howdy all, here are some pictures of my not so hot cottage flower bed; i love this forum; please keep in mind i have some extra challenges in my yard(doesnt everyone?)
1) hot west texas
2)yard faces west
3) this bed only gets 3 or 4 hours of sunlight and it is the heat of the day
4)this is year one of my flower bed
the beginning:
This message was edited Mar 22, 2007 6:20 PM
during:
This message was edited Mar 22, 2007 6:53 PM
I would recommend moving away from straight lines, both with the bed shape and with the plantings. I cannot tell what the plant is on the edge of the turf (sort of looks like liriope), but I would stagger them. For the bed shape, I prefer long sweeping curves to straight lines. Cottage planting, to me, has more of an appearance of chaos - even when it's controlled chaos, if that makes any sense(?).
finally:
thanks...i need chaos...!!! but i need more floral also....this year i am going to add impatiens...lots of those....right behind the aztec grass....; i am also planting hyacith bean vine as the backdrop of the bed....should add more cottegy feel ....
what other flowery plants can i add to add to the chaos?...it is so hard cause of the lack of sun in this bed...; i am fairly certain the hyacinth vine will take on the fence as my friends took off on her west wall in hot hot hot sun....; (the caladiums that i had last year have been torn out as they fried last year....)
i added some autumn sage to add to the height....it is suppossed to tolerate less sun....ie the tag sez part sun on it....
This message was edited Mar 22, 2007 6:55 PM
If this bed is in the front of your house, do you want to keep things more formal and controlled looking or is that not a factor? I think you should consider what type of structure you want in the beds before deciding on specific plants. Think about what you want it to look like in each season, then start putting a plant list together. Picking your plants is such a personal decision.
You might want to take a gander at this BBC Gardening website; I looked up cottage gardens there. This lists 10 favorite cottage garden plants and also gives tips on planting, paths, etc. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2/flat/module3/top_ten_plants1.shtml
cool site wrightie
wrightie....if preferance were the key then i would have TONS of flowers....the problem with my yard is the lack of sun and the lack of flowering plants that do well without alot of sun; in looking at the british website all the plants are major sun candidates which excludes them from my yard;
in looking at the website i did remember 2 perennials that i have snuck in the bed that havent bloomed yet....but may not for 2 more years....ie sleep, creep, LEEP!! they are hardy geraniums and shasta daisies....i did get tiny blooms my first year !!! and i also have climbing roses snuck in the bed that suppossedly do well with less sun....go roses!!!!
anyway, that is why i am here trying to get 'looks' of a cottage garden even tho it may not be a 'tradidtional' cottage garden plant....thanks so much:)
I hear you. For what it's worth, I have very limited sun in my beds - possibly less than yours given that you said yours gets afternoon sun ("hottest part of the day"), but I tend to live life on the edge and plant sun/part-sun loving plants anyway. I've got "high shade" (filtered through leaves and branches that are set very high off the ground), but I still have had success with hollyhocks and other sun loving plants.
If you feel like taking a gander in my DG journal at my perennials and edibles, you'll see what I'm growing in Part Sun and shady conditions...
Question: Is this section of your garden in *deep* shade the rest of the day?
not deep dark but our extension agent came to view our fescue grass to see why it wasn't growing and he said it was because we didn't have enuf sun :( but my roses did bloom and last year was the first year....and my salvia bloomed ditto....so i will go peek at your journal;
do you do your hollyhocks from seed?
wrightie, i also see your in maryland...our heat/sun is killer here......i will keep that in mind when looking at your list....
I have trouble with my fescue (mix of cool season grasses, but mainly fescue) back there as well. I'll tell you though, ever since started regularly overseeding the trouble spots, the turf has filled in much better. I also amend the soil quite a bit though. Perhaps you're already doing this, but I'd suggest getting a turf seed mix for shady areas and high traffic and overseed the bad areas in early spring and late fall, or as needed. At least that's what I'd do...
Most of my hollyhocks were started from seed last year.
