Yardening continuation May 2014

from http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1357356/#new
General doings in the yard and garden

Yesterday was potting up. Gita gave me several dark stain color terra cotta pots and I decided to use all the same pot with variety of succulents (plus random pot of purple oxalis) that can sit lined up the steps of the deck. Aloe americana direly (?) needed uppotting, and now looks happy.
Then I took the overwintered red border begonia and put them in combo with a variegated gold and green ginger like thing as the spiky plant, and golden creeping Jenny to spill. That looked pretty good so next one will be Amaryllis for spike, and other begonias (corallina cuttings) to fill. I like to experiment, can never PLAN anything, and have all these things sitting here begging to be used.

Got big Brug Maya planted in the front garden again; my door is now flanked by Maya and small Dr Seuss. Gonna smell heavenly~~~~~~~~~

Wow, is that your backyard last summer? Looks great!! I like the private feel it has :)

I'm not a planner either Sally, just go with the flow of the garden and what 'feels' right out there!

Sally, the brugs fragrant? I had one so long ago, I didn't remember the fragrance. Did you overwinter yours?

Gita, I'm curious to see if your B&B's come back after being mulched. I've never mulched over the bed we have ours in. I know they like it dry vs. moist. Let us know if they appear.

I keep my garden journal in Word and make a new file annually, saving the previous years. I have it in various sections to keep the files manageable. I use photos for everything. works for me

Sally, that photo of the back yard makes me feel like I am almost there again - sigh... I am so glad this winter seems to be over, thanks for the summer photo reminder.

I'm doing more with containers this year. Has anyone ever tried heliotrope? Supposed to smell wonderful - kind of like vanilla???

I think it smells like licorice. If I remember right been a long time since I had any.

Gita and Wind,
I had two B&B salvias last year. One in an exposed location, one in the warmest place I could find: next to a south-facing brick wall. Both very well draining. The exposed one didn't survive. The protected one survived and is starting to put out new growth! woohoo! :)

Thanks, we think it is pretty nice
;^)

Brugs oh my yes fragrant. Maybe Datura is more so because they are in bloom constantly though. Overwintered both of these, tried to give the Maya to donner but she insisted I keep it.
I have a pink brug needing a home, overwintered but still on the small side for a Brug, not one of those fat trunks a couple years old.

I killedTRIED Heliotrope once, it does smell nice.

greenthumb- got a nice rooted branch of bottlebrush buckeye up and potted today. may have to trim a few leaves but I think it'll be good.

Also tiny baby bottlebrush buckeye- anybody?

I have something mysterious in my warm sunny bed. I think it was cuttings or pieces from a big mixed pot from coleup. I thought some kind of Plectranthus. Now I am wondering if they are black and blue salvia. Are black and blue salvia fuzzy at all? It's probably Plectranthus as I have it popping up in a few places.

I found an old picture of the back yard before the fence was put in. The second picture is from fall 2012, before anything was planted back there, and the third picture was taken yesterday.

The grass hasn't been cut yet this year. It looks so much better when freshly mowed!

Looks great SSG! You've done a ton of work and the colors right now are great.

Huge difference SSG, I just loved your garden when I was there for the co-op pick up.

Those are really cool before and after photos SSG!

Wow SSG! What an improvement after the fence was installed. I would have done that too...would've hated to look at that mess all the time. Very nice garden as well :)

nice ssg! great variety of plants to soften up that white fence, and the fence makes them pop.

SSG, that photo progression is awesome. I loved seeing your gardens in person a few weeks ago - that white fence and all the plants you've added are great.

why oh why is it so hard for me to double check a new plant shade requirement until AFTER I plant it in full sun? Have an Aster Avondale to move...

Thank you all! I'm happy with the progress so far. I need to keep reminding myself that these trees are still babies and they're going to continue to grow and fill in. I can't wait for them to get just a *little* bit taller so I can get even more privacy over the back neighbor.

I still need a couple of more evergreens and a hydrangea or two to fill in the blank spaces.

Ssg, what a GREAT improvement in your yard(en), it looks awesome!!! I love the colours too!

SSG, I have trouble reminding myself of that, too--I keep wanting to fill in all the spaces with color--and then it's all too crowded down the road! :-o But your yard is really lovely!

Teri, what ever that fence cost it was worth twice as much in the view and piece of mind. Your plantings look great.

hey Terp, did you see the DG article today is on pruning clematis

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4877/

Lol! Yeah I did. What are the odds. It is a shame it wasn't published in February!!!!

Oh well.

Wow, SSG. What a transformation. Your yard looks amazing!

This is what Brushwood Nursery says about pruning Clematis.

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Pruning- OK, now, don't worry! This is easier than you think. There is a very simple rule to follow when pruning your Clematis. Just use the flowers as a guide. Clematis flowering is divided into three major groups: spring (1), early summer (2) and late summer/fall (3). If you know when it flowers, you can choose when to trim it. There are also ways to make some of them change their bloom time, but that gets more complicated and I promised simplicity!

