In my last post, I spoke about xylosma and mentioned oleander.  If you've never heard about oleander, then I encourage you to ask people about this controversial plant. But no matter what people will say, there is no denying that this plant is seen in landscapes across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and many other states. It's an aggressive plant that is green and lush which originates from the Mediterranean.  It thrives from neglect and harsh sun.  Without a doubt, if given FULL sun, this plant will not fail and grow to large heights and block out your gawking neighbors.  It's also root invasive so keep it away from the foundations of homes and other structures.  Once established, this plant is almost a weed and can be invasive.  The plant can also put seed out this time of year and randomly pop up in your yard somewhere.  So what should you know about oleander?  Let me start with the pros and then go into cons....

Pros

1. Green green green and lush
2. Pretty flowers in spring
3. Blocks noise and annoying neighbors
4. Makes a GREAT natural screen...if you don't want a fence, plant oleander instead
5. They are extremely low maintenance once established in FULL sun
6. Don't put this plant in shade as it will look leggy
7. It can take some abuse and loves pruning!  In fact, this is a great plant to experiment on when you begin learning how to prune plants. Don't prune in winter.  Wait until the second week of March
8. Nice hedge to use in repetition
9. Beautiful flowers in spring/and a lot of color varieties
10. It's also attractive to a certain Oleander Caterpillar

        Cons

1. Root invasive
2. Poisoness leaves and stems; wear gloves
3. While it does lose leaves, winter can make the plant look shabby and leaves will look burned
4. Can destroy foundations with its' invasive roots
5. Overused in the desert landscape
6. Affected in some parts like Phoenix and California by Oleander Leaf Scorch...more on this on tomorrow's blog.  It's a huge concern for California and several states near California

This is a strong plant that is difficult to kill once established so think carefully before planting.  Stay tuned for more on strong Zone 9 plants!

Labels: growing oleander in Tucson, Nerium, nerium issues, nerium oleander, nerium oleander 'Hardy Red', Oleander, oleander care in Tucson

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In the next several weeks, I'll be starting a new project on the grounds that is going to utilize the idea of repetition.  Many successful gardeners use this idea to bring their spaces together. Through the use of same/ similiar plants, a unified bond is created in the garden that makes everything look planned out and organized. People's eyes are naturally drawn to these groupings of plants. Here are several ways to do this......

Lantana planted in a row makes a nice pathway into your home from the garden.

One is to put the same plant in various spots around the garden to "balance" out the landscape.  By doing this, the garden will feel even.  Second is to put a row of plants together either to create a natural fence or a barrier to hide a road or a neighbor's yard.  There are many other uses for barriers but these are just a couple that come to mind.  What are some plants that I use for repetition in the gardens?  Prickly Pear, San Pedro Cactus, Oleander, Nandina, Bouganvillea, Mexican Palms, Buddha's Belly Bamboo, and Lantana. This is what works in my area but you are by no means limited.  This can be used with ANY plant! So how do I organize the plants stated above at my place?

Roses, grouped together, create a color patch around trees, ramadas, etc.

Let's start with nerium first. The oleanders here are all red flowers(I like this color), check to make sure you have the same color before purchasing and make sure you purchase them all together.  The best time to do this is when the oleanders have flowers on them at your local gardening center.  Here they are placed along a rotting fence and will eventually create a natural fence.  The Nandina is planted sporadically around the property just to balance out the random/showcase plants in other places.  This plant is prominently used in the courtyard and in the North Planters.  Bamboo is placed in the Southern planters because they love the sun. Lantana is used to create a natural walkway to guide visitors onto the property.

Oleander makes a wonderful natural fence

Here are the best parts.  What is the minimal number of plants used to create this unifying look in the garden? The answer.... 3.  For some reason, a repetition of 3 seems to be the magic number. How do you use it in your own garden?  Well for example, I put all my Mexican Birds of Paradise together to create a ferny patch in front of our Canary Palm.  We also have a random HUGE palm growing on the property that had nothing to match it so I purchased 2 other palms and spread them out on the courtyard.  This will eventually create the holy triad and make that lonely palm fit in with everything else.

Bamboo can create a wonderful private screen.

Pairs.  They are also fine like our two large oak trees or bouganvilleas that "frame" the entrance ways or create a canopy over our courtyard. Note that I used the word "frame" with two plants.  Groupings also work well.....like in rose gardens.

Ferny leaves can create a similiar plantings effect....and another way to look at repetition....

You mentioned cactus.  How do you use these? Any place that a trespasser can cross is where a Prickly Pear or San Pedro cactus will be located which leads me into my project for this spring. I will be placing 10 whiskey barrels together that will create a unified cactus garden and make our front entrance pop.....and it will protect our front property from people who don't belong there.  In the upcoming month, I'll have more reporting and images using this idea of repetition.

Too many palms together....much better spread out over a larger area.

Repetition with similiar/same plants allows you to showcase your favorite trees, bushes, or smaller plants. It allows you to play around with new designs over the years within a natural design.  Try it out and see what happens:)  Until next time, happy gardening!

The project on the property for Spring.  The front will be redressed with a repetitive cactus garden in whiskey barrels.

Labels: balance, bouganvillea, cactus garden, garden project, heavenly bamboo, Mexican Bird of Paradise, nandina, Natural fence, Nerium, prickly pear, Repetition, whiskey barrels

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Greetings, It has been a couple weeks since my last blog. Things have been busy with school coming to an end. I have one more week before summer starts!!! The summer is fast approaching and things are starting to explode all around the garden.....I will be taking A LOT of pics as everything gets taller. The garden is just that....at the beginning of its' journey. Therefore, things are still being moved around until I see a happy plant. Today I moved the lilacs to pots as they seem happier there. So what's been going on? Since the last post, caladiums and elephant ears have all surfaced from the ground and it will be quite a show. The jacaranda tree has purple flowers!!! It took two years for it to happen, but it happened:) The chitalpa tree has nice pink flowers and the castor plants are meeting various success in different areas of the garden. Overall, I am currently VERY happy with the progress around the property. A lot of good things are happening and it's exciting to watch. On the negative side, I am still battling palm seedlings by the hundreds...they seem to keep popping up daily. The last of the oak leaves and pollen will be cleaned up next week. And I pulled up the dead persimmons tree from the ground. The roots were all twisted and matted. It was replaced with another persimmons tree but this one was NOT bare root. Weeds seem to be drying out. Plums have been struggling a bit, but they are green and growing so I will not touch them unless I see a major die back. Overall, it is encouraging to see that things are beginning to pay off.....stay tuned for more garden posts. Chris

Labels: Jacaranda, Nerium, Oleander, roses, Verbena

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