I have been trying to gather some photos to show you the transition of the 'sitting deck' since I started this project in the fall of 2006. I'm still not finished with plantings in this area but it's really starting to shape up. This is what it looks like now.
A little history: this all started when I decided I wanted to install a new arbor which would be at the head of a path leading into the shade gardens. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/668170/ This shows the arbor shortly after installing it and before any of the planting. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4113669 One thing lead to another and as I worked in this area and realized what a wonderful spot it would be to add an area to sit and relax the idea of a 'sitting deck' evolved. By the fall of 2007 the deck was constructed and some planting had been done in the spring and over the summer. My first plans were to have an area with a flagstone patio, but that idea quickly changed when I realized the amount of time involved and the expense. We already had the lumber so it was basically free and a friend was able to help Rick construct it in just a few hours :)
I didn't have much time this spring to plant but in the last month the push has been on to fill as many spaces as possible with all the plants I had been holding since spring!
I tried to get a panoramic view of this area but had to give up and just place the photos side by side to show you. There is a climbing Rose planted to the left of the arbor (not showing in this photo) which has grown well since planting last year and will hopefully climb up and over the arbor soon. There are two Clematis planted on either side as well. Unfortunately the original plan for double blooming pink Clematis failed when the plants I received had been labeled incorrectly. The purple Clematis on the right is DEFINITELY not the one I intended to buy :( It's hard to see but just below the purple Clematis I recently planted a new non-climbing Clematis recta 'Midnight Masquerade' http://www.edelweissperennials.com/largeview.asp?id=66. The plants are difficult to see in the photo - but I'll try to give you an idea of what's planted here.
Left - variegated Caryopteris 'Snow Fairy', yellow 'Julia Childs' rose, and Abelia 'Flat Creek' planted along the edges of the deck.
Center: The rock is situated where the beginning of another path will lead through this border and as soon as I get more rocks collected they will line the path. The shrub in the middle behind the rock is the new Harry Lauder's Walking Stick - Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic'. It has deep purple foliage early in the year but changes to green by mid summer and will have the same unique twisty branches of Harry Lauder. Several Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' have been planted in front of the other Abelia and there is a Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parviflora 'Frosty') planted in the middle along the edge of the deck. This is a lovely tree with fine white margins on the leaves and I'm attempting to train it to grow as a horizontal branching 'wall' on this side of the deck.
Right: In the middle is Crepe Myrtle 'Dynamite' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/38054/ which was gorgeous when blooming last month. I've left the branching for now but as it grows I'll prune out the lower branches to show the wonderful bark. Two other dwarf Crepe Myrtles are planted at the base - 'Cherry Dazzle' and 'Chickasaw'. When they bloom I might find that the colors don't work with each other, but for now they're staying! The three small plants are Dracocephalum which I'm hoping will quickly grow together and form a groundcover along the front border.
This is the recently planted Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' which should grow to form a nice mound about 2'-3' high. I love this foliage!
I'm running short on time this morning and don't have the other 'spliced' photos ready to show you the rest of the border. For now I'll just post these and continue later with more!
To the left of the arbor is one of my favorite shrubs - Indigofera amblyantha http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/126069/ This was planted in the spring of 2007 and was lovely last year but even better this year. It starts blooming in early June and blooms all summer right up until frost!
Close up of the flowers - I love this shrub!
Within your first picture middle ground there appears a tree with interesting bark. What is that tree? Your project is developing the way I like to work. You have a nice big picture. Now you can tweek and manage it to maturity.
What a great idea Debbie. Everything is looking wonderful.
Ruby
rcn- you guys are something! you do so much and know so many plants.
docgipe- I'd bet thats a regular old river birch--around here anyway they spring up here and there. Course, being at a nursery- it could also be a variety.
doc, sally's right it's a River Birch, and right again - Betula nigra 'Heritage' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/78752/. Planted about 10 years ago and although I love it, we've had problems in recent years with the aphids and black sooty mold that falls on everything below it. We're planning to treat it next year early with something that will hopefully help because the black film on everything is absolutely disgusting :(
hart, if you're following, this one's for you :) Continuing to the right of the Crepe Myrtles is where I FINALLY planted all the new Euphorbias! Counterclockwise: Royal Velvet, Rudolph, Shorty with Caryopteris 'Summer Sorbet' behind them. Second photo: one more Rudolph, Glacier Blue and Bonfire. Third photo: planted Yucca 'Sapphire Skies' and Y. 'Bright Edge' in back with Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' and Sedum 'Angelina' at the base. The mound of Lamb's Ears on the far right was planted last year. Fourth photo: the combination planted in the fall of 2007 and one I've posted pictures of before. Albizia 'Summer Chocolate' in the middle with Hypericum 'Brigadoon' at the base with more Eucomis - this time 'Oakhurst' - growing up through it. I love these Eucomis and wanted more planted because they've done so well in this area. I hope the combo with the blue and green/gold Yuccas will prove to be a good combination as well.
Going back to the path up through the garden by the arbor - Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger' recently planted on the left. To the right along the back: planted last year - Indigofera amblyantha, Emperor I Japanese Maple and recently planted Cryptomeria 'Sekkan Sugi', 'Gold Rider' Leyland Cypress along the edge and Chamaecyparis 'Crippsii' in front. Coming forward on the left: Juniperus 'Gold Cone, Thuja 'Yellow Holmstrup', a small Chamaecyparis 'Mini Variegata' with Amsonia 'Blue Ice' and an Osmanthus planted along what will be the path. In the foreground are several Boxwoods, Jensen and a circle of three Variegata around the birdbath.
