3184 Calling All Green Fingers

My favourite for concealing the inevitable green fence is pyracantha! Grows anywhere - porcupine proof, miserable white flowers, but (if you prune it right) red/pink/orange/violet berries - mix these colours up to be really Italian!!

Hi Francesca :)

Camellias might be my choice. Blooming at least 2-3 seasons a year they can be a wonderful burst of color during the time of an almost colorless garden. They have a nice hearty foliage and are easy to take care of.

Here's a link to the International Camellia Society. There's lots of information here about different varieties and growning tips on this link. There are plenty of Italian ones to check out.

[url]http://www.camellia-ics.org/[/url]

(sorry Relaxed, I think we both posted about the same time)

People always "post at the same time"!! No worries - but for me Camelias (beautiful, beautiful) I always cry (UK and Italy) when they die on me!!

Not good to hear that Relaxed. I've never had a problem with them They just do their thing here with no muss and fuss. We have a Mediterranean climate
and we've added several in our gardens to fill in some color when nothing else is blooming (except our Australian violets that live and bloom under any weather condition, talk about a survivor, wow.)

You know- I think it is often a question of "attitude"! I have had such bad luck with Camelias that I have crossed them off my list - so why would a self respecting Camelia ever deign to grow for me!! I sometimes recommend plants which (for me) have been absolutely bombproof - but if the person who plants them has their own doubts - well - for me the plant senses that it is doubted, and languishes! Sounds crazy - I know - but experience has taught me that it is true!!

LOL, must be my problem with blue verbena :rolleyes:

(BTW, The Romans credited powers of rekindling the flames of dying love to the plant, and gave it the name Herba Veneris (plant of Venus).)

Hi Relax, Pyracantha was my initial choice as it is great for hedging, but I have that now, fancied something diffrent for a change, Mine has orange berries on it, will not rule it out though ......... thanks

Hi Greatscott, The Camellias sound just like what I Imagine my hedge to look like, what ever happens , going to have some anyway,Thank you for website

Thank you both for your help. Regards Francesca

Francesca

I can't remember the names of some of them, so I'm going to look them up for you. The hedge planted here all the way 'round the garden is of bay, which fruits, but I don't think it has a flower. It smells so wonderful when you prune it. I need to move the hedge closer to the wall, so after studying others, I think the nicest ones have mixed hedges. I planted a buddlia last year & I'm going to take cuttings from others shrubs to see if I can do it that way, but it will take years to see the results.

Once I've had a look, I'll let you know.

Happy gardening

Lavender Field

Francesca

Had a look thru my books to remind myself. Many of these you will know from England

Mahonia, shade loving with a yellow flower

Privet with a yellow or white flower

Fatsia, although I consider it more a tree.

Osmanthus

Hebe with a beautiful blu flower, I also think there is a white one too

Dipelta with a pinky flower

Choisya has a lovely white flower

Ceanothus which is 1 of my favorites with those lovely blu flowers in profusion

Ilex not flowered but lovely berries I have a feeling it's slow growing

Laurel again with berries. I have the verigated variety which stands up to the harsh winters

I hope this is of help.

Lavender Field

Seriously - I do find that plants which I have "taken against" know this - and will not grow for me!! I think there is more to this "green fingers" theory tnan even the most persistent researchers have (as yet) revealed.

Wow thanks Lav!! Going to enjoy myself reading about this lot, thanks alot, I have no excuse but have a fab garden the time I have finished, cant wait. regards Francesca

[QUOTE=Relaxed]Seriously - I do find that plants which I have "taken against" know this - and will not grow for me!! I think there is more to this "green fingers" theory tnan even the most persistent researchers have (as yet) revealed.[/QUOTE]

Relax:) perhaps you should talk to them lovingly, tell them how beautiful they are going to grow, with all your tender loving care, you may be surprised;) regards Francesca

I have a climber all along one border which the locals call ringusperna - I think it's called star jasmin in English. It grows quickly,white fragrant flowers in late Spring and then red leaves in winter otherwise green all year. On another border I have laurel nobilis and I am just planting pittisporo further up the land which can make a high hedge, evergreen, with again scented flowers once a year (we're in the Colli above Roma, about 1500 feet above sea level so we do see light snow but also get the summer heat- these plants don't seem to care.
Hope this gives food for thought

