Showing posts with label Oregon grape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon grape. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2015

April End of Month Views

Hello, friends!
I'm linking up to Helen's End of Month view meme, which can be found here:
 
Let's get started, shall we?
 
Back Flowerbed
 
Tulips are providing nearly all the color at this point with the mockorange giving some needed height.
 
Looking down toward the deck.

 
L-R: mockorange, 'Mariette' tulips, rose
Oh, and one random iris in front.

Geum is big and bushy.

More tulips surrounding mockorange bush.
Tulip distribution is a bit uneven, so that's something I would like to work on for next spring.
 
Vegetable Garden

overview
The bottom terrace is completely planted with spring veggies.
Obviously, nothing has come up yet.
The bright green on the bottom is oregano.
 Greenery on top are strawberries.
 
Pea sticks!
I planted some "Pole Sugar Snap Peas" this year, so I thought I would give pea sticks a try.
Those are dead aspen branches stuck into the ground for a trellis.
If the aspens come alive again and start growing in my garden, I'm going to be mad!
 (Knowing aspens like I do, I wouldn't put it past them!)
 
Shade Bed
 

It's all columbines and heucheras in the shade bed these days.
I haven't seen any sign of the hostas that used to be in here too.
Maybe they'll still come later...
 

 
 
Raspberries
 
Starting to fill out.
I need to get back over there to compost and weed.
 
 
Front Flowerbeds
 
Overview

 
Front: Middle Terrace (where most of the flowers are)
 

Tulips again giving most of the color.
If I can, I want to dig up the lighter-colored ones to put elsewhere, and get a few more of the vibrantly-colored ones.

The bright green on the left is a new delphinium I put in, to replace the phlox that was mostly dead.
I put in 3 and they're all in this middle terrace.
I'll try to point them out in the pictures.
They are all 'Blue Mirror' variety.
 
The tulips almost seem to glow in this picture, don't they?

On the right is one of my new 'William Shakespeare' English roses that I put in place of the daisies.

This photo should be named "Second Chances."
Those little spots of green in front are the hydrangea from the bottom front terrace, which I thought was completely dead until about 2 weeks ago. This spot gets more shade than the former, so maybe that will help it perk up.
The peony growing in back was transplanted from a friend's yard in the middle of last summer and pretty much looked dead the whole rest of the year. Surprise!
I will be really surprised if it blooms this year.
 
A few different varieties of muscari with phlox in the background.
Still on the middle terrace.
 
Sem False Spirea, with columbine, salvia, and of course tulips.
This lovely little shrub brightens up the shady corner here beautifully.

 
Front: Bottom Terrace
 
Grape holly (Mahonia aquifolium)
This is thriving in a tough spot, which I'm glad to see.
It has tripled in size since I planted it, and even had a few of its signature bright yellow flowers earlier this spring.
 
 
Boxwood, barberry in a pot, plus another barberry.
I need to decide where to plant this extra barberry.
It has not been doing so great down on the bottom terrace, so I replaced it with another one of my new roses.
 
 
Another 'William Shakespeare' rose, replacing the barberry, as mentioned above. I planted it good and deep, and I'm really hoping it takes off and adds a shower of deep crimson roses going up the wall.
 

Looking down the bottom terrace.
 
 Tulips by the mailbox.
I'm actually thinking of taking these out.
It's hard to keep this area weeded, with no real flowerbed here.
Plus, all the real flowerbeds are just a few feet away.
They would transplant nicely, I think, to the back flowerbed.
 

 
If you made it all the way through that, way to go!
This is my favorite time of year, with things changing daily, it seems.
 


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Frosting

Before we get to the good stuff (pictures, as always), let's talk about the weather.
The first week and a half of this year we had rain almost every day, with daytime temps in the 40's and 50's. At first I thought this was a totally strange trend, but looking back to last year, apparently there was a similar warm snap late December. So maybe it's an annual phenomenon.
In any case, here we are with no snow. In January.
Obviously, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that.
I have snowflake decorations that are languishing in the box, because it seems a little odd to have snowflakes inside but not out.
Anyway.
 
Ice fog creates some beautifully frosty scenery.
And I am never one to turn down frosting, of any kind.
 
