Linda's Garden: My Plantings
My Garden
We are
situated on just under 1/3 acre of hard clay. Once this was
farmland, but when it was divided up for housing, they sold the
topsoil and left us with near hardpan conditions. We are the
second owners of our house, and as I didn't like what little
planting the former owner did for landscaping, I ripped it all
out and started over. Why live with their mistakes? Of course,
I did keep the two Blue Spruce in the front yard, the two silver
maples, Ash tree, and line of Blue spruce (at the back of the lot).
These trees weren't placed necessarily where I wanted them, but
having trees that were bigger is better than all twigs!
My Garden Projects--The list for hubby
Scott and Jimmy
made me a lovely watering can fountain for my garden. The fountain consists of a watering can, a support pole, a galvanized washpan, a pump, and some tubing. Scott has bent the metal pole so that it will hold the watering can by the handle. He sodered the can to the pole at the handle and the side of the watering can so that it won't shift. The pole sticks into the ground and positions the watering can so that it pours into the big galvanized washtub. Scott cut a little hole into the side of the watering can and fed copper tubing into the can. The tubing leads to the bottom of the washtub and connects to some plastic tubing there. At the bottom side of the washtub, he also cut a hole and fed copper tubing through there to draw water from the tub into the watering can. Inside the tub is a small pump that connects to the tubing at the bottom of the tub (feeding water to the watering can. I hope I explained this clearly enough.
I may put some water plants and goldfish in the washtub nest year. I might also put some big rocks to camoflage the pump. I have temporarily placed it in the perennial bed just off the back deck. It might stay there as I like the idea of listening to the water and seeing it when out on the deck. I took some photos of it, but then the camera broke and I exposed the film when I tried to get it out, so you'll have to wait a bit longer for those pictures. Sorry!
Of course, I wouldn't be a good wife if I didn't add additional work to the Honey-Do list from time to time. I have also put in a request for an arbor made from copper piping. Hubby has suggested Rebar (sp?) as it is cheaper and will be covered. I agreed this would be acceptable, but I still don't see an arbor being constructed. I think I have over-stepped the realm of the likely to happen anytime soon, but I can always hope! My climbing roses need something to climb. Maybe I should have waited before buying
those? Oops! My mistake! I keep pruning off the longest canes (taller than me!). This should keep them under control for awhile. Maybe I should learn to do this myself--it could be faster. Unfortunately it may be a while before everything gets completed and by then, I'm certain to have a whole new list!
My Plantings
I planted about 580 bulbs in fall 1997 for spring and I did enjoy their show very much! The fact that many of the bulbs (purchased in prepackaged bags) were not the variety that was on the labels did make me somewhat angry (afterall, I had spent a lot of time (and some money) putting in just what I wanted for the results that I wanted). I have decided not to buy bulbs from this supplier again. I thought that I put in 200 crocus (mixed), bags of miniture daffodils, Grape Hyacinth, Salome daffodils (guess again, I think they may actually have been Ice Follies, but it's hard to tell when they aren't labeled correctly), and a few asiatic lillies. The miniature daffodils were just beautiful in the Hosta bed (the smaller bulbs were easier to put through those Maple tree roots, but it was still hard going under there!). The crocus were mixed in with the Salome daffodils (that weren't Salome, but some other kind). These daffodils are here and there among the tree/shrub plantings and the perennial bed. The Lillies are in the perennial bed as well. I'm satisfied with the bulbs on the whole, but I sure wish they would have been what they were labeled!!!!! I learned a lesson though. I hope you don't have to go through the same. But be forewarned, this has happened to many people I communicate with.
Down in the Basement
Under lights during winter and spring we grew annuals, perennials, and some vegetables. We got started a bit late this year, so they started small.
What was under the lights? Glad you asked: Royal Bells White Petunias, Crystal White Zinnias, Purple Prince Zinnias, Salvia 'Victoria blue', Exquisite Pink Zinnias, Lemon Drop Marigolds, Butter and Egg Marigolds (these get 4-5 ft high!), Thread Leaf Marigolds, Naughty Marietta Marigolds, Gem Marigolds, Cosmos, Alyssum, Basil Siam Queen, 5 types of tomatoes (Dona, Carmello, and more), many types of peppers (haberno, jigsaw, Pretty in Purple, Granny Smith, Mixed color bell peppers, Anaheim, more), and much more than I can think of right now.
Front Plantings 1998
Photos coming soon (I hope)... In the front flower beds I have planted the purple zinneas, white petunias, Raspberry nasturtiums, Angel Blush Cosmos, and salvia 'strata' (my crop of Victoria Blue didn't do well, so I had to buy and Strata was what I was able to find). Unfortunately, rabbits got most of the nasturtiums!
