Geeeeeee Becky! I missed this thread all this time.. You know me, if I had been here I would have typed something by now. The Sweet Peas are looking peekid, but they will be back next year because we are going to plant them again. Some annuals are really worth planting over each year, and SP is one of them. They can't take this heat already. I sowed some against the fence too, and they still look pretty good. Still a few other plants to find a perfect place for. It's getting kinda thick...
I back Becky up about direct sowing. So many plants do great that way, and you get the plant you want instead of settling for what is available at the stores.
Pat,
Becky said it well about checking your county for which species come there most, and start with that. Your local County Horticulture Extension is a good place to check too. When you get your major species listed we may be able to help you locate larval host plants, or share what we can with you.
:-Deb
Bogless seed beds ....
The previous owner BOUGHT and planted milkweed. The park manager here has many times pulled it out before I actually got here. He is less apt to try that now that I am here. He and I have gone a round or two... he leaves me alone now. ;-)! He tried to convince my husband we needed to hire a "professional" for yard care. Ben just politely explained that I loved to take care of our yard and a professional would NOT do as good a job as I do.
I did get out there and plant seeds this evening, it darn near was too dark to see when I finished! Now to wake and see what I get!
Pat
I hear ya Pat..
Just what calibur of people are the cities hiring for 'park managers', good grief! What is a park without butterflies?
I am glad you still conserved some of the milkweed..Can't wait to see what comes up!
:-Deb
Pat - Good for you! When they see your lovely garden beds and all the butterflies, you may have everyone in your park wanting to do the same! LOL! Maybe you can turn that park manager's opinion around, too! You just never know! Stranger things have been known to happen. LOL! Good luck!
We live in a "Senior Park". My husband (58 ) and I (52) are both back in school and it is cheap housing. We bought this 1,000 sf mobile as a fixer up with the intention of reselling it when we are done with school.
Although the manager is grumpy, I will say this, the senior park is beautiful, he polices everything. Trust me, he is NOT SHY about getting in your face if the outside of your place is not up to his standards. There was a gap of 2 months between when I bought the place and when I moved in. I was finishing school in Washington & we were getting married. Ben moved in at once but was working LONG hours. I was only here 10 DAYS when the manager started in on me!!! I told him to cool and jets, I would get it all fixed up!! He actually has had nice things to say several times since!
The outside of the house is my domain. Ben hates yard work and I love it! He's a great cook so this works for me!
Here's an update on my garden beds. As you can see, I still have some bare areas that I have been adding some new seeds to. I have all kinds of plants growing in this area now. I just love. I think it is a experimental area of beds to try new plants from seeds. I have received and continue to receive seeds from so many wonderful DGers. I feel like I am in Garden Heaven getting to try so many different kinds of plants grown from wee little bitty seeds! I love it!
Here are photos of the different beds now with about a month's worth of growth.
Another bed.
The camera lens fogged up a bit in the above photos. Drat!
One of the water gardens.
Long view.
From opposite end.
Ohhhh Becky, that is looking so good. You are gonna have some happy butterflies. : )
I will continue to add seeds and I think many of the plants still need to get big and fill in many of the bare areas.
Now I am trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my sloped yard. I don't want grass! I can't afford nor can physically make raised beds that are level. I think the yard drops about 3 ft. from the lawn furniture and herb garden to the back of the yard along the fence. It's good to prevent flooding, but horrible for making garden beds! Any suggestions?
Here is the side beds that I did in 2004. What's that saying? 1st year - Sleep, 2nd year - Creep, and 3rd year - Leap? As you can see in the photo .... that bed along the east fence leaped! LOL!
Here's the view of the west fence and the Oak tree.
Closer views of the west fence. These plants are on their second year. (Creeping?)
From the bottom of the yard on the west fence looking up.
Boy, it sure did leap. It looks good. You sure have put alot of work into your place, and it's paying off. I love it. I want my garden to look like your garden, when it grows up. : )
Here's a seating area against the back of my house. I moved the bench from the front garden bed. I decided to add a pot on each side of the bench and threw a bunch of Pink Salvia seeds in them and here it is 6 weeks later. Boy! Does Salvia grow fast!!!
Thanks, Lucy! It's really starting to look like a "garden" back there!
I have this vision in my head of much, much more! LOL!
I just don't know what to do with the sloping yard. I want beds curving around in the bedless slope with paths. Very little grass. I just don't know how to do it, unless I just make sloping beds. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Anyone have any suggestions?
