gardening question...

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Jenniferma

thanks-- I have noticed that the landscaping in my area is layered deep--- three plants or shrubs deep. Very different.. and the shrubs and plants of course are different too. I was surprised at how many holly bushes I have seen and that liatrope (sp) is everywhere too.

Various hollies are native (and practically invasive) and all sorts of them do very well here. They are reliable and make a nice accent even in winter.

If you mean the usually 6-8" clumpy grass-like border plants that typically send up light purple spires of flowers in bloom, those are liriope (pronounced luh-RYE-oh-pee in this area), there are dozens of inexpensive varieties, they are evergreen, very hardy, tolerate acid soils, and will grow nicely in full sun or deep shade, depending on type. Liriope can also be pronounced "instant success", which accounts in part for its popularity.

[normie]

By the way, welcome to northern Virginia. What part of Cleveland are you from? I went to elementary and junior high school in Cleveland Heights (many many years ago) and years later had an internship at Case. I have very fond memories of that town, although it gets too cold for me.

[claremarie]

One word of warning -- do NOT assume that it's safe to plant tender annuals just because the stores are selling them. Mother's Day is a good rule of thumb, although it is usually safe to plant some of the hardier things, like some herbs (but not basil), at the very end of April/beginning of May.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by normie

Here's a poster the arboretum created for the crape myrtles they bred for Northern Virginia. Beautiful photos, plus it tells you details about each one.

http://www.usna.usda.gov/graphics/us...rtlePoster.pdf

Wow, how did NOVA get so special we rated having all those trees bred just for us?

I recommend going to Meadowlark Gardens. They plant the same sorts of flowers you'll see in neighborhoods, but have every single variety of daylilies, peonies, etc. They know they're stuff, so when you see them planting tender annuals you'll know it's safe for you to do it too.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Wow, how did NOVA get so special we rated having all those trees bred just for us?

It helps that the National Arboretum is in our neck of the woods. The trees were probably bred for the arboretum, but since we share the same climate zone, we were the lucky beneficiaries.

[Jenniferma]

Originally Posted by normie

By the way, welcome to northern Virginia. What part of Cleveland are you from? I went to elementary and junior high school in Cleveland Heights (many many years ago) and years later had an internship at Case. I have very fond memories of that town, although it gets too cold for me.

Hey Normie.. we didn't grow up in Cleveland, but lived there from 1999-2009. We lived in Shaker Heights and South Euclid and then moved to Bay Village in 2004.

And you are very right.. it does get so cold there... although at least you usually don't get the miserable summers. We had a couple of summers where we only turned on the AC for few days tops. That I will miss!

Have a great day- Jen

[Jenniferma]

Originally Posted by saganista

We aren't San Francisco, but NoVa does have micro-climates. The eastern half of Fairfax and all of Arlington are Tidewater. Last frost between April 10 and 21. Western Fairfax and almost all of Loudon, PW, and Stafford are Piedmont. Last frost between April 20 and 30. Fauquier and Culpepper are Mountain. Last frost beween May 10 and 15.

The Cooperative Extension Service (Yay, them!) at VaTech has a handy reference map...

Vegetable Planting Guide and Recommended Planting Dates

thanks!~ that is very helpful!
jen

[Junes_reston]

Originally Posted by weezycom

Tulips don't do well more than a season or two because it isn't reliably cold enough long enough in the winter (and the squirrels like the bulbs), but daffodils, narcissus and daylilies do great and aren't so tasty to critters.

You are SO right. Several years ago, I bought some fancy tulip bulbs and carefully planted them in my front yard. Before they even had a chance to sprout the Squirrels were having picnic - digging them up, taking a bite, carrying them down the street. My neighbors thank me every year for the lovely tulips in their yards.

These must have been a hardy lot of bulbs because some are still coming up each year - not necessarily where they were the previous year, but they are a hardy lot.

A few years ago I started tulip bulbs indoors. When I planted them outside, I wrapped them in chicken wire and laid a layer of wide hole chicken wire just under the soil above the bulb and threaded the sprout through.

The squirrels can still smell them and try to dig them up, but when they hit the chicken wire they are totally perplexed. Unfortunately they are also stupid and will try to dig all day long. Apparently the word got out after the first season because they haven't been back in a while. But Spring is near and the new squirrels in the neighborhood may not have gotten the memo.

=======

In a shade areas, hostas are wonderful. Mine now take over one entire corner of my back yard. This year I separated them and plan to tier them. My neighbors did this and its awesome.

[ICS67]

Before you make any major investment in plants, find out from your neighbors what the deer problem (if any) is in your neighborhood and plant accordingly. Much of northern Virginia is awash in Bambi and Thumper, who delight in performing jihadi raids on landscaping. There may be a lot of hollies around here because that's one plant the deer don't like. Hostas, by the way, are to deer the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

The large gardening centers around here (Meadow Farms, Merrifield, Betty's Azalea Ranch) all have helpful guides on what plants are more deer resistant, although they always carry the disclaimer that it's not foolproof since the deer can't read the list.

[normie]

Originally Posted by ICS67

Hostas, by the way, are to deer the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

Yes, forget about Hostas. If you like the look of Hostas, Coleus is somewhat similar. Deer eat them, but not nearly as much as they'll chow down on Hostas. Try to get Coleus with black or red coloring--that coloring deters deer a little bit, too.

Hybrid tea roses are another plant to avoid here--an old fashioned rose garden is a deer's idea of a box of candy. Instead, plant Knockout Roses. You'll see Knockout Roses all over northern Virginia, often used as a landscaping plant in office parks. The reason they're used so much is the deer avoid them.