Gardening

A beautiful garden in California.
The garden above belongs to my friend Joan, who lives in California.

My daughter, Kim, and I have wanted to begin our yard revamping for quite some time, but there never seemed to be enough loose pocket change to purchase the plant materials we needed. This year, 1999, will be different! We've been authorized by "Dad" to "go ahead and order some garden things, as long as it doesn't put me in the poorhouse". Ok, Dad... stand back!

And so... we sent in for a few catalogs, which arrived just a short time ago. We are now carefully perusing the pages with dreams of brightly colored gardens dancing in our heads! We have decided on several perennial varieties and a few shrubs and vines. These, along with a few types of bulbs, will be the first elements of our "Great Gardening Adventure"! I'm so excited!

This year's plans include two main projects; a sideyard shade garden and a bulb and perennial bed along part of the driveway. If we have time, we'll begin a sunny perennial bed in the front yard near the road.

I recently found a photograph of a garden that could be our yard in the very near future! The layout is very much like our own yard and driveway, except ours is currently without the beautiful Tulips and Daffodils, not to mention the nicely paved drive and beautiful statuary. Our thanks to Mary Geisert of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for allowing us to "steal" her garden photo, and for the vision of what we, too, can accomplish! Thank you, Mary! And our thanks to Terry Yockey, whose wonderful Northern Gardening web page was the source for the photo and also much inspiration! Visit her page of Minnesota style gardening complete with gorgeous picture galleries and informative gardening articles.

The resemblance to our own yard is uncanny. The driveway and the trees are in exactly the same configuration and the road beyond the trees is in the same place as the one in front of our house, except ours is a country gravel road. Mary's garden photo is the inspiration for our bulb and perennial bed, yet to be created. In fact, Mary's home page is the source for much of our garden inspiration. Give her page a visit and see what we mean!

Mary's Garden ~ Mary Geisert ~ Eau claire, WI

The hardiness zone here is zone 4. I have found that choosing plants rated for zone 3 works very well in this area. Most will survive and establish good root systems if planted early enough in the season and mulched in well after the first good frost is past. I use about 3 inches of wood chip mulch taking care not to bury the crowns too deeply. By the end of June I'm finished planting for the season. This gives the plants ample time to become accustomed to their new homes, which can help avoid frost heave.

Due to the different types of areas contained within our yard, we will be able to plant a wide variety of perennials. Last year, we raked the side yard and bordered it with a combination of brick, field stone and broken patio blocks. The look is quite eclectic! It is doubtful that we will have to ammend the soil in this area very much. The earth is rich, rather loamy and dark in color. Deep shade and abundant moisture are the domineering factors in this area, so we have chosen to plant such things as Lily-Of-The-Valley, Hosta, Carpet Bugle and Cardinal Flower. These will be the staple plants for the first year of this particular garden area's life.

Although Carpet Bugle and Lily-Of-The-Valley are considered ground covers,
they make very nice additions to the front of a shade garden. They are both short in stature and spread quickly to fill areas. I never label a plant as having only one use in landscaping. There is so much that can be changed from the norm with a bit of imagination! Since the area is very moist and contains the cover and entry for our home's septic system, we thought these two small plants would be good choices as they have rather shallow root systems and may have to be dug up occasionally. Losing a bit of ground cover to a shovel will not seem so devastating!

Future plans for our shade garden, beyond this coming year, will include adding Columbine, Bleeding Heart, Viola, Coral Bells and a few different types of Lilies. We may even try our hand at growing Astilbe, although, I've never had particular luck with this shade lover before.

Perennials are my plants of choice, but annuals definitely have their place in the perennial border. They offer color from early spring until the first good frost of autumn. Annuals also make great filler while the perennial bed establishes itself and the plants within grow to their full potential. Kim and I will be attempting to establish a perennial and bulb bed in the front yard next to the driveway. This area receives plenty of sunlight, although noon brings dappled shade from the treetops above. It's the perfect place to plant Tulips, Daffodils, Daylilies, Tiger Lilies, Hardy Geraniums and perhaps an Ornamental Grass or two.

There is already a well-established Lilac shrub and a small Cherry tree in this area, although the Cherry tree never seems to produce anything worthwhile. We will be planting a few annuals in this arrangement to help with color until the perennials have had a chance to become mature. We may even sow a handful or two of Wildflower Seed, just to see what beauties come up!

