Picture Perfect

Yellow flags blooming on left Golden Standard hosta in front right

I've talked about my rain garden before, but this weekend I weeded, planted, and mulched with cocoa bean hulls so it is picture perfect right now.  The blooms are at their peak or just past so it has been a stunning show. With our early warmth followed by cooler temperatures bloom time was lengthened on just about everything this year.  

Blue flag in center, very small Japanese maple on right

I added a Japanese maple to add some future height in the back ground.  We also added some new river stone to the downspout  areas to refresh the old ones which also adds a bit more water break for the rushing rains we tend to get.  I also found a couple of perennials to fill here and there.  

Dwarf Alberta spruce near center with Amsonia in upper left

I was able to put in some of my annuals over the weekend, petunias for one, but will hold off on the coleus and impatiens until the traditional Memorial Day weekend planting.  My dwarf Alberta spruce enjoyed the mild winter.  I did not leave it up to nature to water with so little snow.  I put the hose out twice during the mild temperatures of February and March to get moisture around the roots.  I also piled snow around it to add some winter protection each time we got a fleeting amount.  It came through beautifully with no winter burn.  After three years in the ground, it seems to be taking off this year.

I used some salvaged netting from a tree shipment to train the sweet Autumn clematis away from the hand rail this year.  I love the way individual leaves have poked through and expanded on the opposite side making the netting a bit more organic looking.

Lined area of rain garden, ferns, reeds, native irises, and trollius fill the bottom

The ferns have found their roots this year and are rooting in other areas.  The sensitive fern has completely left its original spot and is coming in through the field stone lining the rain garden.  The hostas were happy to lose the competition the Aruncus was providing as I moved it to the "dry berm".  I did not have much luck growing coleus in this spot without having to water frequently.  The Aruncus seems to be thriving in this spot quite well.  
A perennial garden can be planned, but there is always room for improvement.  Things die and there is always something that catches my eye and I really have to have it.  I always add a few annuals into the perennial beds to give it continuous color throughout the summer.  The few woody plants that I have in this area provide anchors for the vegetative plants that dominate the spot during summer, but add nothing during the dormant months.  Size does matter, so I always keep in mind what the potential size is for a plant.  I'd rather leave room for annuals while the perennials are getting established and reduce those each year as the permanent planting get larger.  
Weeding is a must.  I have seeds from maples, box elders, buck thorn and a whole host of annual weeds that blow in.  A perennial garden is never care free.  Even with edging, grass finds its way in with self sowing seed heads.  Mulch helps keep the amount down but it is not fool-proof.  I will not use weed barrier cloths especially in an area that I will be moving and digging on an annual basis.  The cloth will not allow the mulch to decompose and become part of the soil around the plants.  Years ago, my husband and I removed some over-grown shrubs around the school property.  The mulch added year after year was decomposing on top the cloth while the gray clay soils underneath remained unchanged.  Weeds managed to grow on top the cloth and we had to pull and rip it out of the shrub roots.  A tree of heaven had grown on top the cloth and pushed roots down through the cloth making it very interesting to remove.  Nix the weed barrier cloth in the planting beds, use it around your tomato plants instead (to reduce soil splash and related fungal problems).  It is also good under rock paths and the like.
Get out the camera on those days when you are all done doing the hard work so you have lasting memories of how good it looks when you put the time in.  I really enjoy looking back at the garden throughout the season and from year to year.  With digital, even an amateur can do some amazing picture taking.

blue flag iris