You may recall a couple of posts back that I mentioned I have three garden projects going on simultaneously. The new cypripedium area is completed and I fully expect the orchids to arrive tomorrow.... after planting, I will mulch with pine needles and eventually beech leaves once they've fallen from the trees. I still have some concerns about the drainage despite making a lot of amendments... hopefully things are to the point where the orchids will be happy and the roots will receive the oxogen they require.
The biggest project has been the one involving the area pictured above. Here are some 'how it used to look photos' as well as a reminder of the devastation I created in the area.
Firstly, the magnolias have developed quite a 'spread' since this photo was taken. Things were getting too crowded and I absolutely did not want to limb up this bank of two Bettys and two Pinkies.
In the following photo from 2011, the Louisa crab apple was still fairly small but by the end of this season it was burying the peonies to its left. The antique cistern planter was preventing good air circulation for the peonies so it was time for it to go as well. Additionally, two large magnolias had died, opening up the space behind the star magnolia in bloom here.
Can you believe this grass? Unfortunately it has now been decimated by our drought and there is no rain in sight in the foreseeable future. A neighbor had occasion to dig down three feet and there is no moisture even to that depth. It's becoming a very serious situation. I've been watering the most strategic areas of the gardens but there is loss on the perimeters... especially my beautiful arborvitae hedge on the west side of the property which has lost seven eight foot trees and more appear to be following toward their demise.
Back to the topic at hand... the torn up area...
In looking over the gardens yesterday, I noted that my collection of Northern lights azaleas out of the University of Minnesota were really becoming very stressed from the drought. Figuring there wasn't much to lose, I transplanted a seven footer and it never missed a beat... with some water, it looks better than it has all summer. That gave me the idea of a theme for this redo. I moved in eleven azaleas, one as tall as eight feet. The area now joins my collection of 'walks'. There is the birch walk, and this summer, the althea walk was added. We now have the 'azalea walk' and it's just one more name that will help my wife and I to communicate regarding 'where in the garden are we talking about'.
In addition to the azaleas, I've spread the peonies throughout the area, will be adding a few of my favorite hemerocallis plants, and perhaps a few orienpet lilies as well. The path from the house forks around the Louisa crab and for the time being the path will be wood mulch. In the following photo the right fork is 'almost obvious' as it travels between the azalea plants... eventually I will probably add some of my cedar fencing to help delineate the paths and perhaps a stone wall across the far end.
I've added four additional conifers to the area, including Picea pungens 'Pendula' which can get fairly large so will need some maintenance. I will probably do some staking and creating of multiple draping leaders in addition to letting parts of it meander along the ground...
I've also added a Pseudotsuga mensiesii 'Glauca Pendula' which is a weeping blue Douglas Fir. The leader meanders upward about a foot a year, while all side branches weep... this eventually makes a really interesting specimen... the plant pictured here is about seven feet tall...
Yet another focal point along this pathway comes with the installation of a Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Pendula' or the Weeping Alaska Cypress. Although labeled as such at the nursery, this plant has the look of the variety 'Jubilee' or perhaps 'Strict Weeping' because it is very narrow... time should tell as eventually the 'Pendula' cultivar widens out near the base.
I also added what is perhaps my favorite weeping conifer, that being Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'... can't wait for this one to reach for the sky as it twists its way upward... note the color on the azalea behind the conifer. All the azaleas that I transplanted have beautiful color making them good enough to be a two season plant. I have to assume that with time and good moisture, they should fill out much better in this new location versus being buried under large trees as had been the case.
I intend on adding a few more conifers to the area... perhaps something with yellow foliage and maybe a couple ground cover conifers. Following are some of the azaleas I moved into the area... they were definitely suffering where they had been so I'm hoping they'll appreciate their new environment...
I'll end this post with some photos of the gardens taken over the course of the last few days...
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| Rosa rugosa 'Linda Campbell' |
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| Pinus dens 'Cesarini's Variegated' and Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' |
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| Mums |
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| Mums through a curtain of Pinus strobus 'Pendula' |
Acer pseudosieboldiana (Korean maple)...
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| Long view Siberian irises and conifers |
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| Color! |
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| Cottage garden |
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| Verbena bonariensis and Bubblegum Vista petunias |
Pinus flexilis 'Vanderwolf's Pyramid'
Today was the first foggy morning we've experienced this season... more "foggy" pictures next post.
Continue down to the next post to see pictures of northern Wisconsin's color from this past weekend...
Take care, Larry
p.s. Sorry about the photo placement in this post... try as I might, I simply can't get them to line up properly so I'm going to have to let it
go!
p.s. Sorry about the photo placement in this post... try as I might, I simply can't get them to line up properly so I'm going to have to let it
go!
Lobularia 'Snow Princess'
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