New in WA, need help,please

I have only been here(tri cities area) for 15 months, and am creating new gardens. With our constant winds, I am not sure what to try growing for a perimeter to hide the vacant lot next to me. The soil is really rocky- Spring Hill has a Delphinium collection- 8 plants for just $29.95- 4 colors. It sounds good since it says they will grow to 6 feet. I have no experience with Delphiniums, as I have lived in the South for all my life before coming here. I would appreciate any help- Thanks- Jo in Richland

Delphiniums tho lovely to look at need to be staked up there, they do here if they get over 3' tall.

I would go to the local nursery and talk to them. We have hedges to hide what we do not want to see from the house.

D

Welcome to Washington and the Pacific Northwest Jo! Delphiniums are beautiful, sadly they are very floppy and need good sturdy staking. You would need to place them in a protected area (like against the house) to protect them from the wind.

For your perimeter you might want to have a look at Ceanothus (Victoria is my favorite) http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=&searcher[family]=&searcher[genus]=Ceanothus+&searcher[species]=&searcher[cultivar]=&searcher[hybridizer]=&searcher[grex]=&search_prefs[blank_cultivar]=&search_prefs[sort_by]=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search The bees and hummingbirds love the flowers as well!

and plant some Lonicera (Lemon Beauty is my personal favorite) in front of it for contrast http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=&searcher[family]=&searcher[genus]=lonicera&searcher[species]=nitida&searcher[cultivar]=&searcher[hybridizer]=&searcher[grex]=&search_prefs[blank_cultivar]=&search_prefs[sort_by]=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search You can usually find different cultivars of Ceanothus and Lonicera at any good sized nursery.

The nice thing about both of these shrubs is that they can be kept to a reasonable size with a nice yearly pruning.

Katye has an amazing display of ceanothus along a split rail fence if I remember correctly. I will try and find the thread that has the picture and post it on this thread for you. I'm sure that you will get lot's of feedback from the PNW gang as soon as they check the "new threads."

I guess I'm out of luck with the Delphiniums, then. Our Homeowner's Assoc. denied my request to put a fence there, and it is right out in the bare area where the winds blow. So I know any staking wouldn't be enough. I will need a sturdy shrub. Maybe Burning Bush-I'll see what the nurseries have when Spring arrives. Thanks

Welcome Joparrott! Looks like you have what we like to call a 'blank slate', which means you can do a whole lot of cool things working from the ground up! Too bad you have a home owner's association you have to go through, though. Sounds like they have a number of rules you will have to follow.

Although most of us live in western WA, which is really much different from your area, there are a number of fine gardeners on this thread who live in Eastern Washington, and one who lives in Montana (just off the top of my head). They are going to be very helpful to you when they find this thread. But the basics are the same everywhere, so I recommend you begin by looking at your soil. You describe it as rocky and I see that you are in a new development. Did they remove all the topsoil? Most of us have had to bring in soil to improve what we have. I suggest that rather than trying to plant directly into the soil you have, you either bring in good garden soil by the truckful, or you bring in a lot of compost and dig it into the soil. Adding soil on top of what you have would be easiest, believe me. We all have really rock soil and it is such a trial to try to plant anything in it.

It's a good idea to ask the local nurseries what will do well, especially as you have so much wind. Winter wind can be very drying for some shrubs so you'll have to choose something that will do well in your area. You'll have to consider not only the low temps you get, but also the wind in the winter. The other idea I had for you is to simply drive around your town right now and look at people's yards. Make note of yards that have plantings that look good to you this time of year and consider asking the homeowners if you can photograph the plants or if they can identify them. Most people will be very glad to help you out. There is nothing like seeing a plant at its maturity to know if you like it or not. Also, looking right now you'll get an idea of which plants will give you something interesting to look at in the winter and early spring.

Don't give up on growing delphiniums yet. You just need to site them carefully, out of the wind, and give them protection. There are some newer varieties that are not quite as tall, but most of them will need staking and vigilant protection against slugs. Looking at your lot, I think you need to focus first on trees and shrubs as the backbones of your garden. How about posting more photos of your place?

Hi Jo. Welcome to Washington! You will love the Tri Cities... it is a lovely place and the people are for the most part still small town friendly.

