Hollys House

Wrightie has inspired me. I did post these on another forum but wanted to post them here because I'd like some garden design advice and wanted a Mid-Atlantic point of view. The area I'm interested in is the area to the right of the walkway. The wall area, there are sensitive ferns, ebony spleenwort, hens and chicks, yellow flowering sedum and several different types of stonecrop sedum. The tulips, daffs, hosta, and reticulated iris are planted along the bottom, which blooms starting early spring. I add pansies and impatiens some of the impatiens are along the bottom but the top bed is full of them just now growing up thru the sedum. Please pay no attention to my siding it badly needs a fresh stain job, which will be comming shortly

Here is the end closest to the front entry. I always have several pots sitting right here near the front porch. This year it's caladiums a first for me. I forgot to mention the fern leaf bleeding heart that is tucked into a small spot at this end of the wall. You can just barely see the impatiens starting to emerge. This is the first year that I have tried growing them with the sedum and I'm not sure how well it will work.

This is the other end of the wall. A very large L shaped clipped yew hedge. These were seedling when we planted them a good 25 or more years ago. The hole in the hedge is actually an arch that you walk thru to get to the secret garden. Right now it needs a little trim but my husband has no trouble going thru it even now. After 25 years there still is no secret garden yet. LOL But once you go thru the arch it will take you to the side yard, veggie garden and the gate to the lower back yard which is fenced for the dog.
That Red Maple tree was newly planted last year and my hope is that it will provide enough shade for me to extend a shade garden in that area.

This message was edited Jun 12, 2007 1:43 PM

Might as well do the window boxes while I'm at this. They look a little raw as they were just built new this year. The old ones practically fell to pieces when we took them down. This year I put Caladiums in them along with impatients, morning glories, and vinca major. Just give them a little more time and they should really be full and lush.

I would like suggestions, don't feel you have to be polite. The part I am unhappy with is the planting area in the raised bed and the naked front of the house. The bed is approx 25 ft long, 4 ft deep and the space between the windows is a little over 12 ft. I'm not sure about putting shrubs or evergreens in the raised bed I really don't want to take up space with larger plants but would like something to take away the stark look of the front wall. It will look better when the window boxes fill out. The house is north facing and that bed will be mostly in the shade by 10.00 to 11.00AM. Morning sun only. I was thinking about putting a couple of trellis up with some climbers. maybe on each side of the windows. The sedums, Ric's idea, were put in a couple of years ago during a drought year. Before that I always filled that space with impatients. That should give you something to think about and we haven't even starting discussing how bare it looks after summer.

Holly, that yellow/lime sedum looks wonderful against that dark wall.

How wide is the bed coming out from the wall? And is it fairly dry there? If it's wide enough and a bit dry, what about tall garden phlox between the windows? The phlox I have growing in my upper bed only gets morning sun and is doing very well there. Plus you'd get the wonderful scent through the windows.

Clematis would look wonderful there too and would enjoy having its roots shaded by the sedum but I don't know who well it does with only a few hours of sun. Perhaps someone could tell you.

I know one of the heirloom climbing roses does well in shade. If you are interested in that, let me know and I'll look it up.

Hart, the bed is about 4 ft wide and it is dry, both because of being raised and second the wide overhang on the house keeps a lot of the rain off the area . Only the front half the the bed gets wet naturally. I don't think I would want a climbing rose there I just planted 5 of them on the split rail fence out front. But that is exactly why I asked, I wouldn't have even thought of putting one there. I'm sure I will get some good suggestions that I haven't even thought about.
Here is a shot from across the yard. I wasn't joking when I told Wrightie that I had mowed weeds for a front lawn. You can just see the barn roof in the background. The bed with the lamppost and Clematis will be dug up and reworked this year. That large Norway Spruce to the right was a gift from Ric when we were dating. It was only about 2 ft tall at the time. The way to a girls heart give her trees. LOL

I have the same problem with the roof overhang over the little area between the path and the garage. Lavenders have done very well there. In fact, I got a few new ones at the local nursery the other day on sale. I had tried growing gaura there, which has done well in another dry spot, but the ones I planted last year have all died.

It's too narrow there too but I had to build that entire area by digging up dirt from other areas and hauling it there and enough was enough. LOL Originally it was an extremely narrow dirt path, maybe 10-12 inches wide, with a drop off where the path is now. A lot of it heaved with that extreme cold we had late last winter too judging by how some of the walkway stones have gotten loose.

Virginia creeper would do fine with the dry conditions and even the shade but you would have to keep pruning it back constantly or it would cover the entire wall. It turns red in the fall, too, which might not show up very well against the wall.

