gardendude's Blog
gardendude's Blog
Last Post 5 days, 17 hours Ago
Oct 6, 2008 | 9:49 PM PST
As the nights here get cooler and cooler, reality is setting in that I'm just about done for the year as far as planting. I had hoped to dig up three rather ugly groundcover euonymus and replace them with either three more Knockout roses or some Lord Baltimore hibiscus, but fertilizing and reseeding the lawn takes precedent at the moment. My Encore azaleas which I planted way back in early spring are FINALLY putting on their second act. The buds have all set, and a few are opening, I can see the pink red. Bad news is, something or someone is getting at my Chinese hibiscus, and I'm not happy. This week I found the leaves of my hibiscus all torn off and laying about on the ground in piles. Odd thing is, they don't look chewed...it looks like someone had carefully plucked them off. Same with the flowers...the blooms are intact but sitting on the ground. There hasn't been much wind lately. I suspect the neighbor's kids who pass through the yard after school on their way to their house (we have a gate at the fence). I shouldn't fret though...I doubt that my Chinese hibiscus is going to survive the winter. From what I read, even winters in the Carolinas are not warm enough for them.
Ok, now back to good news. I have my first landscaping job in two weeks, my very own project, seperate from my employment with Francis landscaping services. My neighbor across the street wants an evergreen foundation plant to act as vertical interest in a corner between the side porch and the front porch. She has seedum, a camellia, and several small boxwoods already in the bed at the end of the drive. We talked for a bit, and based on the part shade/part sun, protection from winter winds, I came up with the following list:
- Ligustrum japonicum (wax leaf privet)
- Prunus lusitanica (Portugese cherrylaurel)
- Viburnum japonicum var. awabuki 'Chindo'
- Euonymus japonicus 'Silver King'
- Ilex opaca (American holly)
Sep 9, 2008 | 12:02 PM PST
Just wanted to share some pics of new plants I have growing. The small azalea actually has been there for a while. Back before my mom and I knew much about planting, she cut a branch off of our full gown azalea and put the cutting in the dirt and kept it watered. Sure enough, though it took a while because we didn't scratch it or use rooting hormone, it survived and has been slowly but steadily getting bigger every year. The second pic is rose of sharon. I took seeds from my mature ROS I bought back in the spring, and sprinkled them in a small pot. Didn't do anything special, just kept it watered and out in the sun. Less than three weeks later, now all four of them are popping up, and growing quickly. I had put several seeds in there just in case one or two didn't make it, but it seems like nothing can stop ROS. I still have a ton of seeds still left in the pods, so I can share the fun!
Aug 20, 2008 | 9:27 AM PST
Well I got my textbooks for my horticulture classes this fall. Looks like I'll be doing a LOT of memorizing plants and shrubs and their habits, propagation methods, requirements, etc. Two of my classes deal with landscape design, and the rest are about growing and propagating and maintaining herbaceous perennials and shrubs. Two of these books are actually bigger than the dictionary and the encyclopedia! Look to be very helpful though....I've already read some good information on cuttings and seeds of some shrubs I have that I'd like to propagate. They go into great detail about exactly when and how to take cuttings and sow seeds, and how to use stuff like 3000 ppm IBA solution and rooting hormone.
The thought did occur to me that with all the fast-growing shrubs I have around my house, I could really put this knowledge to use and start taking lots of cuttings and get a small "backyard" nursery going, haha! Sell the young starts for $5 a pot...although I'd probably start by giving them away until I am sure I'm doing everything correctly and that the plants will survive at least long enough for friends to plant them in their yards.
Jul 24, 2008 | 8:24 PM PST
Just when I thought I was all done planting for the year, Home Depot puts dwarf Burford hollies on sale for $10. We've been considering dwarf burfords to fill in a bare patch under the windows to the left of our front porch, where we used to have boxwoods until they were overcome by severe blight and we had to pull them out. Since then, its just been dirt and the exposed foundation. Dwarf Burfords have always had a nice appeal, with their shiney and glossy leaves and the big clusters of berries. Their toughness and drought tolerance is also a major plus, and tipped the scale in favor of the holly instead of what I was originally thinking...gardenias, which are beautiful but require a bit more time and attention. Anyway, I'll post pics once I" have them planted.
For anyone who's interested, I have another gardening blog that I post to much more frequently, and with plenty more pictures than what I put up here. Check it out at - http://thebloominggarden.bl
ogspot.com/
Jul 12, 2008 | 2:20 PM PST
Just got back in earlier this afternoon from a wonderfully relaxing time at Graves Mountain Lodge, up in the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains. Three days of enjoying the company of friends, playing games, catching up, going on day trips to historic towns. I just finished posting pictures from my time there, over in my photo albums. The gardens up that way were fantastic! Lots of beautiful Rose of Sharon, rose mallow hibiscus, hollyhocks, crape myrtles, coneflower, black-eyed-susans, etc. And I passed at least 5 or 6 local nurseries that I was tempted to pull over and visit each one! Certainly gave me ideas for next spring! Anyway, enjoy the pics!
