We have done a lot of things this year around my property. Tomorrow morning the landscaper puts down the last two things. One of them is pathway slates but the final plants will be yellow daffodil bulbs. This is a "walk" around. It's the "yard tour" I take. A set path the takes me around everything. I do the same thing inside with my pictures and paintings.
A lot of these plants were at my house growing up. They hold sentimental value. I remember being put in leaf bags to squish the leaves down, jumping in leaf piles, and wandering the property like I do now. Letting my mind wander while getting lost in the plants.
I try to set it up where there is always or almost always something happening. Sometimes you have to look closely to see it. But that's the best part. Finding nature's hidden surprises. My current and past subscriptions to Fine Gardening have helped along the way. All of this made possible with the help of a new irrigation system!
This is my "Sunny Daylily Bed". It's in the back next to the grill along my new patio (picture at the end). There is a story. They are alternating "Stella D'Oro" Daylilies and "Bright Sunset" Daylilies. I had my species confused. This bed was a mess, and we were starting from scratch. But my favorite perennial was there and removed. I confused 'Orange' Daylilies with 'Bright Sunset'. The ones blooming are 'Bright Sunset' daylilies. A happy accident. Here is a closer look.
This is my "Fine Gardening Bed".
'Walker's Low' Catmint (planted last year)
'Autumn Joy' Sedum (came with the house)
'Walker's Low' Catmint (planted in early September so next year it will be the same size as the other)
'Diane' Rose of Sharon (planted in May, summer blooming)
So, in 2013 or 2014
Fine Gardening did an article on powerhouse super-hardy plants that grow under a lot of conditions. The Catmint and Sedum I have were featured in that article. At the time, I got one of each for the condo. It took some thinking before I landed on the second Catmint next to the Rose-of Sharon. I searched the
Fine Gardening website and didn't find the Rose of Sharon in it. It probably is somewhere though. If not, it should be!
These sprouts will be my 'Orange' Daylilies:
They are Zach and my favorite perennial. We had them at my house growing up and they always were special to me. We had to get rid of these behind the grill (we added bricks and pushed the grill back). But it was important to me to make sure to have them!
This Hydrandia came with the house but was moved. 'Stella D'Oro' Daylilies used to be here but we got rid of them. This grew a lot this year and blooms blue flowers in the summer.
Can you see my 'Intermedia' Forsythia? If not, that's okay. It "hides in plain sight". My "spy" shrub! Forsythias are my favorite shrub. I always knew I wanted one at the house and it took until this May to find a good place for it. My bedroom window as a kid faced the driveway. Our neighbors had a row of Forsythias that hung over our driveway. I loved them so much! I see this from my office!
My 'Superform' Norway Maples. The species is a best guess based on research. This is tied for my favorite tree. Another plant from my childhood home. This one was my special secret as a kid. A neighbor had one and two saplings were growing between shrubs at our place. I'm the only one that saw the saplings because of my yard exploring. They are big now and beautiful. These came with the house and yes, are one of the things that drew me to the house.
Believe it or not, these 'Fragrant Bouquet' Hostas are under the Norway Maples. I had ordered some plants on Amazon but the Hostas got delated in transit. Knowing Home Depot got some in recently, I ran there and got these! Don't worry, I'll tell you at the end about my deer trick. It's not perfect but, it's the best I have seen so far!
I have pots all around the property. 16 places for annuals. This is 8 of them. While mums are technically perennials, they are treated as annuals by most people. Mums are tied with 'Antigua Gold' Marigolds (below) for my favorite annuals. 'Antiqua Gold' Marigolds are the first plant I planted in my own garden in 2008. Of course, later that season, when planting the Hyacinth bulbs, I lost a fight to a rock on the day I apparently started to grow more than plants! Zach was that treasure!
This bed is my "White Bed" It's longer so I'll show you this in three pictures.
If you look in the five holes you can see three sets of leaves. Those are 'Joan Senior' Daylilies and will be white. Between them are two 'Stainless' Daffodil bulbs. Also, white. Again, I try to time the yard, so something is almost always happening. These daylilies were from Amazon. These Daylilies, like the 'Orange' Daylilies arrived as "bare roots" plants. Those are the roots with bulbs but not as a root ball. It's okay, they are dormant anyway now but taking root. The flowering part is in those bulbs. They will be small the first year but will grow and spread. I am worried about one of them but remnants or a broken stem show that plant is healthy.
