Wish List for 2016

Flagstones.  I need to measure the linear feet needed for a path from the front porch to the hose bib; from the lawn to the fire pit and from the lawn to the patio on the west side of the house.  I'd also like to add a small flagstone patio for the bench area in the kitchen window garden.

A deciduous shade tree to replace the broken London Plane Tree.

The following are just for the large shrub bed on the west side of the house:

• One deciduous ornamental tree.  I am leaning towards another Flowering Plum.  
• One tall, narrow (less than 5' wide) evergreen to plant between the bunk room window and the northwest corner of the house.
• One tall evergreen (this one can be 8'-10' wide) to plant between the Columnar Oak and the air conditioning condenser unit.
• A small fence or trellis unit to place in front of the ac unit (not necessarily to grow anything on, just to break up the view of the big black box).
• A splash guard, or a rock sink or a rain barrel for the gutter pipe at the northwest corner of the house. My preference would be a rain barrel but if we add one there we need to get that in before I plant the tall, narrow evergreen because it may shift the way things fit in that corner.
• Several juniper bushes that get about 5' tall and wide).  I prefer the horizontal or upwards branching plants that are dark green.
• A Globe Blue Spruce (maybe two).
• Several evergreen ground covers.  I need to research exactly what I'm looking for but I know I want at least one section of Blue Star Juniper (or similar evergreen groundcover with foliage that will compliment the Blue Spruce).
• Several Ninebark shrubs (at least three taller ones and two or three that stay smaller).
• Ornamental grasses.  The exact types and sizes will be determined as I work through the actual size and layout of the shrub bed.
• Perennials.  The exact varieties will be determined, but I know I want to include many of the perennials that are doing well in our yard so far.

I haven't worked out the details of what I'm looking for in the front yard or the bed that runs along our west property line.  I know I want to include ornamental grasses, shrubs, groundcovers and a nice mix of perennials.  I'll probably add a couple more trees to the property line bed; partially for shade and partially for privacy.  I was worried about blocking the view, but the neighbor's house took care of most of that and realistically, the shade is more important to us in the summertime anyway.

I would also like a shed.

Rob suggested adding a concrete pad to the upper level so that we have a level and clean surface to put a pool on.  I like that idea but I'd want to make sure it was big enough for a partial basketball standard or some other use.

I still love the idea of adding a putting green or a chipping green up on that level.

A New Season

Here it is the last week of February and spring fever seems to have hit.  Hard.  I'm posting on here again (I love using this as my garden journal) and planning, designing and imagining how and where to plant more things and I'm also pondering priorities.  I've created a couple of rough images as I've explored ideas, colors and sizes of plants.  Now I need to get into the detailed planning of it; maybe even get out some graph paper. Also, since I still can't afford to finish the whole yard it is very  challenging to decide whether I should continue to spread out the plantings and add a couple of trees and shrubs to designated shrub bed in our yard or if I should concentrate on one area only so I can feel like it is finished (or at least well on it's way).  With a backyard wedding happening here in late spring I am anxious that the yard look as good as possible.

Most of the yard is still covered with snow which makes it difficult to really see how the yard fared through the winter. There are a couple of areas where the lawn is exposed and we were disappointed to see significant vole damage. Rob actually kicked a dead vole onto the sidewalk from the exposed lawn that is covered with their runs (that's how we know they are voles and not mice) and as we were looking at it another one popped it's head out of the grass.  I shrieked a little bit (Why?  Why is that the reaction I have?) and then said, "Stomp on it!"  Rob hesitated for a minute, and then, bless his heart, tried but it ran away.  He hates killing them but he hates the damage they do more.  He would have felt awful if he'd actually stomped on it and killed it but nevertheless; we are renewing our efforts and putting poison in the holes that we are finding.  Also, next winter we are definitely laying pvc traps for them.  I talked to a friend in the area who uses them and swears by them.  She says they set out about twenty traps and she keeps them well stocked.  She even smears peanut butter on the bait to make sure the critters come and get it.

