Hi girls! It's almost spring! :bliss: Flowers here we come!
I have been working towards a "moon garden" in the front of my home. I'm wondering if you wonderful ladies can help me? I'm looking for some great green folliage with some height! I was admiring Dini's elephant ears and may try to find some of those.
I currently have a few different types of hydrangeas (little lamb, limelight, peegee tree), a few hostas, a dogwood, a green shrub with white flowers that turn to black berries (not sure what it's called?)
I've purchased some white anuals too. I really need some more greenery in my space. So what are your favorites ladies? ;)
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Hi Muranogirl. Go to [url]www.stepables.com[/url] There is some info there and pics of different thymes and groundcovers. I love the moss and have some Irish and Scotch moss. I also love the lemon thyme and it smells wonderful! There are some nice inspirational pics of pathways, too.
Oh I like this! I wonder where I could find it?
I have woolly tyme in my perennial garden and really like it ...it smells nice and is just like a carpet....it grows onto the walkway but I just cut it back with a sharp exacto knife and it just keeps right on growing.. I strongly recommend it:)
Thanks so much sweetpea! I love the vinca. I can't wait for mine to spread like that. :bliss:
Hi Muranogirl;Here are the pictures of my vinca minor....it spreads like an ivy ,long tendrels....I have also posted a picture of goutweed that I have as a foundation cover...it grows like crazy and has to be confined or it will take over but it is a nice border plant..:)
Oh good! it sounds like the vinca won't be too invasive.
I bought some daylilies today. Not white, but purple. I just couldn't resist! :bliss: They are still going in the moon garden though even though they aren't white. There are touches here and there of purple, in the acidantheras and I have a huge basket of purple wave petunias hanging on my porch. they are little too so they won't be overwhelming. I think that I'll plant them in fron of the astilbe.
here's what they look like
This is like my concrete border... [IMG]http://www.bordermagic.com/Images/Res2LandscapeEdgingBIG.jpg[/IMG] Do you think the vinca will stay within this?
Thanks sweatpea! I actually went back and bought two more plants. I couldn't beat the price for $4! Can you tell me how it spreads? Will a concrete border keep it contained or does it spread underground like lily of the valley? Will it still spread if it's mulched well? mine is the white flowering variety... not the periwinkle.
Hi Muranogirl...The vinca minor spreads profusely so you will have plenty once it gets going...I will post a picture of it tomorrow:)
Well I found a bulb sale at Coop garden centere, for 20% off. Here's what i bought....
evergreen glad ( I like that it's a flower but still green really, not taking away from the whites in the garden)
[IMG]http://www.kvbwholesale.com/images/products/small/5601.jpg[/IMG]
casablanc lily, 12 of them
[IMG]http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jmenz99/CasaBlanca.jpg[/IMG]
another "green"
Trebbiano Lily
[IMG]http://i.s.shopwiki.com/i/data/0x0/5/153/57/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5wYXJhZGlzZWdhcmRlbi5jb20vc2hvcC9pbWcucGhwP2lkPTE5NDgmeD0yMjU===.jpg[/IMG]
and lady's mantel for the border (lime green)
[IMG]http://www.gracefulgardens.com/alchemilla2008.jpg[/IMG]
and globe ceder shrubs, 3 of them
on a sad note I think that my lily of the valley didn't survive this cold spell. It was fine until the snow hit.
wow! I kind of wish that I'd bought a couple more of these. I bought two. how much did yours spread?
PearlG i really love the coneflower jade white that you posted but haven't been able to find it :mad: I'm still looking. I'm also still searching for the white ground cover phlox, I'd love to plant it underneath my little tree.
Your moongarden is going to be absolutely beautiful...what a lovely assortment of white flowers/shrubs:)The vinca minor is a great choice for ground cover...I have the purple flower one and it is sooo...resilient that it even peeks throught the snow.:)
Camellia white begonias
[IMG]http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/ProductImages/begonias/BegoniaRoseformWhite.jpg[/IMG]
acidantheras
[IMG]http://www.thriftyfun.com/images/gg/Acidanthera300x365.jpg[/IMG]
and an ornamental tree shrub for interest
[IMG]http://www.estabrooksonline.com/images/catalog2/varieties/caragana_pendula.jpg[/IMG]
..... and two basic shrubs without flowers.....
So any advice on the items that I've choose! I sure hope that I manage to keep most of these alive! :laugh:
Vinca manor (I'm really excited about this ground cover. I planted it a couple weeks ago and it's thriving even in this cooler weather. Even the little white flowers are blooming...
[IMG]http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Plantae/Dicotyledoneae/Apocynaceae/images/60.Vinca_minor,_plant,_RW11.320.jpg[/IMG]
White prosperity gladiolas
[IMG]http://www.naturehills.com/images/productImages/Gladiolus_WhiteProsperity_big.jpg[/IMG]
Sweet Surrender day lily
[IMG]http://www.dutchbulbs.com/images/products/small/2338.jpg[/IMG]
Astilbe
[IMG]http://www.pendernursery.com/Images/Astilbe-'Deutschland'.jpg[/IMG]
Well I'm getting pretty excited about my moon garden! Here's what I've gathered so far.....