Another view of the birdbath with Chamaecyparis 'Snow' planted at the bottom of the photo, another Chamaecyparis I can't remember the name of and further up, tumbling down over the rock is a dwarf prostrate Boxwood that was a freebie from a seminar we attended at JC Raulston Arboretum in NC. The rocks you see in the background are some of those I gathered a couple of weeks ago. I placed most of them there quickly just to get them out of my van but will incorporate them into the plantings later this fall and hopefully gather more to line the path. You can just barely see one of the members of the 'frog band' sitting on top of the rock behind the birdbath :)
This is the first member of the 'frog band' and the one that got my collection going. I've got about a half dozen now and always on the prowl for more! I found one in Maine last winter, another in Florida in February and recently bought a few small ones at Lewis Ginter. I wanted a theme for the sitting deck and figured if I was planning to relax here I may as well have a 'band' to play music for me LOL Then of course, if the 'endless stream/pond' project becomes a reality in this area the 'frog band' will enjoy the company of real frogs!
One more member of the band and a cute little frog in the foreground that a friend gave me for Christmas last year. Its tongue has a teeny little ladybug on it and moves in the wind or when the water hits it!
Another picture of the area where I placed the rocks with a better view of the two frogs!
These are my very favorites :) A Christmas present from another friend last year - they know me well huh? LOL They're not very large - only about 10" tall and if and when I do get the pond in they'll have a special place beside it :) For now, I'm just going to let them hang out on the top of the rock I placed under the birdbath and dance to the 'music! My daughter laughs at me with all these frogs, thinks I'm getting "old" - I tell her everyone needs a little garden whimsy!
Only a few more photos of the area but running out of time this morning. I'll be back with the last few in the morning!
River Birch...........thank you.
I intended to compliment you on your straw mulch. Not many have pictured the use of hay or straw. I use it all the time in my food products garden which includes fruit around the edges. Nearly every year someone will advertise spoiled hay for mulching for as low as fifty cents a bale. I load up when I can. Storage is taken care of used as walls of my compost area. If I can't use it all in the gardens it rots and falls into the compost area. This serves as a ground hog attractor. That way I know where they are and can take care of them within a day or two from when they show up.
doc, it's just hay, not straw, but thanks for the compliment :) We had to give up using mulch several years ago when it just got too expensive for the gardens since they continue to expand every year! There was a time when we would have three dump truck loads delivered every spring but even three loads wouldn't finish the job now and our cheap source of mulch has disappeared :( We have someone who cuts the fields for us every year and in trade for payment he just leaves us bales of hay. It wasn't enough last year to cover all the beds however and we had to buy some 'spoiled hay' to finish the beds. Holy cow!!! I don't even want to tell you what we paid for ours, still a heck of a lot cheaper than mulch but definitely not FIFTY CENTS a bale :(
I HAVE ALWAYS SAID.....................Spoiled hay is better than cow or horse manure because not an ounce of it has been used up by processing through the animal. Others might point out that the animal exchanges a lot of elements for the part it uses. As always I think we need a happy ballance including all factors.
doc, I wouldn't mind having a bit of that manure as well but for now I'll be satisfied with the "spoiled hay" :)
Just a few photos to share until I get more planting done in this area. When I was taking the pics I noticed this and thought what the heck? Upon inspection I realized that Phoebe had decided the lichen I had so carefully placed between the rocks was more fun to play with than leaving it for 'decoration' :(
When I realized she had grabbed the lichen, I went looking for my pincushion moss, another carefully placed 'decoration' :(
This is where she grabbed them from! This area is to the left of the sitting deck and I had actually started planting last year. However, I had to replace some of the things I lost over last summer's drought!
This is where I did most of my fall planting two years ago. From the opposite direction, the path which leads to the sitting deck.
Looking toward the sitting deck and where I will planting more soon, that is as soon as I can collect more rocks!
I'll leave you with this one until I get more planting done. At the end of a long day, this is my view of the mountains :)
What a view! What a backyard...
tructure--Looking at some of those last I realize how much it helps that you have structure- paths and stone edges- to your mixed beds. And mulched space between plants. Those things I lack , that makes my stuff look a lot messier than it really is ; ^)
AWESOME view! Great area, good job!
Sally, believe me you're just not seeing the "messier stuff" because I don't take pictures of those areas! LOL 'Structure' is something that was lacking in a lot of the garden spaces. As soon as I put up the arbor in this area it all started coming together :) This is my 'blank slate' before I started planting in this area.
Now if I can just get my next "structure" installed over the deck I'll be able to tackle more planting! (Copper arbor I've been working on since March!)
This is where I'm "stuck" :( The arrow is where I've been 'stealing' good soil to amend some of the planting holes. It's also the general area where I've been considering digging out for an "endless stream" to cross under the path and into a small narrow pond. I have plants and shrubs ready to plant here but until I make a final decision whether the stream/pond is reality or just a pipe dream I'm "stuck"! I'm tempted to just move forward and plant but the digging for the stream/pond would be more difficult if I planted first. Plus, if there really IS going to be a stream it would change the 'flavor' of what would be planted there. And then, there's always the problem that nags me constantly, collecting more rocks!
We DGers need an ethereal pipeline to exchange rocks, rainfall, sunshine, spoiled hay.....everybody always seems to have too much of one and not enuf the other.
RCN, thanks for sharing the transformation of this area. I even called in DH to see the pic of the view of the mtn. Love the new arbor to go over the deck. Also love the idea of the the stream/pond. Shoot, I just love it all.
Sally, you're a hoot! The "pipeline" might work for the rocks and spoiled hay, but rainfall and sunshine? LOL
Jan, thanks :) I'm really liking how it's all coming together but I'm so anxious to just get it finished so I CAN sit and relax on the deck!
