My Maine "Vacation"

At the end of the path along the front of the house, two Sweet Pepper Bushes (Clethra 'Ruby Spice' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/150/) are planted on either side of the front steps. A gold Spirea ('Magic Carpet' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/64977/) with a 'Wichita Blue' Juniper behind it to complete the front border. Oops, there's also a variegated Viburnum (Viburnum lantana 'Variegatum' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/84452/) planted along the edge between the Japanese Maple and blue Juniper. It's only about 1' high right now but will eventually grow to about 4' and fill the corner. Behind that in the photo, with the ring of mulch is a really nice Crabapple (Malus sargentii 'Candymint' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80712/) which has a burgundy hue to its foliage and has more of a horizontal habit. Behind that, where the arrow is pointing, is another Dawn Redwood, 'Ogon' with gold foliage! http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56911/ The arrow on the left is a Black Locust, 'Purple Robe' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/81559/ which will eventually be 40' tall and act as a screen for the other neighbor. This is the one tree they're having problems with :( It was the largest tree we bought and one of the branches had to be removed this week. I'm hoping it was just damage from when it fell over several times before planting and that it's nothing serious because it was my daughter's favorite tree of those we purchased!

Running out of time this morning, I'll be back with photos of what we were able to accomplish when the rain returned on Thursday :(

WOW rcn, Love your plant selections. Many of my favorites and now after seeing your pics my new favorites. Such a wealth of color, texture and seasonal interest. I fell in love with a Tri-color Beech at a garden tour last month. It was absolutely stunning.

Holly Ann - I tried to look up Tri color beech on this site and came up with nothing. Do you have more info? I have a huge old fir in my front yard that we will need to replace in the next year or two. We love it's size and it blocks the view into our house from the street. Benn thinking about what to put there in it's stead..this looks like a beautiful tree - although would not provide winter cover. THanks!

ANd the Maine pics a beautiful RCN!

yvgfjayne, After seeing this Tri-color Beech I posted over on the Tree Forum to find out more about them . They need the right growing conditions apparently they sunburn so you want them to have some shade of course they are big trees not smaller understory so having a spot where something will shade them could be an issue. I was told they are beautiful in the spring and early summer but unless you have the right location they will crisp on the leaf edges and I don't believe that they have any real fall color. I did get mixed reviews and apparently like real-estate it's Location, Location, Location. LOL
I was thinking looking at rcn's pic that she has the right location and also the comment about cooler states like Maine being able to plant what for us would be a shade only plant they can put them in much sunnier locations. I am going back in mid August to look at this tree again and see what it looks like. It is not shaded in any way so I will be able to judge for myself. Here is the link to the discussion in the Tree Forum.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1002673/

Gee what a huge variety of beautiful stuff! Can't believe what all you got in there. She'll have a small job to do, learning all those names LOL

yvgfjayne, well duh, I posted links for a lot of the other trees, not sure why I didn't post the link for the Tricolor Beech! http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58512/ I can't remember where I first saw this tree but like you Holly, it was love at first sight :) We've had one in the landscape for about 5 years and although it struggled the first few years from moles tunneling in the area it appears that this may be the year that it finally takes off! And yes, the foliage does scorch later in the summer but I'm forgiving, with the beautiful spring color I can live with it. A lot of our trees and shrubs look a little sad by late summer and our green and purple Beeches are no exception. I was careful in choosing the site for this one at my daughter's. It has a southeast exposure and should be shaded from the sun by 1:00. Of course, with the cooler climate in Maine it might be fine anywhere in the landscape. I always loved the almost black foliage of the Crimson King Norway Maple http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58512/ and variegated 'Drummondii' Norway Maple http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58512/ and they certainly never suffered in the full sun! Alas, both would look dreadful here in VA by August :(

Look at this is a beautiful specimen of Tricolor Beech at the VA State Arboretum at Blandy! We see it every spring at the plant sale and it positively glows out there in the field in full hot sun and it's also a very windy location.