I need to go out and do a little pruning on some of the trees, especially the crabapple in the front yard and possibly the maple.  We lost our little London Plane Tree to an early, heavy snow.  It hadn't dropped any of its leaves yet and the branches were just too weak and small to hold the weight of the snow load.  The poor tree snapped in right in half.  I am really disappointed, but I think I won't replant that same tree unless we decide that we can afford one with a substantial caliper.  As I'm looking out the window the few remaining branches on that tree still have their leaves and that seems like it could create problems in the future if we get another winter with heavy snows.

I also need to cut down the Caryopteris and the perennials and ornamental grasses.  If I do them as the snow melts area by area it won't feel so overwhelming.  I noticed that the deer ate the Elijah Blue Fescue.  They haven't done this before, but so far it just looks like the grasses got a really good haircut.  They are still green and growing so hopefully they will recover.  I need to review what to do with the Lavender.  I didn't cut it at all last summer and there are actually still a couple of dried blooms on each of the plants.

Another decision Rob and I have to talk about is is spraying the Chokecherry bushes in the gully with dormant oil.  Every summer they are infested with fall webworms (based on my research that is what I believe we have).  The arborist that took care of the broken limb on the Bigtooth Maple suggested that spraying in late winter might help keep them from infesting the bushes.  Reading various sources online suggest breaking up the bags when they occur and then using an insecticide.  I'd rather try the dormant oil first because I love the birds that visit our yard and am trying hard to avoid the use of excessive insecticides.

The weeds are coming up with a vengeance though.  Everywhere the snow is melted, the sun shines and warms the soil and since I have no spring bulbs planted yet (I must remember to do that next fall) the weeds are my first sign of spring.

Perennial Success 2015

Now that fall is close upon us these perennials have been given my seal of approval. I haven't planted many perennials in our garden yet because we are really still focusing our budget on the bones of the garden. 

I still want to get some flagstones for paths through some of the planting beds and then I can safely say the hardscape is finished. We have most of the deciduous trees in now. I can think of two or three spots where we could plant another small tree or a large shrub so I won't say we are finished; but close. Next up is the evergreen trees and shrubs. Then it's on to the deciduous shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennials. Oh it's hard to be patient. But it's rewarding to see how far we have come (even if I have to pull up pictures from our first summer to prove it to myself). 

However, I just couldn't wait that long without some color in the yard so based on our overall plan for the yard I jumped the line and got some perennials in the ground. These are three of my favorite for the year. 

Agastache rupestris 'Apache Sunset'

I love the mixed color of these flowers up against the rock facing on our garage wall!  Most descriptions say they are orange and pink. I think it has more of a softer coral color with a purple contrast.  They make me happy every time I pull into the driveway or walk past them.  I planted a one gallon container from Deseret Nursery Perennial Farm in the spring and this plant has thrived over the summer.  It started blooming in July and is still going strong.  I've even seen a hummingbird drinking out of the flowers, but it flew away before I could get close enough to take a picture of it.  I haven't seen any butterflies on it yet, besides the common, little, white cabbage moths.   

I am anxious to see if this plant comes back in the spring because while I may be able to push a zone 5, I'm not so sure if I can push a zone 6 perennial.  It is growing right next to a south facing wall and is a bit protected from winds, so maybe I can help it survive with a good winter mulch once the ground has frozen.  I like the color of the bloom and the size of the plant enough to hope that it will work.  I don't think I'll try to add it anywhere else in the garden though because of the growing zone issue.  I guess when I purchase plants outside of the valley I need to be more careful about checking the zones before I make the commitment.  I am curious though to see if I can create enough of a micro-climate to keep it alive for a season or two.

Osteospermum 'Avalanche'

I purchased these last fall from Garden Gateway, which means they have survived for a full year.  I wasn't sure how they would do here because I could never quite keep them alive in Illinois.  Apparently, they love the climate here and the location that I have them in.  They get full mid-day sun but are shaded from the hottest part of the evening by the big tooth maples growing in our gully. The only water they are getting is over-spray from the lawn sprinkler and that seems to be just enough.  I planted two small pots and one has more than tripled in size over the summer.  The second plant has stayed a little smaller but the blooms are just as vibrant.  I've only dead-headed it once and it has still managed to keep some flowers blooming all summer.  This one is a sure winner in my book and I will be looking for a few more spots to add this to around the garden. 

