Garden Backdrops

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from Iconic Studio A here at proven Winners, Color
<v Speaker 1>Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy, Hervella, me,
<v Speaker 1>Rick Weiss, and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Stacy, Today,
<v Speaker 1>let's talk about backdrops and fencing and walls. A backdrop
<v Speaker 1>for your landscape is just like framing a picture with
<v Speaker 1>your camera. Is your background picture perfect? A backdrop behind
<v Speaker 1>a photograph subject can make or break your image, and
<v Speaker 1>I think you could probably say the same with your
<v Speaker 1>landscape or some of the plants that you place in
<v Speaker 1>your landscape. You can also create an illusion of depth.
<v Speaker 1>What's a good depth for a layered garden? Many people
<v Speaker 1>would say proceed at least five six feet out from
<v Speaker 1>a wall or a fence or your home. All of
<v Speaker 1>these issues relate to adding structured to a garden. And
<v Speaker 1>I have to admit, Stacy again, you know how much
<v Speaker 1>I enjoy five gallon buckets. I've gotten into screening and
<v Speaker 1>walls big time.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, but not with five gallon buckets. Five gallon buckets
<v Speaker 2>are just as okay. I didn't know if you were
<v Speaker 2>working on some sort of new idea here with with
<v Speaker 2>the buckets. But you know, as far as backdrops go,
<v Speaker 2>if that's what we're talking about, we have to at
<v Speaker 2>least mention that our backdrop has changed because we are
<v Speaker 2>in meteorological fall.
<v Speaker 1>Oh my.
<v Speaker 2>And while we're talking about the podcast, I do just
<v Speaker 2>want to mention happy third anniversary our first show. Our
<v Speaker 2>first episode aired the Saturday after Labor Day, so the
<v Speaker 2>day's not exactly right, but the timing is so Happy anniversary, guys.
<v Speaker 1>Happy anniversary. Time flies when you're having fun.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, So not to derail from the garden backdrop conversation,
<v Speaker 2>I just thought I should mention it.
<v Speaker 1>Well, I love it. I love it. So let's talk
<v Speaker 1>about structure today and fencing. I've got a number of
<v Speaker 1>things to share. As a matter of fact, it'll be
<v Speaker 1>a try it before you buy it kind of segment.
<v Speaker 1>And some people use chain link fence, for example, to
<v Speaker 1>delineate their property line. I want to recommend that if
<v Speaker 1>you want it to not be noticeable, make it black.
<v Speaker 1>That's my opinion. Chain link fence privacy slats are something
<v Speaker 1>that I'm putting in my fence right now. Let me
<v Speaker 1>grab this here a minute for you, Stacey, and I'll pass.
<v Speaker 2>That Wow for our YouTube vision in studio appearance here. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>so you're threading this through the links on the chain
<v Speaker 2>link fence, and.
<v Speaker 1>Very easy to do. You just slide them into something
<v Speaker 1>they call a viper track. But what it does is
<v Speaker 1>it gives you a black background to your fence and
<v Speaker 1>green plants. The color green just pops when it has
<v Speaker 1>a black backdrop. So inexpensive and easy. That's one of
<v Speaker 1>the things I'm doing in my landscape right now.
<v Speaker 2>That's a huge improvement over the classic galvanized chain link
<v Speaker 2>fence that so ubiquitous.
<v Speaker 1>But let's talk rust here a minute. Also, I'm working
<v Speaker 1>on some panels with my neighbor, and what we're using
<v Speaker 1>is eight foot galvanized panels that many times you will see,
<v Speaker 1>for example, like on the roof of a pole burn
<v Speaker 1>using them with wood to create these backdrops or barriers
<v Speaker 1>within the landscape. And then what we found, and for
<v Speaker 1>folks watching on YouTube you can see what we're building here.
<v Speaker 1>What we found was the galvanized steel when the sun's
<v Speaker 1>in the right position, it will blind you, oh deer,
<v Speaker 1>oh dear, yes, and possibly burn the plant. So what
<v Speaker 1>we're monking around with is to basically rough up the
<v Speaker 1>galvanized surface, abraz it and then making a mixture of
<v Speaker 1>vinegar and salt and spraying it on to speed up rust.
<v Speaker 1>We wanted to rust, maybe take a blow torch to it.
<v Speaker 1>But it's just an example of what you can do
<v Speaker 1>to create barriers within your landscape or backdrops that really
<v Speaker 1>make the plants stand out and be a focal.
<v Speaker 2>P So you're working on this with your neighbor because
<v Speaker 2>you're trying to develop mutual privacy or is your neighbor
<v Speaker 2>into this plant backdrop idea as well.
<v Speaker 1>So on next week's show, we're going to talk about
<v Speaker 1>design plants and designing within the landscape. And my next
<v Speaker 1>door neighbor is a guy who's really great at interior
<v Speaker 1>design and flipping houses. He knows nothing about plants. Okay,
<v Speaker 1>yet you get them in the landscape with plants, it's
<v Speaker 1>amazing how he can put things together. Well, we work
<v Speaker 1>on these backdrops together between our two properties to extend
<v Speaker 1>cate the plants, and it's just a kick in the plants.
<v Speaker 1>And we're going to give you the link for those panels.
<v Speaker 1>They're inexpensive, not fun to work with, but again it's
<v Speaker 1>an example of some of the components that you can
<v Speaker 1>use to create barriers or fencing with in your landscape.
<v Speaker 2>That's very creative, you know. I think that people's first
<v Speaker 2>instinct very often is to look for something ready made.
<v Speaker 1>Yes, But if you.
<v Speaker 2>Want something that is more affordable, or something it's more unique,
<v Speaker 2>or something that gives you a chance to kind of
<v Speaker 2>express some personal style and ideas, then it pays to,
<v Speaker 2>you know, think about it and put together your own
<v Speaker 2>idea and come up with something that's even better.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. And I think transparency is a key also, So
<v Speaker 1>you basically have two elements here, creating a screen that
<v Speaker 1>is not transparent that really allows the plants to play often,
<v Speaker 1>or a transparent screen if all you're trying to do
<v Speaker 1>is create a border and keep out deer. Now I've
<v Speaker 1>got another try it before you buy it, Sam Pole
<v Speaker 1>here for you, Stacy. For a while I was using
<v Speaker 1>this material right here, which is a mesh like material.
