Saturday, November 12, 2011

Winter Greens To Come

I have been planting shrubberies practically from the moment I arrived four years ago. This definitely isn't anything like Maui. Baby shrubberies in these parts take their sweet time to grow. I suppose it is understandable when there are only six months of the year available for that.

To this day all of my baby shrubberies get lost in the Lush and swallowed up in the vast space of the garden to be. I find them again when winter settles in. One day surely my winters will be filled with large green plants that make a year round garden.

A recent planting of boxwood in front of the gas tank will grow into a Pearl Fryar topiary. The gas tank may get painted too.



Three Mugo Pines were the first evergreen conifers planted. I guess you can't really expect dwarf plants to grow fast. They have grown at least.



A single juniper needs a partner and I have never run across this cultivar again in my nursery visits. I may need to break down and get a Juniperus 'Close Enough'.



Another dwarf, the Bird's Nest Spruce has grown too. There are two of these in the garden to be. Miss Collar is doing her business.



Four rhododendrons so far. Planted six. Killed two.



The Bosnian Pines are settling in. In another decade perhaps they will provide some winter screening between me and the gawkers on the scenic byway.



The three Fargesia sp. clumping bamboos are thicker. It hasn't shown any sign of going for its labeled eight to ten foot height. I'm waiting. And waiting.



Bosnian Pine, Foster's Holly and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis are grouped as another section of future screening between me and the scenic byway.



The Weeping Nootka Cypress is supposed to be a sizable tree. Maybe it will grow faster. Maybe. I won't hold my breath.



I'll even have red holly berries in the winters to come, assuming these two hollies survive the winters. I'm on the zonal edge with this variety.



The three Gold Mop Chamaecyparis below the front porch will grow up and fill in one day. Shopping for these can be problematic. They get labeled at a whole range of heights from three to ten feet. Allegedly they are different cultivars selected for that. They all look the same in a pot in the nursery. I don't remember what labeled sizes I may have bought nor do I ever really believe the labeled size to be true. Time will tell what I got.



For now I must imagine them rising up from the Lush and adding a flash of golden color to the front of the cozy cabin.



I keep planting ever green for all the winters to come.

2 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

My DB always fusses at me when I tell him that the tag says they will only grow "this" high and wide. Ha. The tags are always wrong it seems. When it comes to your greens you will just have to imagine them at their mature size for awhile. One of my favorite garden quotes is "Half the interest of a garden is the constant exeercise of the imagination." ~~Mrs CW Earl.

Anonymous said...

Maybe your shrubbery is in the creep stage of the 'sleep, creep and leap'. I know I have had shrubs do that. I am sure your climate throws another wild card into the mix.

It all looks good to me!

bev