Wild" garden vs. tidy gardens which do you prefer pt 2

We were talking on not planting poplars because the roots take over and suckers come up all over.

new thread because the older one was getting too long.

Any more pics of wild or tidy gardens?

Yep - here's another one. Messy messy. :-)

Messy? It's a 'before' photo - but I couldn't resist. Moby this is too fun.

it doesn't look messy just very full of great plants. My kinf of garden!

Heh guys, there is also a sucker spray you can buy at your local nursery, it costs about 24.00 for a RTU bottle of it.

I'll have to check that out!

i have been making a new bed for the last 2 years, which is taking out zoysia grass and planting. I have to dig down 4 inches and then removing the grass and keep as much of the soil as possible. it is a slow process and the bad thing is that i don't like the bed that i have done. it is to messy and needs to be a little more defined so i am now changing what i have done while working on the new. i will never be done!

this is the picture of the grass that i have to take out

I hate that part of gardening too, but when you finish, it is worth it!!! Keep on going!!!

jerrynm, have you considered renting a sod cutter? I've hand dug Bermuda out and it's not fun! We rented the sod cutter this and last spring and it sure makes it easier.

Doss,
Okay, so the first is my kind of garden
the secong pic is "messy"

No I haven't ever thought about a sod cutter. It does work huh? I will check into it at my hardware store! Thanks for the tip

Yes, they do work. It goes down several inches and just runs a blade underneath the grass. You can roll the sod up or cut it into squares and just lift it off. I don't know about your grass, but since Bermuda grows really deep, I put down several layers of newspaper then added my new topsoil. It keeps the grass from growing back thru. Well, 98% of it. You can usually rent it for a few hours or for the entire day. This year we cut out our bed, one for the neighbors on the left, and then one for the neighbor's across the street. (who just let grass grow back in theirs!!)

Looking pretty wild today

Mine is always pretty wild looking. I like not always having to "fix" something.

it looks beautiful!

I think so too:)I wish I could get that much color in one place.:(
Sylvia

Definitely WILD!! Put everything in and take out what doesn't belong!!

And put everything EVERYWHERE too!!

JuBabe, looks great! What kind of vine is that in back?

dmc, love the color! looks like you have a lot of tall flowers, which are my favs. What all is in there?

I go a little crazy with color....I use a lot of Asiatic lilies, mostly soft pinks and pale yellows, and phlox for the backbone. I let a few ditchlilies grow for height, and they bloom early, but like monarda and malva volunteers, need to be yanked often to keep in bounds. In front of those I showcase daylilies, with delphinium (I grow lots of Aurora Blue from seed) to accent.
I bought a veronica that gets about 5'tall and is graceful, so I let that run through, and there are clumps of yarrow Achillea Moonshine.

My favorite NEW to me plant is Rudbeckia Prairie Sun. It's the black eyed susan with the green eye - sturdy clumps, long blooming, extremely neat, color that's not too harsh...I'm in zone 4 and it wintered great, AND it's simple to start from seed. oh, and looks great in bouquets....

Back to work!!

It is very lovely. And who is that little critter in your first picture?

Speaking of wild. Mostly, the vine is Virginia Creeper w/ some Passion Vine growing on top. They both grow wherever they want. I can't stop them!

Thanks Mobi. The critter is Lydia. She "helps", and then rolls in her own little catnip garden!!
Dorothy

I got our early enough today to take some more pictures.

sorry , wrong picture. They can be so small in the viewer it's hard to tell which is which

It looks very lush!! How do you keep it so nice in July in Texas?

Water, water and more water i would bet ya...

Doesn't all that water just boil the plants??

Everything gets watered everyday... or more correctly everynight.




In this picture you can see my little helper.

Well, that explains why everything looks so nice...you have help!!

Same here - JuBabe do you have roses? That is the only thing my night watering gets to is the roses... have had to go out and water them during the daylight hours so they can dry before night... Mitch

I have my roses watering at 7am. I'm too chicken to water them at night. That could cause lots of big problems!

I knew it - I tried and got so many problems.... early morn watering... You really have to think about the heat in watering around here..

Where is Red Oak? Do you get the same kind of heat that we have here in West Texas?

Good question Dmcdevitt! A lot of this stress plants are going thru is too much sun. I got a timer set for three times a day...full force for all my plants that are in the ground. I do the hose thing for my potted plants in the morn and evening when I get home. ...cant help spraying the ground too.....sooooo ...How much water is too much? Mitch you should know...you have a personal relationship with the Dallas Utilities Commission. lol!
Sylvia

p.s. DMC...you are showing off up there!;) you east coast people have all the luck with your short growing period....where everything blooms at once and you are not dependant on annuals for color...and the artisian well water for thristy plants. I am a derivitive of Connecticut and its the only place I have lived where one truly gets four seasons. ...and the Fall...Oh the Fall season!... it is glorious in all its gold splendor...I miss that when I think about it...sigh...
Sylvia

This message was edited Jul 21, 2005 10:51 PM

Is everyone experiencing hotter than usual temps this summer?

It's been way hot and humd here since June. May was the third coldest in history, averaging 20 degrees below normal and no rain....tough on lots of stuff.
But Sedrick, my sister in law from Ft, Worth was here (grew up in Mass,) and we were talking gardens. I didn't know DG had all this great info and will tell her to log on!
JuBabe's gardens are an inspiration! I had no idea you could pull that off in TX.
Oh, and as my brother does, please send pics in Nov Dec JanFeb and especially March when we've lost ALL hope up here!!
I love my summer explosion of color, but it sure is short!! And even when I snowblow them off, the plants don' look too great!!

This message was edited Jul 22, 2005 7:07 AM

I am right South of Dallas City in the county we get hot, not your hot but hot.

Sedrick - to much water is . . ummmmm I plead the 5th! Lets just say the water you need for 100+ cannas and 10 groves of diff. Musa added to the rest of the yard tends to be "to much"! I got to get away fro so many non natives working on it - slow going... cant get rid of my musa just yet...