as the expensive garden stone...
azaleas
- Issa
I haven't been around much this summer to take care of the garden - stuck in Oklahoma for a while and visiting other gardens (see other Augusts posts).
Now that I'm back home, it was time to straighten up the garden. First, I purchased some plants to replace those that had died or were eaten.
I started with the removal of a long-term plant, Daylily (Hemerocallis “Black Eyed Stella’). These Daylily had been in the central part of the garden since 2010.
Although they never received as much sunlight as I had hoped, they always flowered and added a nice burst of yellow color to the overwhelmingly green garden. Unfortunately, after almost seven years, something decided to eat the bulbs of the plants, leaving them completely decimated. This has been a persistent problem these last couple of years, but it mostly impacted Hosta. Now I have lost a prized set of plants.
In order to avoid this problem in the future, I have decided to plant this spot with a small Azalea (Rhododendron 'Farrow').
It will need sun to part shade, and should grow to only about 24" x 24", a perfect fit for this location. I can also control its growth so it does not crowd out other nearby plants. If all goes well, I should be able to get a red-pink flower in the spring.
I also need to clean up the space directly in front and below the moon window fence panel. In the past I had planted Mouse Ear Coreopsis 'Nana' in this location and they looked great, especially when they flowered.
However, over time they failed to spread and instead diminished. This spring I was forced to remove what was left. In their place, I planted some Tickseed 'Presto' (Coreopsis grandiflora).
They should grow no more than 6-8" in height. We will have to see how they do in the spring and if they will receive enough light in this space.
Finally, the two Carex 'Silver Scepter' Japanese Sedge Grass plants I placed in front of the gate entryway did not return this year.
One completely died, while the other only produced a few strands of grass. I even waited most of the summer to give them time to grow, but in the end, it was a lost cause. I bucketed what remains of the remnant and will try to salvage it for future use.
Unable to find the same plants (I really liked the structure), I instead replaced them with a Japanese Sedge Grass 'Evergold' (Carex oshimenis).
Not actually my favorite in terms of structure or color, but still similar. Most importantly, they were on sale. I will give these a try and see how they do after a year.
I still have one more Azalea to plant, but I have not yet determined where it will go - I will save it for a future post.
