Introduction
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Introduction
- From: S* J*
- Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 15:31:24 -0600
I have been lurking for quite some time. I guess it's time to tell
about my garden.
I have a small lot in the city of Madison, WI. In the front yard (which
faces east) a have a large oak, a medium sized birch and a large
spruce. As you can imagine, this leaves me with very little sun. The
previous owner (I have been in the house since May of 1998) planted lots
of hostas and daylilies along with a boxwood, a couple of dogwoods and a
wiegila. The south exposure is the only really sunny spot I have and I
have turned it into a water/rose garden. At present I have a small pond
surrounded by peonies and a butterfly bush. One side of the garden is
walled by rugosa roses. The back border is mostly given over to
wildflowers such as coneflowers and Virginia Bluebells. The backyard is
dominated by a huge maple. Nothing grows under the maple. Next to it
is a burning bush. Right behind the house is a flower quince. In fact
it is (ouch!) right next to the hose. I try to grow vegetables and
berries in the far back as they are somewhat beyond the reach of the
maple's shade. All along the back fence are either yews or arbor
vitae. I'm not sure which. The yard came with a large lilac and I have
since planted two more. I'm hoping this will be their first season of
bloom. For annuals I have tried violas, hollyhocks (bienennial, I
know), zinnias and sunflowers. I'm really trying to find an aggressive
groundcover that can withstand the shade of the maple. I planted lamium
last year and am hoping it will thrive. The north side is just a thin
strip and, therefore, isn't planted with anything with grass. The whole
yard is planted with bulbs (tulips, hyacinth, crocus and daffodils).
Hope I wasn't too long winded!
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Sheryl Jones
sjones@library.wisc.edu
URL: <http://www.geocities.com/felidae>