Jul 3, 2008 | 4:27 PM PST
Some big changes may be on the way for next spring, if the La Nina weather pattern that has been keeping much of the southeast in a drought continues next year. Some of the plants in my garden are fussing about the lack of moisture in the ground. Even some of the more drought tolerant ones like Blanket flower, coneflower, and the Shasta daisies are looking tired and thirsty more frequently. Its getting exhausting having to run out there and give them all a deep watering, especially considering how big the garden is now. It now takes roughly 45 minutes to give everything a good, deep watering. With my work schedule, I don't often have the time to do that. SO....with that said, I may be looking at replacing a few shrubs and perennials. Don't know which ones I'll swap out yet or what I'll replace them with, but I do know that I'll be replacing one of them with another Butterfly bush, the only plant in my garden that has never been phased by heat and drought and has never required a watering since it's first season in the ground. Some other heat and drought-hardy options for consideration include (based on my my experience with them): more Knockout roses, nandina, sedum, another rose of sharon, or some more day lillies. Or maybe start a new section for succulents and cactus.The plants I just mentioned above I have rarely, if ever, had to water more than once or twice a week, even during these dry spells.
Jun 25, 2008 | 11:01 AM PST
I brought this hibiscus (first two pics) home from Kroger last month...it was in very sorry shape due to excessive water on the leaves from the overhead sprinkler system. I planted it and just about every leaf turned yellow and fell off. Now it has almost completely leafed out again and blooming like crazy!
Bought this Rose of Sharon hibiscus a few weeks ago. Can't wait to see it grow!
Jun 12, 2008 | 8:10 PM PST
Relatives sent me some money for my birthday, so naturally I went to the nursery and got some more plants. After a long while of walking around, trying to picture in my head what areas of my yard get how much sun and shade, I ended up getting two Knockout roses ("Radrazz"), an Endless Summer hydrangea, and a rose-of-sharon hibiscus. I'll have pictures up tomorrow or Saturday. At first I was hesitant to get the hydrangea...I don't like having to worry about my plants wilting in this heat and having to run out there constantly, and I know hydrangea are very sensative to the hot, humid sun. So I ended up moving one of the hostas, and put the hydrangea in between the oak tree and the boxwood. It gets some dappled sunlight just before noon, otherwise its mostly in the shade. The two roses I put along the walkway to the front porch, and they are blooming like crazy! So far, no signs of any stress or disease! I planted the rose of sharon hibiscus behind the shasta daisies and the coneflower. I know that rose of sharon can get big, so I left a few feet between the plants. I'm really anxious to see how it'll turn out, I have a thing for big flowering shrubs! Been keeping an eye on the hollyhock mallow, its about two and a half, three feet high now, and the leaves are becoming much more lobed, I think thats a sign that it might start putting out flower buds soon. As you can tell, I really like the mallow group of plants, that have tall spikes of flowers. I think after this, I'll take a break from planting and get some mulch, and stepping stones, and then just enjoy strolling through what I've put in this spring.
Apr 23, 2008 | 8:51 PM PST
I had some more free time the other day....so naturally I went over to the nursery and bought some plants to fill in the last of the bare spots in the garden. Came home with coral bells (the green type) and one of the new Encore azaleas, Autumn Sangria. Can't wait to see them both grow and bloom! Also added a columbine, Black Beauty. We had two days of a good soaking rain, and I was amazed to see just how quickly all the plants responded to it. Most of them grew at least another few inches it seems. The foxglove, blanket flower, and gerbera daisies are all getting ready to open their flowers! I looked at the butterfly bush and I can see the new fleshy stems growing off the wood from last spring, should be much more upright this time around, with the way I pruned it. While I was out there, I also pruned back the long, winding and arching branches on the forsythia, to hopefully make it bushier and less lanky. And I found a pleasant surprise....the clematis my mom planted a few years ago behind the Rhododendron is really taking off and climbing up the trellis at a good pace. The last few years it really struggled and nearly died, despite weekly waterings. But for whatever reason, it's healthy and thriving back there. Lastly, the lettuce is coming along nicely. We planted three lettuce seedlings in a long narrow container, and after the rain and damp conditions we had recently, they definitely got bigger and are growing leaves like crazy. Next thing I need to do is to clear out weeds from the pathway, put in some stepping stones and those "stepables" groundcovers, and throw on a new layer of mulch on the "horseshoe" bed.
Apr 17, 2008 | 3:54 PM PST
The weather here is finally staying in the 70s, and the skies are bright and blue. Which means I'm back out in the garden, seeing how things are coming along. Just added some spirea and a few nandina along the side fence, and some purple sage, blanket flower, hollyhock mallow, and coneflower to the rest of the garden. It should look very full this year with what we've added. Everything from the last few springs have come back, starting to really flush out and bloom. A week or two ago when I was at Great Big Greenhouse and some of the other garden centers, I could hardly make up my mind about a few areas I wanted to fill in. My main focus was the back yard, but there is an area in front of our house, below the windows on the left side of the front porch that is bare from where we pulled up some boxwoods that came down with a disease. There are just so many different possibilities, particularly since our yard gets both full sun in some spots, and part shade in others, which opens the door to all kinds of plants. I gotta remember to take on one spot at a time, haha!
