There was also a little time to spend in my own garden to be at the end of the day as the rains ebbed. The wild lush must be subdued around anything I plant to give it a chance at a bountiful life. The lupine are doing well though I'm not seeing a big bloom this season. What I am seeing are dozens of baby lupine, more than the ones I germinated, grew out in pots and planted. I weed around them to give them more room and more sun. At this point I don't won't to denude the hillside and expose it to more erosion. Weeding is gentle.
I also weeded out a section of just the thug, the Clematis virginiana vine where I had planted baptisia grown from seed and was happy to find nine healthy baby baptisia in the wild lush.
This yellow Louisiana Iris from Fairegarden Tennessee is looking most happy and upon pointing it out to the returned resident gardener, she said I want some. Not a problem there is already enough for a division. I am waiting to see if the black Louisiana Iris next to it will bloom this year. It is smaller, but has already multiplied.
A growing wave of dianthus also came from Fairegarden Tennessee. It is happy enough to spread and set seed, creating many new baby plants. The resident gardener sighed. She kills dianthus in her shady garden.
The return hopefully signals a period when I will be able to spend more time in my own garden to be. The reins to the ridge top garden and sunny utility meadow have been turned over.
I think I have a winner. This Cotoneaster dammeri 'Streib's Findling' has nearly quadrupled in size in one year of growth. It roots as it creeps along the ground and I have already taken rooted cuttings last fall and sprigged them into the steep slope to increase its spread. This may be the plant I use to cover all three of the steep slopes from the road cuts in the garden to be. Its bloom is showier than I had anticipated and the red berries last through most of the winter.
Next door where my assistant gardener duties should be slowing down a bit, the Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diablo' is putting on an extra nice bloom this year.
The editor in chief got right to work the moment the rains stopped. She's ruthless, but you can't argue much with the results. It's the same story. The wild lush must be subdued if you want anything you plant to be bountiful.
There is a lot that has been planted, seeded and allowed to have its way.
Which is how vignettes like this occur. I liked it so much I took another picture.
The editing will go on all season. There is a lot of ground to cover, a lot of weeds to pull, a lot of plants to divide and spread around, seeds to gather, seeds to sow. In the fall bulbs will be divided, new catalog bulbs planted. Next year there will be more.
It's what a gardener does. For the lucky ones it causes joy.
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9 comments:
Oh...just beautiful! Your garden and theirs. Now you will have more time to spend on your garden.
I love the picture of Bulbarella weeding around her hostas. I see you have the same dreaded "green stuff" in the background of that picture. Somehow she has it under control where the hostas are planted.
'Streib's Findling'--what a great name.
Self-sowing can be a great thing.
I have never liked the idea of being in the garden "weeding". I do like the idea of being out there "editing". It sounds so much more elegant. I will be in the garden editing all summer no doubt. What with all this rain and warm weather. Weeds are growing faster than the much wanted plants.
Everything looks beautiful, even without editing, the eternal process of the gardener.
People who don't like editing don't last long as gardeners. The garden is always changing and trying to take its own course.
The editor-in-chief certainly does know what she's doing! The results are amazing.
Mother is doing what she loves best. Weeding you can get down so to see all.
The best is yet to come.
Well said.....
So glad the iris and dianthus worked out well. Nothing about the large baptisias, did they not make it? We have unlimited supply of the iris at Semi's garden where they have been allowed to naturalize without editing, more can be dug for Bulbarella, but you will have more than you know what to do with soon enough. The hostas look great and the cotoneaster sounds like the perfect erosion control. Well done!
Siria they put out a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring to stop the snapweed from germinating. What I see makes me think years of dedicated weeding before it sets seed is the real reason a relatively snapweed free zone exits. Just past that tree is an acre and a half of snapweed. Then further into the forest there is none.
Chuck I like that name too. So truthy. The greatness depends on what self sows.
Lisa I had a good day of editing in my own garden today. It is nice to see who is still there.
Carol that is why we favor the pretty weeds here.If the editing is lax it can still look good, even planned.
So true Sweetbay, without direction this mountain top would be completely different. It is important though to understand and respect where the garden wants to go on its own.
Yes Lola, already she is telling us what she has found and forgotten about.
Thanks Wondering Woman.
Frances all but one of the transplant baptisia have come back, but they are shadows of their former shelves, smaller than the second year seed grown plants. I need to look at them again and see how they are doing. One was still nice and big. It may take them a few years to recover. One of my store bought ones did not come back either. That pisses me off.
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