Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[mikkles]

i look forward to learning so much!

 

[MumsyII]

@armorfirelady: The rose growing up and over the log playhouse is called Cecile Brunner. I grew it from a cutting and it was glorious while it lasted. All of my daughters and my son had sprigs of it in their weddings. A family favorite for two decades. Sadly, I lost it last winter. We didn't have a particularly harsh winter but it is a China rose and they are not always hardy in cold climates. I had many visitors over the years that told me it was the largest and oldest Cecile Brunner on Whidbey Island for two decades. My daughter wants me to hurry and start another one. I hope to. If this rose is grown in a protected nook or micro climate, it does well. But as I have learned. Roses do not live as long as trees.


The Cecile Brunner rose in 1993. If you look at that tiny building on the far left....That is my chick house. It was housing Ring neck doves in this picture. You are looking at where my chick run is now.

edited to add this photo that was posted on my original profile:
The Cecil Brunner rose over the log playhouse. The chick run is where the playhouse used to be. The vine covered arch is the entrance to my potager garden. This picture is the way it was from 1990 until two years ago.

There are many roses to choose from now days that will work in all kinds of climates. There are probably good varieties growing near you to get names of. Do you have a large zoo where you live? Zoos often have public rose gardens. The plants have name tags there.

 

[MumsyII]

Thank you LynnEBC, Mikkles, and Cluckless. I will try my best to keep up and try to acknowledge everyone. It will be difficult on days I need to spend outside with the flock. Today they were feeling neglected. I had a chance to start a load of laundry. I opened the door to take a load out of the dryer and a bantam RIR ran out of the dark room between my legs! My shriek could probably be heard in two counties! I have no idea how she got in there. She was sitting in there in the dark for at least two hours! She must have followed me in right on my heels. I never saw her come in. *sheesh!* Oh yeah...and she left my pile of dirty laundry even dirtier. Little stinker.

 

[starlingdaly]

Thank you, Mumsy, for starting this thread and sharing your garden knowledge!

 

[MumsyII]

Oh...and I should say that it is in front of the almost 2 acre pasture which will be kept pasture for whatever animals I may have in the future. Even if there are goats, it can be planted outside the fence so I should be able to keep it from getting eaten

That changes everything. Vines would be stripped by livestock. There are other possibilities. Quick growing grasses and shrubs. Planted along the chain link fence so they grow through it but no on it. Live stock would graze the back side of the fence which would effectively keep it pruned on their side. It would remain lush and full from the viewing side. I would need to do some research on these kinds of plants. Shrub honeysuckle comes to mind right off the bat. Grows fast. Takes all kinds of conditions. Grows berries the wild birds eat. Thick. Can be heavily pruned.

Another is a shrub lilac. Not the tree variety. Need to research that one. Forsythia, really any of the spring blooming shrubs would work. If you can find a wholsale nursery and buy a certain amount or spend a certain amount, you may get a discount. Cuttings take three years to get a plant of a size to start doing this job. If you have the time, I can walk you through the steps of starting cuttings.

Pampas grass, Zebra grass, clump bamboos. These all form thick tall groupings. Would grow through the fence and grazing would not harm them.

You were right. I probably need a visual aid in order to give better suggestions.

 

[aoxa]

I love these roses. I want to build a arch/pagolla/seating area & have these grow up up over it. It would be a great place to relax. I have climbing roses on my deck railing that I have intertwined in the rails. Its smells heavenly when they bloom.
They ATE the logs??? Oh my ......

Oh yes they did. Marvin mostly. Stinker.

Thank you LynnEBC, Mikkles, and Cluckless. I will try my best to keep up and try to acknowledge everyone. It will be difficult on days I need to spend outside with the flock. Today they were feeling neglected. I had a chance to start a load of laundry. I opened the door to take a load out of the dryer and a bantam RIR ran out of the dark room between my legs! My shriek could probably be heard in two counties! I have no idea how she got in there. She was sitting in there in the dark for at least two hours! She must have followed me in right on my heels. I never saw her come in. *sheesh!* Oh yeah...and she left my pile of dirty laundry even dirtier. Little stinker.

LOL. I have had chickens come in the house on their own when the door blew open. I have dogs (TMI?) they cleaned everything up before I could.

