Another River Running Through My Yard

We all know that gardens are always in flux. Some plants survive, some thrive to the point of taking over and sometimes you just want to change things up. Last year we looked at our front yard and decided that buying sod every year was expensive and labor intensive to install on a regular basis. What's a gardener to do? (we all know---you make a new garden bed!) The wet winters and dogs running over wet grass made the lawn thin and excessively needy.

I had big plans, make a giant mulch bed in the front yard. I haven't measured the size of the area we were looking at making a new garden....let's just say it is a large area. Maybe I will go and measure it one of these days. 

We left a mower sized width of grass along the driveway and between the gardens. In the center of this new, massive garden is a Little Gem Magnolia with daylilies around it. Once the plan was hatched, mulch was needed. Lots of mulch. We had ten yards of mulch delivered.

Because we had some grass and a lot of weeds the plan was put cardboard or newspaper under the mulch as a weed block. Before you jump all over me, I have since read information from the Garden Professors about not using anything under mulch. Their recommendation is to just have a good layer of mulch (inches deep) and it will smother/block the weeds. Good information, just after the fact. 

Moving forward we used tons of cardboard, mountains of newspaper and still ran out. We had help with the mulch from our kids who came to visit last July. With their help the mountain of mulch was spread. Hallelujah!

Liebling was a great help

 Fast forward to this year. I planted three Japanese maples last fall-one Red Dragon, a Butterfly, and Green Viridis. Also added three Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' and a Cryptomeria globosa 'Nana'. Found a few abelia in the garden that needed moved- think they might be Abelia grandiflora 'Rose Creek'- so what better place to move them than this huge new space?

I brought a birdbath home from my Mom's house. In front of the birdbath I planted some Agastache 'Blue Boa', Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising', Stokesia laevis (Stokes Aster) and other plants for pollinators. The maples were doing well, the flowers were thriving but there was a problem with the garden...........WASHOUT. Some Liriope and an Amaryllis were added to try and slow the water flow. They didn't. 

With every rain we had a trail of mulch running downhill through the grass. Not happy. I had scooped/raked up mulch multiple times. Something needed to be done. You see some rocks in the photo above. I didn't grab a before photo but the mulch was still in the grass so it is a good example. The rocks that I have had leftover from other projects are all in the lower part of the yard. Our property is on a good slope. Moving enough rocks was going to be a lot of work just hauling them up the last part of the hill.

My great plan was that my lovely assistant (daughter Rachel) and I would load up the rocks into the cart that attaches to the lawn tractor. My husband just needed to drive the tractor to the bottom of the yard, wait for us to fill the cart, then drive the tractor back up to the front yard. 

Me mud splattered

Rachel muddy from rock hauling

 Well, the yard was wet, the lower the yard, the wetter the yard. We pushed and pushed the tractor to get it moving and got sprayed with lots and lots of mud. Yay. Plan B was to take the tractor through the woods in our wooded lot where we had a path cut. Well, that only worked part way. We got my garden wagon and the wheelbarrow and moved three or four loads each out of the cart until the lawn tractor could make it up the rest of the way. Spreading the rocks went pretty well. Making the new dry creek bed curve gently through the garden, following the washout area, was not as hard as bringing the rocks uphill!

View from the top of the hill

We are due to get more rain sometime in the next few days. Cross your fingers!  I want the "river" to be slowed and the water diverted as to not move the mulch. 

View from the bottom of the hill

 Speaking of mulch, that's the next project...more mulch. We are battling nut sedge and Bermuda grass popping up in the garden, especially where the mulch had gotten washed out or thinned. Weed control is an ongoing challenge.

©Copyright 2019 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Dry Creek Bed Follow-Up (with rain!)

Many of you saw the dry creek bed that we added to our backyard garden area. The link to the previous post is here. Since then we have had little rain to speak of while I was home.  However, when I was in Minneapolis for the Garden Bloggers Fling a good amount of rain fell but I wasn't there to see how the garden fared.

