Help! yard design

Gee Katy I didnt even know half of that LOL

Thank you Drapelady for helping, can't wait to see what you come up with. I know you don't know our plants, but the design would give her so much ideas, After the idea is planted, what ever plants I have that will work for her I will drive them over to ?

Welcome, Anjlsmom, What would you like in your garden, make a wish list. And a happy place for you to enjoy
Tills

You are all so wonderful! Mom and I talked on the phone tonight and she told me she got to log on today. Apparently the library there is run by volunteers and only open 2 hours tues, wed and thurs?! (life in the slow lane must be soooo nice!) says she plans on walking back down again tomorrow... so if anything...moms getting exercise! ((hugs mom)) Which is more than I can say for myself! LOL!

Looks like the only time I will get to come up there is in early June when kids get out of school (nice tho cause I will have a couple of teenagers and DH to help me!)

I have a question... I think I already know the answer to it but.... here goes... mom has Irises starting to poke up underneath her 'dusting' of snow. we will want to move these Irises to a different area of her yard. Do we have to wait until all the irises have bloomed and died back in order to move them? It's always been my understanding that you wait for the foilage to die back so that the bulb can store all the nutrients.... does anyone know?

And Mom, if they say we gotta wait, then I need you to go out there and mark the area where they are so I dont rototill em all up! LOL
Also... please post a list of plants that you like on here... we can search them and see which ones will work and what not... :o) And send me that graph of the yard! lets get planning this before I get consumed with my own yard chores! :o)

Kathy, Thank you for posting all the cryptic language! I sent her a dmail with some of them...lolI It took me forever to figure them out!

Thank you all for helping with cuttings and stuff. I myself, have no idea how to do a cutting...but will be collecting lots of seeds off my plants this year (that I am learning!) and can repay you all with whatever seeds I am able to collect. I can even purchase some of the cuttings if you want to do that too...JLMK

((hugs to all))
Anjl

Anjl
Don't worry about paying us back, we all were new to gardening at one time and people helped each of us. So when the time comes that you can help a newbie gardener go for it! There are alot of great perennials that you can start from seed. I have quite a few going in the greenhouse right now and if all goes well I wil have plenty to share. Looking forward to this great project :0) Rachel

Thank you Rachie ((hugs)) :o) you are all so wonderful!
I too am looking forward to it. Will have to get plenty of before and after pictures so I can share with everyone while the transformation is taking place (plus help mom remember what it USED to look like!) I am doing the same thing with my yard and I love looking at the before pictures...reminds me of how far I have come! LOL!

I also have a bunch of seedlings started here, I just dont know if I can transport any of them out of state...we have that moth thing going on...will have to check and maybe set aside some of my seedlings for her too..


Any ideas on a flowering vine for moms area? I'm thinking DH can build a trellis over her lil deck entry and we could plant a vine there...but dont want to have to constantly trim it back?!

Anjl

I can't think of anything that won't at least require annual maintenance. But climbing roses, honeysuckle, wisteria, clematis, lonicera all do great here. There's clematis armandii, which is quite popular, presumably because it's evergreen, but it's a strong grower and would require some watching.

I have a wisteria here... I should go check the Cali argiculture site to see if I can bring things up there, I can take a cutting off my wisteria... I havent had to trim mine back for a few years now...

Mom, do you like wisteria? :o)

I'll bet your mom would love to have a wisteria of yours. And be sure to keep an eye on yours, they can get ahead of you . . . ask Katye.

Sounds like we need to set a date and time and have a little work party!!! I have many perennials going and bulbs all over the place!! Borderline nursery!!!

lol, sounds like my yard! do you know where I find out info on if I can transport agriculture outta cali? I'm thinkin there is lots of stuff here that will also grow there and I can just set some of it aside to plant when I get there.

And NO Mom, Im not talking about transporting my Japanese Maple (JM) up there! LOL! well at least not until I move up there... but then I will be planting it outside MY window :o) teehee...

Anjl - Wisteria is a vining Tree, and requires annual maintenance. It also needs a very sturdy structure to be trained on think 6x6 post, about 8 - 10' high, or on an Arbor that is similarly built.
There are lots of fabulously beautiful Clematis that do very well here. Maintenance would be simple training of the vine to its structure, and depending on which group the Clematis belongs to, the maintenance in early spring is simply cutting the vine to the ground. We have a local source here that has the very best of stock (health, roots & size) with tons of flower choices. I collect Clematis, so I am picky about where i get them & what the quality is. The vining Lonicera (Honeysuckle) can be a bit on the wild side. This is something else I grow - requires heading back & an annual pruning, but not hard to do. They put on a lot of growth in one year, so it's wise to keep an eye on this one, as they can get unruly fast.
If you were to build a Trellis situation for her, she might want to try annual vines - they are done at the end of the season & some reseed nicely. Siting of a trellis will dictate what will grow well there. Flowering vines need lots of sun to flower well.
Climbing roses require training & pruning, too. Most get fairly tall, but aren't too hard to deal with , other than the thorns. Siting on these would be critical. Full sun.
There is another option if there is a considerable amount of shade: train a camellia or an azalea up a trellis. They take well to this - you only need to prune out the branches that you don't want. The Camellia can take more sun than the Azalea; both like evenly moist (not wet) soil. They flower in Spring & you can use them as a support for Sweet Peas or Morning glories or any annual vine. You could also use the vertical space for hanging planters.

