I can not remember the actual date I was in Missouri when I was greeted with the clouds of Dogwood blossoms. I had seen Dogwoods in bloom in yards and gardens, and they are gorgeous, but to see them in their native habitat was nothing short of amazing!! The density of blossoms is considerably less, but the overall effect was considerably better! I do not believe anyone would ever describe a White Dogwood growing in someone's garden as delicate, as they are usually a solid mass of blossoms. Beautiful, yes, wonderfully horizontal, yes, but delicate?? No!!
However, when the Dogwoods are growing as they occur naturally, as an under story tree in a timber of mature specimens of mostly oaks and hickories, the effect can only be described as delicate! Again, I apologize for not shooting any pics, and I will try to remedy next spring!
I am recounting the Dogwood story because they are what steered me in the Native direction. The were so beautiful I decided it would be fun to try to use only Missouri natives in any plantings. I appreciate native plants, but I am NOT a person who is nutty about "only natives". I was at a function last year, and another attendee was, well, spewing, about "everyone should only plant native plants, because it helps you get in touch with where you live, the soil you live on, you become part of the planting...blah-blah-blah". I like to use natives if they are attractive, or serve a function, or make my gardening life easier!!!
One side of the house in Missouri is mostly timber, so I decided I would buy a couple of small Dogwoods and get them started right away. My big problem was I would be planting in about 6" of gravelly soil, unless I could find a pocket of deeper soil. Now, I know the Dogwoods can live and thrive in that habitat, but I was not about to use a pickax to try to dig a hole to put a 5' Dogwood in, plus I knew my chances of "Dogwood Success" would improve if I could find some seedlings to install. I looked online, and that is where I found "Missouri Wildflowers Nursery". By this time the summer was already shaping up to be pretty hot, plus we realized we needed some tree work to be done on that side of the house, and since I did not want to try to protect little 12" trees from crews with chain saws and tree climbing spikes, the dogwood project is on hold until next spring!
But, I have begun some plantings, so next time I will recount those efforts, and the problems I am encountering...can you say "chiggers" ?????
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
A Beginning
I had decided to document the story of my Missouri glade creation on Facebook, but then I realized it is hard to go very far back on FB, so I started this blog as my permanent record.
My husband and I purchased a property in Missouri last January. It has no lawn to mow.....YES!!!..., but as many homeowners in the area have done, a previous owner covered much of the property in rocks. The rocks are native to the area, but it is basically a 1"-2" sized gravel mulch, ranging from 2" to 5-6" deep, and underneath is a very heavy duty woven landscape fabric. The house was built in 1985, and I assume the rocks and fabric were put in place then. So by now, there are weeds and some small shrubs growing right up and through the rocks and fabric. The front of the house has a small planting area, then a walkway, then in front of, and up from, the walkway, 2 terraced parking spots. I have begun to deal with the small planting area directly in front of the house, and I will discuss it some, but my main emphasis for this blog is the back side of the house.
The back side is a fairly steep, east/south-east, very exposed hillside. At this point it is totally covered in said rock mulch and fabric. There is a small terrace, I believe it appears man-made, but I have not dug into it. There is an area at the bottom, towards the west, that flattens out, it is probably 12' x 12'. Unfortunately for me, it is covered not only in the rock mulch, but someone "landscaped" it by spreading some horrible dyed red cedar mulch over the top of the rock mulch, to the tune of about 8"!!!!! YUCK!!!!!
I am not wanting this "get away and relax" spot to be more work than our home in the country in Princeton, but I hate looking off the deck at a rock mulch and red dyed mulch. I have always been interested in using native plants in landscaping projects, and last winter I had given some thought to having any plantings at this place be only Missouri natives. Three things have turned that thought into a firm decision.
First, the list of Missouri native plants is something a plant lover can drool over......Passion Vines??? Are you kidding me?? I assumed they were a tropical vine!!!! Three Clematis, eight Sedges, eight Asters, five Coreopsis, three Callirhoe, five Solidagos, Salvia azurea......FABULOUS last week along US 54.., seven Rudbeckias, four Penstemons, a native Rose Mallow (Hardy Hibiscus), four Echinaceas, five Phlox, and on and on, but of course, two of the most fabulous natives, Missouri Primrose and White Flowering Dogwood........it was amazing to see the primrose growing and blooming last summer along said Highway 54, right out of rock cliffs, and just by chance I was fortunate enough to be down there late winter to see the Dogwoods blooming....the woods were literally full of them, the Oaks and Hickories had not yet greened up, so there was the timber floor of brown leaves, then from about 10' to 25' a delicate cloud of white Dogwood blossoms, then the canopy of mature trees, still bare, and on that weekend, a beautiful blue sky!! (no, I did not get any pics, dang!)
Second reason: I discovered a wonderful nursery, "Missouri Wildflower Nursery", just off US 54, a few miles west of Jefferson City, which we go by every trip down there. They have retail sales there, and do a lot of mail order, also. The place reminds me of Hornbakers, you leave Rt. 54, go just a short distance on a spur road, then turn onto a narrow, gravel, winding, hilly lane to get to the nursery. You are sometimes greeted by a couple cats, and all employees I have encountered are just laid-back plant people! They have a terrific selection, and 99% of their seeds and plants are of Missouri genetic material. But, I confess, what I REALLY like about them is the fact that most of their plant material, esp the perennials, are in what is basically a "sleeve", which is only about 3" across, so only a small planting hole is required, which you will find out is future blog entries is VERY important!!
