I have an idea about planting hedges around my new back yard. We are fenced
all the way around with white vinyl fencing and have a sprinkler system.
It's not a huge yard but I'd like to start making it something special. I
was able to get two raised beds in for herbs this year and am ready to start
planning for fall and spring.

I was thinking about hedges on both sides, maybe even across the back, to
create an old fashioned English garden setting, or maybe japanese. I think
bamboo would be tough to do--clumping bamboo doesn't propogate so it would
be more expensive and running bamboo...well, you know...

Anyway, I thought, perhaps, purple sage would be a possibility. I have read
that it can get up to 6-8 feet, which would be enough (if I don't get busted
by the HOA for letting it get too high) and the flowers would be a gorgeous
addition.

I'm concerned that keeping the sprinkler system going frequently enough
(usually every 3rd day for about 10 minutes) to keep the grass alive, will
be too much for the sage. I'm especially concerned that it might not get
tall enough.

Any words of advice from experts out there?

Thanks for any input!

ie
--

ride fast, take chances.

oldhickory wrote:
|| I have an idea about planting hedges around my new back yard.
|| We are fenced all the way around with white vinyl fencing and
|| have a sprinkler system. It's not a huge yard but I'd like to
|| start making it something special. I was able to get two
|| raised beds in for herbs this year and am ready to start
|| planning for fall and spring.
||
|| I was thinking about hedges on both sides, maybe even across
|| the back, to create an old fashioned English garden setting,
|| or maybe japanese. I think bamboo would be tough to
|| do--clumping bamboo doesn't propogate so it would be more
|| expensive and running bamboo...well, you know...
||
|| Anyway, I thought, perhaps, purple sage would be a
|| possibility. I have read that it can get up to 6-8 feet,
|| which would be enough (if I don't get busted by the HOA for
|| letting it get too high) and the flowers would be a gorgeous
|| addition.
||
|| I'm concerned that keeping the sprinkler system going
|| frequently enough (usually every 3rd day for about 10
|| minutes) to keep the grass alive, will be too much for the
|| sage. I'm especially concerned that it might not get tall
|| enough.
||
|| Any words of advice from experts out there?
||
|| Thanks for any input!
||
|| ie
|| --
||
|| ride fast, take chances.

The sage doesn't like wet conditions. If you water to keep the
grass alive be sure to put it in beds that drain well. I have it
several places on the hillsides on my property, once established
it requires no special care other than to prune it once in a
while
for shape.

That said, have you ever heard that a heavier watering once a
week is better for grass than multiple light waterings several
times a week.

BJ
--
--
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and
car keys to teenage boys." -- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

http://www.obsessionthemovie.com
http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/isacrime.html
http://home.swbell.net/bjtexas/SS/

Yes, this would work, but make sure you buy plants which aren't
dwarfs. I like variety so up against my back fence I have many
different things.

Afghan pine
Cassia
Vitex

Other things as well. If you want it to be a monochromatic hedge, you
can't go wring with Texas sage, but if one gets sick you will lose
them all. They aren't prone to diseases, but only if you don't over
water it.

On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 03:10:26 GMT, "oldhickory"
wrote:

I have an idea about planting hedges around my new back yard. We are fenced
all the way around with white vinyl fencing and have a sprinkler system.
It's not a huge yard but I'd like to start making it something special. I
was able to get two raised beds in for herbs this year and am ready to start
planning for fall and spring.

I was thinking about hedges on both sides, maybe even across the back, to
create an old fashioned English garden setting, or maybe japanese. I think
bamboo would be tough to do--clumping bamboo doesn't propogate so it would
be more expensive and running bamboo...well, you know...

Anyway, I thought, perhaps, purple sage would be a possibility. I have read
that it can get up to 6-8 feet, which would be enough (if I don't get busted
by the HOA for letting it get too high) and the flowers would be a gorgeous
addition.

I'm concerned that keeping the sprinkler system going frequently enough
(usually every 3rd day for about 10 minutes) to keep the grass alive, will
be too much for the sage. I'm especially concerned that it might not get
tall enough.

Any words of advice from experts out there?

Thanks for any input!

ie

Suggest you rethink your watering schedule. You should water only when the
lawn shows some sign that it needs it, with St Augustine that is when the
blades show some curling in the morning or when you walk across it in the
morning and can turn around and see where you walked. At that point you
should water long enough to put down 3/4 to 1 inch of water. By watering
lightly and frequently you are developing a root system that is only at the
surface.

Might want to look at Dwarf Burford Holly, no flowers to speak of but nice
evergreen and red berries in the fall and winter.

Good Luck

"oldhickory" wrote in message
...
I have an idea about planting hedges around my new back yard. We are
fenced all the way around with white vinyl fencing and have a sprinkler
system. It's not a huge yard but I'd like to start making it something
special. I was able to get two raised beds in for herbs this year and am
ready to start planning for fall and spring.

I was thinking about hedges on both sides, maybe even across the back, to
create an old fashioned English garden setting, or maybe japanese. I think
bamboo would be tough to do--clumping bamboo doesn't propogate so it would
be more expensive and running bamboo...well, you know...

Anyway, I thought, perhaps, purple sage would be a possibility. I have
read that it can get up to 6-8 feet, which would be enough (if I don't get
busted by the HOA for letting it get too high) and the flowers would be a
gorgeous addition.

I'm concerned that keeping the sprinkler system going frequently enough
(usually every 3rd day for about 10 minutes) to keep the grass alive, will
be too much for the sage. I'm especially concerned that it might not get
tall enough.

Any words of advice from experts out there?

Thanks for any input!

ie
--

ride fast, take chances.

Oh---DOH! Deep watering does make sense, hadn't thought about it...traumatic
year so we've just been squeaking by on managing a lot of things since we
moved--I didn't even get my herb garden started until July--that's scary!

Actually, we have bermuda....but I'll do a little quick research and make
sure we adjust accordingly.

Thanks so much for the great suggestions and advise!

--
ie
ride fast, take chances.


"Cliff" wrote in message
m...
Suggest you rethink your watering schedule. You should water only when
the lawn shows some sign that it needs it, with St Augustine that is when
the blades show some curling in the morning or when you walk across it in
the morning and can turn around and see where you walked. At that point
you should water long enough to put down 3/4 to 1 inch of water. By
watering lightly and frequently you are developing a root system that is
only at the surface.

Might want to look at Dwarf Burford Holly, no flowers to speak of but nice
evergreen and red berries in the fall and winter.

Good Luck

"oldhickory" wrote in message
...
I have an idea about planting hedges around my new back yard. We are
fenced all the way around with white vinyl fencing and have a sprinkler
system. It's not a huge yard but I'd like to start making it something
special. I was able to get two raised beds in for herbs this year and am
ready to start planning for fall and spring.

I was thinking about hedges on both sides, maybe even across the back, to
create an old fashioned English garden setting, or maybe japanese. I
think bamboo would be tough to do--clumping bamboo doesn't propogate so
it would be more expensive and running bamboo...well, you know...

Anyway, I thought, perhaps, purple sage would be a possibility. I have
read that it can get up to 6-8 feet, which would be enough (if I don't
get busted by the HOA for letting it get too high) and the flowers would
be a gorgeous addition.

I'm concerned that keeping the sprinkler system going frequently enough
(usually every 3rd day for about 10 minutes) to keep the grass alive,
will be too much for the sage. I'm especially concerned that it might not
get tall enough.

Any words of advice from experts out there?

Thanks for any input!

ie
--

ride fast, take chances.