Sounds like Bob doesn't have much to do with his time. what would he do if you decided to make a tape of his raking? Would that slow him down or escalate the whole thing?
The city of Minneapolis encourages people to use the area between the side walk and street for rain gardens and to put in other rain gardens and have gardens rather than grass. There is a free program of classes to teach how to put in a rain garden. It is a two part program of two hours each night. There are many of them through the city. At the end you get a voucher for $75 to help pay for the plants. You even get money off your water/sewer bill when you put in a rainwater garden.
Now wouldn't that drive Bob crazy.
evergreen natives?
We have these really neat mini video cams on our property. They are state of the art technology and are weather proof and wireless. You'd be surprised at the advances we've taken in this area in just the last few years. It's absolutely amazing what they can reveal and the images are so clear you would be left with your jaw on the ground. They aren't at all like the black and white grainy videos you see replayed on the 10 o'clock news from 7-11 stores that have been robbed. Our neighborhood is sort of boring. You have Bob but we have a Glady Kravitz who wouldn't dare touch a plant over here but she sure does like to call in anonymously when anyone removes a Buckthorn tree... she's afraid people are going to pull a Mr. T and cut down all the plants to create a xeroscape or something to destroy property values and doesn't know the difference between a noxious weed and a tree. Regardless, she's was a big pain in the rear with her repeated calls to the Village of the past but she does stay off other people's properties and knocked off the nonsense when the Village inspector commented that her actions might be viewed as harassment. I really think you should invest in one of these surveillance systems. If nothing else but to provide yourself with a little comic relief. One Halloween I had to leave to go pick up a kid real quick so I stuck a big note on the cauldron that had all our candy in it that said "please take one". Needless to say that was evidently too tempting with full size candybars in there and all went well until a group of teenage girls came up the drive. The one gal literally cleaned me out of candy bars and then passed them out to all of her friends right in my driveway. Pretty sad being as how Halloween is for the younger kids. The following year her little band of candy thiefs didn't show up but they did last year. Nyuk nyuk nyuk! Needless to say I had a little fun with Amanda when I handed her and her little friends specially prepared bags that were twist tied that had three (3) pieces of candy corn in each bag set aside from last year when they no-showed. Her comments were rather interesting. She laughed good naturedly and commented that this was a "trick". My reply, "Nope not a trick or treat deal". She and her friends giggled until I told her that what was a "treat" was watching her and her little friends emptying out the cauldron two years ago so that all the little kids who came trick or treating after her got stiffed. She claimed she didn't do it. That was when I pointed up to a tiny little video cam overhead. I told her that one was color but that there were quite a few more strategically placed for optimal entertainment value and that I'd be happy to share copies of her emptying the cauldron and redistributing the wealth with any of their parents if they were interested otherwise it was my suggestion that they take their "specially prepared goodie bags" and be hush. Then there were the teens who snuck on the property to go skinny dipping way out back in the pond. Their response to the video cams was... shall we say... "Priceless". Like I said, it's sort of boring around here but I'm thinking you should seriously consider one of these systems. You don't need to pay the monthly fees to feed into a central monitoring station if you don't want to. The images will replay onto your tv and you can check in from work on your computer monitor if you want. It's pretty wild. I'm thinking BOB might be a candidate for America's Funniest Home Videos- what do you think?
Well, now that I know what's going on out front of your home... might I suggest Multiflora Rosa? Japanese Barberry might be a nice touch too as would a nice hedgerow of blackberries right there next to the curb. Perhaps a nice arbor made out of Honeylocust, Black Locust, and Buckthorn would be a little added extra touch of "neighborliness" and for goodness sake do not forget adding a few Nettles to the mix because most of those can cause a nasty toxic reaction when one touches them that doesn't feel that great. There are all those nice poisonous plants out there suggested by V V but the problem with using any of those in your curbside landscape design is children (they shouldn't be playing in the street anyway but you never know these days with the way some parents supervise/don't supervise their kids) might run into those and you're planting for BOB not innocents. By the way, there is a plant out there that blows Poison Ivy, Poison Sumac, and Poison Oak out of the water- it is Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). Touch that and you'll look like you have flesh eating bacteria or leprosy.
Viburnum Valley
Ah, such a devious mind you have there. Some how, and I just don't know how it happened, the stakes hidden in the interior of the plants to support them, were wrapped in thorny rose canes. I do live right near a school and I love when the little kids walk by and I hear them say " I love the flower jungle." Future gardeners of America ? So, I have to be careful what I plant .
zenpotter
I only lose when this escalates in the conventional manor. I did escalate by adding onto my garden in the front, a rain garden on my neighbors property. Permission granted of course. This will catch the downspout water from my roof. Lucky you to live in an enlightened city that actually contributes to establishing rain gardens. I like to think I'm fighting a negative with a persistant positive. Actually he is recorded in a magazine called "Weird NJ", alias RAKEMAN.
Equilibrium
Now that was the best laugh I had in a long time. Such patience and restraint to wait 2 years. When the Big Old Buffoon removed the plant name tags from the schoolyard butterfly garden he hit a stray patch of poison ivy. The wild parsnip would have been much more interesting.
