Last Minute Landscape

Well into fall, I already completed garden cleanup and cutting back. Nevertheless, I still had a large number of bucketed plants that I need to get into the ground before winter sets in.

This season was a bit unusual with warm weather right through October. As a result, many plants refused to pass-on, even after a couple of cold spells and frosts. Regardless, I cut back and proceeded to look for locations for the remaining bucketed plants. Some will over-winter in the vegetable garden bed for retrieval in the spring. Others I wanted in the ground.

Conveniently, I needed to re-landscape the area adjacent to and around the newly face-lifted garden shed. Time was my only concern since fall was coming to a close.

First, I started with the front of the shed. I oped to replant a Threadleaf Coriopsis I had under the window earlier in the summer. On either side I planted Deutschland False Spirea (Astilbe x arendsii 'Deutschland') to help balance off the view.

I then added a small leftover Coral Bell (Heuchera 'Amethyst Myst') to fill in the awkward curving corner along the brick entry way.

I also had to install a drainage bucket at the corner of the shed to accommodate the rain chain I am installing on the shed.

I then planted a Bronze Wave Coral Bell (Heuchera villosa 'Bronze Wave') just behind the drainage bucket. I may need to make some adjustments to this corner after the rain chain is installed.

To fill in the side along the shed I opted to transplant a small Green Velvet Boxwood (Buxus 'Green Velvet') from the Dragon's Spine. Its a slow grower, originally planted in 2017 and still small, so it will be many years before it becomes too large for this small bed. I centered it with the right-side panel of the shed.

After digging and planting these plants, I had a significant amount of dirt in the wheelbarrow. I was not sure how to deal with the very narrow bed along the curve of the grass and the pea stone walkway. I considered hardscape element like a large narrow stone, but was unable to locate any stone that I felt would fit in the narrow gap and also look nice as well.

Instead, I opted to use the extra dirt to raise a small berm along this narrow corner and extend it in a sloping manner towards the drainage bucket and the newly installed boxwood. I then took a small boxwood that had been growing in a bucket and installed it near the top of the berm edge, close to the other boxwood. Again, these are slow growing, so no fear they will interfere with each other for a few years.

The berm remains covered with mulch, but the mulch will not do well in this location. My plan is to wait until the spring and remove some of the mulch and plant something like a Red Rock Stonecrop Sedum along that corner/edge. It should help keep the little berm intact and add some color interest to this narrow corner.

Near the edge of the slope, and the larger boxwood, I planted a bucketed Coral Bell (Heuchera villosa 'Carmel) I had left over from the summer.

I also had a small cutting of a Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Beni-kaze) that had been sitting in a bucket. So, I opted to place it near the small boxwood. It will do better in the ground than in a bucket. In time, if it thrives, I will have to move it.

Finally, I had a very small Azalea (unknown) that had sat in a bucket all summer that I decided to place near the the rain chain drainage bucket and larger boxwood.

My only concern is that all of these plants look small. If they survive this late transplant and the winter, it will take time for them to mature and fill in this bed. Also, if they thrive I might have to reconsider the placement over a longer period of time as the continue to grow.

I still need some sort of small shrub just below the faux round window (maramado) centered on this back side panel. A grass plant already exists in the far corner next to the gate, but it has already been cut back for the winter.

In the meantime, the bed looks better, but with winter just around the corner, I will have to wait until spring to see how it all turns out.

The Colors of Autumn Descend

Anther year is passing, and autumn once again brings great color to Songni Yuan. This year is a bit different than past years due to the fact that many plants have declined to pass along. Perhaps a result of climate change, but usually I have cut back most plants by now. Nevertheless, even during seasonable decline, the beauty of the garden continues to fill my heart with joy.

The Shed Reborn

The garden shed, which has always been part of my wife's vegetable garden, was on the property when we purchased the house back in 1999. It was moved to its current location around 2007 and a new roof and sofits installed around 2016. Throughout all this time it had only been painted once, so it was clear that it was in need of some repairs.

