Plan for property entrance zone 5b/NE
8 years ago
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- 8 years agoraymondranch thanked Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)
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Spring Season Extension: Zone 5b, Colo.
Comments (9)Nicely done, Dan. The big sun is a big difference. Here in MI we are in the first day of a six days spell with temps between 35 and 14. I am guessing this is the coldest end of March in at least 15 yrs. We last saw the sun Saturday morning. I have hoop houses for everything, but it helps a lot less. We also have trees and less than full sun in some beds. My last savoy cabbage was eaten this weekend and was stored under leaves last November. It was still in prime condition. Overwintering kale was eaten tonight. A root cellar and good moisture in the ground through the winter are the resources for winter eating here....See MoreAdvisable to grow an Eastern hemlock in SE Michigan (zone 5b)?
Comments (15)Seagreen, some of the suggestions offered are, while good ones, not necessarily what you are seeking. If it's the actual tree-not a garden mini-that you seek, then you want straight-species eastern hemlock-Tsuga canadensis. And if that is the case-that your main appreciation is for the native tree itself, well then let me tell you that is just as valid a quest as that of the collectors that participate on this board. I really like some of the conifer gardens I've seen. It really is, IMO, one of the pinnacles of skilled horticulture. But that in no way compares-for me-to the wonders of growing, watching grow, cutting down, burning, hehe, let's just say a range of activities, with the woods and tree farm that has been my project since 08. Or of seeing the same processes at work in the relatively less-disturbed areas in my travels. Anyway...the main issue with eastern hemlock these days is an imported (by accident) very destructive insect know as the hemlock woolly adelgid, which is in fact decimating this tree to the east. Michigan has recorded at least a find of tis pest, but I'm not sure of the present status without doing some quick research. But in any case, check that issue out-it sounds like you can still grow hemlock in SE Michigan-but arm yourself with knowledge, should you ever have to treat your plant(s), which is doable, BTW, or if that's just not a go with you. Here in Wisconsin, so far so good. But it has tended to be the case that whatever shows up to our E, it does end up here eventually. Cold winters, blah blah. They said that about gypsy moth-we got gypsy moth. Then two winters ago, when they said it would kill all the emerald ash borers, it didn't kill all of the emerald ash borers. And so on. Would really suck-right around where my land is, it is hemlock that I see coming up as regeneration in many areas. And there is a patch of old growth on the high bans of a lake nearby-this actually has state designation as a legacy stand-so much to lose around there if adelgid comes in. +oM...See MoreNew Large Raised Bed - Please help me plan it (Zone 5B)
Comments (9)I wrote this out yesterday before I read Yardvaark's response, so some of what I have written may repeat or contradict what he said. Though you may not want to hear this, I have a few concerns, some practical and one aesthetic. I live in an area that looks fairly similar to yours. I don't know how long you have worked on gardening here, so forgive me if I bring up things you have already considered. For the aesthetic, you want to remember that this is the front of your home, and while the flowers pictured will give you summer interest, you will want some evergreens or other plants with winter, spring and fall interest such as interesting branches, colored bark, etc. to help provide structure and form to the bed in the 7 or so months of the year that your flowers aren't blooming. An evergreen groundcover could also work. You can most likely have flowers but you will also want some year-round plants; otherwise you will have an empty bed for about 2/3 of the year, and while some of the time that is under snow, something like 4 months of the year in my garden are both cold and snowless. Plants that need to be dug up like most of the bulbs pictured (not the lilies in the last photo) need to be planted in a separate part of the bed from shrubs or plants like the lilies that are true perennials in zone 5 so you aren't creating root disturbance. Most of the plants you pictured really like all day sun and good soil, and I am not sure that even having taken down the marked trees and improved the soil you will find they grow well due to the conditions. Some of your trees may be species which don't share space well, so I would take good photos of buds and branching to get them IDed if you don't know what they are. That will allow you to judge how likely you are to get a fair amount of roots growing into the bed from nearby trees (whether the bed is raised or left at grade.) I think that while the trees currently may not shade much of the bed once the marked ones are down, the remaining trees will extend their branches to some extent to take advantage of the newly available sun. In a bed alongside a treed area like this, I might focus on plants that I know will do well with a mix of sun and shade and are relatively tolerant of dry conditions and are hardy enough to not need to be dug up annually. They also will look more natural against the tree line to my eye as the transition from a mass of flowers to native woodland might well look quite abrupt. Dogwood trees (Cornus kousa or Cornus florida), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), hardy rhododendrons, silverbell (Halesia), Epimediums (there's a world-class Epimedium nursery in MA) are some flowering plants that do well along wooded edges for me, but none of them will bloom all summer like those pictured above. I think I would put the flowers in your photos up closer to the house, pehaps enlarging the current bed and replacing part of the lawn (which likes similar growing conditions), including something similar to what I mentioned above for winter interest. I think having a bed at least 8' deep and with at least a foot between plants and the house for maintenance would look better. If you have deer, you might want to consider a high fence or a regular spray program to keep them from eating your flowers since many flowers are quite attractive to deer....See MoreLandscape Design Help - Zone 5B
Comments (5)It would give a tidier appearance if you remove the lower limbs from the large tree, clearing the house. I'm not a fan of raised edging for multiple reasons. The present edging looks difficult to maintain, poorly installed (lumpy & bumpy,) and its layout doesn't fit great, IMO. A properly installed brick or paver mowing strip not only looks good, but facilitates easier maintenance. However, it's obvious why the raised edging exists -- to contain the rock mulch (which I'm also not a fan of because it's somewhat inflexible and hard to undo.) You need to decide if you're keeping it before moving forward. (My planting arrangement suggestions are based on getting rid of it and using groundcover instead.) Given the size of the tree, the bed below it should be expanded correspondingly. Imagine the tree were a potted plant and the bed below it was the top of the container. Based on the first photo, one could see that the tree looks way oversized for the size of the container. The tree is hard to make smaller, but the bed is easy to expand. I'm neither a fan of smothering buildings with plants. A single shrub below the window would eventually be enough as long as you have other plantings -- perennials, annuals, groundcover, etc. to balance out the equation. Around the tree could be a mass of tall, flowering perennial (or even a moderate height shrub. Connecting everything together could be groundcover. All of this equals a very low maintenance scape. Oh, also, I would ditch all the planting that surrounds the walk. It lessens the welcoming quality of entering and makes the walk seem confined. The walk already is too narrow for the house and the entrance opening. If you have in your capabilities, I would revise that (widen) and make it more inviting. Plants there, pinching things off, it not really an asset. Well cared for turf would help the look of everything....See MoreRelated Professionals
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- 8 years agoraymondranch thanked Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)
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- 8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoraymondranch thanked littlebug zone 5 Missouri
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- 8 years agoraymondranch thanked Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)
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