In the Garden: Foundation Bed

Showing posts with label Foundation Bed. Show all posts

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Foundation on the West side

BY SKEETER

Here you see the West Side of the house. Kind of boring with not much going on in my Georgia Gardens back in 2008.

Here you see the blank canvas before the Beach Planter took place. To the right of the cement pad, you shall see another small planter take shape as we scroll.

Here you see the Beach Planter that we talked about on Tuesday.

Now to the right of the cement pad. Grass was dug out, holes dug, plants inserted, rocks set into place and mulch spread. The 5 gayfeather bulbs to the back were planted at the same time. They each grew at a different rate. Strange how that happens, eh. The Irish Moss was left over from another project. More on that to come.

We jump to June 7 and see some blooms. Ha, I just noticed a bee buzzing by the gayfeather!

Jumping again to July 19 and we can see that only 3 of the gayfeather bloomed. The elephant ear is from a bargain purchase from McCorkles Nursery last year. It looks as though the ear survived its first complete year with us.

Moving in a bit closer, we see the Irish Moss is doing well. I also see a weed that needs to be pulled. The Toad Abode gives a bit of a fairyland thought to the mind.

Moving to the left side of the AC/Heat unit, we find the Sagina Platform back in April. Click HERE to see how it was created if you missed it.

Jumping to June 27, we find the Black Elephant Ears (also from McCorkles last year) are doing well. I added the green Elephant Ears from those I took away from the Semi-Formal Garden last fall.

All Elephant Ears are doing well in this spot. They get lots of sun and lots of water from the AC run-off. Free watering, HA, not really as every time that AC runs, she is eating up money. This picture was also snapped on June 27. Keep that date in mind.

Pulling back for the long shot, you see the entire West side of the house. What was once boring is now filled with interesting things to view. Hum, how can I hide that darn ugly electric meter?

Jumping to present day, we find that the heat and sun have finally taken its tole on the Sagina. Sigh, I was afraid this would happen. I am really surprised it lasted as long as it did with our extreme high temps and blazing sunshine of the hottest time of day upon its lush green. I still like the look of this platform and want to keep it similar. Any ideas on what would work in this spot and take extreme heat and like moist areas and stay low to the ground? There you have it, the FOUNDATION ON THE WEST SIDE, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Your Garden Style

Rear Center Garden
What is your gardening style? Do you have one? Do you even want one? Aspire to a style? What is it?

Heuchera Garden
Oftentimes we speak of and hear about gardening styles. What exactly is a style and how do you choose a style of gardening?

Front Sidewalk Garden
Well for me I think my style of gardening is considered cottage, eclectic, and maybe a bit crowded. Can that be considered a style?

Front Foundation Bed-Right Side
I find I garden in this manner because I am a bit of a plant collector. I not only want every plant I see, I also want A LOT of those plants.

Sunny Perennial Border
I like lots of color and I want color all year long. As such, I must pack in a lot of plants in order to have something blooming all year. These plants must be planted in big enough drifts to make an impact when their neighbors are out of bloom.

Greenhouse Garden-Sunny Side
At the same time they must be close enough together so that they can carry the color when their neighboring perennials are out of bloom. A hard mission for any garden let alone the numerous ones I have here at Tiger Gardens.

Northside Shrub Border and Walled Garden
I want lots of textures, foliage, and blooms too. The whole garden should work together but how do you get the look you want? I really crave a succession of blooms and can anticipate when the next plant will bloom but putting it all together is a challenge. I do not want to see any ground in between the plants and the less grass I have to cut the better.

Crabapple Garden
So I keep packing in the plants wherever they seem to fit and wherever I think they'll do well. Some things work and some things don't. Then of course I have to adjust my style. I dig plants, I throw out plants, I move plants, I simply abuse my plants in my quest to get the perfect garden according to me.

Greenhouse Garden-Shade Side
Did I mention my garden is sun challenged? No where on this one little acre of dirt does the sun shine for more than 6 hours at a time. That one little spot is in my driveway. Ha! What fun!

Spa Garden
So I garden with shade and shade plants. I enjoy the shade yet I yearn for sun loving plants. I adapt. As do the plants and that is a great thing.

Front Center Garden and Part of Forest Pansy Garden
I try to garden to please me and to find my exact specific gardening style. Gardening is an art that is never really complete. It must always be worked on and oh yes, let's throw in the fact that the gardener will change. We are not static. Just because I garden in a cottage type style now does not mean I will always garden this way. So I adapt and still I strive to find my garden style, but really the whole thing with gardening styles is misleading. The type of gardening you do should be called the "Piece of Me" gardening style. Because no matter what your style is it is uniquely yours and you leave a piece of you in your garden each time you tend it, plant it, edit it, prune it, weed it, well you get the idea.

