Umm, I can't direct link the picts to the page, and didn't know whatelse to do. Here is a link, if anyone can figure out how to post them here?

Okay David,,, get ready to get hungry, you’re in for a long ride again.

Terrific to see your garden tonight cac. Thank you for putting your pics up for us. I had no trouble at all accessing them. Altho, the first and third pics won’t enlarge beyond the thumbnail size. I’ll try to get that link to open into a separate window so we can come back to this page easier and try to get some of them off there, sized and onto this thread tonight.

Oh your pond is exquisite! What a perfect shape and size. The central pot cascade is delightful. And I love the plantings around it, esp the black taro. Mine has only been here a year and doubled in size. Dav says it will want to conquer the yard. eek. Is that a lovely variegated ginger near the tree? It never makes it thru the winter here for me.


Your birdbath bed is so sweet. The white metal fence gives it a cottage-y feel. I was thinking you might enjoy some garden-sized blooming trees or tall shrubs along the back fence,,, such things as a short variety of crepe myrtle, some altheas, buddleia, Bird of Paradise shrub or desert willow to give the border some height. But then there might already be some in there, on their way up to fence height.
How are you keeping the grass out of the beds? I didn’t notice any edging. It is a constant challenge in my garden.

The latticework must make your back porch a lovely garden room surrounded by blooms. Excellent!

I've taken off your orig link up there, CAC, to make it open up a sep page

from here.

Thank you Maggie for moving them. I wonder why the others won't move over?
Well, the first picture on here is the fountain/pond. I can kinda see what David was saying too about the taro. It spread alot this year. I am into fountains, and was given pond plants, so DH and I dug out this shape, I find I lean towards formal garden shapes, straight lines. The var. ginger is in a pot,hidden by the ivy and ferns so I can bring it in during cold spells.

The picture with the birdbath is right now, and nothing is in bloom much. I had made that tiny bed and stuffed alot of roses in it then found I had to enlarge the area so the second one with the wrought iron is the inprocess bed. No, no edging yet, still trying to get the rest of the grass out. Against the railing are 2 Maggies, I am pegging them to the railing. I wish my camera did close ups, but they just end up getting a couple plants in the pictures that way. Where you suggested having a ornamental or flowering tree, I have Duchess De Brabant and a bit farther over from there is a white single Althea. The roses just haven't matured enough to grow above it. The wooden fence has from left to right carolina jessamine, Vielchenblau (I am training this rambler to run the length of the fence), then infront of vielchenblau is Dame De Couer, beside that is a couple minature cannas, then French Lace, then in the corner of lattice and wooden fence is Madame Iassac Perriere which I am training to the fence, with sliver lace vine behind it, on the lattice to the right is Lavendar Lassie, Cramoisi Superieur. The end of the lattice is the gate into the back yard, so I put 2 climbers along the walk way to later put in either a pillar or obelisk or trellis for these to grow into (trying to block the above neighbor and give myself a bit of privacy)those roses are Etoile De Hollande and Prosperity. In the middle of this area, I have used Natchidoches noisette, and 2 Caldwell pinks which I hope will surround the birdbath. There are daylillies and iris in here also for seasonal bloom... I am trying to figure out how to make that bed look neater, but everything is still growing so I am putting it off till winter and trying to draw out some ideas...any thoughts?


The trellis picture has climbing roses on all of the long areas, but they are so new it will take awhile before they cover it, from left to right I have to be the climbers New Dawn, Madame Iassac Perriere, middle arch is Jaune Desprez, to the right is Rev D'Or, and far right is Zephrine Droughin. I used cannas last year to help give off some shade while everything was growing in, but I didn't realise they were taking up all my nutrients for the roses! So they have been moved, and I filled in with Clematis's and a white hyacinth bean vine on each side this year... The porch gets the hot west sun, and needed something to help while it is growing in. There are also skyrocket junipers for winter color.

I have had a hard time defining the style I want to express, and the closest I can come to explaining is British Isles? Tropicals and roses with formal shape hedges/borders. Does that style name seem right? I can't keep grass out of the flower beds either, but the st augustine grass I have been pulling up as I go and plugging it into areas where grass is needed I would like to add more evergreens to border the flower beds and give structure to the areas, but can't figure out what to use, any ideas? I am leaning toward minature yaupons.... Thanks for your kindness on the areas, I have learned so much by trial and error, and still can't get it down. The wrought iron I hope to later do like yours with column posts, but the area isn't totally decided yet..I know it needs some type of color cohesion too, but haven't figured out how to do it there either... hehe, it is still a mess.

Okay, here is the pic I had in mind when thinking about fence line plants.

But gosh, you really have that area well planned and planted. It is going to be an absolute rose fest! I loved hearing which roses you used. So many luscious lavender ladies in there!

I wouldn’t worry about the neatness factor. I think when they mature more, and less soil is visible, it will achieve the look you are aiming for. Unless you are wanting a more symmetrical arrangement. And then there is the method of combining both naturalized (in the back of the border) and formal,,, by tidying up the front edge by repeating multiples of 3 or more types of low edging plants. They don’t have to be in a straight line or along a straight edge, or in repeated, matching combinations. It’s just the use of the same plants enmass that makes it happen.

That trellis planting is going to be awesome. Am looking forward to seeing it dripping with all that you describe!

My fav edging for beds on the same grade as lawn is the metal-staked kind. It doesn’t show much from the lawn side and lasts for decades.

