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Post by Dillasandra on Jul 27, 2009 12:19:35 GMT -5
Sorry to come so late to the discussion. Bunny talked to me about the garden early this spring. I made some notes on horticulture/design. So far I haven't even gone to see it, but I will this week. I'd be honored to serve as Hort consultant for it. I can get several kinds of ferns, hostas, and other woodland plants and plant them. I can also get some azaleas and rhodos that would thrive there, for very little cost, and donate them and plant them, but maybe not until fall. I can donate several varieties of hostas. A naturalistic woodland garden can be subtle, beautiful, and serene in late summer. Sadly, most of the plants that would bloom in that setting will bloom in spring. But it would be magnificent during the time when you volunteers are out there pre-faire, which is really special I think. For spring, trilliums, spring beauties, violets and jack-in-the pulpit would be stunning. For summer, maybe foam flower and snakeroot and nettle and hosta. So let me take a look, get some ideas, submit them to BB, and get my shovels working again. You might have suspected that I LOVE to create gardens, and I have sources for free or nearly free plants, flowers, and shrubs. And I am a formerly professional naturalist who knows nearly every woodland plant that grows in Ohio. More later. . .or contact me. . . Olive
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Mickey
Lord
Cogito ergo sum/Carpe diem!
Posts: 516
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Post by Mickey on Jul 27, 2009 17:51:36 GMT -5
Huzzah to Olive! We finally got a chance to see the garden yesterday. It looks very nice already! Great job to all who have worked hard to get it going and looking so nice, so quickly!!
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Post by Dillasandra on Jul 28, 2009 13:55:25 GMT -5
Yeah. It's going to be something.
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Post by Dillasandra on Jul 31, 2009 14:50:10 GMT -5
Bumping................
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Olive
Upper Class
Posts: 89
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Post by Olive on Aug 2, 2009 9:28:45 GMT -5
Ok, I visited on the way out yesterday. The fountain is lovely and makes a terrific center focal point. I like the woods and the beckoning paths that can be seen on the outskirts. Nice layout traced out in logs so far. And some very small baby hostas. But, it needs HELP! BB, we better meet there and talk. Maybe this week I can get some ferns and big hostas going in there to create a backbone, and astilbes. We should try to get a garden arbor for the entrance. And two elegant but rustic benches. I will have to keep my eye out at auctions.
We could easily make a temporary path with "coins" of big tree trunks if I bring the chainsaw. We could even make simple log benches with the chainsaw for nothing if we can use some of the tree trunks of downed wood. What thinketh ye?
This week, Tues. would be my best free day. Three hours I think we could do a lot.
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Post by Dillasandra on Aug 2, 2009 21:53:09 GMT -5
Ooooooooh, astibles! Love those.............. ;D And Olive? Give Dave credit here.....he didn't know beans about gardening ( no pun intended! ) when he started this project and he's learning as he goes along. That in mind, I think he's done a remarkable job so far! Labor of love and all..............
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Post by BeerBlessings on Aug 3, 2009 12:01:04 GMT -5
Well Dill, I knew a *tiny* bit. I knew that you had to consider light levels and moisture levels, but specifics about them I didn't know squat.. And that mulch is your friend.. And that some plants come back every year.
Past that, I knew jack squat.. Several stops at the bookstore and library later.. And after visiting several nurseries and garden centers.. Now I realize just how much I do NOT know. (And that's actually the important thing in all this..)
And Olive, your help will be GREATLY appreciated!! We've been operating on a learning curve and limited resources. You will help tremendously on both fronts!!
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Olive
Upper Class
Posts: 89
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Post by Olive on Aug 3, 2009 12:12:17 GMT -5
Oh please forgive me if I caused you to feel criticized or criticizing. No way meaning that! Yes, I can see a great idea and vision starting to take shape. Also, one of BB's most significant accomplishments in the effort is to have already brought so many into the effort and gotten so much resources, in addition to the garden creation already in place.
I guess I was trying to convey that I can see some of what I think BB sees, and it is grander than what exists now, and we can do it.
And for a huzzah: yesterday I passed by and a couple was sitting on one of the benches in there. It is being visited and enjoyed.
