This is the third summer for my landscape redo. Last year I wasn't very happy with how it looked, but now it is coming into its own. The perennials are denser and taller, the shrubs bigger and bushier, the trees leafier and branchier. I'm glad I didn't do anything drastic to change things up.
But there are some changes. I moved a few clumps of hairy beardtongue from under the reach of the Japanese maple to the backyard, around the ninebark. Some clumps of nodding onion are now near the serviceberry. The heuchera 'Electra' I purchased is filling the new gaps in the front bed; hope it will be able to compete with its wilder cousins. It's all an experiment.
Another experiment is to try to control the aromatic aster by cutting it back by half. The idea is to keep it from flopping. The seedlings are fairly easy to manage by pulling. (I wish the landscaper had provided me with instructions for caring for the new plants beyond "water them".)
The sand and topsoil that I purchased to fill in the wet areas in the back lawn got rained on before I could mix and spread it, so it was rather clumpy when I finally did so. More is needed, but next time I will keep it dry beforehand. I threw some clover seed over the clumps.
Then there is the neverending weeding. The front beds are getting dense enough to discourage weeds, so not so bad. Clover, dandelions, and quackgrass are creeping into the rain garden, though. Boo. Removing suckers from around trees makes things look tidier.
I'm not a fan of iris (other than to admire it in other people's yards), but some came with the house. I've given a lot of it away over the years, but there is still a colony on the north side of the garage where it always flops and rarely blooms. This year is an exception.
A catbird has been hanging around the nearly-empty sunflower feeder, chasing away the sparrows. And the other day I spotted a cedar waxwing in the (dead) tulip tree, a rare sighting.
While checking the plant list I keep on this blog, I searched on the variety of chokeberry bushes I have, Aronia melanocarpa 'UCONNAM166'. They have borne no fruit, and apparently they never will. I'm sure the landscaper selected this variety because it stays compact, but I'm disappointed there will be no berries. It also looks like they are trying to spread. That's two strikes against it.
These pix are about a week old, record peak bloom times (more or less), and are already out of date. But here we go anyway.
I know I have posted photos of the blue false indigo before, but it has been one of the stars this spring. Every time I think it has peaked, it outdoes itself.
And it bloomed in succession, from south to north, so the show just kept on going. If only it bloomed all summer long. It's done now, of course.
I'm new to dogwood, so wasn't sure when the Pagoda dogwood would bloom. And when it did, it wasn't all that spectacular. I tried to get some pix, but the blossoms were all at the top and I was too lazy to fetch a ladder. This is the best I could do from ground level.
This catmint is another star that keeps looking better and better. What I thought was milkweed popping up in the middle of it proved to be Indian hemp, which I've decided to discourage since it can rapidly take over an entire area.
The Betty Corning clematis is further along than this pic shows. I have two; one gets more sun and is usually bigger and fuller, but they are both stupendous specimens. Last year I purchased new tuteurs for them. Luckily, I decided to anchor the tuteurs to the downspouts; otherwise, the whole shebang would have toppled over by now.
I think this is the 'Blue Muffin' viberunum, blooming away but rarely does it set fruit. It is done now too.
Despite my neglect, a few irises bloom each year. They came with the house. I couldn't decide which pic I liked best, so here are two.
These are 'Sunny Twinkles' allium. I planted them many years ago, and each year they look a bit better. They are not quite tall enough for the back of the bed, but they do peek through.
If they stood up more and splayed less, they would probably be more visible; I think they need more sun. In this pic, they are surrounded by 'Zagreb' coreopsis which is just going wild this year, spreading into large masses. This is the only long-lived coreopsis I have ever found. Can't wait for it to bloom.
This shrubby clump turned out to be yellow sweet clover, an alien. It no longer lives here.
The rhododendron was a disappointment this year. I also managed to miss the peak bloom time for the cotoneaster. That pile of mulch (which is nearly gone) has taken up a lot of gardening time.
Meanwhile, I decided to eliminate the asparagus bed. Keeping it weeded was just too much work. Since a farmers market may be found here almost any day of the week in summer (and once a week all year long), growing my own food has lost its urgency. Also, Costco. Need I say more?
Ordinarily, I am perfectly happy to accept yardening help, especially when power tools or heavy lifting is involved. It is usually best if I do the weeding myself, though. For one thing, I know which plants are weeds and which are weedy-looking perennials. Not that I don't occasionally yank out the wrong thing, but I'd rather blame myself than some poor soul who only wants to be of service. More importantly, working on garden beds myself gives me the opportunity to examine the health of the plants and contemplate the future direction of the bed in question.
