To do list

Winter:

• Plan for back yard in Realtime Landscaping program
• Plan for plants to add to new garden areas (old cutting garden & area around veggie garden)
• Trim oaks and thin out in northwest corner
• Get bids on patio and retaining wall off of deck

Spring:

• Move maple trees (still 2 to move - arggg!This should have been done already!!)
• Add drainage towards lawn to rain garden/creek bed.
• Move junipers from front and replace with mounding arborvitae (that can be trimmed to a hedge?).  Place junipers near new (planned)retaining wall off of deck.
• Clear plants from the north side of the fence near the vegetable garden and re-work these areas.
• Add planting area and brick edging off retaining wall.
• Replace pink mums in front border with yellow mums (on veggie garden side)

New old garden

I pulled everything out of this garden (see previous postings) and now have it replanted with lots of new things. I kept deer munching prevention in mind, trying to use plants that deer don't like at the borders and in front of plants that deer like. I planted alliums near the tall garden phlox and the lilies.

This garden used to be just one long bed, 36 feet by 6 feet. I made it wider by a foot or so, and also added a leg to one end and moved a young crabapple tree in. That makes it easier to mow, as well as adding more space for planting.

I have put earlier blooming plants in the center, and later blooming plants towards the corners. I grouped like plants together, and am hoping for large blocks of color that can be seen from the deck. I added some rare new peonies - can't wait to see this garden come to life next spring! There is still room for more plants and I want to add some stepping stones in a semi-circle in the center.

Finishing up

I'm calling this area finished. I've got my secondary path to the vegetable garden lined in rocks, added a few boulders (their purpose is not only to look nice, but also to prevent me from cutting through our cable lines.), and planted a few things, with more to be added in the spring. Oh, and this will get mulched in the spring, too!

New peony

My plans were to do some final clean up in the gardens this weekend - but I bought a few more plants, so I guess I will be planting! One of the treasures I found was a Takara itoh peony, which is going to go in the front garden.

Plants from this garden

This is a prairie smoke plant - newly planted last fall. It blooms really early!!

Time to redesign this garden

Pain relief

Gardening can be hard on the body! While I enjoy the workout I get when gardening, sometimes I overdo it. My right knee has been aching, so I tried Salonpas pain relief patches. They feel warm and really do relieve the pain.

Path finished!

Finally finished the path next to the retaining wall!  We hauled in 3 small (Ford Ranger) loads of class 5 gravel to fill it in.  I chose gravel because there is an incline and mulch would have probably washed down the hill.

Now, to connect this bed to the existing landscaping.  The black hose shows where the edge of the bed will be.  There is a secondary path that leads to a gate in the fence around the vegetable garden, edged in rock.  I moved some irises that were in a bad spot (blocking the sprinkler head) and planted a couple of peonies that a neighbor gave me.  I have some other pressing projects, so this probably won't be fully planted before winter.

My mantra these days is - get plants in ground!!

The weather is gorgeous for early October, so I plan to take advantage and plant, plant, plant! (When I'm not work, work, working!)

 

Minnesota mums

Love these Minnesota-hardy mums!!

Grasses

 Silver Feather grass adds some nice fall color to the garden, as do the Autumn Joy Sedums in the picture below.

Tannenbaum Mugo pine

This is the evergreen that I chose to add some variety to my front border - the Tannenbaum Mugo Pine.  It will get to be about 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.  One of the nice things about Mugo pines is that you can control the size by cutting back the new growth in the spring by one third to one half. 

They are interesting little trees - their trunks are a bit crooked.  One of the reasons I chose them is because they aren't affected by winter burn as so many of the smaller evergreens are.  One of the drawbacks is that they are affected by sawfly larvae, and we had some problems with those a couple of summers ago.  I'll have to keep an eye on these to deal with any pests quickly.

Secret garden - just about done

All that is left is to add mulch and maybe a few more plants (and some spring bulbs)  near the cherry tree.  Oh, and I've started calling this my fairy circle - so maybe some fairies will come to dance in these flowers.  Most of what I've added here has been moved from other spots.

Today it is going to be too hot to garden, so I am heading to Bachman's Garden Center to find my evergreens for the front border!   

Goldsturm Rudebackia

Rose garden

The white alyssum and roses really make the bird statue "pop".

One of my favorite combinations - pink roses and annual blue salvia.

Hydrangeas in bloom

The hydrangeas in the front border are blooming - too bad the deer have been munching on some of the blossoms, although they still look pretty.

Tri-color sage

I added some tri-color sage to my annual border this spring.  Doesn't it look great with the annual salvia?

Ready for planting

The brick border is done, as are the rock retaining walls - this area is ready for planting!  At the bottom is a Creme Brulee coreopsis and leadwort.  My North Star cherry is going to move from the front garden to the large area at the top.  I'm also going to move in some creeping phlox and a perennial geranium. 

Rocks along the path

When I'm not working in my gardens, I am reading landscape and garden design books.  One author that I have learned a lot from is Gordon Hayward.  His focus is ensuring that all elements in the landscape relate to one another and have a purpose.  He wrote about placing a boulder in the inside curve of a path, so that there is a reason for the path to curve.  While this part of the border looked good before, the addition of the rocks makes it look even better! 

Hey, Bob and Diane - a few of the rocks we bought from you have found new homes.  Now, to use up the other 197 or so .........

Secret garden...more progress

I changed some of the shrubs - took out the two dogwoods and replaced them with two cotoneasters.  The deer won't eat them!
The post will hold a birdhouse - It is the same aqua color as the adirondack chair.

The post will hold a birdhouse - It is the same aqua color as the adirondack chair.

I also added some interesting spireas - Ogon. Their bright yellow foliage and whispy texture will look great with the dark green leaves of the cotoneasters. These are zone 5 shrubs, so I will add some extra mulch before winter.

