couldn't have absorbed much and I couldn't stand there watering the wall when so much else needed moisture.
Go ahead and unscrew a few chicks - even tiny ones. They will grow quickly and you'll get that much more coverage and display faster.
Are your retaining walls dry stone? Ours are and the way they eventually start to fall apart is their biggest drawback. We have one that runs all along the front of our property that needs help - it has to be a couple hundred feet long and the very thought of rebuilding it is daunting - luckily Roger has been pretty good at shoring things up without starting from scratch.
It would be sad to see that apple tree go - you ight be surprised, though. Apple trees seem to be remarkably persistent - at least judging by those on our land. There is one that was here when we moved in, aith a major limb practically detached from it. We kept meaning to cut that off, but the darned thing kept leafing and blooming despite its tenuous attachment to the trunk - and it still is! Twenty years later.
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» biogardener - Protecting their native rights
Carol, when I look at any plantings, my first thought is not to the look of the property but to the welfare of the plant. All my life, I have studied in what kind of environment a plant prefers to live, e.g. on what soil, what drainage, what light conditions, along with what other plants. I gather that information from the wild, not from man-made plantings.Some of the plants you describe are generally found growing in the shade of deciduous trees, i.e. in shade, at least until they are tall enough to outgrow the deciduous trees, and some of them grow in shade all their lives. Are you considering their native rights by allowing them their preferences?
-- posted by biogardener
» Carol Wallace - Re: Protecting their native rights
In response to message posted by biogardener:Are you talking about the plants I put in my front yard, Traute? I was also careful about their light requirements. We have a lot of deciduous trees in the front yard (in fact, all over the property - it's why I have such a plentiful supply of much and compost). They plants will get some morning sunlight and then shade. It was actually difficult to find dwarf conifers that enjoyed some shade. So many that I liked seemed to want full sun, which I couldn't give them.
As for my temporary plantings - a lot of them were chosen because they have appeared naturally on the wooded side of my property; those that seem to like it sunnier were sited closest to the front steps which, given the siting of house and trees, gets more sunlight.
Native rights - that's a nice term. I've always thought of choosing the best place for something as "thinking like a plant" - in other words, knowing where it came from and what it enjoys in its native habitat. But so many of them surprise you. Echinicea grows well in drought, but also likes and thrives in wetter conditions - may actually prefer them. Yet they are among the most vigosous growers in my main garden, which was pretty dry the past several years. My geraniums look great in the woodland area, but self-seed and prosper on the sunny clay of another area. My first rock wall sedum was a volunteer from a plant in the raised bed that went to seed. I figure if they volunteer for a different environment and seem to thrive there, then I am honoring their preference. If they volunteer but wane in health as a result then I know the plant made a mistake - not me.
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» biogardener - Sounds great
Sounds great, Carol. I shudder when I look at the front yards in my neighborhood with cedars and junipers in full sun when they rarely see sunlight in their native habitat. Of course, those trees and shrubs don't do well, and no one understands why. So they cut them down and plant some more, and the cycle starts all over again.-- posted by biogardener
» tamara_peters - In response to <a href="/discussion.
In response to message posted by CarolWallace:Carol, I've heard from many people, those who work at greenhouses as well, that this past winter was especially hard on perrenials. I guess I'm not the only one who lost theirs.
Ahh, but patience is one thing I don't have. LOL I want them to bloom now darn it! ;-)
I've never done much of anything to those irises, and they've always done well, until that is, Richard started wacking them down after they'd bloomed. :O They didn't do so well this year. I still can't decide where to put them, but I'll need to move them soon because I bought something else to put there already. I bought an Endless Summer Hydrangea today. I've always wanted one so I'm very excited about this. I think it will look great there. It's blue right now, which I don't particularly care, but hopefully that will change as I don't believe the soil there is acidic.
Okay, I'll have to try unscrewing a few chicks. I was just afraid to disturb them too soon.
I had to get out of the greenhouse quick 'cause they were having a 50% off sale. Good buys, but I could have gone crazy. LOL
Yup, our retaining walls are dry stone. Well, it looks like my father had actually cemented between them long ago, but that's pretty well crumbled now as well. It can be shored up for now, but eventually I'd really like to replace it and extend that yard out further also. It's the one we use the most.
I know I would sure hate to lose that apple tree. It's been used and abused for many years, but keeps right on blooming. The blooms are so fragile though that every Spring I lose them, within a few days, because of either wind or rain.
Now I have to go talk my husband into digging a really large hole for my hydrangea.
-- posted by tamara_peters
» Carol Wallace - Re: Sounds great
In response to message posted by biogardener:I have to admit one instance in which I wasn't true to the plant's nature and that is near the large pond where I wanted Japanese maples. They really prefer some shade, but the nursery where I bought it prides itself on its education and knowledge and the owner assured me that while during the first year the leaves on the tree might look slightly crisp, the plant would soon adapt to the brighter conditions. And they did and are growing into gorgeous specimens.
But for the most part it just doesn't pay to ignore what the plant needs and wants. They will never look as good or grow as well and will simply end up being more work for the gardener.
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» Carol Wallace - Re: In response to <a href="/discussion.
In response to message posted by tamara_peters:You're right! Since I spent most of the winter absolutely cooped up in the house I'd forgotten - it really was more harsh than we've had for many, many years.
Gardening forces patience. ;-) But we can also learn a few tricks to help tide us over. Like using annuals as filler between our perennials. Annuals tend to bloom all summer so that there is always something to look at. And I tend to use a lot of plants with colorful foliage so that there is color even when nothing flowers. In fact my favorite garden is one that scarcely has flowers at all - just leaves in different shades of gold, blue, urple and green. Hardly anyone ever notices the lack of blooms. Unfortunately that's the gardens that the voles have decimated for two straight winters.
I also forget that your climate is probably even more harsh than mone - although not as harsh as that in which Traute gardens - or Marilynn, for that matter. Our apple tree's blossoms never last long either - but enough do that we always have a few wormy apples falling on the lawn in late summer.
If your soil is limey that blue color should start to change. I've never actually altered the pH of the soil to see how that happens, but I'm betting the blue will start to look more lilac at first - and from there, who knows. There are a few blues in hydrangeas that are really lovely - but none of those grow reliably here.
-- posted by Carol Wallace
»
Michael Vyskocil
- A Clever Idea
I like the concept behind the "Optimist's Garden." I think an important part of gardening is having that optimistic attitude about the plants you put in and the space you create.
And I agree, I've seen one too many houses lately with those green mustaches.
-- posted by Michael Vyskocil
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