Can I relate to the mown weeds or what? LOL We've tried seeding for grass but it just doesn't live.

he gave you a tree--- ~~swoon~~-----

Ornamental grasses seem to do well for me in dry and might give you some nice upright without being too full. don't know about the shade issue. Some big lavendars sound nice, in white or pink maybe, think I read about some other colors. Other than that I am curb appeal impaired.

... I'm contemplating an espalier of some sort, but it would have to be really well thought out. As Hart pointed out, that lime color looks smashing against your siding, so I'm trying to figure out what would fit the bill. When I say espalier, I'm thinking of a relatively dramatic pattern and one that is kept well pruned (crisp)...

I'm going to think some more about it...

In any case, I adore what you have going on and am Lime Green with envy over your hedge and archway!

Oooo, an espalier is brilliant!

I looked in my American Horticultural Society plant book to see if there were any vines that would grow with some shade, tolerate some dryness and not get too huge.

I hadn't thought about it, but perennial sweetpeas don't get too monstrous and they can tolerate shade and some dryness.

There was one hardy, evergreen vine in the book that sounded like it might fit the bill but I haven't been able to find a lot of info on it.
http://www.mailorder.crug-farm.co.uk/default.aspx?pid=8484

What about Carolina jasmine? Would that be hardy for you so close to the house?

I had given some thought over the years to a Pyracantha espalier. Not sure if the conditions would be good for that and I will have to give a lot of thought to the shape and placement.
Hart I'll check out the Carolina Jasmine I've never really looked at it, just thought it wouldn't be hardy. I like the Rubus henryi v. bambusarum
I'll have to check out that one, too.

Holly, LOL re: the "weedy" lawn :) My lawn in Maine was green and lush and it was 90% weeds! Someone told me one year to use a weed killer - told them if I did that I wouldn't have a "lawn"! You've got some ideal conditions there for several things (morning sun only). If you want something to climb - try a Climbing Hydrangea or Schizophragma 'Moonlight' would look nice with the pewter colored foliage against the dark background. Slow growing to be sure but after the "sleep, creep, leap" either one would be beautiful in that spot. Cimicifugas would do well and add some height with the flowers, plus their incredible fragrance would be pleasant in the late summer - some of the darker foliage (Atropurpureum or Brunette have great burgundy foliage). Aconitums would also give you some height and give you different bloom times - some bloom in the early summer and others in late summer. Tricyrtis (Toad Lilies) would also do great in that spot and there are lots to choose from - different heights, habit, etc. One of my favorites is T. macranthopsis which has an arching habit and look lovely hanging down over your wall (beautiful glossy yellow flowers in the fall). Solomon's Seal would work in that area as well and give a little height. You could also mix in a few Ferns in different textures and form and maybe even a few Heuchera - some of the newer H. villosa strains are quite striking with colors and their vigorous habit - Caramel and Bronze Wave are favorites here. And with morning sun only - Hostas! Really alot to choose from for the morning sun conditions - perfect for alot of the shade plants. You said it's quite dry - can you water it with a sprinkler once a week? I tell everyone who visits our garden and comments on how lush everything is - water is the best and cheapest fertilizer :) We never fertilize our gardens but try to give them a drink when Mother Nature doesn't provide enough to quench their 'thirst'. Will look forward to seeing your progress in this area.

Almost forgot - please tell me you bought your Caladiums already 'started'?? I bought a bag of those dried up little bulbs in May and they're finally starting to emerge - pathetic little 3" knubs :( But I'm not giving up!

Debbie

Debbie: I bought too many caladium knubs -- don't know what I was thinking -- and they are SO SLOW to start. I haven't planted all of them. Do you think the knubs will wait until, say, this December? I'd rather not start them now, have to wait for more months until they poke through the ground and then immediately have to bring them inside to overwinter them. If I do it in December I can put them on a heat mat, and have them ready to go for next year.

Debbie, I think you have hit on some very good ideas for me. I just came home from the plant swap with a varagiated solomans seal. I think I will tuck it in the far corner next to the clipped hew. I have wanted a Climbing Hydrangea for years. I have quite a few Heuchera and ferns that came from one of the co-ops. I am planting on putting them along with some more hosta in a new bed that would be in front of the wall and hedge area, just waiting on that Red Maple to provide a little more shade for that area. I'll be checking out your other suggestions too. I do regularly water that bed when I do the window boxes and the rest of the front yard (not the grass) just the plants. LOL In fact I think the hose is out laying in the yard in the pics. I got the Caladiums from one of the Caladium Co-ops here at DG. They came from Caladiums for less and they were beautiful big bulbs and the owner biLL (a DG member) has been a great help. Here is a shot of the ones I potted up for my mom.