I ran out right after church to take some pictures, but it turns out I didn't need to hurry.
It wasn't going anywhere.
 
Front flowerbeds
 
Hydrangea and daphne

corkscrew rush

echinacea

 potentilla
 
English laurel

boxwood

Echinacea seed heads

Oregon grape
 
Back slope & shade bed

Even the weeds look pretty with some frosting on them!

back slope

children wondering if Mom is crazy


red-twig dogwood

heuchera

grass on the slope

Winter wonderland, indeed.
Happy January, friends!


Monday, September 30, 2013

Front Landscaping: Bottom Terrace Shrubs & Plants

The Plan:
 
1. Complement but not compete with the blossoms in the middle terrace.
2. Add evergreens for winter/early spring interest.
3. Fill in & help soften all that rock, but not get taller than the next wall up!
(No pruning to see the flowers, please!)
 
So, here's what we've got:
 
Starting at the driveway.
 
Some of my gift plants!
hardy geranium, liriope, and purple bellflower 
 
Potentilla 'Primrose Beauty', moved from the back flowerbed. Why the move?
 
Its gray foliage against the strong blue of the house made it practically invisible back there.
Plus, it was fighting with tulips for space in the spring, and probably would be too close to the flowering almond when they both grew to full-size.
 
But mostly, it was invisible!
You could hardly see it from 5 feet away.
 
So, anyway, I'm liking it up front here much better.
I can actually see it, for one.
Also, it should be just the right size for this spot.
As a bonus, its wiry stems don't mind getting snow thrown on them in the winter, so it's perfect for right next to the driveway.
 
Moving down front more:
English Laurel 'Otto Luyken'
Prunus laurocerasus
3' tall, 6' wide
Cold hardy to -10 (zone 6)
Dwarf form, with showy white flower spikes and small black fruit.
 
1-2 more each of the bellflower, liriope, and hardy geranium.
Surrounding the water meter are purple bearded irises, transplanted from the back flowerbed.
I plan to tuck some bulbs in here as well.
I'm thinking mini-daffodils and crocuses would be charming.

Another 'Otto Luyken' Laurel
 
As these laurels grow to fill in the space, the irises will be easy to transplant elsewhere. In the meantime, I'm really hoping the foliage of the irises will cover most of that lovely water meter, while still providing access when needed.
Nothing like a big slab of cement in the middle of a flowerbed to improve aesthetics.

Moving left:
blue Siberian Iris (from VWGarden)
purple bearded iris (transplanted from back flowerbed)
pink daylily (in front--also from VWGarden)
 
There's at least 2-3 or each type here.
I hope they play nicely and look good together!
It will be interesting to see how bloom times coincide...or not.
After that they're supposed to provide some height, leaf shape contrast, and greenery the rest of the summer.
At least, that's the idea.

2 Boxwoods 'Green Velvet', 3-4' tall & wide
'Rosy Glow' Red Barberry (Berberis t atro), 3-4' tall, 2-3' wide
 
I'm hoping the barberry will echo the purple coneflowers planted above it, without competing.
 
This little section is very similar to the first one.
Siberian iris, bearded iris, and pink daylily.
 
I can't remember what kind of hydrangea this was and I've lost the tag.
If I find it, I'll come back and add the info.
I know it was not Endless Summer or Incredi-Ball.
Hmmm... ? ? ?
  
 2 'Green Gem' Boxwoods, 2-3' tall and wide
'Golden Ruby' Barberry, 2' tall and wide 

Closeup of the 'Golden Ruby' Barberry
 
The wall gets shorter on this end, hence the smaller shrub varieties.
 
 
Oregon Grape, or Grape Holly
Mahonia aquifolium
3-6' tall and wide
Evergreen.
Bright yellow flowers in spring, followed by edible blue-black berries.
This corner of the terrace gets a bit more shade, which should be fine for this shrub.
 
The only problem is it's small size (this was the only one the nursery had left!) Right now it's got a whole lot of empty space around it, but I figure I can always put some annuals to fill in until it grows up a little.

All this rain we've gotten the last 2 weeks has been great for all my new transplants.
I hope they get all settled in just in time for frost.