qebo's 2016 garden (1)

A late start for my 2016 garden thread, but it’s a drizzly Saturday morning so I’m feeling no inclination to be outside.

This is a transition year: the old house went on the market last week and will need tending until it sells, the new house is at the stage of vaguely considering what could be done. Several native plant sales here in late April to early June, so that’s when I’ll seriously get going. I started prepping my community garden plot last weekend but mostly I’m immersed in bureaucracy.

This photo is from a few weeks ago, an unusually warm day in March when I opened the sunroom door to almost spring.

On March 11, I walked around my yard assessing its potential.

These bushes have to go. They’re inkberry, which is native, but they’re way too unwieldy for the space; they block the front of the house visually, and they’re annoying to walk through. I don’t know whether I can save them, not sure where else I can put them.



The driveway is ridiculously long, can fit five cars. There was a 12’x8’ shed at the end, but among my first acts as a homeowner was to have it hauled away; conveniently, the man who had inspected the house wanted it. I want to put raised beds at the end. I’m not at all sure about sun with several trees above. The two white fence panels are plastic and aesthetically unsuitable, but serve the purpose of blocking an otherwise direct line of sight between my yard and the neighbor to the north. I want trellises with vines but I’m vague on details so may not do anything this year.



On the north side of the yard is a line of trees, and a path along the stone wall and fence between my house and the neighbor.

From the front, looking toward the alley:



Further along:



From the alley, looking toward the front:



Beneath the trees is a vast field of English ivy. The plan for this year is to begin removing it gradually. I don’t yet know what will replace it. I expect to experiment with various native groundcovers and see what’s happy. I also want to plant spicebush and pawpaw, but those need more thought about exactly where.



This fence is a problem but it’s not mine. I’ve met the neighbors in passing, expect to see more of them as the weather improves, so maybe at some point we can discuss. I’m not in a hurry. I’ll be concentrating on the other side of the yard this year.





I’m going to try a milkweed patch here. The fence runs east-west so the neighbor’s yard is to the south. The tree is a black cherry. I have three types of milkweed seeds (common, swamp, butterfly) cold stratifying in the refrigerator. Sometime soon I’ll remove whatever is here now, and sprinkle the seeds around and see what happens. Will they get enough sun? I don’t know.

The community garden on the first day of spring:



One of the gardeners is re-staking the plot corners. This is a useful service, because otherwise gardeners are not sure about plot boundaries, and spill over into the aisles, which need to be 30” for passage and maintenance. However, the garden was not originally measured to perfection, the ground is lumpy, the fences obstruct string lines, it was not re-staked last year and many stakes from previous years are gone. So my fence, which I meticulously placed inside the stakes of two years ago, is now out of bounds. I’m not willing to reconstruct my fence just to move it 4”. The re-staker is conceding a few inches of grace to errant fences, so I’m safe from intervention.



I’m not sure I’ll have time for harvesting this year, so I’m planting for butterflies. I was thinking I’d plant carrots and dill and fennel for swallowtails, then got kinda carried away with carrot varieties, also got curious about parsnips which are in the same family. Then another gardener recommended that I plant onions with the carrots to deter the carrot fly; it lays eggs at ground level and the larvae burrow into the roots. Scouting around, I happened upon the World Carrot Museum, which has a helpful guide to cultivation and pest prevention http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/cultivation2.html and lots of other information (e.g. the domestic carrot was probably developed from Queen Anne’s lace). I will be following these instructions for intercropping: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plant-onions-next-other-vegetables-23548.html .

Carrots can be planted 2-3 weeks before last expected frost date, so I have cleared one plot in preparation. I doubt that I’ll plant this weekend; today is rainy and mucky, and tomorrow is supposed to be chilly and extremely windy.

A rainy Saturday morning would be ideal for starting seeds. I've been ready for several weeks with the grow lights in the sunroom.

It will be fun to see how you progress with the blank canvas of your new space. (Well, perhaps not so blank, since things must be removed).

>3 qebo: I love the gardening threads more than I can say. Carrot Museum? Who knew?

I don't think I ever thought of parsnips as being related to carrots (I know, I know, but I didn't). They really taste best when left in the ground for a freeze or so. They're so much work, and carrots are so little work.

I look forward to your butterfly garden. :-}

>6 Lyndatrue: Useful to know about parsnips. I'm not sure that I've ever seen a parsnip. I got seeds for three types from Baker Creek, to plant in one quarter of that plot. I'm figuring that even if I don't have time to harvest, I'll support swallowtail caterpillars. Except if the onions deter the carrot fly, do they deter swallowtails too? We shall see...

>5 streamsong: The non-blankness is both a pro and a con.

>7 qebo: I love parsnips. I'll look up my recipe for parsnip pie, later, if you're interested. They're so sweet that it doesn't really take much sugar to make them wonderful. They cook VERY quickly, and can be overcooked if you're not watchful. They do NOT taste good raw, either. I wonder if the carrot fly would even bother them...

>9 Lyndatrue: The internet sez the carrot fly gets them too, so I'll do the same intercropping with onions. I'd be interested in the parsnip pie recipe. I don't cook much, but I don't hate the kitchen in my new house (in the old house the kitchen was a passthrough to the yard and otherwise I avoided it) so maybe...

Parsnips add a nice dimension to stews, soups, roasted, etc.--anywhere you would add carrots. They're on my "plant next year" list.

White plastic fences ought to be outlawed along with lava rock.

So glad you started this thread and posted pics!

>10 qebo: Nothing like steamed parsnips and butter as a side dish.

Here's the recipe:

English Parsnip Pie

2 lb. parsnips
2 tsp. salt
4-6 tbs. honey
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1 tbs. lemon juice
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

double crust pie shell

Boil unpeeled parsnips until very tender; drain and peel; while still hot blend them. Add rest of ingredients. Partially bake pie shell; turn mixture into cooled shell and top with latticework of pastry strips. Bake at 450 degree for 20 minutes, or until pastry is browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Oven temperature is critical; if oven heats high, use a 400-425 degree setting.

I don't know that I've made this recipe in 20 years. It's only me, now, and a pie would be more temptation than I need. Blending hot parsnips is insane, but not that hard to do. Two teaspoons salt seems high, and I'd bet that cutting it in half would be fine.

Looks good, Lynda. I'm going to save this for a parsnip harvest.

I'm curious about your replacement of the English ivy. I am interested in native ground cover, but know nothing about them. I love English ivy and am considering it for various parts of our urban yard, without having done any assessment as to whether it would thrive.

>14 elenchus: This site might be of interest: http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/finding-native-groundcovers/

>15 labwriter:

That is looking like a great start for me!