We still have a lot of planning to do to make sure that our garden will have blooms throughout the growing season. We will not plant bulbs until next fall. With any luck, our first two project areas will be gorgeous established gardens in about two or three years. Patience is truly a virtue in perennial gardening!

Kim has many favorite perennials, annuals and shrubs, too. She has chosen a nice plant assortment, including Hybrid Tea Roses, Gladiolus, Dwarf Gladiolus, Hardy Carnations, Dianthus, Balloon Flower, Butterfly Bush, Wisteria Vine, Privet Hedge and a Red Delicious Apple Tree. We will plant these in various yard locations, depending on how far we get in the creation of our first two projects.

Kim has carefully gone over the catalogs, choosing plants based on hardiness zone, beauty and what garden area they will be added to. I must note the great joy I feel that Kim shows such enthusiasm in sharing all this with me. Kim is 10 years old and she is my stepdaughter, two very daunting encumbrances for a girl to manage. In the garden we have found our common ground.

Annuals that we plan to include in our perennial scheme are Cleome, Petunia, Verbena, Snapdragon, Cosmos, Salvia, Nasturtium, Hollyhock, Sunflower, Nicotiana, Marigold and several types of annual Herbs, such as Thyme, Parsley, Sage, Oregano and Rosemary. We will be able to dig the herbs at the end of the season and bring them indoors for use during the winter months. I have always wanted to try my hand at a Rosemary topiary.

Other perennials we plan on adding to our project beds include Rudbeckia, Purple Coneflower, Gaillardia, Siberian Iris, Japanese Iris, Peony, Miniature Rose, Clematis,

Aster, Bee Balm, Lamb's Ears, Lady's Mantle, Oriental Poppy, Achillia, English Daisy and many more.

A few of my favorite perennials:

Shade

Hosta, Dicentra, Convallaria, Astilbe, Violas, Aquilegia, Heuchera, Cimicifuga, Digitalis, Lobelia.

Partial Sun

Clematis, Geranium, Centranthus, Campanula.

Full Sun

Gaillardia, Echinacea, Dianthus, Coreopsis, Aster, Achillea, Monarda, Alcea, Phlox, Physostegia, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Sedum, Peony, Rose, Chrysanthemum, Liatris.

Many of the plants listed above can be grown in areas other than their recommended light requirements. For instance, a plant that is listed as needing full sun can do fine in partial shade. Experiment. If a plant doesn't seem to thrive in a particular area, simply move it. It may take a couple of moves in order to find the perfect spot.

Peonies and Roses make wonderful focal points in the perennial border. Miniature Roses make excellent ground cover and do well even in colder climates because they are usually grown on their own root stock. Clematis can thrive in full sun as long as the roots are kept cool, either with heavy mulch or shade from another plant. Clematis also can be allowed to ramble on its own instead of kept on a trellis. The blooms of Clematis look very nice peeking through the leaves of a small tree or shrub.

We recently found two rose growers that have exactly what we're looking for. They are The Roseraie at Bayfield and Spring Valley Roses. Both are northern companies that offer nice selections of hardy species, gallica, rugosa, shrub, damask and other types of roses. Our goal is to grow beautiful roses without having to baby them too much. With the winter temperatures here dipping into the negative numbers, we need the hardiness that these rose types offer. The pictures below show six different roses that we have chosen for our yard. Our thanks to the previously mentioned nurseries for allowing us to "steal" these beautiful photos.

Mary Queen of Scots (species), Rosa Mundi (gallica), Assiniboine (shrub)

John Cabot (shrub), Raubritter (shrub), Frontenac (shrub)

I also like to liberally use such favorites as Iris, Daylilies, bulbs of many different kinds, and ground covers in the perennial scheme. Cottage and English style gardens are my favorites. I find such wonder in the carefully planned chaos that is the perennial garden. Since there are no gardens here to photograph yet, this page will be without our personal touch for a while longer. We hope to remedy that beginning this coming spring! Our first order of business will be taking a few "before" pictures to show what a huge undertaking we have begun! As we prepare, dig and plant, we will photograph more to document our yard's transformation from plain to impressive.

Happy Gardening to all!

Garden Links:

The Garden Book Club
Garden Escape Home Page
Northern Gardening
Spring Valley Roses ~ Nursery & Gardens
Mary Geisert's Home Page

Thanks to many beautiful Gardening pages for the "borrowed" graphics.

Thanks to Mary Lee in Delaware for the spring robin graphic!

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