Thinning Out

The Zen garden has reached a level of maturity that requires less attention from me. Aside from occasional weeding and light trimming, most of the plants now require very little maintenance. The ferns, however, are a different story—they have exploded.

Originally, I planted only a handful of Japanese Painted Ferns, Ghost Ferns, and Godzilla Ferns. After several years, they have spread into many of the garden’s nooks and crannies. I often left them alone because their natural spread made the garden feel less manicured and more organic. This year, however, they have increased dramatically in both number and size. As a result, I’ve had to embark on a multi-day effort to thin them out and regain some control.

I started with the inner bed of the Zen garden, at the west end near the Mini Spirea.

Several Japanese Painted Ferns in this area had grown too large (not pictured). A Hosta ‘Patriot’, Irish Diamond Hosta, and a ‘Bridal Veil’ Astilbe had also outgrown their spaces. Together, they had filled the area, but they were beginning to crowd one another, with the Spirea suffering the most.

Hosta ‘Patriot’

‘Bridal Veil’ Astilbe

Mini Spirea (center), Irish Diamond Hosta (right)

After only two years, I decided to remove the Hosta ‘Patriot’. It had become too large for its location. Knowing it would continue to grow and its root ball expand, I felt this was the right time for removal.

I also divided a nearby Irish Diamond Hosta and the ‘Bridal Veil’ Astilbe, replanting half of each division in its original location. These too had grown too large for their locations. These changes should help reduce overcrowding while also allowing their newly reduced roots a chance to thrive in the small beds where they reside.

divided plants, replanted

Removing two of the Japanese Painted Ferns proved to be more difficult than I expected. Their roots had become tightly established among the surrounding rocks, so removing them required lifting many of the rocks as well.

Once the ferns were out, I had to rebuild the rock bed. Once removed, the rocks never fit exactly into their original positions, so rebuilding a stable rock wall requires some extra effort and trial-and-error replacement. I also took the opportunity to amend the soil in the small beds.

It was more work than I had anticipated, but this first section is now much more open. I now have a better idea of what to expect in terms of time and commitment as I make my way through the Zen garden over the next few days.

For now, I will hold off on replanting the open bed until I have finished thinning out other areas. I would like to fill it with an existing plant that is the right size and growth rate - choosing the right plant for the right location requires that I be patient.

Rainbow Delights

Rainbow paints the sky
Plants shimmer in the light
A quiet heart sings

Its not everyday that one sees a rainbow painted across the sky, but the garden was blessed with a gift that left me speechless yet my heart was full of joy.

Plained and Stained, Part 2

After using the same process as the Viewing Garden fence restoration, the facelift of the Stroll Garden fence is now complete.

There was a major difference between the newly stained panels in the Viewing Garden and the Stroll Garden.

The previous panels had only received one coat of stain when originally built, resulting in a much lighter stain color that did not hold up well over the years.

Once the panels were removed, I could concentrate on repairing and re-staining the rails and posts.

Overall, accounting for the weather, the project took about three days, making it much more efficient than the Viewing Garden's timeframe. The new planer worked fantastically, and the staining went like clockwork.

Although there are clearly some issues with the posts, they remain upright and should probably have about three years left before I need to consider replacing them. I am not looking forward to that process, as it will require completely disassembling and reconstructing the fence. However, this facelift should allow me to reuse much of the existing rails, roofing, and other features. It will simply be a time-consuming project, with some additional costs to ensure a more stable construction than the original. Adding post protectors and metal rail saddles will definitely be worthwhile improvements.

In the meantime, the facelift looks very good. Both garden areas now have fences that match the Zen Garden's appearance and gates. 

I’ll enjoy the view for the next few years while saving my dollars—and my energy—for the next renovation.

Plained and Stained, Part 1

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working on a long-delayed maintenance project: renewing the fence along the Viewing and Stroll Gardens.

Back in 2021, I decided to build a fence along both of these gardens, using a style similar to the fencing in the Zen Garden. At the time, however, I had not yet experienced the 2022 Zen Garden fence renewal project, a major undertaking during which I learned a great deal about how to avoid the mistakes I had made in my original fence design.

