gardendude's Blog

Couldn't resist!
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.