This year I wanted plant at least one hummingbird attracting perennial.  Thanks to a generous gift from my mother in law, Karen, I had money to spend at High Country Gardens.  Here is what I bought.

Veronica liwanensis (Standard Pot)
Quantity: 7
Price Each: $4.99
Beautiful blue flowering, semi-evergreen groundcover, to be planted in between flagstone in the back yard. I will try to propagate these to expand them across the whole flagstone path.
2″ x 18″ wide, zones 4-8, Low Fertility, well drained soil, full sun to part shade. Needs afternoon shade if in hot summer climates, cutting propogated.

Achnatherum calamagrostis - Silver Spike Grass (Premium Pot)
Quantity: 1
Price Each: $8.99
Ornamental grass I will look to plant in the front yard.
3′ x 3′ wide , zones 5-8, Most soil types including Clay, Full Sun, seed propogated

Agastache ‘Orange Flare’ (Premium Pot)
Quantity: 4
Price Each: $8.79
Will plant 3 of these beauties in the back yard, hopefully one in a new bed I hope to have ready this year. The forth will go next in the front yard.
36″ x 18″ wide, zones 5-9, Low fertility well drained soil, Full sun to part shade, cutting propogated

Agastache 'Orange Flare' Hybrid Licorice Mint Hyssop

Achnatherum calamagrostis (Silver Spike Grass)

Veronica Liwanensis (Turkish Speedwell)

| Tags: achnatherum, agastache, Back Plant List, Front Plant List, hummingbird perennial, ornamental grass, partial shade ground cover, veronica liwanensis Category: Back Plant List, Back Yard, Front Plant List, Front Yard, Propagation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

This year I want to keep spending down, yet be able to continue to add to the gardens.

I don’t know if the roses planted in the planters will survive this very cold, dry winter.  My boxwoods are showing the affects freeze with yellowing leaves.  They also need more water than I’ve given them, so I have a feeling we will be replacing those this year.

Summer 2010 Backyard goals

• Flower Bed
• Path
• Great vegetable garden
• Herb planters

FLOWER BED

1.  Add some red / purple leaved plants with a bigger leaf in the back flower bed.

1. I’m thinking Diablo ninebark but 8-10ft HxW.  A little large for the garden or would require constant pruning to keep in check, but has the right leaf size I’m looking for.
2. Palace Purple Huechera will be a nice small addition of purple.
3. Wine and Roses Weigela.  This has smaller leaves and the potential to lose its purple color, but is 4-5ft H x W
4. Helmond Pillar Barberry. This is a columnar form of barberry and could satisfy the need for winter and summer interest. Leaves / form is not gaurenteed.

2.  More winter interest in the flowerbed.  If I could find a good deal on some Red Twigged Dogwood, as well as a couple of evergreens.  Haven’t decided on this yet.

PATH

1.  Add more flagstone, especially to the vege garden.  My goal is to have a backyard I can walk barefoot through.  So far the pea gravel really limits my fancy free wandering.

2.  Start working on propogation of Turkish Speedwell (Veronica Liwanenis) to use between the flagstones on the path.  I have a small patch of it that has survived a number of years in the front yard, and I hear you can propagate by taking cuttings.

VEGETABLE GARDEN

Each year Mike gets a wild hair and decides he will have a vegetable garden.  The excitement only lasts through planting and his presence thereafter is non-existant.  So this year I will be setting up the vege garden to ensure that the need for weeding is kept to a minimum.

HERB PLANTERS

Imagine a nice waist high planter with your choice of herbs to cut and use in the kitchen.

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Color scheme: Flowers - Coral Pinks, Yellows, Apricots, and Purples/blues.

Perennials

delosperma cooperi ‘Kelaidis’ - Apricot Iceplant. Planted 8/25/09 This is drought tolerant, and is planted below the wall. I will move the yellow delosperma near it, and see how they do.
Acorus gramineus ‘Oborozuki’ - Variegated Sweet Flag. Planted 8/25/09 This requires pretty wet soil, so we will see if it will survive in the bed in front of the patio.
Penstemon barbatus ‘Rondo Mix’ - The version I have is a pretty coral color.

