New Rules... and a Personal Note or Two

For the past seven months I have written this blog as well as another one. In this one I planned to follow the progress of my garden in Central Virginia and try to offer insight and advice to newer gardeners. Altho I have only worked my current garden for ten years, and it is the first one that I have developed myself from scratch, I have worked for many years in other folks' gardens - my mother's, my grandmother's, my aunt's, and my father-in-law's. I have learned from all of them, but have enjoyed going my own way with this garden.

It was my intention that the other blog would be a place where I would comment on the world and current events, and whatever caught my fancy. Unfortunately, I have recently found that I have had extensive writer's block for the other blog ... absolutely nothing has caught my fancy! Altho I had plenty to say here, I have not posted in nearly two months because I was so consumed with trying to figure out what to do "over there". Finally, sanity prevailed. I realized that I truly enjoy writing this blog; that this one has the focus that the other has lacked. So, I have decided to let the other blog lie fallow for a while and work here.

Since it's the fall, with winter well on the way, it may be difficult, but it's the right decision. For the next few months we will look at more guest gardens when we can. I have a number of ideas for a "how to" series to help newer gardeners get ready for spring, or to just give basic information. I may do some surfing and see what's going on in the gardening world elsewhere. And, we can't forget the pond - it's an important part of the garden. In other words, I am not quite sure what I'll write about, but I know that it will be related to the garden. I am also committing to at least one post a week thru February. There may be more than that, but I promise at least one.

I hope you will enjoy this blog and will stay with me. If you are not interested, I understand. Gardening is not for everyone. But what I finally realized is that it is for me!

Fall Projects

It's funny that just two weeks ago I couldn't get any energy or enthusiasm about working in the garden. It was the end of the dog days and both the garden and I had a bad case of the blahs. It's amazing what two weeks of cooler weather can do! Now I have fall projects and am excited to get started!

One: To improve the xeri-garden I started this spring. I've already admitted to you that I didn't let the soil settle before I planted this garden, with the result that now it's settled several inches and I need to add more soil. This week I bought most of the components for Mitchell's square foot garden, so I bought double and will use many gallons of this mix to add to the xeri-garden. I have also done some thinking about plants and have purchased several to finish filling out the box. A recent heavy rain and wind smashed one of the agastache 'Ada' plants, so I also need to do some trimming to get it back into better shape to withstand the winter.

Two: Plant fall asters and other perennials. I picked up five cerise asters to put in the back garden for some additional fall color. There are already some white ones starting to bloom, and some lavender and pink coming along so these will help bridge the bloom gap before the chrysanthemums open.

Three: "Fix" the nandina hedge's "bed". This one takes some 'splaining. Our neighbors at the back are nice people, but their yard is a bit junky for our taste. Fortunately, they have a euonomis hedge about 30 feet long that provides a nice backdrop for my garden across about two-thirds of our lot. It is taller than it needs to be, but I keep our side sheared pretty well, and have used it in my color planning. The hybiscus look great against it all summer as the the fall mums. Two falls ago I took all the little volunteer nandinas we had and started a nandina hedge to fill in the remaining one-third of the lot line. Unfortunately, I laid out the bed by eye, but while sitting on the ground. I used plastic edging pieces to enclose it and when I finished I discovered that it is nearly an s-curve - not at all straight. It is makes life difficult when I am cutting the grass and basically looks stupid! So, my plan is to put in steel edging and square up the bed. Some of the nandinas are now waist-high, so by this time next fall I will actually have a decent hedge back there and I want it to look less amateur.

Four: Irrigation. This is a tough problem. We desperately need to run some sort of irrigation to several parts of the yard, especially those with a lot of shade. I would like to add to our shade gardens, but none of them gets sufficient water to grow the things I would like to add. In all of them the plants have to compete too much with the trees that are creating the shade and there is no natural source of water. Whatever we do will be a big project, so I hope to do a couple of stop-gap things for the winter and then plan out something more permanent. Fortunately, most irrigation systems today can be installed "by the homeowner" and no longer require hiring a lot of expensive work done. I may need to get a plumber to run another outside faucet, but I hope that is all.

I cannot tell a lie. I wrote this two weeks ago and intended to give you some photos, but have just not had the time or energy. Am posting so that I can move on!

So... Neon is Joyful, too!

Fall is such an interesting time in the garden. It's a time when we say goodbye to our special flower friends, but we also look forward to the new blooms that only come at the end of the year. I have spent a bit of time recently deadheading - cutting back the stalks of shasta daisies, yarrow, monarda and other summer perennials.

While I miss the lushness of the mid-summer garden, there is something special about the transition that is going on now. It's nice to see the last day lilies, the last garden phlox and another flush of blooms on the clematis - even the new ones I planted this spring. But at the same time, there are the transitional flowers - especially the sedum and the very first blooms of the asters. One special plant that bloomed for the first time this year is a perennial begonia. My friend Muzzy gave it to me a couple of years ago, but it doesn't really like our conditions. It would prefer a wetter shade than I can give it, so while it has come up every year, this is the first time it has bloomed. When I transplanted a nandina this spring, apparently I brought a rhizome of the begonia with me and it liked the spot. It started blooming about two weeks ago and has stayed pretty without any additional rain.

I have bought several new asters that I plan to plant this weekend. They will provide both instant color and a bigger drift for next year. These are pink/cerise and will go nicely with the white and lavendar that I already have. I hope to show you the asters in a week or two when they are in full splendor. The chrysanthemums are really not ready to bloom yet. I don't expect them to open until early or maybe mid-October. I did update the planter in the front yard with forced chrysanthemums to replace the summer annuals. [Note in the picture how much the dogwood has grown this summer. It got a small amount of mildew on one side, but seems not to be affected by it. There is a smaller tree that was heavily damaged by mildew, so I am going to take it out in an attempt to stop the spread of it.]

