Strolling Along

After spending the early spring cleaning up a mountain of leaves from the fall, the stroll garden is finally taking shape. For some reason there is a vortex in this corner of the fence and garage wall that accumulates every leaf in the entire neighborhood. However, once cleaned out all of the plants had a chance to sprout without obstacle.

The greatest change is the introduction last fall of the Clumping Bamboo (Fargesia rufa) to the bed along the garage wall. It's still a bit sparse, but it should fill in nicely by the fall. It does a great job of hiding the foundation wall.

I am a bit concerned that the bamboo and the Super Blue Liriope (Liriope mascara 'Super Blue') will spread into each other over time. The bamboo spreads slowly just at the surface. The Liriope sends shoots under ground and needs more attention as it spreads. Eventually the bamboo will take over the bed. So, I either have to find a way to place a physical barrier between the two, or remove the Liriope. I don't want to remove the Liriope, it makes for an excellent border. I have a year or two to decide. In the meantime, it all looks great.

I also spent some time cleaning up the small moss islands and transplanting some new moss from the woodlot to fill in any damaged or dead areas in the moss beds.

I also allowed some of the ferns that naturally took root in  the beds to stay. I did move them about so that they were in better locations, but for the most part they appeared on their own and at no cost.

 

I'm still dreaming about adding large stepping stones to the pathway, but will have to wait to get an estimate - I have no free access to stone and lifting and moving large flagstone is not something I will be able to do on my own. In the meantime, I can dream.