Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[midnightroo]

Mumsy no rush, it has been that way for five years, a little more time won't hurt it. Plus we probably won't be able to get to it soon.

Justine, I think we have that same yellow plant. I don't know the name of it though, my neighbor gave it to me and she can't remember the name either.

It is in front of the Jerusalem artichokes, next to the hydrangea This is part of our front bed that I am working on. I want plants that will grow tall and shade the front of the house. Yet not make it look like a jungle, which is what my husband thinks it does now.

 

[MumsyII]

Mumsy no rush, it has been that way for five years, a little more time won't hurt it. Plus we probably won't be able to get to it soon.

Justine, I think we have that same yellow plant. I don't know the name of it though, my neighbor gave it to me and she can't remember the name either.

It is in front of the Jerusalem artichokes, next to the hydrangea This is part of our front bed that I am working on. I want plants that will grow tall and shade the front of the house. Yet not make it look like a jungle, which is what my husband thinks it does now.

If I get good closeups of a bloom, leaf, and an estimate on height, I can identify it. It reminds me of Evening Primrose (Oenothera) in this picture.
This made me chuckle. My husband and I have very differing opinions of gardening. He thinks every corner of our property is jungle. He may be right but I planted it that way on purpose! Hah! If he was here alone, he would take the weed whacker (gas powered) and blaze trails everywhere. Sometimes I tell him to go for it. We often compromise. He likes the front yard facing the street to be a bit more subdued and controlled. So I let him have a big say on that. He also likes to keep the jungle at bay around the fireplace pit outside where he likes to relax. So I let him keep that in check as well. But he realizes that the garden makes me happiest when it is allowed to grow in happy abandon. We cut back the green stuff that grows into the pathways that might catch in our hair but that's about it.

I think you have lots of things you can do for your garden in the picture. Have you considered a trellis just to the side of and in-front of the Jerusalem artichokes? Vertical gardening is my specialty. You could use a trellis for growing perennial vining plants or annuals. Many options.

 

[midnightroo]

I don't think it is evening primrose, though I would be happy if it was. I will try to remember to take pictures tonight. They do grow about three feet high and spread. I do have a maypop that I planted to the left of the artichokes in the picture. I need to put a treslis up, but haven't yet. It is just growing on the ground and on the chokes.

I have agreed the front can be in more control and a large spot in the back so him and out daughter can run around in the grass. Plus, he says he needs a reason for his "tractor".

 

[MumsyII]

Is the mystery perennial Yellow Goose-strife? This is going to bug me all day until I can know.

I use to have Yellow Goose-strife but lost it years ago and completely forgot about it until now.


The first years we put up many trellis of all types and in multiple places. Most have rotted away and plants have grown, died, regrown, and merged into the lush jungle it is today. Every year or so we cut plants down to rejuvenate them and build new ones.

 

[aoxa]

TURKEYS! Love love love turkeys.

I can't really make out the bloom. Needs a close up. My first guess is Giant Goldenrod but I can't really tell. Were these pictures taken late summer?
edited to add: Is it Yellow Penstemon?

It blooms late summer I believe. I'll have to take some recent photos. Whatever it is, it is really pretty. I like the overgrowth that goes on around the woods line.


I have all sorts of wild flowers going on Would be interesting if I could get names on them. Pictures to come!

 

[MumsyII]

Oh how I love trellis gardening. There was a time that every garden book I would purchase was about vertical gardening. You can create entire outdoor garden rooms with them. You can block any ugly view with clever placement. Block the neighbors view of your private areas. Grow food vertically. Grow flowers, evergreen vines, ornamentals...The list goes on. I don't buy trellis any more because they are made so flimsy these days. My husband will build me just about anything I ask for when he has the time. I designed a spider web trellis two decades ago and had a craftsman build three. A wind storm blew the plants that were on them down and the trellis came with them unfortunately. I miss them.

My barn in 1989. My backyard nursery until 1996. The spider web trellis I designed. Hung before I planted a rambler on it.


You cannot see my barn or the spider web trellis in this picture. Up until last year, this rambler engulfed most of it. Had to take it down and the trellis was destroyed in the process. Happily, the rambler is rejuvenating and will bloom again next year.


This is looking down from my upstairs patio onto to the back patio. This is a climbing Hydrangea growing up a heavy duty trellis I built myself using 4"x4" for supports and a cedar lattice panel. The thickness of which I can't find locally any more. We prune this climbing shrub so we can walk around it without our hair getting hung up in it.


Queenie holding Puppy girl, and Shadow. In their Sunday best. Sitting under the old rose called Alchemist. I use the A frame front porch as a support for many climbers. My husband keeps loppers handy and tries valiantly to keep the doorway open. Hah!

 

[aoxa]

Wait.. Could it be bush honeysuckle?


The leaves look the same.

 

[MumsyII]

Wait.. Could it be bush honeysuckle?


The leaves look the same.

I do not know first hand knowledge of the plant in your picture. I will keep looking in my books.

Bush honeysuckle is well known to me. I've had it in my garden for decades. The plant I have is called Lonicera maackii. It blooms in May and June. Bees love it and after blooming it will produce red berries.
I cut the shrub back to the ground last year. The new growth comes back very fast. Old shrubs grow to about ten feet high and get very woody thick trunks.



This Bush Honeysuckle makes a great hedge. Deer and rabbit proof. No bugs munch on it either.

 

[aoxa]

I do not know first hand knowledge of the plant in your picture. I will keep looking in my books.

Bush honeysuckle is well known to me. I've had it in my garden for decades. The plant I have is called Lonicera maackii. It blooms in May and June. Bees love it and after blooming it will produce red berries.
I cut the shrub back to the ground last year. The new growth comes back very fast. Old shrubs grow to about ten feet high and get very woody thick trunks.



This Bush Honeysuckle makes a great hedge. Deer and rabbit proof. No bugs munch on it either.

Okay nope that's not it. It doesn't have woody roots like that. More like a soft stem

 

[MumsyII]

Okay nope that's not it. It doesn't have woody roots like that. More like a soft stem

If it is a naturalized wild flower, my knowledge will be limited. Your region may host a plethora of varieties unknown to me. You could pick a branch with flowers and leaves and take it to your local nursery and ask them. Ask someone that looks like they've been working there a long time and has grey hair. Often these local old timers are the ones that can identify your local flora. I will keep looking through my old books. Might find it yet.