Garden: A Peek at the Back Yard Projects

Well, probably I should wait until it is "finished" to show pictures of the back yard.  But who knows when that will be?  And, besides, I'm a 90%-er, right?  So this is the back yard project 90% complete. The fence, gabion pillar, low gate, and the plantings behind the retaining wall are all new.  I've one more post hole to dig and one more fence panel to install.  I have purchased a few plants for this new area:  a "mutabilis" rose, "Adagio" miscanthus, "Sweet Tea" honeysuckle, and a columnar apple, some blueberries, and a grape (the first of two).  

I decided to build the retaining wall at an angle to the property line.  On one hand, it gives me the opportunity to plant larger shrubs in the far (wider) end.  It also allows someone entering the space to see the face of all the plantings--all the way down the length of the planting bed--for full and lush effect (I hope).  And it curves the gaze around to the left instead of dead-ending into the slope at the back of our property.  That was my theory, anyway.

Backyard view from the side-yard walkway.

I'm pleased with the plantings along the side-yard walkway.  On the right is a monoculture of Japanese Anemone and, on the left, out of the frame of the photo, is a monoculture of native wood sorrel (Oxalis oregana).  I like having a quiet moment in transition from the front yard to the back.

Close-up of the gabion pillar (below). The gabion pillar solved the problem of neatly ending the angled retaining wall--it's angled on one side. It also gave me an opportunity to tie together some of the various pre-existing hardscape elements such as different types of concrete, riverstone, and rocks.  Originally, I'd planned to finish the top with a custom-cast (by me) concrete top.  But then I saw Pat Webster's use of sedums planted into the gabion tops (Inspiration -- planted gabions at Glen Villa) and I decided to mimic that approach.  The oh-so-chic plastic pot saucer is standing-in for a low, concrete trough that I have yet to locate...or make.  Who am I kidding?  I'm probably going to make it.

Close-up:  Retaining wall, gabion and gate.

Sedum and alyssum planted in the crevice along the base of the wall.

Further along the retaining wall is this combination of Hydrangea paniculata "Bombshell" and dwarf Deschampsia caespitosa.  This combination pleased me early in the season when it was pale green and fresh and, now, when coloring up for fall in ruddy pinks and golds. I think I'll add some deschampsia to the plantings at the top of the wall in order to tie the two spaces together.

H. paniculata "Bombshell" with Deschampsia.

Yesterday, my son and I built an insect hotel--something interesting to place in an unplantable area of the garden.  It's full of dried moss, straws and reeds, bark, sticks and twigs, and flat slates.  We hope that it will house beneficial creepy crawlies over the winter.  Later on, it will be partially obscured by nearby plantings.  I plan to plant a sizeable clump of swamp milkweed to the left of the dill.  I liked the effect of the dill this year--with acid yellow blooms similar in color to the neighboring alchemilla yet contrasting in foliage and growth habit.

Looking backwards (below), the need for a privacy fence is obvious.  I'll plant the raised bed pretty densely as well as encouraging a variety of climbers on the fence itself.  Eventually the arbor will be covered with vines--there's a hardy kiwi on one side and a climbing hydrangea on the other.  I want the patio to feel like a grotto surrounded by dense mounds of foliage.

The view back towards the patio.

Coming up soon...before-and-afters and in-progress pictures for the construction of the patio and retaining wall.