Shuffling Shrubs

I finally decided where to relocate the damaged Pink Azalea (Azalea 'Blaauw's Pink'), which I planted last May near the back gate of the vegetable garden.

It had been severely browsed by deer, forcing me to dig it up and keep it in a bucket until I could find a new home for it.

Unfortunately, the garden suffered another setback when the Golden Dwarf Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Lutea'), which I also planted last May, did not survive the winter. 

By spring, it was approximately 95% dead, most likely due to winter cold or insufficient moisture. It was disappointing, as I had hoped it would become a beautiful addition to the garden.

Its untimely demise left a significant empty space in the bed along the back of the garage—the Guanyin Bed. The azalea fits this location perfectly, but I have growing concerns about the bed as a whole. 

The nearby Crimson Pygmy Barberry (Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea 'Crimson Pygmy') and Summer Crush Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmacfive') are not receiving enough sunlight to perform their best. As a result, I plan to redesign the entire bed next year. I also want to remove the old cedar 4×4 landscape timbers that have bordered the bed for nearly 20 years.

That project will have to wait until next season, so for now the azalea will be relocated to this vacant spot. It has already demonstrated remarkable resilience by recovering from the deer damage. While it was growing in the bucket, it also benefited from a bright, sunny location. Planting it behind the garage may allow it to establish well, although the reduced sunlight could limit flowering next season. Even so, I have no better location available in the garden, so this will be its temporary home. 

We'll let it settle in and see how it performs.

Hosta Haircut

The Dragon's Spine bed, which is planted primarily with hosta, has been thriving this spring. 

Back in 2024, I reimagined the bed as a dedicated hosta garden, planting at least 23 different hosta throughout the space.

The plan was simple: let them grow naturally and see how the bed evolved.

2024

By 2025, the results exceeded my expectations. The bed looked fantastic and required very little maintenance beyond routine care.

2025

This year, however, the first signs of overcrowding have begun to appear.

While not every hosta has expanded, most have grown enough that neighboring plants are beginning to overlap. As the leaves compete for space, some plants are no longer displaying their best form, and a few have started to suffer from reduced airflow and crowding.

The long-term solution will come this fall. Many of the hosta will need to be divided, with half of each clump replanted in the bed and the remaining divisions potted into buckets. That should restore adequate spacing, provide another couple of years of relatively low maintenance, and—perhaps best of all—leave me with plenty of bucketed hosta for other projects.

For now, I opted for a temporary fix by selectively pruning some of the overlapping leaves.

Post Prune

Post Prune

The light thinning has opened up the bed considerably. It still looks lush and full, but the plants now have a little more room to breathe, and the overall appearance is noticeably improved.

I also took this opportunity to prune back the Dwarf Maple at the center of the bed.

Doing so provided additional space for hosta leaves and sunlight to access the underside of the tree.

Under Fire

Once the gazebo floor was finished, there were still ten 16-by-16-inch pavers left over. Rather than letting them go to waste, I decided to use nine of them to create a solid base beneath the nearby fire table.

Because a compacted gravel foundation extends throughout the courtyard, the same installation method used for the gazebo worked well here. A layer of leveling sand was spread over the gravel, the pavers were carefully set in place, plastic edging was installed to hold everything securely, and the joints were filled with paver sand.

Unlike the gazebo project, no additional border pavers were needed. The base had to be sized carefully—wide enough to support the fire table, yet small enough to allow the Adirondack chairs to remain comfortably positioned around it. Since there were not enough leftover pavers to cover a larger area, keeping the footprint compact was both practical and visually appropriate.

The project was completed in a single day, including power washing the pavers, resulting in a stable, level platform for the fire table. It was another satisfying way to repurpose the old walkway pavers.

One unexpected consequence, however, is that the straight, level paver base now highlights another project waiting for attention. The nearby Zen garden wall, which has gradually leaned over the past 17 years, looks noticeably more uneven by comparison. 

Repairing it will require a more extensive reconstruction than this project, so for now, that improvement will have to wait.

Recycle, Reuse

After completing the new front-yard walkway, it was time to find a new purpose for the old pavers.

The original walkway consisted of 46 16-by-16-inch pavers, giving us several options for reuse. The most practical choice was to create a solid base for the 10-by-10-foot gazebo in the courtyard.

For more than a decade, the gazebo floor consisted of an outdoor rug. 

2019

While the synthetic rug was easy to power-wash each year, replacing it with a permanent paver base seemed like a much better long-term solution.

Fortunately, beneath the rug was a solid foundation of crushed gravel. Rather than starting from scratch, I spread a layer of leveling sand over the existing base to compensate for the gravel's uneven surface before laying the pavers.