Shrubs
Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’ - Blue Star Juniper. Planted 8/25/09 Used as low growing blue evergreen

Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ - Dwarf Burning Bush.  Planted 8/25/09 .

Roses
Rosa ‘radrazz’ - Red Knock out rose. Planted 8/25/09 Use three in a row (one may be pink?

test

| Tags: burning bush, delosperma, Front Plant List, knock-out rose Category: Front Plant List, Front Yard | Leave a comment

Today my mom would have been 73. A good day to plant some bulbs, and I think I will dedicate them to her! I always wonder what kind of garden she would have had if she had been able to bend and get around more easily. Would she have started with a plan, then fill it in? Or have a plan, then fudge like me.

So much to do in the fall, its a shame there seems only the weekends to accomplish it all. Today 18 daffodils went in the front yard, and a total of 72 in the back yard. I really need to come up with a good plan for planting in the front…. its becoming hap-hazard as I find places to stick cheap plants. Not good… that only leads to more work moving them around.

The pink tulips will go at the front of the house, along with the gladiator allium. I hope they will get enough sun to bloom well. Otherwise will need to find another home for them.

| Tags: bulbs, daffodil, tulips Category: Back Plant List, Back Yard, Front Plant List, Front Yard | Leave a comment

Did I really buy over a hundred bulbs?  90 Daffodils may suck now, but springs gonna be great!  These will replace the daffodils bulbs I took up and then promptly forgot about when we removed the rose garden. Lets hope this place is the same outfit I got my last bulbs from, I don’t want puny flowers.

Here’s what I got.

Bouquet Tulip ‘Toronto’

Yellow Trumpet Daffodils

Allium ‘Gladiator’

Now where to put them.  I’m thinking the daffodils along the rock wall in the back, and in the raised planters.   Then the tulips and a few daffodils in the front .. but where?

Should I begin in the bed near the patio, or along the stacked stone wall?

How much will 90 bulbs cover anyway?  I’m pretty sure I had at least 40 in the rose bed… or did I just have 3 bunches of 10? Hmm.. well at least its cold enough today that I have a couple days to ponder.

| Tags: alliums, bulbs, daffodils, spring, tulips Category: Back Plant List, Back Yard, Front Plant List, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Plants for shade

1. Bellium minutum (Miniture Daisy) - Planted 5 below the wall - purchased from HGG
2. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Plumbago)- Planted 5 above the wall - purchased from HGG
3. Lilium pardalinum (Panther Lily) -  Planted 3 near the soggy area - purchased from HGG
4. Hosta ‘Minuteman’ - Planted 5 above the wall behind the plumbago - purchased Lowes

Plants for part shade

1. Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea Nana (Dwarf Gold Threadbranch Cypress) - 1 planted in front of the rose bush.  We will have to see if it gets enough light. - Purchased Lowes
2. Buxus Sempervirens (Common Boxwood) -  2 by walkway steps, one will get more sun than the other. — Purchased Lowes - if they grow as slow as they say, my impatient heart will look for some other plant to nicely shape.

| Tags: Front Plant List, shade plants Category: Front Plant List, Front Yard, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I can’t believe I forgot to post a pic of the new wall!

The wall adds structure and elegance

It is amazing what stone work can do for a landscape.

I am completely impressed with the job Eucevio did, as were neighbors.  We’ve already had one neighbor hire him for a job he’s been putting off for years.

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This is the under-decking we have chosen to go with.  Hopefully we can install it sometime this summer.

DryDeck by Timbertech

Kits are offered from the Deck Superstore.

Our initial quote was $475.  We need to re-measure to ensure.

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We love the mulch we got for our yard, it smells wonderful and has a rich dark color, and the bark size is nice and small so it will laydown and nicely.  But did we order too much?  We figured we had about 700 sq ft between the front and back yards — with the front nearly done, we have a huge pile left!

Mulch Info

Pioneer Sand and Gravel

Mini-Bark pebbles — $51 / yard -

coverage per yard for 2″ thick = 200 sq ft.

We purchased 3.5 yards.

Delivery = $50.

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