Plant Combinations

Murmur! What a neat link! I'm on the run this morning, but i'll have to explore it in greater detail later on. Thank you!

Gasp!! I thought I had 'watched' this thread!! This conversation has gone on much too long without me! Great photos, Growin. I know it's a little far up the thread, but I'm liking the leaves on that little Cornus you picked up. They remind me very much of Sambucus nigra 'madonna'. I know I have a photo of that somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. Same colors though.

The cornus is Cornus alba spaethii I think. It's more lime-green than the variegation on the Madonna.

Yes, Pixydish! Welcome back! Coffee and biscotti for you? :)

I believe I will, thank you! Actually I've just returned from a glorious long weekend in picturesque Idaho Falls, Idaho where the sky was a brilliant blue, the sun was stunning, and the temperature was unGodly. Can you say -5F degrees when I got there??? Believe me when I say to you that gardening was the furthest thing from my mind! Here is a photo of the frozen river and frozen waterfalls.

And here is a plant 'combination' that I thought was beautiful: frozen crab apples against a blue sky, with snow. It snowed on Saturday night - a veritable blizzard - and the next morning there were ice crystals hanging in the air! I have never seen such a thing before! All of the air looked like fairy dust. It just sparkled.

I tried to capture this effect with the camera, pathetic though it is. If you look at the middle of this photo you can see the sparkling. That is the tiny ice crystals just hanging in the air.

What an immaculate setting. Gorgeous photographs! It does seem like a "fairy land." I really wouldn't mind another snow fall before Spring ....

Pixy - as beautiful as this is, I do find myself wondering why someone goes someplace that is -5F - that makes your face hurt. Brrrrrr, I think i would want the coffee and biscotti just to get my teeth separated again. Too cold, just too cold. And honestly, I am not a whimp - I was out there in the snow yesterday turning the compost heap. But not in -5. Too cold, even with blue sky. Go in, get warmed up, see if you can get some sense back in your brain. TTTTTTTTOOOOOOOO cold. Brrrrr. Yours, from across the pond with some sense. -5F, no.

Oh my, such lovely plants and ideas.
I was looking up the Berberis "Gold Ring" of which I must have! Anyway I came across this site and it has lots of goodies for yard. Some unique trellisses.
Here's a link, well I hope it comes thru
http://www.glasshouseworks.com/perr-b.html - 58k - Cached - Similar pages
Take care,
Kathy

LOL! Oh yes, Laurie, it certainly makes your face hurt! It wasn't that cold the entire time, but after you get to, let's say, 10F, it's all the same to me. And here's the clincher: no coffee to be found!!! Those of us who live in this northwest know and understand that the 'rule' is that there will be a latte stand on every corner. But Idaho Falls is primarily a Mormon town (see their beautiful temple in the first photo) and they do not drink caffeine. So to find coffee you must look long and hard. I did without while I was there. I went for a professional training.

Kathy, great link. They have some wonderful plants. I, too, am lusting for the Berberis 'gold ring'.

Pixy, wonderful pics! It seems like everything is frozen in time. Thanks for sharing.

Make sure you check out glasshouseworks in "Watchdog". They do have quite a few rarities but see what the other members have to say.

I really liked that Berberis 'Gold Ring' but it looks good only within closer range, yet it has the thorns. How do you place it?

~~~ blinks ~~~

No coffee????

~~~ recoils in horror ~~~

yes. I'm afraid it's true. No coffee. I, too, was horrified!!!

I am wondering what professional training would take place in a caffiene free zone - they must have real faith in their speakers to keep the audience awake! I'm in the process of planning a conference for husband, and have told caterers no sugar, no alcohol until after, but plenty of coffee and tea. I am a realist. I want bums on seats that don't snore (I did my first degree at UCLA, many many moons ago - we had one professor who would let ad nauseum in these huge theatre rooms - couple hundred students! I was sat a few rows back from the front during one of these talks, and a guy in the front fell asleep and was snoring. Prof leaned over to one of the others asking him to wake up sleeper, and the reply "you put him to sleep, you wake him up").

ROFL

One can only speculate what kind of grades those two students received ....

Pixy, those photos are sensational!! I also cannot imagine -5 degrees without my coffee, but then I can't imagine 80+ degrees without my coffee - at least in the morning!

Laurie - you are so funny!!! Didn't you once mention being shy? I don't believe it . . . you're much too good an entertainer! I must be remembering someone else, eh?

