Maybe I should have posted this pic on the Hosta forum since most of the plants in this border are indeed Hosta...it must be the ultimate plant for shade. I used to grow a mix of plants along the pathway on the north side of my house but the Hostas edged out most of the others.
Wow, that's beautiful, Todd. What is the tall varigated plant in upper left corner of picture?
Terrie
Silverleaf Dogwood, Cornus sericea 'Elegantissima'
It is beautiful. Going to look it up now. :-)
I have a variegated privet hedge that looks just like that. Love the hostas!
Hi Jamie!
Does your privet have leaves that are that long? If so, I want to know the name, please, and where you got it!!! The one I have has little bitty, almost round, leaves. :-(
Hey Terrie-
Mine are elongated like the dogwood, but not that long! They are not as round and "boxy" as the regular privets I have seen. These grow to 6 feet tall/wide if you let them and have little white flowers in the spring if you don't prune them severly. I have mine planted as foundation plants around the front and side of my house. I wanted the same thing around the front/side as it wraps around, but the side of the house is full shade and horrible soil. The front has good soil and a lot of sun. The privet was something that would tolerate both conditions so that's what I went with! I really don't like hedges per se, but these look light and airy so I figured it was a good compromise! I made the front part of the bed wider so I can put annuals in front, then tapered it as it wraps around the side of the house. I just want to cover up the foundation over there but I can't have a pretty flower bed so I made it just wide enough for the hedge. We'll see how it turns out- I just planted 1 gallon pots this fall but they have already grown quite a bit.
Sounds very pretty and the light color will be a nice contrast to all of your huge shade trees. Is the landscape project on hold or are you working through the winter?
We are having our retaining wall rebuilt next month so that's the next landscape project. I can think of better ways to spend $3800 on the yard, but it has to be done. I guess it's a good use of money to get that dangerous eyesore fixed but I just hate it. To me it feels like buying a new transmission or something- necessary, but expensive and not really a "pleasure buy." We are also rolling out some St. Augustine sod in the backyard in the spring, budget permitting. How 'bout you? Any projects?
Yeah, I know about spending money on those no fun things. We had to spring for a new french drain this year. I'm not doing much of anything this winter but I do have a tree next to our driveway that I would like to have cut down and dug out so that I will have more room for another flower bed come spring. LOL It is an old red bud that has seen younger and better days. My DH has been telling me for two years that he and a friend would cut it down. Think I'll probably have to dig into my gardening budget to have it done professionally. (Who am I kidding? What budget?) LOL
We have a redbud that is litterally 1 foot from the corner of our L-shaped porch. One of my pet peeves- not thinking it through when you decide to plant a tree! The arborist we used wanted to hack it down because they supposedly only live about 20 years and he thinks our surpassed that age long ago. It is the biggest redbud I have ever seen, and it is irritating because we have to cut it back off the roof about 3 or 4 times during the spring/summer. But it still has a profusion of pink branches in the spring and for about 2 weeks it's the most gorgeous thing on the block so I'm not cutting it down yet. I just built my flowerbed around it. And I agree- what budget? Well, there is an answer to that actually. How much available credit do I have on the plastic? Ha! Sad but true. I'm a CPA, I should know better. Right!
Sorry to take over your thread Todd. I'll stop now! :)
Gardeners are so easily distracted! LOL!
Hi, Todd--your North Border is so full and the plants are so healthy and thriving...how many hours of sun does your North border get? I know some hostas can take some sun, and it looks in the pic like you get some there....just wondering...
You give me hope for my North border...but it gets no sun at all and the deer, voles, etc. snack on the hostas....
Thanks for posting. t.
The north border gets about 2 hours of sun in the late afternoon, but gets none in early spring or fall. Only June and July provide sun; by mid August the sun is too low to shine over the 6 foot fence next to the bed.
Todd:
Thanks for the picture. It looks like you did a great job of layering in what looks to be a very narrow space. When was this photo taken? I am guess that it was not taken on Dec 27! I passed up on a variegated dogwood during a fall clearance and your picture makes me wish that I did not.
- Brent
The photo was taken in early August. The bed is only 4 feet wide and VERY full!
Your border is beautiful! I planted shade-loving plants on the north side of my house, which is shaded by a Live Oak. If it looks half as good as yours, I'll be thrilled!
This message was edited Jan 22, 2005 11:26 AM
Part of the reason the plants do well on my north border is that the plants have no competition from tree roots. Its simply the house shading the area. Under trees, the tree roots often prevent the plants from being so lush.
Beautiful! Ooooh...spring, spring, spring. Maybe if we say it over and over again Spring will come early this year ;) Lovely shade bed, nice work.
Todd, this is just fabulous! I saw the picture of your border earlier and it made me rake the north-facing area of my house. No kidding.
Thanks for sharing.
Annapet
