It has been raining for 5 or 6 days, but now (6:30 pm), as we have come to expect, the sky is finally blue and the evening is golden and glorious. Meanwhile, the TTG is beginning to look a lot like a jungle. Really. I was out there earlier today, transplanting, cutting back some encroaching vegetation, occasionally pulling out a fistful of weeds (note: we don't have ANY dandelions here, because I fork them out if I see one; one of our neighbors has about 41,627, all tall and having gone to seed now; good going, neighbor!)
Hitting a few of the high spots of what's happening here:
- On the deck. The Achilleas of last year (Achillea millifolium Snowsport--white, and Paprika--red) survived the lousy winter in pots with no problem and are doing well/in bud. The newest ones from this year, Achillea Red Velvet, are also in bud. OK, some people think of these guys as weeds...but I say, hey, they're terrific contained in a pot on a deck in scorching sun, etc.
- Also on the deck. Ripped out the pots of Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Goldsturm)--honestly, they were never happy like this--and replaced them with Lamium maculatum. Two Lamium Silver Beacon, with hot violet flowers, and one Lamium White Nancy, which is really spectacular.
- I dug out the terrible (dwarf-ish) Rhododendron from the front bed which the developer had selected, and which never did well, closely bounded as it was by the front sidewalk and the driveway and near the street; Rhodies are salt-sensitive, and this one was pretty unhappy. It took me about 4 hours of hard, hard labor (John was at work, or he would have helped), but the worst part was the dense network of surface roots, like a Brillo pad, that anchored it into the ground in all directions. And of course the main root which was as thick as my arm...yikes. So if you have something like this that you don't like, don't wait to get it out!
- This opened up that space. Replaced the Rhodie with one (of the two) Coral Berry shrubs (Symphoricarpos Amethyst) that had been languishing elsewhere. Added a Campanula, another Lamium, some Lavenders, a Rock Cress ( Arabis caucasica), two Thyme, a May Queen daisy, and two transplanted Scabiosa Buttterfly Blue from elsewhere in the TTG. I like it better already. More about the new little guys as they settle in; also, pictures later.
- The scrap of thin dirt/rocks between the street and our sidewalk, which, apparently, we don't own but the city doesn't do anything with, and the delivery trucks, etc, drive over since we aren't given curbs...I planted 15 Ajuga genevensis. I read somewhere that they are "invasive", which is certainly what's needed here to survive; so far they are ALL still alive in the DMZ of our yard; a few have even bloomed!! I'm hoping that they soon start "invading" and spreading toward each other and join up and eventually make something wonderful. Maybe I am expecting too much?
- The Flowering Quince "Cameo" (Chanomeles/Cydonia), was really spectacular this year; it seems to be spreading in a good way, and the apricot blossoms are (surprisingly) just the right color for the space.
- The Scilla (Siberian Squill) is colonizing, which is just what we were hoping for; for awhile there we had wonderful sweeps of the intense (intense!) blue everywhere; also Muscari, also very, very blue.
- Vinca/periwinkle/creeping Myrtle is extremely invasive, and is quite happy in direct sun...it is beautiful in the spring, with its lavender blue flowers, but it's alarmingly invasive. Uh oh. At least it doesn't climb...yet.
- Daphne burkwoodii Carol Mackie is way more robust than the literature would have you imagine; much taller, wider, etc. The fragrance is intoxicating, and they are beautiful (we have four!), but I would have done things differently had I known!
- Our "dwarf" Japanese Maple is out of control. I've never liked it, either; another non-optimal choice by the developer...one of those burgundy-red things, too clunky and too tall...now what?
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