Garden Changes By Nature

From last year, when the garden was a foot deep heap of magnolia leaves and a few japanese holly ferns, til today that little world is a different place.  It actually looks.... pretty.  Unfinished, still, but pretty.

The back garden before I owned it

Another view of the back garden before I owned it

But some of the most breathtaking changes are ones that have happened without me.   Last year when I started shoveling out dirt for garden plants, the dirt was like a dry silt, mixed with some broken concrete pieces of a project gone awry from years past.  It didn't even look like dirt.  2 healthy doses of compost manure last year, and always spending the time to amend every hole intended for a plant has lead to each shovelful this year containing worms.  You build it, and they will come.  It is amazing to me, as I don't know how they figure this stuff out so quickly?  Wormy scouts?  I mean, they don't have eyes!

Within minutes last year of planting flowering perennials, I had bees happily roaming from flower to flower, doing their life's work.  Now, I can sort of understand how they might have come across flowers in the once barren wasteland.  "Fred, you aren't gonna believe this... I was just zooming back from the Ashley sunflowers and took a small detour because there were a couple of suspicious birds, and remember that old place to the left of Ashley? The one where you accidently mistook that half buried beer can for a tulip (snicker)? Well, there's flowers all over the dang place... come on, before anyone else finds it.

"Oh come on now, Pete, I was just over there not two weeks ago... I think you need to lay off the pollen beer."

By fall of last year I was graced with butterflies and moths, had met my first two snakes, had a close encounter with a curious hummingbird, and my garden became a happening spot for carolina anoles far and wide.  Every day the lady teenaged lizards are putting on coconut oil and basking in the sun.  They sigh those lovely southern sighs as they watch the hunkie older males take down mosquitos with their strapping tongues.

Sometimes these little things take your breath away.  Its like they have come to visit me, because they like me, they really like me.   As ridiculous as this all sounds it does make me very happy to know that they wouldn't be here except for me rolling out the green carpet for them by wanting a garden.

The Sound And The Fury

For the past few weeks, as I'm sure a lot of you have either witnessed or heard on the news, the south has been getting some destructive storms... wind, hail, tornados.  A week ago, we were on a two day alert about the white cell that eventually laid waste to swath of about 4 states.  It didn't even rain here, even though our weather people were predicting 100% chance.  Not a drop.

That all changed yesterday as a mother nature came without warning, again making me realize that checking the weather is completely senseless (as telling me its hailing when its hailing is not all that useful, I've noticed).   They do not know and the illusion that they do can only serve to bite you in the ass.

The hail was one thing, mostly about bb sized, with some about dime sized and a few that looked like wadded up pieces of hubba bubba.  I noticed this because the hail was coming directly sideways into the west side of my house and were skidding across the upstairs porch.  You could see them doing high fives with each other and brushing the pollen off. Woohoo WILD RIDE MAN!

The bigger issue was the wind that was sending it horizontal.  First, I was scared for my windows as the smack that they were making against the panes sounded pretty brutal.  Then I looked outside and saw the whipping circular motions everything was making on the east side of my yard... it was an 'ut oh' moment.   And here I was thinking JUST that morning that it was nice that we were having our normal thunderstormy type weather this summer, which I felt sure was a great improvement over the past two years where it never rained all summer.

Even right before the storm, I was outside thinking, yeehaw, I don't have to water, because this thunderstorm is going to take care of it.  Well, and then some.  60 mph winds.  60.  On the rocks.

Stupid weather.  Why can't we just have normal?  NORMAL!!!  I am sick to death of coldest winters and hottest summers and droughts and destructo storms.

So the destruction included the toppling of two newly planted maple trees (fixable), the flattening of anything tall in the garden (pathetic and not sure how to fix), busted and now flowerless roses,  and the destruction of all the just emerged THIS WEEK foxglove.  Hate.  Seeing Red.  Flames, flames on the side of my face. Broken in half with most of the flowers unopened.

Also very angry at myself too as I had plenty of stakes sitting right there.... Well, I hope it at least took out a few squirrels.   And the rat that chewed through my cars window washer fluid hose... again.   GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

How To Age A Brand New Cement Statue

My favorite statues are those that look like they've been there forever. They sport mossy nooks and stains from rainwater, and they are worn around the edges.  Any statue left in a shady moist environment long enough will take on this look with time.  But the time component is the kicker.  We aren't talking one year, or even two, but many many many years, and I just don't have that sort of patience.  And, apparently, I don't have the patience to wait around and find the perfectly seasoned statue at an estate sale.

