He's getting to be quite the professional at planting trees, having planted three in our garden now - the Sam Houston Peach, the Page Mandarin and the River Birch.
Another little project we've been working on in our on-going efforts to hide and/or disguise the ugly wall at the back of the garden is a trellis, on which will grow a native honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' - Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler'. Since the area in which we want it to grow is thick with roots, we elected to raise up a small portion, using the same landscape bricks we have used in our other beds.
Also planted in that section is a Cleyera, which I originally planted in a little raise berm when trying an experiment in this same area in 2010 and a new Hamelia patens which I just planted after we had put the landscape bricks down and back-filled with organic garden soil.
Hopefully, when the honeysuckle gets here it will eventually hide the not-too-pretty pressure-treated 2x4's we used to support the trellis.
Further along the wall, I noticed the first blooms on the Rose of Sharon. This is the same plant I brought with me as a small twig from my old house four years ago. I'm very happy that it has taken so well to it's current location. Others I brought over and planted in other locations in the garden haven't done nearly as well.
In the new island bed, the Marguerite daisy is blooming beautifully and is attracted all sorts of winged visitors, including the little one in this photo. I'm not sure what he is, but he certainly was enjoying the nectar in these blooms yesterday.
I discovered yesterday that the corner of the garden between the island bed and the small trellis hiding the utility boxes is a nice place to sit out in the late afternoon. There's shade offered by the pine tree and also the Vitex tree and it offers a different view of the garden to what we normally see from the patio.
Well that's it from me -- the outdoors is calling.
Happy Earth Day everyone!
Earth Day 2012
The Canopy Project
Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.
6 comments:
That does look like a great spot to sit back and enjoy the garden. Your Rose of Sharon is just gorgeous. It does look very happy in its spot. Looking forward to seeing the Lonicera take off. Happy Earth Day.
Hi Jane,
It looks like it's already summer by you, with so many beautiful flowers blooming.
It's much work with your new projects but the result is worth. The honeysuckle is fast growing and it will cover beautifully that fence.
Thanks Bernie. The Rose of Sharon was originally a cutting from my neighbor at my old house. It grew to be 10 feet tall over there and this cutting is now around 5 or 6 feet tall in 4 years. The hummingbirds, butterflies and bees all love it and that makes it one of my favorites.
Hi Maia, I'm looking forward to the honeysuckle getting here so we can plant it. The hummingbirds should love it's tubular red blooms and it's just in the right place for us to sit and watch from the dining room :-)
What a nice way to spend Earth Day! I like your newly discovered spot to sit, too. You sure have lots of lovely blooms down there in Texas!
Jayne: I love your rose of sharon, the color is just so delicious :) The last picture made me jealous of your potential garden space since I have been running out the space.
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