And I do have a close up of the foliage - what a beauty :)

More photos to post - internet connection is a little messed up this morning but I'll try! I forgot I had this picture - if you're standing on the east corner of the house this gives a little better view of some of the larger trees we planted. From the left, Virginia Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1654/), the 'Candymint' Crabapple, 'Purple Robe' Black Locust and 'Ogon' Dawn Redwood in the background. I wanted to "connect the dots" so to speak with more perennials planted between the Fringe Tree and Crabapple but my daughter nixed the plan. I think she was a little overwhelmed at this point with what she's going to have to take care of!

rcn, Bring plants come to my house next. LOL

Okay, well that one finally went through, let's try for a few more! Back at the east corner looking a little closer at the beds, you can see the problems they had been having with the soil splashing up on the boards under the front porch. One of our first projects before planting was to lay groundcloth and line the edges with drainage rock to prevent the splashing. Unfortunately we didn't lay enough rocks in this corner :(

Left arrow is another Oakleaf Hydrangea, again growing to about 6'-8', so it will fill the corner in a few years. The next arrow and the one on the far right are Giant Solomon's Seal, which I brought with me from Maine when I moved. The original plants from my garden in Maine used to be 4' tall! I dug them from the gardens before leaving and brought a few divisions to return them to Maine :) The other arrow points to another shrub, 'Summer Wine' Ninebark (Physocarpus http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/65483/) which is a supposed to be a more compact form of the purple foliage form 'Diablo'. It's small right now but should be about 4'-6' within a couple of years. Also, I'm already forgetting, but I think there's a variegated Weigela planted along the edge between the Hydrangea and Ninebark as well as the beginning of the Hosta border!

LOL, you wish! This project just about killed me! Everything you've seen so far was planted before leaving to visit my mother on Wednesday afternoon. The rest of the plants were "placed" and we were back at it on Thursday afternoon when we returned to try to beat the rain!

In this one you can see the height of the Solomon's Seal and the arrow on the right is Fothergilla 'Blue Shadow' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/137655/, the only other shrub along the house. If you haven't figured it out already, I'm a big fan of mixing burgundy, gold and blue foliage in the garden :) I'm not sure how many Hostas are actually planted in this area but there are a few Ferns planted among them as well. We chose a deep purple flowering Clematis, 'Warsaw Nike' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/88945/ for contrast on this trellis.

More Hostas as we round the corner of the back deck! I can't believe it but I almost forgot what the other shrub is that's planted at the corner of the house. I knew it was something fragrant and finally remembered it's a Viburnum! 'Cayuga' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/84393/

Sorry, our internet connection is really messing up so I'll have to continue the "tour" in the morning :(

This message was edited Jul 5, 2009 9:46 AM

You all did a beautiful job, Debbie. What gorgeous plants and trees you planted. Won't she be surprised when that fringe tree blooms in the spring!

I used to hate purple leaved trees. Now I love them. I think the hate came from the multitude of mangy purple plum trees planted by the developers of the subdivision where I lived - they were everywhere.

Hey, Deb, you said you liked the abelia I got at Webers. They had another one, silver something, that had two-colored leaves with a silver line close to the edge. Very pretty and although they were a little more than the other abelias, a huge one was only about $15. They had Summer Wine, Diablo and Coppertina ninebarks at the store too. The lime one I got was only at the farm.

Ah, here's that abelia - Silver Anniversary. Much better deal at Webers. LOL
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/ABSAP.html

I love, love, love Dawn Redwoods. I killed a couple before I found out about the juglone. Maybe I'll try again sometime. I absolutely fell in love with another tree growing at Webers - cypress Blue Ice. Boy was that a gorgeous color and the stems were so unusual looking. That tricolor beech - wow, what foliage!

Thanks Holly Ann and RCN. I added a thread watch to the Tree forum where you are discussing this tree Holly Ann. I hope you will post some thoughts and photos from you visit in August. Thankfully - I won't have to remember to go looking with the thread watcher (I'm still getting accimated to the features of the website). I won't rule out this tree - but I live in Maryland - have a well so I don't water after the first year - and this would be the absolute focal point of the front yard....so I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks!

