Garden: Spring 2019 Update

Hey, hi!   I haven't been out in the garden much at all this year (as my blogging track record will confirm) but I thought I'd post a quick update on the front garden.   I redesigned and replanted most of this garden during the past two years, so this will be the second spring in the ground for many of the plants.  There is still a lot of growing/filling-in yet to come, but I think things are progressing well.  (Next year is the year I should expect to see them "leap," right?  Sleep...creep...leap.)   Once grown-in, the general framework will be a swathe of Hakonechloa interspersed with western sword ferns.  Flowering shrubs, perennials, and a few bulbs are dotted around within this framework.

The first photo is an overview of the front garden taken from the vantage point of the sidewalk at the Southeast corner of the property.  In addition to Hakonechloa and sword ferns, I've planted some Allium "All Summer Beauty" and campanulas in the front rockery. (There are also some self-planted lady ferns, and I elected to let them stay in this new iteration of the garden.)

Garden overview

I always wanted for the front walkway to give the effect of actually walking in/through the garden and I'm pretty happy with the way that effect has been achieved. The Salvia lyrata is a really tough plant and is establishing itself between the pavers.  I like the way its burgundy foliage connects from left to right of the entry path.  The salvia keeps trying to send up flower spikes and can look a little raggedy or informal,  but it is easy to choose to leave some or to trim them all short--actually, (and despite the fact that this photo shows the plants freshly and uniformly trimmed down), I like to leave the ones at the sides a little bit longer and trim only the center ones.

Salvia lyrata between the pavers

 This is the small garden bed to the right of the entry path. The Ajuga genevensis has gone over a bit, but it is pretty and welcome in the spring.  I'll have to get out there and trim down the spent blooms--it's a bit time consuming and much more nit-picky work than I like, but it is worth it.

"Carport Bed" to the right of the entry path

Back on the left-hand side of the entry path, the pale yellow itoh peony "Yumi" is about ready to bloom.  This is its first spring in the garden and I was impressed by how well it settled-in.  But I am worried that it will try to flower just as we get hit with a streak of rainy days. The big, single flowers will be no match for a load of rain.  

Itoh peony "Yumi"and alliums

Itoh peony "Yumi"

Volunteer violas--I don''t know where they came from.  I'm kinda charmed by them, but I hope I don't regret letting them get a foothold in the garden.

Volunteer violas

Garden: Update--Late Summer 2018

Hey everybody!  Long time no see.  I feel as though gardening has lost its allure (helped along, maybe, by the reminder of the plumbing fiasco that destroyed parts of the garden nearly two years ago).  And I have a pretty short attention span, to be honest; it is hard to sustain the slowly-accruing rewards of gardening.  

So, anyway, last Fall I dug up and redesigned the front garden bed, ditching the New Perennials-style planting and creating something more traditionally Pacific Northwest.  The new planting is lower maintenance and offers more continuity throughout the year than did the previous scheme.

The new garden features swathes of Hakonechloa (Japanese Forest Grass) interrupted with sword ferns.  Both are good four-season plants, here.  The Hakonechloa dies over the Winter, but maintains a full,  mounded shape and attractive, warm buff color.  The ferns remain upright and green until I cut them back to make room for fresh Spring growth, so they contribute year-round to an attractive planting scheme.  Last Winter, the garden looked a bit sketchy because the plants were so immature, but I think the combination will be a winner as it becomes fuller with maturity.  

The new scheme also introduced a few new plants.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit that there are a peony and a rose as well as the clematis, hydrangea, and Foxglove that survived the purge.  What???!!?  Those flowers sound way, way too "English Garden" for me!  We'll see.  They are interspersed throughout the Hakoneckloa in what I hope looks like a "natural" manner.  The rose is just a tiny thing that I got through mail-order from Heirloom Roses (so it won't show up in these photos at all) and the peony is an Itoh hybrid with single/semi-double butter yellow flowers.  I hope it gives good Fall color, but I'm not positive that it will.

Here is the view into the corner of the front garden bed.  Most of the plants are still small, so there is quite a bit more ground showing than I would like.  The hydrangea remains from the previous garden scheme, but everything else is new--either newly purchased or simply dug and divided from elsewhere in the garden.  

Another view of the same.  There is a swath of Astilbe chinensis "Purple Candles" at the back (six plants in total, grouped around the foot of the hydrangea), the pale trunks of a multi-stemmed vine maple in the foreground, and the new Itoh peony in the left-hand corner.

I've added some purple Ajuga "Mahogany" to continue the purple foliage from the other side of the entry path.  The Ajuga is doing a good job of holding its own amidst the encroaching Sweet Woodruff. 

