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sweetannie4u

I went shopping for Drought Tolerant Plants...

Annie
12 years ago

and I came home with some beautiful plants that were on sale and a huge pot for my Japanese Maple.

Plants I bought:

* (1) Goldmound Spirea

* (3) Evergold Japanese Sedge (ornamental grass)

* (1) Anthony Waterer Spirea

* (1) Blue Rug Juniper

* (1) Purple Fountaingrass

* (1) Sungold Threadleaf Falsecypress

and (1) pot with three plants of Mexican Heather

The pot is too heavy for me to lift. It is a natural golden stone color and texture (concrete) has a basketweave pattern very reminiscent of Japanese artwork.

I have to go out to the Spider Dome and get a pickup truck-load of sandy-loam soil to build that area up before I plant everything in that corner bed.

I got really good sale prices on everything, including that huge pot. I will have to eat beans and cornbread for a month, but I don't mind. It's worth it to me! ('sides...I like beans and cornbread or chili with beans or "Goofed Up beans" - my mother's recipe, like Goulash only using pinto beans instead of macaroni. Delicious!)

Anyway, I'll go take pics so you can see my plants & the pot, and the corner bed where they will all go, since everyone likes pics. (LOL)

Here's a picture of what I have at the tip of that corner bed. This stuff will stay:

There are other bigger plants & bushes behind it and I am going to have to decide whether to move them or not.

There will be big rocks in this bed, as well - one will be standing on end in traditional Japanese fashion.

The red iron rocks are from our property. The granite rock came from my father-in-law's place in northern South Carolina.

~Annie

Comments (19)

  • crackingtheconcrete
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oooooooh, exciting!!! Can't wait to see pics :)

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I just set the pots of plants into the bed. I need to do a lot of work before I plant them in here. This is how I decide where to plant things.

    #2. Showing the Evergold Japanese Sedge grasses set around to the Snow Lantern.

    #3.Close-up of Evergold Japanese Sedge

    #4. Goldmound Spirea

    #5. Sungold Threadleaf Falsecypress

    #6. Blue Rug Juniper

    #7.Anthony Waterer Spirea

    #8.Purple Fountaingrass

    #9. Very large pot for Japanese Red Maple

    #10. View from patio side

    #11. Another view showing bare area and steps leading up to the upper Shade Garden and White Garden of my overall Cottage Garden.


    ~Annie

  • gardenweed_z6a
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I bought a Japanese sedge about 5 years ago and planted it between a couple hostas on the north side of my garage. I loved it right from the get go but have come to appreciate it more and more as the years pass since I've divided it about 4 times and gotten about a dozen divisions from it to plant in other parts of the garden. I don't remember what I paid for it but it has more than paid for itself and then some.

    Can't wait to see pictures of all your new treasures!

  • soxxxx
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm going to go shopping for herbs to replace all of those that had their lives snuffed out by drought. I hope some are available this late.

    The thymes just disappeared along with the winter savory, fennel, and marjorum. Three lemon verbenas held on all summer and then all died in one week. Chives have many yellow leaves and just 2 or 3 green ones.

    The ones left are some scraggly mint, a sage with brown edged leaves, half a basil, and the lemon grass.

    A surprise is a stevia that has grown tall and the stem is woody. It wilts and revives everyday.

    When I pull up a dead plant it has just a small rounded ball on the bottom of the stem - no roots. I guess they just boiled off.

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    soxxxx,

    Normally, unless the roots are gone too, your chives will come back next spring. So too your mints and fennel. Mine almost always go dormant in the hottest part of summer and die down, completely disappearing. But when the temps begin to cool down and we get moisture they come back up and I have fresh chives to harvest again until first frost. Yours might come back up too. Check to see if they have roots or bulbs down in the soil.

    Give your mint a "haircut", a side-dressing of compost, and water it and it might come back as good as new. Most herbs like sage, marjoram, mint, chives, oregano, thyme and etc., need to be cut back from time to time. They want you to give them a little pinch every time you walk by them. Harvest their leaves and stems often, for if you do, they will stay bushy, neat and tidy. :)

    I can't grow lemon verbena in the ground here because it freezes. Has to be grown in a BIG pot and brought inside in late summer/early autumn before the temps drop down below 50 degrees. Same deal for Lemon Grass. They are Tropical.

    Sage is easy to root from cuttings. Set your potted cutting in filtered sun or shade and keep the soil slightly damp (like a rung out sponge). In about 3-4 weeks, it will have roots.