Here are the mistakes I made with the Viewing and Stroll Garden fences:

• using unnecessarily expensive, thicker cedar boards for the panels
• failing to use plastic post protectors to prevent rot at the base of the posts
• neglecting to add metal rail saddles
• applying only one coat of transparent cedar stain to the panels
• complying with local codes by removing the roofing structure from the first three panels instead of seeking a variance, which contributed to weathering on top of the unprotected panels
• failing to adjust the bottom height of the first four panels to accommodate the slope toward the back of the property, resulting in bottom rails with little or no gap between the rails and the ground

Some of these mistakes were the result of my desire to save money. Others were simply due to inexperience, as I had not yet encountered the problems associated with the long-term use of untreated cedar as a fencing material. I became much more knowledgeable during the 2022 restoration of the Zen Garden fence, but that project took place two years after I had completed the Viewing and Stroll Garden fence.

I now know that getting 10 years out of the cedar posts will be the best I can hope for. Now, five years after construction, the posts are already showing significant signs of decay, although they are still standing. 

The other components of the fencing seem to be holding up well, and I am hopeful that when the time comes to replace the posts and add the features necessary for long-term durability, I will be able to reuse most of the rails, roofing, and panels.

For now, I am moving forward with a mid-cycle facelift. The posts, rails, roofing, and panels will all be re-stained. I will also take the necessary steps to sand and fill the tops of the rails on the unroofed sections of the Viewing Garden fence before they are re-stained.

I was surprised by how long this renovation has been taking. I have had to work carefully to avoid crushing plants in the Viewing Garden beds, while access to the outside of the fence is impeded by the neighbor's preexisting PVC rail fence.

I have also had to trench out soil and mulch along the bottom edge of the fencing. Over time, the occasional addition of mulch has raised the beds, and as a result, the bottom rails along the Viewing Garden now rest directly in the soil. To avoid rot and carpenter ants, I need to create some air space beneath the rails.

I am certain that I will not be able to reuse these bottom rails indefinitely, but for now they are still in good shape. In the future, I will correct this problem by shortening the panel boards on these three panels by three or four inches. This will create a wider gap at the base and improve airflow. The gap will be barely noticeable from inside the garden because the extensive plantings along the beds will conceal it.

Trimming the bottoms of the panel boards will also allow me to cut away any rot that develops there, making it possible to reuse the boards for as long as their condition permits.

The panel boards have held up remarkably well. Although faded, they remain structurally sound. Removing the old stain and the weathered surface, however, proved much more challenging than I expected. At first, I used handheld power sanders, but it took between 10 and 15 minutes to fully sand a single three-foot board. After several days of making very little progress, I gave up and purchased a benchtop planer.

The machine was expensive and heavy, but it ultimately transformed the project. I was able to plane all 80 panel boards in only a couple of hours. The boards looked practically new, and after applying two coats of stain, they looked even better than they did when I first built the fence.

Overall, it has been a lot of work, but once again I have learned which steps to avoid—and which ones are worth taking—when building a fence. The design isn't perfect, but for a DIY project, it continues to hold up remarkably well and adds to the garden's appearance.

Next step: complete the same process for the adjacent Stroll Garden.

Vanishing Ajuga

Early in the spring, I noticed that the Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow') growing in front of the Buddha statue was not returning with its usual vigor.

2025

The planting on the left side appeared to have died back almost entirely, while the right side remained healthy and continued to grow normally.

With the new front yard landscaping project underway, I did not have an opportunity to investigate the issue immediately.

By early June, the remaining plants produced their characteristic purple flower spikes, but only on the healthy right side of the planting (sorry, no photo).

By early July, the blooms long gone, the rest of the small bed looked fine, except for the missing plants on the left side.

At first, I considered whether the decline might have been caused by reduced sunlight from the nearby fence panels or insufficient moisture. However, neither explanation seemed entirely convincing based on the growing conditions.

After digging into the area, I discovered that the soil was in poor condition. It consisted primarily of sand and contained very little organic matter, providing a poor environment for healthy root development.

