The high price of neglect

It's another year of backbreaking clearing. Digging out the blackberries, weed eating 3' high grass, truckloads of green waste/dump runs. It's devastating. IT's overwhelming. I let it go, and it got more than away from me. It's rendered the back yard unusable.

Last summer we cleared the side yard, and it is still intact. Replanted and flourishing, hydrangeas and roses blooming, hollyhocks standing tall, Sweet Woodruff filling in. It's encouraging. And going to be even more beautiful.

This time, I hope to accomplish the same in the back, get it back to the well-on-its-way-to-garden-tour-material status. I have the benefit of mature plantings now, in the form of trees and some rhodies. Most everything else isn't there anymore, blackberries choked out every living thing. As we're clearing, daylilies are popping up and starting to sprout greenery again. A rose bloomed as if to say THANK YOU. Some things are being pruned back almost to death, and if they survive, good, if they don't they will just be replaced. It's not fun.

But there's hope.

Putting up the Costco Patio Lights

They're beautiful, they're heavy-duty old-fashioned looking lights at a super price from Costco. They look best when they're kind of randomly strung. I was going to hang them along the eaves, like you do Christmas lights, but it just doesn't have that same effect. But our deck has no pillars, there's nothing to string them TO. The trees aren't yet big enough/strong enough for the pull that would be exerted.

◼ Feit 48 ft Outdoor String Lights FROM COSTCO. (And there are colored replacement bulbs, for Christmas)

Reading up on how to string them, best advice is, run a guy wire, then clip them to the wire, which will bear the weight and put less stress on the electrical wires. Several bloggers have shown different ways they've created the necessary posts - some by embedding them in concrete in planters, allowing space for plantings as well. These have the benefit of being portable. These guys ◼ DIY Outdoor Lights installed electrical conduit as poles, embedding sleeves in the ground, and so they are also removable. ◼ THE BEST OUTDOOR LIGHTS

Like everything else, the idea of 'putting up lights' is easy. The actuality is a little more complicated. Where's the plug in? Do you need an extension cord? Where are you going to anchor it? House? Poles? Trees?

Let's say you are anchoring it to the facia, can you loop it back, to create a fan effect? But that puts extra pull on the anchor... so you may need bolts that go all the way through.

Still figuring it out, because my layout is not conducive to the kind of look I am after.

Meanwhile, the solar lights look great.

Solar pathway lights, some from Harbor Freight and some from Costco are installed on the white house trim boards, and on fenceposts. The ones on the greenhouse (from Harbor Freight) have been there for 5 years and still light up every night. The newer ones I just got at Costco, and I hope they last as long. I put them about 11.5" down the trim board, and at night the white trim lights up. It's a great look.

I also have some solar fencepost caps from Target (Smith&Hawken) - they've been going for a few years, too. Should have bought more.

The dollar store mini outdoor lights lasted for a year plus a little, but aren't lighting up anymore. They served their purpose, but they've been replaced by a nice big set from Costco that look fantastic at night, like a hotel/resort. Right now they're just tucked around, gradually being moved into place as each area is restored.

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This year's additions

A passel of terra-cotta pots, some Balinese wind chimes and smaller statuary picked up at an estate sale. A couple of fig trees (small) and a dwarf variety, in pots right now, to go in the ground later. Lots of annuals for color, some more white hydrangeas to go in the ground later, a peony. Gotta plant my deep purple lilac, too, it really was the perfect dark purple.

"Go Away Green"

◼ The Paint Color That Can Make Ugly Stuff "Disappear" (Apartment Therapy via Country Living)

Disney doesn't make the exact formula of the shade known to the public, but here are a few Go Away Green matches that you can pick up at your local paint store:

◼ Aganthus Green, Benjamin Moore
◼ Spice Garden, Behr
◼ Pale Jade, Gladden
◼ Cooking Apple Green, Farrow & Ball
◼ Relish, Sherwin-Williams

New plants in the sideyard

Last summer we cleared out all the overgrown berries, Ivy, Clematis, and Jasmine, stripped it all back, even hacking a rhododendron. Started over, basically.

Decided on Hydrangeas as the big structural elements, one blue Endless Summer, one Shooting Star, one Incrediball. Tucked in some white roses, dailyness, dwarf Agapanthus, Sweet Woodruff, Baby's Tears - and some volunteer nasturtiums... keep on it, weeding-wise, nipping blackberries in the bud.