When we had a small amount of rain I was able to make a few adjustments in the grass and pathways. This photo doesn't look like much but it is a slice cut into the low part of the grass area between the patio and the garden. I wanted to channel the run-off from the house to go around the garden. My husband wasn't happy with this, saying weeds will grow in the bare soil. Perhaps, but  I needed to try something.

Here is an overview from the porch to give you some perspective. See the channel in the grass?

Another spot that needed some adjustment was the pathway, the lower (right hand) pathway emptied to the grass on the far side of the creek bed. When there was rainfall the water ran down the path and the excess water pooled in the grassy area. I dug a small ditch and a berm on the far side of the ditch, forcing the water into the creek bed.

Well, yesterday we had enough rain to access my additional measures as well as getting to see, firsthand, how well the dry creek bed worked. I measured 1.58 inches over a 24 hour period. The video below shows it all.  I am narrating so you can listen or just watch. 

We have had some sand washout from the upper part of the creek bed where they put the french drain pipes which will need be removed.  I took the advice of fellow blogger Swimray about keeping the leaves out (and will continue to do so). So very glad we did this addition to the garden. It certainly channeled a lot of water without it creating its own new path.

©Copyright 2016 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

How Do You Know?

You plant and you plant. Some are shrubs, some are trees, some are perennials, and some are bulbs.... one would think shrubs and trees are visible in the garden. HA! In my garden  I have a lot of baby plants. When I say baby, I really do mean teeny tiny.  See the palm leaf? The stem to the left of it? A small beautyberry 'shrub'. Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' was transplanted to an area where the weeds, grasses and rushes, are taller than this little guy. He needs to be marked, and remembered.

Another area in my garden, lots of oak and hickory leaves cover the garden. I am not going to rake out the leaves...they are just there. But the question arises, where are the plants? 

I use various forms of marking where plants are located in the garden. Above you see a bamboo stake with a plant tag, pretty straight forward. It is marking where a deciduous azalea is planted.

 Sometimes I don't have a plant tag so I use whatever is handy. For this struggling Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress'  I used a stick. I have a lot of sticks that have fallen into the garden. Seemed like a good choice.

Last year I ordered some plant labels because I have a lot of bulbs planted all over the garden. I forget how many I ordered -- maybe 100, maybe 500- I don't know. Whatever the number, it wasn't enough. In the photo below is an Autumn Crocus...hence the AC.  It helped this spring when I was looking for new growth emerging. I have stepped on a few of them though, breaking off the top. I found more than one wayward plant label snapped off. Oops. 

Sticks also make a good defense against critters who like to dig up newly planted Hellebores. Sadly I didn't realize I needed to put up a small barricade, so I lost two out of the three newbies.  

I was lucky enough to receive some ferns from a friend from Virginia when he and his wife visited. His ferns came with plant tags-- since they are deciduous ferns, having the location marked is helpful. 

New trees and shrubs needed a new way to mark their locations in the woods. I ordered some bare root Cornus florida, Dogwoods, and Hamamelis vernalis, Witchhazel from Missouri Department of Conservation. I think it was 10 seedlings for $8.00 - a bargain in my mind. These seedlings are not small, averaging about 3 feet tall.  

See the purple ribbons? Yes, my latest tool for marking my newest plantings. 

After soaking the bare rooted seedlings, I tied a purple ribbon on each one.  After planting them around the woods,  I looked back, checking to see if  I could 20 seedlings in the woods.  See the ribbon below? It does stand out in the landscape enough to find each of them to water them and check for new growth.

My missing Chionodoxa alba finally appeared. I really need to mark its location.

Again, up by the street I used a wayward stick...marking some Gladiolus. Seems pretty straight forward early on, but now that other plant material has grown and filled in, it was a good idea to mark the spot.

