Upright Misfortune

"A domestic garden can equally be a 'Zen garden' in so much as it has a spiritual or religious significance for its owner, although he or she may be the only one who views it in that light"
Yoko Kawaguchi, Japanese Zen Gardens, p 11.

I started creating islands and setting stones along the new East Gate area. 

First I began by digging a new trench to hold the edge of 4x4 timbers I recycled from the old garage bed. My plan is to lay them parallel to the existing 6x6 timbers along the fence line. I left a 5.5 inch gap between the timbers and will lay a layer of round black Mexican stones in between. In doing so, I am trying to create an appearance similar to what I have seen along the edge of the Ryōan-ji temple Zen garden. Keep in mind, my budget doesn't allow for granite and tile edging - timbers will have to do, plus I already have them (wood is also one of the Five Elements, so it works)

Ryōan-ji

According to the Sakuteiki, the first manual of Japanese gardening, one must follow the rules of setting stones of suffer misfortune. In my case, I am sure I am not adhering to the strict rules. Nevertheless, I did try to set my three stones in a way to accentuate their shape and appearance. Apparently, the most common arrangement is groups of three, one for Buddha and two for his attendants. I had three, but decided to create two separate islands for each, one smaller island for the larger stone, and another large island for the two smaller stones. What then is the symbolism from my perspective? Well, the two smaller stones are representative of my wife and I, while the large stone represents our daughter, the greatest thing in our lives.

I also deviated from the practice of setting the stones in Moss covered islands. I have no Moss and have to explore ways to grow the type of Moss that will be appropriate. Experiments with Scotch or Irish Moss in the past have not gone well. Perhaps next year I will know more about how to achieve this effect. In the meantime, I have lots of left over mulch from all the re-mulching I have done this season. So, mulch it is.

I also decided to place a plant in the smaller island with the large stone. I also intend to do something similar with the large island, but as of yet have not decided on what small plant to add.

I'm sure experts on Japanese gardens will find lots of fault with my design and decisions. However, I really don't care, as long as the design and layout works for me. So far, so good - lets hope I don't suffer any misfortune.

From Dump to Dharma

Now that the garden is renovated and planted for this season, it seemed like a good time to take on the task of doing something more permanent with the back side of the garage - the old camper parking area and dumping ground. 

I was initially inspired by a visit to the Smith College rock garden. It's many rocks and linear layout was something I liked. I also began looking more closely at some of the more famous Japanese Zen gardens. The rectangular shape of gardens such as Ryōan-ji  and the small islands of moss with a singular rock looked like something I could use as a model.

To begin, I have to name the area. Old Camper/Dumping Ground just doesn't work. East Gate isn't bad. After all, the back gate is east of the house. So for lack of a better name, I will refer to this area as the East Gate (at east until I come up with a more appropriate name).

Looking at the East Gate area before I started renovation, it was clearly a large rectangular area covered by a sea of peastone. The side along the garage wall only gets morning sunlight. Most of the day it is heavily shaded. The side along the neighbors white fence gets sun for much of the day. For many years now, there have been Hosta planted long this fence line. This year I noticed that some were not doing so well. It could be that they are getting to much light. This problem will be one of the last issues I address, choosing instead to start work on the garage side.

First, I removed the 4x4 timbers that were being used as edging. Instead, I decided to curve this edge with some plastic edging. Not a very natural material to use, but it helps to keep the peastone out of the new mulch bed and its an edging that allows one to easily create curves.

The edge curves around the existing Hosta near the gate, curves in closer to the garage wall, and then back out into a curving arch towards the driveway. The side along the fence line will remain straight for the meantime.

I chose the arching curve near the driveway because I wanted to plant a shrub I obtained last year (and left in bucket far too long) near the corner of the garage. This shrub, a type of Cyprus will eventually grow to about 4 feet wide and 5 feet tall. 

As a result, I planted it a good distance out from the garage edge to give it space to grow. Hence, the wide curing arch. In time is should help to obscure the garage wall from direct view in the street.

I then used the variety of plants that I had sitting around in buckets (the result of splits, transplants, or thinning out elsewhere in the garden) to fill in the mulch bed along the garage.

Three Ostrich Fern (Matteuccias struthiopteris)

and a Raspberry Splash Lungwart

(Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash')

Hosta (‘Miss Linda Smith’) 

and two Tiger Lilly

Shade Fanfare Plantain Lily (Hosta 'Shade Fanfare') 

and The Lungwart (Pulmonaria 'High Contrast')

and the old grass plant I moved to

the dumping ground last year.

The final appearance is good and will get better in time as the plants grow and fill in the mulch bed. Keep in mind, all of these plants I had sitting around - I spent no money to add plants.

Overall, its a good start for the East Gate renovation. Next, I will begin work on the islands, stones, and fence line.

