Oh Greenfreak, I need you!

tonksy

New Member
I'm not sure if i ever mentioned that one of Malory's teachers commited suicide last year. Anyway, the school devoted a corner of the playground to be Alex's garden...and of course not being plant people it's been very neglected. In fact, only 2 plants were planted - both butterfly bushes and I think they've died. So I have 2 questions:
1. Do you know when the butterfly bushes should show some signs of life if they are still alive?
AND
2. Could you help me come up with some ideas for perennial shrubs that do well in the sometimes cold winters, require not alot of care, and don't have thorns to cause an issue with children?
I plan on changing up the border of the garden with annuals for the different seasons.
 
on google image search, those look like lilacs to me. :confuse3:

If so, they`re deciduous. Here, every winter they become sticks and come back from that and flower by the end of their season. But being in a schoolyard as a memorial, I don`t know that you`ll have the leisure of time while waiting...perhaps a fill in of other flowers that bloom at different times in the meantime?
 
I think they may be in the lilac family but the grow much bigger and come in a bevy of color.
I was thinking of hardy geraniums, maybe a camelia...I dunno.
 
Butterfly bushes are pretty hard to kill, is there anything left of last year's plants? If so, wait another month or two, it should start leafing out. They can die back to the ground and are winter hardy in your zone (and mine).

For a shrub, I'll take a look in my books and mags for you. What about winterberry? I have one that never loses it's leaves and I'm in zone 7 too. It has red berries in winter that the birds like to eat. Between that and the butterfly bush, you'll have some interesting visitors that the kids would like.

This is a pic I took of winterberry last October:

winterberry_42.jpg
 
Those are pretty but are the berries toxic to people? I suppose it would be bad to plant a shrub with toxic berries.
 
Y'know, that's fucking brilliant. An elementary school teacher commits suicide, so let's do something that keeps that right in front of a bunch of impressionable children, and celebrate it. Why not hold a fucking parade next time.
 
On that note, a child collapsed in gym class at my kids` school (a school of 120 children where everyone knows each other well) last week, and yesterday they told all the kids the sad news that he`s not expected to survive. Without counsellors on staff, at 3:15, en masse. The entire school population came out sobbing hysterically at 3:30. I felt bad for the ones who don`t go home to their parents and would be dealing with that alone till 5:30-6 when mom and dad got home. I thought that was a very wrong way to go about the situation.
 
okay, her parents said she died of "complications from medication"...but the rest of us know the truth. She was very well liked by the children and they wanted to do something for her. I liked Alex and I want to do something for her. I don't condone the manner with which she died, If I did I wouldn't be here but I know what it's like to struggle with it. I mourn her and it makes everyone else feel better to have something nice come out of it.
 
tonksy said:
Those are pretty but are the berries toxic to people? I suppose it would be bad to plant a shrub with toxic berries.
I'm glad you're thinking straight because I certainly wasn't! Birds eat them so it didn't occur to me that they were toxic. I'm sorry about that. :(

How big is this area? Could you plant a tree? I mean a small one, like a dogwood or a japanese maple. It would lend shade to whatever you plant under it and would last a whole lot longer than a shrub. And if it's done right, it doesn't require all that much care, even in it's first years.

Then the kids could plant marigolds or pansies in the spring, you could plant tulip or daffodils in the fall, daylilies for the summer.

When I get home, I'll see what I can find in regards to evergreen shrubs. There are some I've had my eye on that are vareigated yellow and green or white and green. I just have to find out the name.
 
greenfreak said:
I'm glad you're thinking straight because I certainly wasn't! Birds eat them so it didn't occur to me that they were toxic. I'm sorry about that. :(

How big is this area? Could you plant a tree? I mean a small one, like a dogwood or a japanese maple. It would lend shade to whatever you plant under it and would last a whole lot longer than a shrub. And if it's done right, it doesn't require all that much care, even in it's first years.

Then the kids could plant marigolds or pansies in the spring, you could plant tulip or daffodils in the fall, daylilies for the summer.

When I get home, I'll see what I can find in regards to evergreen shrubs. There are some I've had my eye on that are vareigated yellow and green or white and green. I just have to find out the name.
There is enough room for a small tree or a large shrub. I would like to have something evergreen, that's why i was thinking a Camelia - maybe one that blooms in the winter because there will be enough annuals to plant around it in the spring and summer for color.
Pansies winter over here so I can plant them in the fall with some ornamental cabbage or parsley.
As far as the butterfly bush is concerned, I know there was 2 but now I only see one stick sticking out of the ground.
 
