13,520 Garden Web Discussions | Perennials
the peeps at the link.. know how to edge..
it involves a shovel.. and a lot of work ... the straight edge at the grass line is about 4 inches straight down.. which is basically.. below the roots of the grass..
it should be done once a year.. in spring.. and a little cleanup in fall ...
if you cant find a utube on it.. i would be surprised ....
good luck
ken
Here is a link that might be useful: link
Hi Jan, my wife thinks the grass under the girl statue is called "Ribbon Grass".
As far as the lawn invading the Dianthus, yes, it certainly did. I have to take the full blame. The lawn really did creep in. If I was edging everything, don't think it would have happened. These planting have been in since 2004. We hired a local man last year to "clean it up". Then realized how neglected some it it was. And how nice the design is.
Thanks again for the all help!
..'this area was tilled last year'... A lot of weather has happened since last year. Preparation is never wasted in gardening, as in home decorating. Get the bed right first before you spend money on new plants. And in my opinion that includes deep digging and incorporating organic matter into the whole area (not just the planting holes). It really is such a small space it would take you no time at all to do it really well by hand and give your replacements a great start in life.
So.....I went to look at the Gallardia when I got home....to my amazement one of the two plants actually looked.....better!
Unfortunately some type of animal dug up the other plant for some reason....racoons maybe?
So now I'm curious why the perk up in the one plant? The difference today....no sun, and cooler temps. Very cloudy today and only in the low-mid 70s. Could this be why the plant perked up? I put my finger in the soil up to about my first nuckle, and it felt moist, but not saturated. I think I am going to skip watering tonight.
If the cloudy weather and cooler temps came into play today with perking up the plant....what should I do to keep it going? Should I shade the plants somehow? With what?
Also, the Ajuga soil felt sufficiently moist to me too when I put my finger in the soil. I think I will skip watering tonight on that too. It too seemed more perky....could the cloudiness be helping them too?
I am worried going into later this week though as temps are supposed to hit 94! And it's not even June yet!
How about daylilies? You may not get maximum amount of blooms, but you will get some.
I have 'The Fairy' groundcover roses that only get morning sun. They are in shade by 1:00 or 2:00 and they bloom wonderfully.
Another idea campanula 'Blue Waterfall'. I think it will not mind some shade.
Otherwise, I think your best bet is to focus on foliage. Jacobs Ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' or 'Touch of Class' are traditional shade plants, but I think they should do okay in some sun if the soil is rich and some irrigation takes place. Great foliage. Ditto Heuchera
There is a specific herbicide to kill grasses, called Ortho Grass-Be-Gon. It is safe to overspray on MOST perennials (generally NOT safe on anything succulent or with gray foliage -- there is a list on the bottle of plants to avoid). It works great.
There really isn't an herbicide to spray on broadleaved weeds over regular perennials. You probably could overspray patches of ornamental grasses that are infested with broadleaved weeds with a regular lawn type weedkiller -- probably? Maybe? I don't know, I haven't tried it, but I think it's likely that, if it doesn't harm turf grass, it probably wouldn't harm ornamental grasses. If anyone knows otherwise, please correct me.
Now, if you can CAREFULLY spray or otherwise apply the herbicide to the weeds without contacting the desired plants, that works. Perhaps something like this product would help you?
Here is a link that might be useful: Weedball Herbicide Applicator
I wish! Perhaps I could try to take a picture of one bed in particular. (I have 20 perennial beds). It is a bed of karmina geraniums with grass growing throughout the bed, not just on the edges but within all the geraniums even though they are densely packed. I don't know how it would be possible to spray the grass without affecting the flowers.
Interesting stuff about these excellently pretty flowers, thanks wies. I haven't seen any since moving to AL but am sure I would be lured by their beauty into giving it a shot if I see plant or seed. Not a mail orderer.
delphelf86, (cute name, btw) I have a shelf of various gardening books which I rarely consult except to browse the pretty pics, or to find a quote I want to share. The one that I've gotten the most use of is Botanica's Annuals & Perennials: Over 1,000 pages and over 2,000 plants listed (no author listed) by Laurel Glen publishing. At the time I bought it (1999 I think,) the internet resources were far less numerous and comprehensive than they are now. Since they've also started renaming plants due to genetic research, unfortunately reference books are becoming obsolete.
People refer to The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy DiSabato Aust as "the bible." Written in a cooler zone but the general bulk of the info is pertinent, a comprehensive overview for beginners. One just needs to adjust the timing to suit the habits of the plants in a different location. I've not found myself with the need or desire to consult this book much after reading it through. Your library should have one and it should be easy to find one if you want to own it. The collection of pictures is excellently informative.
