Landscaping

» franfolsom - Landscape Design: Role of Plants

Last spring I spread about 2 inches of buckwheat hulls as ground cover and to keep weeds down where my holly bushes and Japanes quince bushes are. I did not rake up the buckwheat in the fall, let it lie for the winter. Will this cause a problem with my plants blossoming in the spring?

-- posted by franfolsom

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Georgene A. Bramlage - Landscape Design: Role of Plants

In response to Landscape Design: Role of Plants posted by franfolsom:

Fran,

Thanks for taking the time to write.

I have used buckwheat as well as chocolate hulls as mulch. I can foresee only two problems - ones you need to watch out for, but not interfering with your shrubs' flowering.

One - If you weather is dry the hulls will blow, scatter and create a nuisance;

Two - Most probably the hulls will mat down over the winter due to extra moisture and fungi (mushrooms) of all sorts will begin to grow in your beds. If (when) this happens, you'll need to rake out the top bit of mulch, compost the old, and put some new mulch in its place. This is a good habit to get into each spring because the beds then look fresher.

Hope this helps,

Georgene

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» diplas - cactuses

My mother love cactuses. Her backyard is full of them but she keeps telling me they don't match with other plants so well. I love too see a diversity in the garden but I encounter a brick wall every time I tell her. Is there such thing or it is just my mother's Altzheimer? ~~ search engine placement

-- posted by diplas

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Georgene A. Bramlage - cactuses

In response to cactuses posted by diplas:
Hi!

It is really possible tat from her point of view they just "don't match!" Even if she is elderly, her idea of what the garden should look like might be very different from your's.

In my opinion, cacti in landscapes need to placed very carefully (no pun intended):) or the result is tough, dry and combative appearing.

Succulents team up well with cacti; colors of both groups of plants can be chosen so that they harmonize.

What immediately comes to my mind is one of my favorite plantings at Longwood Gardens (PA) that is in the conservatory because of possible cold damage. Curators and designers have placed gray- and silver-hued cacti and succulents in a design which is magical in both daylight and moonlight.

Here is a link to the silver garden with some pictures of an amazing agave plant:
http://www.longwoodgardens.org/CenturyPl...

There is more information about this silver garden at the Longwood site.

There are other cacti demonstration gardens that I know of, but need to check links, etc. Check back...

I hope you and Mom can come to some kind of a working agreement, especially with Mother's Day this weekend in the U.S.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds