Dirt Therapy

Do we really need a retrospective of 2020? In most cases, no, but a look back at the garden is always a good thing. JANUARY - A spur of the moment project last winter was a twig fence that I made along the back border of the garden. It has held up well and I'm still adding twigs when I can get them. There is a small area on the west side that could use more. I would like to go back and refine it but for now, it serves the purpose of screening the houses behind us and the birds love it. FEBRUARY - I did not have many photos to choose from for February. I decided to include this because it shows the area that I am working on at the moment . I'm putting in a low retaining wall along the border to the right. And the grass path is being narrowed.   MARCH - On March 14th, we got a few inches of snow.   APRIL - What a difference one month makes! This was taken on Earth Day, April 22. It is looking across the front garden from the front door.   MAY brings the lupines.   ...

  The pathway project stumbles on. It has been a slow go due to rain and my bum shoulder. I finally decided to see a chiropractor (my first time) and he said that it was almost dislocated. I have no idea how I did it. I've been for several visits and I think (and hoping) that it is getting better. He said that it would take a while. In the mean time, I've been trying to do things left-handed and, with the retaining wall project, only using a hand truck and moving a few at a time. It isn't that big of a project but I had hoped to be finished by now. Actually, due to rain, I've only averaged one or two days per week. In hindsight, I should not have removed all of the grass, just the area next to the edge. The majority of the grass could have remained until I get ready to put down the new sod. Needless to say, it is a muddy mess. I took Michael and Lisa's advice and turned the stones on their sides. It is taller than I envisioned it but I refused to start over and dig ...

Beverley Nichols (1898-1983) surely had one of the most varied writing careers of anyone I've heard of, publishing over 60 books during his lifetime. In addition to gardening books, he wrote novels and children's stories as well as non-fiction works on politics, religion, biography, music, poetry, travel, cats and even paranormal activity. Of the novels, six were a mystery detective series that was published during the 50s. In addition to writing, he wrote music and plays and acted in at least one feature film (sadly, that film is lost). For two decades, he wrote a weekly column for Woman's Own magazine. When he wasn't writing, he was restoring houses, creating gardens, arranging flowers and generally schmoozing with the likes of Noel Coward and Tallulah Bankhead. A true bon vivant. His first novel Prelude garnered him early celebrity status and he maintained that image with each successive book that he wrote. His books were wildly popular but none ever achieved a las...

  When it comes to showy off-season plants, they seem to have the advantage of not having to compete much with their neighbors. When the word "evergreen" is mentioned, I tend to think of conifers and hollies with pretty berries. I can't think of many deciduous plants with berries but there are some hollies, like the possumhaw ( Ilex decidua ) and 'Sparkleberry' which I always wanted to grow but never have. And then there is this beautiful thing which seems to be in a class by itself. Beautyberry brings a touch of elegance to the late fall and winter garden. The botanical name "Callicarpa" actually means "beautiful fruit". The berries can last up until January here in the Pacific Northwest as birds are not fond of them. The color of the berries (purple or magenta, whichever you prefer) are a conversation starter. And if you don't like purple (and I would ask - what is wrong with you?), then there are some varieties with white berries. Other ...

I love the look of roses growing on pillars but I've not been entirely successful in executing the look. I have yet to learn if I'm simply choosing roses that are not well-suited for such a purpose or maybe I don't spend enough time training them. My latest experiment with such was 'Climbing Iceberg' which looks okay in the above photo taken last spring but that was after I had whacked it back severely. For this is a rose that doesn't want to be restrained. This photo was taken last winter and the rose looks fairly tame considering the mess that it was a few weeks ago. I forgot to get a photo but trust me, it was out of control.  I decided to move it but where to? Real estate in this garden is getting pretty scarce. Then, after mulling it over for a while, I came up with the brilliant idea of putting it alongside our garden shed where I envision it scampering over the roof.  This is a good time for transplanting. The weather is cool (sometimes cold!) and damp. F...

This grassy pathway between the two borders has been problematic due to the fact that it is slightly uneven and the grass creeps into the borders. Michael wanted to do away with the grass altogether and replace it with gravel but I like the look the green grass gives and feel that it gives a calming place for the eye to rest since there is so much going on in the borders. There are only two areas of grass left in the entire garden - here and in the Pan garden area right off the deck in back. The plan is to replace this grass with RTF (Rhizomatous Tall Fescue) which is what we have in back. The grass is beautiful, evergreen and best of all, it is well behaved. I am removing this grass so that the area can be leveled. I will build up the soil and let it rest for the winter before putting down sod next spring. Removing grass is such a thankless job - The border on the left in the above photo is slightly raised and I wanted to put a low retaining wall to hold the soil in better as well as ...