 

[aoxa]

Mumsy,

At our last house we had two kiwi vines. They sure were pretty.. I miss them. I'll need to get a couple more, but not sure where to put them.

I'm a big fan of vines.

No none of these pictures are of my vines, but had to share anyway.










I almost always grow all of my flowers from seeds/bulbs or splittings.

Here are some I've grown from seed (except the peonie - which I split from my father).

This year I didn't have a great growing season. I got: Petunias, Four O'Clocks, Cleome, Calendula, Nasturtium, and Lavatara.

I can not for the life of me grow poppies. I've tried year after year.. They are so dainty and just don't thrive.

I do have other flowers I just can't remember off hand.

 

[armorfirelady]

@armorfirelady:
There are many roses to choose from now days that will work in all kinds of climates. There are probably good varieties growing near you to get names of. Do you have a large zoo where you live? Zoos often have public rose gardens. The plants have name tags there.

I have not seen a rosé garden at the zoo but there is a rosé garden at Delaware park & I remember they have signs on them. Def need to stop by to see what kinds they have. Thanks for the great idea!

 

[MumsyII]

Mumsy,

At our last house we had two kiwi vines. They sure were pretty.. I miss them. I'll need to get a couple more, but not sure where to put them.

I'm a big fan of vines.

No none of these pictures are of my vines, but had to share anyway.



I almost always grow all of my flowers from seeds/bulbs or splittings.

Here are some I've grown from seed (except the peonie - which I split from my father).

This year I didn't have a great growing season. I got: Petunias, Four O'Clocks, Cleome, Calendula, Nasturtium, and Lavatara.

I can not for the life of me grow poppies. I've tried year after year.. They are so dainty and just don't thrive.

I do have other flowers I just can't remember off hand.

The colors are eye popping! So stunning! Thank you Justine. Beautiful fllowers. I thought the Peony was a tulip at first. It is so gorgeous.

I tried to grow a Kiwi once and it didn't make it. Many people have them here growing on very strong structures. I've seen one climbing up and over a friends house! I was told they can pop shingles off roofs so need their own pergola to thrive and cause no structural damage. The ones I've seen were beautiful as shade covers and I've seen one with fruit.

One of the most satisfying and often frustrating ways of increasing plantings, is through seeds, cuttings, or splits (root divisions). Even with a greenhouse, seeds can be tricky for me. For some types such as Delphinium or Larks, the seeds need a period in the freezer for a few months. For others such as Nasturtiums, I use an emery board to scar the seed surface to get better germination. Some take me a couple trays before they germinate. I keep notes just like I do with my incubator. When something is unsuccessful, I look at my notes and figure something new out to try. Some times I just give up and buy the plants at the nursery. My daughter grows monster Pansies from seeds. She tells me they threaten to take over her garden. In forty years, I have never gotten a pansy seed to germinate and live longer than two days! You can bet your life on it that my daughter loves that! Hah!

There are some poppies you might try. Meconopsis (Welsh Poppy) self sows in shady moist corners. Comes back year after year. Sprinkle it around leaky faucets, woodland edges, North side of your house. Just a tiny pinch here and there then forget about them. With the Welsh Poppy, sow blue Forget me Nots, They will naturalize and set seed everywhere they are sown. The seeds will stick to the fur of animals and your pant legs or stockings. They will come up in unexpected places. Under plant these areas with Blue Bells (Scilla) and you will have a sea of blue in a few years. Punctuated with splashes of yellow. Blue and yellow combinations are one of my favorite complimentary color combinations. There is the brilliant annual poppy some call bread seed poppy (Papaver somniferum). Many folks trade seeds of this over the garden fence. It is rarely offered for sale at nurseries. It's legal to grow it in the USA in private gardens for seeds. Sometimes it is mixed into wild flower packets. I planted in once twenty two years ago and it comes up in surprising places. I save pods when I think about it. I take them around the property in fall and sprinkle them out like a pepper shaker. When I plant them in the Spring they never come up. When I plant them in the Fall, they often do. The colors I get are in the purple to pink hues. My neighbor gets all Reds and oranges. Pink and orange together doesn't work for me so we have not traded.
I would be willing to save little packets of annual seeds from my garden and send them to you. You would have nothing to lose by sprinkling them around and see what happens.

