A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs I'm drawing a landscaping blank

Hi all,

I have my first landscaping problem.

I bought peacock lilies and dahlias yesterday and I'm not sure where to put them.

My garden is a downward sloping 5 thousand square foot area. I hope when I'm finished 9 years down the road that I will have a specimen garden with little paths of lawn and moss as light permits between the different plantings.

Right now I have semi=dwarf fruit trees up the driveway. I have a centerbed of four trees that is entirely planted underneath. I have a thrift and something else planted by the mailbox. (I can't believe I forgot what else is planted out there.) I have sedum and ditchlilies planted along the ditch. I have a foundation bed full of different bulbs. And I have a sidewalk bed filled with various plants.

I do have a fence along the street that I haven't done anything with. And I have a bed on the far side of the drive that has a cedar in it that I am keeping and then some other trees that I'm going to cut down and then some brush in it right now. I also have a bench located on the shady side of the tree bed. It has moss underneath it and I was thinking of a mass planting of the peacock lilies on either side of that.

Please help me decide where to plant my new plants.

My game plan is "when in doubt put it in a pot". If you aren't sure that you want to mass plant the lilies next to the bench, then put them in a good sized pot and place the pot next to the bench. Then if you don't like it there after this year, they are all in one easy to get to place. :)

For part of my garden, I'm going to make a pot garden. Everything in lots of pots. :)

Here is the source of my inspiration...
http://www.wildgingerfarm.com/ContainerGarden.htm

TK are these peacock lillies?





if so, looks like they get pretty thick. Will you have to be constantly thinning in that particular area?

I miss wrote the plant name they are peacock orchids. But I love the plants that you found. I'm going to have to research those. I've love a planting that was that thick. And the blooms are so unusual.

I love the idea of having plants that reproduce lots. I guess that's because I have sooooo much room to work with. my tulips, daffodils, glads, and peacock orchids are all just starting amounts now but I'm looking forward to year three when I can divide them the first time.

And I'm looking forward to starting the Hollyhocks this year so I'll have some blooming and some just green. I hope to keep the full cycle going on those. I think. I have pink and black Hollyhocks which I think are going to be a really amazing combination.

I found some info on the orchids.

Plant in clusters of 5-7 for best show. In the spring, Corms should be planted three inches deep and six inches apart. This plant requires a long growing season (up to 20 weeks) and should be started indoors 1 month before the last frost in northern zones. Water regularly while in bloom and cover plants with mulch if frost arrives during flowering. In the fall, bulbs can be left in the ground to spread or lifted, cleaned and stored in sand at 60º F for winter (zones 6 and north should always lift bulbs). Corms need to be dried quickly to avoid soft rot. The small bulblets that form around the main corm can also be separated and replanted.

Interesting Facts: The peacock orchid is related to the gladiolus, not orchids.

That's really interesting information. I planted mine all in a cluster. So there are 16 of them. I'll separate them this fall and do two plantings one at either end of the bench. Thankyou for looking that up for me.

wonder how fast they'll multiply.

Well they are said to multiply fast so maybe they will double every year. That would be way cool.

It looks like another sunny day out there so I may be getting out there soon.