>14 elenchus: English ivy is ubiquitous around here, but it's a non-native invasive. Last fall I cut it around the base of trees so the strands growing up the trunks would die. I don't have much experience with shade groundcover. Most of my previous yard was full sun. There was a 3' x 30' strip along the north side of the house where I tried lots of plants, most of which failed to thrive. Some successes though. White Wood Aster started in a small patch and spread, and it attracted clouds of small flying bugs. Wild Ginger grew larger and seemed happy but never spread beyond its original location. Violets were my default groundcover wherever I found them. I'll be experimenting in my new yard for years I'm sure, and I have plenty of space to play with.

http://phillywatersheds.org/doc/9-Invasive%20Species_English%20Ivy.pdf
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/eco-friendly/using-natives/replacing-i...
http://www.lfwa.org/updates/what-do-about-english-ivy
http://vnps.org/download/VNPS%20Brochures/Alternatives-to-English-Ivy.pdf

>17 qebo: Have you ever tried any of the creeping thyme varieties for ground cover? I started using Mother of Thyme several years ago, and it's been very successful. I have it boxed in, and steadfastly pull it out when it gets too frisky, and I mow it right along with the lawn (mostly to keep it from blooming). I pull weeds out of it now and then, but mostly it takes care of them by taking all the nutrients and sunlight. Dandelions and Mallow are about the only worries.

Besides, it's such a nice smell when I mow.

>18 Lyndatrue: It is a nice smell. Ah, Thyme is mint family. That makes sense. I'm aiming for native, and especially native caterpillar hosts, and one recommendation here for shade is Meehan's Mint, which I planted in a small area last year, hasn't had time to prove itself.

>17 qebo: I wonder if Prairie Smoke would grow in your area as a ground cover--Geum triflorum. It's native to the northern plains; primarily bumble bee pollinated. In early summer it has puffy, glittery seed heads. The leaves remain semi evergreen over winter. It's drought tolerant, which is probably something you're not concerned with.

>20 labwriter: That's a cool plant! USDA map has it into NY but not in PA. I'm not averse to some stretching of "native" in small doses.

Extremely windy here today. Maybe just as well, because I felt unmotivated to traipse around outside, and instead started seeds and completed federal income taxes. Oh, also I ordered three raised beds for the driveway.

The sunroom is a convenient space, large enough for a temporary table, and tiled floor between it and the kitchen sink.

Tithonia for the community garden on the top shelf. I’ll start sunflowers too, but not quite yet.



Cornflower / Bachelor’s Button for my deck. I usually plant them directly into containers, but they take awhile to get going so I’m trying an early start.



A couple evenings ago I marked rows for the carrots and onions. Carrots are supposed to be planted 2-3 weeks before last frost, which is typically late April here, so I’m waiting until next weekend. Onions can be planted now, but they're going in together.

Nice!

Your planting of sassafras and pawpaws will help attract swallowtail butterflies, as both are host plants: sassafras for spicebush swallowtails, pawpaws for zebra swallowtails. Parsnips are often planted here as a "deer crop"; the Christmas tree farm where we get our tree every year has several small fields planted in parsnips so the deer are less likely to browse on the trees. So keep in mind that by planting them, you may also be attracting deer as well as swallowtails.

Creeping phlox might be a nice ground cover for you; it does attract pollinators and doesn't have many pests that attack it.

>24 CassieBash: Ah, spicebush and sassafras are both in the laurel family. I'm not sure where I'm going to fit all these bushes and trees. We're just barely in the northernmost range of zebra swallowtails; I haven't ever seen one but someone a few miles south of me gets them. The parsnips will go in the community garden, which doesn't have deer.

Woo! You made a thread! Yippee!

I am envious, in a nice way, of your new yard...so many possibilities!

Are you going to put down some sort of barrier between your milkweed and the neighbor's fence? They might not be too thrilled with a semi-invasive plant next to their yard.

I love the stone wall...possibilities there!!!

Shade groundcover hmm...if the area is damp, what about Lily of the Valley? You could even put some containers here and there, and plant them with Begonias and Coleus. It could add some color during the summer.

I love your sunroom, and the seed starting setup...I'm slightly green with envy. ;)

>26 fuzzi: The neighbors have a clump of ornamental grass that blocks their view, and the area between it and the fence gets weedy. So I'm not sure they'd notice a few milkweeds. I love the stone wall too, but I'll probably leave it alone for awhile because I've met that neighbor only once in passing and I don't want to intrude on her space. Lily of the Valley is non-native. Recommended substitutes are Solomon's Seal, False Solomon's Seal, and Canadian May-Lily, all native relatives.

Parsnips attract deer. Who knew? There are no deer for (at least) a hundred miles (or perhaps fifty, if I consider that there might be deer in the Blues). I'm now thinking of putting in a serious stand of them, just to see what they *do* attract. Besides, they're pretty, and make a nice border. Carrots make about the same border, but I can eat my weight in carrots, so they aren't as useful for bordering.

I always considered Lily of the Valley to be invasive. Fortunately, it would die here. Instantly. I have bindweed instead (just as invasive, maybe more), but at least it's not poisonous. At least cattle can eat (but certainly prefer not to) bindweed.

The raised beds arrived today. I managed to drag the boxes to my back entry where they'll be sheltered until I have time to assemble.

This afternoon I contacted a tree service to ask about removing the bushes at the front of the house. This is now scheduled for next Monday.

Heading to the annual Master Gardener symposium today. Meanwhile, we're supposed to get a few inches of snow. Yes, it is April 9.

>30 qebo: My best friend's wedding, held in Colorado, got snowed on--June 7.

Oh, have fun at your symposium. It sounds wonderful!

Sigh. Driving to the conference this morning was an adventure. The snow wasn’t sticking to the roads, but it was significantly reducing visibility and I got mixed up on a familiar road. All gone now, and tomorrow the high temperature will be 50.



Outside the main conference room was a plant sale. I walked by the pawpaws a few times, then talked to the vendor about where they should go in relation to my current trees. So now I have a probable location. The plant with smaller leaves is a persimmon, which was only $5 so why not. I placed the bag on the floor to take a photo, walked away for a minute to set the camera down, and returned to find one of the cats eating the persimmon leaves.

Seed status:

Tithonia:


Cornflower:

>33 qebo: I love Tithonia, and usually pick up a pack of seeds for planting after last frost.

>32 qebo: silly kitty. Mine eat my Peace Lily, and one chewed the top off a Mother-in-Law Tongue...

I've never tried Tithonia or Cornflower. I'm going to put them both on my "next year" list.

>35 labwriter: Tithonia is for butterflies; they'll go to the community garden, possibly a small experimental patch in my yard. Cornflower is because I like the shape of the flowers; they'll go in containers on my deck, get only passing attention from butterflies and bees.

The sun came out this afternoon and the temperature was 50ish, so I trekked over to the community garden to plant my carrots and onions. I didn’t get as far as I’d hoped, because several other people had the same idea, and these were people I either hadn’t met before or hadn’t seen since last fall, so I got drawn into various conversations, and then it got chilly.

