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| 2017 |
This past spring I added a garden along the wall, post on it later. The wall and the new garden seem to point to the 'Glowing Embers'.
It is funny how much the white Caladiums stand out along the pathway in the woods. I need to put more in next year.
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| 2018 |
A little more of the center of the garden. The burgundy tree in the center is a Japanese maple-
Acer palmatum dissectum 'Garnet'. The shape is finally coming back, a November 1 snowfall a few years ago took a third of the crown.
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| 2018 |
Along side the house is always in a state of 'maybe it will be better next year'. The deer had found the hydrangeas last year and ate them to a nub. Around the propane tank is a very healthy stand of Sweet Flag grass,
Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'...home to many of my snakes and a favorite place for our little Liebling to "hide". In between the hose spigot and the propane tank is the A/C condensation pipe outlet. During the summer it is a constantly moist area. I like to use the downhill side of it to have my plant nursery. Any time I am pruning I will stick a few branches in the soil in that nursery area. I have had some success with a few Hydrangeas and Camellias and boxwood.
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| 2017 |
This year you can see more growth on the
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Madam Emile Mouillere', a white blooming mophead. Downhill from this hydrangea is a variegated one- it was also in the photo above, barely. Apparently variegated hydrangea are especially tasty to those pesky deer. Last year the hosta in front of the variegated hydrangea looked like celery stalks sticking up through the Sweet flag grass. Uphill from the Sweet Flag grass is a substantial stand of
Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko', a deer resistant low growing shrub. In the spring it is very attractive if a late frost doesn't kill the blooms. The rest of the year it is a space filler.
You can see we have had to patch the turf again this spring. Slowly but surely it is filling in. We have eliminated more of the turf in the front yard.
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| 2018 |
From the front door you see more Sweet Flag grass on the right side of the walkway. To the left there is a
Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls', one side is always "pruned" by the deer and the other creeps across the walkway. A
Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Daruma' is in front of the front window. In some of the next photos you can see how much it has grown.
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| 2017 |
This year's view shows some of the mulched front. With the dogs running out front, the trees creating more and more shade, and winter moisture killing the grass, we finally figured out that we needed to take a different tack. So far I have added two more Japanese maples, 'Red Dragon' and 'Butterfly', a
Camellia sasanqua 'Leslie Ann', and a small
Cryptomeria. There is a lot more room to plant. Oh. the possibilities!
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| 2018 |
Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' has grown! A few winters ago we had a pine tree hit it during an ice storm, spurring it to fill out and grow taller!
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| 2018 |
Another view of the front yard, here in 2017, I have help from Liebling, our German Shepherd puppy. She will be 2 this August. See the large
Loropetalum by the front by window? It was only supposed to get four to six feet tall. Each year it is cut back to the bottom of the window.
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| 2017 |
Similar view this year, you can see the edge of the mulched area. See how much the
Loropetalum is now? Yikes. At the corner of the house is a Coral Bark Maple,
Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku'. It really has been a show stopper in the fall and winter with its leaf color and the coral bark.
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| 2018 |
This spot is the uphill part of the front yard next to the driveway, planted with a few roses, lavender, irises, and a flowering apricot,
Prunus mume 'Hokkai Bungo'. I enjoy the fragrance of the cinnamon scented blooms in the winter.
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| 2017 |
This year you can see some of the lavender is missing. A peony or two have been added and a Calla lily,
Zanteschia aethiopia. Some of the iris were uprooted by the marauding Armadillo. We have deer, rabbits, Armadillo, chipmunks, and voles to battle.
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| 2018 |
A bright spot in the woods as you continue to walk up the driveway is an anise shrub,
Illicium parviflorum 'Florida Sunshine'. I liked how it glowed in the woods so much that I bought three more, working my way up the driveway, three on the left and one on the right.
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| 2018 |
A semi-new garden up at the street is shaping up. I do not have irrigation there, so the plants need to be drought tolerant and resistant to the deer that graze through. A few of the plants include
Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard',
Hesperaloe parviflora,
Lagerstroemia -a Red variety of the Black Diamond Crape Myrtle series,
Amsonia x 'Seaford Skies', and lots of
Nassella tenuissima - Ponytail Grass.
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| 2018 |
Walking to the backyard from the bottom of the front hill.
Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet' on the left and
Morella cerifera, Wax Myrtle, on the right. Not pleased with the Viburnum, going to cut them back a good bit and see if they shape up any better.
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| 2018 |
In the lower part of the yard, last year's photo shows the dry creek bed we put in the year before. What a good asset to the landscape! It channels the rain water through the gardens and empties into the grassy flat land before going into the lake. The flat land has River Oats and other grasses that filter the water and slows it down....works like a charm!
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| 2017 |
A little bit of a different angle in this year's photo. The elephant ears aren't making the showing they have in past years. I know I should have dug them up and divided them a few years ago. Oops.
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| 2018 |
Here are the warts- last year's photo from the boat dock....lots of weeds on the right side. Almost no visible planted material to be seen.
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| 2017 |
This year, even worse. Will be tackling it in the near future. I just hate to get into that mess in the heat....and remember, there are snakes.
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| 2018 |
Finally another view of the large mulched area in the front yard. My pitcher plant needs to be transplanted into a larger container, thinking it might become part of the garden. See my chicken? He is a water feature- trying to find the best place for it.
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| 2018 |
Thanks for joining me on the yearly update, hard to believe we have been in South Carolina for eight years! I am glad I have been taking photos at the same time of year, year after year, to see the changes.
©Copyright 2018
Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for
The Queen of Seaford.
words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.
Looks like you have the best of everything...views, lake, a ring of gardens, and lot's of luscious plants!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing "the big picture" of your gardens. They are maturing so nicely. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you fill in the big, new area in your front yard. Such great "scope for the imagination".
ReplyDeleteAlso, it will be interesting to see what's come in to your unintentional "wilderness area" down by the water. With a little luck, you might find some fun wildflowers or small trees/shrubs in there. Alternatively, you could just cut a path through it and watch to see what happens if you don't do anything but weed out invasives.....
I love photos of how a garden progresses over the years - your garden is looking wonderful...even with the warts! My problem is often that I don't take enough before photos. I've tried to remedy that by going around and taking all kinds of pics over the past couple of years, regardless if I'm planning on renovating the area or not.
ReplyDeleteIt looks awesome!!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone. The warts part of the garden is getting as overhaul....planting with some natives and hopefully less labor going forward, stay tuned!
ReplyDelete