Between the bunny sculptures is the 'Prelude' Andromeda. The center of the whole white bed. It's a dwarf Andromeda but at my childhood home we have a regular sized Andromeda. The white bell flowers always interested me, and it was next to the path leading to a neighbor's yard. We were friends with those neighbors.
This was taken in August. It's a summer blooming vine and is quite dormant now! It's a Chinese Trumpet Vine that came with the house.
This is my "Annuals Bed".
Boxwood (came with the house)
Annuals (Mums and Ornamental Peppers)
'Goldstrum' Black-Eyed Susan (I planted soon after moving in)
Daffodil (Came with the house)
Dwarf Alberta Spruce (with the house)
The annuals are on a rotation, and I do have some artificials to fill the spaces when nothing is blooming.
Pink Artificials (Early March)
Purple Pansies
'Antiqua Gold' Marigolds
Mums and Celosias (sub: Asters or Ornamental Peppers)
Mums and Cabbage (sub: Kale or Ornamental Peppers)
Orange Artificials
Red Artificials
Light Blue Artificials
Purple Artificials (just if the soil is thawed at the start of February)
My pots by the stairs (Mums and Ornamental Peppers). The other side of the stairs have a pumpkin on each step.
My "Tree Bed"
'Stainless' Daffodil
'Fantasy Pocahontas' Anemone
'Walker's Low' Catmint
'Francee' Hostas (were the ones ordered that got stuck in transit)
Cherry Tree (with the house)
Azalea (with the house)
Boxwood (with the house)
There is a story behind the Anemone:
I got it at Home Depot when I got the "Fragrant Bouquet" Hostas. I had so much trouble finding a plant to go there! Some were a different size at full size then the tag said. I looked this species up in the store though. In the Sept/Oct 2013 issue of Fine Gardening they did a special on pink fall plants. That's what this is (although not in the article) and I love it!
This faces a main street in town. They are Laurels that came with the house. Their leaves turn red in the fall. For the first time, I see berries! Deer usually eat them but, my trick helps, and the berries are a nice surprise!
This is the 'Bloodgood' Japanese Maple. Its leaves will turn crimson before falling but this is its regular season color. We had an Ash that was infested so, it got cut down and I got to remodel the main lawn!
The rocks are covering a French drain that was put in. We no longer get flooding in the basement. Since this picture grass seed was planted over the gravel the slates are on.
My "Driveway Bed" because it is near the neighbor's driveway.
'Dorothy Wycoff' Andromeda (center)
'American Gold Rush' Black-Eyed Susans
Tomorrow yellow Daffodil bulbs get planted between the Black-Eyed Susans
This was taken in August. They are still blooming but not this pretty.
This is the middle of the main yard (Laurels in back) that pot will change with the annuals.
The "Corner Bed" because we are a corner house, and this is on the corner. It is the same as the Driveway bed.
This is the 'Green Mountain' Sugar Maple tied with the Maples in the back as my favorite! Red and orange leaves are captivating! Like literally I have seen people accidentally turn down the side street because they were looking at it. I call it my "shut me up" maple.
Back in the back yard, here is my "Found It! Bed" by the nook (the one the vine is on). So, remember when I mentioned those removed daylilies and my bare roots daylilies? It's called propagating. They are wild and roots, bulbs and all, can grow near but not necessarily with the original plant. We got rid of a lot of Daylilies but, these were nearby the old ones.
The one in the center is an 'Orange' Daylily founds in the rock bed near the grill. The sides are the 'Stella D' Oros' found near the Forsythia! They have plenty of bulbs so plenty of promise for flowers!
My two pots near the nook.
This is my new patio! My office is just in the sliding doors. Perfect since most of my work involves the yard!
Finally, the deer trick. Deer hates the smell of mint. So, I get loose mint from the produce section of the grocery store and strategically place it on the flowers or leaves of favorite plants! If placed right, they leave the plant alone! You do have to lay fresh mint at least once a week but, it mostly works! The one time it didn't work for me was because of where I placed the mint on the mums. They stay away from the purple mums though. It's been the most effective thing I have tried!