bloom, securing the gate
in the old fence."
Matsuo Basso
As part of my endeavor to improve the walkway between the garage and house, I've been adding some new plantings and eliminating the Hosta that have long dominated the space. Today I moved two Hosta to other locations. One along the Dragon's Spine near the bench:
The other was moved to just left of the back stairs (these stairs are another project needing attention - when its within my budget). I also added some of the Daylily ( (Hemerocallis “Black Eyed Stella’) that I bucketed the other day to this spot:
This area may prove temporary until I decide what to do with the overall back steps area (replace or resurface).
Once the Hosta were removed from the walkway, I planted two shrubs on each side of the inner area of the gate.
Purple Gem Rhododendron (Rhododendron x 'Purple Gem')
These zone 4 evergreen shrubs will bloom in May with purple flowers. They are slow growing and will only reach 2 ' tall and 4' wide. They are also easily trimmed and shaped. I thought they would look good in these spots and will get sufficient light from mid day.
These spots were tough to plan, especially with the supports creating such a compact space.
I still need to make changes to the remaining Hosta. the one by the basement window will be removed to make a space for the hose reel to live. It can be unsightly, but needs to be close to the water spigot.
Im still not sure what will replace the remaining three Hosta. I'm thinking more Spirea - I want to hide the foundations as much as possible and be able to add some round edged shapes to the area - shrubs or evergreens preferably.