Back in the backyard new ferns were marked with sticks as they were planted. I ordered some New York ferns, Thelypteris noveboracensis. After planting I found the notes from a talk my friend gave on ferns....his take was New York ferns were on the aggressive side. Oh man. Well, looking for the sticks wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Ordered five ferns, dormant, bare-rooted. Planted about seven (the bare-rooted ferns were easy to divide). So now I had about to find seven sticks marking bare-root ferns. I found some and planted them in planters. 

So far I haven't seen any of them come up. Since then I have done more reading on Thelypteris noveboracensis, apparently the further south, the less vigorous they are. Hoping some of them come up.

As you can see, this post was started a while ago...daffodils were still blooming. The garden has filled in but still no New York ferns to be found. Feels like they should be up by now. How do you mark your bulbs or shrubs or bare-rooted saplings or ... or? I think I will find another way to mark new plantings as the sticks seem to disappear over time.


©Copyright 2015 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

A Year's Progress

It is hard to believe we have been in South Carolina almost a year now.  We stayed in Yorktown for the 4th of July festivities, then packed and left after that.  Since this coming weekend is 4th of July---let's go back and see the changes over this year.

In the backyard, I have planted tons and tons of plant material.  We added the flagstones along the pathways and recently bought a bench.  We have had some big storms here in the last few weeks and had some washout in the garden and pathway.  Slowly but surely I will get that squared away.

 You can see the Japanese Maple in front of the birdbath.  This garden area is the sunniest.  Am trying to add more flowering plants in this area.

This area is the shady part of the garden.  There are ferns, azaleas, hydrangeas, and other shade lovers in this area.

 In the corner of the garden where the path begins we planted a Japanese Maple for our wedding anniversary.  It is Acer palmatum 'Glowing Embers'. 

Soon after we moved in last summer there was a big storm and a lot of washout in the front by the driveway.  Charlie and I did some planting and mulching and turned a construction looking area to a nice front garden.

A few of the grasses didn't come back, so I added some Powis Castle Artemisia in front the Crape Myrtle. 

Have more weeds to take care of...but that is an ongoing process.   I like the Miscanthus 'Little Zebra'.

The side garden has filled in quite nicely.  I have been adding plants along the woodline as well.

Next, a couple views from the lakeside looking back toward the house. 

 In addition to the storm water moving mulch, we have had a lot of branch tips falling out of the trees.  The female cicadas cut the branch tips to lay their eggs.  These tips die and hang from the trees until winds knock them down.  After each storm it looks like a war zone.  So in addition to the weeds, I have lots of tree litter to pick up.

The patio bank is still being added to.  Recently I planted some Nepeta racemosa 'Walkers Low' and more roses.

Looking forward to having this fill in.

The front garden on the left of the walkway is filling in.  Last summer I had some Ruby Grasses, not perennial in my area.  This summer I am just letting the Acorus to fill in more.

 Looking from the front door to the woods in the front, the garden on the left has had its problems.  Last summer part of it was planted with Pennisetum 'Little Bunny' and it didn't come back.   First I tried some Blue Fescue grasses, but they didn't seem to thrive.

So, yesterday and today I planted a bunch of Liriope muscari 'Variegata'....ordered 50 barerooted plants.  I had more than enough for here and other places in the yard.  I clustered the Blue Fescues together and planted the Liriope behind them.

 This picture was the Little Bunny from last year and then tonight, Liriope and Blue Fescue.  Along the house are a line of Gardenias with a focal plant of a Nandina 'Blush Pink' at the door.

 This was the Blue Fescue.......which would have looked nice with the stacked stone...oh well.

 The little black fencing is around most of the foundation gardens to keep my four legged friends out of the gardens.

In the front area is creeping Phlox which was grand in the spring.  I added some white verbena to try to have some color.

In addition to planting all the bare-rooted Liriope I planted another Rhus typhina 'Balitiger' or Tiger Eyes.  I had one earlier this year, almost in this spot...but I thought it needed more sun and moved it.  That was the end of that Tiger Eyes.  Keep your fingers crossed for this beauty.