I see what you mean about the combination of tropicals and roses reflecting the British Caribbean territory islands. In UK, it would be described as ‘colonial’, referring to the tropical “colonies”. That has such a different connotation than it does over here, doesn’t it? So,, maybe ‘British Colonial’ might capture it too. Neat.

Oh, I and I forgot to say earlier,, I’m so pleased you like the new fence wall, Cac. I designed it years ago and suffered the wait for it even longer than that. It’s only a tiny area but it sure took a long time to convince myself to invest in it. It seems the more trouble we have justifying a non-essential, the more we appreciate it when it finally comes to be and this certainly is one of those cases. Now that its done, my family thinks that we should have done it ages ago. Where were they when I needed to hear that, years ago? ;-) isn’t that always the way.

I agree on it being always the way! It is so hard to see the plants from the pictures I put up, here are some from the upstairs balcony looking down. Maybe this will help?

grrr. hehe I always liked a challenge! I can't get it to resize unless I put this in another proggie,so I will try one at a time, sorry

I moved all the mulch off the bed today so that I can get to the rest of the grass.

Now, after 2 years hubby isn't quite so gripey about the grass being moved out of certain areas. Hubby was real worried
when I took out the grass infront of where we put the trellis's way back, now he is adjusting , when that west sun doesn't hit
into the rooms behind the patio he decided maybe I was right. LOL!

The wrought iron was a freebie, and isn't perfect by a long shot, but being free, you find a use for it ;)

The location you had suggested me putting the flowering tree..I am not sure it will have enough room there. The cannas I
dug out this past spring and moved to another location, but I didn't get them all I later found. The roses haven't been in but a
year and a few months, so if I moved Dame De Couer and French Lace I could probably put one there, but it would be tight,
and take alot of the sun away from the roses. They only get sun from 11 am to about 4 pm, and then dappled sun. The
depth of the bed is deceptive in pictures, there is only about 4 feet between the bird bath and the wooden fence.. I am afraid
I may yet have to pull more roses out this fall as all the roses haven't even hit their stride yet

This bed has cement walkway where I was standing when I took the picture so it won't need to be edged with edging, but if I
went with herbacious border, I have the iris's (some are heirloom purple which bloom before anyothers) or daylillies, but no
room in the back by the fence. I would like to train Vielchenblau and Madame Iassac Perriere along wires like an espalier
going along the wooden part of the fence, then on the lattice part, I am trying to tie Lavendar Lassie to it. This was the only
way I could think of to fit 2 climbers along the area, and as both Maggie and MIP are both assumed Bourbons, they like
being pegged so I am pegging/tying these to either the wrought iron (Maggie) or lattice/wooden fence. I just plain out have
too many roses I could move Prosperity and Etolie De Hollande and not pillar any roses on that side, that would free up
some space..

Don't I sound lost? ( grin) The border I was thinking could be put on the side of the pillars next to the sidewalk so it would
keep some type of evergreen?

About spousal garden kibitzing ,, tell um, “He (or she) who digs, gets to choose”. Works wonders. ;-)

If Terry was around, he’d be having some fun with you about pegging or tying Maggie to a fence.

You don’t sound lost,,, you sound like a normal gardener to me. I don’t think you are at this point yet, (because you have everything well spaced for eventual growth) but we usually want to live with more plants than the current beds can hold. Which is why we keep widening beds or putting in new ones. My long border has been widened 3 times and I am wanting to do it again (total madness runs rampant in a garden). I want the background to be tall, which as you refer to,,, matures to shade the front plants,,, so out comes the shovel to move them forward. And I am notorious for overplanting, esp in this long growing season. Overplanting requires more grooming, which is the way I like to garden. I enjoy that part as much as any other. As always, a personal art is created with individual style. Unlike some other garden writers, I am of the opinion that there is no wrong way to garden, if it pleases the gardenmaker. Whoops got off the subject a bit.

I think you are doing a masterful job Cac, carefully considering a multitude of variables and planning for eventual effects. You have educated yourself well on each rose bushes characteristics and are calculating how you want to live with them. Best of all, you have thoroughly enjoyed the making of it and will forever reap it endless rewards. oxoxox

Thanks for the reassurances. I have spread this bed out twice, and have come to the no-spread zone ;) Cement does that for me. I did leave 3 or 4 feet from pillar roses for some type of evergreen.

I love the look of your knot garden, I think you used boxwoods there. I was curious if minature yaupons would be better hedges around roses because of the target boxwoods seem to be to spidermites? Here is a picture of a bed out in the front of my yard that I inherited when I bought the house, I really like the formal look of the hedging with free flowing plants inside so that during winter I keep some hardscape or visual interest...

Hi Cac, I'm still here. I'll re-size that pic for you. It takes a lot of load time when they are that big.

Yes, I've written about using the Yaupon for knots before. It is what I recc for topiaries and knots in sunny and winter exposed sites, where as box is better for the opposite. You can clip your hedge up there as tight as formal box. You are so right – the bed is a nice arrangement for a front garden that works thru all the seasons.

Thanks for the resize Maggie, thought I put in the smaller one. This bed needs major pruning, it looked really neglected when we moved in, plus there is a pop up sprinkler system that I have to leave passage to the plants thru it. I am not real good at pruning, my mom has tried teaching me, but I have such big branches which need major cutting back to get the shape correct. Would the min. yaupon work next to the walkway in the back yard on that bed without putting in a fence hedge? Or would it be way off balance?