2013 Garden Reflections ~ Getting Grounded in the Garden

• By Barb
• Posted in Things that inspire me in the garden
• On December 10, 2013
• 2 Comments.

Winter has set in, time to reflect on the past year’s gardening, then dream and plan for next year. I decided to look at what I was most happy with, some tweaking that needs to be done (a “To-Do” list) and a word of caution for you on a real mistake I made.

Keep This Up Next Year !! Can I just say that I absolutely love putting new window boxes together each season? They are such wonderful miniature gardens that can be filled, fluffed and arranged, not to mention that they really doll up the front of our house! One of my biggest successes this year has been the seasonal window boxes I created. Using items and materials on hand and keeping costs low are always my aims. I want a lot of bang for my buck, big impact but low cost outdoor decorating. Anything is fair game when I make a window box; garden accents, plants, bird houses and feeders and little bits of this and that collected at garage sales. The pictures below are the window boxes from all the seasons of 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2014 “To-Do” List 

First on the “To-Do” list is to get out in early spring as the front bed perennials emerge and do lots of dividing and transplanting. They are all overdue for thinning and there are spots elsewhere on the property that will relish the color. Because I love such a thick “full” look in my garden, I tend to let it get to be a jungle before I lay a hand on the plants. The time has come!

 Second on the “To-Do” list will be to create a small fairy village at the base of an old tree stump by the garden room. I am thinking hypertufa houses with stick roofs populated by my own little handmade fairies. My inspiration picture below is from the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

 

 Third on the “To-Do” list is to devise a plan for this area in the backyard. During the fall, we asked our landscaper friends to dump mulched leaves about one foot thick over all the remaining ivy. Hopefully, this will smother the majority of it, and this plot will become a new garden space. The new raised beds were great, so I am thinking of making a whole grouping of them here. All suggestions are more than welcome !

 

 Fourth on my “To-Do” list is having an arborist  trim the zelkova tree in the front yard away from the utility lines. While it was probably just the right size when first planted in that spot, Miss Zelkova has spread out all over the place and gotten ungainly. This is not a tree I would have chosen but will try to make the best of since it is established, gives good shade and is already part of our landscape.

 

NEVER  AGAIN !!!

And, last but not least, never ever plant this plant! Houttuynia cordata, also known as “Chameleon Plant” , is a sweet unassuming-looking little groundcover with white blooms and multi-colored leaves. But it is the thug of all time in your flowerbeds! I will be pulling this rascal up for the rest of my lifetime as it regenerates from the tiniest piece of root left behind. If I had checked into this plant properly and not just bought it on impulse, it would not be in my garden now.