Mid Season Makeover, Part 3

This afternoon, I finished up the new plantings and maintenance. 

I began by adding a Sedum (Stonecrop 'Strawberry Milkshake') along the back wall of the garage. There was a bit of a gap there that I thought needed to be filled. In the past, the bamboo covered this area, but only when it was tall. 

This year all of the bamboo on the property died off during the winter. Thankfully new shoots are now filling those spaces, but it will be a couple of year before they are long and tall again (provided they make it through the next winter). Hence the gap between the Forest Grass and the Bamboo. I also made some adjustments to the two small plants that were already there, a Japanese Painted Fern and small Hosta.

I liked the dark redish color of the Strawberry Milkshake Stonecrop. 

I also liked its rubbery texture. It should deter slugs. This stonecrop needs sunlight all day, and currently this location gets a great deal of sunlight. Perhaps in time the plant will grow in size, approx. H 20-24" x W 30-36". There is a water sprinkler in this location that will need to be redirected since the plant prefers dry conditions.

I then planted a Pandora (Lingularia dentata 'Pandora') in the area within the Zen garden close to Buddha, just in front of the Birch Leaf Spirea (Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor Gold'). 

It is a small plant  and will not grow beyond 12". It should produce a bloom of yellow flowers, but I have to wait and see if that occurs in the fall, or maybe next year. This spot was very small, so I think this plant fits in nicely. My only concern is that slugs will really like to eat it.

The later part of the day was spent reworking the area between the Azalea (Rhododendron 'Farrow') and the Coreopsis, Threadleaf ‘Zagreb’. The Coreopsis plant had been there for many years, but had lost its shape over time and was spreading around. Moss had taken over much of the area, and yet the Coreopsis continued to grow. So, taking a risk, I gently removed all the moss and dug up all of the pieces of Coreopsis. I placed them into a container as a single clump, then replaced all of the moss I had removed. Then I replanted the Coreopsis into a hole in the center of the moss. I don't know if it will survive or return next year, but it was worth it just to clean up the area. 

Behind it, I planted a new large Sedum (Stonecrop Rock and Grow 'Black in Black'). I liked the color, but I was also hoping that if it grows in time it will help to hide the view of the post protector in this location. 

My concern is that it will not get enough sunlight, but I will to give it a try and see what happens.

It will take some time for this area to recuperate from my work. Throughout the area, just under the Maple, were at least eight Japanese Painted Ferns and some other plants that I ignored for the last few years. I removed them all and placed them in buckets. 

As a result, the area is more open, and I have a bunch of ferns I can now relocate elsewhere or give to neighbors and friends.

Mid Season Makeover, Part 2

After the morning slug fest, I continued to work on new plantings and garden maintenance.

I began by reworking the area in front of the Moon Window. During the fence repairs and updates, I had done a good job trampling anything that once grew in this area. Originally I had a couple of Astilbe on either side of the Moon Window opening. However, last year both were eaten from below by voles. The key to stoping the Voles is to place small jagged stones in with the soils as your are planting. This will deter them from eating the roots from underneath, which is usually how they attack.

This time, I planted two Rheinland Astible (Astible X Arendsii "Rhinland'). The blooms have already come and gone for this season, but they should prove to be a bright redish/pink next summer.

In addition, I had some Jurassic Gold Wood Ferns directly below the opening. I liked the look, so I replanted new versions of each in the same location.

The Jurassic Gold Wood Ferns (Dryopteris wallichiana "Jurassic Gold") have a nice golden color in the early spring. I won't see that color until next year, but they do look different than the Japanese painted Ferns that are near by, helping to differentiate the Moon Window from the rest of the fence.

I also used some stray ferns that had appeared elsewhere in the garden to fill in any gaps along the long edge of the fence where the Japanese painted Ferns are located.

After adding some new cedar mulch, I am pleased with the results.

Slug Smoothie

I awoke this morning to start planting some of the new plants I purchased yesterday. However, I have become increasingly aware that there are many slugs in the garden, more than I have ever seen. So, I started my early morning by going on a slug hunt. My hope was that I could catch them in the early morning before they could retreat to their hiding places in the rocks and plants.

My plan was simple, use chopstick to pick them up and place them in a clear cup with a plastic lid. 