Pixie
I went to the first session of the rain garden workshop last night. It was very informative. We got a folder full of information, drawings/plans of various rain gardens. A list of places to get the various materials and on and on.
We have homework for the second session, scale drawings of our yards, side views with slope figured out, have the city come out to show us where our utility lines are buried, photos and work out ideas where to put in a rain garden or two. I already had most of it done.
At the second session there will be the two presenters plus 10 interns in landscape design to help us go over our drawings and figure out the best place for a rain garden, rain barrel etc. We will be able to schedule a free session where one of the people will come out to help us assess our site. What a fantastic service it is.
Under your spruce the best would be "pine barrens" plants and fungi. Most plants will not do well under a conifer.
Arbutus
Epigea -Trailing arbutus
Arctostaphyllos -Bearberry
Comarostaphylis - Summer Holly
Chimaphila or other Wintergreens.
Gaultheria is easiest and can be grown in the wrong location. Other wintergreens need a partner and mycorrhizae to connect them. I can send spores of the "Arbutoid group": Pisotlithus tinctorus four species of Rhizopogon and maybe Russula (Milk Mushrooms).
http://nybg.org/bsci/res/hall/arbutoides.html
http://www.agbio-inc.com/Ectos.htm
I have bought from both of these:
Scroll down to dwarf & creepy shrubs
http://www.bovees.com/comp%20plant%20for%20cat%
200304_doc.htm
http://www.colvoscreeknursery.com/
zenpotter,
I'd love to follow your process and progress on the raingardens. Can you post photos and drawings and plant choices? Either here or on the Curb Appeal site.
UUallace, Thank you for the excellent information. I will have to do more research to understand the relationship between the plants and the mycorrhizae to use this information properly. The Pine Barrens plants will lead me in a whole new direction.
What do you mean Gaultheria can be grown in the wrong location? The bovees hyperlink didn't work so I'll try a google search.
Pixie
woodlandpixie, I will start a thread when I get further into the process. I do have a native garden that is my attempt to put in a rain garden last summer. My dh and ds dug it for me for mothers day last year, but I didn't have them dig it deep enough to be a true rain garden. I will gather together my info on that as well.
How do you guys manage to post so much and work in the garden? I'm spending all my time lifting and potting up plants so I can remove WEEDS, grrr. Are there more this year because of a mild winter?
zenpotter
I look forward to seeing your progress on the native plant and raingardens. I assume from your name you're a potter. Check out this website for beautiful ceramic tile art. www.triciazimic.com
pixie The last session of the workshop is this Thursday and then I will start some posting. Thanks for the link, I have been experimenting with tiles lately so I could make a mural for a bathroom. It is on it's way. I mainly make sculptures in clay.
I added 2 inkberry but instead of the sidewalk strip I added them as anchors on either side in the garden closer to the house. On the sidewalk strip I added a third Erica for evergreen interest. I'll probably add a few more since they are only about 2 ft. tall. I'm thinking the repition of a line of 6 or 7 will make up for what they lack in height. I purchased a bayberry, Myrica pensylvanica, and was thinking of maybe adding that also. Is that crazy? It looks like it can be anywhere from 2 - !0 ft. tall and 3 - 10 ft. wide . Clearly the larger spread and height would be too much but why the large variation in size?
I added 2 inkberry but instead of the sidewalk strip I added them as anchors on either side in the garden closer to the house. On the sidewalk strip I added a third Erica for evergreen interest. I'll probably add a few more since they are only about 2 ft. tall. I'm thinking the repition of a line of 6 or 7 will make up for what they lack in height. I purchased a bayberry, Myrica pensylvanica, and was thinking of maybe adding that also. Is that crazy? It looks like it can be anywhere from 2 - !0 ft. tall and 3 - 10 ft. wide . Clearly the larger spread and height would be too much but why the large variation in size?
woodlandpixie - You were asking about size variation for the bayberry, according to Dirr "Nine feet is a good average for height, however, quite variable ranging from 5 to 12' in height and could equal that in spread; tends to sucker and therefore forms large colonies."
I read your plant choices with great interest, I'm considering using the inkberry as a small hedge (2 or 3 plants), along with feather reed grass, below my picture window. Will you please post pictures of the inkberry please?
Why do you think you had trouble with this plant in the past? My site is partial shade (from the house itself) on a west-facing exposure.
PrairieGirl,
The 1st inkberry died because it's a hot dry site that gets snow pile up in the winter and salt. The 2nd did better but a car backed over it. Not normal circumstances.
There are a number of cultivars and I have the smallest "compacta". It is in the picture I posted behind the tulips. I purchased 3 from a wholesale nursery and I believe they trimmed them into nice little artificial balls. I will let them grow out into a more natural shape more suitable for a hedge. I'll post a better picture.
Thanks for the bayberry information, clearly a poor choice for the sidewalk strip. I read it does well in all soils as long as its in the sun.
The inkberry is used frequently used in my area as a foundation planting and looks quite nice.
