Gardening ideas...

Ooh, I like them!

Oh and you know that stuff 'cause you smaht.

The peonies are dark pink. They actually seem to be doing OK -- maybe because the trees aren't in full leaf yet when the peonies bloom?? Not sure.

I have peonies on the side of the house that are saaad, that's another story (sigh).

You all mention plants I've heard of but don't know well.

On hibiscus, I'm not for them under elm next to hydrangea, comflict of nature.. I can see a low growing one in a gorgeous pot or ugly pot somewhere..(not being sure they grow in pots but I seem to remember they do.

Siberian elm, is that diff than Chinese elm? (no books at hand, literally)

Itea and Clethra, I think at least clethra grows here but I haven't learned it...

comflict, a comforting affliction...

noooo, not lantana! The plant that is threatening to conquer Oz. Soz, you're zone 5-6 yes? I don't think lantana would survive. Good for pots though. Osso, are you speaking about hibiscus proper? Or about rose-of-sharon....?

Soz, what zone?

You can buy sterile plants ya know!

you can? aaand, do the spread by root?

Yup! Ya can! Lantana develops berries with their seeds for reproduction. The sterile versions are berryless. No berries, no seeds, no reproductiion, no invasion...

Sure am glad they came up with a solution!

Soz and I have talked about that. I am in disbelief that hibiscus proper can live there... and was guessing Soz meant blue hibiscus, Alyogene.

Which, if that is it, is a lttle, er, lambent, for the spot, much as I like it.

edit to say, or should live there. Hibiscus belongs in a tropical place.

I am getting more set in my ways outside of where I once was on plants. Much more tuned to natives and their splendors. I already have books on Abq area natives, for diff areas, looked at hard once.

Still, in a given instance, with exisiting hydrangeas and elm, what goes in the hole and is well spent? Not likely a native but a single plant that fits in.

To do the yard over as native is another discussion, which could be fun, and I'd be a learner re Ohio.

That would be fun!!

I'm learning a lot, thanks. What I said to E.G. yesterday is that I'm learning not just about specific plants but how to think about it, how to approach the issue. For example, I really liked your observation*, Osso, about how things started more geometric closer to the house and then got more fluid -- that makes sense, and now I want to uphold it. (The hedges have gotten a little floofy and off of the round shape, I think I'll go ahead and prune them back, which I had been resisting.)

I'm willing to give up my hibiscus idea, pots though, maybe pots. They definitely are hale and hearty around here, unexpected for me.



*For those who scroll back to look for it, was from PM -- I sent littlek and Osso a lot more specifics about front yard, photos etc., but as it gets more general can get back to this thread.

I talk big about natives but break my own semi-rules a fair amount of the time.. otherwise how could I plant my beloved lavender and rosemary and and....

I know, I know.

Lavender is gonna go somewhere, by golly by gee. Maybe big ol' pots on the deck.

A.huegelii? i CAN'T FIND ANY PICTURES OF IT oSSO..... NEVER HEARD OF IT. Oops, sorry for the caps!

So...... wouldn't the red-twig dogwood blend in well in the empty spot under the elm?

Soz, you're going to ball-prune the shrubs?

The dogwood may well blend. I'm hoping for something flowerier, specifically that flowers later in the year (have a lot of spring bloom, not as much summer/ late summer/ fall). But that does sound good on a lot of levels.

If I knew what the term ball-prune meant I might say yes -- basically, they were pruned to be a row of three globes when we moved in (touching each other though, not completely stand-alone), and I haven't really pruned them since. So they're still globe-ish, but more organic/ not as rigid. I liked Osso's point and I'll probably make them more globish, though probably still between rigid and how they are currently.

Is it a bad time to prune or anything?

I want to take a bunch more pictures for you guys but probably won't be able to until Thursday because of the rain (want to give you a sense of sun/ shade, too).

ball-prune prolly isn't an official term. You got the idea. What kind of shrubs are they?

This is the plant Osso refered to (or in that family, anyway) - it's gawgeous!

LilK, my first thought was another dogwood in the hole...

second was a big hydrangea, or two big ones, so you'd have a hydrangea "grove" with the littler ones.

haven't had my third thought yet. Another magnolia did occur to me..(and by the way, Sozobe, which kind of magnolia is that?)

mmmm, all good ideas. I still like the idea of the itea-clethera, but they'd prolly get lost behind the hydrangeas.

Oh! Oh! There's a new(ish?) dogwood called "wolf eyes" or some such. It's a Kusa (resistant to blight, flowers after leafing out) and it has variegated leaves. AND, it doesn't top 10 feet tall.