Zauschneria garrettii 'Orange Carpet'

This perennial is also known as Hummingbird Trumpet and while I haven't actually seen any hummingbirds feeding from it they are supposed to love it.  I like the way it spreads in the sun and falls over the rock.  I wasn't sure if I would like the orange color, so I only purchased one earlier this spring.  I'll see if it survives the winter before I commit to purchasing more. I read that I should not cut it down until early spring and cover it with a leaf mulch after the ground has frozen. So I will do that and see what happens. 

I haven't used a lot of hot colors in my gardening in the past, but the intense sun that we have at this altitude seems to work well with the hot colors so, surprisingly, the orange doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would.  I may plant one more nearby just so it looks more intentional and purposeful.  I may also include it in the future in the east driveway bed.  

June is here

June 3,2014

It was a long, cold, and often wet spring. Nevertheless, we made amazing progress on our landscape. I'll hopefully get around to talking about the details in later posts. I don't usually like to play catch up but I think in this case I should because we had some significant work done. And can I say. I like having someone else do the work!  

This morning I went out to spray weeds. Oh what a battle this is going to be for us here. I used two full spray containers of 100% glysophate mixed 6 Tbsp per gallon (like RoundUp but stronger) and didn't even get through the whole yard. I hit the shade bed, the rock wall, the patio bed and most of the west side along the house. I ran out when I hit the columnar oak. Rob seems to get a lot further when he sprays. I wonder if I'm putting down too much or if he is not using enough. I noticed we have a big crop of field bindweed actually growing out of the mulch that we had brought in from the landfill. If we are importing more bindweed with that mulch I am not happy about that. 

When I finished with the second container of weed killer it was too hot to continue spraying so I changed direction a bit and dug out a spot for two stepping stones coming from the man door to the shade bed.  The actual digging wasn't too hard. I didn't hit any big rocks, just a bunch of smaller ones. The hard part was carrying the road base from the patio area (up the rock wall in buckets since we are not walking on the lawn yet) and trying to get it to the right level. I should have used string and levels to make sure the stones were in correctly but I was hot and tired so I left it at good enough. I should take some time redoing them to get them a little higher. When we are ready to add mulch in the bed they will constantly get covered up by the mulch because they are at dirt level now. But they aren't a tripping hazard this way and I don't know how long it will be till we can mulch this bed. 

 

(Not sure square stepping stones work with a curved planting bed but hey, we had the stones so we may as well use them) 

Thoughts from the morning:

 

The yard is coming along. The rock work has helped make the property feel less overwhelming  and the lawn is starting to come in and just those two things make a world of difference. 

It is still hard for me to not be frustrated by the work remaining. It's really just finalizing the design and planting and mulching (and saving money for the putting green) but the weeds!!  The rocks!!  I get so overwhelmed at the thought of dealing with those before we can even start to plant and then we have to make sure the appropriate drip irrigation can get to the plants too. 

I wish I could afford to hire someone to clean out the planting beds. I'd even love having someone dig the holes (rocks are hard to dig and it just makes me feel old and tired and sore).  Rob wants to put down mulch as quickly as possible to help keep the weeds down but I want the big rocks cleared out and the dirt at least leveled before we mulch.  I wonder what our compromise will be. 

We can't let up on the weeds at all. Keeping the weeds out of the yard may prove to be as difficult as dealing with all the rocks in our dirt, if not more, because once the big rocks are out of the beds the small ones will be covered with mulch.  Also. I have decided I am going to use weed killer whenever and wherever needed.  