That's a wonderful combo! I love the one with the splashes of pink.... like a petticoat peeking out from under the showier red and green one.

I'm curious about trying to "hold" caladium bulbs/knubs also... the ones I got at the swap will probably start looking good oh, about late August LOL if I plant them now... I wonder if anybody has tried them as house plants?

Holly, those are real beauties!

Critter, I agree - I'll probably be waiting until "oh, about late August" until mine come close to resembling Holly's. Either that, or they're going to grow like beanstalks once they finally kick in. Have never had any luck with growing them as house plants.

Happy, if your bulbs haven't shown any signs of life yet - you could probably just keep them in cold storage (refrigerator) until you decide to plant them.

Holly, I'm sorry, I realized I chimed in about the caladiums but not with comments about your house, which I love!

I agree that a traditional cottage-y trellis with a climbing rose or what-not wouldn't be in keeping with the overall style of your house, unless you're looking for a drastic change. But that blank space in front of the windows does need something... I like the idea of an espalier there, with its formal and geometiric lines. Have you considered tall, skinny evergreens such as Euonymus 'Greenspire', Japanese Holly 'Skypencil', or Juniper 'Skyrocket'? There's also a columnar form of something red, now -- maybe crimson barberry -- but I don't know if that would disappear too much against your house.

I'm glad you mentioned adding a bed in front of that wall also someday... I think a bed with a gentle curve would go a long way toward softening the starkly linear lines of the house. Even before you extend a big shade garden around that maple, you might consider a smaller bed that runs along the base of that wall, maybe curving out a bit in the space between the windows to give you some additional play space there and then curving out again to meet the bottom of your yew "L."

Again, I think you might want to go a little more formal rather than "cottage" with such plantings, choosing some plants with strong archetectural shapes and repeating elements (not necessarily doing big drifts of the same plant, but repeating general shapes, foliage color/texture, etc.). My own gardening approach tends to be very "cottage-y," but I've tried to curb that tendency with the front landscape bed so that it has a slightly more formal feel.

Although I like the wow! factor of the lime green sedum against your redwood siding color, I'm wondering what other foliage colors might be particularly effective... Have you tried planting anything with silvery leaves?

RCN: I've read the caladium shouldn't be refrigerated -- see http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/home_lawncare/113323/3 ("Store the tuber dry and warm (above 60 F) on a bed of fine vermiculite, wooden shavings (rabbit bedding), or dry peat-moss sphagnum. Do not moisten the material but leave it dry. The tubers over-winter best if the humidity in the store room is high (75% RH). If not, they will dehydrate easily and will harden up. This will reduce the quality of the tuber and it will take longer to sprout next year. However, for most home owners, keeping a 75% RH and the tubers hydrated (without wetting them) is almost impossible, so most of us accept that tubers overwintered in our homes do shrivel and dehydrate. Compared to buying new tubers, results can be quite excellent.") But I'm concerned they'll be completely dehydrated by next year. Maybe I need to let them grow this year, even for a brief season, and then store them. I guess that's what I'll do.

I have a fiftieth of a dollar on this subject. That T-111 siding is supposed to be painted or stained every three years, or it might start de-laminating. Yours is protected somewhat by the eaves of the house but it will still need to be accessible. It could get really tricky with vines or espaliered trees, depending how you do it.

I hate to say it, but I'm going to anyway.... I'm concerned about putting soil and plants against the base of any house, even if it's concrete or block. But this gives you an excuse for my cunning plan:

Your yard looks to have enough slope to it to be able to move that beautiful stone wall forward ten or twenty feet. That way you can use the whole area for a bigger bed, plant a few columnar evergreens (or whatever) close to the house, and that much less lawn to mow.

You don't want the guys who built that potting shed resting on their 'Laurels' all summer, give 'em another project! HA.

HollyAnn:

What a lovely home and gardens you have! I thoroughly enjoyed the tour! Your window boxes add grace and elegance to your home. Since I am a big Clematis lover, I enjoyed seeing the Clematis climbing your lamp post and covering it with flowers. Is it "Jackmanii"?

I'm a big fan of Caladiums too. I grow them every year in containers, because I'm too busy (and lazy) to dig them up every year. This way I can just over winter the bulbs by taking them indoors during the winter. I keep them on the north side of my sun room and just keep the soil moist. I've lost a couple over the years, but the majority bloom for many seasons and they always give me beautiful spaths.