Although I live on the West side, we have a vacation home near you in Othello, and have a lovely garden there. Although your side of the state is desert by nature, the soil is rich and if you add water on a regular basis, stuff just goes ape! Be ready to do some agressive pruning when things get a foothold.

We have a very thick hedge behind our house that acts as a wonderful windbreak. It is made up of Lilacs and Rose of Sharon, with some Red Twig Dogwood and a Flowering Almond thrown in. Both the Rose of Sharon and the Lilacs are self sowing and almost invasive there if you don't keep them deadheaded. As a matter of fact, if you are interested, we have some of all that we would be willing to share on a "you dig" basis. There are several RofS that are quite large (5' pruned) that we have decided need to go because keeping up on the deadheading when we are only there every other week or so is just too much of a chore with the number we have.

Delphiniums do do well there, but we try to plant in a spot somewhat sheltered from the wind. Iris thrive, as do quite a few rose varieties, and many annuals.

Let me know if you are intersted in some of our excess shrubs. We will be going out towards the end of March to do the final yard cleanup, so they would be available at that time.

I will share a few pics of our little E-WA world.

Julie

This is our lilac hedge 5-3-08

Along the house, we have more lilacs, bleeding hearts, a flowering quince and weiglia (sp?). All of the shrubs have to be pruned aggressively to keep them low.

Your lilac hedge is gorgeous. I can almost smell its fragrance right now.

An if you are a vegi lover, you HAVE to do tomatoes. This is off of 12 plants in one day...a godsend to us as we can't grow them really well on this side.

And Lynn, you are going to have to come over with us on one of our "Hookey" days when the lilacs are in bloom. It is to die for!

Thanks for the warm welcomes, everyone. We do like it here- moved from FL, so it's a new world! We are seniors, and our community is fairly new- No mature trees yet, and since ouy yard is postage stamp size, I will not be planting trees. I have 3 photos to show you what I have to work with. My front beds are pretty bars right now, but I have lots of stuff started from seed and will probably bring plants home every day once the garden shops are stocked. Lowe's & Home Depot are close, and have really nice plants. I saw some Gulf Coast Nandinas at HD today,1 gallon, and they are about 3' tall. What do you think? They have red foliage in winter. I have always thought of them as *weeds*, but just as a screen, they may be good.

In the previous photo the perimeter I need to treat is at the far upper part- this one shows my naked front beds- I am amending them and will have a sort of *Cottage Garden*- that covers me for not having a master plan! Flowers get popped in at random- It always works-

And this one is of the mini back yard- I am using all the sunny space I have for veggies & herbs. I have done some expanding since this was taken, and removed the 2 young plants in the yard- they got in the way of my *granddogs* !

Hi, Jo. I haven't read the thread yet, but wanted to tell you that I have a close friend who lives in your area. She's in Kennewick and is a DG member, though I don't think she checks in often. Her handle is tangaloor. I know she (and I) will be fascinated to participate in the design discussions suited to the Eastern Washington yard and garden.

There is another thread about the use of native plants - I would think (thought I haven't specifically checked) that it would have some good plant ideas for you. Also, I have a book called Northwest Smart Regional Guide, put out by the American Horticultural Society. I categorizes plants and given suggestions for plants by size, soil they like, air they like, etc.

http://www.gardenartisans.us/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=277

Welcome. We're happy to have you here!!

Welcome Jo, Looks like you have done a very nice job on your yard and just need a couple of shrubs. Does the hedge you want have to be planted in that narrow space or can you deepen it further back toward that open space?

Welcome to the group Jo. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Hi Jo
I had an accidental delphinium staking solution happen when one shot up underneath a small tree, the branches held the flower stalk up nicely and it looked nice too. I have a few growing underneath my witch hazel and it works great as a support.
Rarejem I love your lilac hedge!! My grandmother had lots of lilacs and think that is why I love them so much.

Willow, that is the property line, so I have to stay inside. The bed I have dug is about 24" wide, so I think I could put the Nandinas and use some low flowers in front. I will post more photos tomorrow- Thanks, all-

Julie I love your lilac hedge!

Jo your yard looks wonderful, thanks for sharing pictures with us :0)

I also meant to say, Julie, that that hedge is gorgeous. Is there a lilac forum? I bet they'd love to see that picture.

