I took the advice and posted my dilemma in the Garden Design forum:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/743878/
Don't know if I'll get many suggestions there, but I hope so! And I hope some of you here will give me some ideas, too! You all know what it means to have a butterfly and hummer garden!
Deborah - I look forward to seeing what you come up with. :-)
And as far as the Pawpaw trees/bushes, I do remember there was some nursery rhyme mentioning a Pawpaw patch. Though I don't recall the actual song or verse. That's funny that your grandmother mentioned a Pawpaw patch. It's not the Little Bunny Foo Foo song is it? Peter Rabbit story? LOL!
I think grouping host bushes in a stand-alone bed works because it is easy access all around the bed to search and capture cats and to also keep the bushes together in an "island" area of the yard. That way the bushes and their shade isn't obstructing other plants. And most of the host bushes need full sun, not shade. But it would still provide shade for the butterflies and young sapling bushes. I thought an ornamental tree such as a crepe myrtle or something else would add some pretty and colorful blooms in the summer time and the foliage turns red in the Fall for a little color contrast from all the green (bushes). I am sure there are other small bushes/trees you could use as well for the blooms and foliage. The crepe myrtle just happened to be there already and I expanded the bed to include more bushes around it. I find it easier to make what is already there work, than to rip it out and start from scratch. (Unless of course it is a plant that I absolutely dislike and want to see it go!)
I have heard that to have fruit/seeds on your Pawpaw, you need to have several plants to be sure to have a male and female for pollinating purposes. That's what I heard, but don't know if it is true.
Bogless seed beds ....
Isn't that Bunny Foo Foo song rather naughty Becky???????????????? If its the one i am thinking of it is........
LOL! Lauri!
So .... has anyone come up with any garden floor plans yet?
I have decided I want to do something like a Cottage Garden. I was thinking that long paths paralleling the the length of my backyard would be great! Have it start at the top of the slope near the herb garden and meander all the way to the tree. And then curve around the tree to the bottom of the yard and parallel along the seed bed gardens. I also am thinking of putting in a 3' high white picket fence around the patio area with a white arbor as an entrance and exit out of that area. I like using a cobblestone patio floor and paths. That sounds like something that would be really pretty, so I'm looking into getting a concrete mold for that! A little bit at a time. But I still need a good floor plan! It's kinda coming together in my mind but still not on paper. I also saw a cool seating area/swing on BHG.com:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow.jsp?slideid=/templatedata/bhg/slideshow/data/structures_080604.xml&psrc=sstag:g:pergola
Not that I will have one like it, but maybe a bench with an arbor over it.
That sounds lovely Becky................. I love meandering paths. Makes your garden sound huge!!!!!!
Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee cobblestone idea..................
Becky -- that sounds fabulous!! I love the idea of the arbor leading into the garden. Gorgeous swing too!!
Becky--just found this thread and read the story of your butterfly garden 'renaissance'. So happy to find out there is a happy ending to the hurricane troubles.
I imagine you are getting zillions of butterflies these days. And will be collecting and sending out lots of seed, now that you've inspired everyone!
Becky, have you seen the Landscape.com Dave is putting together? You can take pictures of your backyard in sections upload on the Landscape site. Once loaded on the site, you can click on a caption box and write planning notes on your pictures. I don't know enough about the site yet to go into any detail here. Here's a link to a thread where Dave explains the caption box capabilities. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/721928/
Take a look at these topics and pictures on http://landscaping.com/ls/
There's also a beginner's landscape forum too!
This message was edited Jul 8, 2007 11:04 PM
Oh way cool!!!! Thanks Deborah! I had no idea about this new website! Some really great layouts in other folk's yards! Very useful tool! :-) Thanks for sharing that info with me. I don't check Dave's Garden thread enough. :-)
Pretty photo just for you Becky......................
Crocosmia 'Elegance'
Oooooooooooooh, Mark! Nice one! Are all of your many, many varieties of Crocosmia blooming now? You know I do love to see your gorgeous gardens! More photos please when you have the time! :-)
Noooooooooooooooo, they are just starting really................. have about 6 that are blooming right now and quite a few that will be blooming in the next week or two.
When lots are out in bloom i will send you some amazing photos........... oh by the way i have added the 6 in flower to my website plus a really cool rose called Black Baccara.
www.simplesite.com/crocosmia
~Mark~
Becky, Your pictures are so heartening. It proves that nature and man (woman) in concert can heal the earth. To see what you've done in such a short time is amazing. May you have two butterflies for every flower in your garden.
Becky, I didn't read the entire thread, but wanted to say how great your plants look!
If you haven't already said so, would you mind telling me what vines you're growing? Thanks.
Jo
Thanks Pam and Jo! I must admit though that the garden beds look good because of all the wonderful advice I have received here on DG! This is where I learned about lasagna beds and got all the seeds and some plant starts! I couldn't have done it without all my butterfly loving friends here! Thanks again everyone! :-) :-) :-)
Jo - I am growing Mexican Flame Vine, Honeysuckle, a variety of different Morning Glories including Giant White Moon Flower vines, Coral Honeysuckle vine, Cross vine, Coral Bean vine, Dutchman's Pipevine, and this year I am trying a Climbing Rose (Don Juan), and some Sweet Autumn Clematis (though I am trying to determine if this clematis is invasive in my zone). There are a few other vines, too, that I can't think of right now. I'm also going to try some other cheap Clematis liners to see if any of them will grow here as well. It's pretty hot here in the summer, so many do NOT thrive here. There are so many lovely vines to grow it's hard to choose. I grew Ruby Red and White Hyacinth Bean vines last year and they were really pretty, too. Luckily, I have an entire fenced in backyard with which to grow all these vines on. And I grow many of the MGs in containers with teepee stakes for the vines to grow up.