Yes, I almost didn't reply to your thread because I noticed that you are in Texas and I figured that it's a world away from me and my gardening experiences. But, then I was surprised to see that we are in the "same zone" - hah - so I decided to chime in anyway. We get very humid summers here and temp's can reach the 90's from time to time. Some years worse than others, of course...
RE: My journal - Unfortunately, I have not separated the plants between front and back yards. My front yard gets mainly full sun, while the back is a mix of shade, part and full sun... If you have any questions on specific plants, I'll let you know what conditions they're growing in.
If any cottage gardeners in Texas are reading this thread, this would be a great time to present your plant lists... :~)
SnS: This looks like a handy thread for you http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/698179/
This message was edited Mar 22, 2007 9:04 PM
thanks for the other link wrightie....lots of information !!!!
Sticks -- You are well on your way if you ask me! Love that fence! I have a sun situation like yours, too, but it isn't as hot here. I consider it full sun ;0 and that's what I grow. If the roses and Salvia bloom, I am pretty sure you will not be limited to "Part shade" plants. Some things that do well at my place are Zinnias, Phlox, Hollyhock, foxglove, Cosmos (although it's in the most sun of all) Nasturtiums, dahlias, and all the Rudbeckias -- although I don't like them too well with pretty pink roses.
I made some notes for you -- take them with a grain of salt, by all means, but it was fun for me to do. I have a tendency to say "do this and this and this" instead of the more proper, "I would consider doing this and this and this" Don't pay any attention -- I've been a bossy mother for too long!
I'm sure there is a rule of thumb, and I don't know what it is, but I think you need to bring the bed out and make it just a bit wider. I'd like to see a plain space buffer between the grass and the ornamentals. In other words, you don't have to have a edge or edger that you buy from the store and put in, but a visual buffer of nothingness between the grass and the bed. The Aztec grass is a little too close to the edge. This blank edge would then be broken in several areas where the exuberant plants refuse to stay put, but it is still sort of there. The Aztec grass is very tailored -- not exuberant.
Pinch that Salvia back this year. It will make a bushier plant with more blooms (although a little later) that wil stand up better. Oh, and make sure you tie up the roses, or whatever you do to make them go where you want them to. That goes for any vine, too. They could take over the bed if you don't show them who's boss.
If you have pink roses and the blue Salvia, have you considered staying with the pinks and blues? Some taller-than-average blue Ageratum would be pretty. Does Foxglove grow in Texas? I would love to see a couple things growing higher than the fence. That is very cottagey and Hollyhocks and Foxglove should both fit the bill. You don't have to have both.
Snapdragons do well for me, too. Your bed is small compared to a lot of the ones we've seen and to make it look unified, keep your colors a single color. By that I mean, keep all Snaps the same color and all Impatiens the same color. UNLESS you have them separted by another kind of plant. In other words, I don't think a flat of mixed Impatiens would be pretty :)) Then go for the moundy things...how about some pink profusion Zinnias? You can buy seeds for those and plant a big bunch of them, stagger planting them about 7-9" apart so they really get big and full. In lieu of Zinnias (which do well in the kind of sun you have BTW) you could try petunias, but it might get too hot for them. Mine sort of sulk in the full-blown summer heat. Try a pretty pink or a yellow or blue that would go with everything. You could also just buy a 6 pack and put them here and there. If they do well, they'll look great and if they are not happy, they will be over run by everyting else.
I would #1 expand the bed...the straight line edge of the bed does not bother me one little bit -- but the plants within it could be planted in a ribbon. Then take out every other one at the tail of the ribbon so it isn't static. The Aztec grass could also be a ribbon. It does not have to be a perfect border. On the outside, put something really short. And Alyssum and creeping batchelor buttons are the only things I can think of, but they'd burn up in summer.....what is shorter than the Lirope that could sort of peek out? How about Marigold Lemon Drop or Lemon Gem? Lemon Drop is shorter, but Lemon Gem gets taller and then flops over, so it's about the same difference. I am killing myself trying to think of something short, but just go to the garden ceter and ask them LOL! Portulaca would not be my number one choice.
