Landscaping 2008 – The Back of the House
WOW!
Spring 2008 was GLORIOUS!
We had a relatively mild winter with few thaw freeze cycles and in April we were inundated with rain. So, at the beginning of May, the garden was popping! The creeping jenny ground cover I’d tested as a possible replacement for mulch – which is notorious in many ways (it infected our maples with a root fungus) – was taking off and its light green color set off everything growing around it. KC asked me to add more and I did.
The pictures below were taken on MAY 8th!
The Brunnera Macrophylla were already in bloom and their blue flowers contrasted beautifully against golden edges of the Aurora Marginata hosta,
Two weeks later, the lilac and Jacob’s Ladder opened up, and the smoke bush was a gorgeous dark, dark red.
Late in June, the lilies bloomed, followed closely by the hosta. The smoke bush, however, is suffering:
In this shot you can see the three arborvitae that replaced the sand cherries on the eastern side
You can also see the pots I created to bring some color ONTO the patio
and, on the far left, the folding picnic-table-cum-plant-stand that was our kitchen table until we replaced it:
In mid-July the hollyhock buds started opening:
And the hydrangea which had NEVER bloomed, now had 5 flowers:
Once the lilies wind down, there is not much in bloom in the back…
I need to find some August-blooming shade perennials:
A shot of the new witch hazel, plum, and globe arborvitae:
Closeups of the beds:
Long views:
Some shots of the back from INSIDE the family room:
The window through which these shots were taken:
As much as I like the back this year, I am not as happy with it as I am with the front. The beds are too narrow for the size of the patio so I will be widening them. The shots below show the spade edge I dug to mark the new size of each bed.
I won’t be adding any new plants but I will be dividing the existing hostas and sedum and using them at the outside edges. The plants in the beds will be spread out into the new space.
When the walk on the side of the house is complete (more on that later), I will move the two spirea bushes at the foot of this maple (on the right side of the photo) to the sides of the mud room door, and will put a ring of lilies and Russian sage around this corner similar the one on the western edge of the property.
The situation with the walk on the side of the house is as follows:
On June 7th we gave Chris Nikolas of Sod Off Scape Shapers a down payment on the new walkway. He was supposed to start work on June 25th but, since June 17th, the last day I spoke to him, we have not heard hide nor hair of him.
At first, I was furious, but now that so much time has passed I’m afraid something bad has happened to him. The problem is that I cannot find anyone who can tell me what his situation is. So, we wait, and hope he will suddenly appear to do the work he agreed to.
If he ever shows up, in addition to putting in the new walkway, he will be creating two new beds for us. One will be to expand the bed around these spruce trees to include the 2 lilacs and 3 rhododendons I purchased earlier this year (which are currently languishing in pots).
And this bed between the house and the pond will be raised. I would also like to add a spruce tree and some ground cover.
The final step will be to add a low retaining wall around the plants on the eastern side of the house connecting the bed below, with the witch hazel and arborvitae, to the liatris along the side.
We will also cut the clematis to the ground, to rejuvenate it, and will provide a new trellis.
My goal, eventually, is to have a secluded garden as lush as the deck of our Halsted St. Condo:
The deck of our Halsted St. condo
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Last Revised: July 21, 2008
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