The "What did you do in your Garden today?" thread

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone

 

*****It seems many of us also share a love of gardening. So, please post any photos or ideas of what you've done in your garden so that we can all share, admire and enjoy your efforts.***

 

For me, a couple of weeks ago, we had a huge Cape Lilac tree cut down in our front garden. It was too big and was covered each year by millions (I'm not exaggerating!) of caterpillars. It drove me crazy each year! So, the tree loppers were called in and the stump was ground.

 

I then replanted a beautiful new Cassia Fistula tree in its place. The surrounding oval flower bed was then filled with

Liriopes, Dianthus, Allysums, Geraniums and other assorted plants. I also used the wood chips from the ground stump of the lilac tree as the mulch. All of these plants are water-wise.

 

All I need to do now, is sit back and watch them all grow.

 

Here are the photos.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Omega1234

[Omega1234]

Thanks Robin.

 

I agree with you. There's something very satisfying that I find with gardening, so much so that I can spend a whole day in the garden and still want to do more.

 

Hopefully it'd be nice if this thread takes off, because it's nice to see and learn from others on this Forum.

 

All the best

 

Patrick

[Jack12477]

Thanks Patrick for starting this ! Yes, my wife and I also enjoy our gardens - lot of work but enjoyable. I will post pictures later.  It will be interesting to learn about gardens in other parts of the world as well as here in the states

[cog]

Patrick,

Thankls for starting. Looking forward to your garden's development

 

Today was dry and sunny, shovlin' manure/compost ... the last few weeks we dug out 7 trees, cut them up and got rid of the branches and rootballs, I got an apple trunc and some large, reasonably straight branches left to have cut in 'bite size' pieces for model building ... next up dig out a cedar, and a 2,5 yard long 8 feet high hedge ...

[mtaylor]

Your way ahead of me, guys.   My yard's still a mess... Flowers blooming and needing deadheaded,  Lawn finally got mowed yesterday after two weeks.   Weather is NOT co-operating.  But... that means more shipyard time go I guess there's a silver lining in the clouds overhead.

[cog]

Robin,

 

I've seen some of the English gardens and landscape,and it's usually lovely. What you describe is something I could envy you for ... enjoy it

[Canute]

We built our house here inWNC on the west side of a ridge, to watch mountain sunsets. We only mulch right around the house; the rest is wooded (long leaf pine, maple and oaks). We have some lilacs, rhododendrons, azaleas and a magnolia.

Robin, your cottage sounds a great place in the woods.

[Omega1234]

 

I was listening to NPR radio on the weekend which featured an article about California gardeners and how they have come to rely on professional gardeners to keep their gardens in order. However, given the extreme drought over there, I guess they're really suffering.

 

The same goes for us here in Australia, as our water restrictions have become permanent. To cope with this, over the past few years I've been constantly changing our plants from water loving plants such as ferns, annuals, cottage plants, etc, to drought tolerant plants. I've also ripped out every last blade of grass from our block, including the council verges and replaced them with paving or plants. The reward? Lower water consumption! Sadly, the water bill still goes up each year, even though I'm using significantly less water each year. Mmmmm. Makes me wonder sometimes!

 

Happy gardening, everyone!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Jack12477]

Ok, I will describe our gardens which we started working on in 1997. Some background first - our house is a 1955-56 vintage "tract house" in a development where all the home are on approximately 1/3 acre lots. Backyard is about 75 ft deep by 90 ft wide, enclosed by a 4 ft high stockade style fence on 3 sides (mine) and a 6ft ++ fence (neighbor's) on the 4th side. Some years ago we built a 6'x8' raised wood deck over the concrete back steps which then leads down to another wood deck "at grade" then down to a 3rd "below grade" wood deck - over the 3rd deck we build a pergola.  The lower deck is below grade to match the at grade family room/den patio door.

 

We designed the gardens to flow around the periphery of the yard leaving a large "play area" in the center (helps with future sale-ability). On the west side of the yard we build a 2nd patio shaded by two River Birches (Betula Nigra) which when planted were about 7 ft tall - now they are over 30 ft tall - these have the exfoliating redish-brown bark. This is the patio where the two grills are located (small gas/propane and larger wood/charcoal grill/smoker) and Bistro style round table & chairs, plus a couple of relaxing Adirondack Chairs.

 

Views from wood deck patio: (Looking North)

 

Gardens: I should note that these pictures were taken from past seasons and have changed some over the years due to winter kill and just plain old plants failing to come back.  Since the flowers haven't bloomed this season I am using the ones from past seasons but the design is basically unchanged - all the plants are perennials, no annuals.

