Seeking Garden Design Advice
Annie Shaw
17 days ago
last modified: 17 days ago
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Jj J
14 days agofloraluk2
14 days agolast modified: 14 days agoRelated Discussions
New Garden, seeking hedge/screen advice
Comments (1)Lex: while photos are extremely helpful to us in visualizing the situation, the one you provided is not doing your garden justice - it's a bit too small and the panorama effect distorts the perspective. Is it possible for you repost with individual photos of the garden areas rather than a panoramic composite? And a quick plan sketch with some measurements would be equally helpful. Beyond this, suggestions will be unfortunately vague :-) Depth of available planting areas will determine to a large extent what can be used successfully for screening as well as layering.......and if this is your intent, it is best to err on the side of generosity. And some quick thoughts on plant selection. It's impossible to see from the photo provided where formalized, sheared hedging may be appropriate. Arborvitaes are ideal for taller formal hedges and pruning or shearing is optional, as many (like the Emerald Green) are by habit narrow and columnar. For shorter hedges, box or Japanese holly are popular and for good reason, but germander, rosemary, even lavender could work in the right situation. Formalized hedges require ongoing routine maintenance to keep them looking sharp, so keep that in mind when making your plant choices - don't select a shrub or tree that naturally wants to grow to 20+ feet when all you are looking for is an 8' hedge.......too much work involved :-) Otherwise, an informal screening as a backdrop for lower plantings is relatively easy to achieve, provided the depth of the planting bed is suitable. A mix of evergreen shrubs/small trees and deciduous plants will accomplish this, with the weight placed on the evergreens. Your second group of listed plants could comprise the bulk of this, but I might consider replacing the viburnum choices with the evergreen V. tinus and adding Choisya ternata, camellia or smaller selections of Hinoki cypress. I am personally very fond of fastigiate hornbeams for deciduous screening purposes and use them often in designs. Their very upright and dense branching structure makes them pretty effective for this purpose even out of leaf. Carpinus betulus 'Frans Fontaine' is my cultivar of choice. And some of your listed plants are just not well advised for your area or for the purpose you have in mind. Butterfly bush is a listed Oregon invasive plant, redbuds tend to be rather short-lived in the NW, sumac suckers aggressively and over a wide distance and privet has a host of issues that make it a less than wonderful choice. Hope this will be a start to get you thinking. And come back to us with more photos if you can....See MoreSeeking advice and help with walkway garden.. pics.. long
Comments (8)If you have any plans to put in a more permanent walkway, I'd stick with a few annuals and perennials in the planting area until you decide what you are going to do. Any shrubs or more permanent plantings will get destroyed if you ever do any construction in that area. Usually the hardscape would be done first, plantings later. Spend some time lurking and reading old threads on the Perennials and Shrubs forums, and your regional forum. Also visit New to Gardening to learn some basics about soil, and gardening techniques that will ensure a reasonable level of success with your plantings. Go to the library and take out some books on gardening and design, and visit nurseries in your area to see what plants are available that do well in your climate. Read the tags on the plants, and takes notes. You can look the plants up later on the web to learn more about their characteristics and cultural requirements. Once you have your garden area prepared, experiment and have fun. Annuals will give you a lot of color all summer. Perennials will increase in size and return every year. Ordinarily, I would recommend some shrubs, but if you're going to make changes later to the walk, I'd hold off. Also, you'll need to know how much sun that area gets and what kind of soil you have. It will probably need a lot of amendments due to compaction from construction around the house and the habit builders have of taking away your topsoil and replacing it with crappy subsoil. The area under the deep overhang of the roof will not get any rain on it, so keep that in mind when planning for plants. Until you learn a bit about gardening and the plants you would like to grow, and gain some hands-on experience, your results may be disappointing. As you learn more, your taste may change, so start out slowly and don't try to do everything at once....See MoreSeeking advice re: my plan for turning lawn to organic garden
Comments (6)Your plan seems reasonably complete but I would change the order - site prep first (clearing out any existing plantings, layout of features, grading/excavating, lasagna conversion), then the hardscaping. Planting is always the last step in a landscape renovation other than any mulch application. Not sure what kind of lawn type you have now, but if a Bermuda grass, the lasagna method is not gonna work. Even digging out the sod and flipping it over and piling on other layers will not kill the Bermuda. It will remain around forever and create a huge weedy grass issue. If a Bermuda grass lawn, you will need to kill it off somehow before attempting the lasagna layering. Otherwise, I agree that mowing the lawn short is not a requirement but might make work easier. Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar holds a 'California Friendly' gardening contest each year. These are conversions of water consuming landscapes into eco-friendly, drought tolerant but still lush and attractive waterwise and fire retardant gardens. Whether or not you choose to enter the contest, looking at their album of gardens from previous contest years could be a great inspiration. And they carry a wonderful selection of appropriate plantings. Worth a Sunday drive for a visit if nothing else ;-) And I'd suggest you post in the regional California Gardening forum your request for sources for materials. Locals will have a much better idea of directing you to appropriate vendors for your needs. Craigslist is a good resource as well. As I stated in your previous post, this is really more of a landscape design issue than necessarily one just focused on soils or organic gardening. You've got the concept nailed down pretty well..........it's only the methodology (organic or not) that is up for discussion and it is certainly possible to accomplish your intent without resorting to chemicals. But don't get too wound up in the "organic" mindset. Sometimes this terminology can get confusing and interfere with the most efficient process to achieve your intent. This is more an issue of sustainability or designing your garden to accommodate your climate with minimal input and recycling materials to create the effect you want. And the recycling can/should include the hardscaping and mulching as well as the lasagna layering. Here is a link that might be useful: California Friendly gardens...See MoreSeeking advice for garden path compatible with big dog.
Comments (22)Cheryl, Thanks for permission to steal your idea. Who said "Wmitation is the greatest form of flattery."? Also love the Gale Garnett quote. Isn't the next line "We'll dance in the raindrops, we'll dance everyday?" (A must add to our hurricane song list started during Hurricane Frances, if I can find it again, and a nice one to add to the garden.) I loved your yellow bike, too. What a happy garden you created, and thanks for sharing. Goldenpond!! That a gorgeous path. I love the design, both the flow and the materials. Thank you for posting the picture. My property isn't as big as your's, but I'd just love to meander down that path and look at your plants and smile. That installation must have been backbreaking, but the result is absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, my big dog is still too skizzy (at 7 1/2 years) to do the mulch, stone and paver combo. I keep thinking we need to get her into a drug sniffing or victim finding program. Yesterday she started barking like crazy in the back porch. I let her out and she ran like a thoroughbred horse the Belmont to the Powderpuff in the backyard. She started jumping up into the tree (no shrub anymore) and came out with a big old rat, which she killed, left in the yard and came back to look at me with big goofy, "did I do good eyes?". I honestly had no idea there was a rat in the yard, and had spent a few hours working on that spot next to the powderpuff. I'm sorry about all the cleanup you have to do to endure Fay. No fun! You have a lovely garden, and I appreciate your sharing the beauty. marilyn...See Morecallirhoe123
14 days agoDig Doug's Designs
14 days agoeinportlandor
14 days agoAnnie Shaw
10 days agorosaprimula
6 days agolast modified: 6 days ago
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