Other, biggers plants can be planted in sort of a "paisley shape" -- a period with a tail. Or find some pics posted by Dale_a gardener. He does some nice things with alternating 6 or 7 kinds of plants along a bed like that -- 1-2-3-surprise 4-5-6-7 - 1 surprise 2-3 surprise - 4 - 5- 6- surprise. Make sense? All 3s might be yellow snapdragons. All 2s might be nasturtiums. All surprises are totally different. The repetition gives a sense of rhythm to the bed and is very helpful in a bed that is a long straight line.
Hopefully he'll jump in here and post a couple of pictures....you'll probably jump ship on my pink and blue when you see his red/yellows/blues. LOL!
Those are my ideas, but the fence is such a great help and you already have that in place, so now it's just going to the garden center,,,,lucky you! Oh and if the Caladiums burned up, then the Impatiens might, too, so don't go overboard buying them and putting them in until you can determine how much sun is how much sun in July. :)
Start in with some more pictures -- you must have stuff up already if you're in Texas!
Suzy
If you can, make your beds wider. Straight lines never bothered me, especially since you have the fence.
You could use some Clematis or other vines on the fence.
Here are some warm/summertime plants. If you don't know them, ask me.
illoquin thanks so much for the notes:
when you say pinch the top of the sage to create bushier do you mean pinch the blooms? or pinch a certain amount off?....this is only my second year of gardening
as for the make the bed wider and put a border on it i am working on that....my alter ego is having some issues with this messyness.....i like a very 'controlled' messy...case in point here is a slide show that shows my front yard:
[/www.flickr.com/photos/39654735@N00/sets/72157594161102308/show/]
just cut and paste in your browser as the link doesn't work on it....
more comments to yours in a sec(phew) i am typing as fast as i can(grin)
I try to pinch back all herbs to make them bushier, and that means pinching back the stems -- at least the tips (not just the spent blooms), and as much as 1/3 of the length of the branch. Take a close look at a stem of basil, or rosemary, or oregano... a little way down the stem, you'll start noticing tiny pairs of leaves forming right at the point where the bigger leaves join the stem. When you pinch the stem right above a pair of larger leaves, the tiny pairs of leaves will turn into new little branches, and the plant will get bushier... when the new branches have several pairs of leaves on them, you can pinch again... and so on.
ill ....not sure about foxgloves and hollyhocks, but i ordered some hollyhocks they are on their way, also some angelonia which looks quite lovely ....and now that you mention it i keep reminding myself about snaps...so i shall get some of those....also have some lemon grass coming...i love the way it looks, and begonias do well
alright...my brain is mush....will get going on some of that when the rain clears....another day of rain scheduled here....thanks so much
dale...i look at all your photos in all the forums i see you in thanks for them!!!
This message was edited Mar 23, 2007 1:17 PM
If you are going for a cottage garden, I could totally vision echinacea cornflowers in the background along the white fence.
i do have some of those planted and came back up from last year....but they were shorter than the salvia? i also have shastas planted in that bed if only they will bloom this year...it is only year 2 on these guys...
Echinacea, for me, are mid/front of the border plants.
dale those are gorgeous...but all you photos are...; is that a shade bed? i notice the caladiums in it?
Sticks, Almost full sun-at Bok Tower, the highest point in FL, about 208 feet. I get dizzy standing on such a high hill ;-) and you can see for almost 10 or 15 miles, giggle.
I am glad you (and others) enjoy the photos, gardening and flowers is a great pleasure.
is the above torenia?
and how can the caladiums stand full sun without getting burned up?...mine got burned in the hot west sun of texas
Sticks-that is diascia, cool season annual in warm climates.
For you caladiums are going to be a problem in sun, the Panhandle air it just too dry for them. Houston would be be better. The local nursery people would be a better source of info than me. I have always lived in humid places.
Gingerland/