<v Speaker 1>This is a joke, and that's a joke. This material
<v Speaker 1>is a joke, and you get tangled in it, you
<v Speaker 1>get frustrated. It's ridiculous.
<v Speaker 2>And if you buy too cheap a one ask me
<v Speaker 2>how I know it rips very easily. I've also had
<v Speaker 2>birds get tangled in it. Unfortunately I was able to
<v Speaker 2>rescue them and get them out. But if I hadn't been,
<v Speaker 2>they would have perished in this silly netting. I once
<v Speaker 2>had a baby bunny get stuck in it. It's okay,
<v Speaker 2>he got out. I got him out, but he was panicking,
<v Speaker 2>you know. So yes, I have forsworn this material, this
<v Speaker 2>regular deer netting.
<v Speaker 1>Same for me. So I picked up this material. Take
<v Speaker 1>a look at that. So that is called ten X
<v Speaker 1>deer fence. Great stuff comes six foot by one hundred
<v Speaker 1>foot in rolls and have a picture for you on YouTube.
<v Speaker 1>In use in my dear compound.
<v Speaker 3>How do you cut it? Just with your regular.
<v Speaker 1>Nice or wire cutters, but again using a wire mesh
<v Speaker 1>or something like this ten X material to create this
<v Speaker 1>deer barrier makes a world of difference within your landscape.
<v Speaker 1>You don't even know it's there. You can basically see
<v Speaker 1>through it again using the color black. But it gives
<v Speaker 1>you the result that you want, and that is to
<v Speaker 1>put up a barrier and keep the deer nice.
<v Speaker 2>You know. In my garden tour that we recently posted
<v Speaker 2>on YouTube, I talk a bit about the wire mesh
<v Speaker 2>that I've used to surround my vegetable garden and it
<v Speaker 2>is galvanized, but I really like it because it goes
<v Speaker 2>with the metal of the tea posts that we used
<v Speaker 2>to make it, and it does kind of create I
<v Speaker 2>guess I would say maybe slightly industrial chic kind of vibes.
<v Speaker 2>But it was very low cost, It's super functional, and
<v Speaker 2>I'm very happy with it. I'm having the best vegetable
<v Speaker 2>garden ever this year with the new backdrop surrounding there.
<v Speaker 1>I love that. That's really good. Right, well, you know,
<v Speaker 1>you think about it. The picket fence is something that
<v Speaker 1>we associate with small town America, colonial roots, cape cod
<v Speaker 1>that sort of thing. But there is so much more
<v Speaker 1>than picket fence or dog eared fencing. There are all
<v Speaker 1>sorts of options, and I guess that's the point that
<v Speaker 1>I'm trying to make. And they also make a big
<v Speaker 1>difference as it relates to structure within your landscape. Helps
<v Speaker 1>give some depth, some background. And then again, if you,
<v Speaker 1>for example, use the color black, green and other colors
<v Speaker 1>really tend to pop out and the fence is less noticeable.
<v Speaker 1>But of course, with these slats that you can put
<v Speaker 1>through a chain link fence, there's a variety of colors
<v Speaker 1>you can choose from from gray to burgundy to blue.
<v Speaker 3>Oh, so you could do like a whole pattern.
<v Speaker 1>Exactly what chance all this kind of fun stuff. And
<v Speaker 1>that's the kind of stuff I love to do in
<v Speaker 1>my life landscape, just like Old Ned. You know, I
<v Speaker 1>always talk about Old Ned and my fencing. Limerick today
<v Speaker 1>relates to Old Ned. Old Ned needs to decompress the
<v Speaker 1>deer his property transgress. Despite all his rantings, they ate
<v Speaker 1>all his plantings and left Old Ned defenceless. Old Ned's
<v Speaker 1>plantings had grown lush, but now are reduced to just mush.
<v Speaker 1>He kicked the stubble in disgust, his balance failed to adjust,
<v Speaker 1>landing on his keyster in the brush. There you go. Oh,
<v Speaker 1>rough day for a rough day for Old Ned. And
<v Speaker 1>keister is a word in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.
<v Speaker 2>So if you're playing scrabble and you have a K,
<v Speaker 2>that's a good one to keep in mind.
<v Speaker 1>Exactly, I'll bear that in well. Sorry, oh, everyone needs
<v Speaker 1>a good fence around their property or some good backdrops
<v Speaker 1>to provide that structure. And by the way, along that
<v Speaker 1>line and segment four, I got to.
<v Speaker 3>Give you a hot takee oh, I can't wait.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I'm gonna let it rip, Okay.
<v Speaker 3>All right, I will be counting the minutes.
<v Speaker 1>So a wire fence is ideal if you want transparency
<v Speaker 1>to see through it. And then of course the reverse
<v Speaker 1>would be a screen that you can build to provide
<v Speaker 1>that great backdrop that really shows off your plants. You
<v Speaker 1>can use reclaimed fence posts, old wood. You can grow
<v Speaker 1>vines through a fence. Of course, in a spellier fence
<v Speaker 1>I've seen cool a spell your fences, a steel fence,
<v Speaker 1>a large gap fence. If you have large gaps in
<v Speaker 1>your fence, it's not going to keep the deer out,
<v Speaker 1>but it's going to maximize natural light. And the result
<v Speaker 1>is the yard that looks more welcoming from the outside
<v Speaker 1>and feels larger from the inside. Stained wood, horizontal slatting,
<v Speaker 1>wrought iron, wooden, wire, picket, so many different.
<v Speaker 3>Choices, so many options.
<v Speaker 1>I want them to You want it to kind of
<v Speaker 1>sink into the background. You don't want it to steal
<v Speaker 1>the show, but actually just enhance the plant material and
<v Speaker 1>make it look sharper. So we'll talk more about that
<v Speaker 1>coming up in segment four. We'll see how Stacey ties
<v Speaker 1>this all together in Plants on Trial, that's coming up
<v Speaker 1>after the short break. Here on the Gardening Simplified.
