May 27: Just one more

I’ve spent a good chunk of time since I woke up this morning reading various responses to the California Supreme Court decision yesterday. I can’t let myself write about it anymore; it’s only making me angrier and angrier, the more I read. So YOU ARE WELCOME.

Instead, I’m going to talk about our landscaping project again, with a promise that this will be my last post dedicated to it. The thing is, I’ve gotten questions about some of the plants I put in and I figure this is the best way to answer them for the masses those two interested people.

I did quite a bit of research in my Sunset Western Garden book to find the right kinds of shrubs, trees, and flowering plants to put in our yard. I wanted as much evergreen as possible so that the yard wouldn’t look all broken-down and/or empty in the winter. I made a list of all sorts of possible options, and took it with me to the nurseries… only to find that few of these perfect selections of mine were actually carried by the nurseries. Grr.

I was able to find some of my choices, and between advice from others and being willing to take some chances, we populated the yard. Because I’m the biggest nerd ever, I created a spreadsheet listing all the plants I purchased along with their special needs, blooming season, what to expect from them in the winter, and all sorts of goodies like that. Here are photos I stole from around the ‘net:

• Agapanthus (Dwarf Lily of the Nile)
  
  These are just about to pop.
   
• Sea Thrift
  
  The sea thrifts are blooming now, and seem to be great little filler flowers. My neighbor’s got some that have really multiplied. I need to remember to keep my eye on these before they get too out of control.
   
• True Dwarf Boxwood
  
  Ours are much smaller than these, and I plan to keep them that way. Either that, or I’ll groom them into Mickey Mouse ears. Or maybe I’ll groom them into daisies.
   
• Campanula, Bellflower
  
  I got just one of these, and it looks much less full and flowery than the ones in this pic. Soon…
   
• Weeping White Dogwood
   
  I think we missed the flowering stage for this year, but the shape of this tree will still make a nice background silhouette for the fountain. It could grow up to 20 feet high, so you can bet we’ll be keeping this one pruned well. Oh, and Vic said I needed to get a better picture of the fountain in order to show exactly how pretty it is, so here’s one:
  
   
• Euphorbia ‘Tiny Tim’
  
  I think this is such an unusual plant; I couldn’t resist getting it. Although this photo makes it look like a succulent, it actually is much more fragile, almost like a clover (the surrounding plant is a different type). This winter we’ll find out exactly what “semi-evergreen” means as applied to this little perennial.
   
• Hebe
  
  I got two of these; one like this one with a bit of a variegated leaf and white flowers, and another with a dark leaf and purple flowers. They seem pretty hardy. Both are flowering right now.
   
• Hosta (Narrow-leafed Plantain Lily)
  
  Everyone tells me these things grow like crazy and are easy to transplant and spread. I just wish they were evergreen.
   
• Blue Star Creeper
  
    
  This is the ground cover we put between our stepping stones.
   
• Lavender
  
  Ours aren’t flowering yet, but they already smell delicious.
   
• Asiatic Lily ‘Orange Pixie’
   
  Just about ready to pop. I love this bold color, and it ought to really brighten up our yard next to the agapanthus.
   
• Black-Eyed Susan
  
  This is the only plant we’ve had a tough time with so far; ever since we planted it, it’s gone droopy in the hottest part of the day. Watering seems to bring it back within a few hours, but I have no idea if it’s going to live to bloom if we’re not constantly watching it. I don’t “do” high maintenance plants, so we’ll see.
   
• Variegated Willow/Dappled Japanese Willow ‘Hakuro Nishiki’
  
  I mentioned this one the other day. I love it. It’s not evergreen, but even the branches are a pretty red color when bare. This happy little shrub will grow and grow, and helps with the erosion in the side yard.
  

I also planted petunias (the only annuals) and an azalea, and we transplanted all the periwinkle to the side yards and the pots on the front porch. Add to that our existing birch tree and Japanese barberry in the front side yard, and that’s pretty much everything we’ve got.

That’s it. No more garden talk. Promise.