Garden Design Tips from Landscape Designer Ceejay Floriani - Spring-Summer 2005
Question:
I want colorful, low growing plants for my shady walkway.What combination would you suggest?


–Carmel-by-the-Sea

Question:
We have a full sun border at the entrance to our home that has large rocks throughout the area. Can you suggest a colorful combination that will thrive in this condition?

– Carmel Valley
Answer:
A great combination for light to dense shade are button ferns, clivia and impatiens. Place stones in the border before you plant. This will create a natural look. Stones found on your property tend to look best. Use clivia and ferns as your foundation planting. Impatiens will be your spring to fall seasonal color. In winter change out the impatiens for primula malicoides.		 Answer:
For a colorful but natural looking spring-fall planting, cluster 1 to 3 of each plant listed around the base of your rock clusters.The results will amaze you. Use hemerocallis (daylily), euphorbia martinii, nemesia Blue Bird and California poppy. Plant them close to the rocks so your drip irrigation can be more efficient. Start at your entrance and repeat the planting to as many rock clusters as you wish.

Wisteria Secrets

Question:
Even though my wisteria has reached the top of the trellis, it hardly bloomed last year and this year it looks like a huge tangled mess.What can I do to get the same results that I see at Filoli Gardens in Woodside?

-Carmel Highlands
Answer:
It’s all in the pruning. The beautiful and robust clusters of wisteria that grace the walls and trellises of botanical gardens all share the same thing–artful pruning at least twice a year.

Winter Pruning
The first thing I do when approaching a tangled mess of wisteria is to lop off the top. Sounds drastic but I assure you the power of this vine lies in its branch work, not the whips that grew into the tangled mess. Use loppers, hedge shears or a chain saw depending on the mass of your vine. Make your cut about a foot above the top of the trellis or vine support. Be prepared to take away a mass of debris. You’ll use hand pruners to finish the job. The concept is to reduce the whips or side shoots as close to the main branch work as possible, leaving only 5 to 7 buds. Properly done, your wisteria will look as if it has fingers projecting from the main branch or branches. By reducing the wisteria’s mass you will focus the plants energy into the remaining buds, which in turn will become glorious clusters of blossoms in spring.

Summer Pruning
After your wisteria has bloomed, it will put out an enormous amount of whips or side shoots. Your summer pruning should be light. Use hedge shears to trim the new whips down to a comfortable shape. I like to prune the whips to about 2 to 2-1/2 feet above the trellis for a tight, leafy green look.

Too Much Work?
If the pruning instructions sound complicated or if the task is too much to handle, I recommend you hire a professional who specializes in wisteria. Good luck and let me know if I can offer more details on how you can reclaim this glorious vine.

We want to hear from you. Please submit landscape design or organic garden-care questions to ceejay@gardentalk.org


This wisteria, located in Carmel Valley, has been pruned
on a regular basis, in winter and summer.