<v Speaker 2>Ship, beautify your home and community with proven Winn's Color
<v Speaker 2>Choice Shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique
<v Speaker 2>varieties to choose from. There's a flowering shrubber evergreen for
<v Speaker 2>every taste and every space. Just look for the distinctive
<v Speaker 2>white container your local garden center or learn more at
<v Speaker 2>proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Gardening Friends and welcome
<v Speaker 2>back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where the order of
<v Speaker 2>the day is Fences and backdrops a very key part
<v Speaker 2>of any good garden or landscape. And sometimes the fence
<v Speaker 2>is about strict utilitarian like just you know, keeping the
<v Speaker 2>kids and dog within the parameters of the yard. Sometimes
<v Speaker 2>it's decoratives, sometimes it's both, and sometimes you know, it's
<v Speaker 2>a living thing like a plant. And you said, Rick,
<v Speaker 2>everybody needs a fence, and that is so true. I
<v Speaker 2>desperately need a fence. And it occurred to me after
<v Speaker 2>you said that that probably a lot of listeners who
<v Speaker 2>hear me complain about all the deer in my yard say, well, jeez, Stacy,
<v Speaker 2>why don't you just get a fence already? Well, I have,
<v Speaker 2>what is probably the worst possible type of yard for
<v Speaker 2>a fence. That is why I don't have a fence.
<v Speaker 2>So my driveway is all the way at the right
<v Speaker 2>side of my property, so if I was going to
<v Speaker 2>fence off the yard.
<v Speaker 3>My garage is also all the.
<v Speaker 2>Way in the back corner of my property. So if
<v Speaker 2>I was going to fence off the yard, I would
<v Speaker 2>need a gate. And you know, my house doesn't really
<v Speaker 2>quite rise to the occasion of an automatic gate.
<v Speaker 3>That's a little bit much for my mind.
<v Speaker 1>One of those gates like the Beverly Hills.
<v Speaker 3>I love it. I love it.
<v Speaker 2>It might be a little overkill from where I live.
<v Speaker 2>So I have that whole issue with the gate. And
<v Speaker 2>you know, I've gotten I've gotten quotes on getting a
<v Speaker 2>fence and trying to take care of this, but it's just,
<v Speaker 2>you know, the gate is always a deal breaker for
<v Speaker 2>us because they're like, oh, it's going to be a
<v Speaker 2>total pain in the winter, the ice and snow is
<v Speaker 2>going to build up, and you know you leave the
<v Speaker 2>gate open one night, well then the deer like, hey,
<v Speaker 2>it's a field day. So I have fences on either
<v Speaker 2>side of my property that belong to my neighbors that
<v Speaker 2>they put up, and I'm growing a back fence line
<v Speaker 2>of junipers, so I planted that this is their third year.
<v Speaker 2>It's a variety called blue arrow, actually is it. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it's blue arrow, and they're looking good, but they're a
<v Speaker 2>little bit slower to get established. But I have found
<v Speaker 2>really that that background of plants, I mean, that's where
<v Speaker 2>my vibe is. So even though I have a lot
<v Speaker 2>of frustrations about being unable to completely fence off my
<v Speaker 2>yard easily, it has provided other opportunities as these things
<v Speaker 2>go in gardening. And I'm really happy with the way
<v Speaker 2>that that backdrop of blue erow jennifer, which is not
<v Speaker 2>a proven winter's colored choice shrub, so that is not
<v Speaker 2>today's plant Montreal. I'm getting to that in one moment,
<v Speaker 2>but really happy with the color and texture that that
<v Speaker 2>is bringing in. As that knits together and grows more,
<v Speaker 2>it'll be a great privacy and plant backdrop for my yard.
<v Speaker 1>I like the way you describe that knitting together because
<v Speaker 1>when you look at American history, for example, in the
<v Speaker 1>Plains States, osag George, Oh, yeah, and how that would
<v Speaker 1>knit together and create this fence that was just unreal.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and you see you do still see them sometimes
<v Speaker 2>around Michigan, but certainly more when you go into like
<v Speaker 2>the lower Midwest Missouri, Oklahoma. Down there, you'll see a
<v Speaker 2>lot of those old o sage orange fences, which are
<v Speaker 2>very cool. But you're probably thinking that today's plant on
<v Speaker 2>trial then is a backdrop plant, a plant that can
<v Speaker 2>be used as a backdrop, But we would be wrong.
<v Speaker 3>It is not.
<v Speaker 2>It is a plant that benefits from being planted in
<v Speaker 2>front of a backdrop. Oh nice, because some plants really
<v Speaker 2>need other plants or other structure to set them off.
<v Speaker 2>And I find that this is true very much so
<v Speaker 2>in the world of purple and black plants. Love them
<v Speaker 2>beautiful plants. You fall in love at the garden center,
<v Speaker 2>You get it home, you put it in the ground,
<v Speaker 2>and you're like, wait, where did it go? These new
<v Speaker 2>darkly fucaras you know that are like near black, so
<v Speaker 2>beautiful you can't wait to get them home. And then
<v Speaker 2>you plant it and you're like, it blends directly in
<v Speaker 2>with the soil. And similarly, today's plant on trial lace
<v Speaker 2>step Elderberry can very much do that. It can become
<v Speaker 2>kind of like a black hole or blending in unless
<v Speaker 2>it has something else planted behind it. Or around it
<v Speaker 2>to set it off. So a lot of people are
<v Speaker 2>familiar with our black lace elderberry, so plant that's been
<v Speaker 2>around for a very long time, still one of our
<v Speaker 2>best sellers to this day. And black lace elderberry is
<v Speaker 2>very similar to the native American elderberries that you will
<v Speaker 2>see blooming in June, but it was developed in Europe.
<v Speaker 2>It is thought to be more of a European species,
<v Speaker 2>but it looks and acts basically just like our standard
<v Speaker 2>Zambucus canadensis or our elderberry, but instead of green foliage,
<v Speaker 2>it has dark purple black foliage, and it's very very lacy,
<v Speaker 2>as you might guess by the name black lace. And
<v Speaker 2>so it's finally cut and gives it just this incredible
<v Speaker 2>texture and as beautiful and alluring as that dark foliage is.