 

- adjacent to patio, Astibles, Hosta

  - East side, mixture of hostas, Cone flowers (Echinacea ), Bee Balm (Monarda), 

- Nortwest corner mixture of tall Ornamental Grasses across back fence with Garden Phlox, Bee Balm, Cone Flowers, Bleeding Hearts, Siberian Iris

- Siberian Iris, Oriental Poppies

- Northeast corner mixture of Coreopsis, Peonies, Iris and others

 

Grill Patio

 

- the 2 trees against the fence are 30+ yr old Rose of Sharon.

- Toad Lily (Tricyrtis )

 

Adjacent to garage at back gate entrance to yard - three Rhododendron (center one is white - blooms early and again mid-summer)

 

 

Iris

 

[Jack12477]

Gardens continued (didn't want to blow the limit on upload - so split the post)

 

Raised bed vegetable gardens:

 

- herbs, lettuce, mint, peas

- tomatoes, bell peppers

- onions, broccoli, kohlrabi, lovage (celery like), egg plant, chili peppers, more peas

- potato patch (Norland Reds, Kennebeck)

 

Japanese Maples

 

- Dwarf Japanese Maple in fall foliage (Inaba Slidare or "Waterfall Thread Leaf")

- Japanese Lace leaf
 

 

[cog]

Nice Jack, very nice, you have your maintenance jobs cut out for you ...!

[Jack12477]

Thanks, Carl. Maintenance isn't a big issue, except maybe April and October, when we have to clean out the leaves. We mulch the leaves in October and put some of them on the flower beds, then have to remove them in April of following year. Rest of the Spring, Summer, Fall is low maintenance (designed that way) because the flowers become so dense they pretty much chock out the weeds. There's some re-planting in April-May but otherwise pretty much maintenance free, except for lawn mowing and weed-wacking.

[cog]

Clever Dicky!!!

[Tadeusz43]

I had unexpected guests in my garden.

 

Tadeusz

[edmay]

Watering before there is none?,or a ban ref forest fires, Unusual dry winter,Edwin.

[cog]

Tadeusz,

 

They'll probably think: "A kingdom for a duck"

[Canute]

Nice water feature, Tadeusz! 

The farm across the road from me has a nice pond that attracts the mallards and Canada geese. I hear their quacks and honks almost year round around here. I have wild turkeys just up the hill from me, too. It's mating season and the birds are gobbling away every morning.

[_SalD_]

Ok, I will describe our gardens which we started working on in 1997. Some background first - our house is a 1955-56 vintage "tract house" in a development where all the home are on approximately 1/3 acre lots. Backyard is about 75 ft deep by 90 ft wide, enclosed by a 4 ft high stockade style fence on 3 sides (mine) and a 6ft ++ fence (neighbor's) on the 4th side. Some years ago we built a 6'x8' raised wood deck over the concrete back steps which then leads down to another wood deck "at grade" then down to a 3rd "below grade" wood deck - over the 3rd deck we build a pergola.  The lower deck is below grade to match the at grade family room/den patio door.

 

We designed the gardens to flow around the periphery of the yard leaving a large "play area" in the center (helps with future sale-ability). On the west side of the yard we build a 2nd patio shaded by two River Birches (Betula Nigra) which when planted were about 7 ft tall - now they are over 30 ft tall - these have the exfoliating redish-brown bark. This is the patio where the two grills are located (small gas/propane and larger wood/charcoal grill/smoker) and Bistro style round table & chairs, plus a couple of relaxing Adirondack Chairs.

 

 

 

Jack your gardens are gorgeous very nice planning, I congratulate you on your green thumb. 

[Jack12477]

Well, the Admiral was a major contributor to the Green Thumb.

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone

 

I'm totally amazed by the photos of the gardens posted here, especially by Tadheusz and Jack.

 

Tadheusz- I love your garden; especially the pond and ducks. The colours of the flowers are just amazing! I think I'm suffering from 'garden envy" now....

 

Jack- after scrolling through your beautiful garden's photos, I kept saying nice, next photo, nice, next photo, nice....and then all of a sudden the photo of the red leafed maple came up and it totally blew my mind! I'd die to have one like that in my garden.

 

Beautiful.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

Edited May 29, 2015 by Omega1234

[Jack12477]

Patrick, thanks for the compliments. The first "reddish" leaf maple actually isn't red but a bright orange with a ting of red in the fall, in summer it's a bright pale green. It's a dwarf - when I got it 6 years ago, it was only 18 inches high, it's now just over 24 inches, in 20 years it might reach 4 ft.  The second maple is a true red leaf - gets fiery red in fall, deep maroon in summer; it was just under 4ft when I got it about 9-10 years ago and it is now exactly 5 ft. They grow upward very slowly but outward very quickly - I have to trim them every year to keep their shape, but otherwise they are easy to maintain. I'm fortunate there are no deer roaming in my neighborhood.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Jack12477

[Tadeusz43]

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for your words of appreciation, today I worked on the construction of a water cascade,
photos coming soon.

