Shrub Week

There are approximately 70 shrubs within Songni Yuan. As a result, it takes at least four days of meandering around the garden and trimming each shrub. This has become known as "shrub week."

There are too reasons I do this. One, to keep a nice clean shape that enhances the beauty of the garden, and to ensure that shrub growth does not exceed long term expectations for the garden design.

To illustrate, I am showing a video in which I will be trimming the two 'Europa Gold' arborvitae (thuja occidentalis) that are on each side of the Woodland Gate. 

These two shrubs can grow to as much as 4-6' over time and I do not want them to grow too large, too fast. By trimming a couple of inches each year I can slow down their growth.

Before

After

They will eventually fill the area along the gate, but if they grow too large and start to block the entrance to the gate, or impact other nearby plantings, I may have to remove them. Hence, the need to slow the growth.

This is an issue with some of the other shrubs within the garden. However, good maintenance and growth management will ensure that a shrub can last many years in the garden without becoming a problem.

Neglect No More

The west side of the house has often been neglected as part of the landscaping. Many years ago there were simply large Spirea along the wall until the generator and air conditioning units were installed.

About two years ago I added a clipping from a large Forest Grass that resides in the Zen garden. It has since grown much larger and looks good.

Before

I also acquired an inexpensive Dwarf Maple Acer and planted it along the wall. It was meant as a temporary planting until I could decide what to do with the tree. Essentially, I needed to get it into the ground before winter arrived, and this was the only open location for it to winter-over. Afterwards, I simply forgot about it and moved on to other projects.

With the redesign of the utility-machine area this summer, It became apparent that I had to put some effort into improving the plantings in this area.

I had several Hosta in the "nursery" that had been damaged by rabbits. Wanting to save some money, I decided to plants these. 

The Asitlbe 'Delft Lace' at the left of the Maple was the only new plant I added. I liked the star like pattern, and mixed color of the blooms, as well as the dark leaves. It should add some interest to this corner.

I recognize that the existing Forest Grass, Dwarf Maple, and large Boxwood will continue to grow and possibly obscure these new plantings. However, the new additions might not need to be removed/relocated for a couple of years. In the meantime, they will do better in the ground in these locations than in buckets behind the shed.

I also decided to plant the Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku/coral bark') I had to remove from the gazebo area early this spring. It too was in a bucket and needed a more permanent home.

I thought that it might help break up the sharp edge of the corner fence post. This tree has had some issues. The main trunk in the center died off over the winter and I have been trying to train the remaining limbs. There is a new spouting branch near the center, but it may take years to grow. In the meantime, the tree looks a bit odd, but it might succeed if given time. 

After

A Japanese Painted Fern and some Marigolds near the base of the tree help to act as a ground cover beneath the tree.

There is still some work to do in this location, but it is showing signs of improvement.

Machine Screen

Prior to the development of the Zen Garden in 2007-2009, we had a small generator installed along the far side of the house. At the time, I installed a two sided lattice fence to screen the generator from the roadside view. Later, around 2013, we added a mini-split air conditioning system. Both of these utilities were in the same area of the south-west corner of the house. 

When adding the air conditioning unit, I decided to enclose both sides of the utilities with a screening fence - each two sided, with an opening between the two. 

Later, I added a brick pathway using some left over brick following the vegetable garden enlargement project (Sept., 2023).

If you look closely, you can tell that the posts on the left were leaning, indicating that they were rotten and in need of replacement.

After discussing the issue with my wife, we decided to replace the entire structure. Instead of the traditional "neighborhood" look of the the cream post - green lattice fence, we opted to build an all new structure similar in appearance to the fence in the Viewing Garden - stained green posts and natural stained cedar panels.

2021 Viewing Garden

This decision was not taken lightly. Making these changes would extend the influence of the Asian inspired garden all the way around the house. The only remaining places untouched by that esthetic would now be the vegetable garden and the area adjacent to its front gate - what we call "mulch Island" (because of its size and the large Willow and Burning Bush).

So, once the decision was made, I ripped down the old fencing.

We were happy that most of the materials, including several posts and rails that were still in good condition, were taken by a neighbor to be recycled into a new project for their home.

I then dug new postholes, installed and stained new posts with post protectors, attached metal brackets to hold the rails, inserted the rails, and stained the remaining components. In all it took approximately five days of labor (two of which were during a 96 degree+ heatwave).

I also spay-painted the plastic post protectors green to help them blend in.

The fencing does a good job of complimenting the other Asian style fencing throughout the gardens and now anchors the distant Zen Garden with the far side of the house and lawn. 

It also works well with the newly face-lifted garden shed and Woodland Gate diagonally opposite the utility corner.

Given the added feature and updated materials, including the post protectors, I am confident that these structures will last 10+ years. I'm glad this major project is complete and I can now get back to tending my plants.

Hydreangea Blue

The Reblooming Mountain Hydrangea that was planted along the stroll garden is really adding a pop of color to the garden. I did not expect such a dramatic change. 

Apparently with some changes to the pH one can change the color of the flowers. For instance, for blue or purple blooms, one can lower the pH to be acidic (5.5 or below) by adding aluminum sulfate of sulfur. 

I didn't take any steps to make this happen. The sandy soil we have, along with the mulch covering seem to already have an acidic nature.

If I want pink or red blooms, I can raise the pH to be alkaline (6.5 or above) by adding lime. However making such changes could take some time. Honestly, I like the blue-purple look and hope to keep theses colors consistent over time.

The Stroll Garden looks fantastic and I am very happy with the new look.