Thanks hart for tempting me with that Abelia LOL I actually have a variegated one, 'Mardi Gras' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/150742/. The variegation is really nice because the new growth has a hint of pink! I had to move it last fall and it's barely 6" tall right now but hoping this will be the year that it finally takes off in its new location. We've planted a few more 'Blue Ice' Cypress recently, I love the foliage too! Make sure if you get one to give it plenty of room, the one we've had for 15+ years is as tall as the house! Oh...and the Virginia Fringe Tree WAS blooming when we bought it! I don't think I would have been able to sell my daughter on it otherwise :)

yvgfjayne, I'll try to remember to get a picture of our Tri-color Beech in the landscape. I'm sure it would do much better if it was closer to the house AND if we could keep the darned moles from tunneling in the area! We're on well water also and even though we do run sprinklers through that area occasionally, it definitely would benefit from a good drink more often. Don't give up on it as a choice yet, you'd just have to realize that it might not look so stunning when August rolls around :(

Okay, one more try to get the rest of the photos posted. We continued the planting of Hostas all the way around the deck! Found a beautiful 'Montgomery' Astilbe (deep red blooms) to add with a few more ferns. The tree in the center is a Redvein Enkianthus http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1611/. These don't perform very well in our heat but I've seen some beautiful specimens in the Northeast. It was positioned so they'll be able to see the dainty bell-shaped flowers while seated on the deck :)

Oops, one more view of the east side of the house looking back to where the bench is located to give you a better perspective.

Looking down the length of the deck, Emily wanted Hostas and she got them! LOL I planted three deciduous Azaleas in this border as well with pink, white and yellow flowers. If they do well here they'll have wonderful fragrance to enjoy every spring!

Looking back toward the storage shed, a Japanese Maple, 'Glowing Embers' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/92825/ planted to the left of the border. There's also a variegated Pieris, 'Flaming Silver' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55014/ planted at the end of the border to the left of the variegated Brunnera. We also included two varieties of Ligularia, 'Britt Marie Crawford' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/72948/ and 'Little Rocket' behind the Brunnera.

In the background, Magnolia 'Ann' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53112/ is planted on the left. The large tree with the ribbon will be coming down at some point so we wanted something larger to fill this area. The other two arrows are where two more Weigelas were planted. We were supposed to add a few more plants along the edges of the storage shed to "dress" it up but that project will have to wait until next year!

One last look at the firepit as we make our way to the final stage of this project! Emily plans to have Adirondack chairs placed around the pit but she wouldn't settle for the "cheap" ones we saw at the local hardware store! She wants to wait until she can afford the "real" thing :(

Looking from the side steps at their back door, the three arrows on the left are Blue Moss Cypress, 'Boulevard' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57669/. I had taken three pots with me and wasn't sure where we would use them. This location suited them fine and they were spaced so they'll grow together and provide some privacy from the road while sitting around the pit. To the right is the black foliage of the Elderberry, Sambucus 'Black Lace' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56964/ which my mother bought for Emily and Matt's new landscape while the two of us were out plant shopping for her garden :) The shrub on the far right is the golden foliage of Ninebark, Physocarpus 'Dart's Gold' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/65479/. I managed to get all three of my "colors", blue, burgundy (black) and gold combined in this planting :) The last minute planting Sunday morning in the rain before leaving included a row of Hostas on either side of the firepit and the area you'll see next!

Finally, by Sunday morning at 8 AM we were done! I don't think I would have been able to finish if Rick hadn't arrived on Friday :) Even though we weren't able to do any planting on Friday when they received almost 4" of rain, we dug in immediately when we returned from CMBG late Saturday afternoon and worked until dark, once again in the rain :( This was the last planting accomplished Sunday morning by the steps to their back door. Another Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) was planted as a "corner" with a beautiful pink flowering Mountain Laurel, Kalmia 'Sarah' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80188/ that Emily couldn't resist buying :) Siberian Irises, an unknown variety which had also been planted in my Maine gardens, was planted with Lily of the Valley at their base and a large Bleeding Heart in the corner. The Daylilies were a gift from their realtor and even though I had plans to plant them along the border of the driveway we hastily dug the holes and included them here - we ran out of time!

