We had a garage put in about 5 yrs ago - they had to jack hammer into
the rocky hillside to make a flat spot for it. I've been trying to rid it of weeds
for several years and am finally getting it planted now. I put in the dwarf
conifers last fall and added a variety of geramiums this summer. You can
see its a work in progress!
Tam
Here's a few more shots - I've got a couple of iris and annuals in there too.
And one last one. We got almost no rain in May and June. I was
wondering if I was insane to plant there. The nearest water source
is quite a hike. We've gotten about 8.5" of rain since the end of
June so things are a bit easier now! Whew!
Tam
Oh, Tam, this is exciting. It's going to be beautiful. Keep us posted.
Tammy--looks like a great project! Love your idea for little iris...and don't forget to order some tiny narcissus and other iris bulbs for your spring garden. They would be really pretty in there, too. t.
Great idea! I have a bunch of windflowers (anemones) tucked in there
(I put them in last fall). The bright yellow of narcissus would be a welcome
to spring too.
Tam
tammy- missed these pictures until now! you'll have fun filling the spaces! nothing like new space in the garden. you have lots of slope, don't you....we do too here- and lots of rock. how perfect that youve gotten the rock garden bug. i'm a mini iris fan too- besides the sdb's or pumillas which always get me, been meaning for several years to order some really interesting sounding irises (ones i've never heard of before, anyway) from "odyssey bulbs"..have you ever gotten anything from them?? watchdog gives them a good rating- this year for sure, i'll order something- i've been too late in years past- so, yikes, NOW.......
I'll check into Odyssey bulbs. I've not ordered from them.
And I certainly do have a lot of slopes! I just didn't think I'd
be able to get anything but that awful crown vetch to grow
on the hillside. But I dug it out (over & over & over) and found
there's a bit of soil in there (along with lots of rocks). Its
really steep so I have to make planting pockets with the
rocks to secure enough dirt. More bulbs would be fun!
This project is not one I'll finish in one year. but I'll update as
I get major changes.
Tam
A picture with the bulbs starting to bloom.
Very nice Tammy! Are those hyacinths?
Now you make me wish I had a rock garden!
It looks so fun! If you don't have any yet, be sure to plant dianthus there.
It'll probably do quite well.
Steve
Lookin good Tammy! You are so lucky to actually have a hillside and all that native rock. That's quite the view looking out over the valley.
Thanks Steve & Ally.
yep - hyacinth & anemone blanda so far. And I've got a bunch of little dianthus going from seed now.
(I planted some on the "upper" half of this hillside and they have self seeded.) I'm planting more! Plus
helianthemum and geranium (several going from seed plus I picked up some from a wonderful nursery
in Amish country Lancaster County).
Tam
Helianthemum is great for those hot dry places.....We put one in our garden on the side our house last summer where it gets very hot and dry and it grew great. I can't wait to see what colour it is this year! I think my dianthus might have self seeded on me last year too, although I haven't seen any of the little plants this year. I'll have to check tomorrow if we don't get that snow we're supposed to. You could also try mini dafs? they're so cute!
Steve
Steve,
I ordered bulbs with some friends and screwed up! I ordered hawera and then forgot & gave them to one of my
friends (we both thought she ordered them). I love daffodils. Next year.
Tam
Tammy,
That stinks! You could though, use those little mini yellow dafs that are always in grocery stores and WM. They work great! Just let them dry up and die back after they flower and then plant out the bulbs. Thats what I did and come they come up great next spring. They're just coming into flower now.
ttys,
Steve
That's cheating. LOL
I think I'll just wait 'til fall. I've planted over a 1000 bulbs a year for 8yrs.
If it weren't for the deer, squirrels & other misc critters, I'd be totally out
of places to plant any more. So I'm kinda glad I have something new to
plant this fall.
Tam
(Yes. I am a bulb-a-holic).
Holy! Thats alot! I usually just buy a bag or 2 each fall and maybe a few in the spring :) I would plant alot if I could, but when it comes down to it....I don't really have the room. The mini daff I have is 'Tête-à-Tête'. It's very cute. Those pesky squirrels can be so annoying! The other day they ate half of a freshly planted lily....I checked with the lily forum people and it should be alright though.
Steve
I have tete-a-tete on another hillside garden :-)
Oh, wow! Thats really nice looking there!
Steve
Oh you are so kind! Its a steep hillside I realized I could not mow so planted with roadside daylilies, and all
sorts of rugged plants. That's what those tall stalks are from.
