The Start of Year Three

Hard to believe that this 4th of July marks the beginning of our third year here on Lake Greenwood.   I walked around today in this unbelievable heat and tried to get some good comparison photos to see the changes.  The post last year had these collage photos, I apologize for the repeat of photos, but it is easier for showing progress.  The photos all look better when you click on them and enlarge them a bit.  

2010 & 2011

2012 Added some colorful chairs on the flagstone patio

You can see the grasses on the right side of the stone steps Muhlenbergia capillaris will be a pink cloud come fall.  The steps are lined with Nandina domestica 'Ruby', Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Gold Threads', and Abelia x 'Kalidescope'  Behind the chairs are five Catmint, Nepeta faassenii 'Walkers Low'-- the bees love it!!!

2010 & 2011

Looking from the front door you see plantings have filled in a bit and I moved to mulch instead of pine straw.  Added the weeping redbud this spring.   The shed has been painted but I have to paint the shutters and window boxes still.  

New shed, new little redbud Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls'

 These two collages are looking at the front of the house.  I forgot to prune back the Acorus this winter/ spring.  

2010 & 2011

2010 & 2011 Blue Fescues moved out now as well as the Pennisetum from the first year

Turning around you see the front gardens filled out.  You can see the Gardenias have gotten larger.  

2012

As we move around back the changes continue to amaze me.

2010 & 2011

Plants have grown & more added  

2012

 Looking to our left to the shadier part of the yard, again, what a difference---

2010 & 2011  Pathway added 

Specific plant material hard to identify, but the garden is filling in!

2012
 More rocks added around Japanese maple at top of the pathway,
 more to come to assist with the washout

If you walk down the path through the garden and turn to look back at  the house, you will see this lower part of the garden is still filling in

2010 & 2011

This is a really dry area and many of the shrubs and trees are struggling down here.  Have another hose to water this lower part.  Hoping that will help them get established.

2012

From the deck steps you come to the side yard, semi shady garden.

2010 & 2011 Hellebores moved to shade, Acorus getting larger

A variegated Hydrangea that was added is going strong.  It just finished blooming.  You can see these Acorus needed to be trimmed as well as the ones by the front door!

2012

 Walking toward the street we see how the grass, Miscanthus sinensis 'Little Zebra', and Artemesia 'Powis Castle' have grown from the beginning ---

2011 

2012

 And facing back to the house---from rough construction gravel mess .......

2010 just after moving in & 2011

......To this easy to maintain garden.

2012

 I am glad you came along with me on  this yearly assessment of the growth of my gardens.  Since this is the third year for many plants, we should see a leap in growth!  For more photos of last year, here is the link to last year's post.

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Wildflower Wed...Thursday

I don't always remember the postings for special memes -- Bloom Day is always on the 15th, Foliage Follow-up is the 16th and Wildflower Wednesday is the fourth Wednesday of the month.  If I am lucky I remember to do the Bloom Day posting. Yesterday was Wildflower Wednesday...oops.   Well Gail, the hostess of Wildflower Wednesday said the post is up all week, meaning I could still add my post to the list.
This morning I went out in my bathrobe to get some morning light photos of some of my native wildflowers/ plants.  We live out in the boonies, I could go out in my birthday suit and nobody would notice.  In my front yard are some of my wonderful native grasses, some of which are starting to bloom.  I love these seed heads.  In front of my well is Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'.  It has been a great performer, this year the red stems are more vibrant.

The seed heads are just starting to emerge.

This is a clump of three.  Nice soft edge of the rocks that line the driveway.

On the other side of the driveway was a compacted, graveled, soil-scraped mess.  We added some grasses to help slow the water as it rolled down the hill.   These native grasses have survived nicely, though some spots are doing better than others.  I originally bought 7 Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' and divided them as I planted, going for bonus plantings.  I think last time I counted there were a dozen still growing.

I like the blue tones of this grass, wonderful soft hues.  Along the bank I have some junipers planted, this is the year they should 'leap'.

Along the driveway up closer to the street is one of my Hydrangea quercifolia shrubs.  This is such a super plant.  I have this one in a spot that it will be able to grow to it's full potential.

For those who were cheering for the Passion vine, it has popped up a few feet from where the other one had  been.   The Sassafras tiny tree is still doing well, so this is a win-win.

In the backyard I have more color.  The morning light makes these Gaillardia sparkle.  Think I will encourage more of these babies in the coming years.

Just down the hill a little is another yellow/orange bloom.  Helenium 'Mardi Gras', I love how the blooms vary so much depending on how long they have been open.  I had to remove one of these plants last year as I found some Aster yellows had infected the plant.  So far I haven't seen any evidence on the others. I did buy one to replace the infected one.  I really like the fragrance on this bloom.

Aren't the petals beautiful?  The pollinators are wild about it too!

Speaking of fragrance......Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice' is just starting to bloom.  I have four of these shrubs in the garden,  bought five and can't for the life of me figure out from where the fifth one disappeared.  This moth was still napping.  Later in the afternoon the fragrance is a lot stronger.  Funny how the fragrance is different at different times during the day.   

This one is blooming more than the other three.  One of the others is sending out some new sprouts, forming a bit of a colony.  As the others bloom, the garden is filled with wonderful scents.  If you don't have a Clethra in your garden, you should!!

I have learned a lot from Gail's postings on native plants, as well as many of the participants in her Wildflower Wednesdays.    Be sure to stop by!


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Busy Week

Don't you love it when new plants start blooming?   This is Allium sphaerocephalon.  Newly planted last fall, super summer addition!!  Will add more Allium this fall.

Last week was a special day at Park Seed for Master Gardeners and  I took advantage of it!

Plants waiting in my 'holding area'

This pile is all daylilies!! At $2 each, after seeing all the beauties you out there in blogging land have shared....I wanted some more varieties.  I bought six different varieties, Hemerocallis  'Always Afternoon', 'Sunday Gloves', 'Raspberry Suede', 'Stephanie Returns', and 'Scottish Fantasy'.  Have Googled them and can't wait to see them blooming!

I bought a couple Viburnum 'Eskimo' and two different Pieris japonica 'Valley Rose' and 'Passion Frost' which is variegated.  Added another Calamagrostis 'Overdam' and Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash'.

Another plant, new to my garden, is Corydalis 'Blue Heron'.  This has blue foliage and blue blooms in the early spring.

I enjoyed some blooms while planting the newbies.  

Mixed bag of Oriental lilies, so varieties are unknown

Love this color!

Calling this one 'Miss Freckles'
Have no idea of its real name

This fragrance laden spot was wonderful to garden near!

Lots of interesting insects keep me company

Love the color of this damsel fly

Life has not been all gardening this past week--it was concert week!

Robert Earl Keen, Wednesday
Todd Snider, Thursday




Then, the final event of Festival of Flowers was a Bluegrass concert in Uptown.  Great concert- three bands and lots of talent.

Good crowd, great evening!

Grasstown, singing "Greenwood Mill"

Boxcars 

Had to bring in some of the Lilies and Phlox to enjoy, I really love having a bouquet of fresh flowers on my coffee table.

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.