A case in point are the beds on the west side of the house, near the gas meter and air conditioner. When the meter reader still had to actually look at the meter to get a reading, I kept the dials visible by installing a pea gravel mulch. This strategy also helps the AC maintenance tech on one side. Once upon a time, I moved most of the tiger lilies and daylilies to this area, just to give them a place to sit and wait while I decided their future. Now I would like to move them elsewhere, and mulch that area with pea gravel as well. But pea gravel - blech. What could I do to prettify this area while still keeping it clear? AHA! Containers! So that is the plan for this part of the backyard.
Adjacent to this area is a newish bed that is a work in progress. The iris plants next to the house need to be divided and shifted to the west, so they will get more sun and hopefully bloom better. I divided and transplanted some "ditch lilies" to this area and added a few zinnias for the interim. In the back is some fleabane and catnip, but I would like to put a small shrub there. Any suggestions?
A non-gardening but beautifying chore is to clear the deck (literally). But first, must clean out the garage. It is amazing how quickly crap accumulates.
Sometimes I just want a lot of color in my yard, fast. This spring I grabbed some common annuals like geraniums and petunias at the local nursery for the defunct tulip containers. I even bought myself a pot of spill-fill-thrill at Kroger's. And that's okay. Not every plant has to be the latest-and-greatest or native or whatever. There are no gardening rules.
According to my SO, the front yard is now a "riot of color". A neighbor commented that my backyard must be a work of art, presumably based on what he sees out front. HA HA! It's a mess, but it's my mess. My SO did ask the other day if we are ever going to be done buying mulch/compost/potting soil. Um, NO.
One reason the front yard looks so colorful is the volunteer Canadian columbine that keeps popping up all over. It originated from a handful of plants I bought from Spring Hill Nursery oh-so-many years ago, a purchase that keeps on giving. There are fancier columbines,
but I'll stick with this old classic.
Canadian columbine
Clematis 'Niobe' is supposed to grow 8'-12' feet tall and bloom all summer, but so far, it is lucky to even be alive. MY goal was for it to climb the front porch trellis, but it and the rabbits have had other plans. Maybe this year I will prevail.
Clematis 'Niobe'
In the backyard, I have been rearranging plants, moving some sad hostas to more shade and a few "ditch" lilies to more sun. Last year we whacked a couple of forsythia shrubs to the ground. They are still growing, but maybe I can keep them under control. The third forsythia received its whacking yesterday, so I finally planted the mountain mint I received at last years Garden Bloggers Fling, kind of behind where the forsythia was.
Catmint 'Six Hills Giant'
The above catmint is meant to fill the area behind a witch hazel, in front of some "ditch" lilies, between the forsythia and some viburnum. The variety is 'Six Hills Giant' and it does get big and wide.
Speaking of big and wide, 'Betty Corning' is again outgrowing its restraints. I need to come up with a better idea for supporting these. The blossom time is just beginning.
Clematis 'Betty Corning'
Another plant in need of proper support is the honeysuckle vine. It is making do with the privacy fence, but I would like to do better. One idea is mounting a trellis on the fence, to give it something to grab onto.
Honeysuckle 'Alabama Crimson'
Some iris came with the house and somehow I have managed not to kill it over the years. There is some in the hosta bed and some near the deck, and neither clump blooms much anymore. I keep saying, Come August, I will thin and transplant it, but August is also very hot and humid. I'm easily discouraged.
Iris of unknown origin (came with the house)
About the time I bought the above mentioned columbine, I also purchased a climbing rose. Over the years, I have often contemplated getting rid of it (and sometimes its thorns seem bent on getting rid of me), and yet it prevails. I think it has finally found its true calling, though.
Climbing rose of some sort
An arch! I have long admired archways in other gardens, but could never figure out how to pull one off in my own yard. Well, maybe I'll just try training this climbing rose to make my archway dream come true.
Incipient archway
It is my understanding that the climbing rose blooms best on horizontal branches. We'll see how that works out.
I spent a good part of yesterday weeding while waiting on the underground utility guy to show up (he never did). By midafternoon, I was bushed. By evening I could barely move. My gardening muscles have certainly atrophied over the winter. If my SO was not scheduled to come help me today, I might have laid on the couch watching golf with my eyes closed. But he came and we worked. But it was mostly fun stuff.
