alright, here is the garden i keep asking 101 questions about lately. the front yard is one big garden and that's why i am so stumped, particularly since this is my first attempt at gardeding - EVER. it is covered poorly with mulch (some spots are more densely covered than others thus i believe the ground is quite uneven). there is lots of bindweed growing and there are many perennials i'd like to get rid of (i will keep the boxwood, periwinkle and sedum). i'd like to make it a somewhat colourful garden. it is north facing and now that i've been watching it, it is quite sunny. what would you do with it????
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Good ideas. On the "rule of three" thing -- if I was putting a tallish tree-thingie I would do only one. just that one rock looks odd...But the idea of dwarf Alberta Spruce is maybe a good one -- depends on your exposure, as they get winter burn (sun and wind) very very easily and do not do well here in Ottawa, for example, where the summers are so warm and dry. there are other dwarf evergreens that you might consider, esp junipers of various kinds. You need to see what varieties your local nurseries have that you like.
Lots of people have the weeping caragana but I just have a thing against caragana in general -- they are sort of weedy and have dull flowers, but they are extremely hardy and tolerant of poor conditions (therefore easy to maintain without needing to be fussed over! and that is a *Good Thing*, as Martha used to say...).
Re: groudncover there -- depends again on what you want -- if you want a low profile, then that is a good solution. me, I like a lot of interest at different heights. But then, when I get posting my photos you will see I am also rather fond of the runaway look :-) ...not tonight 'tho', I have had a hard day and need to got to bed soon
if you go with some ground cover be careful not to choose one too invasive. You could have a few diff. ones and get the ones with diff. foliage. Most are for shade and have small flowers. With mulch + ground cover you should have few weeds.
try: perennials.com
I never even thot of the caragana...they grow fine here...and I sure didnt know that the weeping mulberry grows that tall..ut oh, I may have a problem myself...didnt want it quite that large :(...but guess I can always trim it back LOL good luck in your choice..
ooohhh, that sounds very inspirational. please do let me know the issue if you discover it.
your poor caragana...i hope, too, that it recovers well..
thanks a bunch!
:)
I have lamium and catmint around the caragana. The lamium is very invasive. It makes excellent ground cover - it will spread everywhere. I suspect you will be needing lots of ground cover for your front yard, it does not look amenable to lawn as in the photograph it appears to have a steep slope. A woman in Edmonton did wonders with her steeply sloping front yard. She has no grass, just rock steps and a collection of fabulous ground covers and shrubs. Her yard was featured in Canadian Gardener a few months back. I will see if I can find the issue so you can take a look (assuming you buy the magazine and hoard it like so many of us!) By the way, the picture of my caragana was taken pre-hailstorm...the same tree looks pretty sad now, but I am hopeful that next year it will recover completely. I believe that caragana can easily survive in your warmer zone.
that's a beautiful tree....i just may consider it. (i think we may have found the correct spelling, schatzi). now, is it suitable for zone 5-6? i notice you are in AB and i am in ON...
your garden looks gorgeous - can i ask what you have planted around your tree? it looks mainly like ground cover plants.
thank you for the info :)
Consider a weeping or walking caragan for your front yard. It will never get any taller than it is the day you buy it, and they are drought tolerant so you need not worry that you will become a slave to tree care. If you use weeping caragana, you might deviate from Maryanne's rule of three, and just have a single tree. You might also consider a group of three Dwarf Alberta Spruce, which apparently do not grow taller than 4 feet, and being conical might be fine for your yard at that height. Dwarf Alberta Spruce are beautifully symmetrical and could be easily decorated with lights at Christmas time. I have attached a picture of my weeping caragana. You can easily find pictures of the Spruce on the net.
hi schatzi,
i 'googled it' and the mulberry picture is just what i had in mind when i thought 'unbrella' tree....only problem is that it grows to 6-8' - a little too large for what i want. our neighbour two doors down has one and you can barely see the house...now if i had a bigger yard....
the other tree you mention led me to CATALPA which is enormous - 20-40' tall - YIKES!!! maybe we got the spelling off :)
umbrella tree= catulpa? They are lovely but slow growers.
how about a fruitless weeping mulberry as a focal point and plantings around it such as stella d'oro day lilies...they will spread over time and are easy to maintain?