<v Speaker 2>Like I said one, sometimes when you get it home,
<v Speaker 2>unless you have something behind it, it's just like a
<v Speaker 2>black hole in the landscape, and you know, you see it,
<v Speaker 2>and it's like it kind of just like sucks all
<v Speaker 2>the life out of the garden. And it should of
<v Speaker 2>course be you know, vivacious and interesting. So I have
<v Speaker 2>found because I do have a number of laced up
<v Speaker 2>elderberries in my garden because I love them. They're so
<v Speaker 2>cool that they really benefit from being planted against something.
<v Speaker 2>They have everything that black lace has, except black lace
<v Speaker 2>gets to be six to ten feet tall and wide,
<v Speaker 2>so that is a very big potential black hole in
<v Speaker 2>your landscape if you're not citing it carefully. Lace up
<v Speaker 2>elderberry gets to be six to ten feet tall but
<v Speaker 2>only three to five feet wide, so it's a narrow,
<v Speaker 2>fastigit plant. But I have actually found that this more
<v Speaker 2>unusual habit to me necessitates it being planted against something,
<v Speaker 2>perhaps even more so so that it looks deliberate. That
<v Speaker 2>really statuesque kind of habit that it develops is best accentuated,
<v Speaker 2>and I think there's a lot of ways you can
<v Speaker 2>do that. I think it looks fabulous up against my
<v Speaker 2>blue arrow junipers, so you kind of have that juxtaposition
<v Speaker 2>of the purply black foliage against the blue junipers.
<v Speaker 3>YEP.
<v Speaker 2>I also have one that I planted against my orange
<v Speaker 2>brick garage. Oh that looks really cool and kind of
<v Speaker 2>sighted it so that it would almost grow like a
<v Speaker 2>you know, like a shadow puppet being projected onto the wall,
<v Speaker 2>and that really lets the color pop. It really lets
<v Speaker 2>the structure pop. And it really I think makes the
<v Speaker 2>case for plants, you know, being planted in a cooperative
<v Speaker 2>way in the landscape that accentuates everything.
<v Speaker 1>I agree. And the backdrop will give you that illusion
<v Speaker 1>of depth. And as I said at the outset, if
<v Speaker 1>you're taking a picture of a person, a portrait, the
<v Speaker 1>backdrop can mean everything as it relates to your focal point.
<v Speaker 1>We learn that in elementary school when they gave us
<v Speaker 1>three or four different backdrop choices for our school picture, right, yeah,
<v Speaker 1>and they were all corny and stupid.
<v Speaker 3>But now they have way more.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, we had the mostly you could get
<v Speaker 2>the space lasers if you were born in the eighties anyway,
<v Speaker 2>So lace up elderberry. It's a great space saver. It's
<v Speaker 2>a very versatile plant in the landscape. But again I
<v Speaker 2>have found over and over again, and this actually probably
<v Speaker 2>dates back to my horticulture school when we were learning
<v Speaker 2>about thundercloud dark leaf cherry, probably one of the most
<v Speaker 2>popular street trees, at least on the East coast, and
<v Speaker 2>the teacher said, you know, they look like a black
<v Speaker 2>hole in the landscape. And so I the first time
<v Speaker 2>that made that connection, it was like, yeah, they need
<v Speaker 2>something to help set them off so they're not just
<v Speaker 2>sucking all the life out of the garden. Now, there's
<v Speaker 2>lots of creative ways that you can do that, but
<v Speaker 2>I think that laced up is one that really lends
<v Speaker 2>itself to some creative gardening and creative placement. Like black lace,
<v Speaker 2>it's sister plant. It looks amazing when it flowers, especially
<v Speaker 2>because it has bright pink flowers, so that really helps
<v Speaker 2>to kind of create that contrast that keeps it from
<v Speaker 2>looking like a black hole. But of course the flowers
<v Speaker 2>last for you know, a couple of weeks, and then
<v Speaker 2>when it forms berries, the berries are black too. So
<v Speaker 2>so much texture and life in this plant. But you
<v Speaker 2>really need to, I think, be creative in how you
<v Speaker 2>cite it to let that fully come through. So whether
<v Speaker 2>that means a hedge of tall evergreens, hedge of tall perennials,
<v Speaker 2>you know, certainly it could be planted within something like
<v Speaker 2>my silphium very tall, and that could work as well,
<v Speaker 2>but you really want to let it interplay with other colors,
<v Speaker 2>other textures. Now, lace up elderberry, like black lace elderberry,
<v Speaker 2>is not the most heat tolerant plant. And I know
<v Speaker 2>I always disappoint our warm climate friends when I say that.
<v Speaker 2>But these elderberries are hardy down to USTA Zone four
<v Speaker 2>and heat tolerant only through USDA Zone seven. The plants
<v Speaker 2>will actually grow in warmer climates, but they will not
<v Speaker 2>be black. They will be very, very green. It's just
<v Speaker 2>like the same kind of thing that happens with panicle hydrange,
<v Speaker 2>just not developing their full color in warm climates, and
<v Speaker 2>so that's kind of, you know, takes away a lot
<v Speaker 2>of the funds. So this is definitely a plant that
<v Speaker 2>is for cooler climates. And the good news if you
<v Speaker 2>live in like zone four, have trouble growing Japanese maple,
<v Speaker 2>this is a great plant to get a lot of
<v Speaker 2>that same kind of you know, look and charm. Although
<v Speaker 2>it does not get grateful color as Japanese maples do.
<v Speaker 2>Grows in full sun to parts on. I have it
<v Speaker 2>in both here in Michigan. I have not noticed any
<v Speaker 2>substantial difference really in how black the foliage becomes whether
<v Speaker 2>it's in parts on or full sun. So that is
<v Speaker 2>a very good thing if it's outdoors. And of course,
<v Speaker 2>like I was, de Elderberry's good dear resistance, uh huh,
<v Speaker 2>so love it lots of unique ways to use this
<v Speaker 2>if you want something that's really different that you've never
<v Speaker 2>seen before, and you have a special place where you
<v Speaker 2>can really just put something and enjoy it, especially if
<v Speaker 2>you like, you know, those weeping spruces that look like people,
<v Speaker 2>as Lisa Roper was talking about in our Follies episode
<v Speaker 2>to at Chanta Clear, this is another great way to
<v Speaker 2>do that much faster growing. So it'll get you that
<v Speaker 2>great look much faster. So you will find a lastep
<v Speaker 2>elderberry at your local garden center. If you need to
<v Speaker 2>find a local garden center, just visit proven Winner's Color
<v Speaker 2>Choice dot com. We've got you covered there. We're going
<v Speaker 2>to take a little break. When we come back, we're
<v Speaker 2>opening up the mailbag, so please stay tuned at Proven
<v Speaker 2>Winner's Color Choice Shrubs. We know that a better landscape
<v Speaker 2>starts with a better shrub. Our team of experts tests
<v Speaker 2>and evaluates all of our flowering shrubs in Evergreens for
<v Speaker 2>eight to ten years to ensure they outperform what's already
<v Speaker 2>on the market. For easycare, reliable, beautiful shrubs to accentuate
<v Speaker 2>your home and express your personal style, look for Proven
<v Speaker 2>Winners Shrubs in the distinctive white container at your low
<v Speaker 2>garden center or learn more at proven Winners, color choice
<v Speaker 2>dot com. Creating's gardening friends, and welcome back to the
<v Speaker 2>Gardening Simplified Show. Where it is the meteorological start to fall,
<v Speaker 2>not the astronomical one. We still have a couple more weeks.