It's looking pretty good. DESPITE the drought, lack of rain. The Shooting Star is blooming like crazy, so are the roses, the Incrediball died back over the winter, but is growing back strong right now.

Further down, its Foxgloves and Hollyhocks, some red daisies, and underplantings with some color. The Foxgloves are blooming, Hollyhocks are growing strong. Added some purple poppies, the BIG kind, today, they're just about to bloom, and will hopefully reseed.

On the other side, a white 'Hawk's head' fuchsia, in the ground, not a planter, in the shadier part, under the tree, next to the fragrant white Rhody. So far, looking perfect. The Hydrangeas will fill in and create a privacy screen.

Debating a second Shooting Star under the tree near the sidewalk entry to the back yard

There's the layout BEFORE the original plantings. Since we stripped it back, pretty much what I started with this time.

Still a bit of work to go, the east side of the sidewalk and the northern end, where there still an evergreen Clematis sending out shoots, some Jasmine, and the Climbing Iceberg is alive and blooming, having survived all this neglect and overgrowth.

The gate needs to be redone... and where was I going with this? Well, fuchsias...Besides the planted Heron's Beak, I had some potted, colored ones...they're on their deathbeds, and one was quite spectacular when I bought it last year. Can they be rejuvenated? I've been looking up how to care for them...

UPDATE 6/27/16: Everything has survived, the roses are blooming, the hydrangeas are blooming, or getting ready to bloom, the rhododendrons are lush and bloomed earlier (the white fragrant one is A-MAZING!), sweet woodruff and baby's tears are filling in the ground. The Shooting Star Hydrangea is PERFECTION. Had to tend to some upstart blackberries trying to re-take the area, but it was an easy weeding job. Progress.

Brand New for 2015: "Icecap" Rose

◼ Rosa‘Meiradena’ PPTBS
Icecap™ displays a dense flush of pure white flowers on a compact, rounded shrub. Excellent repeat-blooming and resistance to many common rose diseases such as black spot, mildew and rust is observed. It has been one of the most consistent performers in our independent trials conducted at trial sites around the country. Icecap™ is the first introduction created from the combined breeding efforts of Will Radler and Meilland International....

Just got one - PROFUSE blooms! Really pretty! No scent to speak of, so far. There were three, side by side, at the nursery - head turning. You have to get one, or two, or three!

◼ link - Cuplike flower form with 25 petals, Very disease resistant, little to no scent, grown on its own root, suitable for mass planting

A nice before and after - with a pool

◼ Before and After: A Stunning Garden Makeover - Country Living

Just a reminder of what is possible:

Make Your Own Hammock

◼ How-to HERE

Last year's Hydrangeas

The Zebra Hydrangea planted last year in the back is doing great, and blooming well. Another blue, which I think was a florist plant is growing and blooming, and there MAY be a surviving Shooting Star back there. The Shooting Star in the front yard is blooming and happy, finally taking on some stature, so that's encouraging, it's been a long time with that one.

This year's new additions, the Wedding Gown, Libelle and Endless Summer Hydrangeas are pretty good sized to start with, and may just need some pruning to make sure they're nice and sturdy going into next year. (Might change out the Libelle for an Incrediball.)

Redoing the Side Yard

It's stripped. It had become completely overgrown with ivy, blackberries, and some evergreen clematis mixed in. Old plantings had become smothered, and were gone.

We pulled the stuff up by the roots. All that's left is the Birch Tree, a struggling Japanese Maple, and the stub of a rosebush, that clematis, and a rhody. If they survive, good. If not, they'll be replaced.

The privacy between us and the neighbors is also gone, that overgrowth had been a nice buffer.

So, the redoing involves recreating privacy, and NOT including anything aggressively invasive like the ivy. Originally meant to cover the fence, it grew across the sidewalk and onto the house, and if not managed, would do so again. Ivy was a mistake, not to be repeated.

The neighborhood is replete with huge blue/purple hydrangeas. They're really beautiful - AND they grow tall enough to provide privacy. They're evergreen and make a good graphic statement in the front side yard.

So the replanting includes Hydrangeas in the front - Blue closest to the street, and white as it comes in to the Birch Tree and becomes the walkway to the backyard.

There, along the house, it's hollyhocks and foxgloves for height, which won't replace the climbing verticality of the clematis, but takes a stab at some height.

Lobelia and baby's tears carpet the ground, and I will add things in as we go. Not too much right now since the house will have to be repainted soon, and anything planted will be in the way.

