Bamboo Fence

Bamboo Fence at Busch Gardens

December 16, 2010

During our visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida I noticed the effective use of bamboo as a living screen and bamboo sticks as camouflage screening.  Bamboo grows quickly and rather tall making it ideal for use as a living privacy screening not only from side views but also views from taller adjacent buildings.   It can help as a sound barrier as well.  There are even cold hardy bamboo varieties that will withstand harsher winter conditions.  Bamboo grows from rhizomes so has a spreading tendency that can become invasive so it is best to use some type of containment to keep the plant from spreading too much. 

Bamboo sticks can be used to camouflage an ugly chain-link fence or even the side of a building to give a more natural look in the garden.  Pictured is a camouflaged tall chain-link fence surrounding a construction site at Busch Gardens.  I thought it was a nice solution that gave a nice feel while hiding the mess of the construction from visitors.  If you look closely between the bamboo sticks and the chain-link fence you can see a thin mesh material that was used to reduce visibility through any gaps left by the bamboo sticks.  I really liked the overall effect!  In the home garden this type of screening would be easy to duplicate.  It could be softened further by using the screen to support flowering vines. 

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

A Walk-a-bout the Gardens

Each time I do a walk-a-bout the gardens I discover new plants. I'm excited even though I am sorely missing my main vegetable garden this year. Plans are underway for a late season garden as soon as it cools a bit more at night. I'm hoping to plant towards the third week of August for our zone. In the meantime I've been starting herbs and discovering what is already growing here.

Daylily

Daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.) are hardy, adapatable and rarely bothered by pests. Their showy, trumpet shaped flowers are sure to please. As perennials they are very easy to care for. The only place they do not grow well is near trees. They like full sun, regular water and occasional fertilizing. Deadheading will keep the plants tidy and may encourage some daylilies to rebloom but it not really necessary. Daylilies are propagated by root division every 3 to 5 years.

There are several clumps of daylilies here that won't be able to be identified until they bloom. I suspect at least one will be the common Tiger lily. I have not identified this daylily that is quite similar to Dark Star that is growing in the outer most yard. This daylily is undeniably orange instead of the deep rose of Dark Star. So I will have to do a little research.

Morning Glory

Morning Glories (Convolvulaceae sp.) are my favourite flowering vines so I was delighted to discover a couple of very small vines in the front garden. Spiral shaped buds open to funnel shaped flowers. New flowers bloom daily opening in the morning and dying off by late afternoon. Morning glories can be trellised and used as privacy screens. They will not attach to siding or brick making them ideal flowering vines for the side of houses. Most morning glories in our zone are annuals but these appear to be perennial.

Bird's Nest

There is always something special about discovering a bird's nest. This is the second one I've found since moving here. It is in the branches of a small ornamental tree near the front door. The nest is high enough that I can't see into it but there doesn't appear to be any activity.

We have a nice variety of birds in the gardens. A pair of cardinals visit daily as do several sparrows and house finches. Other identified birds that visit include: Baltimore Oriole, Cowbirds, robins, bluejays, grackles, redwing blackbird, goldfinches, swallows and Northern flickers. There is also a wide variety of water fowl. I haven't seen a hummingbird visiting yet but know they are in the area as are woodpeckers, nuthatches and many more. It will be interesting documenting the various bird species visiting our new gardens.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2007

Last Thursday was moving day. It was an extremely long and tiring day yet I was up at the crack of dawn to explore our new surroundings. I did a walk about the gardens with the camera noting some of the plants that I haven't grown before or have very little experience with.

Greenspace

Our property is on a deadend road. A greenspace dotted with a stand of trees separates our road from the main road. The greenspace buffers any noise from passing traffic while creating a wonderful scenic view when leaving the house.

I took this photo just as the sun was rising on June 29. Sunrise is one of my favourite times of the day. The air was cool with little humidity promising a beautiful day.

Laneway

After walking back up the laneway I turned to take this photo. It was the first photo of our new house to appear on my other blogs. I think it is majestic and peaceful. The boxwood (Buxus) lined laneway beckons exploration. Not shown in the photo is the garage. The laneway ends with an asphalt to the front of the garage for extra parking and a pad at the side of the garage for driving into the garage. I have no experience with boxwoods so will be learning a lot about them in the very near future. Watch for a post focusing on boxwoods soon.