Existing plantings on the other side of the entry path.  I simplified this planting last Fall to keep it in character with the changes to the other side of the garden.  There is a lot of Hakonechloa in this portion of the garden--it shows up all over our property as does the Japanese Anemone--I guess you could call them "signature plants".

And that's the current state of the garden.  I hope it will look OK next Spring, but I think the plants will need an additional year to mature and to fill-in before the reality matches the vision.  

While I wait for that to happen, I will be spending time on different artistic pursuits including Art (I'm trying to improve to the point of being able to make real "Art" with a capital "A") and I am setting myself up to dabble in oil paints.

Arts & Crafts: Halloween 2017 Round Up

It's that time again...kiddie costume time!  I love it.  This year, Zachary and I agreed to choose a Mad Max-y, post-apocalyptic theme.  I was really excited about the possibility because I love to spray paint random stuff to look like metal--the effect is magical! But then, Zachary wanted to recreate a specific character and he chose one with whom neither of us were familiar--an NCR (New California Republic) trooper from the Fallout universe.  Much Google-ing ensued.  And this was the final result: 

Zachary as an NCR Trooper

I used some of my favorite materials and even had many of the materials on hand (left over from previous Halloweens). Here are pattern pieces for the bullet-proof riot vest laid-out on an EVA foam floor tile.  EVA foam is easily cut with an x-acto blade and can be shaped by hand with heat from a heat gun.

Patterns for LAPD riot gear laid-out on EVA foam.

Finished LAPD riot gear vest, painted and distressed as if it's seen a lot of battles.

The mask began with styrofoam and craft foam sheets.

Styrofoam for the center of the...I don't know....is it a respirator?  I shaped it and then sealed it with multiple coats of epoxy resin and acrylic filler.

Gas mask is taking shape.  The blue is craft foam "Foamies"

Gas mask.  Zachary complained that the paint job didn't match the vest, so (later on) I repainted this with more rusty-black colors and lots of dust over the top.  The speaker-thingy in the front was sooo hard to make.  It is really frustrating to try and create machined-looking parts from flimsy materials like styrofoam!

The helmet began with one of the few pieces that I bought ready-made--it is just not worth it, in my book, to try to craft something as round as the helmet--especially when costume helmets are so readily available and inexpensive.  But, it was plain 'ole, shiny, army-man-green plastic when I started and I added distressing, dents, bullet marks, scarring, and dust.  I also built-out the com-link and light/laser-sight.  One of the best parts of the transformation, In my opinion, was the com-link, which I built from the bottom of a "Glories" tomato container.  Do you see it, now?  I filled the container-base with insulating foam to make it a bit more rigid, carved the back to conform to the curve of the helmet, and cut the top straight in order to combine it with the mount for the light/"laser sight".

Helmet/com-link.

Distressing on the helmet.    

I melted areas of the plastic helmet with a burning match and then crammed the match against the surface to get good texture.  And I added dents by heating the plastic and tooling it with a melon baller.  Then I added "rust" with layers of orange, brown, silver, and black paints. There's a super-sheer coat of limestone paint over the top to imitate dust.

Zachary chose this costume largely because of the weapon.  Always with the weapons!  Anyway, given the political climate, we decided that it would be inappropriate and unadvisable to carry anything remotely realistic.  After much Googling, we identified this AER9 Fallout3 Laser Rifle as a "safe" option.  

I cut the frame from 1/4"hardboard and added bulk and detail with pink insulating board, EVA foam, craft foam, a piece of pipe insulation, assorted caps, bottles, plastic tubing, and random nuts, bolts, and other hardware. IMO, adding real hardware is the simplest and easiest way to add realism to faux-metal items.

Laser rifle during construction.

Laser rifle after distressing and application of stone-finish spray paint.

Finished AER9 Laser Rifle.  (High tech, homemade, Rubbermaid-tote spray booth.)

I made a duster coat (modified from a pattern for a girl's raincoat...shhhhhh...don't tell Zachary!) from remnant sand-colored twill and painted and distressed it.  There's an NCR insignia on the back and on the sleeve.  And I bought an authentic army surplus tactical belt from eBay.

Sleeve logo on coat.

NCR insignia on the back of the coat.

Here's Zachary, all dressed up:

Garden: Gettin' the Photos Outa the Camera

Well, I haven't been spending a lot of time in the garden recently.  Thank goodness it pretty much takes care of itself!  I don't have much patience for diva plants, even in the best of times. And this year has been far from the "best of times"!  Spring was one of the coldest and wettest on record and it's only been in the last few weeks that greenery and floral abundance have taken hold.  The photos in this post represent a dump of everything that was on my camera.  Some of the photos were taken about a month ago and I took the remainder yesterday.  I've organized the photos by location, though, so you'll probably get a little mental whiplash from the switch back and forth between early Spring and present. 

Back in May--Geum and Salvia lyrata near the entry path.

