The end of my exuberant garden

Pennefeather, Your garden is lovely, lush and exuberant!

I have a number of tricks I use to restrain plants to keep them in place after I have edited and refined the plantings. Some plants, like grasses, just fall over when it rains and since I have some of them on the front sidewalk strip I can't allow them to block the walkway. I've found the 3' tall cheap wire fencing in the light brown color (available in 10' lengths at the big box stores) can be used to almost invisibly encircle clumps of grasses and large plants like Baptisia that tend to flop in late summer.
Here's a picture of the fencing visible in the shade garden. I'm using it here to prevent one of my dogs from digging or running through that garden. Surrounding the larger plants it is not even visible.

Here is the side walk garden very restrained on the right with the brown fencing around the grasses, rebar posts topped with straw balls covered with twine so no one can be hurt if they fall into or against the top. I use twine or/and black waxed twine between the rebar posts.
On the left you can see another option. I have a number of black metal obelisks joined by a simple length of black chain. At the ground level is a low decorative fencing you can purchase as individual panels and move easily.

This message was edited Oct 12, 2008 9:28 AM

Great ideas, Sempervirens.

This is probably a better shot of the rebar with straw ball top and black chain and obelisk.

Those are nice shots Sempe, and a good idea. I looked hard, but I couldn't see the brown fence. I think that my problem stems in part from always wanted to add one more, and maybe one more here, another one here, I'm sure one can fit in here, and . . .

Thanks Hemophobic. I hope these ideas help others with the same struggles I've had of planting large full gardens in limited space. Of course we can always just get the plant that fits the spot. No, that's too easy.

I have one or two more suggestions.
The black fencing is interlocking panels held together by post poles. I only remove sections rarely because they are hard to put back in place and line them up easily. You can pretty much work through them and replace plants. etc. without too much trouble.

In the back of the bed I am using trellises alternating with the small decorative flag holders joined with black waxed twine so they form a fence that supports vines but is easy to reach in and prune and plant. As you can see it's almost invisible.

Thanks Hemophobic and pennefeather. I hope these ideas help others with the same struggles I've had of planting large full gardens in limited space. Of course we can always just get the plant that fits the spot. No, that's too easy.
pennefeather, Isn't that the fun part, trying to fit all the plants we want?

I have one or two more suggestions.
The black fencing is interlocking panels held together by post poles. I only remove sections rarely because they are hard to put back in place and line them up easily. You can pretty much work through them and replace plants. etc. without too much trouble.

In the back of the bed I am using trellises alternating with the small decorative flag holders joined with black waxed twine so they form a fence that supports vines but is easy to reach in and prune and plant. As you can see it's almost invisible.

I'll be utilizing some of your ideas next spring/summer, Semper. Thanks again.

I always love pics of your place, Sempervirens. Those are great ideas - when (and if) I ever end up having plantings that full I'll have to keep them in mind. For the time being, I just have lawn, lawn, lawn... and it *would* have to be Bermuda, too! Grrrr....

Pagan: I feel your pain. Spent most of yesterday (which was planned to be a planting bulbs day) pulling Bermuda out of garden areas where it is not supposed to be. That's its favorite place to go! I hate that stuff.

Here here! I keep saying if I ever buy another house I will look to see if the stuff is planted there - and if it is, that will be a deal breaker. What a pain in the neck.

And the arms, legs and back!

'Zactly!

Sorry about the Bermuda grass, I have ivy that spreads from the neighbors yard on one side and some sort of periwinkle from the other neighbor that I have to remove frequently from my garden during the year .

I'm happy someone can use some of the ideas I found. The chain rope I read about in one of Henry Mitchell's books on gardening. He used dog chains linked together sprayed black. It was much easier and inexpensive to buy a length of black chain cut to size.

I also have unknown groundcover from one of my neighbors, but I think that I return the favor as well in another area.

Oh geez - yeah, I have the variegated periwinkle in one bed (and over the pathway, down the stairs and even - at one time - through the closed basement window) left over from the previous owner. Thank goodness it is at least somewhat attractive.

But 'exuberant' doesn't even cover it!!!

Update:

I have begun the long backbreaking process of moving my perennials. It seems like everytime I move one, there is another one to move. I have moved lilies back several feet, and smaller echinecea forward. My large coneflowers that I moved out of the walkway in June, have now returned, but in the center, not on the edges, where they were looming over the walkway.

I actually expanded the bed (again!) about a foot in the hopes that I would be able to better space my plants, and to plan for the additional coneflowers I will be getting in the spring from Fairy's coop. Unfortunately, once I began to seperate some of the plants, I pretty much used up that additional space. I moved one clump of liatris into four separate areas. My lavender also was split into four places - it's hard to believe that these small bushes were the seedling that I planted two years ago.

Just a month ago, I was planning on removing some of the rosebushes, so that I would have more room for perennials. At that time, the bushes were looking sad. Of course today, everything is coming up roses. There are a lot of blooms considering that it is October. The fuschia zinnias and light pink roses are a nice combination.

Even with the lack of space, there are still new plants that I want to add. Spring is going to be interesting!

LOL! As long as you're on Dave's, there will always be plants you'll want to add...

pennefeather,
The coneflower and liatris photo is lovely. I know it's a lot of work to extend borders and divide plants but to have the space to expand must give you much joy. I know I'm never happier then when I'm redesigning and since I've long since run out of space any additions I make requires removal of some plants.

I wonder if your initial vision has changed as your garden has grown?

I started out with the English garden model and choose plants accordingly, with a large amount of the splashy plants like peonies, irises and climbing roses. When I became interested in attracting birds and butterflies and learned about beneficial insects I started adding native plants.
Now I'm belatedly adding flowering and berrying native shrubs, so rather then a herbaceous border it's become a mixed border.

