Shade garden inspiration II

Whoever called them campanula "porch", I love it. I have them and they are well behaved, increasing just a bit each year.
Weerobin and Noreaster, I envy your gardens. Mine is pretty much a tangle, tho the early daylilies (Eenie Weenie, Happy Returns and good ol' Stella) are out, and--I am so excited--my Canada lilies are almost out! Canada 3, Lily beetles 0.

Noreaster, thanks for the ID! I think we've got Peach Melba in a spot of the gardens but not sure if it's still living. I'd have to check for tags, for all I know it's Crème Brûlé since they both looked alike to me! For some reason the only one from the Dolce series that did well here was 'Licorice'.

Cindy, we've got 'Blue Billow' in another area of the gardens and I can't tell the difference :)

I had hoped to post pictures of my new shade garden this morning but when I tried something was amiss with DG and I kept getting an SQL error? Running out of time this morning so I'll try to post them tomorrow and hopefully have some of the other Shade Garden I've been working on as well!

Ooo - looking forward to more new shade garden photos.

I was hoping to have more pictures to show you the area I just finished planting which connects to this area but I was busy weeding yesterday and didn't take the time to grab my camera. I'll start with what I got accomplished the end of May and as soon as I have the other photos I'll post them. This is an area which has been an ongoing project for almost three years! When I started in the fall of 2007 it looked like this, a fairly steep slope from the walk around our pond.

Some of you might have seen these pictures before but it will give you an idea of how the plan progressed :) By late October I had started on steps to go down the slope and installed the Arbor at the top. I ran into problems with the second half of the steps and the project went unfinished until last fall.

Two years later I was finally determined to get the steps finished and start planting! It took a lot of work to dig deeper than I had originally anticipated to get the steps level and by the time I was ready to plant the fall rains arrived. I did manage to get a few Conifers transplanted but the slope was too wet to continue with any planting before winter :(

After a miserable winter with more snow than we've had in years the wet slope was still preventing me from getting an early start this spring :( I worked on other projects until I had time to tackle this area and finally the last week in May was able to get started! The most difficult part was hauling rocks and using them to terrace the slope for planting. Then I had to dig even deeper to level the path from the steps and get started on laying stone and pavers. The only thing I have left to do is add a few more plants to finish the right side, work out a plan for the planting to connect the gardens I'm working on now on the left and get it all mulched!

Another view....

This area is perfect for most "shady" plants - a few hours of morning sun and then it's protected from the hot afternoon sun. A closer look at the right side.

And the left side.

While collecting rocks for the slope I found two with flat tops which worked perfectly for several "objects" I wanted to place in the gardens. First a cat that I could never find a good spot for.

And this small stone birdbath that I had hoped to find a spot for in these gardens.

As soon as I complete the rest of the planting I'll be off and running to plant the "extension" from the walk which will transform from the shady planting into a sunny, drought tolerant planting! Then I'll have an extensive project to connect the "loop" between the steps and the area of my Sitting Deck. It took me a few years to get this area done but I'm hoping the "loop" will be done by next year!

I don't really have any good photos of this area but this is one of the projects I was working on earlier this spring while I was waiting to get started on the slope. I had a couple of chairs I wanted to place under our deck to sit in the shade but the small planting there had suffered over the years and needed a total transformation. I planted Hostas and Ferns, included some rocks and got it mulched so the soil wouldn't wash away which was part of the reason why the original planting suffered.

Plus it gave me a perfect spot to display the new sculpture I had recently bought for the gardens :)

Wow! What a transformation.
Between you and Doug, it's exhausting just to look at the work you've done.
It really has turned out to be a beautiful garden. It will be interesting to see the plantings mature.
Did you mention there are more pix to come (of the connecting planting)?
Can't wait to see them also.
Don't forget to take time to just sit in one of those chairs and enjoy your beautiful garden!

weerobin said it all its beautiful,I was thinking too, I love those chairs ...WOW

I have nothing on you Debbie when it comes to work!!! Does Rick do any of this or is it all yours? It is beautiful.

Doug

rcn, gorgeous! I love the trellis and stairs and the path. Everything looks amazing, and it will look more amazing still, I'm sure, as the years go by.

