what have you bought so far? part 2

Any deep purple clem would work. I paired New Dawn with The President.

Climbing roses do best when the ends of the branches are pointed towards the earth so while I applaud all trellises I can't envision any rose climbing the height of the chimney. I'm sure someone on the Rose Forum could advise you better than I.

Hey Pirl. It doesn't need to climb the whole height of the chimney I just didn't want to get something that would only grow, say, 5 ft compared to 15 ft.

OK. I had visions of disappointments and didn't want that to happen.

New Dawn will get higher than that. I think about 12 feet.

This might help give you some ideas of things to use and how to attach them. http://www.westvalleyrose.org/roseinfo/climbersinthelandscape.html

Cool. Thanks everyone.

Received my three J. maples today!! All look great and will be potted up and left in the garage until planting time.

You must be thrilled. You'll probably be checking them daily.

One is already leafing out noticeably.

How nice Victor. I miss leaves, on the trees that is, not on the ground like all the brown oak leaves are now.

Ligladlover - you could do lasagna beds and you wouldn't have to dig, so you could get more plants sooner! :)

How quickly do you plant in the lasagna beds?

This is not fair at all. Some of you are seeing buds outside..

Lasagna beds? I've heard the term before but I'm not really sure what it is.

Victor If you make them in the fall you can plant in them the following spring. Here is a thread about them. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/649906/

Thanks, ngam.

LIGladlover,

I just checked a lasagna bed that I put out last September. The cardboard is almost gone and should be ready to plant in a few weeks. It's been 6 months. It's not the way to prepare in a few weeks, but is great for the next season.

Do you think it would be different with newspaper? There are some very ardent supporters of no-till and lasgna gardening - look in the soil and composting forum. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/800670/
♫ Carrie

Victor, the whole right front bed, which measures about 20'x12'...was one lasagna bed, and I planted immediately. It was either that or higher someone to come in with a Bobcat. Evidentally the old owner of the house had a brick patio out there, that he covered over and planted grass...so...every other shovel full of dirt was met with the metal on rock twang, all of us are more than aware of...especially our elbows and wrists. Typically, the lasagna bed is supposed to "cure" or "settle" for a season, but I did mine out of necissity...since I had about 1k in plant materials in pots all over the place, and orders arriving atleast once a week or so from Oaks, Naylor, and ebay...lol.
If you want a real impressive look at lasagna bedding...check out the Rodale Institute online...they did at one point have a whole "how to" section on it.

LIGL, 'New Dawn' is an excellent suggestion for a climbing rose. 'Eden' would be another gorgeous choice, but would not get as tall as New Dawn. Does it get all day sun? 'Zéphirine Drouhin' will take some shade and will get 10-12'. It's a deeper pink.

what color is your house?

Thanks Thom. I only decided recently that I will expand a bed to include a mostly shade area where the grass does not grow well. I've been toying with the lasagna idea but I already have plants coming for that area.

I meant to comment earlier on ngam's rose support link. Thanks. Some heavy-duty supports there. Must look strange in winter. I loved the clematis over the garage. I'm tempted to try something like that. I have to say though, in the wide shots, I think the house looks too busy with all those things at once. It takes too much away from the beautiful brick, instead of complementing it. Just my opinion.

yes, that was a lot of eyecandy! But I was impressed with the size & amount of blooms. Knowing it was Arizona killed the plant envy!
I think it is a good idea to consider what colours look good against brick/siding. Some really stood out, others were "off" to my eye. I'm sure the owners enjoy it, and that's what counts.

Question from a dumb flowerless newbie. It seems like a lot of plants are bought from big nuseries or at least online. Why? Does Home Depot or Agway have plants like you are buying?

I agree I think it is a bit much for one home but you can get a lot of ideas from it. I do believe the home is in Michigan even though it is on the ARS page. It is a tremendous gardening job no matter how you look at it.
Schicken,I don't know about everyone else but I can take my time, have a larger selection and spread out the payments over a few months throughout the winter months by buying online. There is also the winter sickness that sets in and to cure it, buying pretty plants seems to help. This of course does not prevent me from getting a "few" odds and ends from the nursery here locally. I rarely buy plants from the big box stores, they don't need any more of my money and the quality is usually suspect unless you are really lucky. JMHO.

Home Depot and Agway carry many plants with mass marketing in mind but some of us want something more special than what they sell so we go to online sites that offer us greater choices. HD may sell two or three hydrangeas or Japanese maples but online we can find hundreds to choose from. Same story with hostas, daylilies, clematis, coleus and annuals.