Over the years I have tried all the remedies that people suggest online and in books. None are effective. My problem is that the watering system keeps the garden moist most of the time, while the rocks in the garden make for great places to hide. Both make for the perfect slug breading ground. 

So chopsticks it is. Slugs are slimy and unpleasant to touch. Chopsticks work great, I can quickly grab them, even in tight places, and drop them into the cup. Nice and simple.

Remember to keep the lid handy, and tape any straw hole in the top to keep the slugs from getting out.

After collecting slugs fro about 30 minutes, I realized I was finding a lot. So many that the cup was becoming very full and heavy. Slugs kept trying to escape as I hunted, but I made sure to keep pushing them back down. However, I eventually ran out of room and had to start a second cup. 

Once a cup is full, I then place it in a bright sunny place and by the end of the day the slugs are melted and reduced to a liquid goo. 

I'm not about to win "Buddhist of the year," but my plants will appreciate my efforts. If I keep this up for a few days, dawn and dusk, and check frequently each week, I may be able to reduce the amount of damage being done to the plants in the garden.

Mid Season Makeover, Part 1

Now that the fence is done, I have time to buy and add some new pants and do some maintenance on others. Based on all the plants I purchased, its going to take a few days.

I started by putting something into the two red pots. They have been empty since Spring and needed some plantings before summer comes to an end. As I Have done in the past, I opted for Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grasses (Pennisetum alopecoroidses "hemlin"). 

They look nice here and later in the summer I will be able to transfer them to another location on the property where they will be planted permanently.

In the Zen garden, just to the right of the Japanese Maple is a spot that once had a plant that had been eaten last year. All that remained was a significant hole that I have ignored all season. 

There is a significant amount of moss in this spot, a small bed that had been mostly covered by the ever growing Maple. I decided to place a Curly Fries Hosta (Plantain Lily 'Curley Fries'). 

This location is mostly shady, with some morning sunlight. It also gets watered well by the sprinklers, which the Hosta should like. I just need the slugs to stay away.

Although I don't usually buy Hosta these days, I opted for yet another, an Island Breeze Hosta (Hosta "Island Breeze"). I really liked the different green tones of the leaves, different than most of the other Hosta I have planted elsewhere in the garden. 

I'm placing it where I planted an Orchid Frost Deadnettle (Lamium maculatum 'Orchid Frost') last year, right next to the Dwarf Korean Fir (Abies koreana 'Cis'). 

As seen on June 4

Although the Orchid Frost Deadnette started out great at the start of the spring, the slugs completely devoured it by the time of this posting. Not a leaf left. 

Too bad, I liked it when it was flowering. The slugs have been just terrible this year. This Hosta will probably do better since its rubbery texture is not so yummy to slugs. If it continues to grow, I may have to relocate it in a few years or split it, but in the meantime, it looks nice in this location.

Tomorrow I will move on to the other new plants.

Crossing the Finish Line

Hooray! I finally finished the garden fence repairs and upgrade.

I have been working on the fence project off-and-on since April. New posts and rails, salvaged rails and roof material, and newly installed cedar boarding. 

To save money, I used 19/32 in. D x 5-1/2 in. W x 6 ft. H Cedar Dog-Ear Fence Pickets. They sold for just under $4 each. I cut off the "dog ear" part at the top and then cut each board in half into approximately 35" pieces. It took 180 boards to fill all the panels. 

I had pre-measured all the bottom rails to hold the panels and added a 1/4" gap at the top for expansion with the changes in the weather. There are also slight gaps between each, but as humidity increases, they will swell a bit (usually in the fall).

The staining of the cedar boards took at least four days. Giving each board two coats of staining should help it withstand the weather better over the next few years. 

It looks somewhat orange, but I know over time it will fade and become less bright.

The bamboo in the previous fence was nice when first installed, but the nice yellow-look didn't last more than a couple of years. 

Additionally, the bamboo for the entire fence costs approximately $800. These cedar panels cost approximately $320, much less.

Overall, I am happy with the outcome and hope this fence will last longer than the 12 years the last fence held up. 

The post protectors will help and some annual maintenance will ensure that the fence will remain a highpoint of the garden.