All things considered, only a week to pull it off and the miserable weather we had to deal with, we were all pleased with what we accomplished. Rick's already making suggestions for what I can plant "when" I get back there next year :) It's really tough to plan any time away when we're so busy but I'm already looking forward to another trip north and next year maybe we'll have a little more time to relax! LOL

I love the delicate pink of the flowers on that Mardi Gras too. That's a really pretty one. Love the Blue Moss cypress but it won't replace Blue Ice in my plant lusting heart. LOL Dart's Gold is the ninebark I got and then I picked up Coppertina when we went back.

I love ligularias. Gorgeous foliage and gorgeous flowers, what more could you want?

I agree about the Blue Moss Cypress. They look great when they're young but unless they have full sun and no humidity they look a little beat up when they're full grown. I'm hoping they will be happier in the cooler climate of Maine. I've got Ligularias growing here but I don't think there's enough moisture to make them really happy! If I ever get back to my "spring" project, the boggy area I'm trying to develop, I'm going to try them there and see if they're any happier. I actually did get Ligularia japonica planted there but the groundhog has done a number on them :(

Darned groundhog. I think that's what was pulling up all my newly planted perennials a couple of years ago. Not eating them, just uprooting them and leaving them lying there. Snake Away solved that problem.

I have the same problem here - too dry. I hadn't thought of planting them in the bog garden. They have some huge ones at the Weber sale, a couple of kinds.

Just picked up two variegated Pieris, 'Flaming Silver' for my daughters house I was thinking they might look nice on either side of her doorway. She still hasn't picked something for that space and I know she likes the pieris as she looks at them every-time we go to a garden show. I need something with some color, a little height that won't get too big and likes shade. The "Flaming Silver" said slow grower but will get 7ft tall with a pyramidal shape. I also picked up a "Mountain Fire" for another location at Jen's and one for Josh's house near the corner of his back porch.

You are so awesome! Thanks for including all the links to the plant files for your tour of all the plantings.

Holly, I always liked the red tips of Pieris 'Mountain Fire' but fell in love with 'Flaming Silver' - variegation AND red tips :)

flowerjen, you're welcome! I posted the links as much for myself for future reference as well as for you :)

Emily reported in this weekend - called and asked me, "What the heck", there's grass growing up through the mulch everywhere! LOL I suspect that the grass seed she had put down earlier this year is finally deciding to grow - when we rototilled the front area there wasn't a lot of grass growing there so I thought we were safe with just laying a thick cover of mulch. Guess she'll get a real dose of what gardening's all about now :) She also reported that her father and stepmother had stopped by to see the new landscape. He couldn't believe the number of plants we got planted in a week and REALLY couldn't believe the number of Hostas, he stopped counting at 50! I also got a chuckle out of the fact that he was unable to identify a few of the trees - a former arborist with a Forestry degree and we even stumped him :)

Oh Debbie - "you done good" - what fun...and hard work, obviously...it looks beautiful...can't wait to see the pics as everything progresses!!!

I've been away and now, have company from OR. so I just got a chance to get on DG. WOW!!!!! I love what you were able to do in a week. What a gift for your DD. I wish we had been more knowledgeable about gardening when we moved in and had planted trees and "bones". Thank you for the info about all the plants as well. I thoroughly enjoyed my little tour of Maine.

Debbie, I finally had a chance to sit down and enjoy the tour. Amazing what you were able to accomplish in a week - so much variety! I enjoyed hearing about the placement of that rock - brings back memories of my rock movement attempts. I've used chains and pulled with a pickup truck and tractor, and even had a guy use his front end loader for a few :-) I think one of my favorites from all that you posted is that tri-color beech. I've never even heard of them before, but now I'll definitely be adding them to my landscaping plans. Thanks for sharing the photos!!! Terri

Wow! Looks great! I can't believe you got that much done in a week and still had time for other things! Great growing!