A large weeping willow (Salix babylonica) with a trunk diameter of about four feet or more graces the garden area between the garage and road. I have never had a weeping willow of my own but I grew up with weeping willows. We used to swing on the branches Tarzan style over the river until my mom caught us. These beautiful trees are quite popular along water banks. Years ago we rented a house with a weeping willow so we know from experience that these can be dirty trees for vehicles. Prior to this house, the last experience with a weeping willow was from my neighbour's property. Spring storms clear out a lot of the dead branches and some new ones as well. The only real maintenance for these trees is removal of dead branches and pruning underneath if they overhang laneways as ours does. Saturday we pruned the bottom to allow the vehicles to pass underneath.

On my walk about I noticed the following plants that I have no experience with: buttercup, hostas, miniature rose bushes, coral bells and silver grass. There are a few so far unidentified plants as well. There is a lot of English Ivy being used as ground cover. If you read the previous entry on English Ivy, I can attest it does provide a good habitat for rodents. Other potential pests I noticed were: grackles, squirrels, earwigs, and carpenter ants. Measures are already underway for rodent and ant control.

Stay tuned to see more pictures and read about my new gardening adventures.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2007

Trumpet Vine

Trumpet Vine
(Campsis radicans)

Years ago when we bought our second house there was a vine growing up the south side of the house. This was an old, turn of the century, wood sided, two storey house in need of tender loving care. We were young and naive so tackled the job that ended up being an almost 12 year project. We did everything from designing a huge kitchen, re-roofing, siding, new wiring, new plumping, refinishing wood, installing a pool with large two level deck and privacy fencing. Finally we tired of our money pit and sold it for a non-descript subdivision house with no character but minimal work. We are now moving into house number five and a bit wiser but back to the vine.

I thought the vine was beautiful. It was a bright green and shaded a good portion of the southside wall in the summer. It never flowered in that location as my husband ripped it out because it was damaging the wood siding. We found remnants of the vine under the second story siding coming through the wall when we did the wiring! I salvaged a few pieces, set them in water to root then planted them along what was then a chain link fence. By the time we put in the privacy fencing the vine had grown considerably so I decided to leave it to soften the look of the fence despite my husband's protests. I was rewarded with beautiful deep orange trumpet shaped flowers. A few years later when we sold, the vine had covered a good portion of the fence and was pushing some of the fence boards loose. My husband declared it a weed worthy only of Round-up but it was too late, I had already fallen in love with this beautiful vine.

After we moved, I was at the nursery looking for plants when I discovered the same vine except it had yellow flowers. It was a trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) so I bought it much to my husband's dismay. I had strict orders not to plant it anywhere near the house! I brought a piece with me when we moved here and planted it by the old garage now being used as a garden shed. The vine is growing nicely but hasn't flowered yet. I'm taking a few cuttings with me to the new house.

The trumpet vine is a low maintenance, fast growing and spreading vine that is ideal for privacy screening. It is pest free and fairly drought tolerant. In fact, this is one vine that lives on neglect. It transplants easily and new vines can be grown from cuttings. The beautiful trumpet shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, wasps and bees all of which are beneficial pollinators in the garden. Unfortunately, the trumpet vine can be invasive and should not be planted against houses or other buildings. It is best if contained somewhat to prevent the invasiveness. So becareful where you plant this vine. The trumpet vine can cause rashes for some people so gloves should be worn when handling the vine. Propagation can be through cuttings or air layering.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2007

Flowering Vines

One of the easiest ways to camoflage an unsightly feature or provide friendly privacy is to grow flowering vines. I think flowering vines are the most versatile for these types of applications but by all means can be grown just for their beauty.

Clematis

While I have other flowering vines both annual and perennials, I have to admit to liking clematis. They put on a showy display. I have two clematis plants, one still has the original label then there is this one that we moved from our former house to this house. Unfortunately I do not have the original label and that was well before I discovered the benefits to a garden journal so I do not have the variety. It is a gorgeous flower!

Another perennial flowering vines in our zone that I like is trumpet vine. This hardy vine does well but takes a long time to flower. I planted one three years ago and it still hasn't flowered even though the foliage looks nice and healthy. I specifically wanted this flowering vine to attract hummingbirds. Hopefully it will flower for me next year.

Happy Gardening

Garden Gnome