Hi Anjil, I have lots of plants and some fairly cheap. I have lots of different types of Japanese maples form 10 bucks on up. I have some nice balled and burlapped JM's for 55 dollars. I am a little far away but we have a pixy train and Rachel man truck coming up here in April for a DG day in April. I got way behind on this thread. You guys are zippy and I'm a little slow this time of the year. Potting up seedlings in the Kitchen The basement is full and the greenhouses are full. We need some warmth. Heidi and Dragonfly

Heidi has excellent plants!! You can't go wrong getting from Dragonfly!! She carries a cool vine,Billardiera longiflora, that I have that would be nice. So many perens that you could definitely fill in a rockery or plant the whole front!

Hey Oneajil, When was the last time you came up here by car? My mother lives in Palmdale, Ca. was there 2 yrs ago. I brought some plants home. and there was no inspection station anymore, it was gone.

Heidi, I will dmail you and get more info on your plants once I get moms graphed out yard and get a design going in my head :o) I am REALLY interested in the JM do you have Coral Bark? and does Coral Bark do well in her area? That is the one I have and she loved it...not sure if she has her heart set on that particular one tho.... so I will let you know. (or she will when she gets back to the library!) But we definitely want a JM there.

katye... I have had my wisteria for 4 years and never had to cut it back yet.... do different wisteria cultivars grow differently? or do you think maybe they grow faster in her area? I havent even had to build my trellis yet, as mine is only about 5 ft tall.... so I wonder if mine is different?
I definitely dont want to plant it up there near her door, if its gonna go wild on her and take over her mobile home! LOL!

Thanks everyone... ((hugs))
Anjl

I was up there last Sept 2006.... cant remember if it was on the way into Oregon or the way into CA, but definitely an inspection....I was rushing up to see mom at the hospital and was ticked off that I had to stop! lol!
Now we have a quarantine for the brown apple moth (?) dont know if its a quarantine for stuff brought in, or stuff going out... guess I can google the state agriculture and see....or check with my nursery. I know they are doing arial spraying for the moths right now..
If anyone knows the answer...JLMK

Anjl

Coral bark would be perfect. They all do well up here. Basically, anything "japonica" does well here - we have a similar climate.

When I went was not inspected going or coming, which I thought was strange, when I went down in 2000 we had to be inspected, I had a large Fuschia basket for my mom I drove a station wagon, he look at it and we went tru. when I went in 06 it was in April, and it was not there. or coming back.

Katie just sent me a link.... (thanks Katie!) so Im gonna go check it out and see if they will allow me to bring anything outta cali....

Wow, working all this overtime and trying to do my yard and moms yard is wearing me down! LOL!

Anjl
O;o}

Regarding Wisteria - yes there are different types, but they are very similar in habit.
One thing to keep in mind is that the quality of soil, availability of nutrients/moisture will cause plants to grow at different rates with varying results.
I would not discourage the planting of a Wisteria, as long as the person knew what they would be getting into. You don't have to prune them annually, or at all. However, any plants that "vine" will eventually become a congested & tangled mess, and flowering performance will be compromised.
The whole point of pruning is to encourage production of lateral flowering spurs, and to control extensive growth. The same for climbing roses. Ideally, you would prune them twice a year. I say once is plenty - it's a tree!!! Mine has put on upwards of 10' in one season. If it gets out of hand, it becomes an arduous task.

Another evergreen vine is Gelsemium, or Carolina jessamine. It has yellow flowers, but no fragrance. If the trellis is close to the house, she might be able to grow Jasmine polyanthum - intoxicating aroma!
Also - Passiflora caerulea, or one of its hybrids.

I think your right about the vines....maybe I should wait til I live closer and then plant a vine so I can help her train it up the trellis and keep it quarantined to its designated area :o)
I can always start a cutting here and bring it up there later. Plus, it'll be easier for DH to build a trellis once we move and all his tools are up there :o)

Thanks for all the input...dont know where mom is today, but I'm sure she'll check the site again next week.

