Saturday, July 26, 2008

Hmmmm! A Little Bit Shady.......









One half of the yard is sunny, well okay, about  one third of the yard is sunny and the rest is dappled or full shade.   This  is what has succeeded so far.  It has morphed and changed with the trees.  It doesn't help that my neighbor has also planted trees right next to mine on her side of the fence.  Why?  I don't know.   Don't get me started on her fence.   It was fresh for the first year, but a decade later -  it definitely is STALE!   Not to mention the mulch that she places in her yard year after year.  Eucalyptus mulch.  On top of her previous years mulch.  Ten years of mulch.  Knee deep mulch.   Mildew smelling mulch.   Mulch that has eucalyptus oils in it to keep the weeds at
 bay?  The same "oils?" that leech into my soil and mutate my vegetation.   (Along with pool water that accidently gets pumped into my yard once in a while - well not yet this year. My fingers are crossed.   I actually like my neighbors so I shouldn't sound so crabby. And I hope they are not reading this....?)  Well, nothing wants to grow next to the fence anymore.  It all moves about a foot away.   Can you blame it?   I replaced the soil and amended it a few years back.   Things are trying to come back.  
     I planted a few  Endless Summer hydrangeas and they are not blooming.   Tootsie addressed this on her blog TootsieTime.   I should really move them to a more dappled shady spot.   I've never transplanted anything so large so I am kinda afraid to do it, and you know,  I am happy that something  is actually growing in that location.   However, my Annabelle's are beautiful this year!   A wreath is definitely in the plans for this year!
 Do you think that I planted the hostas too close together?   If I  move them apart  a bit, do you think it would be okay or will I harm them?

     

     I planted Anise Hyssop seeds from the plants on the other side of the yard and they seem to thrive over here, too.   They will be invasive.  I know that because they are a member of the mint family.  But I feel that that is okay because they are green and pretty!



     Near my patio I at first tried to get ferns of various types to grow.   I think that they didn't care for the ph of the soil.   A few have thrived - well really just persevered.   Poor babies.   But the Snow-on-the-mountain likes it!   It spead and filled in nicely!   I have a few hostas tucked in the space that I need to move out,  because they don't get the recognition they deserve.
 

  


Hoping to hear your opinions soon,   
Robyn


3 comments:

Kathi~Lavender, Lace and Thyme said...

Good Morning Robyn! Welcome to the blogging world! You are off to a wonderful start with your beautiful bloggie home :).

Your garden pictures are beautiful! I have heard mixed reviews about the endless summer so I haven't actually planted one yet. I know what you mean about some neighbors but I won't go there :).

Thanks for taking thyme to visit me and your wonderful comments! I hope you don't mind, I've added you to my blog roll :).

Have a Sunny Sonday!
Kathi :)

niartist said...

Hey Robyn,
I understand completley your neighbor issues. Unfortunately I share a driveway with a neighbor who could care less about gardening. Some people would say that it makes my yard look better, but I say it makes it look worse. I digress, my thoughts: I'm a first-year gardener, but I think you should separate your hostas, and move those about. Your snow on the mountain is filling in nicely, we called that Bishop's Weed here in NY. Have you thought about putting a planter between the fence and your hostas and lilies? Where the neighbor has the pool water and mulch issues? If you could manage to find a long planter, you could plant some annuals there. I don't know where you are now, but I'm assuming you're in Minnesota. I have a friend who is an avid gardener in Des Moines, and she plants glads in pots and then just brings the pots in when the snow comes so that she doesn't have to dig up the bulbs. That's always an option too, then you'd have flowers you could cut for table arrangements! I have a full sun back yard and a part shade front yard. My part shade loves Astilbe, and Coral Bells which are perennial. You may think about adding those to your landscape. They'll bring a pop of color, as Astilbe can be found in red, white, pink and purple, and the shades of coral bells range from lime green to deep purple, even a really interesing light wine color. My backyard (full sun) has been an issue. It's all new this year, even the trees - but I'm having luck with salvia and veronica, also false sunflower, coneflower, and weigela bush. (Just some thoughts).
You can take a look at my blog to see pictures of my garden. It's under July Posts, "A Tour of MY Garden Heaven" for pictures on what it looked like on July 12 during our Garden Walk.
Keep in touch, and thanks for stopping by.
Artie

Rue said...

Hi Robyn :)

I see what you mean by the fence... yikes! Your garden looks beautiful though :)

rue