Not having much luck finding something colorful that is evergreen. The two just don't mix I guess. Evergreens are fairly boring. You might want to plant an evergreen for winter foliage and another shrub for in-season color.

Some possibilites, if you do a google search on these names, you'll find more info:

Heath - 'Erica' - evergreen flowering shrub, must must MUST have well draining soil. Will die quickly in soggy locations (this I know from experience unfortunately). Full sun, hardy to zone 7.

Smoke Bush - 'Cotinus coggygria' - green or deep purple leaves, flowers in summer. Hardy to zone 7 and drought resistant. You can keep it small by pruning in spring.

Osmanthus - this is the variegated one I was thinking before. It's evergreen, the variegated variety is osmanthus heterophyllus "variegatus". Hardy to 9 and very easy to grow.

The other shrubs in my books aren't really good for you; some with poison berries, thorns. Others are just plain ugly, unruly, or finicky.
 
Smoke bush has merit although, I believe I will probably settle for a camelia and plant spring and summer blooming things around it.
 
Nothing against camelia but I always see it in pink and it's no longer a color I like having in my garden. Or at least very pale, understated pink. I had a lot of "hot" colors in my garden when I first started and I've since toned it down. I think the white varieties are of camelia beautiful though!

So... Any plans on spring plantings yet?? A nursery I went to last year found a blog entry I wrote about them (why they were better than other area nurseries) and to return the favor, gave me a 10% discount on my first order. Quite an incentive, along with the 15% discount I get for being a club member. Of course, it's way too early to be planting anything and with the wedding and all, I don't know how crazy I'm going this year.
 
I have a yard again!!!!! I can have a garden!!!!! :jump:

All I have planned so far are herbs and some climbing peas, beans. Perhaps raspberry or strawberry?

I can`t WAIT to get out to the nurseries this year :D
 
I have a red camelia at the top of my driveway, it should be blooming any day now!
I have to wait to see what comes back from last year but i just plan on adding annuals here and there...although I do have more of the backyard fenceline to work with now that we are slowing getting rid of the liriope. I jokingly said we should sell it on ebay but I did a search and people are actually listing it and people are actually buying it!!
The problem spot on the side hill is still a problem but I've noticed that the Vinca vine we planted is doing well and should hit a growth spurt shortly. I plan on putting in more groundcover roses on that hill because the ones I planted last year did terrific. Rob needs to attack the juniper on that hill because it is beginning to eat the stairway.
 
Leslie said:
On that note, a child collapsed in gym class at my kids` school (a school of 120 children where everyone knows each other well) last week, and yesterday they told all the kids the sad news that he`s not expected to survive. Without counsellors on staff, at 3:15, en masse. The entire school population came out sobbing hysterically at 3:30. I felt bad for the ones who don`t go home to their parents and would be dealing with that alone till 5:30-6 when mom and dad got home. I thought that was a very wrong way to go about the situation.

update: I took the kids to school today, do to a large line up at Tim Hortons (coffee stop) we where late so I had to sign them in, so I was there when they announced the boy had passed away.
 
Leslie said:
I have a yard again!!!!! I can have a garden!!!!! :jump:

All I have planned so far are herbs and some climbing peas, beans. Perhaps raspberry or strawberry?

I can`t WAIT to get out to the nurseries this year :D

So what are you going to do after your 2 weeks of spring and 1 week of summer are gone? :p :winkkiss:
 
tonksy said:
I have a red camelia at the top of my driveway, it should be blooming any day now!
I have to wait to see what comes back from last year but i just plan on adding annuals here and there...although I do have more of the backyard fenceline to work with now that we are slowing getting rid of the liriope. I jokingly said we should sell it on ebay but I did a search and people are actually listing it and people are actually buying it!!
The problem spot on the side hill is still a problem but I've noticed that the Vinca vine we planted is doing well and should hit a growth spurt shortly. I plan on putting in more groundcover roses on that hill because the ones I planted last year did terrific. Rob needs to attack the juniper on that hill because it is beginning to eat the stairway.


I believe gin is made from juniper berries...;) :devious:
 
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