Kayly - 'Endless Bummer' - LOL
rcn - Beautiful! What a way to handle that slope. The stairs look great and plantings are perfect. I have some stairs going down from the back yard into the "lower garden", made with timbers and pea gravel. The timbers are starting to rot and at some point, will have to be replaced. They have lasted 20 years so I guess we got our money's worth out of them. Definite inspiration in those photos!

Thank you! I'm really enjoying the time I spend sitting on the steps even though it means I'm usually trying to figure out what to plant next!

Weerobin, yes there will be more pictures, I just need to take them! And I do get a chance to sit in the chairs occasionally but my favorite spot to relax lately is at the top of the steps :)

huggergirl, thought maybe you'd like to see a "before" picture of the chairs? I had planned to post a picture on the Trash to Treasures forum :) I found them sitting by the dumpster back in February and grabbed them in a flash! A little unraveling around the legs of one but other than that all they needed was a fresh coat of paint. Thought about painting them cobalt blue or something funky but it didn't fit for this area so decided on the green instead.

Ah - sitting on the steps - my favorite "thinking" spot for the lower garden. Even if I had a bench down there, I don't think I'd sit on it.

Doug, Rick has his own gardens to "play" in - these are all mine :) We're having a slight problem right now. I had a plan for the area which extends out from the end of the path. Of course that was three years ago and in the meantime Rick planted trees and shrubs in the area that weren't included in "my plan"! LOL I've been selecting plants for the area trying to work around his planting and he's protesting my choices :( I had hoped to get the area planted before I leave for Maine next week but this morning I ran into a slight problem when I started digging. I didn't realize how much the area slopes off on one side and I'm going to have to do a lot of digging and leveling before I can extend the path before planting :( I'll just hope he doesn't decide to plant it with "his" choices while I'm gone! LOL

I'll try to get more pictures so I can show you some of "my" areas. The plan is to eventually connect all the dots, so to speak, as I continue the planting :) Weerobin, since you're always introducing me to unique plants with your photos I'll try to remember to take a few close ups of some of the plants I've added that may be of interest to you!

Cindy, I've created quite a few spots to sit in the gardens and the steps might not be the most comfortable but they're my favorite spot at the moment :)

WE have boulders to sit on and ponder Whats Next !!! A great trash find,I love thos .We went cruising today ,they have june clean up days and trash is to be picked up saturday.nothing great to be had...darn,we did get a toilet and a big fiberglass pool of sorts not sure what we will do with that. but here is whats happening with the comode ummm this will be the new comode garden..Not done yet save your giggles for later.I could not resist this.I will post as it goes. I have abig yellow butterfly daisy in the bowl and petunias in the tank.Just got the dirt for the bed .Thinking what to plant in the ground..

LOL! I'm so curious to see what you're going to plant.

LOL, you know there's another thread somewhere, either here or on the other site about KatG's toilet garden. Her toilet was black and filled with purple flowering Petunias and was beautiful!

Well, darn I grabbed my camera to take some pictures yesterday but first click and the battery was exhausted :( I was going to post pictures of my new Welcome Garden so you could get a feel for how the gardens all connect but I'm going to wait until I get the other pictures so I won't confuse you. Battery is charging and hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow!

Like what you did with the arbor

ge, we're "following" each other! LOL You can't see it in the photo but there's a Climbing Hydrangea planted on the right to climb up over the arbor. It's only about 2' tall right now but I actually had blooms on it this year! I planted it last fall and even though it will probably take years to reach the top it's already grown about 6" this spring and attaching its little feet to the sides of the arbor :)

Love the climing hyd's.GF on Marthas Vinyard has a huge oneI covit.I dont have a place for one here.

I like the small-leaved cultivar Brookside Littleleaf.
The same waxy fresh green leaves and white flowers, just on a smaller scale.

Weerobin, you're in my zone; what do you do to get your climbing hydrangea to bloom? I got mine at a plant sale, and it has been improving each year--if reluctantly--but no flowers. Does lime help?

Great question, quiltjean! Mine is at least 10 years old and has never bloomed. I did move it a few years back to better soil but no flowers. Maybe it needs more sun than I'm giving it???

I definitely think sun is the answer. I have several scattered around my yard. The ONLY one which blooms significantly gets the most sun. I still like their architectural climbing habit and fresh looking foliage, even without flowers, especially the Brookside Littleleaf. Cute!