That sounds like a wonderful safe solution......I would imagine you'd have to spray perfume after each rainfall......
June, clematises and chat
We live on a peninsula and there are 45 homes here along with a herd of 24 at last count. I can't envision the properties covered with perfumed tee shirts. No hunting is allowed though many are requesting that bow and arrow hunters be allowed.
I get irate when people say, "They were here first". No, they weren't. I met a man in his 70's who hunted here for years,with his father, 50+ years ago and they never even saw a deer...ever. None of these deer are my age!
One deer kicked our hound in the chest. We did have him operated on but he did not survive. The deer have threatened the few local children we have and yet nothing is done.
I find deer increasingly annoying......one ran in front of my car a few weeks ago. Pirl, I find it funny you live near Hill Rd. I'm assuming it's a very flat area by the coast......my road is off of Hill RD.....which is a killer hill, but not as bad as my road. This is a watercolor of the JI you gave me last year...I finished it in art class today....
How beautiful, Marilyn! Great job.
Our Hill Road has a slight dip but it certainly isn't a hill. It was named after Judge Hill, a local in the 60's. You can see the road in this photo.
Marilyn, what a lovely painting! I love the delicacy of the colors and the shape...
Okay, I have yet another a clematis dilemma. We have this trellis, and last year I planted C Veronica's Choice on each side. This spring one bloomed, and hasn't done much since. The other climbed to near the top, but didn't bloom. Over the winter I decided to make a Blue Garden there, but also decided not to move the Clems. I knew other things would be happening in and around the bed, nothing here is all that strict (doesn't go with the 'feel' of the place), even at Sissinghurst the Purple Garden has a ginormous red rose, etc. any excuse will do, lol.
But the trellis is so bare! I have a Jackmanii blooming its head off right now. So I'm thinking, there are lots of purple undertones already there in this Blue Garden, VC is between flushes (assuming it survives and eventually 'leaps'), and the Jackmanii would fill it out a lot. Soooo... In the fall, not now, I could move the short one to the side with the one that climbed, that would help the display there. And put Jackmanii on the far side, knowing it will bloom at the top and cascade where we can see it.
Is there anything wrong with this scenario? Pirl, I know you have a monster Jackmanii, but although we have very good soil, this is nowhere near the compost pile. And you do trim yours during the season if it gets out of bounds, right? And it does get cut back in the spring, so the early Veronica's Choice bloom would be unaffected by it. When the VC gets to the top, would the second flush be lost? Or would the flowers rise to the light? The exposure is very full sun, north is toward the back of the photo, so the blooms would face south toward the house.
Would a different combo be better?
Yikes! So many questions, lol!
Probably the confusion is my own but is it a trellis or the arbor? If it's the trellis in the first photo then I doubt any Jackmanii will want to share it willingly but it still would grow. If it's too happy there it could overwhelm the trellis - that's my only fear.
Why not give VC another year to strut her stuff? Give both VC's more manure, more compost (no need to dig in the manure), and water with ES.
Yes, Jackmanii (all) get trimmed back but the one at the compost gets lopped back a lot and frequently.
Any other clematis would be far enough away (I hope) so you won't prune it by accident. As long as that's the case, go ahead and plant a Jackmanii for summer blooms if you decide not to wait. (Many of us are just as impatient!)
This Ernest Markham (pink at bottom) was planted in my dumber days when pruning wasn't a top consideration when pairing clem's. It still does manage to show off though it would be happier elsewhere but trying to trace back the stems isn't easy. So your VC will still probably give a second bloom.
Have I added to your confusion?
I do like the fact that you've strayed a bit from all blue. Some of us can glaze over if there isn't enough contrast.
I did mean the arbor, sorry. In the first photo you only see the bottom because the blooms are so low. So the Jackmanii would be on one side, and the VCs would share the other side, they'd meet at the top. There's a stone stair in between, no chance the Jackmanii could bother the other clems :-). The VCs will only have to compete with each other. So they bloom early while the Jackmanii is just climbing up the other side, then it gets to the top and starts blooming. Eventually the VCs have their second flush, hopefully through the Jackmanii. That's the only time they would tangle.
It's too funny, the whole blue idea was based on the Platycodons being hard to blend into a mixed border and giving them their own place to shine, and actually they are purple. So there's no way to be a purist, even if I wanted that. Also, besides the example at Sissinghurst, Jekyll herself said that sticking too rigidly to a color scheme was terrible, that if something looked good and was happy it should stay.
The last picture in my earlier post was meant to show that the arbor is practically invisible from a distance because there's nothing of interest on it.
The arbor would be ideal for the clem's you mentioned. Jackmanii is a strong grower so you may want to give the VC duet the primary side of the arbor with the main view, since purple also disappears from view easily. Any light color would show up well on the arbor.
Purists are fine doing their work on their own property. A balance of colors, shapes, sizes and foliage always interests me more.
Whenever I read about Ms. Jekyll I find it so upsetting to know she went blind at the end of her life. That seems so unfair.
Yes, I agree... Like Beethoven...
And I agree about Jackmanii going on the far side. Originally I assumed that the purple would be too dark to be so far away, but now that it's in bloom, I'm amazed at how it glows.