I need to spend at least a morning adjusting the existing drip lines but everything I've planted this year is doing well so far so that's not a huge rush. The most important step is adding a line for the trees in the front yard. Luckily it hasn't been too hot yet so they aren't showing stress. But once the temps hit the high 80's (and higher) and stay there consistently the trees will need that water available. 

Bella was outside with me and she loved being on the grass.  It makes me excited to be able to actually use it!  I hope we can let the girls run on it before they leave.  

Front Entry Pots

We moved the tall containers, that I got as a Mother's Day gift years ago, with us from Illinois.  They were heavy and bulky and I was so worried they would break in the move, but I love them and it was worth the risk to me.  They fit well in the front entryway to the house and the colors even work with the new house.  Not perfectly, but close enough.

My goal for this planting was to combine some lovely Heuchera and Coleus for the foliage and then mix in a few more plants for interest.  Even though the front door faces south this spot is full shade because of the porch roof.  The plant on the east side does get a tiny bit more reflected light in the late afternoon so occasionally we just switch the liner pots inside the taller containers to keep the growth more even. 

I started with 'Obsidian' Heuchera because I am a sucker for the dark foliage.  Then I added in 'Neon Lights" Tiarella because I loved the cut leaf foliage and also the dark veining which played nicely with the Heuchera.  I wanted a Coleus with smaller leaves for contrast.  The Greenhouse didn't have a huge selection available yet since I was there so early in the season but Solenostemon hybrida 'Burgundy Wedding Train' seemed like a good choice.  The leaf shape spoke to the Tiarella and the colors worked well too.  I needed a taller plant for the back so I went with this lovely grass which had a nice airy feel to it.  (I've lost the plant tag, if it shows up, I'll edit accordingly).  Then I added a Bacopa, which is a nice no-fail trailing plant.  I chose Snowstorm because I knew the small white flowers would add a little sparkle in and around the dark leaves.  The last choice was something that flowered well in shade.  Easy choice to go with a Begonia.  I don't use them a lot because they tend to be a bit delicate, especially when it is time to transplant them but they like the shade and the flowers are pretty.  I hemmed and hawed a little bit about which color I wanted but finally decided on a nice soft yellow.  'Solenia' seems to be very happy in this spot and brings a nice soft touch of light to the pot and to the front door.  The nice surprise is that the petals are tinged with just a touch of rosy pink as they age which plays nicely with the other colors in the container. 

Beginning with Trees

I went to The Greenhouse this morning armed with some basic knowledge and research about what I was looking for.  I also brought a picture of the front of our house and some basic measurements.  I figured if I could show them where the tree was going to be planted and what I was trying to accomplish they would have a better idea of what to suggest.

I've only walked through there once before, rather quickly, but today I had a little time to stroll through.  It's much smaller than my former favorite, (my go to nursery, aka, The Growing Place), but the layout is interesting, the help seems very knowledgeable and friendly and the plants they had out were gorgeous.  This nursery will definitely stay high on my list.  I was also delighted by their prices!  The trees were the same price that I had seen at another garden center in town but they were twice as big.  WINNER!

Rob and I have decided our priorities for our yard are
A - Plant trees.
B - Extend the patio and add a fire pit.
C - Put in a sprinkler system.
D - Add shrubs and perennials.

Since we are having perfect weather for planting trees (and shrubs, but those are way down the list so I'm TRYING very hard to be patient) I wanted to get started.  I wanted to give them plenty of time to settle in and get comfy in their permanent spot so they could get a good start before the really hot weather hits.

My mission was to purchase at least one tree, possibly more.  My goal is to plant AT LEAST ten trees up here.  Probably more.  We want to create shade from the summer sun - on the south and the west facing sides of our house.  Shade for the dining patio so it's comfortable to eat out there, privacy from the street to the north and trees for fun (pretty to look at, fruits for the birds, maybe fruit for us).

For the first tree to go into our yard, I wanted a deciduous tree that would be tall enough and full enough to create shade for the large south-facing window in my room during the summer, but would lose its leaves so the room could warm up in the winter.  Because the tree was going to be planted on the lower level of the front yard it needed to be tall, but not so tall as to overwhelm the house.  I wanted something that would do well in our soil and that wouldn't need an excessive amount of water to stay healthy and grow.  I had done a lot of research online, but hadn't really narrowed down exactly what I was looking for.