In a recent post I mentioned my sedum 'Autumn Joy' and how much I like it. Well, it turns out that it isn't 'Autumn Joy" at all. It's 'Neon'. While shopping yesterday I found plants marked 'Autumn Joy' that were quite different from mine. They are less brightly colored, and not flat - which mine definitely are. I looked around and found "mine" and they are clearly 'Neon'. I don't love them a bit less, but now I want some "real" 'Autumn Joy' to add to my sedum collection. One of the reasons that I like this flower so much is its source.

Many years ago I went to the bank one day and the teller had a vase filled with sedum on her counter. I complimented her on the flower and she insisted I take one and root it at home. She was a lady whom I judged to be in her late '60's or '70's, so I took it to not offend her. I stuck it in a vase and soon it had roots, so I planted it. I now have three decent-sized clumps that grew from that single little flower. I did not know her name but wrote down the plant name she gave me. I won't be able to go back and tell her that she was incorrect, but I can love it under the right name now.

Pass along plants are the very best!

Transition Time

It's been that time in the late summer when I just cannot get excited about the garden. When we returned from vacation it was the hazy, hot and humid part of the Central Virginia summer and I just could not drag myself out to do anything. Fortunately, we have had a very wet summer and it has grown beautifully, so didn't need much from me except some spot watering - mostly the pots - and some weeding. I have managed a couple of early mornings at that, altho there is plenty left to do!

But there is something about the first of September and Labor Day that changes everything. Mitchell has said for years that fall may begin on the 21st, but the weather changes on Labor Day. More and more I think he's right. The last week has been in the low to mid-80's, which is a few degrees cooler than average, but we should remain in the mid-80's thru the end of the month, and the humidity has dropped noticibly in the past couple of days.

All of a sudden I'm starting to get in the mood to work outside again, and I find all sorts of signs of the fall plants getting ready to make their appearances. So, here's what's happening:

Sedum: There are two of the "tall" varieties blooming right now. 'Autumn Joy' (right) is one of the most familiar and found in many gardens. I transplanted mine to the xeri-garden I created this spring, so altho it is just starting to pink-up, it is not standing up. Normally, it would be 12 - 15 inches tall, but it is still lying down from the transplant. Next year, it will be fine, but this is a floppy year for it. As you can see, it's mostly still green, but there are a few pink petals already.

I discovered 'Madrona' (at the top) a few years ago and love it. The flower heads are a bit more rounded than 'Autumn Joy' which is rather flat, and it is currently a lovely pale rose color. As it matures it will darken and finally become a deep, dark rose that will eventually dry on the plant if I leave it that long. It provides good fall food for the birds, too.

The third sedum is 'Dragon's Blood' which is sort of tall and sort of creeping. Technically it's a "spreading" sedum, but its growth habit is very different from others. The plant has a basal growth habit like 'Madrona' and 'Autumn Joy', but the stems lie down and only the flower sits up. It makes a sort of circular mat overall. This one started blooming about a month ago, and is in its second flush of blooms. You can see how the new blooms are bright pink, while the older ones have already darkened.

We also have three creeping varieties of sedum, but only one is doing well right now. The 'Sea Stars' have struggled for years. They do not like wet feet, and since they are way less than an inch tall, that's tough when we have heavy rain. I have tried to move them to higher ground but, with basically a clay soil type, they are still struggling.

I have replaced most of my 'Sea Stars' with either 'John Creech' or 'Angelina' - both of which were gifts from Garland. When she moved to North Carolina three years ago, I got some 'John Creech' (right) that piggybacked with the many perennials that she gave me. I really love the way it grows in whorls around a main stem, and it makes a great groundcover than can take being walked on. I have put it among stepping stones and it is beautiful. We lost a big patch of it while we were gone in August - so it either got way too dry, or more likely way too wet. The 'Angelina' was a gift this spring, and is a lovely new addition. It is a bit taller and looks a bit like an evergreen with tiny needles, and has a golden cast to the leaves. It didn't bloom this year, but it's still getting over the transplant, too. On the left you can see 'Angelina' in front of 'Sea Stars'.

I have read that there are more than 400 varieties of sedum, so I hope to explore a few more of them someday. I love the ones I have and they help bridge the gap from summer flowers to fall flowers. And, of course, so many of them are pink!

Xeri-garden: I could not have asked for a better result the first year of this garden - I love it. The agastache 'Ada' is magnificent, and it is not quite its full height this year! It is filled with bees and butterflies all day long and looks great against the fence. The evening primrose 'Shimmer' has started blooming again this week, and overall, the whole bed has filled in well. The white salvia has bloomed all summer long, and so has the catmint. There are disappointments, of course. I lost two of the three creeping thymes and the sedum are still lying down, but there is so much promise for next year. I need to do some work on it this fall once everything dies back, tho.

The biggest mistake I made was in rushing to plant. I did not wait long enough for the soil to settle. [If you recall, I put the dirt in and planted the same day.] I should have let the soil sit for at least a week to compact. Unfortunately, it compacted after I planted, so now it has settled about six inches and I need to add soil to the entire bed. I am out of home-grown soil, so will need to buy a couple of bags of top soil and then add a couple of bags of organic matter. Then I will need to top dress around all the plants. Fortunately, most perennials will do okay with this treatment. Worst case, I will have to replant everything this fall. Either way, I should have a good result for next year.