One task that definitely took two was installing a Coolaroo sun shade over the pergola. But first I tended to the pergola planters: coir liners, potting soil, and Margarita sweet potato plants (Ipomoea batatas). Last year's effort to grow something that would shade the deck was a big FAIL. I think these vines will work better, but we added the sun shade as insurance.
We noticed the difference the sun shade made almost immediately. Purchased at Costco, it's 7'x13' while my pergola is about 10'x10'. The sun shade fits between the main cross pieces, then hangs over one side, the side the sun will be on later this summer. I'm looking forward to enjoying late afternoon iced tea on the "veranda".
Even though the underground utility guy didn't come to mark the electrical and FIOS, the gas guy did show up on Wednesday, so I was able to plant the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) and smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) shrubs I purchased earlier this spring.
I didn't take photos, but I also planted two more rattlesnake masters (Eryngium yuccifolium) in this corner of the yard. If I can ever get the creeping charlie under control, I think this area will be real purty someday.
I also didn't take photos of the madder (Rubia tinctoria) plant (the roots are used for dyeing fiber), nor did I document the removal of the yarrow from the native sampler bed on the south side of the house. My SO took one yarrow clump while I transferred the other to a raised bed where it presumably can't wander hither and yon. I moved what I presume to be a 'Husker Red' Penstemon into one of the yarrow holes.
I thought I had killed off all the Husker Red (by accident) a few years ago, but this one popped up in the sampler bed.
I know I said NO NEW BEDS in my last post, but I don't think this one really counts. Leftover lumber had been piled next to the deck, but that was not stopping the iris from trying to spread. We cleared it out and threw down a couple of delineating timbers. I'm not sure what I will do with this area other than reset some of the iris rhizomes come August. Daylilies? Sunflowers?
Elsewhere around the yard, the trees I planted last year are doing well, the Triumph Elm (Ulmus 'Morton Glossy') in the back and a hawthorn (Crataegus viridis 'Winter King') in the front.
I forgot that the hawthorn blooms. Pretty, but also pretty stinky. I don't care for the fragrance.
I need to mind the thorns when I mow around it. Yikes!
The tulip tree has been here since 2009 (?). It looks a little sparse in part because I have not yet lopped off the lower branches that the sparrows killed last year by stripping the bark for their nests. Actually, I blame the blue jays because they would wipe their beaks on the limbs, presumably damaging the tender bark. This spring the sparrows tried to pull off more bark but appeared to be unsuccessful.
I also took a hiatus on feeding the birds; the jays can get their whole peanuts somewhere else.
Of greater concern is what I think is a weather crack. I first noticed this last summer. I'm hoping it does not prove to be fatal.
I wish I were better able to capture how bright and shiny the barberry is this year, a nice contrast with the gold mop. There used to be a burning bush where the flamingo is, on the left. You can't tell from this photo, but I cut out one of the barberry too. My hope is the gold mop will fill in the spaces.
I wasn't sure how the hostas would survive the fence installation last year, but I lucked out and two of them are on one side and the rest on the other side are just fine. There is a bit of volunteer rudbeckia growing around the 'Love Pat' on the right. The other hosta is a mystery.
I think this hosta is 'Golden Tiara' and I was afraid it was going to peter out a couple of years ago, the victim of home improvement. I shoveled some homemade compost on it a year (or two?) ago and it looks like it is recovering. I like it because of the small leaves.
There is still more planting to do, and some plant moving, which is almost as much fun as planting. Then it is back to the weeding and mulching.
Yellow is the color of springtime around here, but this year there was no forsythia and few daffodils. Even the dandelions lacked enthusiasm. But the follow-up act has been stupendous.
I'm not really an iris person - too much show for too short a time, and then they spread and spread and spread. Do newer cultivars not spread? I see them in polite little clumps in other yards, but mine (which came with the house) have been a PITA. I dug up and gave away all the white ones, while the purple have been less than stunning. Until this year. Someday they may follow the white to other homes, but for now, I guess I'll keep them.
Iris
Is catnip the same as catmint? I have purchased catnip in the herb section and catmint in the perennial section, but they look alike. Recently, I found a site that says they *are* alike. The only difference seems to be whether they have a fancy name, like 'Walker's Low'.
Catnip
Catmint
Chives are chives, I think. These are regular chives, which bloom in the spring. I also have garlic chives, which are much less robust and bloom later in the summer, with completely different flowers. I like them both, but use the regular ones more, while waiting for the onions to grow.
Chives
I had to look the next one up. I knew it was "false" something - the color should have given it away. I'm not sure when I planted it - cant' find a blog entry for it - and I can't find the plant tag, so if it is something special, we'll never know.