And at least at the HD near me, they don't take care of them. So either you're there when they're delivered, or forget it.

Also, in regard to the HD question. Most, if not all, of what I have ordered, I can't find there. Once the plant bug bites you, alteast for me, you start with basics...which is not meant to be offensive. But, it is, for the most part, true. At one point, my hosta were all of the green, green with a white margin, and white with a green margin. My DL's, were the ditch lilies, with a few others thrown in for good measure, like 'Stella D'oro' and 'Black Eyed Stella.' Then, as the bug catches you, and you start to google things, and get different catalogs, and speak to other gardenphites, they turn you on to their favorite catalogs, growers, and tell you who to, and who you should not buy from. I think, if I may make a HUGE blanket statement, this has probably happened to all of us at some point or another. Then, we all want something different (this is as the plant bug progresses) And we start to drool over the Stamile DL's, or the ones from Thoroughbred DL's...and look at the new Khlem Peonies, and look to different growers of tropicals, Plants Delight...etc. It's an addiction that I do not mind fessing up to. But, to not get off topic to far, HD, Lowes, can't compete, nor compare, with what is actually out there when you start to look...especially for the "new" varieties of things.

And, to keep with this...I will post a pic of my newest DL that I won from the lilyauction...btw, I bid on this last week, and won it yesterday, it was quite a surprise to open up my yahoo, and see, lilyauction...you have won...

I was like, "Oh crap...lol."

Pic is forthcoming....

The reason for my, "Oh crap" statement, was b/c I had told Paul I wouldn't bid on anymore DL's. I didn't, this was before the conversation, but, this one wasn't as much as the others...lol.

Here is, 'Dark Music'

The limited plant selection is true with some nurseries, too. There are 2 near me practically right next to each other. About the same size. One has a limited selection, but tons of each plant. At least they are nice, healthy plants. The other has a terrific selection including water garden plants and lots of unusual house plants. They give classes year round. Guess which one I go to. and they also send a small gift certificate at the end of the year depending on how much you spend.

Thom, it's a beauty. I looove purple :0)

Also...to tie together the HD and local nurseries...this is what I do...lots of driving around, I know, but it is worth it in the end. There are aproximately 10-15 nurseries, in a 15-20mile radius from where I live. Every nursery has something "special" that they either pride themselves with, or just happen to do more/better than others. One nursery has about 24 green houses, and is the flagship nursery for all things annuals, plain old annuals, most other nurseries in the area, BUY their annuals from this particular nursery. The nursery/garden center that I worked at last year, tries to get in "newer" varieties of stock, but also has an immense inventory of "native shrubs and trees." There is another nursery that I can guarantee will have every new annual that came out this year, in abundance. Another nursery, curse my luck (I can walk there...lol.), will have all of the big tropicals/annuals/tender perennials, that some of us have written about in other threads, ie, bananas, elephant ears, hibiscus...etc.
SO, to wrap this up...get to know your local nurseries as well. It helps that the nursery people will more than likely get to know you as well, and will, in some cases, get excited when they see you walk in their door. Repeat customers, repeat business, etc. I do, what Paul calls "The Garden Circuit" about once a week, if not more...depending on my mood, and check book...lol. Again, I think this may be something that others do...not sure...but, I hope that we helped out Schicken!

Gorgeous Thom. Yes - limited selection is another reason I only buy annuals from the box stores. And limited selection and higher prices is why I rarely buy from nurseries anymore.

Thom, since you confessed..... I won the bid on a double fan of 'Cinmarron Rose'.

Pixie, I just went and bid on a bunch of hosta...Paul didn't say not to bid on them...lol. They are from the woman that you said you had no problems with, so, I hope I don't either...lol. I think it was for only 4 hosta, or 5?

Oh your sneaky!!! He said no more DL's not hosta huh? LOL
Her name is Suzanne and she's a real sweetie!

I have an idea about the lasanga beds, something I'm going to do this year-
Put down the newspaper/cardboard/whatever- and use the space for container growing this spring! I'm hoping the weight and dampness associated with the containers help the layers break down.
To make the containers less obtrusive, I salvaged a few dozen milk cartons (cardboard) and tin cans. I painted them black during the dank days of Feb. Now I can put some decorative containers on the lasagna beds, and wedge the black containers in and around them. I plant to put dahlias and roses in the big containers, and little annuals (marigold, zinnias, impatiens, etc.) in the cartons and cans...
Gee, I wonder how ugly this will be????

Sounds like a good plan to me. Don't forget a pic when its done. This will also hep to keep weed seeds off the new bed surface. Good thinking!