kt, questions on your plant list

17 years ago

Hi kt,

Loved your plant list on the Shopping post. I was wondering if you are making changes in your garden after the trips you made in the spring, or are you working on a special project? Using them all together, or adding them here and there?

I really didn't realize that Avant Gardens had so many evergreens. I had thought of them as a great place to get unusual annuals and tender perennials. I definitely will have to get out there at some point. You are so smart to get them this time of year while they are on sale.

I looked up some of the mini evergreens and they are so cute. I have always loved hinoki cypress. And a Chinese Fir that is only 12ftx8ft in 10 years, is great for someone with a small space. I am sadly in need of more evergreens, but I just have the hardest time placing them in a way that pleases me. I don't know why.

I have seen that Ilex Jersey Pinnacle and wish that hollies did better for me. I like nice dark hollies and if they are upright to boot, I could think of a few places I would enjoy it. I added a couple of hollies about 3 years ago and they have just sat there and did nothing. I think they may be in too much shade.

That variegated climbing Hydrangea is really different. You will have to let us know how it performs. I thought they were usually very slow growing, I can't imagine it being 'more' slow growing. [g] That could be a real advantage actually, since they get so large.

I wish, wish I had room for that Magnolia. I just love them and I would need the most cold hardy. I thought I bought that Sedum Lidakense, last year, but I couldn't find it in my garden this year. Very pretty coloring.

All of your sedum purchases, remind me of a cover photo on one of the major gardening magazines last year, of a stone wall planted with sedums all along the top. All different shades some in bloom, it was gorgeous.

It's so funny to see a Chamaecyparis lawsoniana in a minature size, aren't they usually huge?

Sounds like you had a great time. :-) I hope you will take photos when you get them all in the ground. Would love to see them.

Thanks kt :-)

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Comments (2)

runktrun
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ann,
Your interest in my compulsive purchases brings to mind something I have often pondered is there a diminishing to the quality of your over all design when you bring home the rare or unusual to you plant that you just had to have regardless of itÂs size, color, texture, etc. or do these additions allow our individual gardens to become more personal and less like the landscaping in front of your bank? Is there a limit to how many unique plants you might be able to add before you loose the sense of a design? When do you know a garden is cluttered other than relying on your own sense of taste? Are there certain plants or types of plants that you feel immediately clutter any garden? kt
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
Original Author
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
kt,

Since I don't have to design for anyone but myself, I really have grown to the point of having as much fun as possible and not worry about it too much. [g] I don't have a setting or a piece of property that would allow me to end up with a work of art anyway nor do I have a reputation to maintain, so I feel a lot of freedom to do what pleases me. That is hard enough to do. lol

I have always found the tension for me to be between the part of me that is the 'plant collector' and the part that really loves a good cohesive design. In my own situation, I find lots of obstacles to creating a great design. My setting, budget, manpower, etc. etc. So, I go as far as I can go with those constraints and then I let out my 'plant collector' to play. [g] Once I got the stucture all settled...where the walk/sitting area/borders etc would be, then I play in the borders. I don't usually hit that right the first, second or third time. I think it is because I really fall in love with certain plants and am determined to drag them home and make them all play nice together. Which is easier said than done. So that is my rather simplistic approach to design. Which I am sure wouldn't work if I were designing for someone else. On the other hand, I might not have the budget/setting/manpower constraints either though.

I used to get frustrated when a design or a border wasn't working the way I wanted it to. I don't have to think about whether it is or not, I pretty much know. Knowing 'why' it doesn't work would be my challenge. But, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that I can enjoy my garden 100% even when the design is not working out the way I want it and is still a work in progress. For one thing, every day that I can go out to the garden, my thought is always, 'ooohhh I am dying to see if 'such and such' a plant is in bloom', or 'I wonder if there are any butterflies on the butterfly bush today' rather than 'how is my design looking today'. [g] Secondly, I am planning into the design other things in addition to the way it looks as a whole, for instance, is there fragrance, is there always something in bloom, will it attract wildlife, will it be good and not cause me extra work or problems. If it does these things, then I have those enjoyments to comfort myself with, when the design falls short of my expectations. If I could get the design to look spectacular, well that to me would just be like 'the holy grail'. But, if I did get it all done and settled just the way it should look best, I have a feeling I would need to move and start a new garden very shortly after that..lol. What would I have to tinker with and plan and plot?

You are in a different situation than I am for sure. But I have a feeling you have just as much fun as I do probably more..lol I wonder though, if you feel pressure to get it right the first time. To me, you have answered your own question, that you can rely on your own sense of taste. If you look at something and it looks cluttered to you, than it is. Of course, you can't really wait until it is all in and find it isn't working. So do you use your own garden as a lab and try out new ideas there first? I'm sure you change and continue to develop and refine your own style over time. That is a very personal process and I guess I would hope that if I were in your situation, that I could just relax with that and go for it, whenever circumstances allowed. Sounds like that is exactly what you are doing. :-)
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kt, questions on your plant list

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runktrun

prairiemoon2 z6b MA
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kt, questions on your plant list

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runktrun

prairiemoon2 z6b MAOriginal Author

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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
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