The Garden Grows!!

Although our weather has had its ups and downs, temperature-wise, over the past week, the garden is growing. I have to admit I've been like a mother hen hovering over her chicks, checking to be sure nothing was wilting and looking for any sign of revival in the three bare root additions, the Russian pomegranate and the two paulownias. Today, a week after the great makeover --- partial success!

Empress Tree 1, a paulownia, has sprouted! It should grow quickly. This isn't a good photo for the background, but there's a hint of the iris blooming along the fence, and the azaleas by the house are blooming gloriously full and brilliant.

Empress tree 2, the other paulownia, has also sprouted, but not quite as robustly. It gets slightly less sunlight, which may be why is is a bit behind its sister on the growth spectrum. I've marked the two most obvious leaf buds with the arrows.  

The Russian pomegranate, on the other hand, has lost the few leaves it came with, and appears to be quite dead. I'm hoping to see some growth at the base in the next several days. 

Georgia: Phase One complete

After three days of 2-3 men working hard and me supervising, Phase One was complete. Hardscape finished, existing plants transplanted, and new trees and bushes planted. We did not accomplish everything on the initial Plan. It was a guideline, not a hard-and-fast plan. As the garden shaped up, I decided not to go ahead with some facets of the plan. I am pleased with how it is turning out. I can muster enough patience to watch it grow before moving to Phase Two.

The following photos were taken April 6, 2018. Click on a photo to see it larger.

This is the view from the back porch. Eventually those three lone Emerald Green cones will get as big as the one on the other side of the fence. They will form a screen of sorts. Jody warned me not to overwater them. Water the rest, he said, but the Emerald Greens don't want too much water.

The island is the focal point of the garden. It is backed by six Rose of Sharon bushes rescued from certain death where they were planted too close to the fence. The dogwood is difficult to see in this photo with its white blossoms against the white back fence, but it is centered. Two Empress trees (paulownia) are planted on either side of the dogwood. Those three trees will grow above the Rose of Sharon bushes and add some nice height (and privacy) to the design.

The tiny back porch and patio have seen the least amount of change. Buddha is sitting on his drum in the former fire pit, now dirt-filled. There was room for a few lilies from Home Depot. I have no idea what color they will be. Behind him is a small shed for garden tools and birdseed. This area needs attention -- some comfortable chairs and some kind of shade. The house next door is not nearly so visible when you're actually standing there.

The azaleas behind the house were not touched but for a little week-pulling. I'd thought about moving them, and still may, but for now they are resting in peace.

This view shows the widening of the planting bed along the fence. There are transplanted lilies right next to the patio. The bush beside them is a Japanese quince. Its beautiful coral-colored blossoms are finished for now, something to look forward to next spring. On this side of the quince are transplanted irises, then more daylilies. Not sure what the purple flowers are; left them there as they seem happy.

Backing toward the back fence, the long view of the transplants can be seen. The bush in the middle is a forsythia. Like the Japanese quince, it is finished for this year. The purple flowers in the foreground mark the end of the transplants. From there to the back fence there is an undisturbed clump of iris and five larger azaleas that Jody didn't think would survive transplanting. The dogwood is a Cherokee princess. It is placed so that when looking at it from the house (porch), it appears through a break in the wall of Rose of Sharon bushes. That brown spot to the right of the dogwood is a tree-to-be. It is Empress 1, a paulownia that will grow quickly from bare root to majestic. That's the plan, anyway.☺

Here's a closeup of the paulownia. Doesn't look like much, but like that silly old ant, we have high hopes. It has a mate of similar appearance on the other side of the dogwood, just outside the photo above.

Back toward the front of the house, opposite the Japanese quince, are two more forsythia bushes. They will be a lovely blaze of color in the spring. The white tag is on a Russian pomegranate, bought bare root from Tyty Nursery in Tyty, Georgia. It is supposed to be hardy enough to withstand our zone 7 winters. It looks every bit as dead as the two paulownias, but -- high hopes!

In the back corner are some sickly looking azaleas. They are different from the healthy batch up near the house. Their blooms are all on the bottom. I need to learn more about azaleas!

Across the way from the sickly azaleas there was a Knockout rose that was incredibly overgrown. It didn't appear ever to have been pruned. It was as tall as the fence, a good 6 feet. It has been cut waaaay back, but should revive. There was a little ivy vine hiding beneath it, as well as a baby snake about the size of a robust earthworm. There was some debate among the crew as to whether is was a copperhead, but no agreement was reached. 

And so it stands. Time to haul out the hosepipe and start watering. 

Georgia: Work in Progress

I am lucky to have a landscape gardener who comes highly recommended by my sister. Joe Graham and his workers from Graham Yard Makeovers, Dallas, Georgia, are the fellows in the bright shirts that you'll see in some of the following photos.