I've removed most of the sod from the area near the retaining wall and added a couple of small rock walls. The slope of the soil at the bottom was much greater than what I thought - I'm still thinking about how to shape the bed in order to avoid the soil washing out.....

Progress on the Secret Garden

The end of the path is ready for mulch!  And I've got the circular border of bricks laid.  Soon I will be able to get the mulch laid around the shrubs.

I'm noticing that the deer have been sampling the shrubs - the tiger eye sumacs and the dogwoods.  ARGGGGG!!  It is never fun to try to keep the deer away.  I might have to replace those shrubs with something the deer won't enjoy.



Search for an evergreen

I realized that this part of my front border needs something.....too many mounding shrubs.  I am looking for a nice evergreen - something that won't get too big for the border. I know it will likely be expensive, but it is also a great spot to showcase a beautiful specimen.  I've also thought about adding a magnolia....

Secret garden in progress....

On the west side of my house, there is a spot where I can see a lake.  My plans have always been to create a small seating area so that I could enjoy that view.  So I am extending the front border around to the west side.  Originally, I thought about adding a circular patio, but the grass is nice in that area, so I am leaving the grass and extending the brick edging from the path to circle the grass and form my little seating area.  You can see that I brought my chair to the area - I wanted to be sure I have enough room and that the view is maintained.  I am planting tall shrubs on the south and west sides of the seating area and plan to plant some perennials near the seating area.  This will be a pretty little spot that you won't be able to see until you enter it from the path.

The blue shag in the top picture was a bargain that I found last summer.  It will get to be about 6 feet tall and wide.  This seemed like the perfect spot where I could really enjoy it, so I moved it in.  I have to "hide" the gas meter and the furnace venting with some sort of perennials.  And I think I want to focus on interesting foliage in this area.   

Tree line shrubs

These shrubs don't look like much now.  They are pretty small!  But the cotoneasters will grow to be about 10 feet tall and will nicely cover the bottoms of these Austian pines.  The dogwoods will grow to be about 6 feet tall.  I want to add some tall perennials, too.  Someday, this will look beautiful - patience, patience!!

Celebrating the little things......

Somedays, I need an attitude adjustment! I've been feeling like I haven't gotten much done in the garden.  So when I see butterflies enjoying the ligularia or these lilies in my front garden, it makes me feel like I am making progress.

Hosta flowers

Some hosta flowers distract from the beauty of the hosta plant.  This hosta has beautiful foliage and a not so pretty flower.   And sometimes they distract from othe plants in the garden - for example, if you look at the posting of the astilbe - can you imagine them surrounded by the spikes of hosta flowers? 

Don't be afraid to cut out your hosta flowers - it won't hurt the plant and it can make your garden look better. 

Mislabeled shrub

I bought this shrub when it was tiny.  It was labeled as a doublefile viburnum, which is a zone 5 plant.  But a friend who has grown doublefile viburnums (in zone 5 - she currently lives in zone 4) gave me the news that this is really a Autumn Jazz viburnum.  I was disappointed, but also glad to know that this is not the shrub I thought it was before it gets too big to move.  It will find a new home in the back border, as it will get to be over 12 feet tall.

Lungwort or Pulmunaria

One of my favorite plants for shade is the pulmonaria or lungwort.  It is on the right - the plant with the polka-dot leaves.  It blooms in early spring, but looks great all summer.  I love the contrast it provides to hostas.  The leaves are fuzzy, which also contrasts with the smooth leaves of the hosta.

Ligularia

The top picture is a large ligularia called the Rocket.  It is about 3 feet tall and it isn't in full bloom just yet.  The bottom is a small one called Dragon's breath.  It is only about 18 inches tall.  It has lovely foliage, making it a nice addition to the bed even when it isn't blooming!   

Astilbes - Key Largo

These Key Largo Astilbes add some color to the hosta garden.  They provide a nice vertical accent in contrast to the horizontal branching of small the dogwood tree.

Happy Endless Summer

I moved this Endless Summer hydrangea from the south side to the northeast side of the house.  It is so much happier in this spot! 

Lilies, echinacea, and a wildflower

The white flower in the group is one I got from a garden club member.  It has almost taken over this area and I will probably need to take it out before it chokes out the purple coneflower (echinacea0.

Front porch garden

The climbing Carefree Sunshine rose and May Night Salvia are a wonderful combination!

William Baffin climbing rose

I tried to grow a wisteria vine on this arbor, but the wind kept blowing it over.  So I replaced it with a William Baffin climbing rose.  Climbing roses need to be tied to a trellis or arbor.  This one will likely be over the top of this arbor in a couple of years.  It is a recurrent rose, which means that it will be covered in blooms now and once more later in the summer.  

Field daisies, peonies and roses

Things are really starting to pop in the garden!  The field daisies move around from year to year and tend to self-seed, but they are one of my favorite flowers.  I pull some of the baby plants out when I am weeding to keep them under control.

Speaking of weeding, I have been wondering why my front garden has been so weedy this year.  I forgot to put down my corn gluten!!  I have to be sure to get that done soon!

East side

This bed has been mulched and I added a couple of Japanese Fleece flowers - they are the varigated plants in the center of the bed.  They continue the green and white combination that is found throughout the hosta bed.  This is part of the same bed - it wraps around the corner.

Salvias and dianthus

Ok, this is another one of those examples of things  that need to be fixed.  The group of three salvias look like one plant, so it looks like we have a grouping of four plants - not pleasing to the eye.  And it looks lopsided with two of the pink dianthus (Firewitch variety) on one side and only one on the other.  The one furthest to the left when looking at the picture needs to be moved to a new home....