I'm continually trying to find native substitutes for non natives in the garden. I have large clumps of Siberian iris that look very nice with Switch Grass and I just replaced some with the very beautiful Indian Grass. Unfortunately it won't look as nice in it's new spot as it did before until it settles in next year.

It is so interesting seeing a persons vision evolve as the garden matures. I'm enjoying your process.

I really have no plan! I just put flowers where there seems to be enough room. If I think that I need height, I look for a taller flower. If it needs something spikey, I look for liatris salvia or lilies.

I actually thought that I would put pen to paper this fall, and come up with something, but that takes the fun out of it for me. I don't consider the color as much as I do that size - tall and narrow or short and wide. It works for me only because I get to plant the plants that I like. If it is pretty, then I find a way to work it in the garden.

The one concession that I am trying to make is repeating the same plant, so that it isn't too much of a hodgepodge. Outside of that, anything goes!

This message was edited Oct 19, 2008 12:45 PM

Pennefeather: Lovely photo of your Echinacea and Liatris. Beautiful colors!

Pennefeather, I love your exuberant garden look! The orange Echinacea are wonderful. Do you know the name of that cultiver? About all we have in bloom here are a few annuals that will be gone soon. We have already had one light freeze that they made it through. This was back in August.

pennefeather,
I use some of the non gardening winter time to draw elaborate garden plans. There is always more room to place yet another plant in imaginary space even when I've run out of actual space.

lincolnitess,
Your August garden photo is very pretty, I always enjoy your garden.

I still have some flowers blooming, the native honeysuckle( Lonicera sempervirens) is still putting on a wonderful display, but it's the changing leaf color of the plants I'm enjoying now. The red in the leaf of the penstemon digitalis Husker Red is particularly nice this year and by chance I purchased red mums and the lonicera sempervirens is blooming red. The blue of the Baptisias are really showing intensity and the grasses and remaining asters have a soft purple haze. Just when you think it's almost over the garden offers brilliant surprises.

Sempervirens: Your garden is just beautiful. What kind of baptisia do you have blooming this time of year? I have baptisia, but mine blooms in the spring.

Gorgeous, gorgeous.

Lincolnitess,
I think that is the summer sky coneflowers. I also have sunset, and I think that colors are very similar.

Hemophobic,
Thank you.

Semper,
I love your garden. I really like having a cleared walkway, now that I have transplanted a lot of the flowers. If we ever get around to redoing our hardscape, I will double the width of the walkway so that the flowers can trail over it and still leave room to walk!

Thanks pennefeather and Hemophobic for the compliments.

pennefeather, It is so satisfying to reign the garden in periodically. It will be interesting to see it next year at this time.

Hemophobic,
It's actually the blue leaves of the Baptisia I was referring to at this time of year which seem particularly blue next to the grasses( in the previous photo it's the first plant on the left.) I even like the leaves as they dry to a soft charcoal grey against the straw gold of the grasses later in the season.
I do have a late blooming white Baptisia that doesn't even start to send up it's asparagus like stalk until the b. australis is almost finished blooming. So even though the white blooms a month later it still is a spring bloomer.

Here is a photo of the Baptisia where you can really see the powder blue leaves against the switch grass.

Okay. Now I understand. The leaves do add a nice contrast, don't they?

Not time to read word for word but I most certainly get the jist of the problem. Have been cutting back, digging up, moving since Monday morning. Yard crew coming at 9AM tomorrow to help build two or three more beds. Mitch and RJ have showered my garden with plants since last year. Was preparing for spinal surgery (super successful) so just plunked everything down wherever there was a space. They grew like wild this summer and it seems the biggest was where the smallest should have been and vice-versa. Even without my help, they flourished. Biggest problem is that I have gone nutttts over tropicals and I am in zone 8a. Lots has to be potted and put in the shed or the greenhouse. Work, work, work.
First time I have had enough strength in a long time. Yippee!!!
When I come in later from the yard will read every word. Pictures are beautiful.

Christi

This thread has been a delight to read. Your garden beds are lovely. I garden much the same serendipitus way and just love it. Years ago I actually tried to deign a map of what I wanted. I found that too constraining. I often have volunteers come up in a different part of my yard and do better than where I originally planted them! I love to have Mother Nature's help along the way. Your son is adorable, love those curls! Thanks for sharing your delightful garden.

Here I am about to do the same thing to my backyard. We just bought a new shed, which looks like a cute little cottage. Naturally, it needs a new garden to match it. Right now, it is just boring grass. Come spring and summer 2009, I probably wont be able to find the shed!

Just found this thread ... loved reading it and looking at all the pictures.
thought I would throw up a picture of my little shed ... originally was for the kids, now it is my garden shed.

This pic was taken several years ago before the gardens were put in around it.

The Hosta garden I put in in '06. This picture was taken '07. This year the Hardy geraniums in this garden were taking over ... reseeding like crazy. I'm thinking of removing them altogether.

On the other side of the shed, expanding a little each year is a garden with a little of everything. I change the annuals each year, so it ends up looking different. This is from '06.

Beautiful toofew! I love you path under the arbor.

Susan

I *really* love that arbor garden. Nice job!!!

And thanks for the warning on the geraniums - I just got some and have been trying to figure out where they should go. Lotsa space, huh?

My hardy geraniums are spreading out, too, and are in a bed scheduled for remodeling next spring. I love them, though, and will move them around a bit.

Lovely garden.. I love to see this in the middle of winter.. motivating!! :)

I could be motivated by a half dead dandelion right now.

Well aren't you witty tonight! :)

No, just using all my energy towards typing, instead of getting my bee-you-tee-tee of the couch!

'Sides of which, it's true! Winter is just so... gray.