Tam
It does look good! I just have one clump of this and one clump of that. Which I think I'm going to work on this year....getting more of the same things, cause my garden will probably look better that way. Do you have any other daylilies beside the roadside ones?
Steve
Oh yes! I have been stuffing daylilies in various gardens (though I did not keep track of names.)
I have a number of dayliles along the rocky hillside. You'll see 'em when they are blooming this summer
if you keep an eye on this thread.
Thank you!!!
Tam
I'll make sure I keep an eye on this thread. I just went to a garden show today in Burlington Ont. and I picked up daylily(root) 'destined to see' it's really nice and almost blue in the center! I hope it blooms this year.
Steve
Here's an update - pictures of the rocky hillside gardens as they mature.
Different perspective
A close-up of Hieracium Maculatum. I'm really happy with this little cutie I got from a Hardy Plant
Society Seed Exchange last year. It started blooming about a month ago and seems to be
picking up strength (in bloom) every day. The folliage is a lovely mottled green. I have seed if
anyone wants some - saved from the blooms I got last year (planted in troughs).
The hillside on the other side of the garage - planted with lilies and dayliles (and lots of bulbs, sedum,
penstomen hirsutus & smallii, and heliathamum). Right now the lilies & daylilies are stealing the show.
Wow that looks amazing after just a year - what a great site! Well it looks good from where I'm sitting...! I bet it was hard work but it has masses of potential. Well done!
Tammy, wow, that's come a long way. It's amazing what you've done with it. Beautiful!
gram
hey Tam- I've just been waaay tooooo busy since when- I don't know---as soon as spring came- which was right after I saw you at the flower show- which really was so great- and I'm embarrassed that I haven't checked in to tell you! I still hope to see your place one day! - your hillside is coming right along- those lilies make me jealous- mine are struggling with those little red lily beatles that have worked their way into our area in the last few years- whew! they are awful!! so that little plant with the yellow flowers and mottled foliage is Heiracium maculatum?...somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking it was a senicio...it grows and multiplies quite freely here--sometimes a bit too freely- and I make sure to cut the flowers down- the foliage is great though. The problem I'm having with my garden as a whole, and the rock garden in particular (that's why I can't post any pictures) is that I work in other people's gardens and hardly have time to work in mine!- sarah
Thanks Sarah! It was terrific to meet you.
Thankfully no lily beetles (yet) here. I'll keep an eye on the hieracium then too!
Tam
Hey, your gardens coming along great Tammy! Love the lilies and daylilies! It's all looking very good!
Steve
Thanks Steve!
Here's a more recent picture with the daisy's in bloom
Tam
Wow! Looking good! Sorry I took so long to reply.
Steve
No problem! Its always fun to hear positive reinforcement!
I just keep stuffing more onto the hill & its really looking lush. I have plans
to work on the upper part of that hill this fall - clear out the junk shrubs/trees
and prepare for some pretty ericaceous shrubs.
Tam
Your hillside rock garden is looking really good! Wish I had so much space for mine! My favorite "mini" daffodil is 'Jetfire' - it's yellow and orange, a great combo!
Thank you! I love Jetfire too! I ordered a bunch of orange/red daffodils for planting this fall.
Tam
I had the camera out today so took a few pic's of the hillside plantings. The Sedum are blooming.
I believe this is Vera Jamison.
The geraniums & verbena have been blooming all summer. The
Mum's my dad gave me are starting to bloom now too.
Tammy, your place is beatiful! I hope you don't mind if I borrow your thread to bounce a few questions your way... I have a small hillside that appears to be about as steep as yours, and I haven't had much luck searching for plants suited for a hillside. It's slowly dawning on me that I can use a lot of the stone around here to my advantage on this hill. Are there plants you would 'rule out' for a hillside? And would clusiana tulips be suitable for planting among stones? I see on another thread that other species tulips are...
If you can think of any sites or other resources to get started, I'd sure appreciate it. So far, just looking at pictures of gardens has been the best source of ideas. There may be not as much to it as I'm thinking, I guess I'm just a little wary of making mistakes. I can easily imagine the whole bed washing downward in one of our rainstorms, but I guess that's what rocks would help with? I have a bunch of pieces of this flat-ish red shale I plan to insert perpendicular-ly to the slope, does that make sense?
Thanks for any input. I suppose I should look at the Bookworm tab,too. Mike
By the way, I think it's really neat to have a 'real' name for a user name, I didn't bother trying LOL
