2Aug04 Side garden, Forsithia, Willow, Lialac, Cranberry, Cherry.
Hot Hot Hot. 79.6 in the shade at 11:00 am.
I looked at the side garden on the west. White New England Asters are overcoming the day lilies. Iris is all over the place. Hosta is in need of dividing and the English Ivy is escaping it's limits. All way too exuberant and on the way to weedy. Still looks good from a distance but I don't imagine it does much for the neighbor's attitude in the morning as they pass by.
It will be a project to dig it all up and redo, but it is in need. I will line the entire 35 feet with the hosta and sew about the Four O' Clocks that faithfully grow along the foundations and seed themselves. This plan worked in the front half of the side bed, no reason it can't work in the back half. I'll need a saw to get after the Mock Orange. I read in the manual for housing code that all vegetation must be 1 yard away from the electrical box, I will have to move the Lilac. I also have an unruly Forsythia by the chimney.
It is an absolute must to have Forsythia, Lilac, and Pussy Willows on the property. They tend to get rather large and unruly, I still want the common varieties, not some shrimpy hybrid. I like to bring sprigs of these antiques in the house come February to honor the ancestors and celebrate the turning of the year. Other than that, all my shrubs are to be edible. The Montmorency Cherry I put in front last year made a few little sour cherries that Lily found and shared with me. Memorable.
I did end up moving the low creeping cranberry that was supposed to be a ground cover under the cherry. It was just about to expire from lack of water. It is recovering in a pot. Cranberries probably like acid soil too. Maybe it'll go in with the hops. I need to find a damp place for it to spread.
My Pussy Willow is being bent all around a metal frame to make a garden seat. I don't know how much it would support without the metal frame now after three years. The frame is from our cement sink in the basement, the kind nobody uses anymore I would have kept the sink but Dale had to have a wimpy plastic one and he did the plumbing. This idea of living chairs I am trying. Willows are fast growing, most are nonnative and probably invasive. Still, I like the trellis-ness of them and have a few, mostly in pots, just in case a willow is wanted. They are easy to start and a good source of plant hormone. It is said if you soak green willow stems in water, the liquid is filled with plant hormone. I haven't used this because stuff roots well enough without hormone, but some things like my Bay Laurel, have rooted only once though I have tried many times with pips in a flat. Future project.
I looked at the side garden on the west. White New England Asters are overcoming the day lilies. Iris is all over the place. Hosta is in need of dividing and the English Ivy is escaping it's limits. All way too exuberant and on the way to weedy. Still looks good from a distance but I don't imagine it does much for the neighbor's attitude in the morning as they pass by.
It will be a project to dig it all up and redo, but it is in need. I will line the entire 35 feet with the hosta and sew about the Four O' Clocks that faithfully grow along the foundations and seed themselves. This plan worked in the front half of the side bed, no reason it can't work in the back half. I'll need a saw to get after the Mock Orange. I read in the manual for housing code that all vegetation must be 1 yard away from the electrical box, I will have to move the Lilac. I also have an unruly Forsythia by the chimney.
It is an absolute must to have Forsythia, Lilac, and Pussy Willows on the property. They tend to get rather large and unruly, I still want the common varieties, not some shrimpy hybrid. I like to bring sprigs of these antiques in the house come February to honor the ancestors and celebrate the turning of the year. Other than that, all my shrubs are to be edible. The Montmorency Cherry I put in front last year made a few little sour cherries that Lily found and shared with me. Memorable.
I did end up moving the low creeping cranberry that was supposed to be a ground cover under the cherry. It was just about to expire from lack of water. It is recovering in a pot. Cranberries probably like acid soil too. Maybe it'll go in with the hops. I need to find a damp place for it to spread.
My Pussy Willow is being bent all around a metal frame to make a garden seat. I don't know how much it would support without the metal frame now after three years. The frame is from our cement sink in the basement, the kind nobody uses anymore I would have kept the sink but Dale had to have a wimpy plastic one and he did the plumbing. This idea of living chairs I am trying. Willows are fast growing, most are nonnative and probably invasive. Still, I like the trellis-ness of them and have a few, mostly in pots, just in case a willow is wanted. They are easy to start and a good source of plant hormone. It is said if you soak green willow stems in water, the liquid is filled with plant hormone. I haven't used this because stuff roots well enough without hormone, but some things like my Bay Laurel, have rooted only once though I have tried many times with pips in a flat. Future project.
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