Shopping for Perennials

My Home Depot is on the way to the grocery store; therefore I have instituted the rule of always stopping first at Home Depot to see if any new plants have come in. (Once the planting season is over, I will skip the Home Depot stop-- at least for plants.) As usual, some new plants arrived -- so I just had to by some. I did pick plants that I knew exactly where they would go. It's too late in the season for me to try to set up new areas. I also, made note of plants that I will consider next spring. I am still amazed at the selection of plants, shrubs, etc -- and the nice prices!

I bought one annual -- I couldn't resist a gorgeous pink garden mum.

I bought three perennials:

Pennisetum "Foxtrot" , a 4 - 5 foot tall grassSolidago "Sweety" , a 14 inch tall Goldenrod, blooms late summer to fall.Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Plumbago, Leadwort) -- gentian blue flowers on a 12 inch tall plant, blooms late summer to fall.

I also bought some bags of top soil to fill in here and there in an emergency.
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More Fall Planting of Perennials

I decided to transplant some white Siberian irises from an old garden to the new garden. I do a lot of digging with my spading fork besides using it to turn the soil over. I couldn't garden without it. In fact, I have two!

In hard to dig soil the spading fork will go into the ground easier. It is also good at lifting plants from the soil.

I have a lot of work to do in the garden before the winter, but while I didn't do very much today, I did something! Now I can reward myself by just reading about gardening!

I should have done more -- oh well.

Fall Planting of the Summer Border

I decided to reward myself for turning over 10 linear feet of soil by doing some planting. This end of the garden has a Ligularia Stenocarpus left from the original border. Also the summer an interesting mound of grass grew in front of it. I left it alone -- I hope it is a perennial grass!

Anyway, at the end of the border in the rear row I planted a white shrub hibiscus (next to the hibiscus is the Ligularia). Those two take up 10 feet.

In the middle row, I planted Amsonia tabernaemontana . This is another plant that remains from the previous garden. It is a strong- growing plant and spreads nicely. Thus I could divide the best plant (which was now growing in the wrong spot) into 3 large pieces; one of which I planted here. Next to this plant is the "interesting" grass.

In the front row, I transplanted some blue Siberian irises from another area of the property. I "drifted" them into the grass plant area (a la Gertrude Jekyll). I then transplanted some yellow perennial foxglove (Digitalis lutea, I think) into and amongst the area. Next to the Siberian iris, I transplanted some Stachys lanata (Lamb's Ears) .

I am trying to be frugal and creative by using plants that I already have, and interesting native plants that I find on my property. Of course, the native plants may or may not be perennial--spring will be interesting!

As I am planning my garden on graph paper, I am trying to incorporate Gertrude's "drift" approach with other of her ideas. Also, while I will have a blueprint, I will allow myself to re-design my garden "as I go" in the field, a sort of stream of consciousness approach, thus freeing me and my garden to explore -- should be interesting!

Preparing the Summer Border Soil

Fortunately, my new border is within most of the area of a previous larger border that I had planted and then let go to rack and ruin (long story) years ago.

When I originally planted this area, I wanted to follow Jim Crockett's advice about doubling digging the soil. After my husband and I tested digging, we did wonder how this was going to work out. We decided to buy a "horse" model rear-tilled rototiller from Troy-Built. I promptly named it "Tillie the toiler" -- and toil it did. It was the greatest purchase we made for this property with "soil" of clay and of rocks from pebbles to boulders.

The boulders had to be dug out manually and we let the rototiller dig into the soil to its ability of 6 inches. Once the top soil was loosened, we then started the double digging. We hoped to follow Jim's advice and go down to 24 inches. Needless to say, we found this depth too much for our endurance! Sometimes we could go down about 18 inches, but sometimes not much more than 12.

We dug out the subsoil and replaced it with the top soil plus peat moss, lime, and fertilizer (1 shovel soil, 1 shovel of dry peat moss, 1 shovel of sharp sand--when we had it). We then amended the subsoil--same way-- and placed it on top. Let me tell you that double digging gets very tiring very quickly and that this was the only area that we did it. Sorry Jim, we really did try ...

Now, my new border is smaller but still has to be dug over with shovel and spading fork (I couldn't garden without a spading fork -- able to get into all kinds of soil!). I add lots of peat moss. I do not double dig! There are still a lot of rocks to remove -- I think they come up from China. It does help that the old garden was "double dug".

I will have to buy topsoil because this new area slopes downward at the rear and I want the entire garden to be at the same level.

I have dug over about a 10 foot length out of about 60 feet. I am starting at the gazebo end because the other end is still in a "planning stage". I am planning to work on the soil as much into the winter as I can and then begin again in the spring in time for planting.

The Summer Perennial Border

This border will be on the right of a large oval grassy area going from my living room French doors to my gazebo near the back of the property. The oval was orginally bounded by two perennial borders, but this time around the left side will be a shrub border.

I started by staking out the border. Once I was happy with the outline and size, I drew the border outline on ledger size graph paper, at 4 squares to the inch and each square represents a foot.

From my research, I made lists of all the perennials that I want to plant, including substitutes in case I can’t get my first choice. I also made a list of annuals to use as filler wherever there is a temporary bare spot--although many annuals are worth the effort to replant every year in a permanent spot. I also included in my perennial list any perennials recommended as companion plants and combinations I saw in pictures. In my research I found that many perennial borders incorporate shrubs and herbs. I like this idea.

