13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

My pleasure, Jaime. Just passing along the help others have given me.

Clematis climbs by wrapping leaf stems, so it needs something narrow to wrap around, such as a metal trellis with bars pencil thickness or less, or coated wire with 2" x 4" openings, or cotton string so you can compost it in the fall with the dead vines. With the string tie it to your railing, and anchor it to the ground near the base of the plant with stakes into the ground, or tie it around a brick at the base. You can fan them out toward the railing in future years as it gets larger, but that won't be needed the first year since they do more of their growing underground initially. I'd advise that you look for a type 3 prune clematis because they tend to be unfussy. At the end of the season after hard freeze, cut off the dead vines leaving a couple of buds per stem, and they will regrow in the spring. If you use string rather than a metal support, compost the string with the old vines and put out new string in the spring when the buds start swelling. All clematis take a bit of patience to get to full blooming size, usually 3 years to be good-sized, and after that they get better each year. I plant clematis either spring or early fall.

Thanks again Babs! You are a fountain of knowledge & so nice you take the time to give detailed responses. I am excited to get some picked out & planted--I now have other spots where I want to add clematis! :-)

Cinnamon ferns might even be happy in full sun with that kind of moisture. Also Japanese iris, Louisiana iris, and Iris virginiana. If you can do shrubs, Clethra would work as well.

ditto to babs and laceyvail. Astilbes love it moist - don't think they would like the standing water, but perhaps along the edge of the ditch...

I updated an existing garden that is under water for parts of the year; it is at the base of a hill on one side, with a creek that runs along it on the other side. Often it has standing water for weeks on end, of at least 6 inches (I lost a shoe in there once, lol - foot came right out of it when I went to move!). I ended up planting a lot of shrubs, as this is a large area and we were looking for big things. I also wasn't planting right in the water flow, as it sounds like you may be doing, so that will affect what you plant compared to what I planted, but still, maybe this will be of some help. I'll list below (from hopefully-good memory) what we planted.

- willow hakuro nishiki - probably way too big for you - I planted two of them, just to give you an idea of the large area I was dealing with. These are spectacular, though, IMO, if you wanted to consider one of them as a specimen...

- astilbes

- japanese and louisiana iris

- clethra

- itea

- cephalanthus (lovely and underused, IMO, and some new dwarf (4-ft) varieties out there now, I see

- redtwig dogwood

- viburnum (probably too big for you)

- deciduous hollies (again probably too big for you)

- marsh marigold

- bog rosemary

- lobelia siphilitica and cardinalis - the siphilitica is truly beautiful, but I would not plant this again - very vigorous spreader and I just don't have time to maintain/control. The cardinalis is spectacular (and I don't even care for red blooms!) and I highly recommend this one.

- ligularia

- filipendula (can't remember which kind off the top of my head)

- cimicifuga

- swamp azalea

- marsh hibiscus

Already in this garden and doing surprisingly well were bleeding hearts, hosta, hydrangea, peonies, columbines and some kind of small bulb which I'm drawing a total blank on at the moment - like a scilla or something... ugh, sorry, can't think of it.

And of course there are ferns, which were probably there before any garden was even thought of! There is also an elderberry which pre-existed the garden - this is along a wooded area so some things were growing there already, such as the elderberry, ferns, a clethra, etc. (plus virginia creeper, jewelweed, pokeberry, sigh....)

I think that is most of it. Good luck to you!

Simply lovely! You're having great successes!

Diggerdee, it;s Digitalis ambigua. The flower stalks tend to not be absolutely straight but I'm fine with that. And it's quite the seeder - I gave away a bunch last year. (If you want to take a ride to NJ, I'd be happy to give you some.)

I've had problems on and off with the horsemint caterpillar devastating my monarda. In years where I'm badly infested, I just cut off the flower heads and wait for a rebloom. I'm beginning to think that keeping the plant well watered helps it to overcome the pest. Or it could have been something about this year's weather? I should start keeping track. Sadly, there is next to no info about this insect.

Rouge, I also love the beaded water look. It's so pretty in the morning with dew drops. I have to remember to cut back my zagreb since it's overwhelming one of my patches.Catkin, thanks! Of course, for every success, there's been a bunch of failures. But that's gardening.

Thanks~!

Looks like garlic to me

Very beautiful! Have she over-wintered?

They are nice. Lowes had pots of them last year with about 3 or 4 plants per pot. I bought a couple of pots on clearance, separated the plants and planted them out. They survived the winter. I also bought some this past spring from a local nursery. Mine are fading but they did put on a nice show. Anyone have any luck growing from seed? The seeds are quite expensive.

If you like cosmic eye Correopsis you'll like Capucchino Gillardia. It is one of my favorite flowers. It is sold as an annual but it most often winters over in my zone 3 garden. Even last year when we had such a cold winter a few of them came up this spring. The seed is not that expensive and I start some every year in my greenhouse just in case they don't come up but there are always a few that survive. I add 1 or 2 to my beds but end up giving most of the seedlings away

I bought 'Mercury Rising' two years ago and it's come back beautifully each year.

Here it's paired with coreopsis 'Zagreb' and gailardia 'Burgandy'

And yet although one of my two clumps has expanded, I just attribute it to natural growth. I see no runners at all.

Perhaps attributable to acceptable spread, Rouge. I'd say mine had runners, which lay on the surface and radiated out in all directions from the plant. If clump-forming, it was by putting out those runners.

Also perhaps related to growing conditions, how long established plants are, correct labelling, etc., etc..

In trying to crowd enough perennials in (for ongoing colour), I'd rather especially smaller or medium-sized perennials not be spreaders (edgers excepted).

If you come across other unknowns in your garden, the Name That Plant Forum is active and mostly accurate.