That is me - I am. Honestly. I just have a very peculiar sense of connected up thinking - what my husband politely refers to as 'a non-sequential thinker'. Makes things rather interesting, albeit sometimes less than transparent in the process.

Put the coffee on.

and keep it coming!

Ordinarily I would certainly agree heartily with you, Laurie! Fortunately, this was no lecture series. It was all 'class participation', if you know what I mean. We didn't have time to get sleepy! And I believe the adrenaline rush kept all of us awake, even after lunch (except for one guy, whom I believe may have had a sleep/wake disorder since he dozed frequently throughout the day regardless of what was going on.) The workshop was on spiritual healing and there were plenty of things to do.

Ohhhm, nice thing to be doing in the midst of Winter. I always think Winter is such a reflective time - perhaps it is the bare bones-ness of the season.

Its also nice to find out a bit more about you. thanks.

Pixy, "spiritual healing" has a wonderful sound to it - I know it's related to your counseling, but is there anything you could share?

Sure. Go Here: www.thetahealing.com. I have been preparing myself for this transition for several years. This was a life changing workshop and my practice has already shifted monumentally. I hold back sharing more because, though this type of healing is for everyone, anytime the word 'God' comes into the sentence many people immediately think 'religion' and then we're beginning to break Dave's rules. So if anyone wants more information, you can demail me for my private email address if you don't already have it.

Pixy, its very interesting. Just read through the website, I can begin to imagine that if someone did fall asleep during these sessions, that might have been part of his healing work? Hmmmm, interesting.

I find it fascinating as well, Pixy. Was your seminar taught by the lady herself? Are you familiar with the book, is it worth buying?

I'm a big believer in "healing hands," weather religion is tethered to it or not. And i don't actually think it's entirely unrelated to gardening! The people i've met who have a particularly "green thumb" tend to also have a very nurturing and healing manner.

Yes, murmur, it was taught by Vianna. She is amazing! Her son taught part of the course as well. Her book is good, but really it's better if you take the class. There are people in this area who teach it, but I wanted to go to Vianna's class. I think that the book alone will not really give you the right amount of guidance, but it does explain the process. Really, you have to experience it to understand it because the book is really very two dimensional. And it pushes alot of people's 'belief' buttons, but there is a 'rightness' about it that cuts across all of that for me.

Yes, estreya , you are likely correct about that. It's hard to grow good plants unless you have a nurturing soul. Glad you chimed in because I was not wanting to hijak your thread!

So here's the cool thing about this stuff: I've been in practice for about 18 years. Suddenly, all of the clients I am getting want this kind of work. And they are coming to me in the same traditional referral methods they always have. I've never advertised, and I've always asked about spiritual or religious beliefs as part of the intake process. Suddenly, this is what my practice has become. It's almost 100% Theta Healing already and I just took the class two weeks ago. To be fair, I've known about this for several years and in the last 6 months started to use it a bit with some people, but not much because I really thought I needed the training. My sister is a Theta Healer and teacher so she has taught me a lot. But now that the class is over, it's like everything has changed at once. They are seeking me out in particular because they know I do Theta, but when they learn that I offer it, they want it and are open to it. Uncanny.

Thanks for the info, Pixy - having met you I can understand how good you would be at this. I'll keep my eyes open for a class nearby, but might take a peek at the book, too. My beliefs are deep-rooted so I don't think I would have any trouble with it, however, I do sure agree with you that a hands on, in-person kind of thing is far superior.

Estreya, I was looking again for plant combos that might be appealing and made sense, but so many of mine are thrown together without a whole lot of planning that I finally decided to share an area that I am very fond of. This is a tiny section of my "Frog Garden" which runs the entire length of my deck (at least 40 feet now - although some of that was extended last year and still is just newspapers and weed screen - much of the entire deck is actually underneath the deck). It's very narrow out of necessity, quite shaded, and when I first built it, I had no idea of what I was going to do with it, I just knew that something was needed to soften the lines of the deck. I started in the Fall with layers of newspapers to kill the grass (and moss - it gets quite soggy at times), then added a bit of compost and a lot of decent topsoil. I don't think I planted anything until the next Spring at which time I just put in some small Hostas and let the ferns which grew naturally under the deck and poked through the latticework do their thing. The next Spring I divided up a couple Astilbes I had - into many, many plants (all little sticks which I didn't think were going to live) but they went wild! I added a couple Jack Frost Brunnera, Japanese Ferns, and more frog statues (I am so into whimsy - it turns some people off, but it's just my leftover childhood love of toys). I also have Sweet Woodruff working its way through, and last year I put pots of Heliotrope and Petunias, etc., here and there. (Boy, don't let me get started chatting about my gardens and how they came to be . . . I don't know when to stop!).