This bed has been a great addition to the yard, tho. You see it as you come in the driveway and when you walk out either the side or back door, so we can enjoy it from many places.

And, a surprise: This is what gardening is all about. Many years ago I fell in love with alstroemeria. They are the backbone of flower arrangements all year long, and actually come from Africa [or so I have been told]. You often see the variety 'Laura' for sale, but few others. I have 'Laura' which is a good solid yellow with darker markings, as well as 'Merry Christmas' which is green with red markings [duh!], but have looked pretty much in vain for other varieties for my garden. Two summers ago I discovered a pot of "Oxana Princess Lilies" at the big blue box store. Clearly they were alstromeria - Alstroemeria hybrid 'Staprioxa' to be exact - so I snarfed them up and planted them. And, they immediately died.

Well, all but one. This morning I discovered one little stem of the most gorgeous deep pink flowers. They live a long time indoors, so I believe that as soon as the sun is off of it, I shall cut it and bring it in to enjoy. Here it is for you to enjoy, too.

What's New in Bloom?

This has been a wonderful summer in Central Virginia - it's a few degrees cooler than usual, we have consistently gotten 3/4 inch of rain weekly, and the humidity has not yet rolled in. It's made mornings working in the garden just lovely and more fun than usual, and - way more importantly - it's perfect for sitting on the porch in the late afternoon just enjoying the view.... and the delightful smell!

And that's the news. The new bloom is the Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice'. It's the shrub at the corner of the shed beyond the pond. It is covered with little coral "candles" that smell heavenly. The nickname of this shrub is "summersweet" and for good reason. If the breeze is coming from that direction, we can smell it on the deck! The hummers and butterflies are doing battle with the bees for the nectar.

Clethra is an easy shrub to grow. This one is about five years old and probably 90% full grown. It likes our acid soil, but will do fine in a sweeter site. It does like water, so I have redirected the splash pan at the bottom of the corner downspout to redirect the water comes toward the clethra, instead of into the yard. This area also gets watered when I do the whole back garden, but this summer I have only done it three times - and one of those was an accident! In other words, I am not giving it extra water.

And, clethra comes in three colors: white ('Hummingbird'), a pale pink ('Rosea'), and this darker pink ('Ruby Spice'). The "candles" are actually called "racemes" and are made up of hundreds of time flowers which open making the candle fuzzy as it matures. I think the fragrance comes as each little bud "pops".

Most of my time this week has been spent with weeding and deadheading in preparation for going on vacation next week. I have set up the sprinklers in front and back so that they will automatically come on - weekly in the front and every four days in the back (hence the accidental watering this morning!). Thursday morning I will cut the lawn - shorter than normal - and then we have hired someone to cut it while we are gone. If the rain keeps up, we will need it!

My hope for vacation is that I will have the opportunity to visit some small gardens, or perhaps community gardens, and bring them to you over the next two weeks [you will have to read the other blog to find out what we are doing], but I am not sure what I will find.... so have a good two weeks and check in occasionally!

A Stately Lady

Four or five weeks ago the garden was like an exuberant teenager - bursting with color and new flowers in bloom nearly every day, going every which way, growing lush and never the same from day to day or hour to hour. Today it's a much more sedate lady - content to settle into a mid-summer routine, still elegant and colorful, but resting. In her own way she is just as lovely - perhaps more so - but more calm and comfortable. We've gone from Bridgit Bardot to Catherine Deneuve, so come look.

The first rush of daylilies is nearly over. The minis - 'Happy Returns' - are done for now. I deadheaded them this morning so that they will set new blooms and continue to bloom for the rest of the summer - just smaller blooms and fewer of them. The big daylilies are also slowing down. There are some gorgeous tall yellows still coming on. The 'Richmond Spiders' will be done by the end of next week, but they have been just gorgeous. [I will need to divide them this fall - if you are within a reasonable distance and want some, just ask.] The deep purple ones from Andre Viette is still blooming - and actually I did not expect this many blooms the first year - but on its last buds, too. So there will be fewer lilies soon, but still plenty of color to attract the butterflies and hummers.

The monarda is full and lush and the shasta daisies 'Becky' came into bloom this week. They are your run-of-the-mill white shastas, but my granddad always said you need a few white flowers to set off the color of the others.... and he was right. They are mixed in with the monarda, so it looks great together. There are gladiolas sprinkled throughout the bed adding accent color here and there, too, along with the yarrow.

The hibiscus 'Lord Baltimore' and 'Texas Husky Honey' both started blooming this week, along with two shorter [un-named] varieties - one white and one purple. And there is one pink hollyhock that came up near the 'Harry Lauter'. It appeared suddenly thru the branches looking like a pink bloom on the shrub. It's actually very pretty. All of that is in the major garden out back. Actually, that's what I think of as "the garden". The rest are just "planting areas" even if they are sometimes lovely, too.

Out front in the boomerang the garden phlox started blooming this week, along with the plumbago. The phlox is two shades of lavendar - one dark and one light. I'm sure they have names, but don't recall what they are. The plumbago came from Garland's garden several years ago - maybe nine! It has struggled and struggled, and suddenly this year it's gone wild. It doubled in size and has bloomed merrily. I want to treat it nicely and hope for more spread for next year.

Guest Garden

You may remember that in May I brought you pictures of Garland's garden in Brevard, North Carolina. I did not know it then, but her's was the first "guest garden" I featured. Today I visited another - very different - garden. I hope to get back with a camera next week and share that with you soon.