Thanks sunny for the heads up. I'll have to be careful moving it. The choices in its current location are move it or kill it. Its really too bad the previous owners of the house let everything get so way out of hand. With all the herbicide I used last week I have a lovely ring of death all the way around the house now. Next spring I'll start completely rebuilding everything. For now I am just trying to save a couple plants.

I'll check out that forum morz8, thanks.

Gee, that sounds nice and very apropos. Probably there are detractors who are wishing for the Stella d'Oros and Knock out roses, but what a nod to place. We have American cranberry bushes around the city building, which is as native as we get. KF is the only OG to be seen.

TR I would love to see those photos as well. A nearby casino uses a lot of LBS and panicum and it's also a nice sight. Too bad they mow the Indian grass which fills several of the nearby fields...

Even overplanted KF is my favorite grass... I'm getting tired of cutting back the larger miscanthus clumps but for some reason the panicum clumps aren't as much trouble. Panicum 'Dallas blues' is my favorite and holds up all winter with a nice russet-tan color. I'm sorry to hear it's a flopper in richer soil, I have no problems but it's not exactly pampered here. The blue summer leaves and the reddish tones all winter really stand out.

love blue fescue but for me it dies out if anything grows near and it needs a trim and a feed in spring to look good.

I also love arundo. It's not a plant for everybody though :)

molina 'skyracer' is attractive and well behaved for me, it's a winner!

'hayefield' is a great blog for grasses, give that one a visit for sure.

We're waiting for a neighbourhood meeting with the town for more details. But, yeah, coexistence is the general message. I suspect that the size of the pack will be limited by the size of the local food supply (aside from general garbage, mainly field mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits - with the occasional young raccoon, fox, and small pet! The young coyotes usually go seeking their own territory around 18 month of age I think. That was probably the age of the female that showed up here first. The male showed up a year later (last year) so this spring is the first litter for the pair. Check out these two pictures from the weekend. I think the best (most likely?) route to get rid of them is if they all get mange. In the 15 years we've been here, there have been two groups of foxes that have lived where the coyotes are now. Mange ultimately decimated them both times, with a period of 3-4 years before a new group moved in. So we're all hoping for a bout of mange :-) (although.... a lot of neighbourhood dogs - including our Golden at the time - got mange too! Easy to treat though, and we now always use Revolution for the heartworm medication as it kills off mange....)

That is very scary to us small dog owners. I saw one on my way to work one morning not too far from home. It was running across the street with a rabbit dangling from its mouth. It gave me a very uneasy feeling knowing they are so close to home. Being more out in the country, they have plenty of woods to hide in. Thankfully for this, they are not as bold as you describe....that's just crazy! Homeowners around here can shoot them if they threaten to harm you, or your animals. I have not heard any reports of attacks (on dogs) lately....thankfully! I sure hope they get a handle on them for you. With the danger and disease they can carry, it's hard to believe they won't take action. Unfortunately a lot of times it takes a tragedy to happen before they will do anything :(

Good luck and BTW, I love your gate :)

I appreciate the input, Marie. I'm still relatively new when it comes to gardening, and I've definitely made mistakes and know there are still many to come. Unfortunately the yard is pretty small. I took a risk with the serviceberry knowing it might be too big for the spot. I have a little room to extend the bed out, but not much before it hits the gate.

The fence definitely needs a powerwash and seal. I was actually trying to figure out how to do that recently without destroying the plants (while everything is dormant would be best, I'm guessing). It's a townhouse, so the fence on either side is shared.

The corner is sun from 11-2 (where the tree does not shade), roughly. I actually had another dwarf shrub planted next to the hydrangea paniculata on the end, but realized quickly it was too crowded, so I removed it. So I see what you are saying.

Here is another more aerial view of the area. I have 2 things in containers, so at least I can move them easily in the future if needed.

You are welcome. I see why you stopped the border and didn't bring it left. What's on the other side of the gate and if it is a "service" entrance why no path? Where is it coming from and where does it go? Maybe it doesn't snow where you are but a gate leading to grass=gate leading to mud path if it rains a week. .

And is a neighbor on the other side of the fence on (our) right?

If you don't use the gate and (non) path I'm still inclined to enlarge the bed. I'm sorry, but the service berry will have to move someday when you or the next owner gets tired of pruning it back!

I feel I want to see the rest of the yard before more plans are made, unless this is will be the only bed. Seeing how eager and conscientious you are I have a feeling you'll be putting in more. I understand needing to get your hands in the dirt and making some lovely mark on your new home. However, it would be much to your advantage to look at the yard as a whole before purchasing more shrubs or trees....they are expensive.

Have you googled "tiny gardens/yards" or small townhouse back yards to see if there's one that inspires you?

Good Luck

Marie

No. Too tall.

I think it's echinacea Sundown.

How about a raised planter or pots. That way you don't have to fight with the dirt that is there and you get some color in that spot. When I went through the fight with the tree roots (and they won) I went to above-ground planters and have been very happy with the plants I have put in them.

I unfortunately don't have very level ground here...I'm on a slope :( I slope down in the front and slope out to the side so everything would tumble down especially when the wind comes through here. I really, really like the plants in the ground, I just really hate the dirt lol. The only reason I put up with digging in the clay is because I don't plan on moving or taking out the majority of the flowers, so as long as they are there in the ground permantely filling in space I don't have to dig every year to keep planting. Or so that is my plan. Depending on what our winter is like this year, I may loose some and have to do it all over again next year. Some plants, like my ice plant are only hardy to 10 degrees and some -10 degrees and it can get way colder than that here so this last bunch of plants I made sure they were hardy from -30 to -40 degrees just in case.