Here's a rough draft lay-out of my backyard. How should I put additional beds in the grassy areas? I don't have the creative mind that many of you have. I can plant straight garden beds along fences and the back of my house. But how do you design beds in the middle areas? I am open to all suggestions. I think I am just going to go with sloped garden beds instead of trying to figure out a way to level them up. I figure that I'll get my exercise walking up and down the backyard. LOL! I have the bush and tree garden beds on slopes and they seem to be holding up well now that they have plants growing in them. (Very little sliding erosion since the plants have taken over the boxed/bordered wooden bed areas.)
What I have in mind is to have paths in the backyard where there is taller growth as well as low growth. I want the backyard split up into different garden "rooms" that you can not necessarily see until you walk along the path into them. Kind of like being out in the forest, but with less trees and more bushes, tall and low flowering plants, etc. I don't know if that makes sense or not. But that is my "vision". I just don't know where to go from here. I've bordered the backyard with beds, now I need to start filling in the center of the backyard. Help!
Oops, forgot to add the rough-draft of my yard as it is currently (minus the paver patio).
BTW - Most of the long back of the fence garden beds were "seeded" beds. It was supposed to be a bog garden, but when I did the lasagna beds, it raised it high enough that it is no longer a bog bed (it's now bog"less" bed)! Here are the previous 3 threads from when I started the project back in December 2006/January 2007. Amazing how fast it has grown and evolved. Love seed beds! So much fun!!!
Paige - You are my idol! :-)
1st thread - http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/680418/
2nd thread - http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/691994/
3rd thread - http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/704086/
This message was edited Jun 30, 2007 1:25 PM
I'm printing this thread just to "play" with a design. I'll get mine back to you soon. I'm no designer by any means but if several DGer's give you their ideas, you may be able to get lots of ideas that you can put to use. After all, you've got time to plan since what you envisioned for your back yard will take time to achieve. Can you add the dimensions from each island bed from the house to the bed, then from the bed to back fence. Also, measure from the island beds on both sides left to the fence and same with the other bed, right to the fence? If it's too much trouble, never mind.
I can see your slope but it doesn't look that steep. I've got a pond garden that's actually on a sloping embankment. Great for drainage. Bad when you lose your balance and fall into the pond. Lost a brand new cell phone that way.
Deborah
In the mean time, Becky, check out the paver mold technique MsMaati used to make paths winding through her shade garden. These pavers could trail throughout your backyard positioning them to wind and curve all along the fence gardens. Given at least a foot between the straight box beds to the curve path, you could plant soft ground covers, black mongo grass, creeping phlox, the skys the limit on what you could use. You wouldn't have to remove the wooden brace. The filler border plants would cover them up. It would give you a soft curved look along the perimeter of your fence.
Below is MsMaati's link to her shade garden. She gives another link in one of the post that gives step by step instructions on how to pour the pavers. I like it because you use only one $14 mold over and over. You just have to buy bags of concrete to mix yourself. You can take baby steps with this project. It's lot's cheaper in the long run than buying already made pavers.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/461378/
I've been drooling over MsMaati's path that's winding throughout her garden and it takes you to a little sitting area. Cute as pie.
Deborah
oh wow, ty for the link, that is something to try for sure... just need to take out some more grass !
Becky, you gardens/beds are beautiful really nice !!
Becky, you've put an amazing amount of work into your gardens already. They look wonderful and are magnets for your butterflies, I just know it. You've incorporated lots of host shrubs, trees and plants. That's what I attempting. I noticed on your drawing that you have a Hercules Club. I have one ready to plant but can't decide where to plant it. How big is yours?
Deborah - Thanks for that cobbled stone link! I like it! I had seen those molds before but didn't know how hard or easy they were to use. Sounds like the hardest part is lifting the concrete bags and mixing it. It looks really nice once completed! Thanks for posting that thread link! That cobbled path would certainly make a lovely patio too! I like the idea of growing thyme or some other fragrant low growing plant in-between the stones. Very, very nice, Deborah! THANK YOU for the great idea!!! I wonder how I could get the stones to look beige/light tan other than buying concrete dye. I wonder if you could sprinkle beige sand over the concrete as it is setting up? I wonder if the sand would stick to the concrete?
Also .... I appreciate any ideas you or anyone else has for paths, additional beds, etc. I look forward to any layout design you are able to come up with. Just sketch it out, don't worry about exact dimensions. I just need to get a basic idea. I do NOT have a creative bone in my body! Nadda! I know what I'd like to see, but to lay it out on paper or in the yard is not something I can figure out very easily. :-/ No imagination here at all!
Its all looking sooooooooooooooooooo good Becky................. I am proud of you!!!!!