Bulging Boxwood

I planted two Korean Dwarf Boxwood (Buxus sinica var. insularis 'Nana') at the front and back corners of the house way back in 2009.  

At the time I had no idea what I was doing. It never occurred to me that these plants would get large. The shrub should not have grown more than 40 - 48." However, after 16 years the one remaining shrub near the front corner has grown very large. The other shrub, at the back of the house was removed to make way for the Meter Lantern Box.

Korean Boxwood 2016

The 2025 winter was a bit rough on the shrub, so I cleaned out the dead wood and removed many of the dying leaves. For many years there was only peastone at the base. This year I decided to clean up the area below the shrub and remove the peastone and create a shallow mulch bed.

It looks cleaner and I am hoping the mulch will retain some helpful moister for the plant.

I am concerned about its growth. If it gets any bigger it will make passing through to the Middle Gate difficult. Currently, the garden sign is no longer visible from the walkway, driveway, and street. At some point I will need to make a decision about scaling back and replanting this location.

For now, I will continue to enjoy the beauty of the shrub.

The Great Savanna

After creating protective cages for the Variegated Japanese Forest Grass in the stroll garden, I finally got around to making some adjustments to the plants.

First, I removed any badly damaged plants that had been eaten by rabbits (bucketed for some loving care). Then I shifted the plants around that were still in good shape. With a gap in between each of these, I then installed 10 newly purchased plants to help fill in the bed

The change is a vast improvement and creates the look I was hoping to have with the design of this bed.

This is the second year this has happened, but I am hopeful that the new protective cages will put a stop to any early rabbit munching next spring.

Note: I am a little concerned about these plantings over time. These grasses can produce a thick and difficult-to-extract rootball which may become to large for such a narrow bed. The grass will find its way under, and out of, the 6 x 6 timbers if I am not careful - more to follow in the future..

Don't Be Spineless

A recent visitor asked why we referred to the Hosta bed along the back edge of the property as "The Dragon's Spine."

It started back in 2010 when we were still working on the Zen garden and needed to level off the back yard. Originally, I had no intention of extending the Zen garden, but over time the Asian themed garden has taken over almost the entire property.

Back in 2010 the "spine" extended all the way to the back corner. 

In 2018 the introduction of the Woodland Gate and pathway leading to the area behind the shed shortened the length of the spine. 

In 2024 I changed the peastone pathway near the gate to re-establish a bit of that missing piece of the spine.

The original idea was inspired by a visit to the Snug Harbor Botanical Garden's Chinese Scholar's Garden on Staten Island.

A wall was not an affordable option, hence the design of the bed edge.

Many visitors to Songni Yuan have trouble visualizing the dragon's spine. The property line had to be maintained as a straight line, hence no curves on the outer edge. Also, when standing before the bed at ground level the full extent of the design is not so easy to see. 

In fact, the best view of the Dragon's Spine is from a window on the second floor of the house.

Within Songni Yuan, the head of the dragon is symbolically represented by the gazebo, with the Zen garden being an extension from its mouth. The dragon's body, hence its spine, is represented by the undulating curves of the garden bed which were originally designed to become a bit smaller as it stretched to the far end of the property behind the shed.

The idea of the Dragon's Spine as a garden bed fulfills the ideal that garden features can metaphorically reflect important beliefs in East Asian cosmology – turtle, crane, sacred mountain, or dragon.

It did take many years, but I now feel that the Dragon's Spine has finally reached maturity and my desire to incorporate a dragon element into the garden.

Garden Art

Last summer my wife Catherine and I had visited Chanticleer Garden in Pennsylvania and we saw an example of flower art which we found to be beautiful and inspiring. 

Chanticleer Garden Feature

So, as part of this spring's open garden days at Songni Yuan, Catherine decided to create a similar feature.

The basin resting on the S-shaped bench made for a dramatic appearance when visitors first entered the Zen garden, and the basin, bench, and flowers complimented each other.

It looks beautiful. We will be sure to use this type of feature on future open days.

Mini Max

After filling a gap behind the Tsukubai water feature with a fern, I decided to do something similar with the large rock in front of the mini Zen garden along side the back porch.

The stone was placed in this location back in the summer of 2023 However, at the time I was concerned about the lack of plantings and the seemingly sterile look of all the hardscape stones and brick. Having used a  Ghost Painted Feen (Athyrium x 'Ghost') behind the Tuskubai I decided to try the same fern behind the large rock. 

These ferns can grow up to a maximum of 3' so I will need to keep an eye on it over time.

For now it looks great and does a good job of adding a plant element to the mini Zen garden.

Shady Kings

The Clumping Bamboo (Fargesia rufa) that was located in the inner corners of the fence gates, including the Middle Gate, needed to be replaced. 

 

2019

The plant on the right didn't recover, while the plant on the left partially survived. I will bucket the survivor and remove/discard the dead roots of the other one, plus a similar plant located at far edge of the East Gate. 

Early Spring 2025

Over the years these plants didn't do well in these locations due to too much shade. Even though bamboo preferred shade or dappled sunlight, these locations were often closed off to sunlight when the gates were open.

I have decided to plant these areas with Sun King Japanese Spikenard (Araliia cordata 'Sun King') which do well in shade. 

Updated Middle Gate 2025

These plants are relatively inexpensive and can grow large. On the other hand, they are easy to manage if the get too large.

Inner Middle Gate - Left

Inner Middle Gate - Right

Inner East Gate

They should fill these behind-the-gate voids well, while simultaneously adding a vibrant and interesting foliage to locations that are often overlooked.