I am basically trying different things to see what I like best. I am at the stage of still wanting to grow everything and then decide what plants I like best ... to keep growing in my gardens. It's a process of elimination, I guess. I have to grow and see all these different plants to determine what I like the look of, how well they grow in my garden, and how easy they are to maintain. Fortunately, most are grown from seeds or cuttings, so it's cheap for me to try them all. :-) This is all courtesy of folks here on this forum and the MG forum! :-)
Those are lovely beds and I love your fence and water feature.
Thanks, doccat5!
The water features are what I call a "poor man's pond"! LOL! I honestly don't know if I would even want a small in-ground pond because I don't want to be bothered with all the maintenance of the pump, water clarity, and balancing the growth of plants. In these water containers I just put the plant pots in and let them fend for themselves. Though I do take care of them, but they are pretty self-sufficient as long as they get fertilized periodically and the containers topped with water every so often. I get lots of blooms on my water lilies! So I must be doing something right. This is my year (I hope) to get Lotus blooms! Can you tell I love my water plants?!!! LOL!
I was very lucky and had an above ground "pond" made out of old horse watering trough with a platform & barrel to create a water fall. I put a arch over it and planted on it. I think because it was in a six foot enclosure, AND the arch, I was able to foil the blue heron etc. I did not have a filter, I did have a few plants including water lillies and 13 small fish, my biggest was about 5" max. I really enjoyed my "pond" and someday I'll do it again.
For now, I just might go with your idea of a barrel and a water lily! (Knowing me, I'll fall to temptation and add at least one gold fish!)
Jo-in-TX, Becky has a SERIOUS addiction to Morning glories! She listed lots of vines but trust me, her addiction is MG! Just ask her how many she grew THIS year, and how many she has planned for NEXT year!!!
Pat - Ah! YOU know me well! LOL! So true about the MGs! I do so love those vines and blooms! You can blame Cat for that addiction (and especially EmmaGrace)! They shared seeds and now I am HOOKED! LOL!
Your trough and barrel pond sounds awesome! Do you have any photos? Someone else mentioned a water trough on the Water Garden Forum awhile back. What a great idea! Hmmm ... I wonder how much those bad boys cost these days? That would make a nice large and unusual pond! Oh gosh! See you have me thinking about ANOTHER water container, Pat! Tsk, tsk! I need to not think of any more water container ideas! (But gosh ... is that one cool idea!!! I really like that idea!) Someone else mentioned getting an old porcelain tub and using it as a water container! Perhaps a toliet too! LOL! Okay ... now ya got me thinking about more containers! Someone slap some sense into me please! (sigh)
I can see now you're a true gardener in every essence. Hats off to you Becky! Keep up the wonderful talents that you've. Not only in gardening, but the love of nature, and your photography skills (an example is your birds pic. at youtube) will inspire many more gardeners like myself....
Becky, I have a link here some where I think I might have a pic or two. Right now I can't open another internet window to go looking and link it for you. My computer is being contrary.
Hey Becky
Have you seen my new plant collection..........????? I started collecting Schizostylis now as well as my crocosmia!!
www.simplesite.com/schizostylis
Yes he has, tho he doesn't have as many as his crocosmia yet.
Thats because there aren't as many cvs dear.....................!!! LOL
Hi Mark!
Yes, I saw your newest obsession! LOL! So ... tell us about Schizostylis. Do they go by a common name? I don't believe I've ever seen or heard of them before. Being a newbie gardener, I am still pretty clueless. And where - pray tell - are you finding room for all of these new lovelies??? You need a bigger yard, Mark!!! :-)
This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 8:20 AM
Becky
I think they have a few common names such as Kaffir lily, river lily, crimson flag etc etc
Some people now call the Hesperantha.............
Luckily they don't take too much room up, but we are still gonna have no room for anything else!!! LOL
Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss, need a bigger yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lily - Thanks for your kind words! I hope other folks are encouraged to try gardening by my trials ... and errors! LOL!
Pat - Do post a link here if you can find the photos! Sounds so cool!
Mark - I believe that I HAVE heard the name "Kaffir lily". Are they tubers or bulbs?
How lucky you're Becky, these kafir Lilies is said to be hardy in your zone. I treat mine as tender tropical, it's long-live, and flower for me every year without fail. It blooms more profusely being rootbound likes that of .......ahh, I've forgotten of the blue blooming lilies....it's right on the tip of my tongue. lol,lol. Will come back with the names when I get over my TIA.
Kim
Here is Kafir lily or Clevias.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/130417/
KIm, some are KaFir and others are KaFFir Lilies. LOL there is a difference.....
Kim
These are Kaffir lily and there are Kafir lily...............
The Kafir lily is a Clivia...............
The Kaffir lily is a Schizostylis.........
Becky
They are Rhizomous........ LOL
Mark
Ahhh, there goes the "crazy" lilies once again, the names has since been changed, again? lol. Ok, ok, I see now, the difference b/w kafir, and kaffir. Thanks Mark, and Laurie.
Kim
Here is my Kafir;
and here is my Kaffir...............
Are you sure yours is Kaffir? Here is what pf at DG has to say about Kaffir...
Regardless of the fact. I do like your schitzo-stylis. It is attractive. :-)
Kim
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/62738/
Kim and Mark - Both blooms and plants are quite attractive! I like them both!
You like those red blooms, don't ya Mark!??? More red blooms in your garden! Whoo Hoo! You need hummingbirds to pollinate them! LOL!
Kim,
The Schizostylis are not id correctly in PF........They have been renamed as Hesperantha and that is what many people are calling them now tho it is incorrect.....
Becky I wish we had hummers here....I could drive Mark nuts with them feeding form his hand.....LOL
Lauri
I guess I never posted the "pond" pictures, I'll have to get to it sometime!