zone 4-5 where are you?

Thank you all for your suggestions for my north flower bed..can't wait until the seeds arrive. I'm envious seeing everyones pictures, just starting my landscaping and will enjoy every minute of it!

Started some "orchid blue geraniums" had to start something. It is 10º here in the valley.

Lilies and iris "huh" will check out these forums.
Wanda

Wanda -
I'm in NW IN (zone 5) and could never figure out where I fit in either. I guess I'm with Nanny 56? Nice to know where I belong.
I do mostly shade gardening (wooded lot) and cram as many sun-lovers as I can in a small patch that gets half-day sun. I do mostly perennials and shrubs although I did a couple of tomatoes (Better Boy) in pots last year in half-day (afternoon) sun and they did great. I have a 2 year old 6 x 10 greenhouse on the south side of my garage that I try to maintain around 55 degrees for wintering over more tender plants and growing on seedlings once they leave the safety of my house. I do start seeds every year, some purchased, some collected. I'm more of a collector, dropping in a must-have plant where I can find the space. I can divide Hostas like crazy and they survive but have trouble keeping Heucheras alive for more than a year or two. I wish I had more room for Iris and have the same two German irises that my DH gave me years ago (I keep dividing though) but did add a couple of new ones last year, hoping they don't mind the overcrowding in my one half-sunny bed.
Goldfinch - a 'Daniel Deronda' - I have one too although it stays small since it's not in a particularly good spot. Your's is beautiful. And so are your garden beds. Sigh.

Hi Cindy!!

Hope to some shade gardening, someday if my trees grow!!

How do you heat your GH? Can you post some pictures?

Will be starting some hostas when my seeds arrive, I have 3 now, that are planted on the west side of the house, they always do well.

Wanda

Hey Wanda -
I've been doing shade gardening for abut 20 years and I'm still learning (a slow curve since I tend to be impatient). My trees are all native but I have planted Kousa dogwood (my fav), red bud, some Canadian hemlocks and a few other flowering types which don't bloom well in all of the shade. I have limbed up the native trees about 20 ft but still not enough light. Just poor placement on my part.
This is my second winter with my greenhouse and I've been heating with a combination of electric space heater (on warmer days and expensive) and a non-vented propane heater when it gets below 15 degrees (which has been often lately). Some of my plants don't like extended use of the propane though and will drop their leaves but they usually grow back once I turn off the propane. I've got my eye on a vented natural gas heater from Northern Tool (much less expensive than Charley's) that I hope to purchase soon. I will have to have a gas line run out to the greenhouse but DH can do that for free. If it's a sunny day, the GH can heat up to almost 80 so I keep the automatic roof vents in place even in the winter and I run a small fan 24/7/365 unless the GH is empty in the summer. I do insulate the GH with styrofoam sheets around the bottom half and various types of bubble wrap on the rest of it to attempt to moderate the heating cost. The GH has double-wall polycarbonate walls and roof (a kit) but I would seriously consider the triple-wall poly if you want to use the GH year-round.
I haven't started any Hosta from seed but I do have one that tends to reseed on it's own. I usually dig them up and pass them on to family and friends as "fillers". I think it's H. ventricosa but I've had it so long that I can't always keep them straight. I'm a sucker for chartreuse Hostas because of the shade - it brightens things up.
I'll have to see if DH has any recent photos since I'm no good with cameras. Have never posted any before but will see what I can come up with.

geez goldfinch ... I'm so jealous. Your gardens are just beautiful!

Hi duck-toller

Are you a flower/veggie gardener or both?

Hey Cindy

I will be setting up a similar greenhouse "when" spring arrives..my choice for heat is propane, as we have no natural gas. This year I will try to save my hosta seeds..have some ordered. Off to a gardening class tonite.....til later Wanda

Cindy, I have about 30 clematis and most of them require at least 6 hours of sun a day. Both of the clems in that picture have started new plants on their own that I will have to dig out and move this spring. Last summer I planted a few that are supposed to do good in shade - guess I'll find out.

Thanks Duck_toller!

We moved into a new subdivision Sept 06 - not a tree or plant in site for miles. My neighbors and I have slowly been planting trees, grass, and other plantings. I started with hardscaping a patio and two huge retaining walls. I have a small veggie bed behind the garage enough for my husband and I, and I have an acre or so of perimeter flower bed plots with baby shrubs and snippets of flowers.

The house I lived in for 17 years prior was in an established neighborhood with lots of mature trees. So I owned every shade plant you can think of. Now I'm learning about heavy clay, steep hill drainage, and lots of sun. It's been fun, but a lot of failures along the way too.

