I'm new at gardening and hate my plain boring mailbox. I'd like to plant something around it but was wondering if it's generally considered a tacky thing to do?
If not, would Clematis be something good to plant there?
Is it tacky to plant around your mailbox?
I've seen many Clematis around lamp-post, and mail boxes. It looks beautiful! It might depend on if it swallows it.
Someone else will chime in...............
This message was edited May 17, 2007 11:27 AM
Zeo...clematis is a wonderful plant to put on your mailbox and no it's not tacky..many people plant flowers to cover those ugly things..mine is a nice brick one and ..I have a rose encompassing it..to me there is nothing prettier for the mail person than to get a gorgeous bloom to look at while they are doing their job...Jeanne
What it does depend on is the US Mail. We always get a letter each year from our local postmaster reminding us NOT to plant around the mail boxes for fear of bees stinging the carrier. I just leave mine alone.. You might check with your local postmaster and see if they care or not before expending a lot of energy and or money first.
Diann
How weird..I have never ever received such a letter in my lifetime of planting on my mailbox..maybe Texas is different?...Jeanne
Jeanne, Texas has always been different. (in a good way) :) It may well be a local thing. But we usually get a little letter each year from the local PO advising us not to pant near the mailbox so it doesn't obstruct the box and doesn't attract bees... Who knows, maybe our mail man has a bee allergy or was traumatized by a bee when he was younger. :)
Diann
I'm happy to hear your responses! I really love Clematis but I don't know a lot about it. I think I'll stick around and soak up lots of info from all of you Clematis enthusiasts here. :-)
Since we're talking about it, does Clematis tend to attract bees?
I've seen Honeybees on my Clems..they like anything with pollen...Jeanne
If you are going to plant on your mailbox the clematis is a perfect thing to choose. Unless it's a montana they are very orderly and well behaved. I don't think that a clematis can ever be tacky. Well, maybe if it were crawling among pink plastic flamingos - Please, pink plastic flamingo lovers forgive me. LOL
LOL @ doss!
I'd like to plant one by my mail box, too. Any idea which ones would be the best....probably a shorter variety?
I'd love to plant up my mail box. Problem is the box is located on the opposite side of the street with the neighbor's box. He is eighty, cranky and would like to ashphalt his whole front yard. Although I don't really need it I can't get him to agree and if I went ahead and did it anyway I'm sure the plants would not survive. So, when you do plant up your box do it up real lavish. There are people like me who really love to look at em. How about some tall grasses behind and rudbeckia below in front? Silver fleece vine is a good vine but I woud not consider it because bees are just nuts about it. You wouldn't get mail for weeks. How about Actinidia kolomikta? It is rated for your zone.
This message was edited May 17, 2007 8:52 PM
I've seen lots of clematis growing up and around mailboxes in an area that are $1,000,000+ homes, so how can it be tacky? I think they look beautiful there. Ours is up by the road, 300 ft from the house, way too far to water, so I would need to put in something drought-resistant like scarlet runner beans. Any other suggestions out there for drought-resistant vines?
Karen