This is Serious

side of house

This is the south side of my house.  It is the first thing you see as you drive past and it is so lack-luster.  I have spent the last week buried in plant catalogs and flickr searching for foundation plantings that would help cover the not-so-good areas while still maintaining a cottage garden look (I know there isn't much of a garden as it is now, but I'm trying!).  There is already a highbush cranberry and a mock orange planted to hide the gas line and a lilac will be planted to the left of the chimney.  But what to plant under the window and in front of the chimney?

I'm thinking roses.  I have been voraciously reading about growing English roses in cooler climates.  We flirt with a zone 5 here because of the river so I'm going to plant some of the hardier varieties such as Eglantyne , Heritage , or A Shropshire Lad .  The worst that could happen is that I'm out the twenty bucks I spent on the plant, right?  Like this has never happened before.  But it would be so great if they would grow here and I think its worth taking the chance.

flower factory catalog

And as if I haven't been spending every waking moment with my Jung's and Klehm's catalogs, this arrived today.  Its the plant list for the Flower Factory , an anxiety inducing perennial wonderland.  This month has gone by pretty quickly and it will soon be planting time.  I hope our tax refund gets here fast because this is serious.

Comment
Re:

Posted by lindsey
on : Friday March 28, 2008 at 13:54

I was at the Fellys Greenhouse yesterday and thought of you and Scott. I was getting flowers for Doris and picked up a little something for myself as well...sadly my black thumb will probably kill it within a week :)
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Re:

Posted by Lisa
on : Monday March 31, 2008 at 11:56

I think every house should have roses under the window! My childhood bedroom had a red climbing rose beside my window and each night in June as I lay in bed I felt that surely that was the smell that princesses fell asleep to every night.

Here in colder zones of Canada people have good luck with the "Explorer" series of roses, which were developed here to withstand climates like yours. I don't know if you can get them where you are, but they might be worth looking into.

Looking forward to seeing your "after" pictures!
Comment
Re:

Posted by julie
on : Wednesday April 02, 2008 at 08:54

Your attitude toward gardening is perfect...there really is not much that could go "wrong". I think roses are a great idea and suggest that you take a look at the new low-maintenance "shrub" roses like Bonica, Fairie, and the very popular "knock out"s. I have all three of these and they bloom like crazy with very little work.

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