4 hostas
[IMG]http://www.americanhostasociety.org/images/Mixed%20Hosta%20Display.jpg[/IMG]
lilly of the valley (planted in pots to prevent spreading)
3 grasses (the perenial type) to go in between the hostas
[IMG]http://springhillnursery.com/images/250/70322.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://springhillnursery.com/images/250/68894.jpg[/IMG]
little lamb hydrangea
[IMG]http://www.colorchoiceplants.com/images/Hyd%20Little%20Lamb_4909.jpg[/IMG]
limelight hydrangea (not really white but it's in my flower bed already and it's a really nice fresh green colour)
[IMG]http://www.colorchoiceplants.com/images/hydrangea%20light%20hedge_5454.jpg[/IMG]
mock orange shrub
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/luv2gro/MockOrange.jpg[/IMG]
DBD thanks also for the headsup with the hyrdoponiic herbs. I'm going to try this!
I knew about the lily of the valley:) I don't mind if it spreads. I'm putting it between the walkway and the house so it really has nowhere to go. Thanks for the heads up though:)
Murano check with a garden center because some phlox does really well here and others not so well.
Also just a head's up, lily of the valley likes to spread like crazy through an underground root system so it can end up in the lawn and other places you may not want it if you don't block it off somehow. I had it at one house in a bed that was surrounded by railroad ties that had been buried quite deep and they still got all over the place. They are really good in places with almost no light where grass won't even grow and they smell so nice.
phlox can grow in 3B - i think 3A - 8B is the range - so u are in it
and yes it is a perennial - there is also creeping phlox
[img]http://www.beautifulbotany.com/STOCK%20N-Q/Phlox%20subulata%20%27Ellie%20B%27.jpg[/img]
Hi Muranogirl;The mock-orange come in different varieties some are shrub like & some are 6 to 8 ft. trees.I googled mock-orange images and there is alot of info available.:)
Wow wow! Thanks girls for all of the advice and inspiration photos! DBD, I have started some elephant ears inside in pots but will just keep them on my deck I think in some large black pots.
:eek: I love love love the inspiration photos!
Spongeg, the flox is really nice! Is it a perenial? Do you know what zone it grows in? I'm a 3b.
I think that I need to get some oriental lillies and look into a mock orange. how big does it get?
I have started some hostas and lily of the valley inside too. I also have two hostas already in my flower bed. I have planted some zinnias (large white annual flowers), and bought some bulbs to help fill out the space which include lots of white gladiolas and acidantheras (which have a sentimental meaning as we gave the bulbs out at our spring wedding for favors). I have two peegee hydrangeas in my bed and a limelight. A couple of dogwoods too.
Anymore recommendations?
how about Phlox?
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2640263163_6029362ebb.jpg?v=0[/img]
[img]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/61/211935142_232daa6448.jpg?v=0[/img]
some inspiration
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2620074677_11cca50980.jpg?v=0[/img]
[img]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1076/553635531_abb1ee66a3.jpg?v=0[/img]
[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2518673852_1c48170f2f.jpg?v=0[/img]
Hi Muranogirl...I have posted pic of my mock-orange as DBD mentioned the fragrance is absolutely lovely....my tree has bloomed more than once in a season if the weather is really warm .Oriential lilies also very fragrant ,What about some ornamental grasses,they come in different shades of green & are great fillers:)
Murano we have such a short season here you may want to check out the Lois Hole books or ask at a garden center. I made the mistake of planting elephant ears here and didn't know they won't survive the winters and when first planted they barely get their leaves out before the first frost hits so unless you have a greenhouse, they are difficult here.
Meanwhile hostas do well and if you want to go a bit bigger, mock orange thrives (it's a bush) and has a wonderful smell from white flowers in the spring. That would give you some height and green during the summer but be a first bloomer. Any of the hardy roses grow well here too. The explorer series is often good. Know the ones that are the most fragrant are usually the most prickly which might be a concern with kids around. They are pretty carefree and other than deadheading to keep them blooming, they are easy to live with.
Nicotiana is a favourite of mine. there is a fragrant variety that smells gorgeous in the evening and they usually stay open at night. They come in various colours but white would probably be the one you want to look at. Herbs like thyme, basil, etc. are all great growers and green and very fragrent at night too. I actually go buy the hydroponic varieties that they sell in the produce section of the grocery store. They are often bigger, have better roots and are less expensive than in the garden centres. Just plunk them in the ground and they take off.
Here are some sites I found that give some planting suggestions. Do watch the zones because I think you are probably in a zone 3 or 3B so it's harder to grow some things here.
[url]http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/colorful/design-for-a-moon-garden/[/url]
[url]http://flowergardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_white_garden[/url]