A word taken from experience to beginners (and oldies)

I know that all of us are tempted to fill in whatever expanse of land we have and make it look good now. I found this picture of my back garden taken about 6 years ago. The garden space is quite big and, as you can see, the pitiful little plants were lost in it. But thankfully, I didn't have enough money to fill it in. I gave each plant the recommended distance according to the label. I wish I had given more! The second picture was taken this morning. Even at this I have taken 7 of the big shrubs out and it has only been 6 years. I could never have imagined how fast things would grow and how hard it is to take out grown shrubs!

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

N.G. I had to chuckle at your dilemma. I know all too well how fast things grow! Now that my garden is "middle aged" I spend just as much time taking things out as I do putting them in. Ironic, I suppose. I give away what I can and compose the rest. I'm not too sentimental about most of my plants anymore.

Here is a picture of part of my garden the beginning of June this year and then last Sunday. 3 months...... Wow.

Thanks for the compliment. I love your hydrangeas as well. Mine of my favorite plants and you have beautiful species!

rteets, yes the Quickfire and Fire and Ice are great. I like the fact that the adult plant doesn't have to be staked, but the young Fire and Ice is growing horizontally on one side so I thought it should be trained to grow upward. Your garden filled out a lot in three months, and I like the natural curve shapes. I'm going to start taking photos of my garden every season so I can track its evolution better.

Nancy G.

Very timely reminder for me, r; thank you!

I like that the curves of your bed seem to follow the contours of the land. Or daybeds the bed itself creates that impression, but either way, it's very attractive.

Excellent, excellent, super-excellent advice!...and impressive how much your garden has matured in six short years. Beautiful.pictures! Thanks for the tip! I'll try to restrain and control my urge to overfill my garden beds (it's so hard not to get carried away though).

It is hard not to get carried away. When you have the room you want to fill it for sure. I have a bed that's going to get overcrowded in a few years. I'm cool with that though because that's kind of how I intended it. It will be a screen when it is all grown and preferably there will be no space between the shrubs. Yours looks nice though Rheets. What is the large plant on either side of the garden?

That would be Salix "Hakuru Nashiki". The new growth is white and pink. It is magnificent and you can't take your eyes off it in the spring into summer. It grows fast and was about 18 in tall when I planted it. I can't find the close-up pictures but here are a couple from a distance

Oh ok, I thought it might be that. I like the way you have yours trimmed.

rteets, how many years old is that Salix?

That Salix is 8 years old. It was about 18 in high when it was planted. It is in the first picture of this thread if you can locate it (it's so small). Once established they grow very fast!

I meant to mention it is two years old in the first picture of the thread.

OK, thanks! It is gorgeous. Obviously worth the wait! I have to figure out how to add one to my garden now. Perfect timing, because I need some foundation plants. =)

I was thinking of you and this thread on Saturday Rheets. I had to pull a couple red chokeberries from one bed (I planted them this spring) and put them in another bed. As I was doing that, I said to myself, man this bed is getting crowded with large shrubs!! They both ended up in the same hole to save a little room but I thought it was funny.

If it happened in one season you are faster than me!

Technically it would be two because I started the bed fall last year...LOL...if that makes it any better. And you know what's worse yet? I made sure they were planted in the same hole so I still had 'room' for another shrub or two at the other end where there most certainly won't be 'room' in a few years as the American Holly I planted there starts maturing. It's a stick now though....lol