I'm dreaming of a 'coup d'état' in my garden... a Rose walk!
morrisnoor
16 years ago
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morrisnoor
16 years agoceterum
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Work in progress in the Rose Walk
Comments (30)Ahh, if only I can walk down that path. Absolutely stunning how it all got transform into so lavish and colourful path. I absolutely love those Morrocan Jars . Brilliant idea ! This project is big and back breaking at least it is for me. I will be so sore. Yeah, would live to see how it looks since everything grows huge. I hope Maurizio will see this and update :) Jin...See MoreMy Dream Garden Would Look Like __________
Comments (16)I really love where I'm at currently and I'm pretty darn happy with how things look, but in a dream garden the layout in our back yard would be much different. I'd change the layout of our deck, I'd have the trees positioned for afternoon shade instead of morning shade, and I'd relocate all the utility lines that prevent us from planting around the perimeter of the yard. Basically, if we want to plant anything, it has to go smack in the middle of the yard where everyone walks or plays. And in my little dreamland there'd be a lot less grass to mow because I'd have it all occupied with plantings. I also want some weather-proof artwork out there; a tiled waterfall, or some sound baffling for the air conditioner. But there's only so much a human can do in a year without ending up in the emergency room....See MoreMy garden is not a paradise of roses
Comments (49)Hello, Ingrid! I've been meaning for days to add my bit to this discussion, but during these short days I'm really sleepy in the evenings. This evening I had to take a sick cat ten miles to the vet, and I guess it woke me up. Anyway..... First, I agree with everyone else that you need to keep the roots cool, and a good organic mulch is important for that. And I agree that some way to retain water in the soil is important. I'm blessed with clay: while it's sometimes a mixed blessing, it is marvelously water retentive. I don't know how your soil behaves, but you've heard a lot from people who've had to deal with this problem. I always read with wonder when American forumers curse their trees and the shade they produce. This is not a problem here, believe me. I love trees and shrubs: they cool the air, break the wind, and provide organic matter that enriches the soil. I'm busy planting trees and shrubs and expect them to help my roses a lot. Naturally roses need their sun and root space, but in your situation thoughtfully placed shrubs might be useful. Different trees have different kinds of roots. I loathe elms, which behave exactly as Maurizio describes; but flowering ashes and oaks, for example, are deep-rooted trees that don't go wandering about, and they do quite nicely around gardens. This is perhaps more of an academic question in your situation, but I wonder how much water roses can take without rotting, and I think it may be quite a lot. My sister, a garden designer and lifelong gardener, thinks that they're relatively tolerant of flooding, for example. I have some roses in the middle of an intermittent drainage that has stayed moist since May and has flooded twice, and the roses are thriving. However, I lost some Gallicas that were already doing badly that were in very poor, heavy soil, and I think it was the five straight weeks of rain in late spring that did them in completely. A lot of this is just repeating what others have said, and if my comments have any value it comes from the summer we had this year: no rain and very little irrigation for four months; full sun; strong winds for months on end. Our roses almost all lived, and in fact they didn't even suffer terribly. (They didn't flower much, but I didn't expect them to: we get a good fall flowering if we get some rain in August-September.) My guess is that if we can grow roses in those conditions, you can too. The other thing I wanted to say is this. No matter how much you read and study, and no matter how much excellent advice you get, making a garden is very much a trial-and-error business. That's because no one's conditions are exactly like yours and so no one can tell you exactly what will work. This is the glory and the frustration of gardening. You're in that first stage where you've tried a lot of things and found out that a lot of them haven't worked, though some have been successful. Now you'll try different things and will find some more things that don't work, and some more things that DO. In time you'll become the world's greatest expert on your own garden; and your garden will be beautiful. Melissa...See MoreDreams and aspiration for my garden
Comments (7)1. No car sounds. No thumping stereos from the hooligans on the next street over. Nothing but the singing of birds and the rustling leaves in the breeze. 2. No invasive plants. No ivy. No periwinkle. A wisteria that contains itself to the tree tops through one skinny branch that never sprouts runners. 3. Lots of spring and summer rainstorms followed by sunshine and 79 degree days. 4. No winter weeds. No crabgrass. No poison ivy. 5. Flowers that never flop. 6. A peaceful retreat where the world only comes in if invited. I plant things for the critters I want. I sowed a whole area of red clover and no bunnies came to feast. I could plant deer corn and never see a hoof print. 7. A hammock in the shade of huge oak trees that block the afternoon sun. Mine is currently in the shade until 3pm. That's when napping is best....See Moresandy808
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