2018 Garden Tour

Last summer was a bit of a wash-out here for a few reasons which meant nothing got done last fall. And because everything has consequences, that meant a very slow start to the gardening this year. But somehow it came together enough to have a mostly respectable looking yard.

Beating the heat…

Last weekend we had some astonishingly hot weather, making this good boy more than eager to lay around in his pool. He discovered that the pig floating in front of him could take on water. I have no photos of him running around shaking the pig and flinging water everywhere – I was too busy trying to stay out of range.

Fluffing and Stuffing

Once I finished the weeding (for a hot minute or two), there were a few things that needed to be shifted around.

This area in particular was not working for me. The Prairie Fire Dogwood added nothing to the composition and the area needs some contrast to the various greens & yellows. Initially I wanted to get a Wine & Roses Weigela for this spot, but I didn’t care enough to really hunt for one.

Instead I planted a Victoria Weigela, there are also some White Snakeroot ‘Chocolate’ off to the left.

I also moved the Hosta ‘Grand Slam’ (between the Japanese Maple and Hardy Hibiscus) and the arrangement is more pleasing IMHO. There is an empty pop bottle in the yard because of that character in the pool above.

Sedum for the win…

The back row of hosta in this bed were struggling. It’s under the eave of the shed and a huge maple tree. Sedum handles dry conditions well and even though they prefer plenty of sun, they seem to tolerate shade.

Side Yard foundation planting

I’ve finally got the Chameleon weed mostly under control. The bleeding hearts are finished, but the Asiatic lilies are ready to pop any day. This bed is about 4 years old, so the Golden Tiara hosta clumps are getting pretty big. I had to move two Astilbes that were getting smothered. The Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ are also a bit bigger than anticipated, the two Heuchera ‘Silver Scrolls’ needed shifting to give them some space.

Calling all Hummingbirds

I am making a determined effort to attract hummingbirds this year, we will see what happens.

This bed was new last year. I moved the Hosta Sun Power here along with Spartacus (new last year) and the Huechera Black Pearl. I’ve added some Lamium for contrast. Who knows, maybe it will choke out some weeds.

New additions this year were 7 Lamium, 3 Heuchera Purple Palace, and about 9 new Hosta. Other than the perennials, I planted 3 flats of Impatien, 1 of Nicotiana and another of Marigolds.