    Basil is an annual and will die when temps drop below 50-55 degrees. It is super sensitive to cold. You can start new ones from cuttings. I just harvest the seeds and sow them in late spring or early summer (in early to mid-May here). They also come back volunteers every year in the garden from seeds. (hint: In late spring or early summer, when you see basil emerge in your garden, you will know it is safe to plant your tomatoes). ;)

    But, this has NOT been a normal year and the heat and drought will kill even drought-hardy plants like herbs.

    NOTE: If you know all this, then ignore it, but some people on here are 'newbies" and they might not, so I always post info for them.

    Thanks for visiting and posting on my topic.
    ~Annie

  • christinmk z5b eastern WA
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OH!!! I LOVE that Snow Lantern Annie!! Like the carpet evergreen and Evergold sedge around it too, it kind of reinforces the Japanese look, if you know what I mean. I'm going to have to be on the look for that Evergold carex, it has such a nice texture. Is the purple fountain grass perennial, or annual?
    Great haul Annie!
    CMK

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The tags says, "Perennial". I bought one before and it didn't come back. So, we shall see.
    The Snow Lantern is actually a Solar Lamp for the garden. I thought it was pretty darned cool! I bought it at Dollar General several years ago. Well, it worked for two years. It no longer works. I should have brought inside in the Fall, but I didn't. But, it is still pretty.
    I had a Japanese Garden and Koi Pond years ago. The pond is still there, but I drained it and took out the plastic liner. Raccoons systematically took out all my Koi and Butterfly Koi. The Bamboo is still growing there too. There are three types of Bamboo. I made a deer-chaser water thingy out of an old Tiki Torch Bamboo pole. It worked too! (I used to know the Japanese names for those things - Ha Ha)
    I even made a bamboo fence along the north side of it. But, I got sick and couldn't revamp it. So, I moved my Japanese garden ornaments up by the patio. I have a concrete Pagoda lantern too. Now that I am 98% well, I plan on rebuilding the pond and rebuilding the Japanese Garden down there.

    Okay....gotta go. "Torchwood - Miracle Day" is on!!!
    Thanks for visiting my topic.
    Hugs,
    ~Annie

  • crackingtheconcrete
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really like the water spirea and cypresses! Exciting to get to.add to an area! I always fry my little evergreen-type things, so I have forgone such cute little piney guys. I have Carex Evergold and I love it! Enjoy :)

  • gardenweed_z6a
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Annie - I checked Santa Rosa Gardens' website for that Evergold Japanese Sedge because I liked the photo of yours and they offer a lot of ornamental grass selections. It wouldn't work for my garden since I'm borderline Z6 but what caught my eye was their growing information that says this one likes consistently moist soil. Did yours come with a tag that said it was drought tolerant? The link below should take you to their web page with the growing information below the picture. I sure hope yours is a different cultivar.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Santa Rosa Gardens Carex Evergold

  • greyandamy
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Annie,
    I always read your posts with delight. And admire so much your love, passion and dedication. Sorry I never mentioned this before. I love your drought tolerant plants you purchased. You educated me, as I have some of what you purchased and I Never knew they were drought tolerant. (SMILE, would've saved me some water bill money in past).

    Anyway, I also am interested in Gardenweeds question about the question gardenweed had about the Evergold Japanese Sedge. Only, mainly, b/c I had purchased 2 of those this year and later read they wanted constantly moist soil. But then I tried to do more research, and got overall confused (sun, part sun, moist, whatever... so I opted for moist and wasn't thrilled I have another water needer.

    Anyway, let us know if you can.

    AS ALWAYS, your threads are more than inspiring, your enthusiasm helps kick my butt in gear (sometimes), and your photos are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing, have fun! Has it cooled down there and or rained yet????

    Amy from PA

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Gardenweed and Amy,

    My apologies - Well, I did go shopping for Drought Tolerant plants and bought them, but I saw the others and bought them anyway. Yes, the Evergold Japanese Sedges do have tags that says they need semi-moist soil, but the area I am planting them in is right next to the patio and closer to the faucet, so it gets watered more often. The soil there is deeper and richer too.

    However, I don't want to mislead anyone and cause them to kill their plants on my account.

    The evergreens like moisture, but good drainage, like Colorado Blue Spruce, for example. Not easy to do on flat land, but my place is on a hill and it drops anywhere from 4-12 inches per foot in most places and more in others, especially where I terraced. And I have lots of rocks.

    Tomorrow, I will post the tag info about each plant I bought. Hope that will clarify things for everyone.