 And finally, my containers for in the front of the garage....I was going for the purple and yellow combo.   I have a Sun Coleus for the tall feature, a Sweet Potato Vine for my trailing, and in the middle~~ an ornamental pepper and two different petunias, 'Pinstripe' and 'Phantom'.   I added some Liriope (from old container arrangements) and a small boxwood 'Sunburst'.  As usual the Sweet Potato vine is going gangbusters...I may pull it out and put something a little less robust.   I do like the Ornamental Peppers and Petunias. 

Thanks for coming along with me on my first year tour of the gardens. 

 

©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Busy Time in the Garden, Little Friends, New Plants and a Contest

This month's photo contest over at Gardening Gone Wild is once again about light.  They are looking for how the amount/direction/filter and other nuances of light affect the photo or creates the mood.  My submission is my Japanese maple 'Garnet'.  It seems to just glow.

Keeping my fingers crossed for this month's attempt.

Now on to the rest of the garden.  We had been busy through March moving rocks.  When we first moved in the backyard garden looked like this after a rainfall.

While this looks nice, you can't see the pathway except for the runoff of the rainwater downhill creating a rut in the center of the pathway.  Originally the garden beds were mulched with pinestraw and the pathway was hardwood mulch.  It created a nice definition without being too harsh.  The lower part of the garden is walled with some flat rocks and looks nice.  I think in the beginning our landscaper asked if we wanted the walls all the way around the garden.  I think I said no.  Isn't is nice a gal can change her mind? 

I have some tender plants that would benefit from not being stepped on by dog or human.  Since we had a large load of rock leftover (sitting at the bottom of the hill) we decided that this would be a good winter project.  The load of stone was left on the flat part of the yard where the elevation is probably 445-450 feet above sea level.  Where we were starting to place the stones was about 465-470.  My friend Linda and I started the hauling of the rocks in one of my large garden wagons.  You know.....they get really heavy when you are going uphill, through the mulch.   We did four loads and felt like we had made headway....until we turned and looked down the hill.  

After Linda left Charlie started bringing up the rocks in the wheelbarrow, I think about 20 or more loads, dumping them midpath.  My job was to place the rocks.  In some instances it was hard to find where the path was as the washout went straight and of course the path didn't.

From above you can see the defined pathways once again.  I had about 10 more feet of rocks to place when I took this picture.  I carried the rest by hand (it was all on the flat part of the lower yard) to finish.

So from any angle it is a nicely laid out park setting, with pathways. 

I am thinking about a bench at the intersection of the two paths. 

We all know with this garden I have lots of room to have many plants.  Last Saturday I was able to go up to to the SC Native Plant Society plant sale.  I had a list so as to not go completely crazy.  I came home with two Mountain Laurels, Kalmia latifolia 'Carol'  and 'Sarah' (or 'Carousel'-- it had two tags, either is fine), three native deciduous azaleas- Rhododendron canescens, R. arborescens, R. periclymenoides--all will find a place to become as large as they want.  I also bought a  Cephalanthus occidentalis, Buttonbush, a False indigo, Baptista, and a Silene virginica, 'Fire Pink'. 

Isn't she pretty?

I have been walking around the yard and into the woods, checking out new growth, etc.  I didn't realize I was being watched.  We have lots of these little guys, various colors and sizes.  They are fun to see.

In the area where on of the Mountain Laurel will go is my Striped Wintergreen, Chimaphila maculata, who is getting ready to bloom. 

I also found an unknown coming up.....anyone have any ideas what this is?  The red stems caught my eye. 

After the woods I checked out the front garden, the Fringe tree, Chionanthus is blooming and so are the Narcissus 'White Marvel' planted around the base.

These blooms are so white. 

Also blooming are the Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko', really pretty little blooms.

And sadly, the Pieris japonica 'Cavatine' is done for this year and starting to lose its blooms.

How is your garden shaping up?

©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.