After I visited the nursery, I realized that August is not the best time to start a bed....there are not a lot of plants to choose from, but I decided on some basics and when the spring rolls around I may move out some of the liriope and make room for some others. But for today, I planted:
1 crape myrtle
2 azaleas
a couple of agapanthus
a couple of iris's
a bunch of liriope
I know...I said a thousand times I didn't want a crepe myrtle - but again - not too many choices, so I picked a smaller breed that is different - it's white and has darker leaves so I think it's different enough. I still need to put down some mulch and weed barrier. I am going to use newspaper for that and thought it'd be easier to lay it all down after the plants were in the ground. We'll see.
I'm slightly concerned about the irises...I didn't have much luck with them at the other house, but the lady at the nursery assured me that they are native to Louisiana and should be harty and difficult to kill....hmmm. I think I'll fill in with some annuals....some kind of pretty flower just to add more color.
ps - mark mowed after I took these so the grass looks better :) And - if you look closely in the second pic you can see Sam keeping watch out the window.
5 comments:
Great job!!! I think you made terrific choices! I really like the new shape of the bed, too....the symmetric shape looks great from the corner!
The liriope is a good choice (!), I think... In no time, you'll have plenty to split and transplant...and it makes purple flowers! What color iris did you get? My mom says the secret to successful iris is not to plant the "bulb" too deep (so it won't rot)...and to use only bulky, jagged mulch (like pine bark) around them to keep slugs away...
I really like the looks of that crape myrtle. And agapanthus is a joe-cool plant...
Think about planting some bulbs this fall...whatever your favorites are! Take a look at allium, though. I think you'll like it. Similar to the agapanthus... and purple, too!
Sam's too cute!
If you have Louisiana irises, you don't have to worry about having them rot. They love being wet and will grow in standing water. I have a website with information on how to grow Louisianas, if you want to take a look at the culture section. Good luck!
Patrick
www.zydecoirises.com
Gee thanks Steph! I do want to do some bulbs this fall. I was pretty unsure how much room to leave for everything....especially the agaphanthus - I know they can get really big and what I had was really cut back. I'm anxious to see it grow. The allium is very nice! Great suggestion. I love purple flowers so I picked the purple irises and agapanthus. For contrast, one azalea is dark pink and the other is white with light pink (they are dwarf azaleas so I don't think they'll get too big). I think a big splash of some yellow close to the ground - kind of overflowing out would be nice....maybe lantana or something similar...?
Hey - Thanks Patrick - I just visited your site. They are dark purple Louisiana Irises. It's good to know that they'll be happy.
Jill, how did your new beds survive Gustav?
Both of my Chinese elm babies and my two large hibiscus shrubs in my memorial garden were blown over. I think I can restake the trees, but the shrubs I dont think I will be able to save :-(
Hope you get electricity soon!
Hey Lori -
It did ok. The little crape myrtle in the front took quite a windy ride but managed to stay upright. We'll have to see if it stays alive. Mostly it was the Iris's in the front that got nailed by the roof drip line. The Azaleas and the agapanthas seem to be all right. We got electricity back on Tuesday morning and I posted some pics I took of the storm - before, during, and after - on my FB page...
I'm sorry to hear your stuff got damaged. Maybe the hibiscuses will be ok...aren't they native to Hawii....they have storms there all the time. I'll keep my fingers crossed. When do you go back to school?
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