Laurie's Garden Tour 2

It will be the work of years, but we can do something quickly around the front to start.

I had relativly the same size (3 acres) and only have done about 1 1/2 acres so far in 12 years. But inch by inch everything is a cinch Serafyn.

Thats the mag I have. Too cool. a 7 year project baby steps.
My woodland was once a horse pasture. lots of good stuff under them trees. LOL

Oh lovely open space! And stunning Copper Beech, James! We were worried we had scared you off! Nice to see it wasn't so. I believe our Laurie has some copper beech on her property in England. It's such a beauty of a tree. Serafyn, there are so many wonderful trees and shrubs you could plant there that the list would astound you. How about taking a cue from soferdig and visiting the arboretum up in Seattle? closer to home is Lakewold Gardens, which has a wonderful selection of Japanese Maples and generally a beautiful wooded setting. I like how James describes 'framing' a view with trees. It would be mightly neighborly of your neighbors if they would allow you to visit their view windows with a mind to placing the trees on your property. They would probably be glad for the consideration. You could have dh down on the property with cell phone in hand and rebar stakes at the ready. You could then direct him to the areas that could accomodate one or more lovely trees and indicate the approximate mature height of said tree. He could then pound a rebar stake into the ground at that point. No doubt Willow will be able to point out some lovely native trees that would be very easy to care for, something to consider with a property your size. And good for your dh mowing down those nasty scotch brooms! They are so invasive. They have no business here. If you like the look of brooms, I believe there are some other species which do not take over quite so much.
Another good resource for you is Heidi Kaster of Dragonfly farms. She is an expert in trees and shrubs, her main love. She is on DG but I'm having trouble remembering what her 'name' is here.

Thank you all for welcoming me and trying to help me out. I really appreciate it!

Tilly, the tree in the second picture is a weeping cherry that I planted last spring. I have two of them.

Willow, the only things that have really been growing here is grass and plenty of scotch broom. Although, last spring I did have a few wild lupines growing in the field. They were very pretty. Oh yes, and we have a lot of sticker vines....not sure if they are wild blackberry? Also, vine maple trees. And to answer your other question, yes there is a low spot in the front yard that stays pretty wet in winter. There are also some areas in the backyard also. We don't have any wetlands though. At least not designated by the county.

The few small trees we have on the property are left overs from a christmas tree farm that this property was used for.

Looks like the project is well in hand. LOL

James, Steve....those are beautiful trees! And you all have wonderful ideas. Like Judi, I would be having trouble knowing where to start. But all that room.....like a blank canvas.

Serafyn it's kind of you to think of your neighbors when you plant. I'm sure they will appreciate it and enjoy your garden too.

Oh Pix! Don't worry about scaring me off. When the thread takes a turn where I don't think I have anything to say, I'll just lie low -- but I'm still lurking. I'll be back when I think I can contribute or insert a bon mot.

Sounds like me! LOL

Say Laurie, I've been meaning to ask you. Have you ever seen a book by Mary Keen called "Creating a Garden". It's out of print now (Conran Octopus 1996), but you can still obtain used copies from Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creating-Garden-Mary-Keen/dp/1850297193/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236095123&sr=1-1 As I went through your photos earlier in this thread, they reminded me so much of this book.

It's one of my favorite gardening books. I go back to it again and again, enjoying Ms Keen's descriptions of reconstructing and improving a neglected garden around a large old house in the Cotswolds. It seems that so much of what she did, you're doing now. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy thumbing through the book if you can find a used copy at a reasonable price. Loads of beautiful photographs, very good diagrams, maps and line drawings, and just a good read. I recommend it.

Steve - that's such a beautiful photo of Parrotia persica, you really ought to think about adding it to the DG plant file photos. I wish I had room for another tree. The Parrotia would be wonderful with dark conifers behind, or mixed with vine maple.

James I just found the Mary Keen book for 3.46 on Amazon. I love getting book suggestions - thanks! Since I know little about gardening it is helpful.

Judi, What a bargain! I can practically guarantee that you'll enjoy it. At those prices, I may order a spare.

Pix,s Heidi name on DG is 'cattledogs'

Serafyn, you would love to see her place.

Good to know about the christmas tree farm. You can learn a lot about your soil from what was previously there.

Oh no.... I just went out to check on my apple trees and this is what I found:

Will the tree die? Is there anything I can do for it? I don't know what happened, probably deer?

Yikes! Do you have beavers in the area? The lowest scar looks like it was gnashed by sharp teeth. How high above the ground is the damage? I'd think the tree will survive, but you might want to neatly trim the branch stump to lesson the danger of disease.

