They made it!

 I revamped this small flowerbed next to the porch last summer, pulling out dead bushes and improving the soil, before adding some new plantings in: hydrangea, astilbe, a couple of hostas, and some heucheras.

I also put in one dicentra--bleeding heart.

I tried planting dicentras in my back shade bed a few years ago, but they didn't survive.

This poor thing was transplanted from a friend's yard to begin with, then moved AGAIN when I realized that it was too far out and would be walked on. I didn't get my hopes up.

 

By the end of last summer, I wasn't sure which of my new plantings had survived.

The astilbes had withered away to practically nothing, as had the dicentra, and the ferns.

I knew heucheras and hostas were as tough as nails and could take dry shade, so I wasn't too worried about them.

 

This spring I have been pleasantly surprised to see all of the plants in this bed coming back!

 

Well, well, well. What have we here?

Hooray!

This euonymous wasn't in danger of dying off, but I'm delighted to see how much new growth it is putting on this spring! It looks better than it ever has.

Astilbe! Yes!

Astilbe number 2 (in back), plus 'Lime Marmalade' heuchera.

Oh and a few dandelions. (ahem). I guess they made it too.

 

The 'Ruby Slippers' oakleaf hydrangea is also putting out new leaves.

 

May they all live long and prosper!

(Except the dandelions.)

Flowerbed Tour: Shade & slope

Shade Garden, May 5:

 

Overview: from the far end down

 

Brunnera leafing out, with a few mini daffodils.

Lady's mantle and heuchera slowly getting bigger.

 I finally ripped out that sickly fern.

This columbine was from a neighbor--they were going to rototill the spot where it was at and offered it to me. I knew columbines could live back here, so I gladly took it!

 

One of the heuchera's from VW Garden. 

 

Heuchera and columbine.

I love that electric pink color back here in the shade.

It lights up the whole bed!

 

Red-twig dogwood, also taking its time to leaf out.

  

Overview: this time from the yard end down.

 

May 23:

 

Overview: everything filling in, including slope grass encroaching!

 

Columbine in bloom.

The one the left must be a doubled form--it hardly looks like a columbine.

I love how the one on the right has 2 different colors of flowers on the same plant.

Pulmonaria ("lungwort") also a gift from the neighbor's.

It settled in very quickly and has already grown new leaves.

You can also see the hosta starting to leaf out.

Heuchera and violas.

Those little violas are from last year's plants.

Awesome!

The lilac bush.

Still no blooms, but it looks healthier this year than it has in the past. 

 

Slope: May 5

 

Tulips along the top of the garden wall.

 

Daffodils between the garden and the aspen.

 

and...May 23:

 

So cheerful. Glad they came back this year.

Shade Bed

First, I should say that this is a mix of pictures: some taken 3 weeks ago (before frost), and the more colorful foliage from 1 week ago.

 

Red-twig dogwood, looking lovely this fall.

I love the variegated colors of the leaves.

Such a good-looking shrub.

 

On the left, columbine, added from VW Gardens.

Actually, all the additions to this bed were gifts from her.

Thanks, again friend!

 

 Neither of my dicentras came back this year.

Of the 3 ferns I had planted, only 1 has survived.

So I added another columbine to the right of the pink heuchera.

Also, this little hosta replacing one of the ferns.

 

These 2 hostas were already here from last year, as was 1 tiarella, and the brunnera, hanging on.

I added the 2 purple heucheras, plus 1 lady's mantle.

I even managed to cut back the grass threatening to overtake the bed.

This has been my most neglected flowerbed this year.

I tried to get back to water it during the hottest parts of the summer, but for the most part, it just chugged along on its own steam...or not, in the case of the ferns.

I'm excited about the added color from the heucheras.

Also, that I know they are tough and should survive.

 

I had forgotten how the hostas change colors in the fall.

That banana yellow next to the heuchera is so pretty!

I can see them from my kitchen window, and it's such a bright little spot back there in the shade.

These 2 aren't quite as yellow, but still set off the other foliage quite nicely.

 

Maybe next year I will spend a little more time back here.

