(no subject)

[the_rck]

I now have a third raised bed. All that's left to do is to put in dirt and plants. To that end, I'm trying to figure out what I want to plant. To that end, I'm making some notes about what I think I want and what the limiting parameters are.

That side of the house faces west. That leaves the raised beds in shade in the mornings, and there are trees near the street that shade parts of the raised beds later in the day. If I understand correctly, that qualifies as 'partial sun' for the purposes of selecting plants. 2-5 hours of full sunlight doesn't make for 'full sun' as defined by gardeners.

I need things that are low maintenance. I can't manage a vast amount of weeding, so I need plants that can hold their own against weeds either by out growing them or by over shadowing them. I don't deadhead flowers because it's too much work. I want to avoid mints because, once I plant them, they'll be there forever and a week. I love lemon balm, but it would get loose in the yard or, at least, take over the bed. I might some day do that with the smallest raised bed, if the rue and dill suddenly die. (There's Chinese ginger there, too, but I don't expect that to last. It has two leaves this spring, and a patch of bad weather could carry it off. Buying it was a gamble as it's better in a zone with a slightly warmer climate.)

I'm allergic to many flowers and don't want them near my front door. I'm also allergic to some sweet scented herbs (I will not, for example, be planting lavender). Flowers with little scent can be nice, and Cordelia would probably like some.

I already have sage, dill, cilantro (which I don't much like either in taste or scent, but Cordelia gave me the original plant), winter savory and rue. I also have violets and ajuga attempting to take over the big raised bed. Fortunately, the sage and winter savory are holding their own. Those are all, apart from the cilantro and dill which seed themselves, perennials. I like perennials but am willing to consider annuals.

I'm not against vegetables, but no one in our household eats tomatoes or peppers. We do eat zucchini and summer squash, and Cordelia loves cucumbers, but I'm not sure I can grow those in the raised bed.

I've planted some thyme between the previously completed raised beds and the front walk. I'm willing to plant some more but not a lot more. My previous experience with it suggests that it can't out-fight bigger plants very well.

Some time this week, I'll be going looking for plants to buy. I'm trying to make a list to take with me. I think I will get two rue plants because I like the insect repellent qualities and think that one in each of the beds that doesn't currently have a plant might help. Who knows? I may also get a pineapple sage plant. I love how they smell. I'm mainly hesitating because they're not able to survive a Michigan winter. I'm not willing to dig such a thing up to bring it inside and wouldn't have anywhere to put it but the basement if I did.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[kyrielle]

Carrots or lettuce, maybe? Or see if cucumbers will play nice (if they don't, so what?). I have no idea if they'd make it.

For flowers, columbines if they don't give you allergy issues, they can be lovely.

I am amused by the degree to which my side yard consists of plants that would be a problem for you one way or another. (Lavender, which is where I only get exposed to it when I want to be; tree peonies, which I suspect would be an allergy issue, they are for me but I love them; columbines; peppermint; lemon balm.... The mint and lemon balm are in pots below ground to try to keep them where they are wanted, though.)

[the_rck]

I have one planter that I could empty to put in lemon balm, and I may do it. I'd have to resign myself to it not surviving the winter I think, but I could do it. I don't think that I want to bury a pot in order to contain anything in the raised bed. At least, I don't want to do it this year. I might some other year.

There are a lot of lovely plants that I can't have in close. Some are in our backyard, and I just stay away from them, but the raised beds are in a place where I'll go by them most days and are meant for me to play with.

As far as allergies go, I find flowers less annoying than scented handsoaps. It's unpleasant to wash my hands and then have my nose itch (at best) whenever my hands come near my face. We've found a few that are safe, but I never know when I run into a new soap whether or not it will be dangerous on my hands.

[just-the-ash.livejournal.com]

Hmm. There's rosemary; that's for remembrance... Sorry, I just saw an epically godawful version of Hamlet (like, by "epic," I mean "they left out Fortinbras") given the MST3K treatment in which Ophelia, during her mad scene, is cheerful as she tells Gertrude to wear her rue "with a difference."

[the_rck]

I've got some rosemary in standalone pots. I want to be able to bring it inside for the winter as it's not capable of surviving our winters outside. I may need to bring it in sooner as it's mildewing due to the rain we've been getting. If it survives the rain and the rest of the summer, I'll probably give two of the three plants away in the fall. I only wanted one, but they were a Mother's Day present, and the giver thought more was better.

I've seen that MST3K episode. I could only deal with that version of Hamlet by thinking about the history of theater class I took and the how to stage Shakespeare class, both of which talked about the variety of ways in which Hamlet has been adapted and butchered over the centuries. That let me put this particular version in perspective so that I didn't flee.

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

My garden is overflowing with calendula and blue nigella ("love in the mist") if you'd like some of either of those. They are both annuals that re-seed. I could also pass you a clump of very tall purple irises that are absolutely gorgeous for a few weeks each spring. I got some lemon balm at a plant swap a year or two ago, but then dug it up and composted it because it was trying to take over my vegetable garden and I knew I wasn't going to use it. It is somehow back again this year, and thriving. So, I think it will get through the winter here. You're welcome to my clump if you would like it, either now or at some point in the future (if I haven't already composted it again). You're also welcome to columbine seeds -- I'll have lots soon. My neighbor has parsley that grows happily in her yard and re-seeds itself; I wonder if that would work for you. I wonder if some kinds of sedum would work for you. I have a bright yellow sedum that is growing like gangbusters; I'd be happy to dig up a chunk and bring it by to see if it will transplant. Forget-me-nots are gorgeous and indestructible; I'd be happy to bring you either some babies or some seeds. (I'm not sure which flowers you are okay with.) Mammoth basil? Coleus plants, with their pretty red leaves, might be ideal for what you described.

[the_rck]

I'll be amazed if you manage to get rid of the lemon balm entirely. It's in the mint family and is as stubbornly invasive as any of the other varieties. My main concern about it over-wintering is when it's in a pot because that means that the roots aren't insulated. I love the way lemon balm smells. I just don't want to release yet another variety of mint because I've been bad about that.

We have peppermint and catnip in the backyard, fighting things out with the bindweed. We have apple mint along the driveway. We have catnip around the new raised bed and soon to be buried under fifteen or so inches of dirt in the bed. We have chocolate mint growing in the rocks of the front driveway corner of the house.

All of the plants you've described sound possible. I'm now dithering. People are being generous in offering possible plants.

[booniverse.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest cosmos if you aren't allergic to them. They are reseeding annuals and mine reseeded quite enthusiastically.

I'll also put a plug in for strawberry plants. LunarGeography has them all mulched in her garden bed and they seem to be pretty care free. Mine are not mulched and are lost in a haven of weeds somewhere but have managed to colonize more garden than I was originally going to give them. I'm going yoink them out next spring and build a raised bed for them and then plop them back in a contained environment. I know next spring is probably further along than you want but you are welcome to whatever I don't put back in the raised bed (which will probably be quite a lot of plants, they've gone feral).

[the_rck]

I'll plant some annuals this year and take you up on the strawberries next year. Cordelia would adore them even if they don't produce much fruit. I won't want more than about four plants, though, not unless Scott goes through with his idea of a fourth raised bed (to cover where that pallet of bricks used to be).

I'm not sure about cosmos. I think I need to do some googling about the plants you and evalerie have suggested so that I know what they look like. Part of me wants one of everything (the same part that wants to read every book ever written).