I was out taking pictures today. There are some pictures of my garden under a very high old limbed-up pine tree. In the back of the yard we had a locust tree that had a large branch come down, my husband cut it into sections and stacked it. I decided to use the logs as a back-bone so to speak. I lined them up in sort of an S curve and mounded soil around them on both sides. A lot of the plants there love to hug the logs and do very well there.
another view
another
great idea, you're lucky to have trees to work with.
Jude, I know from your postings that you would do anything for some shade trees. But my trees are huge and so are all the ones in my neighborhood. I live on a corner lot and I have had at least 7 trees cut down over the 34 years we have lived here. And our lot is not that big. One tree cost me $800. to cut down and that was about 14 years ago. Not to mention the cost of some damage from broken branches from wet snow and ice. Don't get me wrong I like (not love) the trees because I enjoy the birds that live and visit them. That is why I don't want to remove them and get smaller trees.
I try to garden with what I have.
Here is a picture of the mammoth, I could only get a little more then a half of it in the picture. The dark line above the lattice work before the sky is the neighbors 2 1/2 story house, just to give you an idea how big this tree really is.
I love it! giant trees.... um let me think.... I would have beds and beds of hosta, lilly of the valley until H-ll froze over, violets and Oxalis Regnelli (Lucky Shamrock) all over the place. It sounds cooll and delightful to me, but I can also appreciate it not being your cup of tea.
Tell you what, we can consider doing a house swap for vacations, you come here to the land of sun sun sun and I'll go sit under one of your many trees with a book and a cup of coffee. Really, tho, you're right, I would do nearly anything for some shade right now, well come April really.
Jude, This is my favorite place to sit with a glass of ice tea, watching my frogs, fishes and dragon flies. Can't wait for next spring!!
Chris
Chris, That is a fab pond! I would really like one of those, but of course, something else would have to go to fit it in!
Jude, doesn't Lily of the Valley grow there? And violets?
Suzy
Thanks Suzy, I love it! Here is a picture of the waterfall.
And another view, it is music to the ears!
Great looking watergarden Chris!
Susan
Oh, I didn't see that waterfal in the first picture -- how cool! The rocks are really nice, too
I ended up with a fountain bought off Ebay for my water music....uh, it isn't quite the same! LOL!
Susan! Good to have you back!
Suzy
Suzy, The waterfall is at the left side of the first picture. There is a lilac bush behind it and the house. The watergarden is L shaped. Deeper at the waterfall and then shallow at the end. The frogs love it. The fish which are native to our ponds here overwinter in the deep end.
Susan, the picture is a few years old. Would you believe that someone made off with my solar lights when we were out of town, I don't want to replace them till I get my fence up around that side of the yard. It will be a privacy fence from the garage running along the property line and then a picket with a gate running from the privacy fence to the house.
Chris
Suzy, I've not tried lily of the valley or violets because I have NO SHADE at all. Back in the midwest, they both grew in my shade garden, so I assumed they would shrivel and fry here. I guess its possible they might be OK in the winter, but before trying I would have to see them in a nursery here and I haven't ever.
If anyone knows if they'll grow in the Phx area and when to plant, please speak up.
This morning I finally got some bulbs in...... not sure if I even did it right but they're in the ground at least.
So, now I wait to see if they come up, if they make it through the summer and try to track their blooming times etc for next year.
Todays planting consisted of: Calochortus Cupido and Ornithogalum nutrans against the back wall of the yard.
In the new bed, I got Allium, purple sensation and Nectaroscodum Siculum, and some tulips including Queen of the night. At the moment I don't remember when I ordered them or if any of them will even grow here, but I got them and couldn't just leave them in the box, so in they went.
Wish me and the bulbs luck.
Jude
dear LG1-
That is one heck of a tree! I love your waterfall. I grew up in PA and miss the cool mountains and streams and waterfalls. But I am lazy and do not miss shoveling snow, slush, or scraping windows and preheating the car.