<v Speaker 2>So as we were saying last week, you can take
<v Speaker 2>your pick. If you want it to be fall, you
<v Speaker 2>can pretend it's fall. If you still want it to
<v Speaker 2>be summer, you can just go along with astronomical and
<v Speaker 2>you get a couple more weeks of summer summer, even
<v Speaker 2>if the weather is making it a little bit difficult
<v Speaker 2>for you to believe that it is indeed still summer.
<v Speaker 2>But the light is fantastic right now. The sun is
<v Speaker 2>just beautiful. And as you wind down your garden for
<v Speaker 2>the season, perhaps you have questions about what you should
<v Speaker 2>or shouldn't do, in which case I invite you to
<v Speaker 2>reach out to us at Gardening Simplified on air dot com.
<v Speaker 2>There's a contact button you can send us your question, and,
<v Speaker 2>of course, because we do want you to get answers
<v Speaker 2>to your questions and we can't answer that many questions
<v Speaker 2>on each episode, you can also reach out to us
<v Speaker 2>at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com and use the
<v Speaker 2>contact there and you will get a personalized answer from
<v Speaker 2>a horticulturist, not a robot or an AI or an
<v Speaker 2>LM or anything like that, from someone who actually cares
<v Speaker 2>about your success. So please don't hesitate to do that
<v Speaker 2>if you are sitting there wondering about something.
<v Speaker 3>We also love to hear from people who.
<v Speaker 2>Want to share their triumphs, their hot takes, their ideas
<v Speaker 2>and show us your backdrops. There you go, and to
<v Speaker 2>that end, our listener and fan Jackie sent a photo
<v Speaker 2>of her folly and it is a gazebo, so of
<v Speaker 2>course a gazebo is useful, but because it is a folly,
<v Speaker 2>she went the extra mile and put this kind of
<v Speaker 2>fun cupula on top that calls to mind like a
<v Speaker 2>lighthouse or a widow's walk in a coastal home. So
<v Speaker 2>it has like a little bump out with windows on it.
<v Speaker 3>And it's right on the.
<v Speaker 2>Shore of Lake Erie. Yeah, so a very cute little
<v Speaker 2>folly there and looks like a very fun place spend time.
<v Speaker 2>So thanks for that, Jackie.
<v Speaker 1>There are so many great gardeners along the lake shore
<v Speaker 1>of Lake Erie in Ohio. Oh yeah, I can't believe
<v Speaker 1>the number.
<v Speaker 2>Like Jackie, Cleveland is an absolute gardening destination. The bit
<v Speaker 2>which is people not something people would expect for you
<v Speaker 2>to say. But if you ever get fortunate enough to
<v Speaker 2>go to a private garden tours in Cleveland, I have
<v Speaker 2>seen gardens that nobody would ever.
<v Speaker 3>Expect sure to be in Cleveland.
<v Speaker 2>Lake Touny, I think that might be south of Cleveland,
<v Speaker 2>but a lot of very cool stuff there.
<v Speaker 1>So nice. Well, Ronnie writes to us, can you let
<v Speaker 1>me know if I can Chelsea chop my el Nino chetalpa?
<v Speaker 1>Every year, I have a new one planted right near
<v Speaker 1>some raised beds. Don't want it to get very big.
<v Speaker 1>I can move it technically, but I'm running out of space.
<v Speaker 1>My only available space other than that would be over
<v Speaker 1>gas or sewer lines, which makes me a little nervous.
<v Speaker 1>I look forward to your response. Thank you. Well, this
<v Speaker 1>is a plant that does get pretty big.
<v Speaker 2>It does get big, and you know, I've been having
<v Speaker 2>a very interesting time learning from this plant. As everyone knows,
<v Speaker 2>I do love it in the fragrance is amazing. So
<v Speaker 2>in my yard what I do is I cut it
<v Speaker 2>back very hard in spring, so I do wait until
<v Speaker 2>the foliage starts to come out. And what I've found
<v Speaker 2>for me is this plant does not get as huge
<v Speaker 2>as it potentially can for two reasons. Well three One
<v Speaker 2>I cut it back. Two I have my soils very
<v Speaker 2>very dry, and it's in full sun. So all those
<v Speaker 2>things basically combined to kind of stress. I don't want
<v Speaker 2>to say stress it out, because it still performs great.
<v Speaker 2>But if this is this is one of those plants
<v Speaker 2>that if it's in all ideal conditions, getting regular moisture,
<v Speaker 2>you know, all of that, then it's going to grow
<v Speaker 2>a lot more. If you live in a warm climate,
<v Speaker 2>it's going to grow a lot more than it will
<v Speaker 2>for us here in Michigan. But as I've described on
<v Speaker 2>the show before, cutting something back isn't always a great
<v Speaker 2>way to keep it small because what happens as that
<v Speaker 2>root system gets larger and larger and more established, it's
<v Speaker 2>just a bigger engine to fuel growth after you cut
<v Speaker 2>it back. And so it's not really like, Okay, I
<v Speaker 2>cut it back, and now we'll only grow back, you know,
<v Speaker 2>three feet.
<v Speaker 3>It will be like, oh, I.