 

Tadeusz

[Jack12477]

Jack- .................................... I'd die to have one like that in my garden.

 

Patrick

 

Patrick, I'm curious ! Why can't you have a Japanese Maple in your garden. Is it climate or animals (e.g. Deer) ?

[Omega1234]

Patrick, I'm curious ! Why can't you have a Japanese Maple in your garden. Is it climate or animals (e.g. Deer) ?

 

 

Hi Jack

 

Deer?  No, no, no, there are no deer in Australia...  I did have (or, rather, still have) a beautiful maple (Acer Palmatum) which was growing very happily in a pot for years.  Then one day a few months ago, I was washing the filters in one of our koi ponds.  I usually wash the filters in a large bucket so that I can keep the nutrient rich water; which generally makes a really powerful liquid fertiliser.  I made the mistake of drenching the leaves and root ball with this nutrient rich water and within a few hours all the leaves had shrivelled up and died!  I went from a beautiful tree to a shrivelled mass of leaves and branches within the space of a few hours!

 

I tried to saturate the root ball in an effort to leach all the nutrients out, but I'm not sure if it's going to survive.  I guess I have to wait until our Spring to see if it reshoots.  Fingers crossed, of course.  To say that I am heartbroken, is an understatement.  

 

So, that's why I had a touch of envy when I saw your beautiful maple.

 

All the best

 

Patrick

[Omega1234]

We use to have a wonderful veggie garden but over the last few years less and less would grow in the garden. We tried everything and nothing worked. then one day someone came over and we were talking about not being able to grow anything. she looked at our yard and said well here is your problem you have 2 walnut trees in your yard. Walunt trees will kill most any plant growing around it. 

the Walnuts so far killed all the evergreen trees, the cherry trees, the apple trees, the veggie garden, flowers and herbs and hedges. so far no one know how to neutralize the toxin Juglone. Can't even cut the Walnuts down because the root systen will remain toxic for years after the trees are gone. 

 

 

Hi Daves

 

That's interesting!  I've never heard anything like that before, but then again, I guess anything's possible!

 

We've had numerous almond trees in our street which the Council planted as street trees.  There was certainly no shortage of things that would grow under those trees and there were no ill-effects, that's for sure.

 

Has your garden survived?

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Jack12477]

Yes, walnut trees, especially black walnuts, do not tolerate anything growing in proximity to them. As Daves said they produce a toxin which kills any plant nearby. My Mother had some beautiful iris at the lake house and they all died in a year from a black walnut growing nearby.

 

Daves, have you tried planting the veggies in a raised bed garden - put some soil cloth down first (kind you use to stop weeds) then fill the box(es) with a good plant soil mixture.  Don't know if this will work but worth a try.

 

Patrick, good luck with your maple. Hope it comes back. I have one growing in a pot also - trying to create a Bonsai from it.

[Omega1234]

Hi Jack

 

Many thanks.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my maple can be resurrected, too.

 

If it doesn't, then, it'll be off to the mulcher!  Let's hope that doesn't need to be the case.

 

All the best

 

Patrick

[cog]

Mowing ... what goes for a lawn in the Dordogne, France. Mainly dry sturdy gras with a green colour ... maybe some pruning tomorrow, it's getting a bit wild ...

[davyboy]

5 hours weeding this afternoon though I actually don't have a garden of my own. Last year my partners son bought a 110 year old house with a huge (800+ square meter) garden. Said garden had been seriously neglected for years   it was overgrown by Ivy,Brambles,various noxious weeds not to mention Lily of the Valley  Good for me as I love gardening so volunteered my services. I've now cleared about 70% of it,we've planted out various vegetables, peppers,courgettes,tomatoes and cucumbers also strawberries,raspberries and bilberries. There are 7 assorted fruit trees and 2 grapevines one of which is black. Looking forward to fresh picked fruit in a few weeks       

 

Dave 

[tlevine]

Although these pictures were taken in late May last year, they illustrate what can grow in the vicinity of black walnuts trees.  The two perfectly straight trunks are black walnut.  The other trees are boxelder maple, Norway maple and hawthorne.  Most plants will not grow within the canopy of a walnut (which reflects the root extension).  I have no trouble growing hostas, iris, monkshead (aconitum), bleeding heart (dicentra), kerria, pulmonaria, geranium, Joe Pye weed (eupatorium) and others.  There are several links discussing which plants to avoid with black walnut.  I have listed three.   http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ho/ho-193.pdf  http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/trees-shrubs/landscaping-and-gardening-around-walnuts-and-other-juglone-producing-plants