Granite to Stone

I finished the last major renovation in the Zen garden - the removal of the granite stepping stones and replacement of the steps with rocks.

There had been three circular granite stepping stones in the garden since I first built the garden back in 2009. 

Originally I liked the idea of using the granite steps. However, it quickly became apparent that three would not be enough. In order to maintain a normal walking stride I would need four steps. Having only three made walking down into the garden more difficult. Essentially, there was no last stone on which to step. I also planted moss around each step. However, each year I had to replace the moss. It simply didn't take well to the wide area of peastone around the last step.

After removing the granite steps, I dug large holes into the locations where each rock would rest. The rocks came from my left over rock pile. There were still some very large stones, each with at least one flat surface, perfect for steps. Once the holes were dug, I placed a rock in each, made adjustments, and tested them for proper height and spacing for a normal stride. 

Rather then fill in the gaps and space around the stones with more peastone, I instead placed smaller flat faced rocks around each and filled the smaller gaps with peastone. In time, the steps will settle and become solid. 

In the meantime, they work great and add a more natural appearance to the garden steps than did the granite stepping stones.

New Natural Stones, 2014

Stairway to Heavan

I finished working on another major project today - the back steps. I have lived in this house for at least 16 years and although I always wanted to improve these steps, I have never taken any action. I thought about removing them and building a small deck, but I don't have the know-how or cash to make that happen. So, I decided that rather than continue to wait, I would at least do some minor enhancement.

As you can see above, the stairs were ugly - just a slab of cement that was original to the house.

First, I painted the steps green. I also wanted to cover the top. I knew the paint wouldn't last since there was only a basic metal awning above that doesn't cover all the steps. So, I purchased some rubberized squares with fake red brick patterns. They were cheap at $4 each. I then cut and secured 1/2 inch quarter round PVC to the outer edges of each step to help hold the rubber pads in place. 

Once the white PVC edging was painted green, the finished stairs looked much better. Total, I was able to give the stairs a makeover for less than $100.

In addition to updating the stairs, I also decided to add some plantings to the corner. First I moved a Spirea that I had in the Dragon's Spine area along the back of the yard. I planted two there last year along with a Hosta. Both Spirea grew very large this year and the Hosta became enormous, bigger than any Hosta I have ever planted. As a result, all three plants were becoming crowded together. Additionally, the one Spirea was getting crowded out by the Japanese Maple. So, I removed the Spirea, moved the Hosta over opening up that area. 

The Spirea, before transplant, is just to the right of the maple.

The Spirea I removed was then transplanted next to the back step. I also added the Melting Fire Coral Bell (Heuchera 'Melting Fire') that I had removed earlier this summer from near Buddha. It may be only temporary, but its better here than in a bucket.

Around the base of the electric meter box, I transplanted some Black-Eyed Susans that had been growing near my wife's vegetable garden. I had to split them somewhat, so they may take some time to recover from the split and transplant. If they survive, great. If not, no loss- they were free. I am hoping they do well and eventually fill in the base of the electric meter box. After all was planted, I put down some mulch. A small strip of plastic edging separates the mulch from the peastone. Not my first choice of material, but it curves very easily and is inexpensive.

Overall, I am happy with the changes. I should never have waited so long.

Weeds and Mulch

After finishing the weeding, major renovations, and adding new plants over the last couple of weeks, I finally had a chance to put in a new layer of mulch throughout the garden. Everything is looking good. 

Here is a panoramic view of the garden from the garage back door.

click image to view 

The next big renovation will be the removal of the granite steps and replacement with natural stones.

Buddha and the Dunce

It is too clear and so it is hard to see.
A dunce once searched for a fire with a lighted lantern.
Had he known what fire was,
He could have cooked his rice much sooner.

Like the dunce in the poem above, I finally got around to correcting a major mistake in the garden - it only took me five years. When Buddha was first placed in the garden, there was no fence. As a result, I set him off center from the corner edge.

Once the fence was put in, his off-corner location was much more obvious.

Over the years I attempted to plant an assortment of different planting in the gap behind Buddha as a means of hiding this mistake, all without any long term success. The corner was too shady, and over time, as the burning bush/tree on the adjoining property grew, it shaded the corner even more. So, I finally made the decision to relocate Buddha to the actual corner.

I began by removing many of the plants that had been overcrowding each other in the corner area.

The Clumping Bamboo I transplanted from near the big gate to the corner had done very poorly (seen above, behind Buddha, last summer). This season it produced only a handful of new shoots. So I dug it up and moved it adjacent to the two existing bamboo plants near the house. In time it might recover and sprout new shoots.

I also moved one of the 'Bottle Rocket' Ligularia plants (yellow flowering plants seen below). The one on the right needed to be positioned at approximately the same location along the fence as the one on the left was along its fence panel. 

