Gardenbuddies.com-Where friends meet to share their gardens
I hate this spot: need ideas for

Garden Forum » Archives » Advice and Makeovers in the Garden-Archives » Advice and Makeovers - Archives #3-2005 » I hate this spot: need ideas for « Previous    Next »

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Sunday, June 19, 2005 - 10:30 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

more color

The Nepeta is too floppy and already past it's prime. I think I want it gone.

The Rudbeckia is just beginning to open and will be in flower until frost. In the back is Purple Loosestrife which is also opening. at the perimeter I have 6 nasturtium plants. Two of which are under the sprawling Nepeta. Scattered in the rear are assorted cosmos which will get to 4-5 feet. I am open to enlarging the bed. It is east facing and gets plenty sun. The soil is dry and sandy. If I redo this bed I will amend it. The Rudbeckia will stay for sure but I might move it further back. maybe a rose bush in front of it? Or a ring of tall annuals. I don't think I'll do the nasturtiums there again.

I am open to ideas. The structure is a storage shed.

Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Missgarden  Send Missgarden a private message!




My Garden
Posted on Sunday, June 19, 2005 - 11:50 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I picture here some sort of obelisk either with a climbing rose or a clematis. Monique posted one such picture this weekend in the Garden Gallery. Otherwise some kind of narrow columnar evergreen would be nice. It would also look good in winter.

Missgarden - Ontario, Zone "5b"
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gardenbug  Send Gardenbug a private message!




Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 12:06 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I just bought a Prairie Joy rose today...zone 2 and grows to 5 feet. Pink, very pretty. I feel that nepeta is a great plant for beneath a rose &/or a clematis. Remember, after the first flush of nepeta bloom, cut the plant back for more foliage and bloom in another few weeks. No need to keep the messy look. Nepeta looks fab with yellow or orange roses too. Rudbeckia needs a spot to itself I think. It expands so much, always needs dividing at my place.

Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Monique  Send Monique a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 01:32 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I have Prairie Joy and I love it! Tons of buds.. some cane dieback but zone wise yu probably won't..I would do something like this..It's on my potting shed:)



I bought the trellis at Costco..it lies flat against my potting shed..the rose goes from bottom to top..Adorns the wall well:)

And today was the first bloom on Prairie Joy:)



And huge colorful dahlias dahling!

Monique Quebec Zone 5
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 08:40 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I'd love a climber on the shed but DH will not allow it. Says he won't be able to paint it (which he hasn't done in years, mind you!).

Marie maybe I should cut the Nepeta now. And see if it comes back. I don't think it did the last time I did that.

Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gardenbug  Send Gardenbug a private message!




Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 09:15 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Arlene, are you or DH handy with tools? Make a wooden trellis that is hinged so that you can remove it at painting time! There are plans around for this.

Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Terryk  Send Terryk a private message!




My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 09:32 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Don't you love the DH! I get the same thing sometimes. Why not make a deal with him and you paint that area when he paints the other portion of the shed (you may never have to tackle it). Or paint it now before you do your remodel and that should last another 10-20 years!

I think you should start off the season with a few bulbs, followed by your rose with a clematis winding through it, keep the Nepeta and depending on your color rose keep your Rudbeckia.

Terryk - NY, Zone "6"
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Monique  Send Monique a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 09:50 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Or do what I did on the fence I have to paint..group 3 Clematis.Where there is a will there is a way..Or he could paint around that rose..I dust around stuff..

Monique Quebec Zone 5
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 10:14 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

If I wait for DH to build a hinged trellis I would get as done as the shed painting. I am not so handy. I would just prefer to buy something to pound into the ground.
Terryk wrote on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 04:32 am:

I think you should start off the season with a few bulbs



I had a horrible tulip failure this year. Some things came up there but did not flower. Maybe my source was bad. Nothing new came up. in ay of the beds. Or maybe they ALL got eaten?

Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gardenfiend  Send Gardenfiend a private message!




My Weather
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 10:30 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Obviously you need a rose there. How about a tall obelisk (you can buy one ) on which you can grow a small climbing rose. I do that with Honorine de Brabant and wind the stems around the obelisk. Grown that way, roses flower even more profusely than when they go straight up. Alternatively, no obelisk and a tall bushy rose like Heritage or (possibly too big) Leander.
In your (our ) zone most roses are hardy, so you have a wealth of choices.
Equally obviously you have to add a clematis.
Then, in front, how about salvia, eg. May Night. They stay neat and add some contrast.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Terryk  Send Terryk a private message!




My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 12:47 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Arlene try a few sweet early daffodils with some muscari.

Mara's would be nice too, and ensure peace in the family.

Terryk - NY, Zone "6"
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Zephirine  Send Zephirine a private message!


Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 01:20 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I also had problems with endlessly flopping nepetas...and replaced them with calaminta nepeta 'Blue Cloud' instead ! Not as colourful, but neat !A nice clump of true lavender might be another idea...
I'd say you need some shrub in the background...Different ideas :
- a taxus baccata fastigiata aurea on the right of the rudbeckias, like an exclamation mark to accentuate the vertical lines...
- or maybe a buddleia lochinch to keep the blue coming?
- a choisya ?(round shape, scent and long blooming period)

I'd also try to find some plant with large leaves (you mainly have small leaves and spikes, at the moment)...
That was just an attempt to stimulate your own imagination, Tanya, I'm no landscaper !

Zephirine France zone 8
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 09:54 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Thanks for all your suggestions Buddies. I will take several into consideration.

Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Susanq  Send Susanq a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2005 - 11:49 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I love your photos, Monique! Prairie Joy is beautiful. You definitely need to go rose/clematis/trellis, Arlene. You can get put the trellis a foot or so away from the shed so that DH can paint it - whenever. I like Mara's suggestion of the salvia in front instead of the nepeta. I'm thinking of ripping out my nepeta after it's first season! I just bought a dwarf variety that I think would be nice too - Salvia nemorosa 'Dwarf Blue Queen'.

SusanQ - Zone 4b-5b Wisconsin
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2005 - 07:17 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I had the May Night Salvia 2 yrs ago and got rid of it last summer. I just did not like it's appearance.

Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Lulubelle  Send Lulubelle a private message!




My Weather
My Garden
Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2005 - 08:50 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

What about some morning glories, since they are not permanent climbers? DH could still paint in the spring.

Lulubelle, zone 5, Quebec, Canada
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Marciam  Send Marciam a private message!




My Favorite Photo
Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2005 - 12:22 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Some thyme plants would look nice to replace the nasturtiums. They like it dry and sunny. I have some lemon thyme with yellow and green leaves. Or a type of dianthus that flowers for a longer period. Do you like coneflowers? Mine are just starting to bloom now. (I'd love to find some of the orange and yellow ones locally. I won't pay $15 for a 3-inch pot.)

An obelisk/rose or something tall in the center would be very nice. But my butterfly bushes get very tall--over 6 feet--and very wide as well. Except for the little yellow one I planted last year that is still 6 inches tall!

Marcia, Pennsylvania Zone 5
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
Posted on Sunday, June 26, 2005 - 09:09 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Check the garden gallery to see what I've done.

Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Lafko06  Send Lafko06 a private message!


Posted on Monday, June 27, 2005 - 01:31 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I think Bee Balm would look nice for height. I have a hard time with CatMint too because of the floppiness so I tie it with garden wire and a stake to keep it upright. Yellow correopsus (sp?) and any color Salvia would be nice also. Particulary with the lenghty bloom time with the Salvia. A little mulch would neaten the already pretty area.

Lafko06 - Massachusetts, Zone "5"

Add Your Message Here
Posting is currently disabled in this archive.