This has been an odd weather week for gardening. Monday thru Wednesday we had 80's and scattered showers all day - more scattered some days than others - and about 1/4 inch of rain each day. Thursday it started to warm up and was major league humid and by Friday we were in the upper 90's. In other words feast or famine for both water and sunshine. Hard on the gardener, but not so bad for the garden.

The monarda 'Raspberry Wine' is gorgeous and way tall! The butterflies are everywhere and we keep looking for a hummer or two. Haven't seen any in our yard yet, but are told that others have. The feeder has been up for several weeks, but only the downy woodpeckers and chickadees are drinking there so far.

While the river of purple is currently between bloom flushes, we had a lake of yellow all week - the miniature day lilies 'Happy Returns' - bloomed like troopers everywhere and by the end of the week we had completely bloomed out. Sometime this coming week I have several hours of deadheading to do to get the old stems cut back for the next flush of blooms to start. The 'Richmond Spider' lilies continue to bloom and will be with us for several weeks. There are miscellaneous tall yellow daylilies starting to bloom all over and a couple of neat "black" daylilies I picked up from Andre Viette last summer. They are a deep, deep purple and an interesting contrast to all the yellow. Makes me wish that one could bring daylilies into the house, but unfortunately they live up to their names - even when they are not cut.

A lovely clematis 'Jackmanii' made its first appearance this week, too. It grows on a trellis on the side of my garden shed. Of all the clematis varieties we have, it is really my favorite. The cone flowers are coming into bloom, and the alstroemeria - another love - have started, too. Most of them are a dark yellow 'Sweet Laura', but this morning I found one little clump of a gorgeous cerise, named Staprioxa' (sold as Oxana Princess Lilies).

The big job this weekend has been spreading mulch. I should have done this in April for several reasons: 1) It would have been easier when all the perennials were just little fellows peeking out of the ground. Now I have to do it all by hand and move everything aside as I go. 2) It was hot this weekend and I have had to do it in little bits, so it's not done. 3) It would have been better for the plants to have had the mulch earlier to help shade out the weeds, and I would not have had to pull so many. In other words, if I had done it on time, it would have been easier and better.

I am generally happy with the garden and the weather, tho. We've only had a few really humid days and so far none that were hazy, hot and humid. We're getting enough rain that I have only watered twice which is nice, so let's hope it holds!

Progress Report

Hard to believe it's been just over a month since I started this blog. Somehow it seems like much longer. I went back today to look at the goals I shared in the beginning and thought you would want a progress report.

1) The purple river. Overall, I am pleased with how this is coming, but it will be the middle of the summer before we will be able to see it all and next year before it will be really pretty - such is the reality of the garden. The salvia 'May Night' that I planted last fall are looking really good (center back and far right back), as are the geraniums (left front). The hydrangea has buds, but will not bloom until mid-to-late June, so it will look better later. The new perennials I added this spring are growing - well, some of them - and will hopefully look better as they get larger. It appears that fewer than half of the bulbs I planted last month are coming up. Perhaps the rest are just slow, but I fear they are not going to make it. I hadn't used this nursery before, so doubt that I will use them again.

I need to continue to work on this area. I need to look at different shades of purple, as well as different heights and textures to make it more interesting. I have seen some small iris in the neighborhood that are very dark in color. I need to see if I can barter for some to add both height and contrast. When the aquilegia [columbine] spreads that will help, too, since they are quite dark.


2) Planting around the pond: I haven't done much, but it does look better anyway. The ground covers I planted last fall have spread, as has the yarrow and the large clump of daylilies at the far right edge of the pond [see below]. These are a locally propagated lily 'Richmond Spider' that is considered "red". You will see later in the summer that it's in the orange family, but definitely to the red end of the spectrum. I added several verbinas [Homestead Purple and an annual variety] and cut back the buddelia. The latter has really filled out and thickened up. It should be pretty when it blooms. In the pond itself, the iris have about doubled in size, so hopefully will provide more blooms this year. I also added a varigated water parsley. The varigation is both cream and pink. The water lilies are getting ready to bloom and are already as full as they got last year over the whole summer. The pond is a perfect example of how well benign neglect works in the garden.


3) The shrub rose is long gone and replaced by an Emerald Arborvitae. I love the height it brings to back of the border.


4) The raised area in the corner. I planted a new clematis on the wrought iron gate (center of photo, it's not up enough to see), but that's all I've added. I didn't really have a plan for this area, but as I look at it now perhaps it planned itself. The shrubs are going well and provide a background for that end of the garden; we pruned out all the dead branches of the weigelia and trimmed back the flowering almonds this spring. They are all full grown now and all blossomed well this year.

The pink iris were pretty, but looked skimpy. I think when the clematis matures a bit (two years) and I add a few more iris, it will look fine. When I get iris for the river, I will get extras to put here to pull the two areas together color-wise. There is an amsonia to the right that I have pulled out twice, but keeps coming back. I think I will maintain that strategy to keep it small. [This is a plant that was way bigger than advertised and I have to really keep working to keep it small. It's gorgeous in the fall when it turns gold - really ! - and pretty now with pale blue blooms, but it's branchy and grows too fast for me.] In the far left you can just see a tall planter. It has a mini-rose bush that was a birthday gift a couple of years ago and blooms almost non-stop all summer.

5) The seating area by the pond is just great. We use it nearly every evening when we feed the fish. It's a great place to relax at the end of the day. Mitchell found two small tables - just in case someone needs a place to put a glass... or a cereal bowl. It's one of my favorite places to sit early in the morning to think or read. Right now the fragrance of the peonies makes it especially nice, but I think that even when all the flowers are gone the foliage will continue to provide a nice shady nook for us to enjoy.