To correct the problem, I removed approximately 10 inches of the existing soil and replaced it with fresh, amended garden soil rich in organic material.

I then planted six new Bugleweed plants (Ajuga reptans 'Mahogany'), the closest cultivar I was able to find. Although the foliage differs slightly from 'Burgundy Glow', the variation should become less noticeable as the plants mature and spread.

The planting looks somewhat sparse at the moment, but Bugleweed is a vigorous groundcover that establishes quickly under favorable conditions. With time, it should fill the empty space and, hopefully, produce a full display of blooms by next spring.

Pining for Life

The Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead' (Japanese Black Pine) within Turtle Island has had a rough start.

After losing my first Black Pine, I planted a second tree in the spring of 2025, hoping it would establish itself and become the focal point I had originally envisioned. It appeared to settle in well during its first growing season, but by the end of winter, things were not looking promising.

Most of the needles had turned brown, and the tree appeared to be dead. I never determined the exact cause. My best guess is that the combination of winter cold and a lack of moisture caused winter desiccation before the young tree had fully established its root system.

Busy with the front yard landscaping projects undertaken this spring, I neglected the pine and postponed dealing with it until later in the summer—most likely to remove it. Instead, I removed all of the dead needles, cleaned up the branches, and left the tree alone. There wasn't much else to do except hope that a few dormant buds had survived beneath the bark.

To my surprise, they had.

July 8

Today, fresh candles have emerged across most of the branches, producing healthy new growth. The pine certainly looks a little unusual at the moment, with foliage concentrated only where the new buds have broken. 

Even so, it is alive and showing encouraging signs of recovery. If it continues to regain its strength over the next few seasons, its irregular branching pattern may actually lend itself nicely to cloud pruning, creating a more mature and natural appearance than I had originally planned.

The tree wasn't the only part of Turtle Island that needed some attention.

The original "feet" plantings, consisting of 'Silver Mound' Artemisia, had never really developed as I had hoped and were beginning to look untidy. 

As a result, I replaced them with four Rock 'N Round 'Bundle of Joy' sedum. Their bright yellow blooms provide a cheerful splash of color while remaining compact enough to preserve the turtle's overall shape.

Turtle Head

Turtle Tail

To finish the refresh, I spread a new layer of mulch throughout the bed. Besides giving the garden a cleaner, more finished appearance, the mulch will help conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds.

This little Japanese Black Pine still has a long way to go, and there's no guarantee it will fully recover. 

But after looking almost completely dead only a few months ago, seeing fresh candles emerge feels like a small victory. Sometimes the best thing a gardener can do is be patient and let nature have the final say.

Midnight Sun

As I was putting the finishing touches on the front bed, I realized there were still a few gaps that would benefit from additional planting, particularly around the Sapporo lantern.

To anchor the larger open space between the boxwood and the lantern, I selected a Midnight Sun Weigela (Weigela florida 'Verweig9'), a compact, reblooming deciduous shrub prized for its multicolored foliage and vivid pink tubular flowers. 

While other weigelas already grow within the Rose Garden and the Stroll Garden, this cultivar offers a distinctly different character. Its rich reddish foliage complements both the brick façade of the house and the warm tones of the Sapporo lantern. It also reinforces the reddish color palette I began establishing with the Voodoo Stonecrop (Sedum spurium 'Voodoo') I planted around the lantern's base earlier in the week.

As the shrub matures, it will require periodic pruning, along with the adjacent boxwood, to maintain adequate spacing and preserve the form of each plant.

To further strengthen the warm color palette in this corner of the bed, I added two Chick Charms 'Chocolate Kiss' hens and chicks (Sempervivum 'Chocolate Kiss'). 

Their burgundy-tinged rosettes provide an attractive contrast to the surrounding foliage, while their exceptional drought tolerance makes them well suited to the somewhat sandy soil within this portion of the garden.

Viewed together, these new additions create a pleasing interplay of color and texture. Set against the deep green backdrop of the boxwood and fountain grass, the burgundy foliage and succulents introduce welcome contrast, breaking up the predominance of green foliage and brown mulch while drawing the eye naturally toward the lantern as a focal point.

