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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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I'm hoping you ladies can help me with a plant-realted problem.
As you may know, we recently bought a house. With it we inherited neglected, weedy, horrid flower beds filled with overgrown, scraggly shrubs and wild things!
These are the beds along the front and side of the house, so they are very visible and I'd like them to look nice.This weekend ds is finishing digging them all out. We are going to fill them with topsoil and start from scratch. Great so far, but here is the catch...
I am going to Alaska for six weeks during the hottest part of the summer and won't be able to water the new plantings. And we have guests who will be coming to stay for a little while while we are gone, so we can't just leave the beds as empty dirt.
So, I need advice as to what I can put in the beds that can stand a summer of only incidental waterings from windblown rain (they are either completely or partially under the eaves).Some are direct sun all day, some are shade.
Oh, and it has to be cheap!
Am I asking too much? 
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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MichelleW
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 1:06pm | IP Logged
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I think my first choice would be to mulch them over and plant after your return.
I'll think about my second choice ...
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 1:07pm | IP Logged
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Just a few thoughts. I know there are some other "expert" gardeners around. If you have a freecycle nearby, you might put in a request for plants. In my area there are lots of people "starting over" and giving away older plants. It might be easier for the plants to adjust if they are older, even if uprooted a bit, in the same climate might be better.
Hostas come to mind for durability, but again, you want to get more established than baby plants.
And of course, there are those "grass" types of plants that are very durable.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
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momwise
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 3:59pm | IP Logged
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That is all I am able to plant. Most stuff around here gets watered sparingly in the dog days of summer.
How about Moss Roses? Can you throw some medium size rocks in there to take up a bit of space?
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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Do you have any neighbors nearby that you can enlist the help of? I loved to make pocket change watering people's plants while they were on vacation when I was a preteen...just a thought.
I also heard that you can invert something or other near the plant so it will drink slowly...how is that for specific ...maybe you can google watering outdoor plants while on vacation??
...Your oh-so-helpful friend from NJ, right? 
God love ya!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc 
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God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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Betsy
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 5:17pm | IP Logged
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+JMJ+
I second the idea of mulching. This is so necessary to keep plants roots protected in summer and winter. Also, when you plant it helps to ammend the soil (just up a half a shovel full in the hole) of sphagnam (sp?) peat moss. This helps retain water.
As for plants I would go to the nicest nursery with the most helpful staff and bring a pad of paper. Ask them all your questions and write down varieties they recommend.
Then go to craigs list, local farmers market, watch sales (espicially end of season) and just ask around for any good deals.
Always remember when you plant to determine the full size of each plant and space them appropiately. I see this as the #1 mistake in landscaping the #2 being the wrong location for a specific plant.
I hope that hleps,
Betsy
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 6:13pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, ladies. I'll let you know what I come up with!
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Theresa
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chicken lady
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 6:47pm | IP Logged
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Hostas and impatients heavily mulched. If you see someone with alot of hostas in their yard offer to seperate them in exchange for some plants. They need to be seperated and often older people will love you for doing the work. This is how I got all my peonies that line my driveway!
Happy travels....
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MichelleW
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| Posted: May 20 2007 at 11:16pm | IP Logged
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Ok, I thought about it and here is my second choice after mulching it over: rhododendrens. They are almost care free. Especially for the shady spots. Another good choice: Japanese and/or Nordic Maples. The Japanese feather leaf will do fine in the shade without continual water, and the red leaf Nordic will do fine in the sun with little water.
Still I highly recommend mulching because everything, even the most drought tolerant plants, need water to establish their root systems. Established rhodies and decorative maples need no care, but until they have an established root system it will be a risk. The larger the plant, the better it will do, and if your house guests promise to water while they are there it is possible that they would do fine.
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Michelle
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marihalojen
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| Posted: May 21 2007 at 6:40am | IP Logged
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I immediately thought of Portulaca/Moss Rose too, Gwen! I'd buy a few flats of it and plant it sans mulch. It'll reseed itself into a lovely ground cover. If you can get it in now a few weeks of watering should help set the roots and then taper off the waterings before you leave. I've even planted it in the holes of cinderblocks that were edging a driveway and they did fine, not much dirt or water for them there and they thrived, tumbling over the edges of the wall and just generally being beautiful and cheerful looking.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 21 2007 at 10:09am | IP Logged
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I LOVE portulaca. But we have clay soil, very poor drainage, so I'm not sure it will work here.
The beds are not big enough for Rhodos. Long and narrow. Although the one on the end is deep enough, it is the full sun bed,so a bad match there.
Hostas seem like a good fit for the long narrow shady bed. I am actually thinking of something like Juniper for the full sun bed. Easy care and can take the heat. Then when I get back I can plant some pretty annuals around them.
Still thinking...
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Theresa
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Maryan
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| Posted: May 21 2007 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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We used Juniper and variegated liriope in our sunny bed.
They did fine in the sun and heat with neglect from me -- one Juniper did get a rust sort of disease and needed to be replaced.
I wish we had shade so we could have beautiful hostas.
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Maryan
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: I may be asking too much from a plant
