Thanks - I was thinking on starting a thread to ask for ideas, at some point. I look at it and for some reason can't envision what should be planted there. I have a bunch of grasses right up against the back right now and two hardy hibiscus. I'm thinking shrubs and trees but I have a hard time picking them and can't picture where they should go in my mind.
Stones, rocks, boulders and erratics 2009
Service berry & viburnum are tall shrubs. Groundcover roses might be a short type if you wish to see the pool.
I am trying to plan behind the pool - the back drop so to say. It will have to be all tall stuff because behind the pool is lower than the pool itself. Plus the Miscanthus got 5' tall last year and they may get taller as they get more established. We don't want anything in front of the pool aside from my border along the front of the fence. Dh doesn't want to block the pool. If it was up to me there would be a natural looking iris drift all around the front. I like the wild pond style look - he likes more of a modern look.
I would go with you, Meredith, on the wild pond style look. I like that. Hey, how about a Styrax japonica (Japanese Snowbell Tree) behind the pool? I think that would great! It gets up to 12'.
Karen
Thanks Karen! I looked it up and I love it, only problem is it says it is hardy to zone 6 and warmer parts of zone 5. Although I think I am a warmer zone 5, I don't know if I want to take the chance with a large tree. I don't mind taking a chance on perennials. This year I have a weeping cedar that looks dead and has little green buds, so I don't think it's completely dead but it is going to look like it for some time. It is quite an eye sore right now, I would have never planted it if I knew it was barely hardy here. I got it at HD which I found out after the fact is notorious for selling things that aren't fully hardy if we get a real cold winter. Last winter it got down to -15 the one before the lowest was -12. The weeping cedar did fine the winter it got -12 but not -15, I'm sure there are many other variables as to why it didn't do well, such as duration of cold and perhaps I didn't give it enough water in fall. Plus it was a nasty winter with that awful ice storm.
My dh wants a weeping birch - the kind with the graft on top of a white birch. They are really pretty when full grown. I am not a huge fan of grafted trees though. It is funny actually because I usually love them, except for where the graft is, it usually looks so un-natural to me. Plus I have never seen a decent size weeping birch for sale.
It's much too dry here for cedars (sniff) so I mourn with you Meredith. I treat them as annuals now and put in cheapo ones every year. I luv their smell when it rains so I must have them.
Well, if you could get a small styrax, then it might not be too pricey. I got a little one the other day at a plant sale. I forget now what I paid for it. $5 maybe. Will take some time to get some size, but I'm still young.
Karen
Another pebble - from today's hike.
Incredible amount of outcroppings and erratics.
'Den' used by Revolutionary era bandit, Claudius Smith.
Do you lead hiking tours? Should be done for cubs & boy & girl scouts. Note that the girls can learn too. So says a former Girl Scout leader.
No, I don't lead, but I could.
Nice rocks, Victor!
Karen
Nice pebble. I wonder if my DH will help me get one (tee hee)
Ooof, Victor, those are amazing!! I would feel like the whole thing was coming down on me if I tried to hide in there. Mr. Smith must have been quite a guy!
new rock with a cool shape
Interesting, Bill! I would guess it is a "chip off the old block", so to speak! LOL
Call it the dinosauer vertibrae. Sounds ancient.
Cool, Bill. Would look better two inches over, though. ^_^
yes it would - i will wait until i trim the rody and center it and the little honey hydrangea
^_^
ha ha!
Looks like it's a stegasaurus for sure. It will probably meander over to the middle by itself over time wha. My rocks are always meandering around.
it does have an unusual shape - was going to be in the wall and it got upgraded!
It rolls around at night & squashes plants.
LOL irisMA. I think it's like Far Side. They move and freeze when the peoples are around.
Fred: "George let's meander over and check out the new chic rock from Golden"
George: " Ya man. I can see her from here. She's a hottie. Purple stripes. O Baby O Baby"
Fred: "Freeze!!!! Peoples approaching"
Are rocks afraid of dahlias?
On the contrary irisMA, rocks and dahlias are sympatico. The dahlias are very tall and scope out new spots for the rocks to meander. It's a total symbiotic relationship. I guess that's why I'm overwhelmed with dahlias and rocks. The dahlias don't meander though. Only the rocks.
How do to know which does what?
Just go with the flow IrisMA. Plant the dahlias, the rocks will come and meander. It's just their nature. I'm sure it's well documented in the American Museum of Natural History in NYC (which is a totally fabby museum BTW if anyone hasn't gone there; you shoud) . As a lay-bee I just share the joy ^_^
off to bed, probably will dream about being chased by rocks.
PFFT!!! I have coffee in my mouth.. or at least I did! What a riot! I planted a couple dahlias this year for the first time. Thank you DG. So far the rocks around the edge haven't moved. I will keep watch from the kitchen window. Do you think they can see that far to know they are being watched? Have a great day!
I often use small stones (too small to be called rocks) as marks, either for a plant that I am watching or the end of a row of seedlings. So they better not move. Maybe stones in an iris bed have better manners, or are just more comfortable knowing that those plant companions won't be dug up in the fall.
My neighbor steals rocks. I have to hide my really good ones so they aren't taken when I'm at work. Wish I had watch rocks, sneak up behind unsuspecting rock robbers and crack them in the ankle (or at least trip them). The rocks like to trip me just for fun, I don't see why they can't do it for a better cause.
Iris, that's what I do, too. When I come across a stone while I'm digging (which is every 4 seconds) I put it around plants that I know I'll forget about. Probably not bad mulch, really. I'm saving all my flat stones in a special pile to make little mini stone wall planters.
drumlin i am shocked, SHOCKED that anyone would steal rocks!!
are these off your property that you are using? that would not be right.
I have some 'Radioactive' stickers!
Stealing rocks is an issue here too. There is a person on our road who was seen removing stones from my BIL's ancient stone wall. He used them to build a new stone wall on his property. That move started a feud on the road that still continues. My BIL's land adjoins ours. Like Iris and Nancy, I use stones to mark new rows in the garden. I also pick up neat rocks when I see them, but I have to secret them away or lose them to little grandsons' hands when they make a bee-line for cuppatea. LOL
This message was edited May 24, 2009 7:01 PM
People can really suck sometimes.