Plant propagation is a science. It is one of my joys and the main way I filled my half acre a long time ago. It's like any endeavor. Practice and patience.
The large pink blooms are that of a perennial poppy (Oriental Poppy) . The blue green plant in the foreground is Papaver somniferum from seed sown in the Fall. The blue flower is Siberian Iris.
The bee skep made of straw is ornamental only. It is illegal here to use these. A hive must be destroyed to get honey out of them. This skep has no opening. It rotted years ago and I no longer have it. It was cute in the garden while it lasted.

 

[aoxa]

The colors are eye popping! So stunning! Thank you Justine. Beautiful fllowers. I thought the Peony was a tulip at first. It is so gorgeous.

I tried to grow a Kiwi once and it didn't make it. Many people have them here growing on very strong structures. I've seen one climbing up and over a friends house! I was told they can pop shingles off roofs so need their own pergola to thrive and cause no structural damage. The ones I've seen were beautiful as shade covers and I've seen one with fruit.

One of the most satisfying and often frustrating ways of increasing plantings, is through seeds, cuttings, or splits (root divisions). Even with a greenhouse, seeds can be tricky for me. For some types such as Delphinium or Larks, the seeds need a period in the freezer for a few months. For others such as Nasturtiums, I use an emery board to scar the seed surface to get better germination. Some take me a couple trays before they germinate. I keep notes just like I do with my incubator. When something is unsuccessful, I look at my notes and figure something new out to try. Some times I just give up and buy the plants at the nursery. My daughter grows monster Pansies from seeds. She tells me they threaten to take over her garden. In forty years, I have never gotten a pansy seed to germinate and live longer than two days! You can bet your life on it that my daughter loves that! Hah!

There are some poppies you might try. Meconopsis (Welsh Poppy) self sows in shady moist corners. Comes back year after year. Sprinkle it around leaky faucets, woodland edges, North side of your house. Just a tiny pinch here and there then forget about them. With the Welsh Poppy, sow blue Forget me Nots, They will naturalize and set seed everywhere they are sown. The seeds will stick to the fur of animals and your pant legs or stockings. They will come up in unexpected places. Under plant these areas with Blue Bells (Scilla) and you will have a sea of blue in a few years. Punctuated with splashes of yellow. Blue and yellow combinations are one of my favorite complimentary color combinations. There is the brilliant annual poppy some call bread seed poppy (Papaver somniferum). Many folks trade seeds of this over the garden fence. It is rarely offered for sale at nurseries. It's legal to grow it in the USA in private gardens for seeds. Sometimes it is mixed into wild flower packets. I planted in once twenty two years ago and it comes up in surprising places. I save pods when I think about it. I take them around the property in fall and sprinkle them out like a pepper shaker. When I plant them in the Spring they never come up. When I plant them in the Fall, they often do. The colors I get are in the purple to pink hues. My neighbor gets all Reds and oranges. Pink and orange together doesn't work for me so we have not traded.
I would be willing to save little packets of annual seeds from my garden and send them to you. You would have nothing to lose by sprinkling them around and see what happens.

Plant propagation is a science. It is one of my joys and the main way I filled my half acre a long time ago. It's like any endeavor. Practice and patience.
The large pink blooms are that of a perennial poppy (Oriental Poppy) . The blue green plant in the foreground is Papaver somniferum from seed sown in the Fall. The blue flower is Siberian Iris.
The bee skep made of straw is ornamental only. It is illegal here to use these. A hive must be destroyed to get honey out of them. This skep has no opening. It rotted years ago and I no longer have it. It was cute in the garden while it lasted.

You know, I probably had bad luck with the poppies because I always try growing them inside early on. Maybe if I just sprinkle them... Yes I think I will do that.. I know it is late in the season, but they are perennials so I can still do it yes?

I have a bunch of Glady bulbs I have still not planted. I am so busy... Kind of worried the darn goats will eat my efforts anyway. I should just plant them out front where the goats do not go. Gladies are my favourite cut flower after peonies. I do love lilac as well.

Oh and my mother has these hydrangea that are stunning. The flowers get HUGE. Basketball sized! I dry them out year after year.



I always love grape vines as well. Here is a picture from Cornhill nursery that I took a few years ago.. before I had my camera.. One day I'd love to do something like this for shade (plus you get grapes!)