False indigo, up close
False indigo, holding its own
The columbine is running rampant this year, spreading here and there to its heart's content. Fine with me. I bought a fancy cultivar a year or two ago, but have not noticed it yet. Maybe it succumbed to the winter? Or was eaten alive by the catmint?
Columbine
I was able to find the name of this shrub. It not only survived the winter but the rabbits as well; the snows were deeper than the chicken wire was high, so it got nibbled a bit. It strikes me as a very hardy specimen.
Wentworth highbush cranberry
These phlox also came with the house. Some years they nearly take over the yard, but they are welcome guests who know when it is time to leave. Once the flowers have turned to seeds, the plants dry up. The seed scatter as I pull out the stalks, ensuring their return next spring.
Phlox (please ignore all the thistle)
Too bad salvia are not long bloomers. If pinched back, they sometimes bloom again, but I don't have the patience.
About six years ago, I had Durastone flooring installed in my kitchen. I like Durastone. It looks like tile but is warmer and repairable. Last year, when the laundry room was redone as part of the room addition, I used the same Durastone pattern in there as well. You cannot tell the old Durastone from the new. Great stuff.
While discussing impending home improvement plans with a co-worker, I mentioned how much I like Durastone, so we went out to the Congoleum website so I could show her what I was talking about. What I noticed was my kitchen pattern was no longer on their website. Was it discontinued?
There are two problems with this possibility: 1) after the laundry room, I somehow was left with no spare tile for repairs, and 2) someday I want to wed the kitchen to the family room by replacing the carpet in the family room with the same Durastone as is in the kitchen.
I called my flooring guys, and they confirmed that yes, my pattern was being phased out. However, they were able to find some. My first impulse was to purchase as much as I might ever need. But after a restless night or two (home improvement is a favorite 3am topic in my cranium), I decided to go ahead and have the tile in the family room installed NOW.
Yesterday, while cleaning the cat box, the cat box that is supposed to be in the cat washroom but is now in the main bathroom which guests use (ugh!) because Princess Fern apparently does not like enclosures and was hanging her butt out of the cat washroom when peeing which was ruining the finish on the cat washroom, I had another epiphany. Instead of replacing my concrete driveway (oh, yeah, did I mention I was planning on doing that, as a prelude to installing a rain garden?), I would rather spend that money on remodeling the workshop that is off the garage and behind the laundry room into a utility room. The washer and dryer can go in there, along with a freezer and that damn litter box.
So, that is the plan. As of this moment. Who knows what I will dream up between today and tomorrow.
As for outside work, I managed to scrounge up some zucchini seeds and planted one hill. I also found inexpensive tomato cages at Menards and am trying the square ones on the tomatoes in the ground. And the rain garden consultant stopped by to answer some questions about my rain garden plans, which was extremely helpful but currently moot. And I've kept up with the mowing.
As for the bunny situation, mama bunny did not move her babies, but I was able to discourage Betsy's interest in the nest, until today. This morning Betsy was digging around in the nest when I chased her off. One baby escaped, two remained huddled in their hidey hole, and a dead one had been dislodged from the nest. It looked like it had been dead for a while - maggots! - so I left it in the grass for later disposal, but mama bunny took care of it for me by EATING IT! I'm guessing this is a survival mechanism, to prevent attracting predators to the nest, but GROSS!!!
Today my SO is coming over so we can continue our labors in my backyard. I cannot express how grateful I am to have his help this year. My garden plans tend to get a bit grandiose, which results in the yard feeling more like a burden than a delight. But now, when I sit in the West Wing and observe my backyard habitat, I feel optimistic that all will come to fruition.
And now, some pics:
Clematis viticella 'Betty Corning':
I planted two of these in 2006, and since their original location is no longer, they now reside at the corners of the West Wing
Agilegia canadense, aka Canadian columbine:
Just loaded this year, despite last year's transplantation.
Some other clematis:
This is from Springhill Nursery I think, and has been shielding the front porch for many years. Last year it took on the look of a giant tumbleweed, so I whacked it back severely. Apparently, it is harboring no ill will over that episode.
Some climbing rose:
I think this is also from Springhill. I'm not a rose person, so this one suffers from much neglect. Still, it soldiers on.
Some iris:
These came with the house, sometimes bloom, sometimes don't. This one has been buried by the hostas, hasn't bloomed in years, but worked its way out to the edge of the bed this year. Now it is saying, Look at me! I will survive!
And, last but not least, for your listening pleasure:
