Shade Gardening: Favorite Astilbe?, 1 by rcn48

rcn48 wrote:
Thanks, the "rock garden" was an effort to save that corner. Years ago I built a rock wall there and we had planted Variegated Dwarf Bamboo http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/81255/ to fill in the area under the Crab. What a nightmare! It quickly filled the area, was popping out through the rock wall and running under the path! I tore the whole wall down, removed the Bamboo and started all over :( I miss the wall but I actually like the new "look" better! When I reworked the area last month I extended the edges and built it up because the same gully washers that roar down the driveway make the turn here and washed out anything planted along the edge. We still haven't had any heavy rains to "test" it but I'm convinced that the built up edge is going to help :)

Took a quick picture of 'Black Lace' yesterday when it stopped raining to show you how much it's filled in. Keep in mind that this was after pruning it back at least 2' in April just before it started leafing out. I suspect that the early pruning will become a spring ritual to keep it a manageable size!

Edited to add link: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/128577/ This is what it looked like the first year of planting - 2006!

This message was edited Aug 23, 2009 5:59 AM