Now some people like bright white statues, so this 'how to' is definitely not for you, as I'm sure you'll be of the opinion that it looked better before.  However for those of you who like the look of aged, and have an urn, fountain or statue which is still looking like it stepped off the showroom floor, I have a cheat for you.

Here's what you'll need:
-Little tubes of acrylic paint.  Black, a mossy (not bluish) green, and potentially a brown.
-A kitchen sponge
-Water
-a 3-4 cup container (nonstaining)

Mix a few cups of water with just a dollop (like half a teaspoon) of the green paint.  Mix well.  If you are a nervous nelly feel free to make the mixture even more watered down, because this is permanent so you can always add, but you cannot take away.

Take the sponge and totally soak it into the stain and then start squeezing it above the statue letting gravity and the natural shape of the figure dictate where the water will run.  This is what is going to give you the most natural effect, just as it would had the drippings from a tree been the agent.  I did this 3-4 times over with the light green concoction.

Repeat this process with a dollop of 1/3 green and 2/3s black.  I did these a little more sparsely, but with the same method, over the top of the statues head in order to simulate how this really happens.   Do not be alarmed if the initial effect while wet seems sort of dark and streaky.  It dries much lighter.

Finally, if you like the slightly rust colors that occasionally show up in nooks and crannies repeat the process with a medium brown/burnt sienna mixed tone.   I did this very sparsely, literally one spongeful.

And voila: brand spanking new off the show room floor statue looking quite a few years older than she did 30 minutes ago, without that fake "applied by the manufacturer" look.   I am going to leave her at this point and let nature take over from here.

Before

After

ps. if you hadn't noticed by now: I did it! Finally, I got a statue!  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it was very cheap and I just had to go ahead and bite the bullet.  Mission accomplished, as I like her and to me she doesn't look out of place or gaudy, and will only look better when the clematis and jasmine vines behind her fill in.  Phew. Good thing because she weighs 200 pounds easy.

Before and After: What Can Happen in Just 6 Months!

A couple of posts ago I took a shot of the palm tree corner of my garden, commenting on the overgrown quality of a few plants, and it got me to thinking.  I have lots of pictures of this corner, having started it from scratch in March.

I love posts from others where I can see time march on, though because I see this little corner every single day I sort of forgot what it used to look like.    Many say that it takes years to fill in a garden, and perhaps it does, yet Mother Nature has done quite a bit here, no?

March 4th

March 21

April 2

April 22

June 11

September 2

September 2

This last one has nothing to do with this post... just the Brugmansia is blooming again...despite that I went on vacation for a week and it didn't get watered and lost 75% of its leaves.  It doesn't seem to care, at least for now.  Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Little Transformations

During this year my garden will never fill out and become this lush wonderland I have in my head.  I am just going to accept that now.  So garden, the pressure is off, but by next May, you better be looking like the secret garden, ya hear me?

Despite the fact that its going to take me forever to get around to showing you what my efforts will eventually yield, I am making small strides.   Below, a progress report.  This view is an eastern exposure, with one half being part shade and the other half being part sun.   This is the part shade section.  To give you an idea of height, the fence is just over 6 feet tall. I know, its the mother of all picket fences.  And at the 'path' the depth of the garden is about 10 feet, expanding out on either side.  I find it very difficult to capture depth in this garden, I'm not sure why.

Sometime in November 09 when I was raking up Magnolia leaves:

March 21st: A retaining wall and a few stepping stone put in to be able to get back to that section:

And April 2nd: only 11 days later.  Look at that Autumn Fern on the left there in front of the little wall (the pics will expand if hard to see).  He sure has a way of showing he's verrry happy in his new home.   Others pictured are 5 woodland phlox, 3 Creeping Cupflower which I am hoping will fill in between the stones nicely, and the Trailing Lantana I planted a month ago which I accidentally fell on.  Despite that, he is at least double his size.  In the background my outrageous sized Japanese Holly Ferns, and way over to the left my Persian Shield looking very tiny in his new home.   There is also a tiny foxglove in there, can you spot him?  He's an infant, but very healthy and seems to be doing a lot better than those getting more sun.  He's an experiment.

