There is a narrow strip of land in between our driveway and my neighbor's driveway....which is my mom's house. It is a pie shaped piece of land that at the street is as wide as my mailbox and opens up to be about 15 - 20 feet wide at our gate. When we moved here there were a couple of old pine trees in the middle. As fate would have it, we had them taken down the week before Hurricane Isabel hit our area. They took other trees out as well. It was fortuitous to have removed those as they were riddled with an ant colony in the center. The prevailing winds would have knocked these trees down on our garage/ house. After the removal of all the roots, I needed to plant a garden of some sort there. I did a raised bed with a Crape Myrtle in the center--Lagerstroemia indica 'Tuscarora'. To keep the area planted with similar colored plants, I tried to stay with the dark pinks and reds.
You can click on the collage to see more detail. Included in this planting area is a Hibiscus moscheutos 'Luna Series' which is dark pink. I love these dinner plate sized blooms. It is the same color as the Crape Myrtle. By the house is a Gardenia 'August Beauty' and a lot of volunteer impatiens. The red and pinks of the impatiens echo the colors of the Crape Myrtle and the Hisbiscus.
Additionally the Pineapple lily is in that bed. It is really changing as it blooms!
I have a Pennisetum and a couple Carex in the bed as well. The fencing is not to keep the bunnies out, but to keep the stampeding dogs from running through the plants and breaking them.
Up by the mailbox is one Artemisia 'Powis Castle' and the new Pennisetum 'Fireworks'.
In front of the Artemisia is a sweet little Portulaca...great blooms!
I am quite pleased with how this section of the yard is looking right now. Hope you enjoyed the mini-tour!
The pineapple lily is great!
ReplyDeleteThis sure is a pretty wedge of your yard! Are you sure you want to trade it for Greenwood?
ReplyDeleteLove that pineapple lily too! Want one. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's one of my favorite crape myrtle cultivars. Have you tried the burgundy leaf pinapple lily? I have one that is hanging on to dear life in the dog kennel that is my back yard.
ReplyDeleteEvening Phillip, thanks! It is a new addition and I am quite pleased with it.
ReplyDeleteLauren, hi there-- It is a pretty yard, but so it Greenwood!
CIO- hello. It is certainly a plant to have!!
Les, good evening. The shape of this Crape Myrtle is super! Will have to add a side view of the super shape. This is the Sparkling Burgundy Eucomis. As it has matured it has gotten a bit greener. My backyard looks like I run cattle!
I enjoyed it very much. Tuscarora looks great. And how nice to have your mother as a neighbor.
ReplyDeleteA very pretty garden and a most fantastic header for the blog.
ReplyDeleteLucy
You have given some consideration on how to treat that piece of land. It really turn out well... colorful and refreshing!!
ReplyDeleteCheers Queen
~ bangchik
How nice that you don't have to negotiate with a neighbor;) Love the crape myrtle...it's hard to find anything wrong with any of them~~they're so delightful....gail
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, after moving around all over the place it was nice to live close to my mom. Glad you 'stopped by'.
ReplyDeleteLucy- Greetings to you! I enjoy your blog, just happened upon it today. Thanks for visiting and glad you like the header picture too.
Hello Bangchik! Thanks! It is certainly colorful-- with many volunteers.
Gail, hi. Crape myrtles are so great in the garden. Have some small ones out back, great plants. Easy to have Mom as a neighbor.
So I'm laughing that the red car fits into the color scheme. Intentional? And you should go visit Sheila at The Gardens of Petersonville - she has a no-name plant that looks like your pictures of pineapple lily!
ReplyDeleteI have a pineapple lily that I did not know what it was until VW guided me over to your blog! Thanks for the id!
ReplyDeleteOoooo I did enjoy it - and your fancy collage too! I had a Pineapple Lily last year but it didn't make it. I was going to take it up to the greenhouse but don't know what happened to that plan. They are so different from what you think of as Lilies.
ReplyDeleteIt has come together beautifully - are you going to hate leaving it all when you move?
Hi VW, I didn't even think about the color of the car, but you are right, it does fit right in!! Glad you were able to tell Sheila about the pineapple lily!
ReplyDeleteSheila, welcome to my blog. Glad you were able to find the ID for the pineapple lily!! Yours is the white one and very nice. (I looked over at your blog! )
Linda, hi there! So glad you enjoyed it. (The only thing fancy was I had to turn that one picture. Not sure what I was thinking when I took the picture.)
I am hoping my pineapple lily comes back...crossing my fingers. It is always hard to move, but fun to start a new adventure.
You've created a nice garden space with pretty colors! I've come to love silver foliage with purple foliage after planting containers this year.
ReplyDeleteCameron
Hi Janet~~ I agree with your other friendly repliers. It must be great to live next to your mom. And it looks like the two of you have similar garden design preferences. Your banner is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Cameron, I do like the foliage contrast with the silver and purple. Really like the Pennisetum 'Fireworks' --new to me this year. It stayed small, at most it is 24 inches tall, with great colors.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace, So glad you like the banner! That is a Canna! My mom plants some of the same colors. She really likes the Mandeville and found two red ones. Now they are twining around the lamp posts.
Yes, I did enjoy the tour! I really like the way you developed these plantings, Janet; they draw your eye away from the driveways to a more pleasing visual scene. This is the first year I've planted a pennisetum, and I've grown to love their foliage. Yours looks great in this area. How I wish we could grow crepe myrtles up north!
ReplyDelete