I also wanted a smaller ornamental tree that flowered and had fruit for the birds.  I had decided that I'd either end up with a Crabapple or a Hawthorn (IF I could find a thornless one).

Then I was going to see what else was out there with the basic understanding of what I was looking for and our overall scheme of how we want to use our property.

Cindy found me wandering through the evergreens and asked if she could help.  She was so knowledgeable and helpful, without being condescending or making me feel rushed.  She listened to my questions and my ideas and responded appropriately.  I appreciated that she didn't just tell me what to buy and then rush off to do something else.  She remembered all the trees we talked about, showed me examples of what they had in stock, in all the various sizes and species, recommended a couple of trees that they didn't even carry (now that's impressive!) and helped me understand why I didn't want to plant a tree that had been recommended earlier.  (Gingko's are beautiful, but so slow growing that they should only be planted as a specimen tree, not as a shade tree.  As she so kindly put it, we will all be dead and our grandchildren will be our age before that tree will actually be big enough to act as a shade tree).

So, Tree #1 is .....a red maple.

Autumn Blaze Red Maple
Acer Freemanii
(picture from Monrovio)

We had a sugar maple in Aurora that struggled with verticillum wilt for many years.  We couldn't ever decide if we should cut it down or not, but we ended up just pruning out the diseased and dead branches, which is not the right or healthy way to prune a tree.  It finally seemed to outgrow that horrible disease or at least the tree was stronger than the disease was.  When  it was about ten years old I started to really love it.  Alaina claimed it was a perfect tree for climbing up into with a book.  She even sat out there during a couple of rain showers.  The canopy was thick enough that it protected her from getting wet.

I'm honestly a little surprised to have ended up with this tree.  I'm not sure if it's because I didn't have a spectacular experience with the maple in Aurora or maybe I thought I'd end up with something more dramatic, maybe a native or something not so, ummmm, common.

But.  It meets all our needs and wants.  It will handle the alkaline soil, it will be the right size (not too big, not too small), it will grow fast enough to actually create the wanted shade (but not so fast that it ends up being a messy tree), it will handle full sun like a champ, and it won't be a water hog.  And it will have gorgeous fall color. 

This tree should get about 45 feet tall and between 30 to 40 feet wide. 

Tree #2 is ..... a red flowering crabapple

Prairie Fire Crabapple
Malus sp. 'Prairiefire'
(picture from Grimm's Gardens)

I loved our crabapples in Aurora for two reasons.  They had the most beautiful flowers in the spring and it was fun watching the birds eat the fruit in winter.  I didn't like the fact that it suffered from scab, which meant the leaves would get horrible spots on them and then they would start falling off mid-summer.  We pruned judiciously hoping to improve airflow and sprayed every spring, but that only helped a little.  So, crab's had one strike against them and hawthorn's had one strike against them - THE THORNS!  Those are big and mean and unforgiving.  The Greenhouse had one Hawthorn tree species that was supposed to be thornless, but the flowers weren't as spectacular as the crabapple.  Cindy reassured me that scab wasn't as much of an issue here because of the lack of humidity, she also said there is a systemic that we can use once a year if we start to notice any problems.  I decided to go with the crabapple because of the color of the blooms.  This tree will be really stunning in a few years.  I also like that it has purplish foliage.  I love using foliage to add color to my landscape.

This tree should get between 15 and 20 feet tall and have about the same spread.

Tree #3 is....a columnar oak

Regal Prince Oak
Quercus 'Long'
(picture from Spring Grove Nursery)

Because our house is built into a slope, the southwest corner ends up being two stories tall from the ground.  I wanted to plant something there that would soften the corner, add a touch of green and ground the house a bit.

