Jim & Rojeanne's Garden, Adopted 2007
A year of weeding and pruning (2007), a year of rearranging perennials, planting the slope with grasses and adding this and that here and there (2008), and Something Happened this year. I do believe It All Came Together.
I think the first shot below is May'09, and the second, July. Don't you just want to jump in that grass.
Swath of Mexican Hair Grass (Stipa tenuissima) planted early Summer'08, survived following infamous Winter 08/09 due to sea-level southern exposure (thank-you God-of-All- Things-Green-and-Growing).
*Note--Goes to seed mid-July and requires careful hand-combing (so as not to uproot entire plant) so it doesn't lie flat due to weight of seedheads. (Second picture above is post-combing.) Alternatively, could shear it shorter, but then it would look like it was sheared shorter (I'm a shearing snob).
*Note-- Self-seeds rampantly. Will grow between paving stones, so, obviously, not fussy about soils! Expect to be cursing its presence in lower perennial beds anytime soon.
But isn't it glorious!! Another name for this grass is Angel Hair. I feel like a romantic postcard when I'm drifting through it...singing...playing my harp whilst pulling weeds (not a lot--did a thorough season-long eradication of buttercup and horsetail the first year and oddly, the horsetail seems to have given up--it prefers wet sites anyways so succombed to a little persistence).
*Also planted French Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia) along the top of the retaining wall--it will cascade over the wall, and the flowers are very tall and therefore visible from above (theoretically). And there are King Alfred daffodils and croci (plural for crocuseses) interplanted for spring.
Rojeanne recently picked out some Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) to interplant in the grasses, and now we need something pink (Yarrow? Sidalcea?) which is also drought-tolerant.
A few more shots... you can see that the grasses are framed on either end by pink & white shrub roses, Peachleaf Bellflower (Campanula persicifolia), Oriental lilies, Giant Purple Allium (Allium giganteum), Shasta Daisy and Fleabane Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus 'Profusion') Good grief, like I call it that. More like :"really crazy little rock-daisy"**See next post for a photo.
See Progression shots below: Freshly Weeded, Freshly Planted, and The Next Spring...
From east:
Already a lovely assortment of perennials when I arrived--many intentionally tall selections so the flowers are visible from above (the retaining wall below the grasses is about a 4-foot drop).
So...
Tall: Crocosmia 'Lucifer', Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana), Shasta daisies, Persian Cornflower (Centaurea dealbata), Japanese Anemones, Phlox, Columbine Meadow-rue (Thalictrum aquilegiifolium), Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea), Milky Bellflower (Campanula lactiflora), Dame's Rocket (Hesperis), Cranesbill (Geranium himalayense 'Johnson's Blue'), Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Leopard's Bane (Doronicum orientale)
I've added a few more plants below the wall, and generally reduced/rearranged clumps as required--also created a narrow path along the wall for access/allow room for lavender when it starts to cascade.
Additions: Purple Dahlias, Oriental Lilies, Brazilian Verbena (Verbena bonariensis), more Hollyhocks
Shadier, and consisted of several huge blue Hostas, as well as some green and variegated Hostas, interspersed with Geranium macrorrizum and Daylilies (Hemerocallis) when I arrived.
I divided everything and distributed them somewhat evenly along the length of the bed, then added..
Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost')
Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'))
Gold-leaf Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart')
They create dimension, add sense of antiquity to the space, and the lower branches are great for tying top-heavy hollyhocks
--The rolling profile of the lower laurel hedge (like waves, instead of straight)
--The wide thyme-and-crazy-daisy-covered steps leading down to the lower garden
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