Wandering Hosta

I've started working on the Mini-Zen garden that will be along side the new back steps/porch. I can't paint yet due to rain, so I took this opportunity to clean out the area and clean up the basement window.

I then applied a new layer of heavy duty weed fabric. I still have to work on the "bucket" area which will be directly below the rain chain I am installing later in the week. 

The bucket has holes drilled through the bottom and is filled with stones. It acts as a basic from of drainage for the rain chain.

I now have to start thinking about what the final design will look like. Its a small and tight area, so it cannot accommodate a lot of plants. I desperately want to hide the window from view, so I am thinking of moving a small Hosta from the island in front of the house that has outgrown its location.

In the meantime, I removed the Hosta Blue Cadet (Funkia, Plantain Lily) that I had transplanted here back in May (just behind the rock). 

May 2023

It was doing very well, but I knew I had panted it too close to the see through fence and I would have to move it again in the future. So, I decided just to take it out. 

I then placed it in the viewing garden in a location I had recently altered. 

This location in the viewing garden has always been in need of amended soil. There was a think layer of crushed gravel where a small Hosta resided along the driveway (left side of image below), and the Mr. Bolwing Ball Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Bobozam') next to the Hosta was also seemingly unwell. Additionaly, a Rheingold Arborvitea (Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’) that was in this location since 2014 had become so unwell that 90% of its foliage was dead. So, I removed the Rheingold Arborvitea, choped it up, and bucketed a couple remnants for use somewhere else.

I then removed three wheelbarrows full of dirt and gravel, and then added four very large bags of new soil to amend the location. Afterwords, I replaced the Hosta and the Mr. Bolwing Ball Arborvitae, and left a large open spot for the Hosta Blue Cadet from the new mini-Zen garden. 

I left significant gaps between each plant so that they would have space to grow over time. In the meantime I can fill in the gaps with some annuals.

This post is a perfect example of how a change in one area of the garden can impact, or be impacted, by a change elsewhere in the garden. Maintaining a garden is never simple.

Strolling About

The garden today looked the best it has ever appeared. The following images should provide a good idea of the views from within the Stroll Garden and the Zen Garden. I've accentuated some of the plants that I thought were doing exceptionally well. Enjoy!

 

Rooftop Rot

This week I had to replace the roof of the meter box structure (The Green Lantern) I built back in 2013.

Although most of the structure has held up well, the roof was poorly designed.

The Green Lantern - 2013

From the image above, you can see that the roof tiles sit centered on the angled sides. Water, snow, and ice often accumulated along the roof and had no where to go except into the seam. As a result, the wooden base underneath began to rot as well as the two sides. 

Honestly, I should have repaired this a couple years back, but I was being lazy. I realized last fall that it was bad, so I covered it over during the winter with a plastic tarp. I finally got around to making the necessary repairs this week.

Remarkably, the structure underneath was perfectly intact and required no repairs.

I decided this time around to adjust the roof tiles so that they sat across the top of all of the replaced pieces - platform and two sides.

I also decided to use PVC board to replace all of these top pieces, even the angled cap at the top. I painted each piece and caulked at the top to ensure no water would find its way to the area below the base. New roof tiles were added with a lip that will ensure that any water, snow, or ice is directed away from the structure. 

Overall, it looks good, and I have learned my lesson about roofs and water.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, I visited the local garden center and picked up a Dark Towers Penstemon (Penstemon 'Dark Towers"). 

This upright perennial blooms late spring with beautiful purple and with light pink flowers over a wine-red foliage. It's bee friendly and should attract hummingbirds. I only hope it doesn't attract slugs!

I planted it just to the right of Guanyin, a location where I had placed a Bleeding Hearts (Heliopsis hellianthoides var. scabra "Bleeding Hearts') back in 2021. Unfortunately, the plant didn't make it. 

Last year the Bleeding Heart was covered with many strange looking tiny insects, a Red Aphid (Dactynotus spp.) infestation. I have removed the plant and am hoping the infestation hasn't spread to other plants. I also removed a lot of the nearby soil and amended it for the new planting. I will have to keep a close eye on this area, and this new plant. 

 In the meantime, Guanyin seems happy, as am I.

Spot Removal

I had three spots within the garden that I had not yet tended. 

One was the location of a Purple Fountain Grass that I have planted in a spot that I have struggled with for the past couple of years. It’s an annual, but they are relatively cheap and when fully grown and flowering, it will looks nice.

The other was the spot where I had transplanted a small boxwood back in 2021. 

2021

At the end of last year, over the winter, and early this spring I could tell something was wrong with the boxwood. I suspect that the location was not allowing the roots of the plant to expand enough. The foliage on the plant was thinning and it looked like if I didn't move it, I might loose it. So, I relocated it to the front yard herb garden where the soil, water, and sunny location should help it recuperate. It’s a very slow grower, so it’s  unlikely that I would need to move it anytime soon. So far it has been doing better. It will just take some time to heal.

In its place, I planted a Grape Expectations Coral Bell (Heuchera 'Grape Expectation').  It’s a mounding perennial that prefers 1-3 hours or sun and shade. Perfect for this spot in the garden. I have not always had good luck with Coral Bells, essentially in this spot. I dug a much deeper hole within the rocks and replaced all the soil with newly amended soil in the hope that this might solve the problem. I'll have to wait until next year to see if the plant returns as expected.