In the top quadrant: 3 rows each of 3 types of parsnips intercropped with 3 types of onions.
In the bottom quadrant: 2 rows each of 3 types of purple carrots intercropped with 2 types of onions, and 3 rows of mixed purple/orange/white carrots intercropped with 3 types of onions.
I gouged the soil 1” deep along the strings, planted the onions 8” apart per instructions, filled with compost, sprinkled parsnip and carrot seeds along the rows, sprinkled compost above, filled between rows with straw. I’ll have to thin the parsnips and carrots. The compost is from the community garden mound.



The usual view from the corner. Several of my neighbors have begun prepping.

>37 qebo: good start. :)

>37 qebo: I envy you. It hasn't stopped either raining or snowing or blowing (high winds) since last weekend, and temps have been struggling to get and stay in the 40s. We're on the rise now (of course--just in time to go back to work!) and it's supposed to be nice this weekend. Hoping to catch up to your efforts then... ;)

>37 qebo: It really is very lovely. Could you come over and clear the beds where I need to plant the carrots here? Thanks in advance. ;-}

I'd never get away with the straw you are using. One good wind, and it'd be gone. I love seeing how far along your seedlings are up there with the grow lights. Spring is just the best time there is.

>40 Lyndatrue: The straw is fluffy when applied but settles down with rain.

The bushes were removed this morning. Yikes, sudden exposure to the world. Well, this'll force me to think about what else can go there.

Before:


After:

Yes, exposed, but even bare this way I think it a major improvement. Looking forward to a third set of photos, showing your final decision with some mature plants.

>42 qebo: What a difference! Great. This will be fun to watch.

>42 qebo: oh, SO much better!

Definitely opens everything up!

A cat chomped the persimmon of >32 qebo: when it was on the floor, so I put the three plants on a table where everything was fine for several days, and then this morning I discovered...



So now the plants are up high where I’ve never seen cats, but maybe they are actively seeking leaves.

Persimmon, yum!

>47 qebo: maybe if you gave them their own plant, like Catnip, they'd leave the Persimmon alone.

>49 fuzzi: The cat ate my pawpaw tree! Whose side are you on?

All done planting carrots and onions.



Each quadrant has 9 x 42” rows. I was advised to use Stuttgarter onions for intercropping, but in a spirit of experimentation I also planted Red Baron and Snowball with carrots in multiple rows. The onions are 8” apart. The parsnips and carrots are sprinkled and will be thinned later.

left top quadrant:
Guernsey parsnip w/ Stuttgarter onion
Guernsey parsnip w/ Red Baron onion
Guernsey parsnip w/ Snowball onion
Harris Model parsnip w/ Stuttgarter onion
Harris Model parsnip w/ Red Baron onion
Harris Model parsnip w/ Snowball onion
Hollow Crown parsnip w/ Stuttgarter onion
Hollow Crown parsnip w/ Red Baron onion
Hollow Crown parsnip w/ Snowball onion

left bottom quadrant:
Cosmic purple carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Cosmic purple carrot w/ Red Baron onion
Dragon purple carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Dragon purple carrot w/ Red Baron onion
Pusa Asita purple carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Pusa Asita purple carrot w/ Red Baron onion
mixed carrots w/ Stuttgarter onion
mixed carrots w/ Red Baron onion
mixed carrots w/ Snowball onion

right top quadrant:
Belgian white carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Belgian white carrot w/ Red Baron onion
Lunar white carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Lunar white carrot w/ Red Baron onion
Snow white carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Snow white carrot w/ Red Baron onion
Amarillo yellow carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Jaune Obtuse du Doubs yellow carrot w/ Red Baron onion
Lobbericher yellow carrot w/ Snowball onion

right bottom quadrant:
Chantenay orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Danvers orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Kyoto orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Little Finger orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Muscade orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Nantes orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Oxheart orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Parisienne orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion
Touchon orange carrot w/ Stuttgarter onion

I'll be over in a few weeks. There are never enough carrots in the garden. Mmmmmmmmmmm....

(Don't worry, I promise not to make a mess, and I'll just eat a few.)

>50 qebo: on both sides...I don't want to see anybody get hurt!

This morning I assembled the raised beds. I’m not sure exactly where they’ll go, but approximately where they are, toward the end of the driveway.

They look like real wood...are they?

>55 fuzzi: Yes, cedar.

>56 qebo: oh, nice!

My sister Laura's raised bed is deteriorating; it's been there so long the wood is rotting away. She's going to replace it by building a small stone wall instead. We'll be pairing in this area, as her peony bed (that's the raised one) borders my butterfly garden path. We've decided together to remove all the grass between the peony bed and the area where the bird feeders hang, to simplify mowing. Under the bird feeders, there's so much discarded sunflower seed husk that hardly any grass comes up at all, and it creates a soft and squishy ground that isn't good for mowing.

Rain today, a nuisance in timing but we need it. I've been trudging back and forth to the water tank at the community garden every day to keep my carrots happy. Not much progress since last week. I've tweaked the location of the raised beds but need to devote time to measuring and leveling. I've done nothing with the front yard. Next weekend is the first of the local native plant sales, so I've been preparing a list of possibilities.

>59 qebo: we had thunderstorms and rain last night, forecast is for more this afternoon. Even though I've been hand-watering my transplants, they look "happier" after the rain.

Ooh, plant sales...

This morning I started sunflowers, which will mostly go in the community garden but maybe I’ll put some in front of my house.


Here they are, next to the cornflowers that I started a few weeks ago.


On the shelf above is the tithonia that I started a few weeks ago.


New toys for my new life as a suburbanite with a lawn and trees.

Everybody’s posting satellite overviews, so here’s mine. This is from Bing, because Google and MapQuest got the trees in their full glory of leafiness, obscuring everything else. For orientation, the wobbly white fence in >2 qebo: is south of the house running west-east. The looong driveway is north of the house, and ended in a shed which I removed; that's about where the raised beds will be. And for scale, an inset of the old house (several years ago, when the lawn was covered by a tarp and the fence was 6' high).

>62 qebo: not bad. I will try Bing, as the Google one for me was pretty pitiful.

>61 qebo: those are healthy-looking plants!

From yesterday, just cuz this’ll last all of a week: japanese maple, dogwood, azalea. Also violets everywhere.

Lovely!

>64 qebo: Beautiful! I hope my Japanese Maple gets that big, someday.

Heard about this on a monarch listserv: http://www.yardmap.org , from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Map your yard and put stuff in it.

>64 qebo: Gorgeous!

>64 qebo: Violets are good; they're a host plant for fritillary caterpillars. I like the mix of red and pink between the trees and shrub.

>69 CassieBash: violets
Yup. I kept violets as my default groundcover in my old yard for exactly that reason. I'll have to start mowing my lawn soon to be a good neighbor, which worries me.
I like the mix of red and pink
I do too, and it'll be a guide for adding other plants to the front yard.

>70 qebo: mow away, the violets will come back.

>71 fuzzi: Yeah, but I'm worried about harming caterpillars.

Can you leave the violets alone along the edges, as if they are a flower border?