Third reason: the HORRIBLE weather we had this summer!! As stated, I do not want this place to turn into a lot of work, I just want some plants and flowers to enjoy, and to putz with, yes. This last summer convinced me that the only way to go is with natives, and even then, I will have to be very selective. I am hoping that by carefully choosing and placing my plantings, I will eventually have some plantings that will survive on said exposed hillside, and not perish if I am not there to tend them every week!! Did I say hoping???????Maybe praying??????
I will end my introduction to my blog here. I will try to begin to tell my tale of the obstacles I am facing, a bit more about "glades", a report on what I have done thus far, and some pictures, in future writings!
I hope anyone reading this gets some enjoyment from it, and if no one reads it, it is still a great way for me to document this project! Maybe I will even fancy up the site someday!
My husband and I purchased a property in Missouri last January. It has no lawn to mow.....YES!!!..., but as many homeowners in the area have done, a previous owner covered much of the property in rocks. The rocks are native to the area, but it is basically a 1"-2" sized gravel mulch, ranging from 2" to 5-6" deep, and underneath is a very heavy duty woven landscape fabric. The house was built in 1985, and I assume the rocks and fabric were put in place then. So by now, there are weeds and some small shrubs growing right up and through the rocks and fabric. The front of the house has a small planting area, then a walkway, then in front of, and up from, the walkway, 2 terraced parking spots. I have begun to deal with the small planting area directly in front of the house, and I will discuss it some, but my main emphasis for this blog is the back side of the house.
The back side is a fairly steep, east/south-east, very exposed hillside. At this point it is totally covered in said rock mulch and fabric. There is a small terrace, I believe it appears man-made, but I have not dug into it. There is an area at the bottom, towards the west, that flattens out, it is probably 12' x 12'. Unfortunately for me, it is covered not only in the rock mulch, but someone "landscaped" it by spreading some horrible dyed red cedar mulch over the top of the rock mulch, to the tune of about 8"!!!!! YUCK!!!!!
I am not wanting this "get away and relax" spot to be more work than our home in the country in Princeton, but I hate looking off the deck at a rock mulch and red dyed mulch. I have always been interested in using native plants in landscaping projects, and last winter I had given some thought to having any plantings at this place be only Missouri natives. Three things have turned that thought into a firm decision.
First, the list of Missouri native plants is something a plant lover can drool over......Passion Vines??? Are you kidding me?? I assumed they were a tropical vine!!!! Three Clematis, eight Sedges, eight Asters, five Coreopsis, three Callirhoe, five Solidagos, Salvia azurea......FABULOUS last week along US 54.., seven Rudbeckias, four Penstemons, a native Rose Mallow (Hardy Hibiscus), four Echinaceas, five Phlox, and on and on, but of course, two of the most fabulous natives, Missouri Primrose and White Flowering Dogwood........it was amazing to see the primrose growing and blooming last summer along said Highway 54, right out of rock cliffs, and just by chance I was fortunate enough to be down there late winter to see the Dogwoods blooming....the woods were literally full of them, the Oaks and Hickories had not yet greened up, so there was the timber floor of brown leaves, then from about 10' to 25' a delicate cloud of white Dogwood blossoms, then the canopy of mature trees, still bare, and on that weekend, a beautiful blue sky!! (no, I did not get any pics, dang!)
Second reason: I discovered a wonderful nursery, "Missouri Wildflower Nursery", just off US 54, a few miles west of Jefferson City, which we go by every trip down there. They have retail sales there, and do a lot of mail order, also. The place reminds me of Hornbakers, you leave Rt. 54, go just a short distance on a spur road, then turn onto a narrow, gravel, winding, hilly lane to get to the nursery. You are sometimes greeted by a couple cats, and all employees I have encountered are just laid-back plant people! They have a terrific selection, and 99% of their seeds and plants are of Missouri genetic material. But, I confess, what I REALLY like about them is the fact that most of their plant material, esp the perennials, are in what is basically a "sleeve", which is only about 3" across, so only a small planting hole is required, which you will find out is future blog entries is VERY important!!
Third reason: the HORRIBLE weather we had this summer!! As stated, I do not want this place to turn into a lot of work, I just want some plants and flowers to enjoy, and to putz with, yes. This last summer convinced me that the only way to go is with natives, and even then, I will have to be very selective. I am hoping that by carefully choosing and placing my plantings, I will eventually have some plantings that will survive on said exposed hillside, and not perish if I am not there to tend them every week!! Did I say hoping???????Maybe praying??????
I will end my introduction to my blog here. I will try to begin to tell my tale of the obstacles I am facing, a bit more about "glades", a report on what I have done thus far, and some pictures, in future writings!
I hope anyone reading this gets some enjoyment from it, and if no one reads it, it is still a great way for me to document this project! Maybe I will even fancy up the site someday!
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