Thanks for the comments on our lilac hedge. Wish I could take credit, but we were incredibly lucky and found a house that the landscaping was about 75% done. We have added (and moved) several perennials and tons of annuals, but the mature shrubs were there when we found it. I grow lilacs on my side as well, but they are nothing like the ones in E-WA. The lady who had the house before us wasn't into big variety, so they are almost all the same color (we have added a few new kids in pink and whites, but they have a ways to go), but what a treat to be able to cut buckets and buckets of perfumed blossoms! Our big contribution to the lilacs has been fertilizer, water, and learning to prune them severely before they eat the house!

I think it is a plant of extremes - it needs hot summers and cold winters to really bloom . . .

This message was edited Mar 7, 2009 3:56 PM

That is exactly why I feel super spoiled having a garden on both sides of the state to play in! If it doesn't do well over here, it might over there and vice versa. Not often that you can REALLY have the best of both worlds!

Yes!

See? Already you have an amazing amount of help, plus offers of shrubs for your windbreak! That lilac hedge is glorious and I'll bet the smell is intoxicating in the spring. Lovely!

Here's what I decided on for my property line screen- I would have preferred taller, but I know I will enjoy these Gulf Stream Nandinas- they are really tough plants.

That was fast!! And the ground was warm enough to get them in? I'm envious.

I was just going to suggest berberis 'Helmond Pillar', but then it wouldn't be evergreen.
They also have a holly that grows in a pillar shape. Glad you decided on something. I'm sure you will like the nandinas. Patricia

Our soil isn't frozen, and this is a bed that I had just dug up & amended last week, so it's good. I dunked the rootballs in water before planting them, so they will do good, I'm sure. I found some flower bulbs in the Dollar Tree- Rain Lilies, Sparaxis, and Ranunculus- I will put them all at the base for color- it should be pretty-

By the way- it is HAILING here right now! What is going on this spring!

Jo,

Your hedge turned out very nice... I think you will be happy with them as well. I love the look of the neat, freshly planted garden!

You are getting hail, we are getting snow. This has to be the longest winter in history (or at least it feels like it)! Hurry up spring!!!!

We had a mini-blizzard that put down 2" in about an hour. Now it is snowing lightly.

I had the fastest trip from downtown Seattle to Redmond EVER. It only took 1/2 an hour. The trip from the Redmond to the house took longer than usual - another 1/2 hour.

Apparently it snowed heavily up here while it was snowing downtown (2+ more inches) and everybody cut out of work. There were lots of cars in the ditches. Then it stopped and the road cleared up and the rest of us came home, oblivious except for the few cars still left in the ditches.

It's bitter cold tonight - already 20, I'm sure, and supposed to get into the teens tonight. I've brought my Green Elephans plant swap treasures into the garage, but it won't be real warm out there, either.

Harumph. This had better be the end of it!

Update- The freeze got to my 10 Gulf Stream Nandinas, so I returned them to Home Depot (the 1 year guarantee comes in handy at times) I have since found out that they don't do well in our climate- so now I have to look for something else. I'm thinking maybe Red Tip Photinia- have to research it some. Or maybe some sort of dwarf evergreen.

Sorry to hear that about the nandinas. Can you put a fence across that area and plants in front of it. Lilacs do well over there(says above). That might be the answer. Maybe something non-evergreen would survive the winters better.

Can't do a fence- our Homeowners Ass'n vetoed that! They are very strict, which I guess is good- but frustrating at times!

Yes we live with covenents also. Well, will be waiting to hear what works out for you.

I just went back and looked at the picture with the nandinas planted. Think about joining the bed that comes down the backside of the house to the bed with the nandinas and put that whole corner into a flower bed?

This message was edited Mar 28, 2009 5:49 PM

I just talked to a friend in Kennewick who has two Nandina domestica and they came through the winter just fine. I, on the other hand, think I lost 4 established ones. Maybe they are so old that they were ready to go. But I'm cutting them back to the ground and if they're going to come back, they'll have to come back out of the soil.

I worked as a landscaping maintenance in Richland for 7 years, and let me tell you that was 7 years too long. I'm so glad to be here in the Sound. Basically 2 seasons in the Tri-Cities, 8 months of hot and 4 months of gray cold. Windy, windy, windy, gods it wouldn't stop blowing. Nothing personal, I'm just a gal that love mountains green and the smell of conifers (o:

That aside I could grow just about anything I wanted, you just have to have the right place to put them. Peonies will, and they are beautiful, along with roses. You just need to water a lot,