Ooh, I like Clay's idea! I looked at the photo and really wanted to see that planting area extended outward from its run along the foundation of the house... but I didn't even think of moving the wall and just extending the whole raised bed! That could look really wonderful. I'd still be in favor of a somewhat curved line for the bed... you could work in a linear element with a row of 3 columnar evergreens spaced between the two windows...

The other thought I had (seeing Shirley's comment about the window boxes, which I love)... I wonder how it would look to put a really long windowbox type planter up, extending between the windows and out a bit to either side of them.... just another different idea! ;-)

Some very good ideas. Lets see. Originally I only planted this bed with Inpatients, stuffed full and it really looked nice for a couple of months every year. When the window boxes get going that really looks nice but only for those couple of months.
Critter, I have often thought that a few tall thin evergreens is just what that spot needs but I always believed that I could not plant them since the bed is raised and worried about snow damage those tall thin plants get. Now I am rethinking maybe the 4ft bed is wide enough to protect the roots and that bed does get a lot of protection from wind and snow, possibly enough to plant those types that I have stayed away from.
Claypa, I thought about the T-111 too, After I had beautiful pictures of climbing hydrangeas dancing in my head. Especially since we are going to be staining it this summer, very soon. You're right it is protected so it doesn't need to be stained near as often as the barn but we do have to stain it about every 5 years. I worry about the dirt being close to the base of the T-111 too and always watch and check for nasties. I love your move the wall idea. But I'm thinking leave the wall and add another shorter one in front and then another ground level bed. I could put a lot of curved lines and multilevel beds to bring it down and out to stone or brick paths leading thru the arch and around the end of the L to the lower yard. Thanks so much you guys are giving me such great ideas.
Here is a shot looking down into that whole area you can see the pines that edge the other side. This wasted grassy area is about 30 X 40 feet

Just a few comments. For once I will keep it short?????

Critter:
Caladiums make excellent Houseplants. Bright, filtered light is the perfect setting.

Holly,
Caladiums do not germinate until the temperature is steadily in the high 80's or 90"s. You can start them earlier in the house if you provide bottom heat. If you are only doing 2-3 pots, put them on top of your water heater. Light is not important at this stage.

If you plant your Caladiums outside in, say, Mid-may, they will just sit there and won't break ground until the soil really warms up. So--don't give up! Mine just came up a couple of weeks ago.

Also--you may want to plant a perennial Camellia against your house. It will do well in shade as long as it is protected from the blustery winds of winter. I have had one in front of my house for many years and it is doing beautifully. It never gets any sun, but it is sheltered from the winds by two big bushes on either side of my front steps. Every Spring it dazzles me. I will post a picture below.
Make sure the one you buy IS perennial. Not all of them are.
You are zone 6b???? Maybe that would be too cold for a Camellia???? I think MD is borderline. Oh, well. it was a good idea.
The leaves on a Camellia are evergreen and shiny as all get out. It grows only about 5' tall and is perfect for small spaces.


Gita

Shirley, I believe the Clematis is The President. I'm going to enlarge and add more Clematis to that bed, too. This is my first year for the Caladiums, I got 60 of them from the Co-op. I did 6 pots and put the extras into the window boxes. I am just sooooo happy with them I will definitely do more next year. I hope they overwinter well for me.

Gita: Everytime I see pictures of your Camellia I get weak in the knees.

We've got Skypencil Hollies here, and we had a Greenspire Euonymous at the townhouse, and I don't believe either one has ever had an issue with snow damage. If you're concerned, you could probably wrap a few turns of twine around them in fall... I wrapped the hollies with twinkle lights this past winter, more for "pretty," but maybe it helped protect them a bit.

Gita, That is just beautiful. I'm Zone 6 but I have a few things that seem to be doing well in protected spots. I have a passive solar house so I started most of my caladiums in 6 large pots that were sitting on the insulated concrete floor that works as a solar collector, nice and warm. The extras I put in 4 inch pots on a heat mat then moved them into the window boxes. I kept the dirt for the boxes in the house before we filled them. Here is a closeup of one of the pots at my front entry way.

Gorgeous big container of Caladiums. My white with green one has finally leafed out and I'm still waiting for a few other pots to explode with color.

Your Clematis, "The President" is gorgeous! Don't you just love those big violet-blue blooms?! ONLY 60 Clematis from the DG co-op?! Don't forget that they are babies and need a LOT of t.l.c. for quite some time before planting out in your garden!

If you need any rooted Climbing Hydrangea, please let me know, as the entire north side of my split rail fence is covered with them.

Gita: Beautiful red Camellia!

That's 60 Caladium bulbs. LOL I was a little more restrained with the Clematis co-op only 11 of them and several of them were gifts. I have them in 6 in pots sitting in a protected spot. I would love some climbing Hydrangea.