    Amy, thank you dear for all the sweet comments you left for me. That is so nice of you! I know that I post lengthy comments most of the time, and often tell myself afterward that I probably shouldn't post all that, but I do-ed it anyway. Then I feel bad afterward - "OMG, Annie! TMI - Too Much Information!!!"

    So hearing that you and others like reading "Annie's Gardening Epistles" on here, helps me feel like less of a fool. Thank you.

    As to our temps? It is supposed to cool way down starting tomorrow night. Forecast says 50s at night and 80s during the day. Yahoo!!!! I can dig it!
    No rain yet, but I'll take it! It'll help so much!

    Love you all.
    ~Annie

  • gardenweed_z6a
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Whew! I'm glad I posted. I was SO worried I was going to (P) on your fire about having bought all those drought tolerant plants, I almost didn't post what I found on Santa Rosa's website! Like Amy, I've also enjoyed reading all your posts and could easily be an epic poster too if I didn't make the effort to be cryptic. Writing has never been a problem for me.

    Annie's Gardening Epistles never fail to inform and I enjoy reading them. Also love all the photos of your garden since I have no clue about design and try to glean ideas from everyone who posts. Whenever I'm struck by a design idea, it's more of an Aha! moment than something I've carefully planned. I'm currently planting divisions of Japanese sedge along the edge of a bed and interplanting lady's mantle. Source of my idea? Having enough divisions of Japanese sedge + enough lady's mantle plants simultaneously to implement the idea. I think that's called serendipity but whatever it's called, it hardly qualifies as garden design. S'okay--folks passing by won't know that.

    Last year's growing season was a 4 month long drought here in my little area of CT. This year we've had lots more rain so the mosquitoes are rampant and hungry, which makes working outside almost impossible. Given my druthers, I'll take the mosquitoes and rain since my flowerbeds are lush and full, seed-harvesting will soon be a full-time occupation and I can slap the mossies.

    So far this year we've had an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week. A tornado roared through early in the season just 6 miles north of where I am, lifting the Connecticut River up into the air. To have so many geological/weather events in stuffy old New England within months of each other just sets the stage for more extremes in the years ahead if what they say about climate change is for real. Having the opportunity to stay in contact with other gardeners helps to level set and reassure those of us who experience weather extremes.

    Bottom line?

    Thanks Annie.

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    * Carex hachijoensis, 'Evergold' (Evergold Japanese Sedge)
    Part sun - Morning light Only
    - cream and green grasslike leaves
    - mounding, clumping perennial
    - interesting swirling habit
    - great edging or groundcover
    - water usage -Semi-moist
    - Average size 16"-16"
    - Cold Hardiness (zone 5): -10 to -20 degrees F

    * Pennisetum setaceum, 'Rubrum' (Purple Fountain Grass)
    - Water - low, once established
    - Average size - 4-5 'X 4-5'
    - Cold Hardiness - (zone 9): 30 to 20 degrees F
    - requires excellent drainage

    * Juniperus horizontalis, 'Wiltonii' (Blue Rug Juniper)
    - 6 hours of full sun
    - water wise / deer resistant
    - Water - Low, once established
    - Average size - 1" X 6" (low and wide)
    - Cold hardiness: -20 to -30 degrees F
    - Note: deer resistant but not deer proof, depending upon scarcity of food.

    * Spirea X bumalda, 'Anthony Waterer'
    - (Flowering)
    - Full sun (6 hrs)
    - Compact deciduous shrub
    - New leaves are purplish red
    - bright red flowers
    - good filler or bank cover
    - Water - semi-moist
    - bloom time - Summer
    - Average size - 4' X 6'
    - Cold Hardiness: -30 to - 40 degrees F
    Not: Likes Sandy Soils

    * Spirea X bumulda, 'Goldmound' (Goldmound Spirea)
    - Full sun 6 hrs
    - low-growing, deciduous shrub
    - Pink blooms in late spring
    - Lovely golden, rounded foliage
    - Good for accent and shrub borders
    - Water: semi-moist
    - Average size: 3' X 4'
    - Cold hardiness: -30 to -40 degrees F

    * Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Sungold' (Sungold Threadleaf Falsecypress)
    - Water : Semi-moist
    - Average size: 3-5' to 4'
    - Cold hardiness: -20 to -30 degrees F
    Note: Mulch with 3-4 inches of bark chips to help keep roots cool in hot summer weather.

    So, there you have it!
    I have several 'fancy" spireas and all of them said "semi-moist" soil. All have gotten through every summer we've had so far, including this one. The key is mulching them thickly and watering them deeply. I set the hose to run slowly under them and allow the water to soak down deeply. Between these deep waterings, I water to keep the top mulch soil damp and help cool the topsoil.