Cindy recommended putting in a Columnar Oak.  I wasn't familiar with this tree, although I'm sure I've seen plenty of them around.  She also said that Columnar Swedish Aspen would work well there too.  I happen to know that a certain big box store in the valley carries those.  I hope they stick around long enough for me to go back and get them after our patio has been installed.  If I leave the side yard unplanted they can get their equipment in and out of the backyard easily.

This tree is supposed to get about 30 feet high and 10-15 feet wide.  That's in optimal growing conditions so we shall see what it does here.

Early Spring Container #1

I know that going by the calendar mid-April is considered early spring, but I was used to things warming up, blooming and growing earlier in Illinois than it seems to here in North Logan.  I suppose I will eventually get used to it and be more patient, but this year I decided to totally push the season.  Working in the soil is good medicine for me (even if it is potting soil), and I needed to get my hands into the dirt.

Yesterday I picked up a trunk full of perennials and a couple of cold weather annuals and started planting.  I totally ran out of potting soil so I only got about half of the plants into their new containers.  It was getting too cold to keep working outside so I finished up this afternoon.  I actually got snowed on at one point yesterday.

Mother Nature didn't appreciate me thumbing my nose at her and got the last laugh by bringing a hard freeze to the valley last night.  There is another one expected tonight.  I covered my big pot with a large moving box last night and will cover it again tonight.  The small pots get moved into the garage.  Another day or two and they will be ready to stay out permanently.

I figure this is going to be a learning year for me with keeping my container gardens healthy and alive.  The altitude is different which means the sun is much more intense.  There is also a noticeable lack of humidity and summer rain showers.  We don't have sprinklers or drip irrigation set up yet so I won't be able to put my containers on a neat drip system like Laurie and Brian have done.  Hopefully that will come.  And hopefully, I will be able to figure out what to grow, where and how much water everything needs to stay healthy.

The containers nearest the front door won't get much, if any, direct sun, even though it is a southern exposure, because of the roof over the porch.  But the containers on the sidewalk will get a lot of hot southern sun.  I think they will bake pretty fast, so I may be moving them once things heat up.

The back deck and back patio will get some east or west sun depending on where they end up.  The north east exposure I'm not too worried about, but the hot west sun will be interesting to work around.

Container #1 - near the front corner of the house by the front walk.
Full on Southern and Western Exposure.
I tried to group plants that liked full sun and had lower water needs in this pot.  All of these plants are perennials.  IF they manage to live through the summer I can hopefully transplant them into the yard in the fall.

(the thriller)
Variegated Feather Reed Grass
Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Overdam'
I put this in because I knew, at least, I had a pretty good chance of keeping this grass alive through the summer.  It might outgrow the other plants in the container.  I'll have to keep an eye on it.

(the spiller)
Grace Ward Lithodora
Lithodora diffusa
Bloom Time:  Spring, Summer, Fall
Blooms:  Blue

(the fillers - since it was a large container, I used a combination of four plants, two purple, one red and one yellow)
Fragrant Star Wallflower
Erysimum 'Walfrastar'
Bloom Time:  Spring, Fall
Blooms: Yellow
I liked the variegated foliage on this plant, so even though it won't be in bloom all summer it will still add interest and color to the container.

Fire Star Dianthus
Dianthus 'Devon Xera'
Bloom Time:  Spring
Blooms:  Red
My plan is to pull this out once it has finished blooming and replace it with an annual).  I liked the red popping against the purple pincushion flower in the shopping cart.  We'll see how I like it as they grow and settle in.

Butterfly Blue Pincushion Flower
Scabiosa columbaria 
Bloom Time:  Summer through Fall
Blooms:  Lavender
This is a good, no nonsense plant that I've grown in the past.  It did well in my flower garden in Texas so I'm hoping it will do well here too.

Boysenberry Ruffles Lavender
Lavandula stoechas
Bloom Time:  Summer
Blooms:  Pink and Purple
This was totally a last minute addition.  I was going to use two Pincushion Flower plants and then I saw this and added it in.  I don't know if the colors will work with the other plants in the pot but I was so intrigued by the flower that I grabbed it anyway.

