The asian greens have survived amazingly well after repeated applications of snow.
The lettuce is still alive as well. There is some leaf burn and one of these days when they are thawed out maybe I will be able to harvest some winter salad greens.
The cozy cabin is also feeling a bit exposed in this winter weather. After a spring, summer and fall of leafy privacy it takes some getting used to when half the traffic slows to a crawl as they pass by, looking.
Zooming back to a regular view gives a more realistic look at a small cabin in the naked forest in the low spot on a mountaintop.
I can see it. I can even go inside it. I have a list of things that need doing, but when it is this cold, the cabin might as well be encased in a block of ice.
Maybe this afternoon it will thaw enough to scratch a few more items off the list.
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9 comments:
Hi Christopher, uh oh, visible to the road, are you feeling exposed? Maybe an evergreen hedge of some kind along the road would help your privacy. It is cold here too, no precip today, but rain all day yesterday, and our heat went out. Fixed today, we spent a cold night, and man oh man those toilet seats get cold with no heat! Hope you got some jobs done, with gloves on.
Frances
I was thinking the same thing as Frances; perhaps a row of hollies, or you could really have fun and have a mixed evergreen hedgerow. I get excited thinking of the possibilities!
Also, they probably won't slow anymore once the siding is on and the house is established.
Good looking cabin, all around! Maybe they're just admiring your architecture! (:
bev
I also want to plant some evergreens. What to choose..? There must be some conifers. It would be years before you derived any privacy benefit from them.
The drivers-by must be calling it the Lowe's house.
Frances, glad you got your heat back. We're lucky ours went out when it was still in the 60/40 range.
I have thought of large conifers of course like pine, spruce or fir. Few pines will grow at this elevation, possibly the white pine, and I may not be high enough for fir. Hemlocks are toast, so that is out. Plus any conifer won't like the shade. I'd have to thin the deciduous trees and still wait patiently. The Chamaecyparis that had been here for fifteen years were all killed in the Great Easter Freeze of 07, so I am leary of those. Hollies have not done well up here for the resident gardeners, but they are worth researching. There are always the rhododendrons. Even those would take time.
If I can find a hardy clumping bamboo that is an option. There are large stands of bamboo closer to town, but it is a horrible spreader. A tall perennial grass planted just out of reach of the mowers is a fast option.
The Lowes house, ha. Just wait til I get my siding on.
Christopher;
I can't tell from the photos what height you would need to screen yourself from the road, but Emerald Green arborvitae is listed for 12-15' and hardy z. 2-7. They grow astonishingly fast; we planted some in a public garden where I volunteer. Perhaps slower in your climate. Also Ilex opaca is noted to be hardy to z. 5 "with protection". Depending on your site of course.
Yes, I have been waiting and WAITING for a rhododendron to screen us from our next door neighbor....but time moves faster than one thinks it does!
And Ha to Chuck; I bet Lowe's is much cheaper than Tyvek!
bev
bev
oh and ps the Emerald Green arborvitae in our public garden are in open shade.
bev
Hi again Christopher, I agree with Bev about the arborvitae, I have seen it doing well in Canada, and it does well in my garden, quite fast growing, even from cheapo one gallon pots, from Lowe's, LOL. I like the idea of a mix though. We lost some of the chamaecyparis in that late freeze too, but have replanted anyway, they have so much to add and are so fast growing. My favorite is Crippsii. I think the ones that died were killed by a combination of the late freeze and the following drought. I didn't catch on about the watering until it was too late, blaming the frost for browning tips. Hollies mixed in would really make it diverse, as would grasses in front. Miscanthus that don't flop, Morning Light has been good here. See how excited you get us with helping you spend money? :-)
Frances
Hi Christopher! Looks like I am late in the posting this weekend, but I did want to comment on the bamboo. I see it all over the place up there and it is so beautiful. However, it does appear to spread so quickly. I couldn't believe how much the bamboo on 209 just south of I-40 has spread in the last year. Maybe if you try it in a small clump?
Also, as for the white pines, we have quite a few and unless they get a lot of sun they look scrawny and half dead. I also have some hollies and although they do fine, they are very slow growers. Good luck in your decisions.
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