Entry path at present.  The geums have passed, but the Geranium "Rozanne" is just coming on.

Across the path (last month) with Allium and Geranium phaeum "Samobor".
Well, maybe "Samobor".

I have an issue with my geraniums.  There are five new plants--sold as "Samobor"-- adjacent to the entry path.  They are big, tall, and rangy--at least hip height on me, or even waist-height in bloom.  Across the garden are four or five geraniums, also purported to be "Samobor" that I planted a couple of years ago.  These plants are small and compact--only about knee height in bloom.  The flowers are paler--more of a rosy violet.  And, the leaves are smaller and more rounded.  Which are the real "Samobor"?  Ideally, I want all the plants to match and to resemble the ones I first planted.  I've already cut down the plants near the entry path--they got waaaay too tall and rangy for my liking--in hope that they will respond with a flush of new foliage.  I've been trekking around to local nurseries with samples of both leaves to compare with any new "Samobor" plants that I might buy as replacements--but I think that, maybe, leaf propagating or dividing the plants that I want to duplicate will be the surest strategy to cultivating a uniform grouping of plants.

Digitalis parviflora with Allium seeded and Clematis.  I love the mix of floral shapes.

Allium, Melica, and Clematis.

Digitalis parviflora (present).

The southwest corner of this garden bed.

Earlier in spring. I think this area will become better over time as the purple-leaved Actaea grows up and fills in. These are the compact and tidy Geranium "Samobor".

Reverse angle--standing outside the fence at the southwest corner.

Standing on the sidewalk (a month ago, and before I cleaned-up the Pennisetum).

Reverse angle of the same.  The geraniums have gone over, but the Astrantia are blooming strongly, now. ( current photo).

Nodding bud on the Allium "Summer Beauty" with Calamintha and Geranium "Brookside".

Geranium "Brookside" in the sidewalk rockery.

Sidewalk rockery at present with Geranium "Brookside", Pennisetum "Little Bunny", Melica uniflora, Nepeta "Junior Walker", Calamintha, and self-seeded lady ferns.

Garden: The Garden is Awakening

It's been a long, cold, wet Winter, but the signs are clear:  Spring is on the way.  

Strong growth on the Allium "Summer Beauty".

Colorful mixed foliage adjoining the entry path.  Geranium "Samobor", Melica uniflora, and Ajuga reptans "Mahogany".

Melica uniflora, sedum, Ajuga reptans, and Geranium "Samobor".

Cardamine trifoliata--a garden-worthy relative of our early spring, annual weed Cardamine hirsuta "Hairy Bittercress".  I thought they were gone--totally consumed by the advancing tide of Sweet Woodruff--but they are back and making a strong showing.

Front garden and entryway.

Lots of baby alliums "Purple Sensation".  I love how the camera can help you to see things--I saw the hair-like seedlings but couldn't see the little seed caps until now.

Across the way, in the garden to the north of the driveway.  (Incidentally, still destroyed by the recent plumbing disaster.)  Allium nigrum is forming robust clumps.  

Darmera peltata and Hakonechloa macra "All Green" are fighting it out in the Arbor Bed behind the house.  I had no idea the Hakonechloa would be such a robust competitor, but I think the Darmera will prevail in glacial fashion.

Fritillaria meleagris in the Arbor Bed--proving that it truly does prefer swampy conditions.

I'm having a difficult time getting enthused about the garden this year.  It is still destroyed by the plumbing disaster that began on December 23rd.  We are considerably out of pocket due to the whole experience and I haven't gotten my head around opening our pockets AGAIN to make the necessary repairs.  Most likely, I will wait until the weather improves and do as much of the work as I can, by myself, in order to save some money.

Since I haven't been out coddling the garden--I never do!--I appreciate the robust plants that are not just surviving but thriving in the prevailing conditions.  It seems like every plant is a thug--the known thugs like Sweet Woodruff, but also some surprising contenders like the Hakonechloa and Melica--and I appreciate them all. The alliums (as a group) are doing fabulously well, too.

I'm also really pleased to see robust new growth on the Sedums "Thunderhead". I purchased three baby plants late last Summer as replacements for S. "Autumn Joy".  "Autumn Joy" was a fantastic plant, but very dense and too frosty green.  The foliage on "Thunderhead" is dark and purple-tinged and the blooms are a very dark ruby rose.  "Thunderhead" was one of three new, dark-leaved sedums that I tried during the last couple of years and it has performed best of all.  Of the others, "Purple Emperor" is alive but struggling and "Matrona" rotted and fell over mid-winter.  

We've had only a day or two of sun so far, but I did manage to take care of most of the annual Spring clean-up.  I hope that we'll see more sun soon--I do need to get on with mending the garden and my mood.

:-)