Progress progress progress.   One of these days that trellis will be covered in (something), and the statue will sit at the end of the little path.  Behind the holly ferns on either side are baby hydrangea bushes filling up the back space (eventually).  They just need to get a move on being taller than 8 inches so they can show up in the pictures.

Before But No After

It has finally happened to me.  I have had a week here or so with the blogging blues.  I can't think of anything funny, entertaining, or even intelligible to say.   I even have the planting blues.   I went to the nursery on Saturday and didn't come home with a thing.  Nothing.  And really, I still have a lot of space to put things if I find something I like. 

I did weed half the front plot of wild onions.   So there was a tiny bit of forward action, but in comparison to the previous 4 weeks, I have hit the gloom.   I didn't even have to water anything because its been raining for the past couple of days.    I can now see why bloggers ferret away a few blogs.  For just such times as these, when you can't be bothered to be the slightest bit creative and haven't even put the dishes away or put the laundry in the dryer.

What I do have are some photos of plants that are in their 'before' stage and who will have their matching 'afters' later on in the year.    These will have to suffice for today.

I have planted a couple of the Endless Summer series of hydrangeas, which I plan on taking a few pictures of along the way, as it seems that many people have varying results with these.   The first of these is a Forever Pink, here pictured, March 28th.

The second is a Blushing Bride.  It seems to be a few weeks behind the Forever Pink, which actually has some flower buds forming.

Most of these hostas, which were sent to me by accident (and therefore free), are going to live with my Mom in Virginia where they will live hopefully long and happy lives, but two are going to have to tough it out and see if it can make it through the summer sizzle.   I know I'm already going to have to move them, but I'm leaving that for some time when the blues are gone.   There is a likelihood that the after pictures of these will be melted husks, but Compost in My Shoe, who lives close, apparent has some which have lived for years, so ya never know!  They made it from bareroot to here in about 3 weeks though, so they are sure liking it right now.

This is a Persian Shield (strobilanthes dyerianus), I have two of these as well.  Right now they are about 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide.  And recovering from the part sun area which I had originally planted them in.  They looked spectacular with the blue snowstorm bacopa (sutera hybrid), but that was the only thing they had going for them as a couple.

Here's my pitiful looking Butterfly Bush (unknown varietal).   He might be in too much shade, so I could be moving him too.  All this stuff about moving is making me exhausted just typing about it.

I have three coneflower plants, and will probably add another.   "Merlot" and "Kim's Kneehigh" are looking like they are having a bit of transplant shock.

Here's the before of the carjacker, Lady Banks.  I am not worried about her. Tomorrow I am going to get the little pegs drilled into the fence so I can get 'trained' as best I can.

I have dozens more where these came from so one of these days, later this summer, I'll do the real show.   Lets end with this picture, some African bush daisy's who look pretty much perfect.  Even as a before.

Raised bed around a tree, oh my!

I have a problem with the large palm tree in the corner of the back garden at the end of the hopefully soon to be renamed, "Great Brown Way."    This year when I moved here that area, and all other areas, were coated in magnolia leaves.  This had the unfortunate effect of killing everything that ever lived back there, but it had an unintended positive effect: it stopped the soil from eroding.

When I took away the leaves what I had was just soil.  Nothing to cover it, and nothing planted to keep the soil put.  These facts combined with the rainiest winter season on record left the entire left hand side of my palm tree with roots hanging out all over the place.   Did I mention all the water from the neighbors hated garage drains there?

For the past month or so I have been puzzling about what to do about this.   I threw a bagful of topsoil over it, and that worked for approximately 3 days until it rained 2 inches.    I thought maybe lots of pots under there, but that didn't solve the problem that half the roots were already hanging in the breeze.   So finally my minds eye pictured a tiny raised bed around the area that would maintain the soil better and would provide enough room to plant some things so the soil was still there a few months from now.

I typed this idea into the computer, and up flashed a neon red sign "TREE MURDERER."  hmmmm.  Would this kill my tree?   Would doing nothing kill my tree?  I mean, palm tree roots are not supposed to be outside the ground in my experience.  Aside from that, one small hurricane and that tree with no soil on the roots stands a high chance of falling on my car.  Which would not be a happy thing.   I did a little more digging.  A few posts said, oh its fine: I raised a bed 18" inches 20 years ago and look at this beautiful tree.