I also needed to fill in the spot where I once planted some Orchid Frost Deadnettle (Lamium maculatum 'Orchid Frost') next to the Dwarf Korean Fir. The slugs did a lot of damage last summer. Only a small remnant remains, so I put it in a bucket and will try to revive it over the summer. In the meantime, the void is being filled with a Foamy Flower Heucherella (Heucherella 'Sweet Tea'). I like the cinnamon color that darkens in the summer and then lightens in the fall. Again, I haven't had much luck with Heucherella in the past, but I amended the soil and am willing to give it a try. I find that slugs don't usually like these because the leaves are scratchy. We will have to see what happens.

In the meantime, the garden is almost complete for this season. I only have a couple of areas I still want to rework, but having these three spots filled is a major step forward.

Getting Around

Due to the extreme weather complications brought on by fires in Quebec, Canada, the New York state region is blanked in a dangerous haze of smoke. Its been going on a couple of days now, and is expected to continue into next week.

I've already been seeing the impact of global climate change on the plants within my garden and elsewhere on the property. Little snow over the winter, and very little rainfall this spring, have taken their toll. Now, given my existing heart condition, I have to wait out this atmospheric event and hope that the air will clear soon so that I can get back outside and work on the multiple projects I want to accomplish this summer.

In the meantime, I decided to play it safe and remain indoors. While doing so, I finished up a project I started a few weeks back, but did not, until recently, have time to complete.

As the new steps/porch was being built, I realized that there was going to be a large section of brick wall that needed something ornamental. 

I didn't want to hang anything to "kitchy," like a metal sign or picture. Instead, I opted to create a faux  muramado, or round window. These type of windows often appear in Japanese tea houses, and I really liked the look (similar to my Moon Window in the garden fence).

I could not afford, or structurally build, a window in the wall. So, instead, I decided on a faux window.

To build the window I purchased a wooden framed mirror, removed the glass (too heavy), and kept the fiber wood backing. After staining the frame the same green as the fence, and the backing primed and painted white, I then ordered some faux shoji screen glass adhesive and attached it to the backing. It has a color and pattern that resembles Japanese rice paper. Unfortunately, it did not adhere well to the painted surface of the backing. However, after applying some wallpaper glue, it stuck without problem.

I then cut some pieces of left over bamboo and attached them to the frame. I had to notch them to get them to overlap, and then use small screws along the inner edge to insert/attach each end of the bamboo. Seems to be holding so far. 

I have to see how this will hold up to weather. The porch is covered, and the faux window high enough to protect it from direct rain. However, exposure to heat and humidity might be an issue over time.

For now, it looks pretty good. 

It breaks up the space, compliments the bench I installed, and esthetically fits in with the garden.

June's Best

It might just be my imagination, but this early June is one of the first times that that I can remember the garden looking so nice, so early. 

I still have some spots to fill with annuals and I was away for the last 10 days of May and essentially abandoned the garden. However, I did spent a day weeding and cleaning up upon my return. Being retired may also have something to do with it - more time to maintain the garden = more time to enjoy it.

Paving the Way

I had to finish up the work restoring the peastone walkway and open area between the new back steps/porch and gazebo. The building of the steps/porch required that I move most of the peastone out of the way for the contractor. After he was finished, and I had returned from a road trip to Oklahoma, I finally began the process of setting everything back in place.

However, we needed something more sturdy on which to walk from the steps/porch when going from the house to the garage entrance, especially for the winter months. 

After a visit the local hardscape store, I was able to acquire a set of large faux patio stones made of cement that were part of a larger patio assembly. These were basically left over pieces and I was able to purchase them at a vastly reduced price. Essentially, they were left overs that nobody wanted or could use.

I also added a stone near the center gate threshold. 

It looks nice and separates the walkway at the transition point from the front yard to the Zen garden.

In addition, two smaller steps were placed near the side window, the location where we stand when using the water hose real.

As part of the moving of peastone, I also laid new durable weed fabric down to keep weeds out. This fabric should last a long time. The previous fabric was of poor quality and basically disintegrated over 10+ years.

The placement of the new stepping stones is awful for any Feng Shui aspects of the walkway, but for now, it will have to do. 

These remnants were cheap, and I can't afford to complete a more elaborate hardscape walkway and patio in the back. So stepping stones and pea stone is the affordable way to go. My dream of an authentic Japanese nobedan walkway will just have to wait.

They actually don't look too bad, somewhat natural, and they are solid and work well.

 

I also had to remove, reset, and replace the small batch of pavers near the entrance to the garden/back yard transition. They were getting a bit wonky, so given that I was replacing the weed fabric, it was time to reset them.

Overall, the garden walkway and patio area are looking improved, back to normal, with a few additional features.

Alice the cat approves!

Nest step - painting the new steps/porch trim to match the house and then continuing working on the mini-Zen garden along the side the porch.

When the Man's Away, the Cat Will Play

While traveling to Oklahoma, and visiting 14 new gardens for my North American Garden Adventure blog, I have neglected my own Zen garden. Regardless, the Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans, 'Burgundy Glow') in the Buddha area is looking pretty good as it blooms. 

Alice the Cat has been taking over my duties in the garden until I return

I'm sure there will be lots of weeding to do upon my return.