So, in only a month two goals are completely met and three well under way. And the big project - which is not even on the list - is also well underway. I don't think of myself as a goal-setting person, but maybe I am. I saw these more as projects I wanted to complete this summer, and not as high-faluting as "goals".

Maybe that is a lesson for life; that goals don't have to be lofty. They can be little projects that we want to accomplish.

Mitchell's Plants

Today is the day to celebrate those things in the garden that are there because Mitchell loves them. He is first and foremost a fan of foliage that is anything except green! He loves coleus and crotan and all those red/brown plants, so over the years we have worked them into the landscape as fillers. Fortunately, they are lovely with the blues, purples and pinks that I love so much. And then there are a variety of plants that he just likes.

Like the little dogwood in the front yard. It is currently growing in what we call the "boomerang". When we first moved in we planted a weeping cherry tree in the front corner of the yard. He watered it devotedly as it got sicker and sicker. Finally after a full summer of dying, it was gone. When we pulled it out we discovered that it was sitting in the equivalent of a terra cotta bowl filled with water. That was how we learned that it's impossible to plant anything in our yard without first amending the dirt - and I do mean amend! We decided that we needed the equivalent of a raised bed, but we did not want the obvious raised border. So, we got a load of topsoil delivered and shaped it into a boomerang and left it higher than the yard. We amended the heck out of it and over the years it has sunk some into the yard, but remains an excellent place to plant. Last fall we moved a small dogwood there. It had been growing too close to the house, so we took a chance and dug it up. We watered loyally over the winter and it is growing like topsy this spring. I believe it will be a keeper.

Mitchell's red tree tho is a beautiful plum [Thundercloud] that shades the back deck. After the disaster of the weeping cherry we got another load of topsoil and dumped it on the west side of the deck before we planted another tree. The plum was the tree equivalent of a 98-pound weakling when we planted it - about five feet tall with skinny little no-nothing twig branches. Today it is 25 feet tall and shades the entire deck all summer. Mitchell has kept it well pruned, so it has a beautiful vase shape and when it blooms it is covered with tiny pink flowers. It's truly a gem.

Underneath is a field of Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow' - another non-green plant. It actually changes from more greenish to more redish over the growing season, and blooms with a pretty purple flower on a stalk in the spring - like now. In addition to the field under this tree, we have used it wherever we need a little filler, like around the pond. It is helping to fill in among the stones that surround the pond. It likes a bit of shade, so it has not done as well as other ground covers in some of our sunnier spots.

Around the side is a Japanese maple. In twenty years it will be stunning! Since we bought it, it has filled out and now has a lovely fountain shape and the leaves are that beautiful red that one expects, but there are two things that we did not know about Japanese maples when we added it. First, they grow incredibly slowly - like an inch a year or less. Ours is still less than three feet tall, so we have lots of shrubs that would kick it's derrierre in a fight, and 2) in our climate it turns green! Apparently it is not fond of our hot, humid summers, so by August every year it is a lovely green maple! Then from November to June it's red again, before starting its color change. We love it, but will probably not live to see it full grown.

I've mentioned the Harry Lauter's walking stick [Corylus avellana 'Contorta'] before, but it is another of Mitchell's interesting choices. In the summer it is a pretty screen of bright green leaves - like now - but in the winter it is one of the most interesting specimens in the garden. It loses its leaves, but keeps its catkins all winter among its twisted branches. It's large enough now that I could use some of its branches for flower arrangements, but I have not touched it yet. I think it is about three-quarters full grown. The birds love it and so do we.

Finally, I always make him at least one planter with shade plants including coleus. Am running a bit behind this summer, and do not really have the planters done yet, so that is yet to come. We have a bench in the shady part of the garden that nicely holds two or three large pots, and I like to put a variety of coleus there along with some annual flowers. From that garden bench one can see both down the side - the bowling alley - to the street and back up the hill to the main garden. It's a lovely place to read.

So Mitchell, it's all about your plants today - happy anniversary!

The Stump Gets Company

After nine years I finally have the emerald arbovitae I have always wanted. As you know - oh, too well - I had to cut down a Green Giant arbovitae that I thought was an emerald, and lo and behold I found an emerald at a good price. Big Blue had a huge selection of seven-gallon plants at an excellent price, so I shopped around and bought the tallest of the lot. It actually has two main stems and a very nice growth habit. I put it - as promised - right behind the stump that we recently put in the back garden for the birds. In my shopping frenzy last weekend I bought two clematis and planted one on each side of the stump. The idea is that the clematis will grow together and mix it up over the top of the stump and then spread out almost like a ground cover around the stump. I used two shades. Since I bought four different clematis, I am not 100% sure what went where - except for the one that went in the front - so what I think will be growing over the stump are Clementis 'Kivihu' and Clematis 'Kongiskind'. The former is a bright magenta and the latter is a medium lavendar - both with yellow centers.

The arborvitae is Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' aka Emerald Beauty, which may be the only variety of emerald. It's already more than five feet tall and should grow to 12 - 15 feet in ten years. I love the way it looks behind the stump and I think the birds will love it. Come Christmas, tho, the solar lights will be on it. I have two strings and will need at least one more, but it will be perfect. In the photo you can just barely see Mitchell's Henry Lauter's walking stick at the right edge, with day lilies and fall anemones in front of it. On the left is actually the top of something that is growing in the foreground - perhaps monarda. At the extreme rear is a euonomous hedge that actually belongs to the backdoor neighbor, but which I try to keep trimmed as a background to my garden.

All in all, I am very pleased with these new additions to the back of the garden.