This message was edited Apr 23, 2006 8:27 PM
Thanks for the info. I will definitely try to get some for my foundation planting. How big does 'Compacta' get? Also have read that some cultivars are less leggy? I need male and female plants for berries, so how many of each?
Actually, bayberry can take full sun to part-shade. One other notable thing Dirr says about it is, that provenance may be extremely important for hardiness. He also notes that it tends to be low-growing along the coast "where it is sculptured by the ocean spray and becomes larger inland", that is interesting! This is one of my favorites, but I don't have one yet.
Densa is the one that is not supposed to get leggy. www.fairweathergardens.com Compacta 6'x6'. As you can see this is not the smallest as I thought.
Nordic 4'x4'
Shamrock 5'x5'
Straight species 8'x10'
I was told at the nursery I didn't need a male and female. Any nearby blue holly male will do. I was told all compactas are female. I'm not sure of this information and will have to do a further search.
Densa is the one that is not supposed to get leggy. www.fairweathergardens.com Compacta 6'x6'. As you can see this is not the smallest as I thought.
Nordic 4'x4'
Shamrock 5'x5'
Straight species 8'x10'
I was told at the nursery I didn't need a male and female. Any nearby blue holly male will do. I was told all compactas are female. I'm not sure of this information and will have to do a further search.
Thanks for the help with this, I've been finding a lot of conflicting information. No nearby hollies, so I'll need to get a male and female, hope that I can figure that one out!
New thread for me--just throwing in a few late comments.
Equil--Don't get too excited about the evergreen nature of V. x pragense. That's a Kentucky thing. Illinois does not take too kindly to ANYTHING that claims to be semi-evergreen(or evergreen for that matter!). I have had considerable dieback on V. x pragense as well--perhaps it will harden up with age.
As for hummingbirds--I am not sure how this property of mine has become so blessed with the little hummers, but they are almost like flies buzzing around. When I would water last year, they would spend ten minutes darting in and out of the spray from the hose. I would stand still and hold it up for them, and they would get within a few feet of me. I don't feed them directly, but they are in constant motion all around the property. A good variety of plants seems to do the trick, with something blooming all year long. Quite fun to have around, for both me and the kids(as are the bats that dive bomb the pond at dusk).
Symphoricarpos albus--suckering machine, and kind of ratty looking, but shocking large fruit.
Bayberry--gets large here, so likely larger in Zone 6b
Ilex glabra--love that one, and it seems to like Illinois winters.
Paxistima canbyi--Nobody ever discusses the wonderful "rat stripper"(where are those folks who dig into common name origins--no idea where that one came from). It does great here in blazing full sun. It looks kinda like a tiny yew groundcovery shrub.
Potentilla tridentata--i haven't seen this one mentioned. It's an evergreen groundcover for me, so Zone 6B is a piece of cake. I like it. Spreads well, flowers, etc.
Kevin,
The Potentilla tridentata looks interesting. I did a google search and found it grows in one site in NJ, persisting even when disturbed. It looks like it likes rocky or sandy soil, how did you site it? I'm still waiting for my 2 Paxistima canbyi, but am happy to hear your recommendation.
Now where am I going to put that Bayberry since it gets so large?
Pixie
My P. tridentata is in full sun, regular garden loamy soil. It is doing exceptionally well in several spots. I ordered 3 more that I just planted. I'll have to get a picture for you.
Mine are itsie bitsie tiny babies and they were so tiny when I received them I was afraid to plant them where I had predetermined I was going to stick them in the ground. If they're that hardy, maybe I'll go ahead and stick them in the ground.
Kevin, what's your source for these?
Arrowhead Alpines
Kevin - Is it evergreen for us?
This Arrowhead Alpines for Potentilla tridentata?
http://www.arrowhead-alpines.com/
I couldn't find it.
PG--yes, it has been evergreen for me for the last 3 winters
EQ--Potentilla tridentata 'White Cloud' PRICE 1@ $6.50
A vigorous ground cover the mats of green foliage are dotted with white flowers in summer and it turns a brilliant red in fall.
Its in perennials and rock garden plants. They also have an impressive list of natives/woodland wildflowers that ship early spring.
This message was edited May 8, 2006 11:55 PM
I'm not familiar with 'White Cloud'. How does it differ from the straight species?
I suppose it is more floriferous??
Thanks! Works for me.
Potentilla tridentata next to Sporobolis heterolepsis
From farther away
I ordered three and they just came in. They are so tiny. I'd take a photo and post it but it's hard getting good images through a magnifying glass. How long did it take yours to attain that size?
How's your Sporobolis heterolepsis doing? does it have a nice aroma? I'm thinking of using it in a mass planting.
Equil--those are probably 3 years old.
Birdman--The grass is thriving. Nice aroma? Ummmmm.....I would have to say no. As a matter of fact, I am thinking of moving those in the picture off my sidewalk and into the prairie area as I find the scent offensive.
Kevin - thanks! I'll rethink my wish list. Do others agree with you? I've read various opinions. Maybe you could send me a smell-o-gram.
Those potentilla tridentata are very nice. My Paxistima canbyi arrived as did the NJ tea Ceanothus americanus.
This message was edited May 20, 2006 5:20 AM
