Planting Advice
Hey, green thumbers. I just tore out the bushes here and need to plant some new things. Any ideas? Obviously it's pretty much all shade.
Nicholas Even though it's shielded by the over hang, it does still get some sun either early or late in the day, right? The area around that bench must be far enough from the house that it still gets some sun for a while. I would call that more part-sun than actually shade like you would get in a forest or around a tree.
You can go with the traditional very shade tolerant perennials like hosta, lily of the valley, coral bells, astilbe, hellebore, and day lilies. Day lilies in particular come in a thousand different colors, are disease, shade, and drought tolerant plus bloom off and on for months. A bleeding heart blooms late spring into early summer and less sun makes it last longer. That can grow to a good size and should be a good choice.
But you should be able to grow more than just serious shade plants - spiderwort and perennial geraniums like crane's bill do fine in the shade of a tree. Phlox, daisies, and black eyed susan are all taller plants for the back that should be OK as long as there is as least some sun.
If you want something bigger, maybe as a centerpiece in the back, try a rhododendron. Should do just fine in a bit of shade.
For an annual hanging basket, try fuchsia or the New Guinea type impatiens. Should look really nice with a couple of hooks on that porch.
GC If you want lower cover, Hosta's are a good partial shade. Plus they are rambunctious blocking out all in their path, including weeds. One issue: deer love them. Tickner's has the stuff to spray and it's minty fresh....
If you go that route, pick a central type for mass and then one or more others for focal points or go full variety. I like total chaos of lots of variations.
There's lots of different variegations, leaf sizes, and to a degree --- plant sizes.
They seed in fall and you can just pick and broadcast with around a 50% take rate so if you are without deer, you can be hosta-plenty in no time.
They can get sun-burned with too much sun though the solid greens are more likely than the variegated ones. The more white, the less burn.
Plus if you have to do something in the area, if they have established, you can usually mow em down anytime and they come back. Very easy keepers.
strangerdanger Nicholas,
GC is a great resource for gardening, really knows his stuff, and is organizing a plant exchange on June 4:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/746542.
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/744212
DannyC Strangerdanger - You are 100% right about the deer and hostas. Although perfect for shade, and even if Tickners has Deer Out to try to help, I really suggest day lilies if that is a concern. They are not a big deal with deer even if they will nibble, comes in lots of colors and varieties, and drought resistant on top of shade loving.
DannyC - Thanks. "June 4" is actually "next Saturday". Can you believe it???
interesting - the long stone wall across from my place is loaded with lilies - and often the night after they all start blooming, they get chomped off by - Bambi and friends - like some of the hostas I used to have --- and I've tried deer out and all of it's relatives -- pfft
4catmom 4catmom - True. On the one hand the oriental lilies and easter lilies I've had have been totally destroyed by deer. Yet day lilies (which are really a completely different plant) have been pretty safe for me. Still I've heard other people have deer that eat the day lilies to the ground. I guess they're just like people when it comes to taste - some people declare NJ as a complete barren wasteland when it comes to pizza yet others figure most pizzerias just aren't that bad.
Not to change the subject, but NJ is not "a complete barren wasteland when it comes to pizza". Just go to Bayonne for the finest thin crust pizza ever. A good substitute is from the General Store Café in Allamuchy, but make sure that Dean makes it, as the kids he hires do not have his skills. Otherwise, is super thin pizza with fresh herbs a good idea for your plant exchange this Saturday, given all the other events you have taken into account? If so, what time, what quantity, and with what additional toppings? If necessary, I-make-a-it-myself.
Danny C...I don't even know you but I like you because you remind me of myself in so far as times when GC tries to explain something to me. I almost always misinterpret what he really wants to say about a given situation. He was trying to tell you ( I think).. about the difference between deer and people and in their tastes for certain things. However, if you are planning on bringing pizza to the plant exchange, I just might change my mind and be there that day!!
Joyful Joyful - Thanks. As a chef, I guess I got off topic a bit. I love what GC is and has been doing, and was only trying to make it a more memorable event, (plus showing off the flavors of my marvelous fresh herbs.)
Meanwhile… My deer destroy the hostas, eat the buds off the daylilies, have destroyed the native tiger lillies and leave the Asiatic lilies alone. They also loved the deer resistent peonies.
Daer out has been 100% except in duration. Get weeks instead on months; rain dependent. I'm like evey two or three weeks.
I understand that spraying on diluted hotsauce will help keep the deer away from your plants. They can smell the capsaicin and they don't like their vegetation "kicked up a notch" (just like I usually don't, unless it's horseradish here and there).
Phil D. Me too, Danny C, . I was just kidding in my post....GC and I are longtime friends and he is a very smart and giving person...
Much worse than deer - squirrels. These gluttonous little rats with fluffy tails destroy everything, eating the buds off trees and plants. Any advice on how to handle these vermin?
GC - My enormous rose just started to bloom four flowers, but brilliant red instead of pink. It was cut down to the roots 21 months ago, and I did not do much except to add Bayer rose fertilizer and water it. Now it is about 6 feet wide and 8 feet tall, with over 3 dozen buds, and four now blooming. I don't understand the color change from pink to red, but I like it, and this was pretty low maintenance.
Sending pix in a few weeks when the roses blossom out, plus some of my thriving dianthus and herbs.
DannyC - The point was any single deer might have individual tastes. 99 of them could hate bee balm like the plague yet there is that 1 that loves it.
As for the pizza, do what you'd like. The only thing is the exchange starts at 9:00 and isn't likely to last more than an hour given everything else going on. I'll eat pizza for breakfast but not sure who else does at that hour of the morning. Maybe go over to the other thread and discuss it there.
There are precious few squirrels by me, but we've had years with copious amounts of chipmunks. I take the "Chipmunk Relocation Program" method, but not sure you can manage that with the squirrels.
Phil D - To me that's a waste of darn good hot sauce. ;-) I think I tried that once and it had little influence on bambi. Rabbits might have stayed away, but not deer. Deer Out has been more effective for me at least.
Stranderdanger - More power to you if they won't touch the asiatic lilies. I lost 5 good plants one year and haven't see them since. I've got one Easter lily that's tucked away behind something else that has survived, and that's it.
GC - I was thinking of pizza much later in the day. Coffee with cheese buns, crumb cake or fresh fruit danish in the morning, of course.
strangerdanger - Oh yes, with a fantastic hollandaise sauce. Great idea. There is also pizza frita, both savory and sweet, for breakfast. I just need the serving time, quantity and place from the organizer, GC.
DannyC - The time and place were already sent out in the email to everyone. I mentioned above the time for the exchange is 9-10 AM next Saturday. There really isn't anything specific planned for later in the day. I am happy to have other people tag along as I go to Well Sweep and/or Donaldson's. But I really don't know if anyone else will or won't do that. I know at least one other person has another appointment afterwards. So officially, the only time we will have at the hosts is one hour.
If you want to plan anything else, again, I suggest posting on the plant exchange thread.
DannyC - It's a matter of the logistics. There's really no place to do any cooking. Our host might be able to micro wave something if it needs heating - that could be confirmed directly with her. But otherwise, food items people bring have always been pre-made. In the past we've had things like Tracy's dynamite coffee cake and joyful's excellent trifle.
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