Group 1 Clematis flower in spring on buds from last year's growth. They actually don't need to be pruned at all but you may want to tidy them up from time to time. The best time to prune them is just after flowering. Shape them up or remove crowded or damaged branches. You can also guide new growth to a new position by trimming and tying branches at this time.

Group 2 Clematis begin flowering in early summer from last year's growth as well as flowering later on short canes from new growth (in most cases). These should be pruned in spring before new growth begins. Look for fat, healthy buds on sturdy branches. They usually begin 1 to 2 feet down from the top of the vine. Make your cuts just above these healthiest buds. You may notice that you are cutting away some healthy canes, but you will be giving preference to the buds that will produce the best growth and flowers for you. At this time, trim away crowded and damaged branches, too.

Group 3 Clematis flower later in summer and into fall. They form flowers on new growth each year. For the best display and neatest look, they should be pruned back hard each spring to about two feet off the ground. However, if you are training one of these into a tree or onto an overhead arbor they should be left much longer. Look for fat, healthy buds on sturdy canes and make your cut just above them. The branches may be guided and tied to new positions now also.

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I have always pruned my 32 Clematis in early spring--looking for fat leaf-grow buds
near the bottom of the plant. Sometimes--the best buds are a bit higher--and then
I prune there.
I have never cut any of my Clematis 5" to the ground....

My little "Piilu" Clematis, which grows in a pot on my Patio, blooms profusely every year.
It is a small-blooming Clematis---maybe this is considered different...

My other two are lg.-blooming Clems. and I do not get all that profuse blooming,
but still very nice.

My other 3 Clematis are:

Proteus
Multi Blue
Lady Betty Balfour.

Any comments,,anyone? G.

Has anyone else noticed that the daily articles no longer say---
"Originally published on such and such a date...." ????

They cannot ALL be new every day.....
Sally--You write a lot--is this something new?
G.

Muddy--

Heliatrope is one of my favorite plants. It's scent is heavenly--the blue color is
heavenly--and they bloom almost till frost.

In my small A/C bed--I usually edge it with Pentas and Heliatropes.
Mind you--both of these flowers are considered "Premium Annuals" and will
set you back $3-$4 wach.

I have had these--but could not find the pictures.....sorry! Gita

Gita - in all the years I had Clems in VA (& now here) I never pruned any of them (never looked up what was what)!! Grew like crazy all of them...maybe I should start?

I would say we prune our clems as much as just cut off the dead stuff. May great aunt had some of the most beautiful clems, they thrived on neglect. LOL I was going to look up a couple of pics I took at the Philly show, either last year. It was just fabulous, but my Corel isn't cooperating, looks like I need a reboot. I'll try tomorrow.

I just planted 4 small Clems I bought from Bluestone last year, left them in garage and forgot all about them - figured they were gonners, but nope, they grew little green leaves and I quickly got them planted and they have already blessed me with flowers - on 2-3 inch little stems! Waiting for 3 more from Joy Creek - their selection is incredible!

I haven't pruned my clems--just trimmed off what is dead like Ric said--but they both died back to the ground this winter.

I have trouble with mine withering once they are on the trellis. I wonder if I'm using the wrong kind of trellis. It's an old wooden one that was in the yard, but maybe I need a new trellis?

I have a 'Miss Bateman' clematis in my front yard that is sort of mistreated as far as clematis go. It rambles along the ground instead of up any fixtures. I don't mind that it's more of a ground cover instead of a climber. Right now it's found the neighboring yellow knockout rose and it's making itself cozy. It's an early bloomer with little tiny leaves and medium sized white flowers, I trim it back after blooming to keep it from straying too far. It's not an especially vigorous type.
Catmint, I think Ric mentioned that they really like to have their feet cool and their leaves in the sun. Do you have something shading the base of the plant?

Catmint, I was told that clems need something thin to wrap around. I have wrought iron trellises but still have to wrap garden twine around them because the iron is too thick for the tendrils to grab onto.

Cat--

The withering on the trellis is just the old branches from the year before. Nothing is wrong!
These can be trimmed back to sort of "clean up" the vine. Not too attractive if you
leave this mess from year to year..

When you do this in early spring--look for those fat buds and cut just above them.
Almost like pruning roses.

I think that i am, probably, cutting too low--as it kills me to cut off the tops of the Clems
that have leaf buds on them, but it does make for a more compact look.

Another thing--these withered stems are extremely fragile---untangling them to prune
is time consuming. many will break. They are all alive--not dead--just last year's growths.
If one breaks--you will see green...

G.

my Coral Honysuckle is totally loaded with buds, I hacked some back in the fall cuz I knew I should/could.

Gita- they are using 'guest writers' many days for one of the articles. Not sure what their arrangement is but they are not officially part of the group that Jill and I and the regular writers are in. Personally- I'm not totally happy with the quality of some of the guests. But we regular writers have not been producing enough to fill the schedule so I do not complain.

As I promised, from Philly 2013:

Yes the roots are shaded--maybe it is the size of the trellis bars then-- thanks!

Ric, I remember that display. It showed clematis is so many ways other than a typical trellis. Loved it.