13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials

urk, the continual rain over the last three months has been severely limiting on garden work time, while naturally, the weeds and general garden growth has roared into overdrive, flopping hideously, twice normal size (water is much more of a limiting factor in dry East Anglia). Basically, it means staying out until my vest is breached and my boots are leaking Good for planting salad leaves and spinach but hopeless for tomatoes. At least, the work at this time of year is fairly mimsy, pulling and snipping, pruning and sowing - no digging, heaving, dividing or trenching. Enragingly, I still have to do watering in the dozens of pots. Even so, I still have a garden. Many areas of the UK have been suffering catastrophic flooding - a dreadful conflation of underinvestment in privatised water companies, creeping urbanisation and concrete laying (run-off is a nightmare now), rampant developement on flood plains and a truculent Jetstream - in many more areas of the UK, annual flooding is a dreary reality.

I do some gardening almost every day - sometimes it will only be a few visits and pulling a few weeds or snapping a few photos. Sometimes I will garden for a total of 4-8 hours in a day.

I have a good sized parcel (1.25 acres), have created large gardens, and add or expand beds every year. However, I've got to stop and "finish" what's here because I plan to be moving within the next 2 years.

I spend almost all my free time gardening or doing something related to gardening - bird watching, butterfly rearing, winter-sowing, nature-walking, surfing gardening or plant-related websites, editing photos, etc. There is hardly anything in the world I'd rather be doing. In fact, I am really starting to resent the tedious responsibilities of life that get in the way! Haha

Even though Barberry is pretty, it is invasive in natural areas (to the point that barberry has been banned in some states) so I would avoid planting it. Actually I pulled the ones that the former homeowner had planted at my house when I moved here for that reason.

If you want a colorful shrub, consider Fothergilla or Sweetspire 'Little Henry' - both will produce beautiful color during Fall! They also produce fragrant flowers. Additionally, they are native to America so they are already suited to grow here.

Balloon Flower is a great perennial. It's very easy to grow, long-lived, and it flowers for a long time.

I would suggest baptisia as another very pretty long-lived plant.

I am a big fan of Echinaceas. Just do research on the specific variety before you buy (look on this forum for threads about echinacea) because some of the new fancy varieties are duds. Others are great though. I have had Echinacea 'Magnus' for years and it does well. I just planted 'Pow wow Wildberry', 'Hot Summer' and 'Hot Papaya' this year.
Coreopsis 'Zagreb' is a good grower and would be easy too.
I am also trying out Coreopsis 'Sienna Sunset' and 'Red Shift' this year.

oh.....well too late on the Barberry.....I planted 3 tonight as suggested by one poster.....I also put Buzz Butterfly Bush in the far right/left corners....it says they get about 4ft tall, which would be just tall enough to slightly peak over the porch....they smelled great too! My only problem now is that the Barberry is really close to the Gallardia and Salvia now....I may have to dig them up and move them closer to the front of the bed for better spacing. I ran out of time tonight to do any more.

this is defly the short platycodon;likely Sent'l Blue. nice and bushy.

If you choose not to deadhead it, and you'd like more plants, it will reseed itself. Watch in the spring for babies at its feet. They can be lifted when small and transplanted to wherever you'd like more of them.

lida -- i think i would not use Over the Top in your situation. see link: http://www.epinions.com/review/Ferti_lome_Over_The_Top_Weed_Grass_Killer_10454_epi/content_436224364164?sb=1

A lot can happen in a year, especially with rhizomatous grass. Apparently there has been a border failure, load of seeds found its' way in, something. Knowing what it was would be paramount to preventing it from happening again or your eradication efforts may be in vain by next year.

Could be Jackmanii.

Deanna

This is not Jackmanii - the form of the petals is different.

Mindy, I have 60+ Clematis and I am in MD, zone 6/7 :)

Our lot is small, so Clematis are everywhere, LOL. I have about 20 of them planted around a small 10' gazebo, next to many shrubs, along the fence, etc.

