Ten July Favorites
Chaste Tree ( Vitex ) One of the highlights of the year is when the Chaste Tree blooms. It pains me that I don't know the name of it, but I suspect it is 'Shoal Creek' . I failed to record it, and I also do not remember where it came from. We sell a newer variety at Yard N' Garden called 'Flip Side ', which has stunning leaves of olive-green with a purple reverse. A friend has the pale pink variety, but I don't think it is as pretty as the blue-colored flowers. This little tree is constantly covered with bees. Catalpa bignoinoides 'Aurea' A large limb died over the winter, leaving a gaping hole. However, it is looking better after Michael raised some of the remaining limbs. It has bloomed profusely this year. Like the vitex, our best view of it is from the windows, where you get an elevated view. Heliopsis helianthoides 'Fire Twister' This perennial is doing much better after I moved it to a better location. I saw it last week in an ope...
Sounds interesting. I have sandy and clay soils in our garden. It all depends upon where the fill dirt was shoved around when they built the house.
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun watching your pasture evolve into a garden. I hope you never tire of blogging so we can watch the progress.
Phillip, Thank you for recommending this.I must try it. I garden under mature trees that suck everything out of the soil so I am constantly shoveling compost & manure and frankly its getting old!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the retirement property. Planning and planting the bones now is an excellent idea. Watching the progress
That will be a whole new blog!
ReplyDeleteI added their fertilizer to my garden last fall and have seen a big improvement. I really love the liquid Penetrate. I added it last fall to my driest, most heinous clay and it really transformed it. I even bought more and applied it to my lawn. I'm definitely buying it again. It's awesome stuff!!
ReplyDeletePhillip, my 3.5 acres of our former dairy farm was like that, nothing but red clay from years of pasture and part of an old plantation. I've been on my utility company wood chip list for over 10 years and compost it and whatever stable sawdust I can get. I've slowly gone from red to dark & loose soil over the years.
ReplyDeleteYou are so brave to plant in the middle of a pasture with little supervision! It will be fun to create a new garden but will you be able to pull yourself away from your paradise you currently call home? Yikes, that is a scary thought. But exciting to think of the new paradise on the horizon....
ReplyDeleteSo it's eight years later and I'm wondering whether the magic persists. I've got to say that I'm a skeptic, but I'd be thrilled if it would help my clay soil... please give an honest update! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Jess, actually plans changed and I didn't end up moving to the property. In fact, I'm on the other side of the country! The plants that were there were moved. I can tell you that mulching, especially with wood chips from arborists, does a great job at breaking the soil down. That, along with compost and any type of organic matter (rotted leaves are also good) mulched on top of the ground and allowed to decompose will eventually give you good soil. You just have to keep applying it. I hope this helps and sorry I don't have any further information about that product.
DeleteWow, thanks for the quick response! Not holding my breath on this one. Nice blog, thanks!
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