Fiona, jasmin is one of my favourite,s.... I adore the smell of these,have one of these now, but its wasted where I have it, I would love to have this real close to house, so in the warm evening nights sitting outside with a nice glass of vino looking at the views,with a wonderful aroma of jasmin in the air, Im there already:) thankyou Francesca

Trachylospermum jasminoides is the botanical name of the one Fiona is talking about - it is often called ringospermum/a here!
Alloro - bay - makes a nice hedge, and can be allowed to billow, or kept easily in trim. Handy for the spiedini, too. Needs less water than laurel, easier to prune, and less prone to the prunus deiseases.

Surprised no one has mentioned Rosa Rugosa, tough as old boots, pretty flowers, berries for the birds, now, about those dogs.....:)

What a beauty George, got my doggies photos on comp, but Im not very good at getting them on to forum site, guess I must be doing something wrong, regards Francesca

And he's for sale... (well, free to friends :) )

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]If you have to keep dogs from getting through it you must have something that is bushy at the base or they will escape thro gaps!!! Rosa Rugosa is a good hedge but in the winter it will loose its leaves so dogs will see through it!

[B]Yew [/B]is evergreen but dear to buy and slow growing
[B]Bay[/B] is good and evergreen
[B]Hawthorn or blackthorn [/B]are good and you get blossom in the spring.
[B]Holly[/B] is good for keeping dogs in and the Holly Blue butterfly lays its eggs on it.

When we moved her 10 years ago the garden was over grown and we found little hazel,holly,ash and elder trees everywhere.We dug them up and planted then along the top of the wall in our orchard in a random way.We now have a beautiful hedge wich we cut back yearly and which provides pea sticks etc.You will need to wait until November to plant it.

Good luck

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

After toiling with various varieties, we have found that bay and laurel grow the best with the dry summers and harsh winters of Marche. However if you want some colour with it, why not plant rambling roses between for the colour.

good luck - camelias and hydrangeas died on me as well!

Sorry to hear that camellias are a problem. I found a place where they have information about growning camellias in Italy. If someone would like to try again maybe this site will help.

Here are some camellias growning in Italy:

[url]http://www.camelie.it/camelie2003/DSCN2732.JPG[/url]

[url]http://www.camelie.it/2006/DSCN0094.JPG[/url]

and here's a link to The Italian Camellia Society:

[url]http://www.camelie.it/[/url]

Have you tested your soil for ph Relax? Are they located where they get morning sun early on a frosty winter's day? Two things to think about. Amazed that camelias flower more than once a year Great Scott!

Hi again all you green fingers....... can any one tell me what cotoneaster, Arbusti , and Quercia are like ? :) as im sorting out my garden still, thanks again :)

Cotoneaster is a very wide (oh, not sure if it a genus, species or a family) description. You can have cotoneaster hedges, carpeting plants, etc. etc. Generally very hardy, fairly drought tolerant, trouble free plants.
Arbusti just means "shrubs".
Quercia means "oak", but again there are many varieties of quercia, some of them specimen trees, others more woodland specimens.
A very good site is [url]www.margheriti.it[/url], a pretty comprehensive catalog of all garden plants, where the site is also available in English. They will deliver all over Italy, but I'm recommending the site as an information resource at this point!

I know there have been a lot of suggestions already but I would suggest Ceanothus which is evergreen with lovely blue flowers (mine is flowering now in England) or perhaps Escallonia pink or white flowers. Both can be quite bushy at the bottom to keep the boys in. (Or are they girls?) What about myrtle as well, lovely white flowers and a sort of fragrance to the leaves when crushed. Have fun planting!

Cotoneaster has lovely red berries and grows like mad. We had it climbing over our house in the UK and it did a great job of covering the brick work. I'm not sure how it would do here, though. (I'm from the Thames Valley, where it's damp and cold in winter btw.)

Thanks everyone for your replies:) these were plants and trees drawn on plans from our Architect, so I guess they were just suggestions:)