Friday, June 26, 2009

New Well Cleanup Therapy

I'll start with something pretty because there is not a whole lot of that in the following tale. This is about beginnings, about what could be if I plant well.



A rough re-grading around the new well head was done and the Mugo Pine replanted. I was a little concerned that the pine may have to go elsewhere, that there would not be enough room anymore. The pine is a good six plus feet away. Even at maturity that should leave plenty of room to access the well head.

The pine was not something I wanted to leave out of the ground for any length of time, but that is all I can do for now. The water and electric lines for the pump need to be connected and trenched from here. I hope they can finish the work without mangling the Mugo.



The front half of the well head bed got a little stomped in the process. That was tidied. All the small Sedum 'Lidakense' clumps that had been dug were replanted in a more forward location. My blogger icon got knocked down. I stacked him back up again, but I don't know how much longer he will be around. I want something more substantial one day.



Big clumps of daylilies and Dwarf Crested Iris wait in the shade of the trees. And drat, there was a fat Foxglove tucked into the woods that I forgot about that still needs to be replanted. It can can be replanted elsewhere. Who knows when they will be back to finish the well.



My own private lava flow. All kind slime poured down the drainage during the drilling of the well. This looks like it could have cement like tendencies.



With the repair work done that could be done and more destruction to follow, garden therapy that looks to the future is the perfect way to move into a another realm of mind. It just so happened I had buckets filled with plants from a visit to Fairegarden the previous day.

Frances loaded me up with:
Baptisia
Anemone
New England Aster
White Astilbe
Dianthus
Sedum cuttings
Daylily and
Louisiana Iris

(Also gifts from the gravel)
Verbena bonariensis
Penstemon 'Husker Red' and
Muhly Grass

She wonders why I kept saying no to more plants, no more, none of that.

I like to make an attempt to plant the right plant in the right place the first time. My baby garden needless to say is not a prepped, civilized, suburban yard. It is a wild forest. Knowing the basic flow of the land, future paths and intended garden spaces I can make informed choices about where to plant things.

I just have to clear a hole in the wild first. Here are a couple of the six Babtisia that were planted on the sunny slope behind the roadside vegetable garden.



Then if I can get to it, I need to mulch with wood chips to keep the wild at bay and give the new plants a fighting chance at some sunlight. Things can be swallowed up quickly this time of year.

These white astilbe will light the entrance to a path through the forest trees.



The new kind New England Aster were planted on the telephone pole slope. Their cheery purple and rosy pink will combine nicely with the yellow of Stella D'Oro and the red and pink of the Knockout Roses. Not. I think Stella will need to be moved on day. Once the aster blooms and set seed, they can be spread to the upper sunny utility meadow or wander where they will.



The daylilies joined another group on the slope below the garden access road. This slope has the beginnings of mulch and the thick clumps of grass that was seeded to help hold the hill is being pulled as I go.



The Louisiana Iris 'Black Gamecock', I think she said, joined the previous yellow ones Frances had sent me in the mail. The women is very generous.



Dianthus and sedum went on the dry sunny hillside below the cabin and wall #1 where another grouping of dianthus can be seen as the grey haze in the background.



Madame Stappers was feeling lonely and needed some summer time company. The anemones were planted next to her the following day.



It felt good to plant all these gifts and continue to make progress on the baby garden because more destruction is coming.

The water and electric lines for the well pump have to be trenched on the left side of the drive all the way down there. The main electric line will also have to be trenched from the pole down to the cabin.



It's a long way up to the road side of that tree line on the right.



But the vegetable garden was spared and I am grateful for that.



It is the garden that gives me the most pleasure right now because it is the most organized and has the most controlled surround of colorful wildness.

4 comments:

Lola said...

Looking good Christopher. I see the Spots have given their approval. The run off looks kinda like the "Blob" moving around altho it has thinned out a bit.lol
So glad for you that the veggie garden didn't get nixed.
That's quite a list of gifts.

Frances said...

Glad to see you received some much needed therapy from the destructive digging and lava flow of yucky stuff. All gardeners can sympathize with such digging. I am particularly saddened by the toppling of the cairn and do hope it can remain, maybe with some mortar? This is where those asters came from, I detect doubt in your voice about the name: http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=296T

The rocks are placed and the post will be published tomorrow about that. And remember, there are lots more plants ready for you to say the word. :-)
Frances

Christopher C. NC said...

Hi Lola, yes the Spots like to inspect things. It will be interesting to see what happens when I try to clean up the lava flow. It is ground blue rock which could make a good ammendment for succulent type plants that need sharp drainage.

Frances mortar would mess up the balancing act of the cairn. This is not the first time it has toppled.

It wasn't your aster I was doubting, it was my aster causing the confusion, the one I had ID'd as the Aster novae-angliae, NEA. Ours is a definite fall bloomer and yours was blooming in June. Ours is 4 to 6 feet tall, yours is 2 to 3. The flowers are the same. There just must be selected types in the species. Asters confuse me.

I look forward to seeing your new garden.

Gail said...

Having been on the receiving end of Frances generosity I am here to witness to it! It's so hot here and dry, I worry about any new plants going into the garden....they all live in a holding area until fall! Is your rainy season still with you?

Construction is destructive...even house painters have taken out plants and left drips of paint all over shrubs.

gail