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Post by BeerBlessings on Aug 3, 2009 12:42:06 GMT -5
No no no! It wasn't taken as criticizing!! If anything, it's more a bit overwhelming at all the options available!! (And a bit underwhelmed at my ability to remember all of them. Sigh.) However, I do admit that I can see just how large this can be, and somewhat sad that it will take so long before the potential is fully realized. I know several people have commented that they see how it will develop.. Particularly Trevor and now Olive, because they have experience with gardening/landscaping. If anything, that's the biggest compliment I can receive! You can see just by the baby hostas. It will take a few years before they fully grow in, but so far they just look... meager. And I hope I didn't make mistakes and end up drowning them.. We had went to the site after several days of rain before Faire, but there wasn't standing water like there was 1st weekend. ... lesson: fill in the other low spots before continuing.. I am just trying to avoid any major pitfalls, and hoping that I don't get "Oh, we should have done THAT!!!" because of my lack of knowledge. (Which is also why we left space to be developed later..)
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Post by Dillasandra on Aug 3, 2009 13:56:28 GMT -5
Relax, bro, like we've all said, you're doing just great. And I speak from experience when I say that anyone who's ever gardened has had more than their share of dead plants, disasters, and as you put it, 'Oh, we should have done THAT' moments, especially when you're first starting out. And the kind of project you've taken on is a WHOLE lot more complicated and tricky than a basic flower bed would be, even for a more experienced gardener. You have my respect and full credit for A., tackling it in the first place, and B., doing damned well to date......and I'm far from the only one that feels that way. Yeah, you'll kill a couple of things, second guess yourself 800 times, and very probably drown a hosta or two. And in the end, you'll have achieved a masterpiece to be proud of, and one that will be loved and enjoyed by a lot of people for a long, long time. Steph'd back me on that. She was a gardener herself, remember? And if she's somewhere were she can watch you, she's probably had a couple of laughs at your expense already, but she loves you for it all the more. As do I. Thank you.
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Post by Sir Trevor on Aug 3, 2009 16:26:48 GMT -5
Exactly. You have to fall several times before you learn to walk. And mistakes in gardening are inevitable. You cannot control the weather. If you take steps to ensure things don't drown, next year they could wither from lask of moisture if we have a drought. It's all part of the fun.
The way I learned is I planted stuff. If it died it died. Then I knew it wouldn't do well in those conditions. If it thrived, then ..... cool!
The hardest work, and the biggest outlay of funds should be in the rear view mirror now. It's the actual getting started and laying everything out that takes the most time, and the most plants.
Now it is just tweaking and adding as things unfold. Which should get easier as you go along. Yeah, those hostas are small now, but I don't think it will take as long as you think it will for them to fill in. The problem is, that it is such a large bed. It is going to look sparse at first. But you can't put too much too close because that just causes trouble down the road.
I think the best that can be done now is to concentrate more on the hardscaping. Lining the paths, and stuff like that. Add a few plants here and there as time and funds allow and just let it start to take shape.
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Post by SwordSchoolGroupie on Aug 3, 2009 18:30:59 GMT -5
I think that Lily of the Valley will grow in a shaded environment and it is a symbol of purity and humility. If they will grow they would look nice in with the hosta. They do grow every year. My grandma had those and the following: snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, tulips, iris, roses. They bloomed in that order however I am not sure how they would do without a lot of sunlight. I don't do gardening myself. Maybe someone else would know.
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Post by Dillasandra on Aug 3, 2009 21:55:02 GMT -5
Most of those are early spring flowers, and should do okay if enough sunlight can get to them while the trees are bare. Trouble is, while they'd be lovely, they'll be completely gone long before Faire, more's the pity. Roses are right out, needing full sun and a LOT of specifics and care. Wild roses would probably work up to a point (Olive? ) but are not very showy and have lots of vicious thorns. I'm sure our new wild garden expert, Olive, can tell us more! I know something about gardening, but I'm years out of pratice, and I never tried a garden like we're looking at here. Had a farm, and any wooded area had a fence around it and horses and goats in it, so the mere IDEA of a woodland garden was a moot point. Though I'm sure the goats at least would have appreciated the effort!
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Post by SwordSchoolGroupie on Aug 4, 2009 10:52:30 GMT -5
good point. so what does bloom in July? besides blueberries
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Post by Dillasandra on Aug 4, 2009 13:34:11 GMT -5
That's one of the problems with a woodland setting......color wise, anyway.......not much. Hopefully, Olive knows of some things the rest of us amatures dont! ;D
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