Friday, April 25, 2008

Starting Early

Instead of staying in bed and blogging, I got up and out to start my new watering routine. There is a lot to water. We need rain, and it is coming tonight, maybe, but in the meantime I have to pay attention to the new plantings. Yesterday I finished the main shade garden (she says), with 30 more hosta, 3 astilbe, and three more ferns: ostrich, cinnamon and sensitive. I transplanted some large fern colonies from the woods too. We set mousebait, traps and moth balls for the voles and caught one in a trap, so we know for sure what we are up against. New hosta are already being eaten from the ground up. Grrrr. Today I am shopping for stronger remedies. And we have ants in the kitchen, no surprise, so there is ant control on my list too. It never ends.

We finished the trench digging and filled the hole with 12 inches of composted cow manure. Ripe!
And then planted three clematis, Nelly Moser, Henrii, and a light purple one, who's name escapes me. For shade I placed three peonies in front of the clematis, as they like cool roots. To fill out the bed, six Autumn Joy sedum and one Artemsia. Dave will make a landscape timber surround for this area so the rains don't wash out the sloping sides.

My romance with hostas, and liriope is in full swing here. I am hoping for the look of the hosta beds at Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners WI, a place we often visited when we lived in IL.
Still looking a bit scanty, but just wait til next year. Look out voles. I mean business.


The broken off tree on the left is going to be the support of a vine, Scarlet Runner Bean. At its base is a cow spine section. And at the wall edge is the cow's skull. The rest of the bones are yet to be 'placed'.

4 comments:

  1. What is with all the cows bones? I think the garden is really looking great. Oh, I get it... you are building the "bones" of your garden and the rest will fill in.

    By the way, I know the trials of ants. Over spring break a colony of ants moved into my laser printer without my know it. This is at work. I noticed a few little ants creeping around, but not enough to cause worry. Then Tuesday I had a printer jam and aaaahhhh! I found hundreds of them inside the machine. This is at work!!! Evidently a student had left food in a locker and they had problems over spring break and they sought refuge in my printer where it was nice and warm and away from prying eyes. Yuck!

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  2. Beautiful.....the new plants are looking good.

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  3. Anonymous12:16 PM

    I can't wait each day to see what you have done and/or what next you are going to do. If all else fails you can open a garden shop, you know all the botanical names et al. I wish I had seen "live" your Illinois garden/yard. Your place next year will be spectacular. Keep doing what you are doing as long as your strength holds out. LOL good luck Mel and Dave. Good job!!!! beautiful!!

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  4. Very useful piece of writing, much thanks for your post.

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