April Showers, Bring May Flowers

Actually, we are near the end of May, but regardless, some of the plants in the garden are in full bloom.

The Delaware Valley White Azalea (Azalea Evergreen 'Delaware Valley White') looks great with its bright white flowers. The plant has been getting bigger these last two years, but so far, no need to move it.

The Azalea (Rhododendron 'Farrow') has been located in the central part of the garden since 2016 and is still doing well. It remains a bit sparse and thin, most probably due to the lack of sunlight, but keeps coming back every year. The bright red flowers were really beautiful this season.

The Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) I planted in front of Buddha as far back as 2014, filled in really well this year. Last year it was sparse and thin. This year it was dense and packed with many purple flowers. I was thinking of reworking this bed, but now that I see the bloom, I plan to leave it alone. Great color!

Much remains to do to get the garden ready for the summer. I have to finish the fence, plant a new tree, weed, weed, weed, trim out the Cyprus and Pines, and so much more. I am only just getting started, but for now, I am enjoying the colors.

Chips Ahoy!

The rabbits seemed to have moved on now that the newly emerging shoots of my Hosta are no longer fresh and yummy. They did a lot of damage this spring and I am going to have to dig up dead plants and replace them with new ones. Small shrubs and evergreens will probably be best to beat the Rabbits.

Meanwhile, there are chipmunks everywhere. I don't mind them so much, but they do dig lots of holes. look closely at the top of the tree. Do you see Chippy?

He likes this perch, the entire garden is his to behold.

Chippy also like to take in the view through he Moon Window. 

Oh, the life of a chipmunk.

The Great Wall

I finally got around to starting the big project for this season - the fence extension along the stroll and viewing garden.

The goal is to hide the neighbor's ugly white plastic fence - it ruins the esthetic I have been aiming for. Additionally, he rarely, if ever, cuts his lawn and I just can't stand to look at it. This fence extension should help hide those unwanted views and help to draw ones eyes towards the plants in the garden instead of the awful view behind it.

I prepped the beds last fall in anticipation of the project. 

 

Getting the wood was very difficult. The Covid pandemic has left construction materials in short supply, and the prices are easily twice what they normally would have been. Eventually I came across a very good supply of cedar to work with, especially the 4 x 4 x 8 posts which were hard to find. Once found, I purchased everything I needed and stored it in the garage. I then had to wait until the weather cooperated.

I started with the posts. Needless to say, I am getting old and post hole digging is not as easy as it used to be. Digging through sandy soil wasn't too bad, but on at least three of the holes I encountered old tree roots that had to be cut out - no easy task.

Once the posts were in, I installed the top rails. I kept them level with the same top rails that are on the existing fence. The plan will be to connect them later in the project.

After the top rails, I moved on to the bottom rails. I am not using rolled bamboo on these panels. Instead, I will be using solid cedar panels (similar to the ones on the gate). Often, you can see through the gaps in the bamboo. Using solid panels should solve that problem. However, the weight will require additional support to stop sagging. So, I am using two 2 x 4s, one vertical, and the other horizontal. This process worked well on the Moon Window in the garden and I am hopeful it will work here as well.

I did eventually run into a major problem. I did not realize that the ground actually changes in elevation as I moved from the garden fence towards the street. It never looked as if it did, so I was caught off guard. As seen in the picture below, I had to start removing soil so that the bottom rail was not sitting on solid ground. I want at least a couple inch gap. However, after the first three panels slowly changed elevation, It now appears that the change is going to be more dramatic as I continue to move towards the street end.

The image below shows where I have left off. I can make adjustments to this portion of the stroll garden, but the remaining three panels will require a major alteration.

I want to keep the top rails level, so my plan is to raise the lower rails up in height about 5 inches. Instead of 36 inch panels, I will have to shorten them to 31 inches. I think most people will not notice since that change is at the bottom only. Once plants are well established, it should help to hide the change. Over the next few days I will tackle this adjustment. Overall, it feels good to get this far in one day.

Fire Alarm

I purchased and planted my first new plant of the season, a Coral Bells (Heuchera Hybrid 'Fire Alarm'). 

I have attempted to grow these type of Coral Bells in the past without much luck. They usually only last the season and then die off over the winter. I thought I would try once more.

The red color of the leaves is fantastic and should add some diverse interest to the garden this season. I hope it will last at least one summer. Only time will tell.

Blooming Blue

Plants have been starting to bloom after a warm April, but now cold May. The Heartleaf Brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla "Jack Frost') plants in the garden have a wonderful blue this spring.

I have several of these throughout the garden. So far the rabbits are leaving them alone.

Unfortunately, the rabbits are eating away and many of my Hosta, especially the more unique ones I have in the garden. I have been spraying a mixture of dead animal blood and urine on them that stinks, but the rain keeps washing them off. It has helped, but it may be time to rethink plants in the garden this year so I don't have to deal with this issue next year.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the blooming blue I see everywhere.

Trench Warfare

We are almost at the start of Spring, and I am not really ready to do much with the garden, but I have been forced to alter the walkway area. 

I have had to update the electrical box in the garage. To do so, I have had to dig a trench between the house and the garage. It runs just outside of the electrical panel box on the house to the garage. In that path there was one Japanese Forest Grass plant, and on the other side, a large Spirea.

The grass plant came up easily and I covered its roots with dirt to protect it from the cold. The Spirea is another story. Although the ground wasn't frozen for most of the trench, the area directly below the Spirea, where its root ball is located, was frozen solid. As a result, I dug underneath, like a tunnel, where the sandy soil was not frozen.

Unfortunately, the area behind the shrub, and up against the wall of the garage, is like cement. I can't break trough to the tunnel. Since I dug the trench it has returned back to frozen temperatures, so it looks like it will be a while before I can finish the trench and place the new electrical pipe.

Once spring does get here, I am going to have some serious cleanup work to do to restore the walkway. I wasn't planning on any of this work, so it will eat into some of my other plans. In the meantime, I await warmer weather.

Frozen Over

We had a storm last night that left many of the trees and plants covered with a frozen sleet-like coating. I am hoping it doesn't do too much damage to the plants, but at the same time I am admiring its beauty.

It's all so lovely, but I can't wait until spring.

Another Storm, Another Beautiful Day

We had another snow storm this week which blanketed the garden with fresh snow. Although not as dramatic as the last snowfall, this one showed off what is typical of snowy winter months in the garden.

Snow Globes

After cleaning up after the giant snow storm, I returned to the garden to take in the sights once again. Being later in the day, and now that the storm had passed, the sun was finally out. As a result, I was able to see sights that were not evident early in the day. 

Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Snowpocalypse

いざ行かむ　雪見にころぶ　所まで

Let's go out

To see the snow view

Where we slip and fall

      - Basho

Our first major storm of the winter season was a whopper. At least two feet fell, probably more like three. Moving about in the snow was difficult but the garden looks fantastic. It never felt more Zen-like in the winter than during this storm. 

One just has to appreciate the beauty of nature, even when slipping and falling.