Yep, definitely the vetch. Kill it now. That's the one that totally took over my front bed a couple years back -- solidly enough that it looked like it was planted on purpose! I'm still trying to get it out of there. At least it's not hideous. But still. Its stems break very easily, so you can pull it to knock it back or discourage it, but it's hard to pull and get the root out.
Yardening Spring 2013
If it's a Wallflower the scent should be wonderful!!!!
I will dig up the 2 Wallflowers but the vetch has got to go! Its hard to believe but there are places that sell seeds for that stuff. Crazy!
Well, it does do a really good job of holding topsoil in place and preventing erosion. Way back, PA used it for a while on steep banks along roadways... and then they noticed that the number of deer collisions was skyrocketing and put 2+2 together. But if you had a steep sunny bank that wasn't along a highway, it might be just the ticket.
Jill, I agree. I like it in my yard, garden just remindin my self that it does take some 'maintenance' on my part so we can all play well together! Where you have yours is perfect until you (like all us gardeners) decide to do something else there.
Me, personally would never pull all of mine out . it does a good job for me and is so much less work and expense and trial and error than to replace it with tons of mulch, weed fabric, and other plants that can thrive on my brand of care and neglect and still look as good!
Still, there is the embarassment of 'harboring an invasive or plant thought thugish' by other gardeners.
I believe that I have more 'invasives' in my yarden than 'acceptable' plants! So, if you rue invasives dont come to visit, but if you'd like to see multiple examples of how I have come to learn to live with them and how they potentially fill a space in my yard for your own decision making process (like the PA Roads Dept) stop on by! Hopefully when the best 'distraction' I've got going in my garden, ostrich fern and bleeding hearts are at full peak!
It really does look good, all together, coleup.
Robin--
The first one (that invasive Crown Vetch)--was introduced by lady Bird Johnson to "beautify"
the roadsides and such. It was her contribution to ecology.
Pretty soon it was like the Kudzu--all over everywhere....every state--all the roadsides--
all over the USA.
Wish i could remember the name---maybe it IS Crown Vetch--maybe it has another name....
Gita
Coleup, any vetch you saw at my place wasn't there by invitation! It snuck in during the couple of years I couldn't get out into the garden much. Now it's on my list for "kill it. kill it now" plants, although I do see how it would be useful in certain places. Deer love it too much for it to be good near roads anymore, though.
I hope every body got some planting down with the beautiful weekend, cuz this is great weather for the plants to recover in.
Ric planted his Glad bulbs today and I cleaned out more of the back yard getting beds ready for planting. Things are coming around pretty nicely. We are supost to get rain the next couple of days. We sure could use it but I would rather be able to work in the gardens. Guess we will see what we get.
I saw this beauty today. I had to take a picture of it.
WOW that really shouts look at me. How beautiful.
Paul stopped by today and helped me plant a massive hydrangea from Holly and Ric. :) I'd already dug a wide hole, so Paul was able to drag and drop it in. Thank you again Paul, Ric, and Holly!
Ric, I pruned a third of the branches all the way down, as you'd suggested. That seemed to really help open it up.
The smaller one hasn't been planted yet but did get a pretty drastic pruning. The grass growing in the middle seemed to be trapping so much moisture that it's rotting a lot of the branches. My big plan now is to divide the rootball of the smaller hydrangea to separate the variegated and non-variegated portions. It'll be easier to rip out of the grass once it's divided.
WOW Paul! Deciduous azalea?
Sally yes indeed
Paul, I had to look twice to see that it was an azalea in the photo - wow.
I saw the huge hydrangeas that Ric and Holly brought for ssg, and when I say huge, I mean HUGE. It took all three of them to get those hydrangeas into Terri's car and it was a struggle. I was absolutely no help at all - I was occupied playing catch with Joyanna, and before I realized I should jump in to help they managed to get the job done. Way to go Terri for getting a hole that size dug, and yay for Paul for getting it dragged and dropped.
Terri, it really is something. It loves that location.
Gorgeous color!!! Locally (about 7 miles away)there was a man who grew azaleas and propagated them. His yarden is a wonderland . He opened it up so anyone can visit. My mom loved to go there. I don't know if he is still alive. I have visions of him(he was over ninety) driving my mom around on his little golf cart. She only did that one year- the bouncing was hard on her bones. The colors he had were amazing. That yellow reminded me of them. He had oranges and reds and every shade of pink and purple. It is spectacular!
Great news on the hydrangea!
Jan,
Oh wow I wonder too. I might do some snooping when I'm up there.
Paul, bring the dog, and let it off the leash '' by accident'- to run into the desired yardfull of azaleas
Where else but DG can you get instant full grown shrubs in your yard overnight???
Lmao.
azalea snooping... I'm in!
That brilliant gold is wonderful... and the blooms are so big! Is that typical of deciduous azaleas?
Jill,
Yes that is a well placed deciduous azalea. They require full sun. I have a bunch in part sun and they just don't bloom well without full sun. I'm working on identifying the cultivar.
Yes, I can vouch for what Paul said -- we have a deciduous azalea in part sun, and we are always pleased to see it but it looks nothing like Paul's photo. My jaw dropped when I saw that photo... I just bought two deciduous azaleas (want cuttings later this year when it is the right time for cuttings, anyone?) and I am rethinking where I will plant them....
This message was edited May 10, 2013 11:00 PM
Been yardening nearly full time since getting home from Jill's Sunday. With what I got from Jill I probably had 300 Glads.I got a bunch more veggie garden dug and tilled, as well as weeding some more perennial beds. We have been preparing and potting plants for our garden club plant sell Saturday (read swap). We have a great crop of compost this year, the few small things I've been adding really jumped up the action.
Do any of you prune moss phlox (subulata) after flowering? I think I might give them a little hair cut this weekend. They bloomed really nicely but are now looking kind of shabby.
Last year, my asters got so tall that they literally grew horizontally. I read that you should prune them a few times before the Fourth of July in order to encourage bushy growth and minimize flopping. I already gave them a little haircut and will follow up again next month.
I know we do it at work, does that help? =)
Edit: Sorry, I should clarify that: we prune back our phlox after blooming time. :)
This message was edited May 10, 2013 6:01 PM
Terry, When the petals first brown, creeping, moss, phlox (subulata) does look untidy. cropping it does improve the aesthetics a bit, left on it's own the petals will drop and find their way to the ground. We usually don't have time to trim ours, but the trimming will stimulate new growth making the plant fuller and greener in preparation for summer.
I trim the moss phlox.
Lets move over to our Summer Yardening thread thread over here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/region_mida/all/