<v Speaker 2>Have this huge root system, so surprise, here's ten feet
<v Speaker 2>of growth, you know, for this summer. But what you
<v Speaker 2>can do, I think, and what I have found is
<v Speaker 2>that this is a plant. It definitely blooms on new wood,
<v Speaker 2>so it doesn't create It creates basically one kind of
<v Speaker 2>flower cluster for each tip that forms. So you know,
<v Speaker 2>you get the initial bloom in early summer or you
<v Speaker 2>know about June for us here in Michigan, on the
<v Speaker 2>growth that came out in spring, and then as it
<v Speaker 2>starts to branch out, that's when you get those subsequent
<v Speaker 2>blooms and that's what keeps it blooming. So I have
<v Speaker 2>heard from some people in very warm climates where the
<v Speaker 2>growth is maybe going to shut down a bit when
<v Speaker 2>it's very hot, that they aren't getting as long of
<v Speaker 2>a bloom time as we are seeing in Michigan. But
<v Speaker 2>in that case, I think doing a Chelsea chop or
<v Speaker 2>which is to say, cutting it back in in you
<v Speaker 2>know June somewhere around the Chelsea Flower Show in England.
<v Speaker 2>I think that what that would do is it will
<v Speaker 2>delay that first bloom, but it will cause branching and
<v Speaker 2>then you will have a lot more flowers on it.
<v Speaker 1>Agreed.
<v Speaker 2>So it is largely a question of where you live
<v Speaker 2>in your climate, but you can certainly do it. And
<v Speaker 2>the other thing about these types of things is, you know,
<v Speaker 2>of course we're always happy to help, but something like this,
<v Speaker 2>it's not really going to harm the plant. The worse
<v Speaker 2>it's going to happen is it doesn't bloom. It's always
<v Speaker 2>worth taking an experiment on. You know. We'd love to
<v Speaker 2>hear that from you, but you know, like as long
<v Speaker 2>as you're like, okay, well, I'm willing to forego the
<v Speaker 2>flowers this year in the interest of learning about this plant,
<v Speaker 2>you know, that's that's that's how your garden.
<v Speaker 3>That's what gardening is.
<v Speaker 1>If you're keeping score at home. We're talking about al
<v Speaker 1>Nino chitalpa and I have one in my landscape and
<v Speaker 1>I've been amazed at its growth Stacey, and I think
<v Speaker 1>my approach is going to be similar to a bud
<v Speaker 1>lea a bud lea. When I cut it back hard
<v Speaker 1>in spring, I think I benefit from more flowers in
<v Speaker 1>some ways.
<v Speaker 2>Oh definitely. This is one of those plants. So yeah,
<v Speaker 2>don't be afraid unless you're growing it as a small tree,
<v Speaker 2>which you certainly can do. If you're growing it as
<v Speaker 2>a shrub, yeah, get in there, cut it back and
<v Speaker 2>it'll be none the worse for the wear.
<v Speaker 1>Debbie writs to us, I just purchased a let's dance
<v Speaker 1>can do Hydrangea? I live in main zone five B.
<v Speaker 1>Is it okay to plant now the end of August?
<v Speaker 1>Or should I wait until spring? Also? If I do
<v Speaker 1>plant now, should I fertilize?
<v Speaker 3>Okay? Now?
<v Speaker 2>I wanted to answer Debbie's question on air today because
<v Speaker 2>it's probably a question that a lot of people have
<v Speaker 2>about can they plant things right now? And normally when
<v Speaker 2>you are pushing your hardiness zone, or you're planting something
<v Speaker 2>that is susceptible to a winter damage, which most hydrange
<v Speaker 2>of macropillas definitely are, we usually recommend waiting till spring.
<v Speaker 2>On the other hand, here we are it's fall, there's
<v Speaker 2>bargains galore in the garden center, and that plant will
<v Speaker 2>almost certainly be much happier planted than it would be
<v Speaker 2>trying to overwinter it in its container. So the answer
<v Speaker 2>is yes, you should plant it, even if it is
<v Speaker 2>a temporary planting, because you're going to be, you know,
<v Speaker 2>waiting for something to shake out or not sure where
<v Speaker 2>you want to put it. It is better for anything
<v Speaker 2>that you get to spend winter in the ground than
<v Speaker 2>to spend it in the container. But absolutely, under no
<v Speaker 2>circumstances should you fertilize, especially big leaf hydrangs like let's
<v Speaker 2>stands can do is because that will just push a
<v Speaker 2>lot of soft growth that will actually make the plant
<v Speaker 2>more susceptible to winter damage. This is what everybody in
<v Speaker 2>the industry does. They start dialing back the moisture and
<v Speaker 2>water and fertilizer on big leaf hydranges by about late
<v Speaker 2>July early August. It's a very crucial part. Hydrangeas are
<v Speaker 2>very sensitive to having the abundance of resources. You know,
<v Speaker 2>that will let them get bigger if they have all
<v Speaker 2>of those resources. So it's important to kind of curtail
<v Speaker 2>those resources so that the plant can enter dormancy, harden
<v Speaker 2>off all of its growth and foliage, and that will
<v Speaker 2>give it a much better winter and a much better
<v Speaker 2>year ahead. So do not fertilize any hydranges right now.
<v Speaker 2>Save that until the spring, even if they're brand new.
<v Speaker 1>I would agree probably naturally, there are plenty of nutrients
<v Speaker 1>in the soil. Anyhow, I think it's more important to
<v Speaker 1>mulch it. Yes, agree, get it in the ground, and
<v Speaker 1>I think you're going to be surprised DEBI and main
<v Speaker 1>zone five B. Yes, the air temperatures can drop pretty
<v Speaker 1>quick and it can get pretty cold heading into November,
<v Speaker 1>but that soil stays warm for a while, having benefited
<v Speaker 1>from a long summer.
<v Speaker 2>Right, So that means the roots are growing and it's
<v Speaker 2>doing everything that you want it to do. But you
<v Speaker 2>definitely don't want it to go into winter on human terms.
<v Speaker 2>You want it to go into winter on hydrangea terms.
<v Speaker 3>And you know where.