There is hope, since the front terraces are all filled in now.

A Study in Contrasts: Garden Appreciation Society

I never would have thought to use hosta leaves in a bouquet until I saw Erin do it for the Garden Appreciation Society.

Once I decided to use them, then I started seeing the other leaves around that were green and white, which led to the euonymous.

The first round of Shasta 'Becky' daisies is about done, so I gleaned a handful from there. Then since we had large and small leaves, I thought it would be fun to have large and small daisies as well.

The dog fennel (also called Mayweed chamomile) is blooming like crazy along our east side, where we need to put grass in this fall.

Hey, nothing like using the weeds--um, wildflowers at our disposal! 

The roses were to add a little sparkle and color.

 

As a sidenote, I just planted the Burgundy Iceberg Rose this year, and I love it!

The deep purple and red tones are gorgeous next to the other plants in my front flowerbed.

 

Top View

This is not a bouquet for sniffing.

Dog fennel is called that for a reason! It stinks!

Fortunately, you have to get up close to really smell it; otherwise, I wouldn't have brought it in the house!

Shade Bed Tour & Violas

These dicentra's are supposed to die back by now, I thought, but they both seem to be putting out new growth. I don't mind!

I really love how the new growth is lighter green, with smaller leaves. It just adds dimension to the plant.

These hostas must like their new home--they're flowering already.

Quite lovely. 

 So I didn't kill off the brunnera (so glad!)

We've got a few new little leaves coming up.

I'll have to go back and clip off the big leaves that are too far gone to save, now that I'm sure it's surviving okay.

And what can I say more about VIOLAS?

Other than, I think they're fantastic, and they are some of my favorite flowers.

Oh, and they keep showing up in the most unexpected places.

 Like, in the lawn.

Not moving them!

Here's another one growing amongst the grass.

I've spotted at least 3 or 4.  

And here's one way over on the slope, by the woodland hyacinth.

They can populate whatever ground they want to. I don't mind a bit!

New Shaded Flowerbed

So this is along the wall behind the shed.

I'm excited to have a little bit of beauty back here--if I can keep these plants alive through the hot part of summer this year.

The bed isn't completely finished yet.

There's about 8 more feet or so to the left of the big hosta on the left, including space for one bigger bush than I need to pick out still.

What we've got so far.

L-R:

Hosta 'Captain Kirk', 24" x 36", pale lavender flowers

Tiarella 'Mystic Mist' (variegated foam flower), pink fall color, 7" x 16"

Heuchera 'Georgia Peach' (Alum root), bred for heat & humidity tolerance, 14"x24"

L-R:

(the Heuchera again)

Dicentra 'King of Hearts' (bleeding heart), 15"x24", pink flowers

Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern), 36"x48"

L-R:

another Tiarella, not sure variety

Matteuccia struthipoteris 'Ostrich' (ostrich fern), 36-48"x30", fiddleheads edible

Hosta 'Francee', 22"x18" (there are 2, one behind the other)

Dicentra formosa 'Aurora', (bleeding heart) 15"x15", white flowers, northwest native

Behind the Dicentra, not pictured because I hadn't planted it yet:

 Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' (Silver Siberian bugloss), blue flowers, 14"x24"

I also planted on the slope, just below the wild geraniums 2 more hostas, both 'Golden Prayers' variety, supposed to grow 12"x24".

I finally got the Brunnera and the last 2 hostas planted today, and got the bed mulched and watered as well. If you look back in the top picture, I put in a stepping stone in the middle of the bed, to allow easy access to the slope above, as I hope to continue removing weed grass and filling in with better plants and bulbs.

Since the wall went in Diamond has not been trampling the plants there as much. Hooray!

New Shrub and slope plants

In an effort to rejuvenate the back flower bed, we pulled out the dead hydrangea and bought a new shrub. Mockorange, or Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile', which is the Idaho state flower. It flowers in spring, white fragrant flowers 2" across. This variety is supposed to grow 5-6 feet tall and wide.