Here's a longer view, photo taken in early July. The garden to the left is a former sandbox.

This one is of the area I extended last year - obviously on a slope and with ferns sneaking through and also some sort of berry bush (I need to find the name as I like it). I had pots of Hostas which are all divisions of a plant taken from my parents' house (and planted eons ago by my grandmother).

Last one is looking from bottom of slope "up" the garden. This year I hope to get some plants into the ground - maybe some of my Heuchera which suffered in too much sun.

Murmur, just lovely! I'm so deeply touched that you have in your garden your grandmother's hostas (or the grandbabies of those hostas, as the case may be). There are plants in my history that i dearly wish i had some living part of, but alas, they exist only in memory.

Pixydish, no worries about thread hijacking! A good conversation always goes hither and yon ... :)

Estreya, my grandma lived with us when I was growing up and for sure I got my love of gardening from her. I remember following her around the yard as she watered, sprayed (back in the days of DDT, etc., I'm afraid). Even as a teen, I recall thinking her fuchsias, begonias, etc., were out of this world. She died in 1979 at the age of 86 - and she gardened until the last couple years of her life. I got at least 15 plants out of the clump I dug up last year - I've shared with a couple friends from my childhood who remember her, and have some young family members who are looking forward to having a true family heirloom plant as well.

Thanks for your sweet words.

Hey friends - I need your help. Brier posted a request for some plant combinations help complete with pictures, and it is being ignored. Would you mind coming across and lending some flower power? She needs some collective thinking. Thank you. We can still hang out here too.

Sorry - did that sound a bit heavy handed? Yikes - I don't want to distract what is going on here - its just....oh I don't know. But please bring some hostas and things and come have a look, and see what we can brainstorm. We'll put the coffee on and generate some thinking there too. I would appreciate it.

This message was edited Feb 2, 2007 6:40 AM

I hear ya, Laurie - and it's not heavy handed at all - she's one of our buddies and none of us should miss her requests!!

But where shall we come?? Plant combo Queens to the rescue!! (bring out the trumpets)

By the way, if you are interested in ordering stuff wholesale, there's a gal who used to do good coops on DG and then was asked to stop because she sells some plants on the side. She was considered a 'vendor' by DG and this against DG rules. She started her own coop forum on Yahoo and I've been very impressed and pleased with what I've received. Here's a link if anyone is interested:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BnPCo-opBuying/

there are a number of loyal DGers on this forum because she does a great job and doesn't increase the cost of the plant. We get wholesale price, and I know this for sure because I have some of the pricelists from the same growers that she uses. Estreya, I thought of you because you have large areas to fill and plants can cost $$$$$. The only downside to being part of that forum is that she is always offering great stuff!! I have orders placed well into the future. Right now she is taking orders for hostas, some poppies, pulmonaria, and some other stuff. Groan. I will need more garden space, I fear. I placed a huge order with her for different kinds of allium and was very, very pleased.

Oh, gosh, like an idiot I just signed up. Like I need more plants!!!!! I've got them all over the place in pots and my flower beds are overcrowded to the point of killing each other.

Brilliant move, Murmur!!! LOL - I'm already encroaching on the property in back of me . . . pretty soon I'll have it absolutely covered in flowers!!!

Oh, girls, this is the best thread that i found so far. Great pictures, ideas. Thank you for sharing. Too bad that i don't know names of some great plants that i see on pictures.

Brier, ask away - and see my post # 3116306 above - a link to a site that helps you plan - it might help you find something that strikes your fancy.

Pixydish! Thank you for thinking of me! And bless that coop organizer. I'll bet it's a lot more work for her to administrate than one might think.

You're right, the $$$$$ are really going to be an issue, and it's AMONG the reasons i don't feel compelled to get everything filled in with any expedience. If it takes a lifetime, a very long and healthy lifetime, that's ok with me. ;) I also find change to be a bit jarring, so i like to let things "settle" before moving on to another round of changes. It's a limitation, to be sure ....

Brier, welcome! I'm dazzled by all the names too. And Murmur ... being covered in flowers sounds like a slice of heaven to me ... :)