Actually that is why I joined Dave's Garden. I thought I was a pretty good gardener until I was met with this challenge and then I needed a lot more input and advise.

Goldfinch -
I'd sure be interested in knowing the names of the clems you'll be planting in the shade. I've been growing more of the smaller flowered forms on a few trellises but I've been so confined to my small half-sun area that I haven't really considered getting more. I'm so tempted by the container clems like 'Crystal Fountain' or 'Arctic Queen'.
Duck-toller -
Whoa - what an adjustment to make moving to full sun. I bet you get quite a few more flowers though. I've seen a Hosta or two doing ok in full sun but they really need some extra water and heavy mulch. Billy's Solomons Seal sure looks great with all the light they get.
Wanda -
Try to go for a vented propane heater. Mine's non-vented and my poor potted Stephanotis has just finished dropping all of it's leaves as has my Mandevilla. I don't have any photos of my greenhouse to post. I don't know what kind of foundation you're going to use but we put in huge 8" recycled (plastic/sawdust) landscape timbers for the foundation. They're not going to budge or rot. Didn't want to pour concrete in that spot.

Cindy, I planted Nelly Moser, Claire de Lune and Pink Fantasy in mostly shade, but they do still get a couple of hours of early morning sun. Here is a link that lists quite a few more suitable for partial shade http://store.chalkhillclematis.com/clematisforshade.html

And this site shows the flowers and descriptions including location (sun requirements): http://www.silverstarvinery.com/default.asp (great company!) You can also call Debbie at Silver Star and she is more than happy to help you with suggestions.

I've never tried any in containers but have been thinking about it. You could always move them to suit there needs that way.

Goldfinch -
Great list and I'm going to check out the website. How's the shipping cost? I used to order a lot from Forestfarm but the shipping just got so expensive.
I may surrender to trying a container clem if I can locate another "tripod" trellis for it. The tripods work pretty well in pots. I had picked up a couple of iron ones a few years back at the Chicago Flower and Garden show for $8 each.

Cindy, the shipping is always what kills ya. I think she can put 2 in a box though and that helps. The quality of her plants are definitely worth the extra money to me.

$8 is a really good price for an iron trellis - good deal!

I've been having computer problems and got behind.

Wendyloo, I love clean slates! I love starting with a big empty bed. They are hard to come by now!

CindyMzone5, I used to have nothing but sun and wished for shade. Now all the walnut trees shade most of the yard and I wish I had more sun :o) I have trouble with the newer heucheras. The common red do just fine. I always want a greenhouse till I see the reality of caring for one.

Goldfinch, I'd love to have room for that many clematis! It must be nice to stroll around looking at each one. I planted Clair de Lune because it's supposed to do well in the shade. It was slow starting, but I only planted it in 2006.

Duck_toller, that does sound like a challange. At least the clay has nutrients.

Cindy, the Solomans Seal is on the north wall, but does get early morning sun. It stays fairly wet because of roof runoff. The Bleeding Hearts are also on the same side, but are more NE. It's a 5 sided garage, so I have two north sides :o) I was suprised the first time the Seals got 4' tall or better. They were only 2 1/2' tall when I brought them home. Yes, nice price on the trellis!!

Clair de Lune Clematis. It gets a lot of shade.

A better idea of the color.

Billyporter -
Nice flowers for a 2yo plant in the shade. My north side seems shadier than your's (from the photo). I have a trilevel and the back half juts out cutting off the east sun. I've been trying to figure out what to do with my small north side for years. It's somewhat protected from north wind but our prevailing NW winds are nasty. It's pretty much clay with a small piece of lawn that doesn't do well and butts up to my neighbors driveway. I'd like to tear out lawn and just put in shrubs and perennials but I fear that it would be a lot of mulch and few plants to start with that would run off onto the driveway. I have the variegated Solomon's seal in one of my gardens and it tends to roam a bit so I don't get that lush look that you have.

Cindy, I'm anxious to see how well Clair de Lune does this year. It's on the south end of the west side. Walnut trees shade it almost all day. I wasn't sure there was going to be enough sun to get it going. I'm open to the north and west winds too. Shade and clay soil is good for foxgloves and shrubs like forsythia.

Hi all! Can we all meet in Cool Climate Gardening "Lets warm up this forum" by chocolate moose?

can someone post a link???

This message was edited Feb 9, 2009 1:36 PM

This message was edited Feb 9, 2009 1:59 PM