Before this meandering blog of mine devolves further into self-indulgent, obtuse home garden updates I thought it might be a good idea to transmit a quick update from...elsewhere. Work has been happening! Roads are being run upon.
I've talked about this garden a fair bit in these realms so it might be interesting, for some, to see what's been happening here. It's a familiar, happy story - from an unkempt wasteland of weeds and rubble this has been made:
And all is fine. The plants are settling in well enough. We've had issues with 'tulip fire' and horse tail on the slope yonder but let's not dwell upon such harsh realities and...count our blessings. The cherry trees are blooming as we speak, though unequally, and the alliums are on the verge of kicking in. The gardens here are being slowly expanded, though I won't bother showing you most of these changes...in their infancy. This one is worthy of sharing, perhaps:
This arbitrary woodland deck is dedicated to Noel Kingsbury - with all due love and respect. In my ethical defense, it was the client's idea. He asked us to install yon small deck here in a small clearing in the trees to the south of his driveway. The idea: this would provide a safe, comfortable haven for his 2-year-old daughter - a place to read books and daydream amongst the trees. And I must admit it's turned out well, although this photo does not describe how. What is it about cozy clearings surrounded by trees that resonates in the genes? I must admit, the view from therein is divine:
The season's headlining project for this expanding garden has been the installation of a very tall privacy fence around their embryonic vegetable garden:
I won't go into the ordeal that these images placidly obscure. Suffice it to say, I won't be rushing to make a fence in these granite-filled parts anytime soon. That said, I think it turned out well enough. Unfortunately, since these photos were taken, the client has painted the fence the same grey blue as the house. Oh well.
I won't show you the unfinished state of the veg area, but this hardworking raised bed skirting the house has earned some attention. The many, many violas therein began as a stray seedling left behind by the previous owners - a serendipitous gift. They've made themselves quite at home here and have been blooming almost constantly for two years. The blue grass is Festuca idahoensis 'Siskiyou Blue' - an excellent fine-textured, cool season grass and one of my favourite plant friends.
This cutleaf Japanese maple is a newcomer - the freshly disturbed soil around is evidence:
Like a child king newly ascended to the throne he surveys his expansive amphitheater-like domain. Let's hope he enjoys his new life more than the russian olive that gave up the ghost here after only one incredibly wet season.
The fothergilla is blooming down below in it's subtle way (in the background, above). Glowing green bottlebrushes, they are. A nice change of pace from the blowsy rhododendrons that are so prevalent on these parts at this time of year. The late-blooming daffodils are reaching the end of their long blooming. From the tips of the petals this brown will fold in and dry out. Such is the cycle of life. Thank you, beautiful, clear-eyed plant friends - well done. We'll see you next year.
On the upper slope the invasive, retaining ground covers are doing all too well. The artemisia is winning it's slow contest with the euphorbia:
The late season tulips are still holding their own despite unseasonable heat and sunlight. This is tulipa 'Black Hero' and tulips 'Spring Green' on the main slope:
And the same festuca in the foreground. The scene is much more spare and subdued than it will be later in the season, when the ornamental grasses will change the mood here drastically. But there's something uplifting in the quiet and green of this point of the season. It's only going to get better.
