Bright spots in January
The dark, dreary days are upon us but there are bright spots in the garden. We continue to enjoy our bird-watching hobby. For the past 3 hours, this Juvenile Cooper's Hawk has been sitting in the apple tree. I kid you not - he has not moved for 3 hours!
One of our favorite visitors to the suet feeder is this beautiful Northern Flicker. This photo was taken on Christmas Day when we had snow on the ground -
I have been working on the terraced area on off days when the weather permits. This large sloping area will have two terraced borders and wide steps between them. After some contemplation and listening to Michael's suggestions, I decided to use railroad ties instead of rocks for the steps. I was afraid it would be too much rock and I hope that the ties will not command too much attention. I want to have grassy steps here.
Believe it or not, one of the most pressing annoyances is what to do with the grass clods that I am removing. We are not supposed to put them in our lawn recycle waste. I have them stacked everywhere and am running out of ideas of what to do with them.
There are several evergreen plants that look good in the winter garden -
In an attempt to practice patience (something I am not good at), I have decided to leave this Cypress 'Swane's Golden' at the entrance to the driveway. It is growing but still very small. I had thought about replacing it with an already large Weeping White Spruce but they are so expensive. This poor little cypress has been moved enough already. For now, I am in favor of leaving it.
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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False Holly (Osmanthus
heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’)
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| Pieris 'Passion Frost' |
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| Fatsia japonica |
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| Fatsia 'Spider's Web' |
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| Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Wilma Goldcrest’ |
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Euonymus
albomarginatus
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| Bear's Breeches (Acanthus mollis) is beginning to grow |
Comments
Your Osmanthus heterophyllus looks much better than ours. I suspect that Osmanthus - and almost all broadleaf evergreens for that matter - generally perform *much* better in the PNW than in the Upper / Mid South.
Would you say that's right? I know your garden in Alabama was a bit further south than mine in Tennessee, but Huntsville (for example) has already had one night with a low of 8 and multiple nights with lows in the teens. I'm guessing those temps would knock the Fatsias for a loop?
Flip the grass roots side up, pile it all, and leave it for the winter. It will be lovely stuff come spring (though I do not specify which spring).
The stonework is beautiful. I think we're going to have to do something similar next to our driveway (a dry stacked wall, anyway), because the UPS driver keeps dipping off the driveway into the garden.
The only suggestions I can make with some of the sod is to put some of it grass down on the steps for compost (as well as elsewhere in the garden, cover with mulch) and provide a bed for the new grass.
https://gosslerfarms.com/index.html
Yep, I think O. fragrans would probably do amazingly well in PNW, from what I've read. I'm actually surprised the local nurseries don't carry it. I wonder if there's some reason?
I think you're probably right that an established Fatsia japonica might survive in Alabama or even Tennessee, though probably as a dieback perennial. I just think it would probably look miserable most of the winter and early spring.
These days, I'm leaning even more toward natives / regional natives. That doesn't leave me with many evergreen options, but it also relieves me from the feeling that I'm torturing plants that evolved to enjoy milder winters. :P