    I consider these plants to be "Drought Tolerant" because even though they might need to be watered, they still grow well and look good through drought and high temps when many plants called "drought tolerant" burn up and look awful.

    It's a matter of perspective, I suppose. Shrubs do best here for me on the hilly prairies where summers and winters are both severe with lots of strong wind. (We have every- day winds like some of you experienced recently in the hurricane! When the wind gets up around 50-60 MPH you might hear someone say, "It's a bit windy today, ain't it." That's why we put our potato chips inside our sandwiches - so they don't blow away! (Hee hee hee)
    Springs and Falls are wonderful seasons here - moist and cool and that is when my gardens look their best.

    Even though Oklahoma is a relatively small state, there are 10 distinctly different Geological regions that cross the state diagonally from the northwest to the southeast. Altitudes range from nearly 4,000 ft above sea level in the highest region to 0 ft or sea level at our lowest point. Those 10 regions are so different. From desert lands and salt flats to woodland mountains and piney-wood forests; From prairie lands on flat lands or rolling hills to the hilly, rocky country with mixed wood forests. All distinctly different. Only two other states have that many geological regions: Texas and California.

    So, what it says on the tags vs what I KNOW will grow well here in my area of Oklahoma are not necessarily the same thing.

    Hope this clarifies things for all of you about my plant selections. Sorry again if it mislead any of you.

    ~Annie

  • newyorkrita
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Annie, looks like you did really good with your new plants. Your garden is already beautiful and now it will just be even more lovely!

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you Rita dear.
    How are you guys doing right now?
    More rain coming your way. oh boy.

    But those in the Appalachian region and down into Georgia are so needing that moisture.

    Our cool weather came in last night. Here it is 12:46 p.m. Noon and it is only 72 degree F! Can you believe that? Wow!
    I'm wearing jeans, and long-sleeved lightweight big-shirt and sneakers today. I haven't worn them in four months! It's been shorts and tanks and flipflops. Even though we aren't getting any rain (well, it misted early this morning), we have 82% humidity. The air has a cool, moistness and all the damp fallen leaves put the smell of Fall in the air. It's wonderful!

    I should be out there working in this coolness, but it's nice to take some time off and just sit and enjoy. My allergies are much improved with this moist air. Thank God. Thank God for this weather.
    ~Annie

  • newyorkrita
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are expecting more rain maybe tomorrow or the day after. The swollen rivers in NJ can't take more rain.

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    When I heard that the Tropical Storm rain was heading up your way, I cried - for us, it meant no rain that we so need, and for you along the East Coast because that is the last thing you need.
    On top of the rain coming your way in the next day or two, there is yet another hurricane or two brewing out there, and the next one is expected to head for the East Coast. Maybe it will stay further out in the Atlantic this time. Make sure all of you guys watch the weather. Stock up on drinking water, food and batteries and fuel for your generators, if you have one of those. Hurricane season lasts through October. :(
    October is often when we get another blast of deadly tornadoes and floods. Not sure if we will this year or not, but it's possible. :(
    What a terrible year for so many people all around the world!

  • prairiegirlz5
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    sweet annie~you have a lovely garden and such a generous spirit. It is so nice to read your detailed entries.

    I have literally plopped spireas in a hole at this time of year, and watered them in a few times at best. They are some of the easiest shrubs ever for me. I love their fall foliage too. I know they're common, but still...

    I am curious, what kind of soil do you have? I did not know that about the regions in Oklahoma, very interesting post.

  • Annie
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    prairiegirl,

    Not sure what kind of soil it is really. It has sand in it and shale-like substance to it and ground up iron rock from the underlying iron rock, so it is red looking, but it is very alkaline in most places. Our well water is very hard. The soil dries out way too fast and quickly leaches out anything nutrients that I add to it. It dries hard as rock. Even a Maddox has difficulty chopping into it. It's like try to chop through rock! I keep adding leaves, manures, hay, manure hay, pine needles, composted wood chips, and much more in an effort to improve it. The leaves and pine needles work better than anything, but manure hay is good to add in late Fall or early Winter after everything has gone dormant. I've hauled in sandy loam and that helps break up the hardness and the decomposed leaves in it adds nutrients and tilth.
    Wild animals dig up everything looking for insects and uprooting my plants. Sometimes the neighbor's cattle get loose and come onto our property, plowing through my fences and munching on everything that they don't stomp to the ground. It's an actual battle to garden here.
    It takes all the pleasure out of it way too often. But...I keep trying.

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