What's Blooming!

This is that part of the spring when something bursts open every day, and after three days of rain when the sun came out yesterday the yard filled with flowers. Two pretty additions are weigelas - one is 'Wine and Roses', but I don't recall the name of the other. While they are gorgeous from afar, pictures don't do that justice, so here's a close up of the flowers [not Wine and Roses] - just gorgeous!

Another new addition today is the miniature white rose that came from Aunt Agnes' garden. It's another plant that is gorgeous from afar, but the pictures don't do it justice.

The red yucca continues to grow. I have no idea what it will do next, but surely we will get some blooms in a few days - who knows. Will keep you posted.

A Little Project

One of the "problems" or perhaps it's just a reality of the garden is that you can make all the lists you want of the things that need to be done, but little projects jump into your path all the time. The front corner of the house is one of those little projects. Last week we unexpectedly took down two trees - the dying oak in the front yard and an arbovitae that was too big for its location. Unfortunately, both were in the same corner of the yard, and the result of taking them out was to leave a big hole in the landscaping.

It will take a couple of years to replace the oak, altho there is already a group of dogwoods taking on that project. Replacing the arborvitea will be easier - and I mostly did it yesterday. It's rained all week, so when the sun peeked out after lunch I dashed outside and started digging holes. The result is that by dark I had replaced the tree with two holly bushes [Ilex crenata 'Helleri'], two nandina and an assortment of perennials. The hollies are a dwarf variety that is reported to grow 3 x 4 at maturity, with a pretty open and branching growth habit. I used it to continue the line of the existing hawthorns on around the corner to meet the existing nandinas on the side. Then I put two volunteer nandinas behind them on either side of the corner. They will fill in the upper level with fluffy growth - and quickly. At the very corner I planted a clematis [Marie Louise Jensen] with a wire trellis to help if get started up the corner post of the porch. It is a deep purple, so should be very pretty in a couple of summers.

The perennials are a variety of bellis [perennis 'Habanera'], salvia [nemorosa "Marcus"] and Forget-me-Not [Myosotis sylvatica 'Bobo Blue'] all of which grow 6-8 inches tall and a Bugloss [Anchusa capensis 'Blue Angel'] which will grow about 10 inches tall and help hide the old stump. Altogether I put in about 10 small plants which should fill the space by fall - if I keep them watered!

So now the corner looks much better - still way more open than originally, but by this time next year it should be nicely filled in.

Shopping for the Garden

Spent part of both yesterday and today shopping for the garden. Mother and I had a "girls day out" yesterday and ended it by shopping for plants for both our gardens, which are very different. If you have been following It's My Garden you have figured out that we have more square feet in garden than in grass - Mitchell keeps suggesting new spots for flowering plants! But Mother's situation is quite different. She lives in an apartment in a retirement village and has only a balcony for growing space. She keeps a dozen or so orchids - phals, paphs, and oncidiums mostly - so that she has something in bloom about 10 months a year, but has settled on a large planter on the balcony for her outdoor garden.

She once did cymbidiums, major climbing plants up the porch railing and posts, as well as summer annuals and a few veggies, but now finds that to be too much work, so she has planted a combination of tomatoes and perennials to give her some summer color and a tomato sandwich or two. I took her a mini-rose yesterday as part of her Mother's Day gift. It was a deep, but pale, pink. I knew she already had a cerise mini-rose and thought they would look good together. She also has two mini-daylilies. One is "Happy Returns" and the other is a "red" whose name escapes me - if I ever knew. They are both rebloomers so she gets plenty of blooms all summer.

She has a major Big Box store nearby that has a wonderful garden center, so we ended our day of shopping there. The tomato was pretty easy, since she likes Big Girl. Flowers took a lot longer. We looked at lots of things and ended up with a mini-dalia for her [the rest of her Mother's Day] and a lovely red mandavilla for Mitchell and me - her anniversary gift to us. But I found the prices impossible to ignore and also brought home three campanulas [purple, of course, for the river] and a pretty evening primrose, which is pale pink. It will make a nice accent along the river. Mitchell was a bit appalled when I show up with a car filled with plants - mainly, I think, because it was his car!

Today he and I went garden shopping with different goals. Since we cut down the arborvitae last week at the corner of the front porch, we wanted to get some replacement shrubs so that I can get started with the re-do on that corner. I had wanted some dwarf Indian Hawthorn, but could not find them so we chose a holly that will go about three feet tall by five feet wide. It has a loose growth habit and tiny leaves, and it will only take two to fill the space. I also bought several clematis - two to grow over the stump we just put in the back, one for a trellis in the back corner, and one to grow up the porch railing on the front porch.

We also stopped at the Big Box ourselves. I was so encouraged by the prices I saw yesterday at Mother's store that I wanted to see if I could get some more deals for myself. And, I did. With the oak tree gone in the front, it looks very bare. We decided that we wanted to put a large planter on the tree stump to pull in some color once the azaleas are gone. I found a large plastic pot that looks like terra cotta and was big enough to show up. I filled it with flowering annuals - Gerbera daisies, snapdragons, and other summer flowers. It is supposed to rain tonight, so we hope get the planter watered in well and place it tomorrow. I will probably need to be leveled, so I will need Mitchell's help moving it.

What's blooming today? Two nice surprises. First, some gorgeous pink Dutch iris. Mother gave them to me several years ago for Christmas, but they have finally come into their own. They are the largest iris blooms I have ever had and a nice clear pink. Secondly, a "red" yucca. It has variegated foliage and has begun to put up a "spike" that is a medium pink color. It has never bloomed before, so we don't exactly know what to expect, but this is clearly the beginning of blooms. Will keep you posted.