A New Home Means a New Garden

Since we closed in late October it was really too late to do anything or even really think about the yard.  We focused on moving in and then it snowed.  And the snow stayed all winter and covered up the unfinished landscape.

Now that it is warming up we've been talking and planning for what we want to do in our yard.  

We created a wish list and I worked up a basic overview for the property.  

Then I got stuck.  I was just completely and totally overwhelmed.  

Rob keeps saying I can pull this together because I had all that practice in Illinois, but I'm not even sure where to begin.  

What goes in first?  

We can't afford to do it all at once so how do we set priorities for our budget and time?

We saw that a local garden center offered design services so we set up an appointment. I met with the designer this afternoon and we walked the yard together and then reviewed a packet of ideas and inspiration pictures that I had gathered.  We had a lovely chat and she seems to have a good grasp on what we are looking for in a landscape.  She took some measurements and pictures and will get back with us in a couple of weeks with our design.  

Guess what I learned from her?  

This project is still going to be overwhelming and very challenging.  

The soil here is…

BAD!

It’s full of rocks and very alkaline.  

I thought we could amend a hole at a time.  You know, figure out where we were going to plant a tree or a shrub and work the soil really well there.  That was the recommended practice in Illinois.  Make a $100 hole for a $10 plant and it worked well.  My plants there thrived.

The designer I met with suggested that really the best (better?) alternative is to just dump a bunch of topsoil.

EVERYWHERE!

4 inches where we want grass.

6 to 8 inches everywhere else.

That’s a lot of topsoil.  

And a lot of money to pay for someone else’s dirt (yes I know, It's Soil, Not Dirt).  

Money I don’t want to spend on dirt (okay, okay, Soil).  

Money I’d rather spend on installing a patio or a sprinkler system or planting trees or grass.  

And if we get top soil delivered and don’t start planting in it and covering it with mulch it’s going to just wash away or blow away or weeds are going to grow in it or a combination of all of those.

Did you catch that "blow away" comment?  Guess what?  It's WINDY up here!  That’s apparently one of the biggest reasons I see so much gravel mulch around this subdivision.  The wind blows away the fine bark mulch so if we want to use bark mulch we are only supposed to only use the big fat nuggets. 

And all those rocks that seem to be growing in our yard.  They have to be picked up and moved.  Especially where we want lawn or turf or grass or whatever the appropriate term is.  Luckily we are going to incorporate a dry creek bed so I'll have somewhere to use all those rocks.  The designer said we will probably still have to buy more rocks to get it to look just right.  (Is that ironic or what?)

So, I guess I know what my new job is going to be.  

Rock gathering.  

Guess I'd better go buy a garden cart or wagon because the wheelbarrow is just too high and too tippy.

In the meantime I need to start getting quotes for extending our patio because the hardscape is the first item that needs to be finished.  At least I know where to begin.

A new shade garden for Marianne

Apparently, it was a rough spring for impatiens, which meant Marianne couldn't plant them in the shallow bed in front of the duplex. 

Grandma Hendricks and I spent a fun morning looking for shade loving perennials while Rob very kindly turned the soil and got the bed ready for planting.  The soil ended up being really nice so when we got back with our choices we went right to work.

We started out at Home Depot but were mightily disappointed in their selection of shade perennials and their Hosta's didn't look very healthy so we left and went to Anderson's Seed and Garden.  I haven't been there since Rob and I registered for wedding gifts over 30 years ago.  I was very impressed with their selections and their service.

We were initially thinking about doing just hosta and huechera but once we saw the options available we decided to go for a more of a real shade garden. 

Here are the plants we added.

Astilbe 'Vision in Red'

Height 15", Blooms midsummer with deep red buds that open into a lovely reddish pink.

Astilbe ' Rock & Roll'

(I'll add a picture when it is in bloom because right now it looks almost like the astilbe above)

Height 20", Blooms midsummer with clear white blossoms.

Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears'

Height 8", Spread 12", blooms early summer with short spikes of lavender flowers. 

