Landscape Matures–Update on April and Adam’s Landscape Project

In 2010 I lost a large pine tree to some blight.  This opened my once shady garden into a sunny space.  So out came azalea’s, hydrangeas, pachysandra, and hostas.  To make room for sun loving plants, and create more lawn, April and Adam collected daylilies and hostas, and some other plants from my deconstruction project. 





April collected plants and we laid out a plan for the front garden. 


In the mean time, the large pine tree in April and Adam’s front yard went the way of the chainsaw and chipper in much the same way as my pine tree.  But nature has a way of balancing out and the added sun has made this front garden a bright and colorful addition to the landscape. 


Many perennials need time to develop and mature.  The first year of a transplant the roots need to just get established.  Keeping plants evenly moist is critical during the establishment phase.  The plants will sleep, in the fact that the foliage and the blooms are not draining the transplant of needed energy to the roots. 

The second year after a perennial is in the ground, the roots creep along, become more in mass, and take in nutrients to help the plant mature.  The second year the plant will product foliage and some blooms.

But just wait!

The third season – this season for Adam and April – the perennials literally leap from the ground with a spectacular show.



This zebra grass is surrounded by a variegated liriope.  The tall grass anchors this corner of the house without much maintenance.  A shearing to the ground in the late winter or early spring will allow new fresh foliage grow.


This is one of the hosta that was moved, and to the front of it is this ‘Husker Red’, a full, healthy Penstemon with seed heads attached.

 


With the pine tree gone, this sunny area has outdone it’s original plan. Daylilies, Hemerocallis, will produce bloom in part shade, but the added hours of sun to this garden has been a pleasant surprise.  This native spiderwort, Tradescantia was also a surprise.  The strappy foliage was mistaken as a daylily in October when this garden was planted, but the vibrant blue looks well with the yellow daylilies in bloom at this time.



One other design feature to be pointed out is the curved walkway to the front door.  This curve, as opposed to a straight line, is more inviting to a visitor, and frames these beds well.
 
Landscapes need the time to mature, and this is a great example of waiting for the seasons to pass and reward our patience.

Adam and April’s Landscape Project

New Homeowners Start Landscape

Adam and April have a lovely home.  But the overgrown shrubs and low limbs of large trees in the front yard made it difficult to see.  Soon after they moved in, Adam set out to limb up the pine trees in front, and remove several other trees that were damaged.


 

  Adam and April asked for my help in getting a ‘plan’ together.  The design process was on hold until we determined what they wanted their yard to reflect.  Did they want a formal garden, an English garden, a high maintenance garden, or something in between.  We also talked about the time frame in which they expected to have this project finished. 
This timing issue also is important because a budget needs to be set up.  Lets face it, if you want a lot done next month, you may have to hire some help.  If this plan stretches over 3 – 5 years, then you may be able to do most of the work yourself. 
So Adam and April decided they wanted a casual, colorful garden that was low maintenance.  No maintenance gardens for the homeowner usually requires a gardener, since there is no such thing as a ‘no maintenance garden’. 

 
Adam and April removed the taxis from the front corner and added a compost soil mix to the planting bed.  April also set out to remove some of the border stones that were three high, and spread the extra soil around the roots of the tree.
 
During the deconstruction process, I had April and Adam over to see some plant material that they might want.  They chose some hostas, and other shade plants that we could divide when they were ready to plant. 
Extra watering was needed before we divided some of the plants, as we have had no measureable rain here for months.  Finally, April and I set out to dig!

An ornamental Zebra Grass is taking center stage in the front corner.  Surrounding the grass, we put a variegated liriope.  The green and yellow of both the grass and the liriope really played off of each other in the sun.  The bright purple bloom of the liriope accented the planting nicely.
Next we tackled the base of the pine tree.  Here we planted five green and cream hosta, H. Abba-Dabba-Doo.
We took divisions of  6 – 8 daylilies.  Unfortunately, I could not recall the colors, or the names.  We will try to name them in the spring.  Consequently, we divided out about 40 or so fans, and randomly placed them under the tree.

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I plan to follow Adam and April’s project over the next season or two.  Can’t wait for spring when the new beds will come to life. Follow the basic steps to plan your project and thanks for visiting today.