The State of the Garden

I knew when we moved here this garden would be an all-consuming project. The first three years were non-stop project work. Now, our fourth year in, we are not working on projects as much as we are working on maintenance, and that is all-consuming until the plants knit together and smother the weed layer. And while the garden has come a long way, I'm nowhere near achieving the vision I have. This summer has frustrated me somewhat. I can almost imagine what the immature shrubs and trees will look like, but they're not there yet. Garden beds feel messy and disconnected. The typical frustration of a gardener who is a collector trying to reconcile the need for calm and harmony with the collector in me. I'm getting there. Feeling downtrodden this week, I went through the garden with camera in hand looking for vignettes that make me happy. Here is what I found.

Schisozylis coccinea 'Oregon Sunset' with an unknown crocosmia. I like hot pink and orange together for some reason.

Rudbeckia or black-eyed Susan in the meadow surrounded by grasses and asters.

This unusual little plant is Bigelowia nuttalli.

Agapanthus inapertus 'Nigrescens' with a sleeping bumble bee.

Stipa gigantea with prostrate rosemary at their feet along the edge of the labyrinth garden.

The cardoons are a disappointment this year. The blooms were small and the foliage below died completely. Another died all together. I cleaned up the dead foliage on the two remaining and they at least have a sculptural aura now instead of just messy.

 In the labyrinth, I am making a few changes, taking out the yellows of Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' (not pictured and to be moved to a better location) and looking for an orange coreopsis to replace it or some other drought-tolerant, short, true orange flowering plant. I will wait until late fall so I don't have to water as much down here. In the meantime, the Sedum 'Matrona' has started to bloom, echoing the pinks of the penstemon and echinacea.

In the foreground is Ceanothus gloriosus 'Pt. Reyes', finally filling in, with a view towards two beds of ornamental grasses.

Asters, grasses and a stray Verbena bonariensis mingle in the meadow. 

More rudbeckias, these are in the labyrinth garden. The one in the foreground is a dwarf variety, Rudbeckia 'Little Gold Star', noticeably smaller than the species behind it.

Edge of the gravel garden that I am mostly happy with, although the sedums are poised to take over. They have completely smothered any indication of the rock wall in which they were planted.

Echinacea 'White Swan' has been a reliable echinacea for me, faithfully blooming every year for many, many years. These came with me from the old garden. They also produced a couple volunteers, a few of which reverted back to pink petals.

The amazingly ornamental rose hips of Rosa glauca. I adore this rose.

A view of the gravel path off the driveway into the heart of the garden in dim morning light.

More of the gravel garden.

A few of the arctostaphylos are large enough now to be able to be pruned up a bit to expose their beautiful bark and offer a see-through to plants beyond. I have a few more I will do this to this fall, but most I will wait another year. Pictured is Arctostaphylos 'Saint Helena'. 

Agasatache 'Apricot Sunrise' has gotten quite large and has almost flopped open. A few stems have broken off due to its large size.

The northern edge of the labyrinth garden. Those white-flowered sedums are S. 'Stardust'. They were grown from throw-away cuttings at work. I literally pulled a bunch of old leaves and stems out of the trash and stuck them all over this area. About four took and grew really well.

Autumn blooming Leucojum autumnale.

Atriplex halimus and Panicum 'Cloud Nine' against the house.

 Achillea ptarmica 'Angel's Breath' is a refreshing change from the usual flat-head yarrow we are used to. It looks right at home at the edge of the meadow.

The edge of the labyrinth with hebe, salvia and grasses.

While I want to improve what I have (that is primarily not pictured in these photographs), it is an ongoing challenge for any gardener. I suppose it's a case of the late-summer garden blues when some things just don't tend to look their best. Okay. Okay I accept that, but in my mind, there's always room for improvement for this garden. I carry on with projects brewing in my mind, replacing plants that are not performing or are dying, adding others that are hardier and add some element of balance to the whole. So on that note, I'll keep on gardening until the day I die. Long live the gardeners of the world!

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens, as always thank you SO much for reading and commenting, we love knowing you are out there and hearing what you are up to . . . that there is life out there beyond our little bit of land. Happy gardening one and all!