This is a great miniature Hosta.  It stays compact and the blue-green leaves really look like mouse ears.  It's adorable and is easy to tuck into any shade garden because it is so well behaved.

Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'

Japanese Painted Fern

Height 12", Spread 12"-15"

This fern is always a nice addition to a shade garden because the lovely foliage adds a touch of interest and brightness.  The range of colors tie the foliage of the plants we chose together.  Besides that, it is just pretty to look at.

Hosta 'Big Daddy'

Height 24", Spread 36", lilac blooms in midsummer.
I'm excited to see this plant mature as the leaves will get really large, with a cupped, almost quilted look.  These Hosta are quite substatial in size but will not overpower the size of the bed.

Hosta 'Francee'

Height 18", Spread 24", Midsummer lavender blooms.

We chose this Hosta because it was the closest match to the one Marianne had planted already.  I was trying to create small groupings of Hosta with the perennials tucked in between for interest.  I do like the white edges as it gives a touch of brightness to a very dark, shady spot.

Cimicifuga 'Hillside Black Beauty'

Black Snakeroot

Height, 48", blooms pinkish-white, fragrant bottle-brush clusters in late summer

I love the foliage on this plant and just as the flowers on the other plants in the bed start winding down, this will start coming into it's full glory. 

Ligularia 'Britt-Marie Crawford'

and

Brunnera ...

Siberian Bugloss

We needed another small plant to fill in the middle of the bed and I decided to grab this Brunnera instead of putting in another 'Blue Mouse Ears' Hosta.  I lost the tag, so I'm not sure if this is 'Jack Frost' or another variety, but they all get to be about the same size , 18" tall) and have similar blue flowers in spring.

The Ligularia is a bit of an experiment.  I haven't grown one before and they do like quite a bit of water, but if it survives will be a nice touch of color in the bed.

Heuchera 'Ruby Bells'

Coral Bells

Height 16", Blooms late spring to midsummer

After starting with a plan to fill the bed with Hosta and Heuchera I think it's kind of funny that we only actually put in one variety.  We both loved the color of these blooms and I like the brightness of the foliage.

Here is the final result, the day after we planted. 

It actually looks good in person and will look great as the plants mature and grow. As always, the rule for perennials is, "First year they sleep, Second year they creep, Third year they leap". So, I'll have to come back next summer and the summer after that to see how Marianne's garden grows.

Yellow Jackets!

The Yellow Jackets have been so busy already this spring.  We've had several in the apartment, vacuumed up a lot from the shed area of the garage and have seen them flying everywhere.  Too close to the doors, too close to the cars, too many of them for comfort. 

I made a trap out of two-liter bottles but they weren't interested because there are too many blooms on the shrubs.  While we were at Lowe's on Saturday I saw a display that promised it would keep yellow jackets away.  I picked up a package and was loooking at it when another customer came by and picked up a package.  We got talking and she said she had come to the store specifically to purchase this item.  Apparently her parents have one hanging up and they haven't had any yellow jackets all spring.  That was good enough for me to be willing to try it out.  I grabbed two packages (for a total of 4).  They are supposed to be hung between 6-8 feet off the ground and about 20 feet apart.  We have two hanging in the front yard of the duplex - one by our entrance and one by Aunt Marianne's.  We also have two hanging in the back - one near our back door and one by the garage. 

They just look like big hornet nests.  And yellow jackets are afraid of hornets so they stay far away.  No chemicals, no sweet and sticky liquids with dead bugs floating in them to deal with.  HOORAY!  I also know I'm not attracting more yellow jackets to the trap (which I always worry about when I put out bait). 

The first day they were up we still saw several yellow jackets flying around, but when I was out today I didn't see one yellow jacket outside of the garage.  I don't quite know how to get rid of the ones that are trapped in the garage, but Rob and I figure they will probably die and then we will just vacuum them up.  Emily just came over and said she saw one yellow jacket, but compared to last week when she was afraid to get out of her car I think that's a positive result.

Two green thumbs up!  I'll have to revisit this over the summer, but so far, so good.