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- I am done! D-O-N-E, done!!! Last Monday, I finally completed the project that has consumed me for the past six weeks–weeding and mulching the Terrace Garden that extends along the front of our property. This garden was last mulched (by a landscaper) in 2016. Then, for a variety of reasons, I had little time to devote to it for the next three summers. My oh my, did it suffer! Here are two small samples of what I had to deal with:
I am now proud to show you the results of all my work, most of which took place under conditions of extreme heat and swamp-like humidity! (I’m sure I’ve never sweat so profusely in all my life!) Trumpet fanfare, please!
By the way, this garden is 96 feet long and, except for the wide expanse in Dogwood Corner, 7 feet wide. That’s 672 square feet! (62.4 square meters for those of you who measure logically!) Nice, eh? I will pause here a moment and bask in the applause in which you are all undoubtedly engaging!
Now let me show you a few of the current highlights of this garden!
2. Hardy Hibiscus ‘Summerific Berrylicious’ survived an early season grazing from the neighborhood deer and, perhaps thanks to a generous shower of Deer-Off, is blooming to beat the band!
3. My Russian Sage suffered from late frost and snow on Mother’s Day weekend, after it had begun to send out tender new shoots. It’s grown very lanky and sparse this year. I was just happy to see that it did ultimately send out new growth.
4. Balloon Flower ‘Sentimental Blue’ and Obedient Plant ‘Crown Rose’: These two also suffered from the late cold weather, I believe. (I refuse to acknowledge that maybe they just couldn’t fight all the weeds, OK?) I used to have three Balloon Flowers at the lower end of Becky’s Corner, but now there’s just this one, whose early buds succumbed to the taste of some garden grazer:
And here is the very sad representation of the Obedient Plant this summer:
Usually by now, the Obedient Plant is just thick as thieves in the area just below Becky’s Corner. Instead, I have about a dozen individual shoots scattered about. And, forgive me for sounding like a broken record here, but even these poor souls were grazed upon in late spring! This is the first year anything has touched them or the Balloon Flowers.
5. The annual bed in Dogwood Corner is smaller than usual, due both to my own tardiness in shopping for annuals this year and the shortage of annuals available at nurseries because of the pandemic. Nonetheless, the vinca, blue salvia, and marigolds create a cheerful scene at this end of the garden!
6. The Next Project: The Rock Garden! I started working on this garden, at the back of my house, early in the summer. Then I decided it was a bigger priority to pretty up the Terrace Garden, which, being along the edge of our road, gets more visibility. I decided to give myself a nice week off after finishing the Terrace Garden, and that means I need to resume work in the Rock Garden tomorrow! Happily, the weather seems to have changed for the better, and I hope to enjoy better conditions there for the next couple of weeks! My goal is to finish with it by September first.
Here is the section of the Rock Garden I finished in early summer. I love the long season of color the Potentilla provides.
Thanks to The Propagator for hosting this weekly meme of six things happening in our gardens each week, and thank you for reading what turned out to be a much longer post than I anticipated! I wish you all a happy week in your gardens!
I, for one, am applauding! Great job. And I LOVE your yard sign!
Thank you, Lisa! Thank you very much!
Obedient plant?! I know it is not your favorite, but I am impressed. I have seen it in pictures from other regions, but have not seen it here since the early 1990s. I intend to get a white one eventually. It happens to look good in white. Heck, any color would be nice. I have seen it only in white, bright pink, and sort of lavender like yours.
I think you misunderstood me, Tony. I like my obedient plant very much. I’m disappointed it didn’t come back this year nearly as strong as it has the past six years! Check out this post to see what it looks like at its best! https://cosmosandcleome.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/obedient-plant/ Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you’re able to get some for yourself soon!
Ah; that’s it! That is what obedient plant should look like. That color is different from what I am accustomed to though. The first few I met in 1985 were all white. By 1990, I could not find any white in nurseries, but only found bright pink. Now it is not available at all. I saw a white colony in a client’s garden, and should have taken a piece. I had seen the color of your only recently, and only in pictures. When I eventually grow it, I will find it in white. It happens to be a flower that looks good in white.
You have my applause and my admiration because I melt in the heat and humidity. But you will be rewarded. Our (husband does a lot of the work) flower beds need a lot of TLC especially in the back (shade garden) where brunneria and pink turtleheads have taken over. Love your hisbiscus(es)!
You tackled a lot and it paid off, Kimberley, — your August gardens look great. I love your rock garden. Now you can relax and enjoy the cooler weather that September brings.