My first stop was at Pike's. I'd already decided to tackle this corner this weekend. This corner is sloped, rocky, shady and FULL of weeds! Had I taken a picture last weekend, there'd also be 10' stalk of Polk Salad rearing it's ugly head. It's a nightmare! There are exposed tree roots, spider webs, acorn tree sprouts and all manner of foolishness.
And here's the view from the gate leading into the backyard:
If you look in the upper left hand corner, you can see some of my handiwork from last weekend. I'll post about that later. But while shopping for that project, I'd decided upon a mix of cast iron plants, hydrangeas, ferns and hostas for this corner. I didn't buy the stuff last week because I am sticking to my plan to tackle one fence section at a time. I was tempted last week because my local Pike's was having a Customer Appreciation sale - Everything in the store was 20% OFF! But I stuck to my guns. I lost too many plants bought on "sale" that never made it in the ground.
I was kicking myself over this as I was shopping this am. That Pike didn't have much of nothing on sale. Which was surely gonna cut into my holiday project budget. So imagine my surprise when I the cashier gave me 20% off my entire bill at checkout! Apparently, they were having a sale but just not advertising. Works for me!
Boy was I glad that I had taken the plunge and picked up a few new plants suggested by the nursery staff. She introduced me to Chirimen Marlberry and a Pachysandra for ground covers. The Marlberry is evergreen and promises to have a red berry later this summer. The Pachysandra will spread without becoming invasive and if I remember correctly, should also have a little white flower. I also grabbed a Hosta named "Christmas Tree". I LOVE Hostas and grab one whenever I can.
I got straight to work after getting home and unloading the car. I used a hoe to rake away the weeds. Afterwards I covered the area with soil ammendments (no double-dig) and laid out my plants. Normally, I'll double dig the entire area anytime I start a new bed. But it was too tricky navigating the slope and the stupid grass to do that here. So I just mixed the soil in the planting holes. I did make sure to dig really wide holes to encourage healthy root growth. Enough yapping, here's the final result:
And a close-up looking from the gate:
The Chirimen Marlberry (L) and Christmas Tree Hosta (R)
Moving L > Right, a volunteer fern, some random hosta that I moved, the Sixie Wood Fern (rear), the pachysandra (middle), and Endless Summer Twist 'n Shout (either pink or blue blooms).
A closeup of Endless Summer Blushing Bride:
This is a better shot of the area directly in fron of this new planting. Ultimately, I plan to replace all of the liriope with a dry-stacked stone retaining wall. I know the experts don't recommend it but I'm installing this wall in sections. As I plant and As I have the rocks handy, I add a short section.
See how much better that looks!
Not bad for a few hours of hard work!