Confused I went to the tree nursery and asked.  For those of you who have ever wondered, this is what he said:  You can raise a bed around a tree if you do the following:
1) keep it as shallow as possible, preferably 6 inches or less
2) do not encircle the entire tree.  Keep to 50% or less
3) keep the new soil off of the trunk of the tree.  This causes rot, the biggest issue with the entire process.

I can do that.   (half a day pause) I just did that.

I need a few more bags of soil to fill in the ends a bit, and an extra block or two, but aside from that,  I'm done.   That was a job.  But planting that elephant ear took approximately 4 seconds.

Amendments

Well, not only is the sun shining, the temps moderate, but Blotanical is back!  All is going right with this weekend.

The soil amending process is continuing.  I've taken the time to actually dig down 6-8 inches into the garden, pulling out roots, and more roots of plants I don't have (this is a mystery to me where these are coming from!), old bricks, pieces of plastic, cigarette butts, a tennis ball, some wire, and a heck of a lot of pieces of cement.    Oh, and I found a lot of pecans from 3 yards over, which the neighborhood squirrels have placed every 6 inches square throughout the garden.

The mystery of why my soil drains so incredibly fast in such a flood prone area and looks decidedly whitish is becoming clear.  At some point I think my garden had been cemented over, and then jackhammered (for the most part) out.  The amount of cement pieces from nailhead sized through small dinner plate size just can't be explained any other way.    My dirt, I have a feeling, has a large dose of cement in it.  I'm thinking this can't be too good.  That said, I have a feeling I will never have trouble, EVER, with standing water.

Here's a little before and after soil work.   Doesn't it look a bit more ready to plant and grow some great stuff, 250 pounds of compost manure, and 2 bags of topsoil later?  I planted only a very few things in October when I moved in, and all of them, save for a very frozen Mandevilla, seems to be coming back just fine.  Some of the little 'tufts' are beebalm, agapanthas, sedum, and a straggly butterfly bush, who none-the-less looks a lot better than he did about 3 weeks ago.

Starting in October

So whats a girl to do when you don't step foot in your new garden until October 5th of the year? A heck of a lot of dreaming, of course. It didn't hurt that the entire house needed an overhaul, and still does, so as much as I wanted to sip my cool lemonade out in my new back garden, it actually made things like painting, sanding, spackeling, and electrical work a little easier to hack.

Not that I did nothing, because there was a heck of a lot to do on those gardens before plant one made it in there. Here's an idea of what was awaiting me in November in the back garden (trust me the other 2 sides looked identical):

Thats right, 350 sq feet of unadulterated magnolia leaves. All totalled, it was 23 extra large black trash bags of magolia leaves. And now everyone don't go and kill me, but I had the magnolia tree removed. I really can't think of a tree I like less, due to copious amounts of shedding leaves year-round that in the southern heat create an oven for anything underneath, able to kill plants quicker than roundup. It also leaned towards the neighbors house, blocked both our gutters, and clogged the drainages systems, which are way way important here. I felt a little bad, but truth be told, as the light shone on the cleared flagstone a week later, I didn't miss it one bit, and I regret it even less.

The front garden wasn't so bad, but it had 3 unknown bushes that had not been trimmed in many years, height 8 feet, 1 camillia, full of scale, and 6, count 'em 6 lantana's all but one of which were over 5 feet in height and covering about 25 sq ft of space. They are a wee invasive here, I hear. I have 'removed' 4 of the 6 lantanas, and shall hope that they stay removed. And those other two better think about their next moves if they plan on staying unmolested.

Despite the look of the wreck of the backyard, there are a couple of plants I did inherit that I plan on keeping. If you look into the far back of the picture behind the back rocking chair, you can see a bunch of Japanese Holly Ferns. They are beautiful large specimens, 7 in total. I am planning on digging up two to make room for something other than holly ferns back there, and they will make the journey up to Virginia to join the 7a gardens. If they transplant well I might move the rest of them elsewhere in the back because they are located not in the greatest spot for something 8 inches tall but 10 feet wide. Also, because of the removal of the Magnolia, I think the spot might be too sunny for them come summer.