With these additions, I should now be done with the design and implementation of the new garden updates in the front yard.

Now its time to tend to the needs of all the other gardens.

Garden Trinity

One of the newest additions to the Zen Garden is a small composition of three granite stones arranged to evoke a Buddhist trinity. A medium-sized stone forms the centerpiece, representing the Buddha, while two smaller companion stones rest on either side as protective guardians—attendant forms that flank and support the central presence. Together, the grouping stands approximately 2.5 feet tall and spans about six feet across.

The arrangement is inspired by the way Buddhist devotional art and temple gardens use simple, symbolic forms to convey meaning. In this miniature setting, stone is not merely part of the landscape—it becomes a presence: the steady, enduring “body” of the Dharma, with the side stones serving as watchful companions that hold the center in place.

Rather than creating a panoramic scene, my goal was to establish a quiet focal point that invites contemplation on a small scale. In fact, the finished feature has become a garden within the garden.

The stones are nestled within a carpet of Creeping Thyme (Thymus 'Tym Rampant') and Red Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum 'Coccineus'). 

I wasn’t able to acquire enough Creeping Thyme on its own, so I combined the two varieties (I will remedy this next season). Over time, these plantings will soften the base as they spread between the rocks. As the growth fills in, the guardian stones and central “Buddha stone” should appear less like separate objects and more like a single, unified feature.

Behind and just to the right of the central stone, a Dwarf Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) adds seasonal interest with deep blue flowers and burgundy-red autumn foliage. 

post gravel

As the planting matures, it will serve as a backdrop to the stone grouping without overwhelming it.

I also transplanted a stray Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum) I harvested from the woodlot behind the garden fence, placing it behind the guardian stone on the left to help fill the empty space.

post gravel

Not wanting to overfill the bed, I left open space behind the largest stone. Sometimes, less truly is more.

On the right side of the bed, I added a small Rheingold Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold'). This plant had once been a full shrub but suffered during a harsh winter, forcing me to remove much of its foliage. For the past few years, it had been living in a bucket, where I used it as a kind of false bonsai. Given its miniature size, I felt it could serve here as a small, cloud-pruned accent shrub. It looks far better in this setting than it ever did in a bucket.

I also gathered moss from the back woodlot to surround the base of each planting. It creates a cleaner, more finished look and should help retain moisture, especially after I fill the bed with gravel.

Before doing so, I needed a way to keep the gravel separate from the mulch and to define the shape of the gravel bed. To do so, I used some leftover EasyFlex No-Dig Black Plastic Landscape Edging from another project. I liked its straight edge, and the fact that I could keep it level between the mulch and gravel without it being glaringly evident. I also covered the area with a heavy duty weed fabric to keep mulch and gravel separated.

post gravel

post gravel

Surrounding the stones and plantings is a layer of Vermont Poultry Grit (Developer Layer). 

While traditional Japanese gravel is not readily available where I live, poultry grit provides a remarkably similar appearance and texture. Its pale color contrasts beautifully with the dark granite, and its coarse surface can be raked much like gravel in a traditional Zen garden. One practical consideration, however, is that it needs to be at least two inches deep to hold raked patterns effectively (Note: I still have to add another layer of grit, on order, before I can place patterns)

Just outside of the gravel bed, on the right, behind the large boxwood, I filled a void in the mulch with a cutting from Hakonechloa macra 'Beni-kaze' (Japanese Forest Grass). 

Although the entire bed gets a lot of morning sunlight, this location near the back of the bed should offer enough afternoon shade to help the grass thrive.

Finally, I decided to include my small Buddha statue within the bed. 

This figure tends to move about the garden, changing location with the seasons—or simply on a whim. I realize it is somewhat redundant to have a large stone representing the Buddha alongside a miniature Buddha, and it may strike some as a bit kitschy. Even so, it may help casual visitors better understand the symbolic significance of the stone arrangement.

Though modest in scale, this miniature Zen garden offers a distinct kind of viewing experience. 

The permanence of stone, the softening influence of living plants, and the quiet simplicity of the arrangement combine to create a space where visitors may pause and reflect as they pass along the walkway. 

I am very pleased with the outcome.