Thanks for the pics of the botanical gardens! Someday I will get there, but I don't see me going to ME at all this year :( Did you get to go to Ricks new place?

Thanks Jody - believe me, we worked our butts off! I couldn't have pulled it off without the tremendous help of my son and the last minute efforts of Rick when he arrived at the end of the week :)

You MUST go to the botanical gardens when you're finally able to make it to Maine. I'm still pumped after my visit - I HAVE to go back! There was just too much to see and a lot of our time was spent chatting with the vendors and buying a few plants at the Garden Fair! I never did have the time to make it to Rick's new place :( There were so many things I didn't have time for but I'm anxiously awaiting a report from Beaux (Betsy) who was supposed to visit him while she was in Maine recently!

That's a lot of work you've done there, especially for a vacation!....Good ol' "vacationland", as it says on the license plates. I hope to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens later this summer, and it was a little surprising to see Lunaform mentioned in this month's (July/Aug.) issue of Garden Design magazine. Their urns were used in an estate winery garden renovation in Napa, California - imagine what shipping those giant concrete urns must have cost!

Small world, I lived in the same tiny town where they're made - it's an old granite quarry village, and there are lots of incredibly beautiful swimming holes there now. Most of the granite curbstone in eastern US cities came from there, so their success with concrete is ironic, given the location. Lunaform's shop is on the "track road", the track being the small railroad used to get the granite down to the harbor back in the 19th century.

I'm curious to see how the Dawn Redwood does. There's one in Northeast Harbor that was planted in the 1940's, and it's much smaller than most of them that age, just beautiful. They keep growing until late in the year, so even around here the new growth can get zapped by an early frost in the fall. The one in my yard seems determined to be a giant someday, but I think there's enough room for it.

Sorry to bump this up - I meant to post earlier but the pictures kept coming!

I'm glad you "bumped" the thread and pleased you followed along on my "vacation" :) So...that's the "neck of the woods" you're from! LOL I've never had an opportunity to visit Lunaform but my best friend went there one summer when she was in Maine. Rick had secretly asked her to go and check out one of their containers as a wedding gift for me :) She really enjoyed her visit at Lunaform but the containers were way too large (and expensive!) for her to bring one back to VA :(

I'm hopeful that the Dawn Redwoods I planted will do well. The two that were planted at the base of the driveway were only about 3' tall but considering all the moisture in that area they should take off in no time! Ditto for the 'Ogon' that was planted on the other side of the property. They have a lot of wet areas on either side of the property and the 'Ogon' was planted on the east slope where it should benefit from the moisture as well. Plus it was one of the larger trees I planted, over 6' tall - it was tough squeezing that one into the van! The older Dawn Redwood we have planted in the landscape is huge and I love watching it in the fall. The foliage turns a lovely copper color, hangs on for a long time and then poof! All the needles drop at once :) If you get the opportunity to visit CMBG hopefully it will be before the foliage drops - there's a fairly new planting on this slope with maybe a dozen 'Ogon' and it's spectacular. You can just see the first one in the planting on the left in this picture. If I remember correctly, the 'Ogon' are planted on the left and flow into a planting of the straight species Dawn Redwood at the top of the slope.

Throughout all the planning, designing and planting of my daughter's garden she was constantly reminding me, "Mom, I'm not a gardener and I need this garden to be LOW maintenance!" She has a stressful job, works long hours and I kept trying to convince her that one day she'd appreciate the gardens as a form of relaxation :) I kept hoping and after receiving this email from her yesterday, well... I just had to share this with you. She wrote:

Yippee!!! Doing a happy dance. And rightfully proud, too, I must say.

LOL, A Gardner is born. LOL
Does she like to read and would she be interested in listening to books on tape? I use to set up a CD player near where I was weeding and listened to taped books I got from the library while I was weeding. If she likes reading and doesn't have enough time to sit and read she might enjoy doing that.
Now I just commune with nature. LOL