>73 fuzzi: I can gradually create violet borders, but meanwhile I have to tend the grass that's mixed in with them. I haven't seen many butterflies yet, so for now probably OK.

>70 qebo: Set your mower to cut high; violets are low-growers and the caterpillars are night feeders, so unless you mow in the early morning, late evening or at night, the caterpillars will probably be close to the ground and safe from the blades, and they'll have plenty of the lower leaves to eat.

Ooh, the yardmap site looks really interesting.

And I love how removing the bushes opened up your house.

>75 CassieBash: Thanks. I'll take your advice to minimize harm.
>76 streamsong: I set up a YardMap account with my property boundaries, but haven't done anything more. The next steps will be to set house boundaries and place trees.

Someone on a monarch listserv asked about converting a lawn to moss, a bit off topic but one reply posted links to this program:
http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/benefits-of-growing-moss
http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/moss-gardens
... which includes an episode with Doug Tallamy:
http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/bringing-nature-home/

I'm interested in moss because I have several large patches in my yard that I want to keep and expand.

On the agenda for today is the annual Native Plant and Wildlife Festival:
http://www.lancasterconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Native-Plant-Wild...

Not much activity on this thread lately because it's been chilly and rainy all week. Today is supposed to be minus the rain, though it's not exactly sunny either.

>78 qebo: moss, hmm?

What about thyme? I purchased some very low-growing and spreading thyme plants, and was going to put them on my hill, which is not quite covered with low-growing junipers. I want to fill in some of the open areas, but might put a section of the thyme in an area that I don't want to mow.

>79 fuzzi: I'm sure I've weighed in on the virtues of thyme as a ground cover before, but I'm happy to do it again. :-}

I have it on the join between the front yard and the back, and I mow it along with the grass. Sometimes I clip the edges that want to go off on their own. It's the very best ground cover I've ever had. Every once in a while, I think it would be nice to rip out the lawn entirely, and just have the thyme. Common sense always stops me, sadly (because it would be bees, everywhere).

Thyme--thanks!

So I bought a few plants today.





I returned home for a late lunch, then headed over to the community garden to meet two prospective renters (who committed w/ $, so we're in good shape). Lotsa people there, because today was a brief window of opportunity between a week of rain and another week of rain. I got my unfenced plot roughly cleared. Note that in my fenced plot the onions are now several inches high. The carrots are sprouting but haven’t yet risen above the straw.

It's really looking nice. Congratulations on new renters with $$$.

I have a bunch of plants to put in the ground myself, but you make me want to go buy some. Carrots are the best invention ever. :=}

Nice! You've been busy. Rain has kept me from gardening this weekend, but we needed it, so I'm not complaining (too loudly).

Another rainy day here, but with misty lulls, so I made some progress arranging the raised beds of >54 qebo: on the driveway. Not so simple, because I want them to be level and the driveway is slopped in both directions.

Yesterday at the native plant sale I ran into a former neighbor, who is interested in adopting some plants from my old yard. Today there was an offer on my old house, which I've accepted informally; paperwork tomorrow. I hope to find out what the new owners have in mind for the yard so I can move any plants they don't want. Meanwhile I can keep the yard reasonably under control; the July jungle won't be my problem.

>85 qebo: I found that as much as I liked my old house, once we drove away with the truck I found a certain satisfaction in thinking, "not my problem." There were things about the place that I was tired of dealing with. The huge driveway needed resurfacing, for example--oh good, not my problem. My Serviceberry bushes had looked sort of peaked last year--not my problem. In the main, we had fixed most of the "issues," but in that house, as in most houses, I guess, there were always issues. I have new issues in my new house, but that's fine--it's a good trade. Good luck with the sale.

Word from the real estate agent is that that prospective owners actively like the garden. I expressed concern about the milkweed, because I don't want them to remove it during monarch season, but she thinks it'll be fine, and I should have an opportunity to ask directly before then. I figure OK to take any excess where plants are expanding, e.g. milkweed and Joe Pye sprouts that would be crowded out if left to their own devices.

>86 labwriter: Yeah, there are always issues. The new house has as many issues as the old house, but I don't mind devoting attention because I'll be here for awhile to appreciate the results. The old house I've been emotionally done with for over a year, and I've resented its demands on time and money.

That is so neat that the owners like the garden. After all the work you've put into it, it's nice to have it appreciated.

>88 ronincats: We'll see how they feel when it really gets going. I'm told they have a little kid and another on the way, so they'll probably want space for running around.

I’ve finally gotten the raised beds in place.

Initially I’d aligned them with the deck, but determining the line was incredibly tedious (the line of the house, the line of the deck w/ rough and weathered wood), leveling was difficult with the driveway sloped in both directions, and I wasn’t wild about the result.


So I restarted fresh. The driveway isn’t precisely aligned with the house, and I wanted to further derigidify the orientation of the beds, so I began with the furthest bed at the right edge of the driveway, angled such that its long sides were level, and arranged the other beds along a line to the left edge of the driveway, parallel and 30” apart. (Yes, I am aware that nobody else will notice.) Still took some effort to get all the sides level, and they'll bulge and warp and slant over time, but I don’t mind natural deterioration.


So the next step is to fill them. I’ll get 3 cubic yards of a topsoil / mushroom compost mix delivered, and also scout around for miscellaneous amendments. I’ll put a layer of mulch over the driveway.
http://www.gardeninginraisedbeds.com/raised-bed-soil-mix/the-perfect-soil-mixtur...

Yes, my grass needs to be mowed. I put the mower together, but we’ve had rain nearly every day for two weeks, with sun too brief for drying.

I have applied for the Penn State Extension Master Gardener program. There was an information session with a pre-test yesterday evening, and interviews will happen in early June. The classes are weekly, August to December. Another community gardener has also applied. We weren't deliberately coordinating, had both independently inquired several months ago, then I noticed his name on an email list. This isn't a certainty, but the number of people at the information session was about the number they accept, and the main requirement is an eagerness to volunteer for various community programs.

>90 qebo: I really love the look of your raised beds. They compliment each other, and are very inviting. I had to laugh at your statement about needing to mow the lawn. This time of year, my lawn can grow three inches in a week. Summer will slow it way down.

Your lovely raised beds make me want some, and the very *last* thing I need is another garden bed.

>90 qebo: I *LOVE* how you angled the beds, how nifty!

Did you mention where you bought your raised beds? I want to put some in the front yard and would be interested in knowing. I also like the effect.

I'll chime in and agree that your bed orientation is quite eye-pleasing.

So what kind of questions were on the pre-test?

Love the beds! Can't wait to see them with plants! Regarding the lawn and mowing, I agree with >92 Lyndatrue:. Our yard has been mowed in such small patches due to rain/no chance to dry that the area that was first mowed needs it again, before we've even finished mowing the entire yard once. Don't sweat it; we've all been there before and we understand.

