Cornered

After much delay on my part, the time to rethink the corner of the garden where Buddha resides finally arrived.

Corner Before Makeover

For the last couple of years the location seemed to be changing. The two Astilbe plants were growing uneven, as were the two Bottle Rockets. As a result, the balance surrounding Buddha that I had attempted to create back in 2014 was no longer present.

In addition, the Mouse Ear Hosta I had planted directly in front of Buddha were barely visible. Slugs had done a lot of damage to them these last few years. Additionally, I had allowed a significant amount of moss to grow here, covering the original black Mexican stones I had placed in the location.

I removed all the moss, and dug up what was left of the Mouse Ear Hosta. I will try to revive them in small pots for future use elsewhere. I also dug up the Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal' on the right and will try to bring it back in a pot as well. 

On the left, the remnants of a once large 'Bottle Rocket' Ligularia was removed and potted, but I do not think it will survive. I also removed the existing Bottle Rocket on the right and relocated it it temporarily in the Dragon's Spine.

I decided to stick to the same balance theme as before and replaced both Bottle Rockets with Rocket Ligularia (Ligularia stenocephala 'The Rocket'). 

New Bottle Rocket at Left

The two new plants are very similar to the plants removed, but will grow larger. I need to be careful because these plants require moist soil.

After removing the Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal' on the right, I was surprised to find that the soil was very dry. We have had little rain this summer, but I also need to place an additional sprinkler in this location. The lack of water may have contributed to the slow growth of the original Astilbe. In its place, I decided to relocate the last remaining Japanese Astilbe (Astilbe japonica 'Montgomery') from the Dragon Spine. It will help fill this void and bring some balance to the Buddha area. They only issue is that it will produce a slightly different bloom color than the existing Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal') on the left. 

Post Makeover - Unfinished

I will wait until next year to see what it looks like and then determine if I want to replace both plants with the same variety to maintain the symmetry (essentially I am being cheap and unwilling to spend money on new plants this year).

I have also removed all of the Mexican Black Stone from the area directly in front of Buddha. I have yet to decide the final appearance of this area. Perhaps moss alone or some other slug resistant plantings.