Now I am really having fun. I am looking through all my books and notes and trying to decide which plants I want where in the border. I love a lot of plants so I am struggling to keep the list of different plants under control. I would like to just have a dozen or so and then repeat them throughout the garden with different companion plants—different in color or in the same color but different plant shape. Also, some plants will be for “accent” and some for massing.

I have flexible guidelines for the placement of the plants. The first row will be 2 foot deep and contain plants between 1 ½ to 2 ft tall; the second row will be 2 ½ foot deep and contain plants 2 to 3 foot tall; the third row will be 3 ½ foot deep and contain plants more than 3 foot tall. Depending on the individual planting, spacing may change.

The length allotted to a specific plant in a specific row is variable. The first row will have plants mostly in long variable streams, with some accent plants, maybe. The second row will have massed plants or accent plants, so that the length will be anywhere from 2 ½ to 3 ½ feet. The back row plants are allotted 3 to 4 feet. Some plants will be planted in “drifts” as Gertrude Jekyll did in her gardens. A drift goes at an angle across rows so that the viewer sees the plant along the walk rather than just at one spot. I will be trying a lot of Gertrude Jekyll’s ideas. (I really recommend her book, if you can find it.)

I like the following two layouts as starting points. The top shows Gertrude Jekyll's "drifts" and the bottom scheme allows plants to merge into the neighboring plants. Both schemes let plants "be on the move".
One thing that I was never happy about in my previous border was how to get enough plants and in the right places to have a bloom season from spring to fall and have the border look full and interesting. I decided to take Gertrude Jekyll’s advice–"don’t do it". She suggests making a complete garden for each season (even if the garden has to be small). She had a spring garden, a June garden, a summer garden, and a fall garden. Also consider making gardens of just one color: whites, blues, yellows, greys, etc. There is a lot of variation in any given color family to make a very nice display.

Since I want my garden to be viewed in all its glory in summer, I shall plants perennials that bloom then, and if some bloom across seasons, all the better. My garden will contain some plants grown for foliage only. These are good as companions as well as being always in “bloom”. I hope to find a few shrubs for the back row that are either evergreen or have some winter interest.

Well, enough for today.

Beginning at the Beginning, Part 3

Non-Back-Braking Fun Part of Project, continued

************* Finally, The Grand Design!**************

I have identified and drawn the areas to be landscaped on graph paper. There will also be a large grassy areas. Grass will be planted last because it is bound to get messed up as I tear up the rest of the place. Next I made up my Five-Year Plan. There are just too many things to be done, and in some places, I keep changing my mind. Now the landscaping is broken up into managable work pieces--and finances needed. Also, a five year plan lets me make some changes as I go along.

The areas "under construction" are in the back and on the side of the house. I will have a large perennial border, a large shrub border, maybe a small vegetable and herb garden, a small glade at the rear of my property, and on the side a managed woodlot and plants up the slope to the outcrop. The front of my property is already landscaped and just needs some cleanup.

From my research, I have made lists of all the perennials, shrubs, and trees that I want to plant, including substitutes in case I can’t get my first choice. I also made a list of annuals to use as filler wherever there is a temporary bare spot--although many annuals are worth the effort to replant every year in a permanent spot. In my research I found that many perennial borders incorporate shrubs and herbs. I like this idea.

Now things are really getting exciting! I have picked the first area the I want to do--the long perennial border.

Beginning at the Beginning, Part 2

Non-Back-Braking Fun Part of Project, continued

-Walking through My Property
I keep walking around the property. I am trying to imagine what could be put where. I am making lots of notes and I am constantly getting new ideas, a lot of which I throw away, retrieve, and back and forth. After I have worn myself out, I give up. This is a great part of the project because I get a lot of exercise and fresh air. This step gets interleaved between my most favorite part of the project: research!

-Research: reading, cruising the internet, visiting local nurseries, and taking courses
This is really a very relaxing part of gardening! I do this constantly--when I'm designing the garden, when I need to relax, when I need inspiration. This part of gadening doesn't care what the weather is, how many rocks are in the planting hole, how tired I am, how disgusted I am, and on and on. The result of this step reminds me that I can "persevere and ... excel" (a motto of one of my alma maters ) in my garden. And reading, interneting, and taking courses can be done sitting down, which is great for my tired body.!

I buy a lot of gardening books and I also take out library books. I have subscribed to a number of magazines in the past, but the only one I have subscribed to for this venture is Fine Gardening. I hope I still like it. I am planning a visit to a bookshop and the library to review other gardening magazines to see if there are any others I want to get. I do a lot of reading, in fact as soon as I finish this section, and make dinner, I am going to spend the evening reading and dreaming over a couple of my favorite books.

There is an almost endless amount of gardening info on the internet. Sites can be strictly be informational (discussions and databases) or nursery websites. Nurseries tell me what plants are available with pictures, and many have an incredible amount of related info including companion plants (with pictures) to make the most eyecatching display. I spend a lot of time on the internet and I keep finding more and more valuable sites.

Another way to get information is to take courses. I took many courses at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. The courses were very good, and I could ask questions of a "live" person, could use their library, and I could view incredible gardens.

As soon as I get my notes organized, I will start writing a Page on all the good books, magazines, and web sites I have found.

I just love this research stuff! It restoreth the soul!

continuing in Part 3 ... The Grand Design comes to life!