The major need was the foot of the walls. The thin wallboard had deteriorated in places due to rot and small critters chewing their way in. The first repair consisted of cutting 8 inches of rot off the bottom on all sides and installing PVC replacements and a Z channel. I also recognized the need to seal up cracks and repaint.

Initially, those were my only plans. However, as I began to work, I realized that I had an opportunity to transform this old shed so that it fit in better with the Japanese garden esthetic elsewhere on the property. 

Searching the internet for ideas, I came across the following image:

Beautiful and inspiring, the image provided me with some ideas. Wanting to keep costs to a minimum, I opted to make subtle changes to my shed rather than a complete redo - a traditional Japanese shed/teahouse with cedar posts and plastered walls was not financially possible. Instead, I had to retain my existing structure and make repairs.

Looking back at that image, I decided that I could add faux trim and windows. There had been no trim on my shed in the past, so adding some would enhance the appearance of the shed. The green and almond trim color would have to remain the same because the house and garage are painted in that manner. 

I also had to remove most of the plantings near the shed, including a large boxwood that was transplanted elsewhere. It had grown too large and was starting to take over the corner of the shed.  

 

The back of the shed required a lot of cleanup, especially the many plants I usually store there over the summer. 

I opted to remove the old metal shelving as well as the old brick along the bottom. The bricks were replaced with peastone.

 

As an experiment, I used some "cedar" colored paint for the top trim, but as soon as I started I realized it was a bad idea.

Sanding it off, I quickly reverted back to the original almond instead.

The trim pieces I added were meant to suggest post and beam construction. I even added protruding blocks in some places to create the illusion of post extensions.

In addition, I added two hexagonal umebachi gegyo with concave curves at the top of the ridge on either side of the shed. A gegyo is a decorative design used to cover the ends of a roof gable. I don't have a gable, but the gegyo still looks nice as a flush feature.

My shed was too simplistic for the more elaborate styles of gegyo, but more importantly, the umebachi gegyo style was one I could easily cut with a jigsaw. I then added two cedar stained flowerettes to each gegyo to add some interest. I have the flowerettes elsewhere in the garden (Peace Bell, Woodland Gate).

I also altered the top of the shed doors to look like traditional Japanese window screens.

Instead of rice paper or glass, I used white plastic acrylic cracked ice ceiling light panels. They look pretty good and require no maintenance. I then made some window frames out of scrap wood to create 12 window panes and attached the pieces to each door.

The large window in the front of the shed was a bit of a challenge to modify. It was too large and very un-Japanese in appearance.  

I liked the pop-out window I saw in the internet image I referenced earlier in this post. 

However, I chose to modify the design so that it would be less of a pop-out box and more of a pop-out screen. 

On the front I chose to use one-inch bamboo poles, similar to the bamboo on the nearby Woodland Gate. The bamboo adds interest and the color of the bamboo will eventually match the bamboo on the Woodland Gate. 

This should help to tie-in the shed with the Dragon's Spine fence and the Woodland Gate. I also added a brown roof above the pop-out screen to match the internet image pop-out style. Overall, the screen does a good job of hiding the old window, while simultaneously giving the shed more of a Japanese feel.

The final addition to the shed was a faux round window, or maramado, similar to the one I created last year for the back deck. The shed maramado was painted almond and has an interior with the same plastic cracked ice panel as the shed doors. 

Instead of bamboo for slats, I opted for pieces of wood painted with the same brown I used for the "pop-out" window roof. I realize these color selections may not be very authentic, but they work best with the existing shed color combinations.

I will be adding an almond colored gutter and rain chain with lotus petals as soon as I can have it installed.

Although this project took almost seven weeks to complete (I worked on it off-and-on due to travel, illness, and weather), it was well worth the effort. The shed looks much nicer than before, and the repairs and painting will ensure it lasts for a very long time. 

I know it is not a true Japanese shed/teahouse, but I think it still makes a nice transition from the Zen garden into the vegetable garden area. Additionally, the colors match the style of the house and garage structures ensuring that all three structures on the property compliment each other.

Next spring I will work further on landscaping around the shed. I will also renovate the interior. Sorry, no Japanese designs, it will be a simple garden tool shed, just cleaner and better organized than it has ever been.