Beginner Gardening: A word taken from experience to beginners (and oldies), 3 by NancyGroutsis

NancyGroutsis wrote:
rteets, that's excellent advice! Spring of this year I was gathering stones from a bulldozed field in my neighborhood that only had a few little plants and mostly dirt so I could see the stones, and now the attached pictures show it's as full as it was before they bulldozed it. Yikes! I was out there yesterday with my mosquito hat and 4 layers of clothing snapping pictures and looking for a royal fern that took me a while to find because it was overpowered by 5-ft. high asters and joe pye and God knows what else. In the spring I saw some small tansies growing along the brook and was considering bringing them into my garden but I'm glad I didn't because they're 4 1/2 ft. high now (3rd picture). And I got a rash on my hand after touching them and I read they're toxic to skin, so I was afraid of them.

I planted a scrawny 2-stem little Fire and Ice hydrangea last year in the swamp/forest next to my house, then I put it in our south garden in the autumn, and now it's 4-ft. high and growing so fast I had to add a plant support a few weeks ago (right plant in 4th photo). It's supposed to grow ten feet and it's in a 2-ft. planting space because I thought it would take a few years to be substantive, but I'm thinking of transplanting it again this fall because I'm not doing any gardening in that area next year and I'm afraid it will turn into a giant and harm the Quickfire hydrangea next to it. I think it's okay to plant big-growing shrubs close together for eye-appeal but they should be chopped down or transplanted while they are still small and easy to remove in order to make space. Finally, you have a really lovely garden and I admire your style. - N.G.

This message was edited Aug 31, 2014 10:33 AM