Garden: Same Spot, Different Season

It's not a year-end retrospective, but it kind-of is…

I didn't plan to take a series of photos, but my garden is small so there are a limited number of photogenic angles possible.  This limitation has resulted in an unplanned progression of photos taken at just about the same spot throughout the growing season. The taller panel of fence (and the spires of the Digitalis parviflora, in later photos) make convenient reference points.

April 28, 2013

May 28, 2013

June 23, 2013

July 22, 2013

September 1, 2013

September 19, 2013

October 7, 2013

October 25, 2013

November 12, 2013

November 21, 2013

December 20, 2013

December 31, 2013

As I was putting together this post, it sure seemed like a lot of plants had come and gone!  In my defense, I will remind you that this was a rebuilding year.  I totally remade the right-hand side of the border in early spring and I remade the left-hand side in mid-Summer.  I hope that, now that I've established a good cast of characters, the pace of change will slow.

Garden: I Spy--A Design Flaw I Can Fix

This is the corner of my front garden bed.  While I am sure that there are lots of improvements that can be made, there is one flaw that I see RIGHT NOW that I can easily fix.  Right in the middle of the corner there appears to be a gap in the planting.  In spring and summer, this area is filled with "Jolly Bee" hardy geranium, a trio of Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats)  and various spires such as Digitalis parviflora, adenophora, and asiatic lilies.  Behind those, right in the corner, is a baby "Quickfire" hydrangea.  

Well...what if I replace the three Chasmanthiums with a Miscanthus "Adagio"?  In the spring/summer, I would lose some of the looser structure that I'd hoped to achieve by planting the Chasmanthium.  And I'd lose some of the continuity provided by the Chasmanthium which is part of a larger swath that wraps around the Eupatorium (dark brown hulking thing in the center back). But, I think I'd gain a much greater fall/winter value with the addition of the miscanthus' persistent, tan, winter foliage.  It would bring the blonde color of the pennisetum foliage all the way into the corner and would provide visual bulk to the corner throughout the year (but especially during the winter). 

What say you, yea or nay?

The spot in question--corner of my front garden bed.

Garden: GBBD--December 2013

Hey!  Better late than never, y'all.  Of course, a week of sub-freezing temps pretty much ended our floral display and a concerted search of the garden yielded...NOTHING.  So I tried to make something pretty out of the blooms I found.

*  Edited to add this photo for reference and comparison.  I think I like it better than than the below photo, but it doesn't harmonize so well with the whole photo story.

Hydrangea "Bombshell"

"Bombshell"

 H."Bombshell" with dwarf Deschampsia

Pennisetum "Hameln"

Sedum "Autumn Joy" with the pennisetum.

Rain on an ornamental cabbage.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, is a celebration of what is blooming each month in bloggers' gardens around the world.