Maggie
Well, Jude,
Numero Uno is to get that tree (and I know you're working on it). Let me know as soon as you have shade and I'll send you some of my purple wild violets and lily of the valley. I can also send seed -- I think it ripens in October for both. You can test it out for yourself and see if it works. I grew Calachortus Cupido a few years ago and it was gorgeous, but I didn't have enough sun for it -- I think that was the problem. It had an extrememly lax habit, but it was too small to stake (and any stakes would be too fat -- the stems are very thin). Somehow I think that if I had truly full sun for it that it would have been a better garden plant. It didn't come back, so probably my drainage wasn't good enough for it over winter.
I've never been to Arizona, can't really imagine it, though one of my oldest and dearest friends lives near Phoenix. She describes summer as "opening an oven door and stepping in."
Good luck to you and your bulbs!
Margaran, Jacksonville would be perfect -- Not so far south that I'd die in summer! I could get used to it, EASILY!
Suzy
Suzy,
We do have some seasonal variation but summers can still be quite ugly. But I love that my garden is still blooming! We still have some butterflies although the monarchs are gone.
I'm working on talking my husband into a cottage garden- for the butterflies.Something with paths for the dogs to run and as little lawn as possible.
Maggie
Suzy
We had a severe (for us) drop in temps last night with frost warnings. Everyone on the sw forum was running around covering plants or bringing them indoors. Some lost valuable or treasured plantings, so sad! I felt very lucky when I checked everything in my yard to find that it all survived from what I can see. I did deep water before temps dropped, then covered everything. The winds were gusting and it's only 38 right now so we actually had a wind chill and expect a repeat tonight. The weekend is supposed to be back in the mid 70's.
I'm going to watch the shade pattern beneath that pine in front to see if that's a possible spot for some violets. If that would work, it would be a spot of color. The only things there are the pine, a cassia bush which is non-blooming but send up volunteers everywhere that I dig out and one scraggly mexican bird of paradise.
If under the pine is a reasonable place for violets, I would love seeds and do my best to grow them there. Will violets grow in the soil beneath a pine? I have no idea.
Jude
Yes, they'd be happy as clams -- well, except I'm not sure about the Arizona part LOL!
Our temps are dropping like a rock today....65 down to 45 in about 8 hours...then the ground freezes. I'll run out and see if the violets have any unsplit seed capsules, if there is even one, I'll send it out.
Suzy
Thank you for thinking of me, and in advance if there are any seeds.
Strange weather but still we don't have to shovel anything here.
Jude
Maggie, I love the change of seasons here, my favorite is spring. I also hate the snow and the cold and driving to and from work is a real pain. I like the drive to Flordia in late April, it is like going from winter to spring and then summer. Then going home I get to have spring again. : )
Chris
Oh I found the name of my big tree it's a Norway Spruce. Thanks to Early Bloomer
There weren't any...I was able to check a lot of plants, and they must have opened on their own, I guess. There were a ton there a month ago and I was thinking I should harvest them, but then I thought, "Who would want these weeds?" LOL! I should have known better when I saw people actualy asking for jewelweed on the trading forum.....talk about a WEED! Jude, look that one up and see if you want some of that!
Next spring I can dig some, but by the time they come up it will be too hot there, I think -- they're evergreen, but they look half dead after our winters before the new foliage comes up --seeds in Oct might be easier for you to get established.
Suzy
Sure, Suzy........... I'll try most anything just for some color and interest. If you consider it a weed, it may *just* survive here, but I seriously douby it could become invasive. If on the other hand it does, then so be it. I'm not going to worry about anything that is tough enough to take on Bermuda.
Actually, I even considered kudzu at one point but it would have been a pretty even trade fof the bermuda so I scrapped that idea.
Jude
Jude, I had some violets growing underneath my (huge) oleanders in Phoenix, so yeah, as long as they aren't in any kind of sun - like in the middle part of the north side of your home or something, lol.
Oleanders and Tecoma will both give you some shade within a couple of years, depending on how much you water them. I had 1 gal Tecomas that were over 6' by year two.
I put in 4 oleanders earlier this year, 5 gal pots and they're gaining height and fullness too. The oleanders won't keep anything out of the sun because of their location but they will eventually be a nice screen to my western neighbor.
In front I have that huge pine which shades most of the front at some time of day. I'll try that as a starting place.
BTW, that was also part of an irrigation ditch, so you can count on having to drown them at least a couple of times a month once it gets past 80.