Northside Shrub Border
Don't get wrapped up in garden styles, just enjoy your garden for the reasons you do. And don't ever let anyone tell you what type of style you should have in your garden. Strive to be you and leave a piece of you in your garden. This is what makes all gardeners have a special connection to their gardens. A garden is uniquely the gardener's. You can have ten thousand gardeners gardening in a formal style and I guarantee you not one single garden will be the same. Forget about styles and garden the way you wish to garden. Find your own style...

in the garden....whatever it may be.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Beach Planter

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL FATHERS!

A simple seed collected and given to a daughter to plant in her garden. The seed takes root and begins to open up in the garden so many miles away. The product of a Fathers love for his daughter in such a simple but special way! Thanks Big Daddy for the Morning Glory seeds you gave me from your Tennessee Garden, now in my Georgia Garden reminding me of you every morning!

Now let's take a look at a new planter shall we...

As you can see I do not have foundations beds by my Georgia house. After reading a post by Tina on her Foundation Beds, I decided it was time to created one. The spot between the Air/Heat Unit and the cement slab by the water faucet always bugged me. An empty plot waiting for something to be planted there.

My mother in law was Spring cleaning her garage and came across many collected sea shells with her trips to Florida. She asked if I had a use for any Sea Shells. Well, No but I bet Tina would like some or she can pass them along on Freecycle! I was shocked to see how many shells there were and decided to keep a few for myself. Tina got the other boxes of shells and was happy. Hum, I wonder what Tina did with those shells?

Okay, now you know the inspiration for this planter, lets move on with it... The Saint and I chose the border then I dug out the grass and a layer of soil where they were to be placed. A slope and clay dirt make for some tough digging. We are lucky as we don't have much clay in our yard but by the house we have plenty. I am sure this was brought in to level the ground when the house was built.

With border in place, the Saint dug three holes for some plants to be placed.

See the red Georgia Clay he had to dig out? Lucky for us, the soil was moist so not as difficult of a job as could have been.

We have a banana tree (passed along from my parents) that has been planted in two different spots in the yard with no luck. One year the squirrels used it as a play toy and shredded all the leaves two different times! The pine needles from the trees above tore holes in it while planted in the second spot. Each fall, I would dig it out of the ground and bring it inside during the winter to bring the poor thing back to life. I kept it in the sun-room all winter long again this past winter and hopefully, this year, it will survive its final spot. I do not plan on bringing it inside again this winter!

As you can see we made two sections within the planter. One contains the banana tree while the other side, separated by a metal plate, contains a small clump of "Avalanche Feather Reed Grass" and a tall Lily. Lola sent me the Lily bulb last fall.

Lola nor I know the name of this lily but look at the one which she has in her Florida garden! I hope my new lily will bloom such as this! Thanks again Lola for the wonderful gift! Do any of you know the name of this beauty?

The Saint and I dug out lots of fresh compost from our bin and added it to the planter along with some bags of top soil. We watered everything well then I placed landscapers fabric on top of the soil.

Next, came sand. The title to this post is beach planter so you knew I had to have sand right? I placed the sand on the left side under the banana tree.

Then I carefully placed river rocks on the other side of the planter. The fabric below should hold all of this in place.

We put smaller pea gravel on the outer sides of the planter to help hold the border in place but make for a cleaner splash with rain fall.

The pea gravel was placed along the sides and back of the planter.

The fun part of this project was placing the sea shells in the sand to form a beach type look. I added a crab which I must say I paid way too much for but he was perfect for my beach so I splurged this time.

The Saint found this empty turtle shell in our woods a while back and now was the time to incorporate it into the garden.

Some people might think this planter is now finished but not so as I had a vision not yet completed.

I cut some scrap wood and tied it together with rope. I drilled holes into some of the smaller shells and strung it on twine. I then put it all together to make this little sea post. Free decorations! We secured it in this spot by drilling a hole into the bottom of the wood and placing over a rebar we hammered into the ground.

I placed the sea post in the corner but am looking for a water proof gull type bird to perch on top. I am on the hunt for that...

I wanted the Saint and I to build a backdrop of sorts out of wood but we did not have any such scrapes lying around. We found two small trellis for a good price and decided we could not buy wood as cheap so we put them in place instead of build our own.

Next came the fun task of shopping at bargain centers for the perfect things to place on the backdrop! I found Fish Nets, a Birdhouse, Wooden Buoys and 2 Fish with my bargain hunting. I drilled holes into more shells and strung twine to make a garland.

I wrapped an old wine crate with a second fish net and placed old bottles and more shells around it.

There may be a bit more room for future items that I may run across in time.

But for now, I am happy with my BEACH PLANTER, In the Garden...

Friday, May 15, 2009

Bloom Day-May 09

The month of May sees many, many plants blooming in the garden. I am normally a fall type person, but I must say that with all the rain and cooler weather we've had here, I am in love with spring. Everything is so fresh and new and colorful! Enjoy.

An unknown passalong peony given to me by Margie, a really good gardener who lives south of Clarksville. I've never met a gardener who would part with their peonies, but Margie offered these to me and did not even know me! Sorry to the roses, but peonies have to be the most beautiful flower! I have lots of them on today's post.