Before Move (with yellow flower)

After Move (without flower)

After only one year, these plants have done very well in this shady spot. I was worried I might shock the plant when moving it, but it seems to have survived the move and is almost ready to flower. 

In order to make that move, however, I had to remove several existing plants, all of which were beginning to overcrowd the area (image below from last year). 

The Lungwart (Pulmonaria 'High Contrast') (back right)

Melting Fire Coral Bell (Heuchera 'Melting Fire') (top center)

Raspberry Splash Lungwart (Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash') (bottom right)

I also removed some Tiger Lilly, Hosta, Ferns, and Fire Star Dianthus from elsewhere in the garden. Now they all sit in buckets awaiting to be relocated. However, this creates a new problem for me due to the fact that there is no where else to place them. 

So, it looks like I will be placing them temporarily along the long wall of the garage, outside the garden area. This is usually the area I use as a dumping ground for rocks etc. However, now that I no longer own a camper, I can use this space to expand the garden.

I also split up the existing Bugleweed growing in front of Buddha and spread it out into the expanded bed. It will take some time, but eventually it will fill in this area. Next year should produce a lot of blue spike flowers in the spring. 

In addition to moving plants, I also added some new plantings to the corner. On either side of Buddha sits two Astilbe plants.

Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal'

This plant likes partial sun, so I will see how it does in the shady corner. As long as I keep it watered well it should thrive - it likes to be moist. It already had its bright red bloom which starts in early summer. The color is a nice addition to the garden, which has lots of green. They should grow to about 20" in height. 

I also reworked the rock edge, adding a second layer of rocks and filled in the top area in front and behind Buddha with Mexican Black stone. In between I planted three small Hosta.

Hosta hybrid 'Blue Mouse Ears'

This small Hosta likes shade and has small blue-green leaves. It only grows 6-8" in height, so it will not block the view of Buddha. It also produces a nice short spike blue lilac flower. I have one elsewhere in the garden and really liked it.

Overall, I am happy with the change. I should have done it long ago. Buddha is now centered appropriately along the fence line.

The balance and symmetry of the plantings makes for a better appearance and improved Feng Shui. 

Buddha and I can now finally rest and relax.

New Additions

After reworking much of the northwest end of the bed last week, I decided to add some new plants. To begin, I added some white, yellow and red Zinnia. I have had some luck with these in the past, and with luck, I can do so again - provided I can keep the slugs off. They really like to eat these.

After having the Fire Star Dianthus in the same location for many years (top, near the granite steps), I finally decided to take them out. They produced nice red flowers, but never really fit well in the garden - it looked more like a southwestern plant rather than Japanese garden-like. Instead, I relocated one of the small Pulmonaria  that had been crowded behind the Japanese Maple. 

Once the Pulmonaria was moved, I cut back one of the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccias struthiopteris). I like these ferns, but they spread too easily. I then planted, temporarily, a small Hosta I had sitting in a bowl. It will probably get removed next summer, but only if it grows too large.

I also planted a Toad Lily across from Buddha near two yello Zinnia. 

Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta)

This Zone 4 plant likes shade and should grow to about 20" in height. It will eventual produce an unusual spotted flower in the fall. I hopeful that this plant will do well, provided the slugs don't eat it before it flowers.

Another area that was reworked was the flat area just next to the granite stair entrance. For years, I had Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) growing here and let it spread down into the rock bed of the garden. Last year, and this year, it was doing poorly. Part of the problem is that most of the area was covered by think heavy-duty weed fabric. So I removed what was left of the plant and cut out the fabric. In its place, I planted a small fir.

Dwarf Korean Fir (Abies koreana 'Cis')

This small fir will only grow to about 1.5' in height and 2' wide. It likes part shade, but should get enough sunlight on the northern edge of the garden. I am hoping that it fills in most of the space in time. To help keep the soil in place, I added another layer of stone and I leveled off what had been a steep incline from the original bed. We will have to wait and see how it does after its first winter.

Just below the Dwarf Koean Fir, and further down the northern edge, I planted two new grass plants. There had been a couple of long term Bunny Blue Sedge (Carex laxiculmis ‘Hobb’) grass plants in these locations that had lost their appeal (they looked more like weedy grass). So I removed both and replaced them with two new plants.

Japanese Sedge Grass 'Silver Sceptre'

This zone 5 grass will grow to about 9-12" in height. It likes partial shade, so it should do well on this northern edge.

Variegated lily Turf Grass (Liriope muscari 'Variegata')

This zone 5 grass likes shade and will grow to about 16" in height. I will have to keep an eye that it doest get two wide. This plant is very close to a Green Mound Juniper (Juniperus procumbens ‘Green Mound’). I can continue to cut back the Juniper or let the grass grow. I will have to wait until next year to see how the grass does before I decide.

Next, I have to start getting new mulch into the garden.