Hello, I have a very small yard that's surrounded on 2 sides with chain link and two sides with the garage and the house. Currently it's a patch of pathetic lawn and I want to spruce it up a little. Theres a small rhubarb plant in the back corner or the chain link (it would probably be bigger if people would quit mowing it down every fall). I was thinking of diging some planters along the fence, with the rhubarb bricked around the edges. I've got to prevent the mowing somehow! Anyway, I need some ideas for plants. I don't want anything that will grow into the fence like hops or virginia creeper but something that grows tall and is a perennial/bulb for right along the fence.
Your best bet is to ask a local nursery what will do well in your environment (that a lot of us are not as familiar with), plus they'll have the material on hand and can help you with info. about it.
Hi Rois, You might want to consider marking out the beds deep enough for a couple of layers of plants so they aren't all lined up like soldiers. Use a garden hose or rope to lay out the bed, mark with flour from the kitchen, dig out the grass with a flat shovel, add 2" of compost, mix it in and plant. The compost will improve your soil and the plants will love you for it. This way you won't have to build raised beds. You can edge the bed with bricks or landscape timber. You could even just dig an edge about 4" wide so the mower won't be need to penetrate the beds. This site probably has a much deeper bed then you want, but it will give you the idea of using different sizes and textures for depth. Most of these plants won't be hardy in your zone, but at least you can get the idea of what I'm talking about. http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/extras/53fenceplan.php Here's a great search engine I found for northern zones. The less you put in the more plant recommendations you'll get. You can research plants at google. Best to use the botanical (Latin) name. Since your garden is small, use plants that have good garden manners and form clumps instead of running all over the garden. Consider using a shrub or two that has berries for the birds in the winter to give some life to the long season. There are many dwarf varieties. Just be very careful with the mature size. If it says it will grow 2' wide, give it an extra foot if you can, so it won't grow through the fence. http://www.northscaping.com/Tools/LandscapePlantSearch.asp Edgers for ideas. http://www.ncarnevale.com/edgers.htm Another northern gardening site for ideas. http://www.northscaping.com/Tools/LG/LandscapingGuideCh5.shtml Spring bulbs will give you a longer season of bloom and take up little space. Newt
You posted quite awhile ago but I'll add my two cents for later readers. To prevent mowing of the rhubarb (after you have threatened them in some manner: hours of silent viewing old slides of the family vacations?), you might try what works for me. At the hardware store they sell "flagging tape". I initially bought it just because it is Hot Pink (and had no idea of what to use it for). Now, I tie a length of it (about 8 inches) around the stems of the small, deciduous perennials. This prevents me from raking/digging the thin, bare brown twigs. Too, your planting beds may seem an overwhelming task for one season. Until you are up to the task, cinder blocks (about 18" x 6"; holes in the middle; for building walls) only cost about $2 each. A few of those in an "L" position would make temporary mower-blockers. BTW: remove the flagging tape each spring (it comes other bright colors, now -- I have them all. Unused, but I have 'em.).