<v Speaker 2>It's another great point that you made. When you buy
<v Speaker 2>a new plant from the garden center. Honestly, whether it's
<v Speaker 2>summer or spring, summer or fall, they have a time
<v Speaker 2>release fertilizer incorporated in their. Chances are most places will
<v Speaker 2>have been fertilizing with some regularity anyway, So for new plants,
<v Speaker 2>like their nutritional needs are met, you don't really need
<v Speaker 2>to go out on a limb and try to accommodate them.
<v Speaker 1>Being a person who's always picking up plants well into fall,
<v Speaker 1>I can tell you that I've got plenty of those
<v Speaker 1>time release fertilizer granules in the carpet of my car
<v Speaker 1>and in between the seats that I end up vacuuming out.
<v Speaker 2>Oh yes, well, your car is well nutrition anyway, So
<v Speaker 2>thank you.
<v Speaker 3>We're going to take a little break.
<v Speaker 2>When we come back, we're picking up our conversation on
<v Speaker 2>backdrops and fences, so police stay tuned. Thanks for listening
<v Speaker 2>to the Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to you by Proven
<v Speaker 2>Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and
<v Speaker 2>everga means are chiled and tested by experts with your
<v Speaker 2>success in mind. Learn more at Proven winnerscolor Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified show. As we talk
<v Speaker 1>about structure in the garden, you know, structure, shape and form.
<v Speaker 1>It enhances a landscape. It provides year round interest. If
<v Speaker 1>you're one of those people who gets the blues in
<v Speaker 1>winter like me, if you've got some cool structures or
<v Speaker 1>backdrops in the garden, maybe a dying vine from the
<v Speaker 1>previous season that's on the structure, at least it helps
<v Speaker 1>give you some interest during the winter period. A fence
<v Speaker 1>also extends the architecture of a house to the edges
<v Speaker 1>of the property. And I also think that if you
<v Speaker 1>have a tight spot or a tight garden area, if
<v Speaker 1>you use white it can kind of enclose that space.
<v Speaker 1>But when you use dark colors, or a black fence.
<v Speaker 1>It actually makes the space feel larger and it just
<v Speaker 1>feels so much more comfortable to me. And again, I
<v Speaker 1>believe that it makes a great backdrop to the plant material.
<v Speaker 1>So you want you want that situation where you have
<v Speaker 1>a backdrop, but you don't want to feel penned in,
<v Speaker 1>so to speak, which leads me to my hot take.
<v Speaker 1>We're entering the fall season. So you know how much
<v Speaker 1>I love summer, Stacey, But there's one thing about summer
<v Speaker 1>that I do not like, and that is indoor winter.
<v Speaker 2>Ah.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, indoor winter. That season is finally ending. Why when
<v Speaker 1>you go to movie theaters stores, I don't care where
<v Speaker 1>you go. Go sit in a friend's car they blashed
<v Speaker 1>you with air. Can listen in my car in summertime.
<v Speaker 1>I have a winter coat, a stocking, camp, snow pants, boots,
<v Speaker 1>everything I need to survive indoor winter. Enough with the
<v Speaker 1>over dialed up air conditioning already, I can't take any
<v Speaker 1>more of it. I get physically ill from it.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it can get pretty chilly in some places, and
<v Speaker 2>you know that's just not very energy efficient.
<v Speaker 1>If I wanted to visit Vostok Experimental Research Station in Antarctica,
<v Speaker 1>I'll go there, but don't give it to me in
<v Speaker 1>your billing. Now. I understand there are people who have allergies,
<v Speaker 1>and of course you have things like nursing homes and hospitals.
<v Speaker 1>You've got people who are working hard. Maybe it's a
<v Speaker 1>restaurant and they're busy cooking. I understand there. Yeah, But
<v Speaker 1>I'm talking about just for the general person having to
<v Speaker 1>survive indoor winter. That's my hot take today. All right, okay,
<v Speaker 1>all right, where was I? So? I was going to
<v Speaker 1>share a little bit of history. Osage orange thorny young trees.
<v Speaker 1>They were pruned to promote thick, bushy growth, and I
<v Speaker 1>thought this phrase was cool, Stacey. The term horse high,
<v Speaker 1>both strong, and hog tight was used to describe osage
<v Speaker 1>orange and it was readily used in places like Kansas
<v Speaker 1>prior to when barbed wire was invented. And don't ask
<v Speaker 1>me when barbed wire was invented, but somebody invented it
<v Speaker 1>at some point. So that's a plant that has great
<v Speaker 1>history to it. Another one, as long as we're talking
<v Speaker 1>about fences and structures, is black locusts.
<v Speaker 3>Yes, very similar.
<v Speaker 2>So I need to go back to osage orange for
<v Speaker 2>a moment because this is such a cool plant. So
<v Speaker 2>this plant will be making the rounds I think in
<v Speaker 2>the coming weeks where it goes viral on social media
<v Speaker 2>with people claiming that the very interesting green brain like
<v Speaker 2>fruits or repel spiders. They do not, but you know,
<v Speaker 2>you'll still see people selling them or claiming it or whatever.
<v Speaker 2>They don't, But that's still not a bad reason to
<v Speaker 2>have them around because they're very cool looking.
<v Speaker 1>It's amazing what you see on the web.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, indeed, and the trees themselves are very cool looking.
<v Speaker 2>They have very unique bark, and the reason they were
<v Speaker 2>used as fences is because they are thorny, so it
<v Speaker 2>would help to prevent livestock and that kind of thing
<v Speaker 2>from going in between the fencers. But the coolest thing, okay,
<v Speaker 2>this is not related to it being a backdrop. The
<v Speaker 2>coolest thing about osage orange is that its seeds, those big,
<v Speaker 2>giant brain like oranges which are green, were dispersed by
<v Speaker 2>wooly mammoths, and the osage orange stopped spreading across North
<v Speaker 2>America when the mammoths went extinct because there was no
<v Speaker 2>longer anything that could spread the fruits.
<v Speaker 1>Wow, they're the only ones that would eat the fruit.
<v Speaker 2>They were the only ones that would eat the fruits.
<v Speaker 2>There's a fascinating article online called the Trees that Miss
<v Speaker 2>the Mammoths. So if you are interested in more information,
<v Speaker 2>that would be a great choice. And black locusts, yeah,
<v Speaker 2>their great choice.
