Holy giant astilbes!!!

Judy, that is looking beautiful. Good choices.
Now....have you been looking at Japanese Maples, dwarf conifers, azaleas, etc, etc. ?
Nothing wrong with grass. I have quite a bit and wouldn't want to get rid of alll of it. But if your symptoms are any indication your disease is progressing and I don't see any grass in that area 3 to 4 years from now. ;-)

Kiddawabbit (I always picture Elmer Fudd when I see your name up there :-) I know to "never say never" but I do want grass in the front of that bed ... one day if I can ever get something to grow. That area is shaded by a huge tree in the summer but gets almost full sun in the winter. Good thing all the shade plants will be sleeping under mulch. Hadn't thought about dwarf conifers but had given some thought to a small Japanese maple in there somewhere. I didn't mention it but there is also an eleagnus planted on the end, hopefully to hide my front porch from my neighbor's sometime in the future. They're supposed to be fast growing, thick and hardy. I do have six azaleas there already .... Hinos ... my favorite. This side of the house faces almost due west and gets the full brunt of the weather as it rolls through. Have tried azaleas on the other side and they did not do well. Too much sun.

Behind the bench, I had entertained thoughts of putting a small trellis (wrought iron painted white), with a couple of clematis(es?) and a climbing rose. The back side gets a lot of sun since that is the south side. I have ordered a Zephirine Drouhin rose which I felt would do well there. I have a Nelly Moser clem and wanted to put either a red or white clem with it. The jury is still out on that idea.

Here's the whole area from a little farther back:

Oh man, Judy. That area is screaming for intensive planting. It will take a while though. It's looking good though and I think you are making some really good plant picks.

Judy, You have done an amazing job in a short time! Your new beds look lovely! Keep us posted on the progress. Becky

Judy has done a great job.

Here's another article on shade, also from Fine Gardening:
http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/gardening-in-damp-shade.aspx

I found what they had to say about the astilbe, Pumila, very interesting in light of the hot weather most of us are experiencing this summer.

Wow. Y'all are certainly a great bunch of enablers! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comments. And, after working only a few weeks on mine, how much I appreciate your gardens and the work you have put into them. I did pay a landscape team to come in and dig, amend and smooth the beds in April. I was going to do the mulching, edging and planting myself. The problem is, I had too many beds prepared and couldn't get them all planted. I am too stubborn to pay someone to plant and besides, I am way too particular. Just ask the little guy who cuts the grass. There are more beds in the back and on the other side. Grass has already started to take them over. I have put bales of pine straw and wheat straw where I could but it is impossible. The good thing is that the soil underneath will still be sort of soft and in good condition when I do get around to planting. The heat came too fast this year and by late May we were already starting a heat wave.

I really intended to start a thread in the Cottage Gardens forum running my story from beginning to the present and didn't mean to put all this here. I just saw Pirl's astilbes and couldn't help jumping in. I have really fallen in love with them.

Thank you all, again, for the encouraging comments. I will continue to plod along and give progress reports as I make it. Dave's Garden friends are the best!

I don't know how you feel about chemicals. I use them when necessary and not indiscriminately. But there is a selective herbicide called Ornamec that kills grass only in perennial beds and borders.
Pine needles? Excellent. Not so sure about the straw. What do you use the straw for?

These are our favorite pine needles and we both love the feel underfoot and the unified look it gives to each garden.

Since they are harvested in Georgia I'd guess you could find them quite easily.

That is beautiful, pirl. I have gone pretty much exclusively to pine needles now. I like them for the reason you said and they last longer than any other mulch I've tried. Also I don't have near the weed problems as I used to have.

Agreed!

Sorry ... I had to work today. Wasn't able to chip in as I wanted. I'm ancient but I still work one day a week. Keeps my brain active. :-)

Kildawabbit, I also use pine straw for mulch. I buy it by the bale at my local nursery. (Did you know that a Chevy Astrovan will hold 20 bales of pinestraw ... with the back seat out? LOL)

Wheat straw bales stop the wash and you scatter wheat straw over newly seeded grass areas.

There's no way I can plant all these beds in this heat so I'm just going to have to let them have their way until fall (or we have a cool spell... fat chance of that happening). I don't mind using chemicals but I'm always afraid it'll drift somewhere it's not supposed to go. I have used Roundup on the poison ivy in the back woods but I wasn't diligent enough ... some of it came back. I'm not going to worry about it. I have enough to keep me busy just in the front.

Pirl, that pinestraw path is lovely. Looks so cool. Of course, I think your place is pretty cool anyway. :-)

Oops ... Killdawabbit ... I just committed an unforgivable sin ... I misspelled your name. So very sorry. :-(

You're sweet.

Often I try for an early start, like 5:30 AM, and by the time it gets uncomfortably hot I bring over the outdoor umbrella. It's amazing how just that little bit of relief from the scorching sun can work wonders for the spirit.

I also use a beach umbrella at times and...here's Jack with his umbrella hat. He's such a good sport.

Pirl, OMG. 5:30? I'm still snoozing at that hour. NOT a morning person. My early gardening hour is 9 a.m. at the earliest. Work from 9 a.m. until noon, then go back out from 7-9 p.m.

Your DH looks like he's a great guy. You're lucky to have him. Lost mine back in '72. He was only 32. I'm a Army widow. Never remarried. He loved gardening. Worked for his uncle's nursery when he was a teenager. Lost my interest in gardening for years but it came back about four years ago. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time. LOL

It's not that I yearn to be up at 5:30 but I bribe myself with the thought of a nap.

He is a great guy, very patient and loves his vegetable garden.

Glad to know you've resumed your interest in gardening. Your hubby is probably looking down smiling at you while you work.

Laughing is more like it. LOL I wonder sometimes what people think who drive by and look at my backside sticking out as I bend over and dig.

Judy, I can't believe you can get that many bales in there. I only carry about 10 in my little Toyota pickup.
The good thing about the Ornamec is it doesn't matter if it drifts. It only kills grass. It's a lifesaver if you ever let Bermuda grass get a start in your borders. Kills any grass I am aware of. I also use it when my Miscanthuses seed where I don't want them to.

It's an extended van and I only have the front and middle seats in it. I originally got it for hauling dog crates to dog shows but that was another life years ago LOL. We really cram the pinestraw in (me and the little Mexican guy that works at the nursery) and we did get 20 bales in there the last trip. He is the king of crammers. The wheat straw bales are bigger. I can only get 10 of those in.

I've never used (or even heard of) Ornamec. Will look for it the next time I go to the big box stores or Pike's. My little nursery where I get the pinestraw is a smaller private one and doesn't have a wide range of chemicals/weed killers. The owners are church friends. Their son (and his crew) was the one who did all my bed digging. What's coming up in the beds is mostly crabgrass. I am not a lawn person. If it's green and covers the mud spots, it stays and gets cut. :-) I'm still trying to cover some bare spots in the front where construction materials sat when they built the porch and did all the hardscaping. After I get the flowers going I'll worry about improving the lawn.

I have a whole line of pine trees, so I could use the needles as mulch?

Hmmmm.......very interesting. I feel a summer project for my children coming on... I doubt I will hear "I'm bored" again until winter :D

Still have to post pictures of astilbes....brb

Yes, you certainly can use your pine needles.