The damage is about 2 feet high off the ground.

Is it possible that a deer was rubbing its antlers on the tree? I have seen them yank branches down to chew on, but never anything quite like that.

That does not look good, My horse killed my Cherry Tree. They like the bark.

Laurie, Where are you???? I have a funny story for you. LOL

I winter sow a bunch of seeds in the winter of 07, was out and about today to clean up the milk jugs that have been disgarded. And look what I found, in 2 of the jugs I have plants.
Laurie sent me some BlueBells, I sowed some in the GH they are fine. The rest I put in a jug in 07. And this is what I found today

And this, from some old seeds I had. Delphinium
not sure what to do now???

It is sweet woodruff now. That might grow in your new bed. It is a native ground cover.

Serafyn, So sorry about your tree. A deer could have done it. Is there any way you can get wire around to protect them?

Its What????
Please explaine.

The first jug looks like it is probably bluebells. The second jug is sweet woodruff. Has a little star like white flower. Grows fast and spreads outwards. Likes shade and moisture. The bluebells can go under your tree also. Your new bed is going to look nice.

Wonder where it came from, the woodruff, have none in my yard??? Someone has switch my seeds LOL
Bluebells are a yes, I know where they came from.
I'm thinking yes its going to look good, still alot of work to do.

Heres another joy found today, my Mini Hosta has awakened.

Probably a bird flew over. ^_^

Or maybe you used soil from soil in a pot you got from someone else.

No worries, tills, you'll like the sweet woodruff. It's a really nice groundcover.

Serafyn, that does look bad! What a dreadful thing to happen upon. It looks like maybe something even ate part of a branch? All you can really do it try to figure out what kind of animal did it and protect the tree from further damage. Plants have an amazing way to heal themselves so it likely will recover, but will bear the scars from the experience. I second James' advice to trim that stump flush with the trunk. I'd also trim back anything that is hanging off, just neaten it all up the way you would a flesh wound with lots of dead skin. LOL! Then leave it alone and keep an eye on it. I hope you can figure out what happened. I.E. who the guilty party may be!

My hubby is pretty sure a deer did it with his antlers. It ripped that branch right off and I found it lying next to the tree!

Yes Willow, I think I will put up some wire fence or something. Last year the deer cleaned the lower branches of all leaves and nothing would grow except on the tips of the branches.

Tills I have woodruff in my garden. I think it was Shelly who told me that she gives hers a haircut every year and it grows in very nicely. She posted a pic but I forget where.

Oh that poor tree!

Think about the poor deer. The itching and pain of a big rack trying to shed. Obviously none of you have gone through it. LOL
"You guys don't know how troublesome this thing on my head is. I must rub and rub for over a month before it falls off."

You think a deer did that, soferdig?

Portland,, that was my post about giving the sweet woodruff a haircut each year. I think it may be on Laurie's thread.

Some deer have no respect!! You'd think they would take care of that tree since they like to eat the leaves, and the ones in my yard like the apples.

Oh it was Pix with the woodruff. Well thank you for that suggestion - mine has gotten a haircut as well! It already looks better.

Yes definately a deer. The bark was scraped by the tips (lower area) while he rubbed at the base (upper area). The stick below is just a victim of his discomfort at time of shed. Probably only small yearling buck. All bucks in our area are busy from march through early april shedding. Small saplings with small diameter are their favorite rub sites. I think the tree has a good chance of surviving. I had several rubs when a buck got into my fenced area 7 yrs ago and after trimming the edges of bark with a sharp knife all was well. Prune the broken branch clean and don't put anything on it to cover it.

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 9:42 AM

Thank you for the help. I will trim the branch and bark and hope the tree will be fine.

Ohhh, Tills, that is wonderful - I love the idea that you are going to have some bluebells from our woodlands! Well done - aren't seeds just amazing. Brings a smile.

boy, you are a busy bunch - get distracted by work for a couple of days and there is an entire volume of postings to catch up with - at the weekend.

Dashing - last one for this evening, and then homeward! Hurrah. (gone bl**dy cold again - fingers crossed no severe frosts).

We've had a nice mix of rain showers and sun for a few days. Lots of rainbows!

I have been working out in my "Man Cave" cleaning up tools and organizing screws etc. I have replaced 2 vices and bolted on new BIG ONES! Arrruuuugggghhhhhhh. I vacuumed the house and cooked a delicious dinner. I had to clean out my fridge so I made some Carmalized Salmon and sourkraut covered with mandarin oranges and lemon pepper. I thought I would get creative and it turned out great! My wife never eats kraut and she ate all of hers.