I do not fertilize my Clematis every month. In spring, I throw some Tomato-tone or Rose-tone and add compost and/or mulch. After first flush of blooming is over, I cut them back and add more fertilizer - I learned this trick on Clematis forum long time ago. This gives a second and sometimes a third flushes during growing season. More sparse than the first one, but still a bonus...

As for that chart, no, I do not agree with many ratings. Most of my type 3 Clematis are terrific performers, so 'fair' rating for them sounds unfair :)

Still think that Romantika is a better guess than Viola. Viola is still rare and seems to have wider petals.

Mindy, did you find companions for this Clemmie? My 'Negritjanka' is planted with 'Huldine'. They bloom at the same time and the contrast is really beautiful. Just an idea :)

You were all absolutely right to question the location. I made a wrong assumption (She's an online friend) so welcome to 2012 where you don't really know where your friends live :)

She is not in Alaska.. she is in Ireland. I am very sorry to lead you all astray!!

WHEW! i was gonna say, i was suckered into buying a few of these lithodora after seeing them in a New England Flower Show exhibit(morally apprehensible)10 yrs ago. NOT z.5 hardy!

gardengal wrote: What am I missing?? How hard is it to follow a thread, making the assumption you remember the thread title?

There are so many topics in this very diverse and rich GW forum which one may find of interest even if one isn't the 'originator' of the thread....and there is no way I can keep track of *all* of them....and there is no other forum that I participate in that doesn't allow for simple tracking of ones interests i.e. the ability to subscribe to a thread.

And so I ask "how hard is it for the iVillage to implement a few simple changes which many of us would find useful?" The key is customization. If you choose to use your brainpower to juggle all the threads you find useful gardengal then all the power to you but now that I am older I reserve my brain power for more important things ;).

dowbright of course you are right and you aren't asking for much. This topic has been discussed even more recently:

Here is a link that might be useful: come on and update this forum's software

We have the instant connectors on the hoses, nozzles, and all the sprinklers. No screwing. I love it!

Gee, IMO, uncoupling the hoses and then dragging them around would be even MORE work! I'd rather just put a little more oomph into pulling them all together.

But then again, I guess I cheat a bit. I pull the hoses out, drag them where I need them, and just leave them wherever I finish. Why put it back if I only have to drag it out again? Sometimes it does get pulled back and coiled by whoever is mowing the lawn, but then I just pull it out again and leave it. I do have to pull it from one area to the other, but all my gardening areas are far from the house, so I never drag the hose back to the house area; I just leave it near the last bed I was watering.

I just make sure to check that no connections are laying in the driveway. DH once drove over a connnection and ruined two hoses in one instant.

Dee

Yes! The annual ones are beautiful, I always try to start them from seed every year. But this perennial/subshrub version is great - I really love this Red Rum that I have. There's also Barnsley, which is white with a red eye. I never had any luck with Barnsley, I'm not sure how long-lived they are as perennial/subshrubs. But I have had my red rums for two years now, and they sure are gorgeous!

Several species of Lavatera and a couple of hybrids are referred to as "tree mallows" or shrubby perennials. Most commonly sold forms are selections of L. thuringiaca or the hybrid xclementii. In mild zones, these are very nearly evergreen and can bloom almost year round. However, unless summers are hot and long, the stems do not fully ripen and the plant is structurally weak, necessitating the annual heavy pruning. And yes, it will grow back to full size each season.

I really like your gravel driveway/garden. Brilliant!

Thanks!

mimulus aurianticus and several perennial nemesias survived....for me, though, the story was what failed to come through this very strange and challenging winter - months and months of mildness followed by two weeks of absolutely vicious freezing weather - all sorts of UK records were broken and previously reliable plants (in my tiny walled courtyard) such as agapanthus, crinum and various salvias were toast.

I do annual hanging baskets around the pergola above my hot tub and this year half the plants lived.

I often have fuchsias live, even those not supposed to be hardy here. This year it was all of them.

It's a seed strain so it varies somewhat. If you see one you like, it's easy to root cuttings of that one too.

Now I'm kinda wondering if I have 1 Dark Towers and 2 Husker Red. It certainly makes sense, given the differences. hmmmmmm