I also bought 2 hostas and a heuchera for the back slope.
Hosta 'Krossa Regal': 2 ft wide by 30 in. tall
Hosta 'June': 30 in wide by 12 in. tall.  Gold leaves with blue-green margin. 2001 Hosta of the Year.
Heuchera villosa 'Caramel': Evergreen, mounding perennial. Unique apricot foliage & light pink flowers. Right now the leaves are burgundy/green.

I put these three all on the back slope, sort of by the back apple tree behind the shed.  It already looks better, even from the house, just to have those different leaf shapes and colors back there.

I also bought a few more bulbs--mostly daffodils, with a couple of hyacinths, tulips, and another small handful of crocuses. So I will have more planting to do in the next week or so.

Front beds, flowers, and spring vegetables

I thought it odd that I left such a big bare space between these hostas.  Then this week, this little baby hosta popped up.  Oh yeah!  It was a piece that had broken off one of the others during transplanting and I decided to put it in its own space. I hope it keeps growing and catches up with these others....otherwise, it will look kind of funny.

Things are starting to look a bit crowded here.  It's great that everything is growing so well.  Not sure how to fix it at this point--or if I should even bother, considering the move.

These hostas are huge!  They loved the rain this past week.

If I decide to take cuttings with me to Washington, these would definitely be candidates.

I put all the peony pictures in a separate post, but these salvia are also about to bloom and looking beautiful.  I love the dark purple stems.

Last but not least, my spring veggies are doing great!  The rain has been good for them, too.

Peas starting to climb--I may interplant some annual climbing flowers, since so many didn't germinate.

Potatoes looking healthy and big, beets coming along, and the onions finally are tall and stopped flopping over.

It's amazing what a little rain will do!

Garden Tour

We got the pots planted this week.

I read somewhere that pots should have a THRILLER, a FILLER, and a SPILLER.

Last year, with mums and pansies, we had beautiful color in the spring and fall, and mostly just green, sort-of dead-looking plants all summer. So this year I'm trying for color and scent that lasts all summer, as well as thrilling, filling, and spilling, as required.  Each pot had some combination of the same plants.

In the middle is a scarlet geranium, to be the star of the show (the "thriller") and the main color.

On one side is a miniature white wave petunia (combination "filler" and "spiller").

The diamond-shaped plant is a white Cuphea, which is supposed to be a small, bushy, evergreen shrub with flowers that attract buterflies.  It is also supposed to have excellent heat tolerance. (Another "filler".) 

Between the two is Bacopa Abunda Colossal White.  It should "spill" over the edge, and also has tiny white flowers on it.

One of the pots has vinca vine in it as the "spiller" rather than the Bacopa.

We'll see how it goes!

Front beds starting to fill out.

Hydrangeas in back, almost all leaves out. Ferns coming up, hostas and astilbe getting big.

purple phlox and asters (in front of the daffodils).

Aren't these mini daffodils sweet?  I had forgotten I planted them.

Front Flowerbed Work

Before: Front-right bed

I moved this hosta to the middle of this bed in the spring, to alleviate the crowding right there. Little did I know there were still a few shoots left and they grew into their own little plant.

So today I moved it (again!) to fill in a bare patch around the tree out front.

There's another hosta behind the euonymous bush that I also moved next to the tree.

Front-right bed

The hosta in the middle on the left is the parent plant of the one above.

Hydrangea in back looking lush.

Front bed, driveway side

I would like to move that hosta on the front right and add something else for a little variety in textures.

Between the hydrangea and the back-right hosta is a dwarf astilbe. You can't see it very well, and it is probably too small to be in the back. My only hestitation at moving it is the one in the other front bed tripled in size this year, and I'm hoping maybe this one will too if I give it more time.

Hostas around the tree.

I've just had annuals planted here in the past and they've never done very well, leaving lots of room for weeds after the spring bulbs die back. I'm hoping the hostas will be maintenance-free and content to fill in the space.

Still need to work on the other half of this bed--it's full of weeds (surprise, surprise!) and needs maybe a groundcover or something for summer/fall coverage.

Front bed with hostas gone.

I put the little mum there that was next to the tree. It was finally perking up and I hated to just compost it before its time. It will be easy enough to pull out come winter.