Something Borrowed....

The Tree Man gave me a good idea the other day. When he and his son finished dragging the stump out of the raised bed, he suggested that rather than putting it in the trash, I put it back into the garden. And I did.

Recently I pulled out a dying shrub rose and I plan to put an Emerald Arborvitae in the gap it left, but there is plenty of room to do more. So we moved the stump there, turned it upside down, and voila - an interesting item, a place for the birds, and some structure to grow vining ground cover. Eventually it will be rustic, but right now it's just a mess of roots and mud. Mitchell has offered to powerwash the worst of the mud and to help me stabilize it if we need to add dirt underneath for support. It will bleach out in the sun this summer and will be very pretty this time next summer.

I had wanted to do something like this for the birds for some time now. They need the shelter on the ground. We've always provided food and water, but not shelter. Hopefully this will make us even more appetizing to our winged friends. It'll be interesting to see how this progresses.

Let There Be Patio!

Creating - ok, building - the sitting place was not nearly as hard as I had feared. I was able to create the solid walkway with a matching paver and then it just grew from there. Because of the curve in the walkway, I had to play a bit with curve, but even that worked out well. I used the six slate squares to create a bit of design on either side of the walkway, which - I hope - draws the eye to the pond, and then filled in the rest as I went.

The hardest part was keeping it level. There is an incline from the front of the bed toward the back that rises about 2.5 inches overall. I decided to make the sitting area higher so that water would run off of it, rather than standing on it, so I had to add soil underneath the pavers nearer the front, but even that worked out ok. Approaching the sitting area from the front, there is a small step up - but it's clearly seen, so should not be a hazard for tripping. I ended up getting some half bricks and burying them under the very front edge of the front step. That gave it the stability it needed and let me get it settled well and level without the front tilting.

Around the pond I planted some sedum to help hold the soil and soften the edges and where the stones created "holes" around the edges I put groundcovers and small plants. I had to pull up a good bit of ground cover - mostly a creaping euonomyous, which will come back and help soften the edges.

The only potential problem child that I see so far is an iris at the front corner of the new space. I am afraid that water coming off the sitting area may stand there and - well, drown it. I will keep an eye on it this spring and try to move any standing water away and then transplant it in July to higher ground just in case. It's a huge pink iris that mother gave me, so I want to take good care of it.

The final step was to take some construction sand to fill the spaces between the pavers. I like the orangy color - which emphasizes the slight "sunray" effect that is caused by the curve of the walkway - and it's more course than play sand. I filled the spaces by hand and then watered it. Should have swept it first because the washing was too hard and moved a lot of the sand around. Once it dried I swept it back into the spaces and it looked fine. Will probably have to add more sand in a few days. We are due to have rain tonight, so that will help settle both the sand and the dirt under it, and I may need to fill a bit more.

Overall it took me 8 - 10 hours of work, and not too hard, plus about $25 in materials. Since I had about half of the stones to begin with, I saved a lot there. Of course, I spent it on other plants for the garden. But now I am ready to all it a patio!

What's new in blooms today?

Spring is coming on so fast, that it will soon be hard to keep up. The first (dark, dark pink) azaleas bloomed Saturday, and the first lavendar bloomed today. The woods hyacinths bloomed Saturday, too.


A word to the novice: This is not the way to set a patio to last forever. To do that one must dig out the space, fill with construction sand, level and then set the stones. I have done it the cheap and easy way and will pay for it over the years with heaving. I will have to relevel some of the stones every year. Since we will only use this patio for sitting and it will not get much foot traffic, I decided it was worth the risk.

Hoop Those Peonies!

While I was holed up in the house lamenting three days of cold and rain, the peonies grew - and I mean a lot! This afternoon I had to go digging in the garden shed for the hoops to get them supported before it was too late. Don't think I broke any; I was very careful and I even pinched out a few double buds. I've never actually done that before, altho I know you should if you want larger blooms. I've noticed that the side blooms are never as nice anyway and frequently they don't even bloom, so I thought I might as well spend a couple minutes pinching in hopes of a nicer display this spring.

I have a small stand of peonies in the back next to the path. The first one came from my aunt's garden after her death, so it is special. Unfortunately, it's not particularly pretty - a pale, pale pink - nearly white and I would like it better with more color. It means a lot, tho, since it was "family". I bought a variety of small, end-of-the-season sale plants two falls ago and they make up the rest of the bed. Most have not bloomed yet, so it will be interesting to see what I get this year - both in terms of color and time of bloom. I had them scattered all over the garden, but transplanted them all to one bed to maximize their bloom. You can see them in this photo, just beyond the glider.

The only reason that I noticed the peonies today was that I was working on Project #5 - the sitting area. After all the rain, it was sunny and much warmer today, but the ground is so wet that I didn't want to even try to work out there. Instead I made my first real trip to the garden center to look at pavers for the sitting area. "Look at" being synonymous with "buy", I came home with 10 pavers - and a few posies. My plan is to use the large pavers in the path as the starting point of the sitting area. I have some more of those stones, so will try to add one to the path to make a solid stretch of walk and then use the new brick pavers, plus the old brick and slate pavers I already have. Don't really have a plan; will just start laying them and see what happens.

