Gardeners! Share your garden photos and garden chatter here.

[cgw]

I have some metal stakes that are like very thin rebar with a hook on the end. They go about 2’ into the ground. I’ll probably use those to hold it down. Will see how substantial it seems once I put it together. I guess I should do it now as I won’t be able to return it if I wait until next year. Better to find out over this winter if it’s stable in the wind than when it has a year’s worth of growth on it.Contact

Happy to share the obelisk-build video if it's of any interest.

 

[SquarePeg]

Happy to share the obelisk-build video if it's of any interest.

That would be awesome! Thanks.

 

[cgw]

That would be awesome! Thanks.

The huge 8 footer she builds can be scaled down. Mine are 6ft and 7ft. The base should be narrowed a bit for reduced height versions. Her spacer jig and square frame for assembly help enormously. Paint/stain before screwing it all together.

 

[mjcmt]

Advice Needed Here.

We lived in a townhome and have a very small backyard. We've been here 16yrs. Plants have come and gone over the years. I just yanked out all the ground cover as it's gotten woody, relocated one plant and 5 annual flowers and put down mulch in prep for winter. Our path needs stepping stones as the crushed slate is no longer available. The garden is horrible looking and doesn't make you want to be there. It's a bit bare now that flowers aren't blooming and are cut back for winter. I'd like to have some plants to have some green year round, as our winters are semi-mild. We're thinking of trying another large pot w/ a trellis and climbing rose, between windows and door. We've tried container plants too and nothing seems to work.

If I post some pictures can you guys/girls help me with some ideas? We live in zone 7 of North Carolina and our budget is minuscule.

Shot w/ a 35mm lens on a full frame camera to give a pretty natural perspective instead of a much wider lens, even though space is small.

Wall with trellis is our garage, wall w/ windows is our townhome.

 

[SquarePeg]

@mjcmt how much sun do you get back there? Morning or afternoon? What’s on the existing trellis?

 

[mjcmt]

@mjcmt how much sun do you get back there? Morning or afternoon? What’s on the existing trellis?

4 hrs sun in the winter. Trellis is afternoon sun, townhome is morning sun. Carolina Jasmine on trellis that I just planted this year so haven't seen the yellow flowers in spring.

Thinking of some kind of miniature potted climbing rose between home windows and glass door. Maybe some kind of small shrub in the island area. Don't know. I'm not good at this.

 

[mjcmt]

Homebrew obelisks. A serious test of my eighth-grade carpentry chops...

New homes for an ancient climber and an elderly Bourbon waiting for cooler weather before pruning and transplant to better surroundings.


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Are these like a trellis?

 

[cgw]

Are these like a trellis?

Yup, free-standing as opposed to near wall-mounted. Mine are for very old roses, both transplant candidates, that need to be moved for a fence rebuild. Tons of room on a 170+ year-old family property whose grounds and beds we're reviving. Obelisks are just free-standing trellises for anything that climbs. Might work for you?

 

[SquarePeg]

4 hrs sun in the winter. Trellis is afternoon sun, townhome is morning sun. Carolina Jasmine on trellis that I just planted this year so haven't seen the yellow flowers in spring.

Thinking of some kind of miniature potted climbing rose between home windows and glass door. Maybe some kind of small shrub in the island area. Don't know. I'm not good at this.

I haven’t tried climbing roses yet, but that is definitely on my list for next year. If you’re looking for small trellises you can put in pots, I got a few of these at Lowes and really like them. I plan to use them for mandevilla in tall pots along my fence next year. That might look nice along your white fence…

Clematis are pretty climbers. And so many options.

 

[mjcmt]

I haven’t tried climbing roses yet, but that is definitely on my list for next year. If you’re looking for small trellises you can put in pots, I got a few of these at Lowes and really like them. I plan to use them for mandevilla in tall pots along my fence next year. That might look nice along your white fence…

View attachment 260451


Clematis are pretty climbers. And so many options.

I looked up your recommendations. Aren't mandevilla a tropical plant that can't get bellow 50 degrees? I bought one and will need to have it indoors for the winter. Clematis on the other hand looks like a possibility for a potted plant on the patio by the door.

 

[SquarePeg]

I looked up your recommendations. Aren't mandevilla a tropical plant that can't get bellow 50 degrees? I bought one and will need to have it indoors for the winter. Clematis on the other hand looks like a possibility for a potted plant on the patio by the door.

Yes my understanding is that they need to be brought inside or some people treat them as an annual here in zone 6. I don’t know what zone NC is… seems tropical from up here

I’ll try taking them in to see how it goes. I have my lemon tree inside already this year as we’ve had some cold nights. I don’t have a sunroom but my living room and dining room have a lot of south facing windows.

I like mixing annuals in pots in with my perennials so I can move things around based on where I need color as things bloom and fade.

 

[SquarePeg]

Well I thought I was done planting for this year after deciding to wait on a new tree for our back yard - I prefer to plant in fall but nothing looked good. Last night I went out to get a couple of bags of mulch and found knockout roses on clearance $13 for the large 2 Gal plants. I’ve been waiting for a sale to finish off the fence line so I snapped up 5. They were a bit rough looking but will be fine once planted with some good compost. I guess I know what I’m doing on Sunday!

In other garden news, my cosmos that I planted from seed took forever to flower but are now absolutely gorgeous!! Too late for the butterflies to enjoy but the bees are having a party.

 

[SquarePeg]

Woke up Sunday with a sore back. Had to power through with some Advil and get the roses planted before the cold got to them. It’s been beliw 50 the past few nights. Tried my new lazy gardener method of digging the holes right in the grass, planting then covering the grass and weeds around the plants with cardboard, soil then mulch. It worked well in the back garden so hopefully this will work out as well. I’m hoping there will be less weeds than with the tiller!

I finished it off after work today with the cardboard and mulch but was too focused on getting it done before dark that I forgot to take the photos while it was in progress.

 

[mjcmt]

Woke up Sunday with a sore back. Had to power through with some Advil and get the roses planted before the cold got to them. It’s been beliw 50 the past few nights. Tried my new lazy gardener method of digging the holes right in the grass, planting then covering the grass and weeds around the plants with cardboard, soil then mulch. It worked well in the back garden so hopefully this will work out as well. I’m hoping there will be less weeds than with the tiller!

View attachment 260690

View attachment 260691
I finished it off after work today with the cardboard and mulch but was too focused on getting it done before dark that I forgot to take the photos while it was in progress.

can't wait to see pix next spring

 

[Ysarex]

Time's Up!

First frost is tonight followed by a hard freeze tomorrow night. Time for a pot of green tomato soup! Last harvest is about 15 pounds including some green ones. Canon G7