<v Speaker 1>Also very thorny, yes, oh thorny, oh, black locusts. I
<v Speaker 1>tell you, while you're while you were talking about oceae orange,
<v Speaker 1>I was thinking when I was a kid, that's what
<v Speaker 1>we would do all the time. We would get shovel handles,
<v Speaker 1>use them as baseball bats and hit these osage oranges
<v Speaker 1>for hours out in the field. Come home and you'd
<v Speaker 1>be picking the green on, yes, and your clothing that brought.
<v Speaker 3>Back the Oh that's nice.
<v Speaker 2>They have a very strong kind of resinous smell, not
<v Speaker 2>appetizing at all. And you know there you see them
<v Speaker 2>here and there in Michigan. They were never native to Michigan.
<v Speaker 2>They didn't come native this far north, but you do
<v Speaker 2>sometimes I think maybe around old farms and that kind
<v Speaker 2>of thing. See a vestige of an ocege orange fence
<v Speaker 2>here and there.
<v Speaker 1>Awesome. Yeah. Black locusts so fast growing nitrogen fixing tree.
<v Speaker 1>Native to eastern uh North America. It's known for its
<v Speaker 1>deep furrowed bark, And you're right, Stacey, very thorny twigs.
<v Speaker 1>As a matter of fact, it's not a tree that
<v Speaker 1>I would recommend for your landscape. Do not find them
<v Speaker 1>to be attractive. But it is a native tree. As
<v Speaker 1>a matter of fact, I had one in my landscape
<v Speaker 1>at one time. I bought it from American Forests because
<v Speaker 1>it was an offspring of the black locust that Abraham
<v Speaker 1>Lincoln stood next to when he delivered the Gettysburg address.
<v Speaker 3>Well, that's a good reason to grow on at.
<v Speaker 1>Least certificate that said.
<v Speaker 2>The flowers are great, really fragrant. And when way back
<v Speaker 2>when I was in horticulture school, I know that the
<v Speaker 2>tree crew always had an agreement with the orchid team
<v Speaker 2>because the black locust is very dense wood, really good
<v Speaker 2>for burning, really good for it's really rot resistant. So
<v Speaker 2>the people who took care of the orchid collection at
<v Speaker 2>NYBG would request black locust twigs for mounting orchids on
<v Speaker 2>because as they would hold up better to the humidity
<v Speaker 2>in the landscape.
<v Speaker 1>So it's interesting, and I'm glad you brought that up,
<v Speaker 1>because that's where I was going with this. There are
<v Speaker 1>many people who believe locust poles are more durable as
<v Speaker 1>fencing post fence material or if you're putting up a structure.
<v Speaker 1>I have a picture on YouTube of a playground going
<v Speaker 1>in with locust poles. You're right, Stacey. They are so
<v Speaker 1>dense and so durable that many people favor them to
<v Speaker 1>womanized or treated lumber.
<v Speaker 2>Sure, if you can find them. I've never seen them,
<v Speaker 2>but I've never looked for them, but out there they
<v Speaker 2>are a very cool plant. And you know you mentioned
<v Speaker 2>the bark. It's one of those types of barks you
<v Speaker 2>can get to know an idea tree because it's so distinctive.
<v Speaker 1>You bet. As far as backdrop plants are concerned, of course,
<v Speaker 1>we all have our favorites, but I've developed a new favorite, Stacy. Now.
<v Speaker 1>It used to be joe pie weed or tall helianthus
<v Speaker 1>that I would put in the background. Of course, I
<v Speaker 1>love of cannas and pillar rows of sharon and viburnum,
<v Speaker 1>all great backdrop plants. But I have really become a
<v Speaker 1>big fan of calicanthus ooh yest because it grows so fast,
<v Speaker 1>the foliage is so green and glossy, and let's say
<v Speaker 1>I have it next to a structure, that foliage just
<v Speaker 1>jumps out, not to speak of the amazing, interesting flowers
<v Speaker 1>that are on the plant, But I recommend that as
<v Speaker 1>a structural backdrop.
<v Speaker 2>That's a great choice because it is also very dense.
<v Speaker 2>It has got a lot of foliage on it, so
<v Speaker 2>it really creates that kind of lush, dense backdrop that's
<v Speaker 2>so good for setting off other plants as well as
<v Speaker 2>its own flowers. I love watching the I love the
<v Speaker 2>way that the flowers and foliage complement each other on
<v Speaker 2>that plant.
<v Speaker 1>So take a look at composition, take a look at
<v Speaker 1>fencing material. You may think, hey, I just want to
<v Speaker 1>grow plants, but you have issues. You have deer or
<v Speaker 1>rabbits to control. You don't want the fence to be
<v Speaker 1>gaudy or to distract from the plant material or the
<v Speaker 1>landscape that you have. And then in other situations, like
<v Speaker 1>I said in our first segment, using these galvanized steel
<v Speaker 1>panels or various types of wood, or these different types
<v Speaker 1>of mesh to create fencing where you either create a
<v Speaker 1>situation where you can see through it and it dissolves
<v Speaker 1>into the landscape, or it creates a backdrop to be
<v Speaker 1>able to plant some really colorful plants. I'm really getting
<v Speaker 1>into that and structure within the landscape. As a matter
<v Speaker 1>of fact, Adriana put together a wonderful video of your garden.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah and my garden, and we have that out on YouTube.
<v Speaker 1>And now that that video is out there, I've begun
<v Speaker 1>my work on my pergola. Ooh, there you go, Stacey.
<v Speaker 1>There's for the posts, one of the posts right there.
<v Speaker 1>And interestingly enough, again online you can buy the components,
<v Speaker 1>not the wood, but just the components to put together
<v Speaker 1>your own para live.
<v Speaker 2>You know, I like this attitude that you have because,
<v Speaker 2>as someone who got fencing quotes, fencing is expensive. So
<v Speaker 2>if you want to save some money and do something
<v Speaker 2>that's more creative and unique to you, it definitely pays
<v Speaker 2>to think a little bit outside the box there.
<v Speaker 1>That's exactly it. Don't be left defenseless. Well this was fun,
<v Speaker 1>it was yeah. Thank you Stacy, thank you Rick, thanks Adriana,
<v Speaker 1>and thanks to you for watching us on YouTube, listening
<v Speaker 1>to our podcast or our radio version of the show.
<v Speaker 1>Have yourself a great week.