You did want to know what flowers I brought home today, didn't you? First, I picked up a couple of bright pink dianthus to add to some boxes on the deck. The old dianthus are looking pretty ragged and can use the help. Also, two sweet basils for the herb barrel. Then the treasures: a lovely blue columbine - Aquileiga vulgaris 'Clemintine Blue' - that I will use as an accent in the purple river; an interesting Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Rain Strain' - that has small blossoms and dark (purple) leaves and stems in the colder months that will apparently turn more green as the weather heats up; and a beautiful bright yellow Iceland Poppy 'Champagne Bubbles'. It is much to bright for me - usually - but it will be gorgeous nestled down on the edge of the river with all the blues and purples. I have wanted a poppy for a while, and hope I can make this one live!!

So, I will try to finish the sitting area tomorrow or over the weekend. In the meantime, enjoy your garden, too.

Starting Point

It's a rainy day and not good for working outside, so instead let me share more information about where we stand right now in the garden. [I'm not happy with the quality of this photo, but you can get the idea. I'll show you closer photos later.] This was taken from the deck so it looks down a bit and gives you a better view of the "plan" of this space.

From left to right there's the shed/workshop with the fish pond and then a path that leads back to the compost pile and the boundary fence. On to the right is a small crabapple tree. Also notice a path that leads to the right and ends up at the semi-circular path - which is actually at the right corner where the "L" attaches. There is also a small path that leads off the back side of the semi-circle to the corner of the lot.

There are several planting areas created by the paths. Beyond the pond and left of the first path is a small area with iris for early color and a Clethera in the corner - it blooms mid to late summer.

Across the back behind the crabapple: a group of peonies - various shades of pink, then a trellis for a lavendar clematis vine, then a clump of Virginia Summersweet, a big clump of four hybiscus (two red, a lavendar, and a white), a Rosa Orientalis mutabilis [which is coming out this weekend], a Harry Lauter's Walking Stick and then a mini-rose in a tall planter.

The right hand corner is slightly raised - see the low wall I built? - and has shrubs around the outside [flowering almonds and a weigelia] and some perennials in front. In front of the low wall are chrysanthemums, iris, echinacea and Happy Returns day lilies.

Inside the semi-circle walk are mini-jonquils and some summer bulbs [It will be interesting to see what comes up this year.] and more Happy Returns. Beyond the semi-circle walk are some smaller shrubs [a Pink Pizzazz and a Shiboni] and alstroemeria - then a natural area of old fashioned chrysanthemums, obedient plant, English bells, and Jacob's Ladder. The latter are too far to the right to show in the photo.

Across the front in front of the main path are many Shastia Daisies and dark pink Monarda, as well as Japanese iris, a repeating hydrangea, a variety of daylilies, salvia and more of the old fashioned chrysanthemums. Also some geraniums, sedum and carnations. This is the area where I try new things and where the purple river will run from uphill on the right [behind the black obolisk and down to the right ending at the low planter near the left had path - pretty much right thru the middle of this photo].

Around the pond are some ground covers - ajuga, verbena, and yarrow with a buddelia next to the shed. In front of the shed are two Otto Lukens and another reblooming hydrangea.

Goals for this space: 1) the purple river; 2) improve the planting around the pond; 3) replace the shrub rose with an evergreen - something pyramidal and 8 - 10 feet tall at maturity; 4) improve the planting in the raised area at the right corner, and 5) create a sitting area between the pond and the crabapple tree.

Welcome to My Garden!

Gardening in Central Virginia can be a lot of fun. We have nice springs and falls, with fairly moderate winters. The summers can be blazing hot - periodically - but the bigger problem is the humidity which is hard on lots of plants. We are in the southern part of zone 7, but only 100 miles from the Atlantic coast where it's zone 8. If you're lucky and your micro-climate is just right you can grow things that are either "too hot" or "too cool" for our zone. We have clay soil that runs to the acid side, so you have to mulch and amend your soil, but overall it's a pretty good place to garden. So meet my garden.

Nine summers ago I started from scratch. This lot had been vacant, so I began with a blank slate with a newly built house in the middle. I had experience working in my mother's beds, my aunt's garden, and in a very formal rose garden created originally by my father-in-law, but had never been "in charge" of starting from scratch. I knew I didn't like orange flowers and am not all that fond of red or yellow, and had no clue about garden design. I dived in anyway. The first summer we put in a 12 x 12 vegetable garden, but I spent the winter thinking - and thinking big.

In nine years I have expanded the back garden to 70 x 25 with another 25 x 10 L-shaped addition, and have added beds along all four sides of the house - mostly curved because I love curves! And we have three islands in the front yard. We also added a small (1oo gallon) pond two years ago. In the future, I'll show you the rest of the yard, but for now let's concentrate on the big garden in the back - where I actually spend most of my time. The photo above left is a mid-summer picture of the main garden looking from the L to the left toward our garden shed/workshop. You can see a small crabapple tree nearly in the center. The photo below is the opposite view, with my neighbor's crepe myrtle at the right side and a garden shed in the distance. You can see that it is full of plants and lush with growth, but not a strong plan.

Most of my plants are perennials, altho I do add annuals for color, and most are shades of pink, purple and white. [Specifically many Shasta Daisies and dark pink Monarda, with Happy Returns daylilies.] I have learned to love the right shades of yellow especially mixed with the purples, so my colors are becoming more interesting. My goal for this garden is to plant in a river of purple to run from a high point just left of the garden shed in the photo to the right and winding down to the extreme left edge of that photo. Last year I planted some salvias and lavendar (which did not survive) in addition to the Japanese iris and older salvias that were already there, so I have a start. It will end in a puddle of Homestead Purple verbena. This spring I plan to shop for a variety of plants and shades of purple to fill in about thirty linear feet of space and [hopefully] to bloom most of the summer. That's project number 1.

Project number 2 is more ambitious. I'll share it with you next time. Happy gardening!