Front Plantings 1997
The front beds were planted with the following:
Cherry Rose Nasturtiums, Royal Bells White Petunias (my
favorite petunias--they grow bushy and don't sprawl), Petite
Yellow Marigolds,
Rose Queen Cleome, and Victoria Blue Salvia
(another favorite--they are so beautiful!). Yes I like Pink,
Blue, White, and Lemon Yellow. I have Pansies and ageratum (blue and white variaties of Royal Surf. The Pansies are blooming again
in autumn. So
many of these flowers attract
butterflies, which is one reason I grow them. So far this year
we've seen Monarchs
and Swallow-tails (both tiger and black), Painted Ladies, and other
butterflies I don't know names of. I vary the color
scheme and flower selections every year. My son and I grow our
annuals from seeds under lights in the basement. We started the
petunias in February and the others a bit later. It is fun to
be able to garden even as the snow drifts past the windows.
Perennial Plantings
We start many
plants from seed. Others
were purchased at my garden club's plant sale and still others
purchased from my favorite nurseries or catalogs. The bed has
Fantasia Delphiniums, Songbird Columbine, various Coralbells and
Hostas, Peonies (7 varieties), Lillies, hardy shrub Roses, perennial
Salvia, several types of Iris, Shasta Daisies, Coneflowers (pink and white), Ferns, Solomon Seal,
Aruncus (Goat's Beard), Astilbe, Jacob's Ladder, Pinks, Sedum (Autumn Joy,
Carmen, Vera Jameson), Liatris(purple and white), Pink Butterfly
Weed, Coreopsis (Moonbeam and the pink variety), Lamb's Ears,
Veronica (Sunny Border Blue, Minuet-pink, Icicle-white), Bleeding
Hearts (pink, white, and Luxurient), Asters, White Shasta Daisies,
Campanula, Filipendula (Meadow Sweet or Queen of the Prairie),
Husker Red Penstemmon, Russian Sage, and
more!
The perennial bed is still rather new (started three years
ago) and as much was grown from seed, some is blooming for the
first time (such as the aruncus! It's so wonderful to see those long awaited flowers!).
Vegetable Bed
We plant a small vegetable bed on the south side of the garage. In this bed we planted: Blue Lake Pole Beans, Pretty in Purple Hot Peppers, Jigsaw variaged purple hot peppers, Siam Queen Basil, various colored bell peppers, Granny Smith Bell Peppers, Anaheim chili peppers, various lettuces, purple kohlrabi, Thumbelins carrots, Dona and Carmello French Gourmet Tomatoes, someother tomatoes I can't name at the moment (picked up at plant sale - they looked awfully tempting!). It is a small and compact bed, but when we focus on growing upward, we get more produce per foot. As it is very visible from the street, I grew a border of lemon drop marigolds around it to unify it and disguise any bad areas. It is truly a pretty garden.
Hedges
I put parallel lilac hedges on both
sides of the back yard over the last few years with varying
levels of success. The south hedge is finally doing fairly well.
Originally, I knew nothing of plants and figured, if I stuck it
in the ground it would grow. Ha Ha! Not so! After several years
of watching plants die and replacing them, I finally got the
hint that I should till and amend the soil (doesn't that sound
professional? I learned it by joining a garden club). So we did
it. I ripped out the lilacs, added compost and gypsum. My
husband then tilled it in (sweet man that he is. He has now
taught me how to start and use the tiller). I replaced the
bushes, ran a soaker hose down the row, mulched with black
plastic (except where it came into contact with a maple tree. I
used landscape cloth there), and covered the plastic with wood
chips. Now that side is doing much better. I did loose some new
bare root lilacs I added. As I'm tired of buying new bushes, I
attempted to propagate some on my own. I was warned that the
success rate would not be vey high--and she was right. I got two
cuttings to root out of about 15. Well, it's two more than I had!
I am growing Chinese Lilacs, which don't sucker, so I can't
just replace with suckers.
This is how I did it. I took cuttings off my strongest growing
bushes, dipped them in
rooting hormone and placed them in an ice cream bucket in wet sharp
sand. It takes several weeks for them to root. Good Luck on your
attempts!
As for
the the north hedge, I have stalled for a while. The soil has been
amended and tilled and the plants (that survived) have been
replanted. I have installed the edging, laid most of the plastic,
hauled wood chips, etc. I have decided on Red Prince weigela. I bought 12 plants 50% off at Kmart (they were very sorry looking, but a good soak put them nearly to rights quickly). I just need 4 more and I'll have enough for the hedge. I hope they'll grow quickly. The few lilacs that are still living in this hedge will be moved to the south hedge, as there are more holes there to fill.
Hosta Glade
In my small Hosta Glade
, I have several types of Hosta growing under a Silver Maple.
Digging through those roots can be a challenge! I have Honeybells,
Gloriosa, Royal Standard, Gold Standard, Valentine Lace, Golden Tiara,
Halcyon, Hadspen Heron, Sum and Substance, Albo Marginata, and
several that I don't know names of. I think I have about 15 varieties
in all. A gardenweb friend has given me a blue hosta she
has to add also. Isn't that nice?
© 1997, 1998, 1999 Linda's Garden
Updated on March 17, 1999
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