Anjl

And when are YOU moving up here?
=:0)

I think a compromise would work: if the trellis is built, the annual vines, Passiflora or Clematis would require minimal work for her. Clematis usually top out at 8 - 12'. there are shorter varieties available. Of course, that would depend on whether she likes them or not!
Here is the link to the Clematis grower - I won't buy from anyone else. She is a wonderful person, and the quality of her stock is platinum:

http://www.silverstarvinery.com/

What a beautiful site. Darn now I have to order at least two. One for me and one for St. Andrews.

I just went there & now i will have to find more places for what i ordered....geez, I do this everytime! (but how can i not?)

Hi oneanjl,
I haven't been on in awhile and have some plants I can also donate. I do have what I call sticks...lol growing in pots, I purchased them early last year as 6-8" sticks of Japanese Maples of mixed varieties. They are now 12 - 18" sticks but I can tell you the fall color on the few leaves they had were gorgeous. I would gladly donate one of these for the backyard since you said it was shady, you could plant it and pretty much foget it and when you move up it will have grown to a nice size when you are ready to do they back yard. I also grow many perennials I could divide and donate. I have 2 small rooted cuttings of a lacecap Hydranga that I do not want, I tried it just to see if I could do it when I gave my Hydrangas to a friend, you can have one of these for the back yard also, the other one is for a special friend on DG's.
This is provided they make it through this weird "spring", we have had a lot of snow here in the last couple of days.

Hi Anjlsmom!!!

Happy gardening,
Carla

Hi again,
I am adding more because I forgot to tell you, I have many Iris, I have moved them at all times of there growth. The key is to dig them as a whole clump if you want the bloom for that year, otherwise dig and divide whenever you want to, cut down the green in a fan shape if you are dividing, because then the roots will have a chance to consume energy to nestle into there new home.
Happy planning/gardening,
Carla

Thank you Carla! Looks like I'll be moving the iris when I come to do her yard then :o)
I am hoping that the graph layout is in todays mail so I can see exactly what all can be done up there, then I'll have an idea of what should be planted where...and of what should be planted :o)

Katye, thanks for the site! I'm kinda scared to go look! LOL! Maybe I should pay my bills first...then go browse :o) I am moving up there in 3 yrs and 4 months....LOL! -who's counting? !
Unless of course, we can move there sooner.... lol!

You are more than welcome, if you want the Japanese Maple stick or any other perennials let me know, probably by Gmail would be best...it is hard to catch up with all the PNW conversations sometimes....lol

Thanks, I will LYK
Anjl

Saw this thread tonight about wisteria:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/825808/

Thanks, I too saw it and checked it out...

I took a drive to OSH today to get tree/shrub soil and guess what my DH found for me??!!

a BIG sale on JM's!! Wish you all had an OSH up there.... Called mom to tell her to run go buy one, but apparently no OSH :o(

These were $6.19 & $15.19 WOW! Considering I just bought one in December for $59.!
DH grabbed them up ....said whats two more trees? LOL! He forgot that I have 7 more trees being delivered soon :o) ~ and I decided not to remind him :o)

Here's a pix.......just 3 ft sticks for now, but at least htere are leafs on them :o)

Anjl

Excellent. They'll fill out in no time. Get those supports off of them, though, that's probably one reason their trunks are so spindly. They need some practice supporting themselves. If you give them bigger pots, slow-release fertilizer, light, but no direct sunlight and keep them moist, they should really do well.

Nice that you DH is on board - good for him!!

:o) I spent the afternoon potting them up, they are going in front of my gym...so they will get mostly shade, maybe an hour of sunlight. Already took the supports off, now there is just one support (loosely) on each trunk (just dont want them to snap in the wind!)

Anjl

Yeah. Good idea to do it gradually. I just get so irritated when they are taped in like that - I know it's easier for shipping/moving, etc., but it's hard on the plant.

well, it was wuite windy today, so I didnt want to chance it....especially since the trunks are soooo skinny! LOL! wouldnt be such a great buy if they snapped in half on the first night! LOL!

Someone has probably already suggested this, but have you considered using a mass planting of Heather under just a few trees - maybe a couple of multistemmed birch and the JM?

http://www.gardenseeker.com/images/Winter_Heathers_GC.JPG

Absolutely trouble free, goes nice and undulating, and comes in several shades of pinks and white. Blossoms before everything else gets going, and then sits quietly back and lets everything else take over without disappearing into the ground. the soil in the PNW should support it beautifully.

Even smells good when planted en masse.

Good idea. Great shot.

Not just pinks and whites on the heather, check out red fred!! Available at Dragonfly!!

wooowooo, Gordon. Nice catch!

I got Red Fred when I was there, too. So nice! And, I've got a cat named Fred...

Bet your cat is proud!