osprey94's Blog

clematis day
May 21, 2007 | 1:43 PM PST
Tags: clematis , herbs , topsy turvies

The 3 evergreen clematis I bought days ago finally have a home.

The second I saw the hideous pressure treated cedar poles my dh, Dave, used to replace the old lumber that supported the overhang of our shop, I knew I'd have to grow a vine up each one to hide it. I narrowed it down to clematis when I read in my Ed Hume book that they'd do well in containers and that helped, because the shop is located on a large gravel area and I didn't want to make beds around the poles. I also read that they would cover things up pretty fast and would have great flowers, AND that there were some evergreen varieties and that was good because then we'd never have to look at those damn poles again! So, I found 3 evergreen clematis at a local garden center, one for each pole, and bought them. They are Clematis armandii 'Snowdrift' and will have white flowers. Now, I wonder if I could've found some I like even better if I ordered some from a catalog. I bought 3 small (20", cedar-like wood planters that resemble miniature whiskey barrels, and that moisture control potting soil, too, at home depot today. I put an inch or two of wood chips (we chipped ourselves from downed trees in our forest) at the very bottom of each planter for drainage before I filled them with the soil and the plants. I read the directions AFTER I planted the first one. Bad idea. Those directions said to keep the clematis attached to its stake for the first year before removing it. Oops. Didn't do that for the first clematis. We'll see what happens with that one, then. What's the big deal, I wonder?

Then, I tried to plant some tomatoes (black cherry and yellow pear) in the topsy turvies Dave bought me, but realized I had no hooks to hang them from yet. Gotta go buy some at Ace later.

I should be grading papers and planning lessons for this week right now, but I will do what I do best and PROCRASTINATE instead. As Dave always says, do that stuff when there's no more daylight!

I also planted one cilantro plant and one flat leaf parsley plant in my herb planter which already has oregano and two kinds of basil. No good location for that planter yet. It has to go on the deck because the porch is too shady. If I put it up on the railing, it gets blown over by the wind (learned that the hard way). Guess I'll just set it on the deck in the corner and crouch to harvest. Maybe I can find a cute old chair to set it on.

For this summer, I'm going to try to focus on 2 major projects: a planting bed around the deck and raised beds in the veggie garden. That last one will take forever, b/c I'm using fallen logs from our forest for the beds and they are taking forever to find, haul out and cut. I have enough for ONE box and I need EIGHT boxes. Ugh.

School can't let out fast enough, because this work thing is just getting in the way of my gardening time, damnit!