>92 Lyndatrue:, >93 fuzzi:, >96 CassieBash: Thanks! I could fiddle with placement forever, but I wanted to Get. It. Done. so I can plant by mid May.
>94 ronincats: I got them at Gardener's Supply. I like the metal corners, used them in my old yard too, and I priced cedar boards at Lowe's, decided not enough of a price difference to be worth the hassle, simpler to get pre-cut. I got 15" sides since the bottom is asphalt, which came as two 7-1/2" boards attached with a metal bar in the middle.
>95 2wonderY: A range of stuff, including responsibilities of a Master Gardener, and arranged into categories such as soil, turf, vegetables, flowers, trees, etc. The pre-test is also the post-test, and it didn't seem terribly difficult. It's multiple choice. I knew maybe 2/3, could narrow down the options in most of the others, maybe 10 or so I had no idea. Certification requires a post-test score of 80%. I'd suppose the purpose at this stage is to make sure there's some level of experience, and to demonstrate at the end of the course that learning has occurred.

Agree your new arrangement of the raised beds is much better than aligning on the rectilinear. Looks more natural and pleasing to the eye.

Congrats on entering the Master Gardener program. They had a good training program at the Botanical Gardens in Missouri. I thought maybe one day I would get around to it, but I never did.

>90 qebo: The program is every other year here. I first inquired in the summer two years ago, before classes started but after the interview process, so I had to wait. I will be highly annoyed if I'm not accepted. The Missouri Botanical Garden would be an ideal location!

Good luck on becoming a Master Gardener!

Another plant sale today. I had hoped to take yesterday afternoon off work to go, but the rain never let up so instead I stayed home to earn $. Today will be crowded.

Along with the cabbage worms feasting on the kale, I found this today on my green beans and chard. A quick search on the image hasn't found a good match. Do you recognize it and, if not, what's a good resource for identification? Thanks.

>103 ronincats: I like Bug Guide (http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740) for identifying insects I don't know about, and also What's That Bug? (http://www.whatsthatbug.com/) which is where I first saw pictures of a Jerusalem Cricket.

>103 ronincats: I use Caterpillars of Eastern North America but you're on the other side. You could try here: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/identification_tools .

>103 ronincats: you could ask @CassieBash, she's good at IDing caterpillars.

At the plant sale I got plants.



When I returned home, I called the mulch company, expecting that I’d place an order and get delivery sometime next week, but it was a slow day they said so the truck arrived about an hour later. That’s 3/4 cubic yard of mulch, and 3 cubic yards of a topsoil/mushroom soil mix. I put the mulch at the bottom of the raised beds and around the edges outside; I’ll probably order more of the same for that stretch of the driveway. I filled the raised beds to the halfway line with the soil. I want to get fancier with the top half (7-1/2”), amending w/ peat moss (bags in the background) and different compost (which I don’t yet have), and besides I needed a break from carrying buckets back and forth, so that was it for today. The goal has been to get this done by next weekend, and I established this is feasible.

Nice!

Do you compost? I don't recall. I have a barrel, but I also add vegetable and fruit scraps directly to the soil at times, and often adding coffee grounds around my acid-loving plants.

>103 ronincats: Don't have a guaranteed match right now--I'm in a car with the family on our annual Mother's Day garden center shopping excursion--but I would say it's a species of tiger moth and it probably would be just as happy eating weeds along the side of the road as it would be eating your garden. Tiger moth caterpillars don't tend to be highly specialized when it comes to host plants.

>108 fuzzi: I had a compost bin at the old house that I'm going to leave there. I have a small tumbler at the new house, plan to set up mesh cylinders for shredded leaves.

>110 qebo: as long as you have something. I've got my household finally trained to save compost-able stuff, and three coffee canisters by the sink to store the stuff until I get it outside.

Vienna collects compostables, composts it, and you can pick up the finished compost at the recycling centres. This is great as we don't have a good place for a compost bin, even though we do have a yard, and there are so many people with just balcony 'gardens' who are glad of the compost.

>112 MarthaJeanne: nice idea.

A friend of mine says she would never use the city compost because you can't trust what other people have thrown in, but she not only has a much larger garden, she also lives outside of Vienna, so can't use it. Sour grapes, I think.

Frankly, the compost is much better than you can do at home because they do such large amounts.

>108 fuzzi: Compostables get thrown on the manure pile. Nothing breaks down stuff like horse or cow manure. You should see the size of the worms (and centipedes and millipedes and pillbugs and such) that you can find in that pile when you turn it or go to get some. We've got far more than we use, so the pile keeps on growing. In the winter, it would be a great mountain for a Barbie ski resort--if it weren't for the ick factor.

>115 CassieBash: when I had chickens, the vegetable waste was thrown in their yard along with grass clippings. The dirt was full of HUGE earthworms, and I would shovel some out some of the dirt (and worms) to add to my garden. That was nice "stuff", and not smelly at all.

>116 fuzzi: Chickens and gardens are made for each other.

>116 fuzzi: My sister, owner of the "coop", is very careful about vegetable waste she feeds them--no moldy, rotting stuff. When we had Rhode Island reds that weren't as much pets, we fed them just about any vegetable matter, and they loved it. Kerri doesn't want to accidentally make her pets sick--even though I can't remember the reds ever getting sick from icky veggies and fruit waste. But they're her chickens, so what she says, goes. But we do put them in the garden in the spring to help eat the weeds and bugs, scratch up the soil, and leave their own brand of fertilizer. Horse waste is smelly (though not like pig or cow--whew!) but it does make good rich dirt, and if you already have the horses...well, you've got to do something with all the manure.

Filled! That’s a job I’m glad to have done. Next step is tacks every 1’ around the edges so I can string a grid.

>119 qebo: excellent!

>118 CassieBash: my chickens never got sick, either. They would scratch through the leavings and cluck with excitement when they found a tasty bit. When the rooster found something special like cheese, he would cluck so all the hens would come running: he'd then feed the best bits to them. I learned a bit about the social structure of chickens in the years we had them, such as the protectiveness of the rooster for his "girls".

How'd this become the chicken thread? No chickens in my yard per township ordinance. I don't actually want chickens, but my neighbor across the street does which is why I checked into the possibility.

San Diego actually passed an ordinance a couple of years ago allowing backyard chickens (NO roosters) with some restrictions like how close to property lines, etc. Our neighborhood nursery (in the heart of the city) holds classes in chicken raising. I've been tempted but haven't figured out how to make it work with any chance at traveling.

>119 qebo: Those are lovely. I'm so glad you decided to make them at an angle, instead of aligned with the driveway. I can almost smell the earth in them. Will the plants you bought go in them?

>121 qebo: sorry...

Nice raised beds. That represents a lot of work!

>121 qebo: No more chicken talk, promise.

>122 ronincats: There's been pressure here in the city, decision a year or so ago is no. In the township where I am now, it's a matter of sufficient space, so not this neighborhood.
>123 Lyndatrue: The plants I bought, which are still sitting on the deck, will go in the yard, somewhere as yet to be decided. I have seeds for the raised beds, fennel and dill and parsley so I can get black swallowtail caterpillars.
>125 labwriter: Yes, and my muscles are reminding me. I filled them by carrying buckets of dirt from the mounds, mixing it with consistent proportions of peat moss and cow manure. Took about 3 hours yesterday to get the top half filled, wanted to finish because today is rainy.

>127 qebo: *snort* Given that your lot is three times the size of many lots here in the city! Here's our requirement:
The number of chickens that may be kept on your
property is based on how far the chicken coop is from
your property lines (zone setback).
Generally, most single family homes in the City of San Diego would be allowed up to five chickens provided the chicken coop were located in the rear yard, 5 feet from side property lines, and 13 feet from the rear property line.

ETA And the local Costco had chicken coops for sale in the pet section yesterday!

(not talking chickens, nope)

;)

Yesterday I arranged tacks every 1' around the edges of the raised beds and strung grids. Today I planted seeds: fennel in the far bed, dill in the middle bed, parsley in the near bed. Whether they’ll get enough sun remains to be seen.



Also over the past few days I’ve been filling the railing containers, and today I planted nasturtiums.

Facing south, where the view is mostly of my neighbor’s yard. The plants in the tray are cornflowers, which will go into pots around the deck.



Facing north. The plants in the trays are tithonia, which will go to the community garden.

I love Tithonia.

Nice! Love the deck. Maybe the part-shade conditions will help retain moisture.

Beautiful work on the raised beds. I like the grids. Your back yard with all the trees reminds me of mine in Missouri. It was like a bird sanctuary. I imagine yours is as well.

What's the ground cover to the side of the raised beds, around the trees?

>134 elenchus: English ivy. Which will all, eventually, be replaced.

Today’s task was to clear the ground along the south fence. There’s a slightly elevated section surrounded by stones at the base of a black cherry tree, and a 6’ strip to another black cherry tree and various bushes near the alley. It seems to get a fair amount of sun, so I’m going to try milkweed. I’ve read that although milkweed prefers full sun, it’ll do OK with less, well enough for monarchs which is what I care about.

I am not concerned about the milkweed invading the neighbor’s yard because on the other side of the fence is a fine crop of garlic mustard.


At the base of the tree is a dense patch of daylily. Also an electrical thingy that I don’t trust because I’ve had several incidents of electrical trouble in this house, so I’ll get it checked before I go digging between it and the house. I dug out the far side today. The honeysuckle on the fence is the neighbor’s.


Along the strip was another patch of daylily, which I dug out completely, along with other miscellany.


The bulbs are quite something. I'm sure I've left many behind in the ground and I'll be dealing with them for years.

>136 qebo: If it's any comfort, I took out a large stand some years ago, and was surprised to see very few regrowing, and that only for the first year (after Day Lily Armageddon).

You've been very industrious today. :-}

>135 qebo:

Ah, I love English Ivy. I know it's not native and considered "invasive", so I'm considering other alternatives. But in my mind, English Ivy is the benchmark in terms of how it looks.

I've read how the "non-native / invasive" outlook is not as black and white as it sometimes is portrayed. Ecologically, what we deem native is very likely to have been invasive at one point. So I'm not ruling out English Ivy yet, though I'm still leaning toward something considered native to Midwest Prairie.

>138 elenchus: I like English ivy too, in small doses, but it doesn't contain itself, and once let go it kills off everything in its path. Native is less a purity thing than a contribution to the ecosystem thing.

That's the balance I hope to strike: avoiding the trend to monoculture. The ivy would be replacing our turf / grass, though, so to be fair our small urban lawn is pretty monoculture already (discounting the various dandelions and other "weeds" we're allegedly fighting off).

We have English ivy in some places, but our lawn mower keeps it in check in most places. We have some that grows with our violets around the base (and up the trunk) of our pin oak. It doesn't seem to be spreading very much past the circle around the tree where we don't mow. Perhaps the violets keep it in check. Maybe it's the mower. Or maybe it doesn't particularly like our soil. We've ripped it out of other areas of our yard, so unless it's something about that particular spot, I doubt it's the soil. Good luck with the fight against the ivy, for those doing so.

The electrician (who is here for another reason today) removed the thing in the midst of the daylily patch of >136 qebo:, said it was low voltage lighting but had already been disconnected.

>142 qebo: Thank goodness for that. I've actually been worried about it, in a low-level, nothing I can do, but gee, that looks familiar, kind of way.

The electricians fixed a problem that occurred in January, a short circuit in an outdoor lamp. Which was revealed when the furnace stopped working. At the time, they rewired the furnace to its own circuit, but they couldn't dig into the ground between the exterior wall and the lamp, and since then two appointments have been rescheduled because of rain. I was expecting the same again today because the the weather report indicated passing showers starting mid morning, but the electricians showed up and found the trouble spot and installed a new junction box and were cleaning up as drops began falling from the sky.

The relevance of this to gardening is that since the bushes were removed five weeks ago, I haven’t touched the front yard because I didn’t know where the wire was or what the electricians might need to do. So now I know; the wire is in a conduit that runs from the house along the side of the patio to the corner then diagonally to the lamp, and the wire is fine, but the splice at the base of the lamp had gone bad. So now there’s a box that I can cover with mulch but not with dirt so it’s accessible.

Put a pinwheel or something at the spot to mark it for the electrician. :)

What are you thinking of doing with that front area?

>147 ronincats: At the recent plant sales I got wild ginger (Asarum canadense), a native groundcover that likes shade. I'll start a circle around the tree and see whether it takes. I'd like something more showy along the edges of the patio but I don't know what. A neighbor is starting a business doing native plant garden design and setup. She's in the middle of a project and the weather hasn't been especially cooperative, but she hopes to have time within the next week or so to walk through my yard and suggest strategic starting points.

>148 qebo: That's the kind of neighbor I need. I went to the nursery nearby, which is really a lovely operation--lots of choices. However, when I asked for native plants, the only thing the guy (owner) heard was "xeriscape." So I've been doing my own research. There's plenty of information out there, which makes me wonder why a guy who owns a nursery isn't aware of this HUGE trend towards planting natives. Sigh.

>149 labwriter: Yeah, I've been pretty much running experiments. Which is fine, I'm happy to continue, but I want some sense of how everything can hang together. This neighbor is actually a librarian by training, but also has years of experience with plants. She's far more knowledgeable than I am, and has a compatible attitude, so when she mentioned that she was starting a business (she has little kids so wants part time with flexible hours) I figured why not ask.

A librarian AND a gardener??? What a great neighbor to have!

And... minutes after I posted >150 qebo:, the neighbor called to say another appointment had just been cancelled and could I fit her in today? Just walking the yard was extremely useful. She suggested locations for the pawpaw and spicebush, confirmed that a couple other ideas I'd had are reasonable, and made a list of the plants I got at the recent sales so she can think about where they'd be happiest. She'll sketch the front yard and suggest general features or categories of plants with several options to choose from depending on my preferences. Anyway, this gives me a structure but lotsa room to experiment. She's more daring than I would be about packing things together and planting a few instead of just one. And she's just starting the business so her fee is way lower than it should be (which I've told her).

>152 qebo: what a wonderful resource.

On the north side of the yard (also all over the neighborhood), the rhododendrons are blooming.

Peeking through the trees:


Easily seen from strategic points:


Somebody is eating them:

I've never seen rhododendrons, except in photographs, such as yours. Do they smell good?

Have you ever tried a light wash of Tabasco? I've used it with success to discourage such aggressive snacking as I see in those bottom shots.

>155 Lyndatrue: They don't have a strong smell. I actually like the chewed leaves, mostly curious who's eating them.

>156 qebo: The damage looks like insect damage to me, particularly where the leaves have holes, rather than nibbles off the edges. Beetles are notorious for nibbling actual holes in leaves.

>157 CassieBash: The chewed leaves are all near the ground. Does that help identify the culprit?

>158 qebo: Not really, or at least not to my knowledge, though it is interesting. Beetles are a huge family and I imagine they have a wide variety of habits, but I found one that might also be the reason you're not seeing the blighters--they're night feeders.

root weevils

I would definitely call those leaves "notched".

>159 CassieBash: I think you got it. Photo of leaf damage here iis similar to mine: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb0970e/eb0970e.pdf . Thanks. At this point I'm merely curious, not planning to do anything. The rhododendrons are doing fine.

Love the Rhododendrons! I've never grown them, but my grandmother had one growing by the front door of her apartment/condo.

>154 qebo: We used to vacation at Roan Mountain State Park in northeastern Tennessee. They have a Rhododendron Festival every year. It's totally amazing. I do believe my 2x great grandfather probably hid his still in the rhododendron thickets around that area. That's why we started going there--so I could work on my genealogy. We kept going because we liked the area so much.

http://www.roanmountain.com/rhododendron-gardens/

I just jumped into your thread. I'll take some time later to read the whole thing. I want to see how your new back yard is coming along!

Not a whole lotta excitement in the new yard these days, because I’m mostly tied up with tasks for the old house, which will, I hope, be gone from my life soon. Over the weekend I ran a mower over the front lawn so it doesn’t look completely neglected.

The fennel and dill in the raised beds are sprouting.


The nasturtiums in the railing containers are sprouting. I planted the cornflowers that I started indoors a couple months ago.


The plants from sales a month ago? Still on the deck, and mostly in decent shape.

>164 qebo: I still have some annuals waiting to be transplanted...maybe if it stops raining here I'll do it this weekend!

>165 fuzzi: Send some rain my way, please, if you're done with it! :)

>166 CassieBash: I wish I could, we are saturated, some places are flooding!

>167 fuzzi: I know; I feel bad for all the flooding victims around the world. That's the way the weather seems to work anymore, though--feast or famine.

Hmm, it’s been awhile. I’ve been dealing with the old house, which is now scheduled for settlement on June 17. I am now completely out, but I’ll do final round of mowing and weeding mid week. I’ve been averting my eyes in the new yard, but today I got started with the backlog of tasks.

Task #1: planting 2 pawpaws and 3 spicebushes.

Here they are set in place. A pawpaw (in clear container) at the left near the fence, another in the patch of daylily at the right. The spicebushes (in black containers) in an arc filling gaps between existing bushes. Whether I’ll keep the existing bushes forever remains to be seen, but for now yes.




Lotsa rock chunks in the ground.


Ground cleared, holes dug, plants in place. This didn’t actually take very long, could’ve been done weeks ago, but I’ve been frazzled and not trusting of my decision making abilities.

Looking good!

>169 qebo: Congratulations on old house going into settlement. I'm sure it'll be a relief to just have one. Now that you will have so much spare time, maybe you can come over and help weed at my house. I'm getting way behind.

Your yard looks so lovely and green. I'm looking forward to following your journey as you start molding it to suite you.

>169 qebo: I can't wait to watch those Pawpaw trees grow. What a relief it will be to you to be completely "out" of the other place. Moving is physically and emotionally exhausting.

I'll "third" the comments about moving: it is exhausting, even if you hire others (actually, might be worse with hired help).

Your photos look nice and green!

Oh, and the rocks remind me of living in New England. There are NO rocks here in eastern NC, we have to buy them! A few years ago a friend dismantled an old barn, and offered us rocks that were part of the foundation. We keep our hoard of stones hidden behind the shed, and use as needed.

>173 fuzzi: Hiring movers and packers for my last two moves was the best money ever spent. I set aside/marked anything I planned to pack, they packed everything else. They came with their own nearly edless supply of materials and boxes. They did a MUCH better job at wrapping, weight distribution, labelling, etc. In fact, they were the only reason I stayed sane and not exhausted the last two times.

>174 lesmel: as an adult, we have used professional movers only once, for our CT to SC move. I was up all night packing boxes, and about 4am was stressing that I would not finish before they arrived. The SC to NC move we did ourselves, with a 20' Ryder that I drove. I hope we don't move again...

>173 fuzzi: Yeah, a series of nuisance tasks, which either involved coordinating other people or were easier to do myself.

All of the garden events here are packed into two months. This weekend was a garden tour, which amounted to taking walks between garden tasks yesterday and today. On Wednesday, the native plant conference begins... which means that more plants will appear on my deck.

Continuing the backlog of tasks...

Task #2: front yard cleanup and planting.

Yesterday I began raking the leaves under the Japanese maple at the front of the house (see >145 qebo: 3 weeks ago). Today I weeded around the edges, and mowed the lawn, and placed the pots of wild ginger. Which I’m not at all sure will grow there, but we’ll see.



The triangular area between the walkway and driveway has been empty for two months (see >42 qebo: 2 months ago). Yesterday I smoothed the ground, and today I bought a Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus), which has been a plan for awhile. I hope to fiddle with the exact location and get it in the ground by next weekend.



Task #3: community garden.

This evening I went to the community garden for the first time in two weeks (see >82 qebo: 6 weeks ago). I’ve been setting a bad example. My corner plot was half filled with thistle, now removed and piled in the middle. Under the thistle I discovered a bunch of volunteer milkweeds, which I may transfer elsewhere. My onions and carrots are growing, but interspersed with thistle, so that’s a job for later this week. I also need to thin the carrots.

>177 qebo: I'm ashamed to admit that I'm glad to see your weeds, considering what work still awaits me on that front. I now need a Carolina Allspice shrub. It's probably too late for this year (and I don't need anything new to care for; my plate is full). I'll just have to eagerly await yours becoming established.

Ah, the things we learn here on LT.

Congrats on the house settlement. Now you can concentrate on the new.

>173 fuzzi: We can get our rocks free from any farmer--rocks in fields are hard on tiller blades. Thanks to the glaciers, we have plenty of rocks everywhere.

>176 qebo: Native plant conference--tell us all about it! :)

You're making great headway!

On Tuesday evening I had a follow-up meeting with my neighborhood garden designer. She’s juggling work with family demands so isn’t yet done, but she walked me through the rough draft (literally, standing across the street and under the tree...) and gave me a plant list in preparation for the native plant sale. It’s not rigid; it’s options for anchors and fillers that fit criteria of size, color, and site conditions. This did not keep me completely focused, but I did find a fair number so I’ll start with those and see what else is needed.

Early in the week I managed to get the wild ginger (Asarum canadense) into the ground. Not easily; the Japanese maple roots are quite dense, so it was a trial and error process. Unattractive now, but if they survive they’ll spread to fill the space.


Yesterday’s haul from the native plant conference. I had a similar amount today, but forgot to take photos before I plopped everything onto the deck. Which is currently such a chaotic mess that you aren’t allowed to see it. I’m not going to list all the plants. I’ll name them as I get them into the ground.

>180 qebo: so, wild ginger handles shade?

>181 fuzzi: Yes, that's what it likes. I had it on the north side of my old house.

In other garden-related life news...

As of mid afternoon settlement, I am free of the old house. I went over there a couple days ago to do the final round of yard tending, and left a note with a paragraph about milkweed and monarchs, and offering to identify plants and/or take anything they don't want. So we'll see. Outta my hands, and probably not the top priority of the new owners.

As of the early evening mail, I have been accepted into the Master Gardener program. Which is not a surprise, seemed from the numbers that they'd take all applicants who could commit to the requirements, but I'm glad to be sure, especially since they were vague about exactly when they'd let us know. Classes are weekly mid August - early December.

>183 qebo: congratulations, on both counts. :)

>183 qebo: Me, too, on the congratulations, and I look forward to seeing the wild ginger pictures as it becomes established.

>185 Lyndatrue: May be awhile. I planted wild ginger at my old house 3-4 years ago, and it returned every year and seemed gradually somewhat more dense, but it didn't noticeably expand until this year.

Congrats from me as well!

I’ve fallen behind in reporting... I’ve been collecting plants from sales in late April, mid May, mid June, and now that the old house is gone I’ve been racing to get them into the ground before they die. Also I've been taking photos of the yard at different times of day to get a better grasp on where the sun is when. The result is I have lots of photos and I've been too tired to sort through them.

Weekend of June 18-19:

Between the front path and driveway: the Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus).


Between the Japanese maple and front patio: a purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus) which is a non-thorny native with purple-pink flowers. The berries are for the birds; edible by but not tasty to people. It is supposed to be tolerant of shade, and stay low enough not to obscure the window but spread to fill the space. This area gets a sliver of sun in the early afternoon.


Between the raspberry and the Japanese maple: two types of foamflower, Oakleaf (Tiarella cordifolia) and Wherry’s (Tiarella wherryi). These have pink-white flowers, and should spread as groundcover.


At the edge of the patio: two types of coral bells (Heuchera villosa ‘Autumn Bride’ and Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’).


On the edge near the drainpipe, a wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia).


Overview:


A few days later during a rainstorm, with a stream of water exiting the drainpipe and curving around the tree into the driveway.

Weekend of June 25-26:

Between the Japanese maple and lamppost: three types of trillium (Trillium recurvatum, Trillium erectum, Trillium cuneatum), all with red flowers. I haven’t had much success with trilliums so I don’t have high hopes, but with six of each maybe something will show up next year.


Tucked between the foamflowers and bleeding heart: Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).


Around the lamppost: Appalachian sedge (Carex appalachica).


The front patio swept, with a sitting area:


On the north side where there is no sun: white wood asters (Aster divaricatus).

Weekend of June 25-26:

I organized my plants into categories, one of which was short white flowers that like shade. So I scouted around in the yard for a place to put them that wouldn’t be too difficult, and decided under the dogwood tree, to the right of the yard debris bags.


Clearing the space turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. The surface layer is English ivy, which is all over the yard. Under that is decaying tree debris which is probably an asset. Under that, about 4” deep, is deteriorating landscape cloth entangled in roots. Which has to be peeled back gradually, and removed in strips and chunks. Tedious. I don’t yet know the full extent of the landscape cloth, but it’s definitely under the three rhododendrons. I dealt with half of one.


Here’s the space partially cleared.


The plants: Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum multiflorum), golden seal (Hydrastis canadensis), umbrella leaf (Diphylleia cymosa), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadensis), ramps (Allium tricoccum), primrose-leaved violet (Viola primulifolia), dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius).


The black cohash (Actaea racemosa) is too tall to be under a tree, so I put it in front of the rhododendron.


This represents about 6 hours of manual labor. I am grateful that it’s shady.

I’ve been asking people about compost and mulch, and it seems the best source is the township yard waste facility though it’s a nuisance. It’s easy to get to, but open only afternoon/evening four weekdays, and the mulch is in a gigantic mound surrounded by mud. I went twice last week. I’ve been using it sparingly.

I started with the raised beds. These are fennel and dill and parsley, growing but not as rapidly as I’d expect. The problem may be insufficient sun, but in case it’s soil I added a bit of booster, which also contrasts visually with the green.

And that brings us to this weekend, yesterday in the back yard, today in the front yard, tomorrow... ? Lotsa photos, not enough remaining energy to post and describe.

I am envious of your garden, then again, I am not garden ambitious. Out here, it just stays too hot too long.

The shade is great for working. Remains to be seen how it is for growing.

>193 qebo: Ah, you remind me of when I first bought my own house (2006), and all the work that went in to shaping it...(but it's never done, is it? I love most of your plants, which must remain mysterious, and met only in books and other people's gardens, since I have almost no shade anywhere in my own yard. How interesting the dogwood tree is, though. It's looking lovely and healthy in your yard, and mine are fine also. Dogwoods: the great uniter.

In >192 qebo: you mention that your herbs are slow to grow. I do believe that dill likes the sun, but I don't think parsley cares. I always plant my parsley under the rose bush, so it's getting only afternoon soon, and it seems to do fine there. It dies in full sun (which is harsh in July and August).

Your raised beds are very pretty. It's more ambition than I'll ever have.

It was possibly not sensible to get so many plants before I had any idea what to do with them, but their existence has forced me to think about what I want where, and motivated me to do the necessary manual labor.

Apparently fennel and dill and parsley are tolerant of shade to some extent. I grew them in full sun in my previous yard, and the parsley typically waited until late summer to take off and remained green long after the others were gone. I've begun watching the sun here, but I don't have a solid assessment of how many hours the raised beds get, and it's not a single number for all; the sun moves through holes between house and trees and if I wait 15 minutes it'll be in a different spot. So about all I can do is plant things and see what happens. If they don't grow, then I'll try something else next year.

Love the pictures and descriptions. I think I will research some of your natives to see if any would do well here.

Hot & humid for months does not appeal to many plants I love.

Starting a new thread for July etc...