Oops (blush), 60 Caladium bulbs are a lot to plant! Good girl! You definitely showed restraint in the Clematis co-op.

Since I'm still recovering from major surgery, I can't dig up any Climbing Hydrangea yet, but please send me a d-mail and remind me so that I will send them to you this Fall.

That will work great for me, Since I'm still recovering from my shoulder surgery and my guys have been doing all the planting and digging for me. They are just now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel I promised no more plants after the swap, and I was pretty restrained there too. I got a lot of great plants but did turn down quite a few.

Holly: I have looked at your post a few times, but I have not been able to formulate any ideas so far. You have gotten some very good ideas so far. My personal preference would be to mix in some evergreen shrubs to provide structure and winter interest, but this planting area has some tough limitations (4' depth, shade, dry). The sedum is nice, but maybe a bit too much of a good thing.

Actually, I just realized that I don't know what part of your house that I am looking at. I thought it was the front but maybe that is not right. How visible is this area and do you see it much in the winter?

- Brent

Oh, and just to revisit the trellis idea... I've seen some good ideas on constructing trellises that can be removed or folded down (hinged at the bottom) so the underlying structure can be accessed for painting or maintenance.

However, if the dirt and mulch of that raised bed are actually up against the siding and not against a concrete foundation as I was assuming, then you might want to reconsider the whole structure of that bed, bringing the wall out further so the height of the bed against the house can be lower... hard to say without seeing it in person.

No the dirt is not up against the T-111. I have a cinderblock foundation, but the T-111 is close to the dirt line about 8 inches above so I keep a close eye on it and Ric does a regular spraying, watching for those nasties that could wreck havoc with my home.
Brent, That is the front of my house, to the right of my front walk. I do plant some fall flowers and also do cut evergreen arrangements in the window boxes to give a little more interest later in the year, but it's not enough.
Thanks everyone for some great ideas. I am definitely going to add another shorter curved stone wall in front of the existing wall as well as the ground level bed I was planing. That was something I hadn't even thought of doing, and I am rethinking my assumption that I couldn't put evergreens in that bed. Plus you have all given me some ideas on different plants to use. I'll post another pic later when the Impatients come up and the boxes get full.

Cool! Those impatiens will really jazz things up, too. As for evergreens, I do think you could put something like 'Skyrocket' junipers right into that 4 ft. wide bed if you didn't want to wait for wider beds in front... they'll only get 2 ft. wide, if that, and their tap roots shoot straight down, so I don't think they'd be trying to shoot roots out into your wall. Their width and shape does seem to vary just a bit, so if you go with something like that, pick out especially slim and upright specimens so you don't have to prune at them. You'd still have the problem of trying to stain behind them, but you can slide a piece of plywood behind them and bend them forward a bit to get their branches out of the way, at least enough to get a roller behind them.

Yes Critter, I have a gift certificate for a local nursery and I will be talking to them about it. I'll take all the measurements with me when I go. I like the look of both the silvery juniper and the dark green holly. I have often thought that was just what that space needed but didn't believe I could plant something like that in the raised bed. Which I am definitely rethinking now. Plus I didn't want to fill up too much of my raised bed. Now with the idea of a second lower raised bed I will have a lot more rock wall to fill up with even more more plants. I have a "HUGE" juniper hedge that runs down the property line on the other side so putting a few right in front of the house would be a good choice.

Whichever one you choose for the existing raised bed, you could use the other variety to repeat the vertical element in your new beds... You might also consider one of the columnar crimson barberry cultivars, such as http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/72858/index.html, better photo here http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&mainPage=LGprodview&ItemId=46805&cid=wext000001
I think the crimson color would be a great echo of your siding color... :-)

Holly, you're really getting some great ideas here for planting. A couple other suggestions for conifers/shrubs you could consider for a vertical accent, one of my favorites - Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone' http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/60725/index.html It has a lovely conical form with bright gold fresh growth in the spring. Unbelievably easy to maintain - forms a perfect "cone" without any pruning. I disagree with the description in Plant Files however, when we planted ours from a quart pot, it quickly formed a 3' cone within 2 years. 4 years later it is now almost 5' and will not get taller than 6'. I could take a picture of ours if you'd like - it has a beautiful form http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&hl=en&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2005-14%2CGGLD%3Aen&q=juniperus%20gold%20cone

If you decide on something like Juniperus 'Skyrocket' - there is another Juniper called 'Moonglow' with the same habit http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2005-14%2CGGLD%3Aen&q=Juniperus+Moonglow. We have both planted in our conifer bed and 'Moonglow' has much denser growth and not as "open" as Skyrocket.