On the morning of February 27th my friend and neighbor Bridget (new mom to the hydrangea) arrived ready to get to work. She quickly decided to chop it back even further...
We dug and dug, and cut roots, and dug and finally…there was movement!
Can you believe that this…
Became this…
And is now tucked in at its new home just a block away?
Pretty cool. As is this big empty spot!
It’s HUGE! (and the house painter missed a spot behind the hydrangea monster)
So the plan was to put in the pair of metal trellis I bought last fall (to create a divider between the front and back of this area, and create a wall that obscures the patio) and then plant! However I consulted the husband on trellis placement (having another set of eyes is good) and he pronounced them too wiggly and decided we needed to dig in and pour some footings first. You know what that means right? Can’t plant (bad thing #1) and have to deal with mixing cement (bad thing #2 and possibly my least favorite activity, next to painting over high-gloss oil based paint). Project on hold pending trip to the big box store…where (happy moment!) we discover these…
Which are much better then these which have to be cut and filled with cement…
Granted we still had to fill those tiny holes with cement to secure the trellis legs, but overall project just got waaaay easier. Back home and project underway…
The supervisor watched our every move.
And we’re done! Bamboo poles to keep the trellises straight and secure while the cement set, terra cotta pots to keep our feet from smashing emerging hosta tips.
A few days later and the trellis was firmly attached (monkeys can safely climb it, should they ever show up) and I could finally plant!
The first to go in the ground, my Clematis tibetana, which waited patiently in a large container all winter. I was a little nervous handling it, the stems are very brittle. But finally it’s in the ground!
Next came an even more nerve wracking task, moving the largest of my two Schefflera taiwaniana. After all if I screwed this up it’s not like I could just zip down to the closest nursery and pick up another one. Lila was too concerned to watch, she had to avert her eyes.
The shovel slipped right down into the soil though, and it popped out quite easily (if you're wondering why I needed to move it...I mistakenly put it in a spot where it received too much sun. In the summer it's leaves lost their dark green coloring and turned a putrid yellow).
The next thing I knew it was out and ready to position in its new home. I think it magically grew about two feet as well…
It’s been 2 weeks now since it was moved and the leaves have not drooped, even a bit. No yellowing, I’m starting to think it’s gonna be okay…
That done I wrested the Schefflera delavayi out of its container and positioned it at the front of the trellis.
This all happened none too soon as the plants that had been sleeping are starting to wake up. Hostas…
Solomon's seal…
And the previously mentioned Shredded Umbrella plant.
You can see a couple of hellebores were moved to the front of the bed, and there’s a Disporum cantoniense there waiting on future purchases to determine its placement (I need to do a little plant shopping!)…
I want to find a couple of these dark ferns like I saw at Scott’s garden last summer, and I think I’ll move the Persicaria ‘brushstrokes’ over here too (picture taken at Rhone Street Gardens).
I’m thrilled to have this part of the garden start to reflect my style more than the hydrangea ever did. I am a little bothered by the fact I can stand on the steps at the back door and see all the way to the patio, which was never possible before, however I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before things fill in…best of all some of these new plants are evergreen and I won’t have to look at the leafless hydrangea sticks next winter! (to be continued after a few more plants are added to the mix…)
All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
No comments:
Post a Comment