I love the ideas of rocks and grasses - definitely things i want to incorporate. i like the idea of a dwarf tree too but i keep forgetting about the huge tree in our neighbour's yard already sucking all the good stuff from the soil so i think i should stay away from that :(
i have been using my 'prerennial gardening guide' by valleau and the internet to make a list of plants that would work in my zone (5-6) and in the sun most of the day (with some shady areas). there are soooo many to choose from!!!
i'd love to see some of your pictures for inpiration...thanks a whole bunch for all the time you have been taking to answer my questions :)
BTW, in a previous post you directed me to a link re: bindweed but there wasn't one there...do you remeber what it was?
you have a nice space there. How big is it? I am guessing about 15x15 or so? You can cram it full of perennials if you like. Foxxy is right, you need some height in the middle. Depending on how big is the plot I might not use a tree, however, unless a dwarf variety. They tend to be very thirsty and, of course, set roots all over the place!! I have used shrub roses in the past, and there are nice Rugosa ones that have blossom in the spring but very dark marroon leaves, so that gives foliage interest all year, and they only will get 3-4 feethigh and no higher. Tall grass might be good too, depending, you can get ones that grow as high as 8 feet! or bamboo.
What you want to do is the graph paper thing, as Foxxy suggests. Then you can take account of the size of your space, and also the size the plants will eventually become (something I don't do well, and then they get all crowded together and I have to move them!)
You also want to decide what your exposure is, and how much sun and where at what times of the day (is it all in sun all day? for example). This will let you know what the properties of the plants you will need to look at. Then when you are choosing plants you should try to put ones that bloom at different times, so you will ahve interest in the garden at all times of the year (that you can augment of course with annuals for colour). Think aobut grasses too - some of the taller ones can give your height as well, for your middle, and would be nice beside rocks. Need to know your zone too to work with, although you don't have to stick to it slavishly.
If you do decdie to use rocks, be careful of the scale of them and how you set them into the ground -- so often you see too-small blobs set apart from one another - rocks just don't do that, or it doesn't look very interesting! Use a rule of three -- and keep the three in proportion to the space, to one another and close, in a grouping of their own. If I used rocks, I might not use a tree, depending on how big your space is.
Come to think of the grouping of three, when you go to buy your plants plant to get three of each one and keep them together so they will quickly form a substantial-looking clump.
I have to run now (have to work, eh!?) but will try and post some pics tonight of my perennial garden.
if you have an enlarged photo then you are all set as you can take the measurements of the garden and mark off in feet on the photo, what a good idea. My daughter has beautiful gardens and I have seen her do the graph paper thing when making a new one. She is more organized them I.
i believe the tree you describe is an 'umbrella' tree (not sure of the name either)- funny you mention it because that's what i was thinking too. i just don't want something too tall to block the view. i was also thinking a japanese maple. something no higher than 4', let's say. i definitely want rock too to break it up a bit..your suggestions are good my trouble is where to plant them. i will try the grid paper you suggest. so far i have printed an enlarged colour picture of the garden to play around with the design...
.First you need to have at least 3" mulch all over so I would add more. Then I would plant a tall tree in the middle. Mary anne will have ideas. The one I am thinking of grows about 4-5' tall and droops over looking like a palm tree. OR 3 small pyramid cedars in a traingle pattern to give the garden some height.Keep the ,ulch away from the tree trunks though when you plant and make sure a hollow is in the soil all around each trunk about 8'-12" out to catch the water.
Then get perennials and plant in group planting, that is 3-5 plants of the same type together. It looks nicer and you get a nice clump of colour when in bloom. Taller perennials near the centre of garden and small towards the edges of garden. Even a few (3) large rocks would add interest in the garden sticking up height wise. Also a nice birdbath would add interest. I have used graph paper in squares and measured off the garden and then arranged the plants on the paper before I plant them. Give you are better idea.
from upstairs window: