Irises: New Iris Garden, 0 by doss

doss wrote:
Oh poor baby! I'm always fighting my neighbor's ivy. Harbours our lovely Norwegian Roof Rats too.

Love your dog! and the cat. Do you have kids? Couldn't miss the slide in the "dog yard".

As far as vines getting in each other's way, I cut mine at the first of the month in July, August, and September. Sometimes it's not necessary, but you'll be sorry if you don't. And some vines, like Morning Glory will choke out others so I generally don't grow vines together, with the exception of Clematis growing up trees and shrubs - they won't destroy the plant and are beautiful. Those are some great trees! I have a great vigorous vine growing under an oak tree in my yard, but I don't know the name. I'll find out next week. One of my favorite plants for block walls - which grows in the shade or sun and doesn't need to be tied up, is creeping fig. Sometimes it can be a little slow starting, so I'd plant one every 3-4 feet. It is a beautiful vine - very tight but no flowers. If you want to keep the leaves small, you can shear it once a year. Other than that, just growing season trimming. And yes, roses are a great idea for the dog fence. Below is a distictis buccinatoria (don't get a Campsis Radicans). I believe it also comes in purple and yellow. It needs sun but would be beautiful on the dog fence - evergreen and blooms almost all summer.

Some roses are better off in the shade than others... I am going hunting for shade plants now but I'll get this off to you now.