Color Abounds

The colors of fall have arrived in the garden. The two maples are starting to look beautiful.

The dwarf Maple in the Zen garden always turns a wonderful orange.

  

  

The dwarf Maple in the Dragon's Spine always turns a super red, which highlights its unusual shape.

 

My favorite is the "sick" little Maple in the Moon Window. From near death a few years ago, he is the prize plant every fall.

About four days later, the plants all hit their peak, the colors were spectacular.

 

Wonder Wall

In an attempt to cover up the exposed cinder block foundation along the garage wall in the stroll garden, I am going to transplant some bamboo from the area located along the see-through fence on the other side of the garden in the backyard.

After taking some cuttings, this is what remained of the mini-grove.

My plan consists of thinning out the exiting bamboo which was getting really thick, and then taking those cuttings and placing them along the garage wall.

 

I'm hoping in time they will fill in this area and help hide the unsightly foundation.

We will have to see what the spring brings.

A Little Gold

I switch out the Hosta I had in the two large pots with Marigolds. 

 

I haven't done this in a number of years, but I'm glad I did. They add some nice fall color to the garden.

Post Return

Throughout the summer I  enjoyed the view of the gazebo with the plants near the outer corner post. The Soft Touch Japanese Holly (Ilex crenate 'Soft Touch') I planted is doing well. 

However, the dwarf lilies I placed on either side looked poor after they stopped flowering. So, I decided to dig them out and relocate them elsewhere on the property.

In their place, I planted two Arborvitae Fire Chief (Thuja occidentalis 'Congabe'). 

This shrub can tolerate light and shade. It should grow between 3-5 feet - they may end up growing too large for where I placed them. I can try to keep them trimmed, but I will probably have to move them at a latter date. 

 

I willing to see how it goes, then make my decision next year. In the meantime they look good next to the Holly.

Two's a Crowd

Back in 2010, I planted a Hosta Blue Cadet (Funkia, Plantain Lily) and a White-Variegrated Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Albo Striata’) in the inside corner next to the West Gate leading out to the Stroll Garden.

Both plants did remarkably well over the years and filled the area in to the point you could not even see the rocks that were being used as edging.

 

Unfortunately, they did so well that they started to become too large for the location. Both plants were starting to crowd each other out. They both needed room to grow and expand. I also did not want to split either plant. So, reluctantly, I decided to take both plants out and relocate them. 

To get started, I had to decide where they would go. I decided to move the Japanese Forest Grass to the Dragon Spine bed next the red Japanese Maple. However, to do so, I would have to move two Azaleas and some other plants. 

The Azaleas were doing fine, but I was concerned that they would ultimately get eaten by deer - the deer have been frequently visiting the edge of the bed. Both plants were donated to my neighbors who were re-landscaping part of their back yard. I simply had nowhere else to put them.

Once I had a hole dug for the Forest Grass, it was just a matter of moving the grass to its new location. 

It should be noted that it was a very big plant and very heavy. After much effort, it was planted with little damage. Next year it should fill in nicely and will have some room to grow even bigger over the next few years.

I also didn't want to split the Hosta Blue Cadet. It was one of my largest Hosta and was a beautiful plant. Unfortunately, I had nowhere in the garden in which to relocate a plant of such size. So, I placed it out in the front yard area, outside the garden. In the future I may choose to move it once again.

With the corner now open and clear, I needed to plant something to fill in the area. Not wanting to buy new plants, I decided to relocate some other plants from elsewhere. Since I had just dug up the Birch Leaf Spirea (Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor Gold') I had planted last year in the Dragon's Spine, I decided to relocate it to where the Hosta Blue Cadet had once been. It's looking a bit sickly, so I will have to see if it survives into next year.

I also removed a Hosta ('Orange Marmalade') from the Dragon's Spine.

It had been in the bed since 2017, but it never seemed to grow well. I think it was under assault from critters looking to snack on it's roots. So, out it came and into the corner it went. I'm hoping this new location will allow it to grow and thrive. Only time will tell.

The location still looks sparse, and still needs mulch, but I think it will eventually fill in. 

Who knows, maybe nine years from now I will have to move them once again.

Pining Away

The Scotch Pine Pom Pom (Pinus sylvestris) was planted today. Preparing the spot took some effort. First, I had to remove and relocate the Mikawa Yatsubusa Japanese Maple. I decided to plant it nearby in the corner of this bed. The day lilies I located here were nice looking when blooming earlier in the season, but once finished, they looked unkept. So, I dug them up, split them, planted them in buckets and will relocate them elsewhere. Once the day lilies were out, I had enough space to replant the Mikawa Yatsubusa Japanese Maple. 

 

Given its slow growth, there should be enough space here for it to grow. It also adds a bit more structure to the space. It looks less sparse.

Planting the Pom Pom Pine was another matter. The hole I dug was huge. It had to be big enough to accommodate the plant, but I also intended to amend the soil with five bags of treated soil and fertilizer. As a result, I had to dig deep and wide. 

Once dug, I had to move the tree. With the help of my wife, we struggled to lift and move the tree. It was extremely heavy. It was not coming out of the bucket, so I had to cut it away - too bad, it was a nice bucket.

Once we had it in the whole it was not easy to move about, so adjusting it took some time. I didn't want it to go in straight, but to angle it a bit to take advantage of some of the twists and turns in the trunk, of which there were not many. Although it looks a bit crooked, the look was intentional. Sukiya style trees in Japan often have trunks that are grown in such as fashion. I am hoping to emulate that as much as possible.

 

Once planted, I replaced all the bark chips and adjusted the finished look. I think it improves the spot - it now looks like a mature tree is present and fills in the area nicely.

The tree looks good when viewing it from the East Gate as well. 

Actually, the East Gate stroll area it at the height of its bloom and looks fantastic.

Overall, I am happy with the changes. Now only time will tell if I finally have the spot in the garden finished.

Lighting the Path

I really like the way the solar lights have improved the garden at night. Especially the way the Guanyin Statue lights up at night.

It took me a while to decide, but these Solar Black Outdoor Integrated LED Bollard Landscape Path Light at Home Depot seemed like a good fit. 

They are esthetically pleasing, illuminate the pathway in an interesting way and have preformed as advertised. They look sleek and modern and do not seem to kitschy.

So, I decided to invest in some more pathway lighting. First, I placed them within the gate along the walkway.

The light pattern at night is very nice.

 

Next, I placed additional lights outside the gate leading from the driveway to the central garden gate and sign.

As long as the solar collectors get plenty of sunlight, they last a long time and generate plenty of light.