Comprehensive, narrowly-focused books seem to stand the test of time in conjunction with the WWW. I have one about variegate plants that I open often. And one about 'everlasting' flowers.
I used to subscribe to several gardening magazines (and collect others from stores) and didn't think they were worthy of moving at one point. Now I really miss them and realize it doesn't matter how old they are, the pictures are always pretty, inspiring, and most articles are timelessly relevant. They are an awesome resource if you don't throw them away! An easy way to collect pics & info in small monetary increments.
delphelf, if you are looking for a good book, there are always tons of gardening books at the library. A couple of years ago, they started a list of recommended books on the New England Gardening forum, maybe you would see something there that sounds interesting....here's the link....
Here is a link that might be useful: Recommended Gardening Books
I've also had problems with floppy Yarrow until I moved it into a spot in the garden that had leaner/sandier/dryer soil and most importantly, more sun. Problems solved. The spreading issues decreased, too. Also, since I have such limited space I find that a Yarrow like Moonshine that doesn't spread and is a great clumper works best for me. I'm going to experiment this year with Schwellenburg which is also supposed to be a good yellow non-spreading form.
lacyvail is the first person to mention different types of Yarrow. Are we talking Achillea millefolium or A filipendulina? Paprika is a millefolium. Gold Plate is filipendulina. They have very different habits. FWIW I've not noticed either flopping here. A few pea will sticks sort that out any way.
wieslaw59 - I am sure you don't really mean 'garbage bin.' Surely it's the compost heap they go to in green Denmark.
Rotting roots are obvious on most of the plants. Just dig one up and see what is going on. If the roots are more or less fine, replant it another place(roots need air to thrive. If you fill all available space with water, they will suffocate). You can also shorten the shoots a little to see if it helps for the habit.
Well, if you remove the flower heads before the seeds mature, it cuts down on self-sowing. At least that works with my Donkey Spurge.
One thing I learned from personal experience -- be EXTREMELY careful not to get the milky sap in your mouth, nose, and especially eyes. It burns badly -- bad enough that you would probably end up in the emergency room to get some relief. I didn't actually end up going to the ER, just rinsing my eye out for a long, long time and using OTC products, but believe me, had I had better insurance that would have paid for it, I would have.
I just cut my polychroma back by half this morning. I don't make an effort to cut it back before it goes to seed. Self sowing has not been an issue with the several clumps of it I have. In fact I love the spring show it gives and would welcome a little self sowing.
Cutting back keeps it from flopping later and makes it a nice soft attractive clump of bluish green in the summer garden.
Yes it is unusual when the soil is too rich or moist to grow something well! It sounds like their native habitat is lean and sandy.
I do have Lupines growing reasonably well in the xeric garden, but there are only 3 little Lupinus perennis seedlings and I don't want them to get lost out there amongst the big perennials.
A friend was over the other day and she saw my lupines blooming - volunteers from a planted seedling 5 years ago. She mentioned that hers are from a wildflower seed mix that she planted some time ago. She has very lean, fast draining soil. Her dirt looks like it fine, shale rock in it. And these wild lupines do well for her.
Linda
I think it can depend on the cultivar for these. My regular ones emerged early this year with the warm spring we were having, whereas the 'Regal Red' I added last year were much slower to emerge. You're also in a cooler region, so that may also explain some of the difference.
I have another Excel document that I start annually, and I label it with the year and SPRING. It should really be called Garden Journal, but for some odd reason I started it off with that title and have kept it that way. I just checked and I apparently started it in 2005. That is my most used document. I start it on the first day that I do anything for the next gardening season. For instance, if I make an order for seed in January that is when I start the garden journal for the year and end the previous year. I keep it very simple and use one column for one day and write down any information garden related. I like this format, because it keeps all my information in one place. Orders I make, items in a catalog I am thinking of buying along with photos, what is blooming, any ideas or plans I have, telephone numbers of local nurseries, where I bought mulch that year, to do lists, and on and on. I review the garden at the end of every growing season here. I always record full names, prices and where I purchased plants here first and later it gets added to the Inventory document. So I have a back up of that information. What I like about it again, is that it is searchable and there is one for every growing season.
I keep a master list of everything on my property.
If I am shopping for daylilies I might not want to duplicate cultivars and having a list of what I have handy is the only way I know to keep up as I am OLD and cannot remember anything any more.
I also keep rough sketches (very rough) of every section of the yard with plant names written in as I easily forget which orange is which, etc. and I am a bit OCD about knowing the complete name of everything.
I would love to get a spreadsheet together but for me that is one of those projects you save for when you break your leg.
aka I haven't the time!