When you do the cobbled path you should put camomile between............. its very hard wearing and the smell is gorgeous!!!!!!
Marker still holding????????????????????
Mark
Becky, I'm playing around with your drawing that I printed out. I'll send it to you soon. I'm no professional though, just lots of time on my hands.
In the mean time, on Better Homes & Garden's website, they have a Plan a Garden diagram that allows you to design your backyard on paper. It's easy once you get the hang of it; complete with cutouts of trees, shrubs, outdoor furniture, hardscapes, buildings, ponds, etc. You just move them around until you get the design you want and waalla! print it out. Registering is free. You don't have to subscribe to their magazine to use the site either.
I printed out your hand drawing and I'm playing with the design on BH&G.
I know you feel you have a issue with your sloping backyard. However, I've seen pictures of your backyard and the slope doesn't look like it would present much of a problem. Without seeing it in person, in pictures, your slope doesn't appear to be all that steep.
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/planagardenhome_03022002.xml
Hi Deborah! Thanks for trying to figure out a design for me! I really appreciate it! I have tried using the BH&G Plan a Garden website, but I just don't have any design talent in that area at all! I'm not creative to save my life! Seriously.
The slope is a problem for chairs/tables/benches etc. I do have some beds on that slope and they are okay. But it really does have quite a bit of a slope. You can kind of see the slope in this photo:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3679055
Even my Oak tree is growing at an angle to compensate for the sloping area it is planted in. LOL!
This message was edited Jul 3, 2007 10:28 PM
Mark - YES! The marker is still holding up great!!! I love it! Thanks for the suggestion about using Camomile in between the cobble stones. Great idea! Wouldn't that be pretty!
Gosh .... do ya think this will ever be a reality in my yard??? I sure hope so! I hope I am not dreaming out of my league. :-)
You've are talented and blessed with the gift of gardening for butterflies, Becky. Look at what you've already accomplished with your gardens.
Well, gosh Becky, there's a remedy to your leaning tree situation...Just walk down your slope with your head cocked sideways.ROFL sorry, devil made me do it..
ROTFL!!!! You are too funny, Deborah!!! LOL!
Deborah - You asked about my Hercules Club. It is only about 2' tall. And it is growing straight up instead of branching out into more of a bush shape. I've pinched the top growth back twice and it still continues to grow straight up! It's in the center of the bush bed because of those nasty thorns. I have 2 Cassia bushes in the bed too and they are bushing out very nicely and get visited by Sulphur butterflies quite a bit! And I have a wild lime bush that is also looking good. I just wish the HC would comply and BE a BUSH Arghhhh! I think it is aspiring to be a tree! :-/
I want my HC to be a tree. Why do you want it bush out and take up gardening space? Is it better for the butterflies if it's a bush?
I was thinking that if it was a lower bush, I could find the cats better and they could hide better in a thick grouping of bushes so that the wasps and birds wouldn't find them so easily. It just looks so weird growing straight up. No branches coming off of it. Just leaves and straight up. I don't know why pinching the top doesn't seem to work? I may have to cut the top. Maybe that would work to get it to start branching out.
In all of my googling to find pictures of a HC, they seem to be true trees. I guess, though, tipping them could stunt their growth. Excellent point about being able to harvest the cats if it's a bush. That never occurred to me. I like your idea about planting among your bushes too. My HC a spicebush and a pawpaw are still sitting on my patio table waiting to be planted. I want to find that perfect spot for all three of them.
I have a Pawpaw, too. A small one. They grow so slow. I read that it needs to be planted in partial shade for the first couple of years if it is small. I might go ahead and plant mine in the bush bed. There is a lot of shade in there from all the other bushes. I'll have to take a photo of that bed to show you, Deborah. Maybe tomorrow I can get a photo. And I am trying to grow a Spice Bush from seed. Which may go into that bed as well. Or maybe into the long bed bordering my back fence. I haven't decided yet what all I still want to add to those new beds. I do have room for more plants.
All my life I've heard the term, Pawpaw patch from my grandmother. If I understand correctly, they grow new plants from runners under ground.(?) Read somewhere today, too, that if you want to eat pawpaws, plant five together in a patch. I just want one for a patch of butterflies. LOL
I'm thinking seriously about planting my one pawpaw and the spicebush as an understory to a large shady pine tree near my pond. Edit to add: Forgot about the Hoptree. Making it a threesome with the spicebush in the middle, but allowing for spacing of course.
I have one seedling Christmas Senna at the top of my slope leading to my pond. That may be where I plant the HC. Jury's still out on that one.
This message was edited Jul 4, 2007 12:32 AM