An unknown cultivar of clematis. I really must stop buying clearance plants or I'll never know what I have planted here!

'Immaculee' peonies and White Irises. I have found 'Immaculee' to be an awesome peony for holding up its heads with little or no support. It does not have a strong scent however.

'Globemaster' alliums, and an unknown peony. The 'Globemasters' are easily 4 feet tall, and 6-8" in diameter. I really love this cultivar as it is very reliable. This is their third year in this spot. I like this combination too. This is the second year these peonies have been in place. Verbascum leaves are the large gray things to the left of the peony, and to the left of them is what I believe to be 'Walking Iris'. Maybe someone can tell me further down on this post.

Raspberry Splash Pinks, aka Dianthus 'Devon Yolande'

Clematis viticella 'Betty Corning'. A purchase from Maine.

I think this iris is known as a 'Walking Iris'; which are not supposed to be hardy here. I really don't know. Does anyone recognize it? It is taller than bearded irises.

Peony 'Festiva Maxima', also blooming: 'Immaculee', 'Sarah Bernhart', and an unknown red one, along with a single pink.

My little quartet of baby robins. They have 'flown' the nest, but still nearby.

Pansies and 'Homestead Verbena'

Pink Flower or Chinese Indigo, aka Indigofera amblyantha

Dutch Iris, probably 'Holland White'. I planted a mixed bag last year. Also blooming are white and yellow (Apollo) and blue (Purple Moon).

Unknown purple colombine. I sent seeds of this to other bloggers and to friends, so some of you may have this growing in your garden. It is very easy to grow from seed.

'Mt. Airy' Viburnum dilatum. I purchased some other cultivars of viburnums in hopes of getting good pollination. Oddly enough only 'Summer Snowflake' and the 'Snowball' viburnum are blooming right now. I am not sure if they will pollinate 'Mt. Airy', but I hope so. The red berries of this viburnum are quite showy and beloved by birds.

False Indigo Baptisia, aka Baptisia australis

My little Orkin. She is a bloom in the garden-resting on my basket of newspaper used for mulch. Odd cat.

'Meadow Clary' Salvia pratensis

Dutch Iris, most likely 'Purple Moon'. These are all new to me so I am still learning these irises. Also blooming are dark purple Siberian irises. My friend who gave them to me called them Japanese irises. I am sure that is not so though. One of these days I'll post on them.

Yellow and purple irises, along with a wild red rose. I simply love this color combination. I will be donating many of these purple irises to the Montgomery County Master Gardener Plant Sale, to be held on May 30th.

Unknown clematis in a tree. I tried to find the cultivar with no luck.

Front Foundation Garden. Here we have blooming: 'Raspberry Splash' dianthus, 'Darling' shasta daisies, unknown Pink azalea, 'Chardonnay Pearls' deutzia (chartreuse foliage behind the lamb's ear), and 'May Night' salvia in the background. This garden always has something going on in it, and is a bit more formal than most of my gardens.

Irises, a passalong

Old fashioned bleeding hearts, also blooming are the white ones, and 'Luxuriant'

'Dropmore' Honeysuckle, aka Lonicera bella

Peonies and Irises

'Florida Flame' Azalea, aka Rhododendrum austrinum

'Chardonnay Pearls' Deutzia, aka Deutzia gracilis

'Roseum Elegans' Rhododendron, also blooming is 'Nova Zembla', a red cultivar.

'Globemaster' Alliums and Irises

Iberis, Dianthus, Irises, Azaleas

'Summer Snowflake' aka Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum

Clematis, Unknown Cultivar

This dogwood was purchased at Don Shadow's Nursery last May. It was supposed to be 'Little Princess', a dwarf white flowering variety. Big surprise! I like the red better though.

Japanese Snowball Bush, Viburnum opulus. This is going by now, especially with all the rain we've had.

Also blooming not pictured: zonal geraniums, catmint 'Walker's Low', heucheras, coreopsis, yellow twig dogwood, ninebark, Bulgaricum alliums, and other alliums (a post will come), white bleeding hearts, 'Darling' shasta daisies, 'May Night' salvia, 'Blue Hill' salvia, 'Miss Huff' lantana, bromeliad, Red hot pokers, Common sage, German chamomile, some unknown and fragrant lily that looks like a daylily, 'Barbatus' dianthus, goutweed, lily of the valley, hardy geraniums, sedum 'Acre', oxalis, silene 'Rolly's Favorite', heucheras, weigela, yellow foxgloves, amsonia 'Blue Star', 'Mouse Eared' coreopsis, Snow on the mountain, spiderwort, and love in a mist.

Changes from last year: strawberry begonia, delphiniums, evening primrose, bachelor buttons, and calycanthus are all not blooming and were this time last year.

There are a few new additions this year. They include: lantana, and 'Meadow Clary'.

I hope your Bloom Day is going great.

in the garden....

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