We  started out with a general plan. Placement of the new plants and trees was predicated on the view lines between the house and the houses to the right and behind the yard, most of which are two stories and peer down into the yard. Click the diagram to see a larger view, but if it is not readable, not to worry. All will be explained as we tour the garden. 

Joe and Tom with the auger. Not having any experience with the Georgia red clay, I was surprised to see the arrival of the auger. As Joe pointed out, digging holes with this machine was quicker than trying to hand dig, plus it turned the solid clay to a nice powdery texture, great for the new plant roots. This hole would be for the Japanese quince, seen at right.

They also used the auger to till the top few inches of clay where the iris and daylilies were to be transplanted. The loosened clay was mixed with a Miracle Gro product designed to amend the local dirt. The compost and fertilizer will make the transplants very happy.

Nearly all of the edger bricks were relocated to the island. Joe and crew put down a barrier mat and arranged three rows of bricks in a fluid oval. It appears to slant slightly to the left, which is good for drainage and not nearly so noticeable in person.. We didn't want it to turn into a wading pool after a hard rain.

The augering continued after the island was complete. The six Rose of Sharon bushes moved from along the fence to form a natural fence behind the island.

Here you can (barely) see the Rose of Sharon bushes behind the island. To the left you can see where some of the sod was removed to expand the planting area along the fence to accommodate the Japanese quince.

I had intended to take more photos of the work in progress, but I got so involved with the process that I forgot the camera. What followed this basic makeover was the relocation of the many iris and daylilies and the addition of more bushes and trees. In the next blog installment, I'll show you how that turned out.

The Move to Georgia and a Brand New Garden

Georgia: the Before Photos

This blog began in central Missouri, then moved to our condo in New Orleans. Lloyd passed away last year, and I moved yet again, this time to a gated community northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, where I am near my sister and her family. The house is great, just right for me. The front yard is well landscaped and kept by the Home Owners Association. The backyard, however, was unimaginative, to say the least, and suffering from neglect.

In the past, I've patiently waited a full year to see what a new yard has to offer before doing any major landscaping. This backyard, however, with its line of edger bricks parallel to the fences and much too close to them, plus a barren area dead center, has been grating on my nerves over the winter. The Rose of Sharon bushes are threatening the integrity of the fence, and the small clumps of iris and daylilies are scattered and looking lonely.

Click on the photos to see a larger view.

This is a Google view of the yard from a few years ago. The center of this deep yard has a large area of clay and stone with a sparse crop of weeds. It's really a mess.

Here are some before pictures, taken this spring.

This is the gate/entry area from the street. The fire pit is way too close to a very dry wooden fence. Poor Buddha is sitting on his drum where the movers unloaded him last October, on a concrete pad that held a small garden shed, which was removed by the previous owner. The shed will be replaced, as garden tools kept in the garage must be carried around the front of the house and into the backyard via the front gate. Not very efficient.

This is the long view from the patio. The back gate is about 70 feet away The line of bricks is visible along the left fence. There is also a line of bricks along the right fence. They are hidden in the shadow. Most of them will be taken up and used to form an island in the center of the yard that will cover the rocky, barren spot..

The brown area in the foreground is dormant Bermuda grass. This is a very popular grass in this area. Silly me thought the grass was waking up. Not so  The greenery is weeds. A lawn care service has given it an initial spray and will keep on it until the weeds are gone. It appears that sod was laid from the house to about where the line of greenery marks the end of the dormant grass. Whether there is enough Bermuda to fill in the clay and rock area beyond is debatable. We'll see.

There are four large Rose of Sharon bushes planted along this side; they probably would not survive moving, as with them so close to the fence, there is no way to dig a large enough root ball to give them a chance. They need to go. The plants along this east-facing fence receive more sunlight than those on the other side of the yard and are considerably larger. There are six much smaller Rose of Sharon bushes along the opposite fence; they will be relocated in the yard.

The small patch with the bird feeder in the foreground will keep its brick edging. Not sure what will be planted there -- peonies are top contenders at the moment, maybe annuals.

This flower bed contains azalea bushes, some kind of perennial that is just beginning to send out leaves, and numerous weeds. There is a hydrangea at the far left. This is the north side of the house. My initial thinking is to move the azaleas farther out into the yard, maybe making an azalea garden in the very back, and to plant hostas and other shade-loving plants here.

I have a general concept of where I want to go with this project. I want to add three or four trees and some flowering bushes As well as create some kind of island to cover the ugly center of the yard. Just eliminating the straight lines of the fence borders so it doesn't resemble a bowling alley will be a good beginning.