It's nature's cruelest trick to take that which the individuals cherished so much.
A lot depends on how the sun shines on the clematis. Ours at the compost is nearly invisible, except for the height, in the late afternoon.
Your hostas look so very happy there!
Help! I have a bijou clematis that I planted in the spring and it hasn't grown at all. It looks healthy but just isn't growing. It's in an area that has midday and afternoon sun. Should I move it somewhere that it will get more sun or is this typical first year behavior? Thanks!!
I hope others who grow this one will chime in to help you. I don't have it.
Are the leaves green or are they withered, brown or dead looking?
If the leaves are fine I'd leave it alone. The heat we had for 10 days may have had an effect on it. As the weather continues to cool down (we hope) look for new growth and let us know how it is performing.
It's under enough stress with the heat so I would not move it now.
Do you have it very well mulched? Is it getting regular watering?
How many hours of sunlight do you think your clem is getting.
Quite often when we plant clems and other plants, they don't appear to do much in the way of growth. They are getting established where you have planted them. Just keep your clem watered. You may see a bit of growth before the season ends and you may not. Clems typically spend the first year sleeping, the second year creeping and the third year leaping.
Great thanks! The leaves are a healthy green so I'll leave it and see what happens next year.
Happy Birthday, pirl! AND, many happy returns. Wish I could give you a bouquet of flowers like your mother did.......enjoy your day....kim
Thank you, Kim. How I wish my mom were here to just give me a hug! Thanks for the good thoughts.
Happy Birthday Arlene. I hope it is a truly grand birthday for you. Funny, we never outgrow that feeling of wanting our Mom to give us hugs.
Thanks, Carolyn. I hope all moms out there realize how much we love those hugs.
Hope your day was very special, Pirl!
Thanks, Marilyn. Now they're on the way home and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet. Often we don't realize how much noise a family makes!
Well, I just about missed your birthday! I hope it was wonderful and lasts all year with good health and happiness.
Marcia
Belated Happy Birthday wishes Arlene. I hope that you had an amazing day!
I wish for you many happy, healthy gardening years..
Annette
Thanks, Marcia and Annette. I do appreciate all the good wishes and hope they all come true.
The cupcake flowers my daughter made were a big hit!
How creative of your daughter. They are so cool!
Thanks. They were also delicious and we do have a few left to enjoy. My daughter is a great baker and cake decorator. She begins teaching the Wilton cake decorating course this week.
These are the hands of my daughter and 22 year old granddaughter as they light the candles. We had the Southold Fire Department ready to spring into action but I blew them out with one breath.
I'm glad you had a great birthday, and I agree with Marcia, your daughter is very talented. Your cupcakes were beautiful.
Glad the fire dept. wasn't needed ;-)
Oh no!! Something chomped on my Bijou :( there's still some left- time for a plant cage!
Thanks, Annette. The cupcakes and cake were even better to eat! My daughter has had two photography shows, teaches music and has her degree in Music Therapy to work with developmentally challenged children.
I mentioned the age of my granddaughter so people wouldn't think I allow a child to use a lighter for the candles. She was born the day before I turned 50 - the nicest gift I've ever received.
The fire department was glad, too!
Snarva - was it the newest leaves that were attacked? Was it the leaves as well as the vine? Do you have any deer problems? Here the deer will eat the newest leaves and prefer montana grandiflora and Duchess of Albany over all other clematises. Last week they managed to get into the terrace area, despite all my blockades that worked for months, and you can see what they did to the hostas that were due to bloom in mid August. I hate the deer!
This message was edited Jul 31, 2013 8:43 AM
Pirl, what a gift your daughter was! Our son was born when Doug was 52......kept him young, don't know about me! The cupcakes looked too pretty to eat!
My daughter is one of the great joys of my life.
My mom gave birth to me when she was 42 and claimed it kept her young. I decided not to try that!
The cupcakes went quite well with Turkey Hill's Black Raspberry ice cream - double yummy!
Oh, how I hate deer too! And I have a couple of tiny little clematis that I keep trying to get started, and along come the deer and with one chomp, it's down to a little nub again.
They are a scourge to gardeners and farmers. I know the tree huggers love them but I don't. It's difficult to hybridize a plant, get the seeds, plant them as they're kept labeled, wait three years for a bloom, see them in bud and then wake up to eaten buds. Highly discouraging.
I agree about daughters. Mine was and is still my first true love... I'm sooooo lucky!
It's such a glorious feeling to be happy with our children.
I've looked through this thread so many times and now I have become obsessed just a little.. Lol thank you all for all the tips and expertise that you guys give on this forum. It is so valuable to me.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it, Antoinette.
Now my Omoshiro is in bloom again and Dr. Ruppel just finished another round of blooms. Henryi decided to see what life at the top of the squirrel sown Hickory tree was like so look up and you can see the blooms.
I have a few putting out a couple of blooms also. That sure is a nice sight. One was looking all dead, so I cut it back. New growth came on it and a few new blooms.
Yes, it always comes as a big surprise in late August and in the fall but they are always a joy to see.
I accidentally stepped on one 2 weeks ago while it was blooming and broke it off. I was pulling weeds around it. I thought oh crap I killed it. Well it came back strong , I just hope I get blooms again before a frost.