Wet And Wild

It rained all day which forced me to sit still for the most part. That is probably a good thing. Rock tossing is strenuous. A day off could save me from ruin.

I do have an umbrella. No reason not to go for a walk in the garden. The top half would stay dry at least. Rubber boots would have kept the lower parts dry.

It is thoroughly wet out there.

Planted vignettes are growing more common in my wild. Editing, growth and regular additions are starting to make an impact.

But it is still very much a wild cultivated garden. I make strong suggestions. I am not in control.

The very late blooming Lemon Drop Azalea is getting ready to bloom. Of all the rhododendrons and azaleas I have planted this one has done the best. I attribute it to location. They get the most sun.

This is going to be a good liatris year. I have planted dozens of them and tossed sacks of seed over the years. This year I finally see lots of bloom spikes. In the meantime I have some nice contrasting texture and foliage for entertainment.

Hidden in the glass.

I was hoping for another color. If they are both going to be white, they should bloom at the same time for maximum impact one would think. Just ten feet of separation changes the sunshine dynamic and so it seems the bloom time.

The evergreen Under Garden of winter interest is now in hiding. I have made sure to give all the plants a skylight through the Lush. Smothering shade is the enemy. As they grow bigger it gets easier.

Wet and wild on a rainy afternoon after a nice long nap.

The wild Hydrangea arborescens is the parent of the infamous 'Annabelle'.

'Hass' Halo' is the newest family member that I was lucky enough to be gifted. Interestingly, I have noted a number of the wild hydrangea here attempting to be lace-caps.

Tomorrow I go back to rock tossing. By the end of Saturday I hope to have the base of a new stream bed formed in the Almighty Falls.

Today was wet and restful.

Channeling Almighty Falls

Another afternoon of digging and rock tossing and a stream bed has begun to present itself.

I dig and toss rocks to the side and then toss the rocks a bit further aside to make room for forming a nice deep and wide channel. I will lose interior space when the rubber liner gets covered in rock.

The upper channel is pretty much a done deal. It needs some smoothing and added height in places. Otherwise it is wide enough and deep enough for what I need. The rubber liner covers the base and it is then covered with a fresh layer of artistically placed rock.

The Almighty Falls is a good ten foot drop. I plan to rebuild what is a series of steps below so it won't be one long drop. The water will flow over that rock below the green metal flashing. That goes of course. It feeds another spring into the mud hole.

That exposed bare ground is one solid slab of rock. It has to be the bottom of the stream bed.

The plan is to split the stream to flow around both sides of the big rock in the center right. These pictures don't really do justice to the true lay of things. You have to get inside the mud hole to get a feel of how things will really flow.

The pond got another load of gravel. It will basically be a sloping bowl with a flat shelf around the entire perimeter for rock placement and liner hiding.

The Almighty Falls is moving right along.

Back home, chaos is about to explode.

The Almighty Falls

The Lady of the House wants a new waterfall.

It just so happens there is a decomposed stream with falls and a pond already there. Very decomposed. It also has a natural spring seeping out of the slope over an exposed vein of natural monolithic stone that won't be going anywhere.

This won't be quite like building something from scratch.

The upper course is there and still loosely cemented in place. It is deeper than it looks. It needs to become the smooth base for a rubber lined stream bed.

The base for the lower stream bed inside the crumbling walls must be dug and rebuilt. There's all kind loose rock under that layer of green. Water runs through it.

The existing pond must drain. I won't even try to capture the spring water. Any attempt would be futile. I just can't have standing water under the rubber liner in the pond. It must leave.

Well it turns out this was a cement pond with a fully clogged drain and three feet of accumulated muck.

It now has a new bottom drain, overflow drain and gravel drain bed. The pond will be formed with gravel and the rubber liner placed on top.

One giant ornamental rock that was in the way up above, movable and that the machine could reach has found a new home. Note the natural rock ledge on the left. That will be the back wall of the pond.

The digging and rock tossing to build a new stream bed has begun. I'm taking it back down to the natural massive rock out cropping. Where will the water want to go? The path of least resistance might be best.

One big rocky mud hole is getting a makeover. It is 120 feet long top to bottom and has 35 feet of rise in elevation. The pump is going to be big. The Almighty Falls begins. Wish me luck.

I have finally accomplished the unthinkable. I grew full sized blooming poppies from seed. Many, many other attempts have failed.

The secret seems to be fresh bare dirt and no competition. Without proper beds, that leaves poppies to grow in the roadside vegetable garden.

I have Fly Poison too. Who needs Almighty Falls.

The Calming Chaos

Omm ..... I come home to chaos and it calms me after spending my days in proper gardens where everything should be just so.

There are no weeds that must be pulled in my garden. I can edit when the moment suits me. No rush needed.

Company coming? No worries.

The garden is always ready for visitors. I don't have weeds to worry about.

The paths might be mowed if needed.

Wild hydrangea roam free in my garden. Shrubbery most certainly are not allowed to do that in a proper garden.

Iris in the middle of the Great Lawn that has no grass, I have that.

Poke Milkweed, Asclepias exaltata, is not a weed.

We like our weird flowers. They can stay.

Gardey is overbooked and feeling a bit stressed of late. So many needs to fill and only one of me to do it all.

Omm ...... Give me chaos.

Ka-Bloom Day

The summer rumbles have been active all week. Kitties don't do lightning and thunder and down pours.

The garden has been enjoying all this water though. Me too. I don't have time to water things. It's Bloom Day and the summer time flowers are beginning to stir. The Wamboldtopian Rose Campion has arrived.

 Thermopsis caroliniana is in full bloom.

These are easy to start from seed. I need to do that again on my new seed sowing table that keeps things away from the slugs and snails that just love fresh sprouts.

I planted the iris. Nature gave me the rest. Thanks nature.

I planted the spirea and am now considering getting rid of it because it self sows just a bit too much. Even the small plants have a deep, hard to pull tap root. It is annoying.

It looks pretty green out there.

But there are all kinds of weed flowers beginning to bloom. The Ox-Eye Daisy is scattered through out.

There is Black and Blue Salvia in pots on the basement patio. The Lush lurks in the distance.

I had two of the native Astilbe biternata. I am assuming the voles ate the other one over the winter. Damn varmints! I'll have to go dig more. This is a great plant for summer bloom in the deep shade.

'Black Gamecock' is nearing the end.

The bloom of the Tall Flower Meadow is a slow building process that peaks at the end of summer with a massive display. In the meantime a stroll through the garden reveals that more than enough is still going on.

Stalking the Japanese Iris.

Two of these fell out of the ground as seedlings. I brought them home and grew them to blooming size plants. The second is about to open and I will find out if I got a different color.

The native Whorled Loosestrife, Lysimachia quadrifolia, is rather abundant in the garden. That seems to be a common trait of Loosestrife.

Listen. Whoville is calling.

It just so happens there is this loud bodacious Meidiland rose at the top of my driveway. I am not a rose person, but this one is so no maintenance I let it stay.

Summer rumbles and chicory go hand in hand.

And last, but not least, one of my Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge' is about to do a super bloom with seven spikes. It is going to be fabulous and then the whole plant will die off and have to start over from the root crown. So be it.

I hope you enjoyed Bloom Day high on the low spot of a North Carolina mountain top. Now go visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for all your other Bloom Day needs.