To maximize the base so it extended fully beneath the gazebo, I purchased 24 additional half-sized pavers to create a border around the perimeter. Because the original pavers had weathered and darkened over nearly 20 years, the new border pieces were noticeably brighter. Instead of looking out of place, the contrast created an attractive ribbon effect that nicely frames the base. The half-sized pavers was omitted at each corner to accommodate the gazebo's post supports.

After carefully placing and leveling each paver, 36 total, I installed plastic edging around the perimeter to hold everything securely in place and help prevent the joint sand from washing away.

Before sweeping sand into the joints, I power-washed the pavers to remove years of accumulated dirt and grime. The cleaning made a remarkable difference, restoring much of their original appearance.

Overall, the project was a complete success. The pavers were installed in a single day, and the joints were finished with a second application of sand on the following day.

The transformation has been well worth the effort. The gazebo looks more finished, the floor is now level, and moving furniture is much easier. 

Best of all, the entire project cost less than $100 for the plastic edging, additional pavers, and paver sand—a small fraction of what a professional installation would have cost.

Middle Path Reborn

As part of the extensive landscaping project in the front yard, a new curved walkway was installed. During the planning, however, I overlooked one important detail: the existing straight pea-stone path leading from the Middle Gate into the front yard.

2017

2025

Once the new walkway was completed, the old straight path no longer felt right. It seemed out of sync with the curved lines of the new landscape and drew the eye in a way that no longer suited the garden entry. As is often the case, one project unexpectedly led to another.

The first task was to remove the old pea stone pathway. Beneath it was a deep layer of crushed gravel that also had to be excavated by hand before any planting could begin.

Once the gravel was removed, I brought in new topsoil to restore the planting bed.

Adding the new soil became a two-day project. Two large bulk bags of soil were spread throughout the bed, followed later by a yard of mulch to finish the surface and prepare it for planting.

The work also required digging and relocating several large hostas that had grown along the driveway for many years. Their roots had become intertwined with the gravel, making removal a challenge. After lifting the heavy root balls, I carefully cut back the roots and removed as much gravel as possible before replanting them in nearly the same location, this time in amended soil topped with fresh mulch.

I then turned my attention to the planting design. An established spirea remained as an anchor for the bed.

Two globe-shaped boxwoods were planted at opposite ends of the front porch—one near the steps and the other where the old pea-stone path had once been.

A large Bowling Ball arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Bobazam') and a smaller transplanted specimen added additional globe-like structure.

Two Azaleas ('Azalea Karen') were introduced to provide seasonal color (purple in the spring)

Existing Hosta were divided and replanted throughout the bed, and red Astilbes from other parts of the garden were transplanted to weave the new planting into the rest of the landscape.

A Bonfire Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Bonfire'), was also added to the garden and will eventually become an important focal point along the walk.

The final step was to create a new approach to the Middle Gate. Rather than reinstall a straight path, I chose faux stepping stones similar to those in the Stroll Garden.

 

The Stroll Garden

The gentle curve encourages visitors to slow down as they approach the gate, creating a more natural transition between the gardens.

The remaining pea stone was removed (not the underlaying gravel), and the mulched bed from the front walkway was extended all the way to the Middle Gate threshold. The garden entrance sign and most of the existing plantings remained in place, preserving the character of the entrance while giving it a renewed sense of purpose.

A series of slate stepping stones were also incorporated into the planting bed, offering an alternate route through the garden without interrupting the flow of the design (in time, as these shrubs grow, we will need to adjust or remove these steps).

In addition, Fountain grasses, divided the previous autumn, now frame the entrance to the curved walkway with additional cuttings placed along the curved walkway.

Looking back, this project became much more than replacing an outdated pathway. It transformed what had once been a broad expanse of pea stone into a richly planted garden space filled with contrasting textures, forms, and seasonal color.

More importantly, it extends the Asian-inspired character of the Zen Garden beyond the Middle Gate and into the newly landscaped front yard. What were once two distinct garden styles—the Zen Garden and the Herb and Rose Gardens—now feel more closely connected, creating a more unified and inviting experience for anyone visiting.

Peony Paradise

The assortment of peonies planted throughout the garden brings a welcome burst of color each spring, announcing the arrival of a new growing season. At the far end of the viewing garden, the Bartzella Itoh Peony and Cora Louise Itoh Peony have matured beautifully, each reaching approximately three feet in height. Their generous exposure to sunlight rewards the garden with a stunning display of luminous yellow and elegant white blossoms, creating a breathtaking focal point that draws the eye across the landscape.

These peonies are among the garden's most anticipated heralds of renewal. Their magnificent blooms, though fleeting, remind us to savor the beauty of the moment. For a brief but unforgettable time, they transform the garden into a celebration of color and life before gracefully yielding to a season of rich green foliage that continues to provide structure and texture throughout the summer.