Not sure yet what will go on the east side of that walkway, to balance the hollyhocks and hide the fence, and be low maintenance, and not grow into the walk... letting some time go by to make SURE the ivy and blackberries are eradicated. Maybe daylilies and penstemon, with a bamboo screen to hide the fence.

Libelle

SO, planted Double Delights Wedding Gown Hydrangea, Endless Summer Blue, Libelle (Hydrangea macrophylla) Teller White, a lacecap. What to underplant, we'll see, maybe daylilies. Hostas are often suggested but they don't do well here, the snails feast on them.

It's progress. And it is fun.
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Pruning Wedding Gown Hydrangea: This dwarf flowering shrub blooms on new wood, so you can do pruning in early spring, before growth begins. Branches can be left up during winter -- as can any remaining blooms -- to add texture and visual interest. But avoid cutting back Wedding Gown hydrangea in the fall. In addition, in autumn the branches of Wedding Gown hydrangea turn a rich burgundy color, which adds an unexpected and welcome contrast to other shrubs and bushes in the garden.

Complementary Shrubs and Plants for Wedding Gown Hydrangea: Since Wedding Gown hydrangea is a dwarf flowering shrub, it makes a bigger impact when planted with several -- three or five, for example -- of them together. To complement these flowering shade shrubs, try hostas or astilbes for color and leaf contrast. Or go with other reblooming hydrangeas, such as Endless Summer, to add color contrasts.... Source: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/trees-shrubs-vines/shrubs/hydrangea-wedding-gown/

Endless Summer blooms on both old and new wood, so it's ok to cut and prune anytime... it's 3.5 ft by 3.5 ft, not a large Hydrangea.

Libelle gets up to 6 ft tall and 8 ft wide, so it should go behind shorter plants.

Amazing colors for stained concrete

◼ Peyton & Associates: Acid stains come in a number of earth-toned hues (as shown above) and as illustrated in the Galleries on this website. The colors above are produced from proprietary blends of Kemiko stains. We are also skilled at using acid-etching stains from other manufacturers, including BRICKFORM, Butterfield, Scofield, Chemcoat, and HC Infusion, and are happy to apply these upon request.

If the dress fits...

The first of four Blood Moons

◼ There has been a lot of interest recently in an upcoming series of lunar eclipses that begins April 15. These are usually described as "four blood moons" and taken by some to prophesy upcoming disasters.

The total lunar eclipse of April 15 will begin a so-called tetrad series of eclipses...

Astronomers rarely if ever use the term blood moon. When they do, they are usually using it as an alternate name for the Hunter's Moon, the full moon that follows the Harvest Moon, usually in late October. The Hunter's Moon, like the Harvest Moon, rises slowly on autumn evenings so that it shines through a thick layer of the Earth's atmosphere, and is colored red by Rayleigh scattering and air pollution....What is unusual about this month's lunar eclipse is that it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. Called a tetrad, such a series of four total eclipses in a row is a fairly rare event. The last such series happened in the years 2003 and 2004. It will only occur seven more times in the current century.What is unusual about this month's lunar eclipse is that it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. Called a tetrad, such a series of four total eclipses in a row is a fairly rare event. The last such series happened in the years 2003 and 2004. It will only occur seven more times in the current century.

What is unusual about this month's lunar eclipse is that it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. Called a tetrad, such a series of four total eclipses in a row is a fairly rare event. The last such series happened in the years 2003 and 2004. It will only occur seven more times in the current century.

◼ APOCALYPSE NOW: Why a rare astrological event LAST NIGHT could herald the 'End of Days' - Express UK (image source)

November is the month of the Full Beaver Moon

Sunday, November 17th. Get your cameras ready! ◼ The Old Farmers Almanac

Rain, and Fall

After a rainy week, it's sunny today, and things are drying out. The ground is loving the moisture, but we were hoping for a little bit more time to enjoy Indian Summer.

The roses are putting on their end of summer show.

The succulents have put on a burst of growth - as if they're enjoying the sudden colder weather, which seems odd.

There's not a lot of fall color, but that's just the nature of things here.

I'm running out of time to get my projects done. The futon does have its waterproof cover, but it may have to be moved off the deck and into the greenhouse, if it is going to survive the winter.

(Looking back on that statement, it may seem odd, but this is an area where the climate is mild, albeit rainy, all year long. You can pretty much leave things out - EXCEPT things that you don't want to get wet. This is an area where we hoped global warming was real, because then we could grow bougainvillea, and corn and tomatoes.)