Your plan sounds great Keith, I'll bet it look 100% different with a face lift and the roses. Those roses should look very attractive planted together. I'll be looking forward to future pics of it when you're done.

It's way too hot here in the summer, my plans start with pre spring. I'm expanding one of the front flower beds and the large rose garden for the dozen roses I have waiting to be planted. I finally got my permanent borders in for both late last fall and now I need to finish removing grass and work the soil at the front of the large garden. I hope to have this done in Feb to plant then or the 1st of March. I still can't make up my mind to move all the daylilies to keep them in front like I planned originally or leave them be. I'm of the mind to leave them be or I'll disturb this year's blooms. I did so much transplanting last year I just don't want to:) If I do that I end up with a row of roses in front of the daylilies instead of everything behind them. Dithering about that is my excuse to just leave it be for right now.
Leslie

Yeah, my summer project will be to stay cool :)...as for Spring, planting/moving 30+ roses and hacking down 2 huge Cecile Brunners from an arbor and moving them....think 1 to 2 inch canes....ack.

Eric

Keith:

Your plans sound great! I hope you have some help that sounds like a task but well worth it. May it go very smoothly.

This year our big project is removing the front 12 x 12 (maybe a little more) patch of grass in the front corner of the yard to make a big fat rose bed and stone walkway between the side and very front yard. I'm pretty excited. I've got it all filled up with roses on order already naturally.

I will also be redoing my perennial bed in the back yard and transplanting many roses into sunnier conditions. I overhauled the space with a lot of my perennials last year and just was not satisfied with it. My husband says this is the way of all gardeners but I have to take another run at it.

Kind of nice to ponder what will be happening in spring. Especially if you are in the middle of a snowstorm like we are right now:) Since we are talking about new rose beds has anyone seen RedSox lately? She seemed to be actively planning her new roses around the end of the year and have not seen her here in some time.

Thanks Keith.

Kate

Hi Keith - your plan sounds neat. What kind of fencing are you going to use? They have some really nice types of vinyl fences at the home improvement stores that last forever. When the wooden one in front of my sidewalk rotted, my DH replaced with a white picket fence and it really looks neat. I have roses in front with clematis threaded through it. And the best part of is... NO MAINTENANCE and it will last forever.

My big spring project is killing off the grass on a steep hill and planting roses and perennials there so DH doesn't have to risk life and limb when he mows with the riding mower. Plus it gives me an excuse to add another garden. I have an order about 25 roses and I am really psyched about my landscape plan. I will be calling my local lumber company and getting about 40 cubic yards of oak mulch delivered next month in preparation for the roses to arrive in April. I can't wait for spring!
-terry

We'll be building another trellis on the south side of the house; I have way too many ideas what to put on it and just realized I placed my order without including a CLIMBER, agh brain freeze.. Royal Sunset's a possibility, so's Autumn Sunseet, and Crepuscule or William Allen Richardson, or hey! maybe Cl. Souvenir de la Malmaison. Come to think of it, it's a wonder I was able to put together an order! The whole bed there is new-- and come to think of it I'd better start digging!

My neighbor finally cleared out the jungle growing beside his garage, thus opening up a strip along my drive where I can plant a row of roses. I'm not too keen on a straight row of roses, but the planting space is rather narrow--so I'm making up for it by planting roses with the biggest, fattest blooms--like Mrs. John Laing, Elina, Peter Mayle, etc. I would have preferred some big old-fashioned rose shrubs there, but my neighbor insists he has to have a couple feet of open space next to his garage--for what, I'm sure I don't know. Oh well, I will enjoy putting in 7 fat bloomers, especially since I thought I had run out of space to plant any more roses.

Kate

Beginning next month I am expanding the bed that contains one side of my arbor and adding to it creating a red/white/pink bed. This it the bed on the right as you walk through my back gate. I am ripping out a small not thriving rose of sharon tree at the end of that bed and putting in a climbing don juan on a pillar.

Creating a yellow/ apricot and coordinating colors bed.

Adding more purple roses to my purple/white/yellow flower bed.

Adding in a drip irrigation system.

Brewing alfalfa tea for the first time....

Whew what a list. I have 21 new roses coming! yikes!

Sunni

Sunni - what an undertaking! I love the idea of a white/red/pink bed. You're going to be a busy girl.
-terry

I will be taking the West side of my house and finishing the bed there. I had to raise the level of the dirt in the fall since there was an immediate drop off of dirt from the foundation. I put in a cinder block wall one row high and put stone veneer on it to make it look acceptable (HOA here). Now, after giving all winter for the dirt to settle and compact I will sod the area and build the bed that will go against the house.

This bed already has a weeping evergreen at each corner of the house. I also have some Indian Hawthorne there. I will add:

Mystic Beauty
Scepter d'Isle
and Amadeus

Here is the side I will be fixing. I think you can appreciate how steep this side is. Now it will be more leveled and terraced.

{{gwi:216111}}

I ran out of good weather in the fall but hope to have this done the first good warm weekend we have.

Ronda

hi Terry - I was going to build it with lumber from HD. I cant decide if i want picket or long, x shaped boards in between posts. the house is a 1953 ranch style... so im trying to figure out what looks 'period' for that time. So, i sit here at work trying to decide what type of fence i want to build, along with what roses i want in my next order. decisions decisions! i will show y'all before and after pictures once its done!!!

I'm going to try to find a home for the roses I shouldn't have bought. How did the space in that brand-new, huge bed get filled up so fast?

We are going to plant 120 ramblers along the road that goes to our water tank. They will be planted to tumble down the hill above the road(yes we are crazy!)

MR:

What ramblers? That sounds like quite a project.

Kate

It's all the Vintage Gardens Ramblers that I haven't already planted including some species climbers. It will be a huge project but the idea is that once it's done there won't be alot of maintenence. I would guess that we won't complete it this summer.

You could also replace the horribly ugly 60 year old driveway with a new one or blacktop the old one. Either way it would look better. Still do your plantings but you wouldn't have to worry so much about completely hiding it.

Sounds like a lot of great projects going on! My winter project was to set the posts for my trellises- however since a car accident in Nov, I've had to postpone completing that project. It is the first big item on my list though as soon as I'm allowed... We already had 3 posts set in concrete, there are about 7 still to do. In the meantime, I'm going to work on treating the bamboo crosspieces w/ tung oil, and will have to go and cut some more bamboo, too. For me, it is vital to have a project to work on and dream about. Hmmm, that reminds me, I better be looking for some space to plant some more camellias- I love their glossy foliage and wonderful blooms (no thorns, either!)- because the open house is next month.
Good luck to everyone w/ your projects! Brandy

What to add a arbor in the backyard out to our veggie garden not sure if I have room and have to decide if something has to go like the butterfly bush but like that too so might have to plant behind the fence. Here is last years photo of my location and would like a iron arbor or copper any suggestions would be great as far as color and a good repeat climber for that location!! I love planning for summer!!

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