If so that must just smell like heaven. It's such a lovely setting and to be scented, too, is just grand.
Shade garden inspiration II
Yes, it's all Lily of the Valley. I removed a ton in previous years, and this year, and I STILL have a ton! I wonder who planted it originally and when....it's certainly happy where it is. I caught the scent for the first time today, Pirl, and it is lovely.
I don't think my nose is in tune with lily of the valley. I cut a small bouquet the other day, put it on my kitchen window above the sink and still can't smell it. It is pretty this time of year though.
Noreaster - more rock envy on my part. Nice setting and must be stunning when everything unfurls.
Thanks, Cindy. I'll post more pics later in the season. I'm actually a little freaked out by the growth of things this year....I like to be able to walk around things as I do my slug rounds at night but I think some of the hosta have gotten so big that it is going to be hard to do that. All that rain last summer must have given everything a major boost.
Here is the only one that didn't really grow- Big Daddy. Interestingly, the varigated Solomon's Seal behind it did get much taller this year....I thought that kind was supposed to stay relatively low.
Mine is 18" tall. I had sent some to a DG person and she wanted the height so I measured. I'd have guessed they were taller but mine are in a dry spot.
My Solomon Seal is HUGE this year. Big Daddy grew pretty big for me last year and he looks to be well on his way this year. He's not quite as big as the one you've pictured, though.
Noreaster your garden is so beautiful!!! Thanks for the name of a shade sedum I will have to look into that. Not a huge fan of the sedum but will need some color. My varagated Japenese solomon seals are huge this year also. The smaller ones I found in the woods are so cute. With all this rain we have been having everything is so huge!!! My Parhelion hosta is so pretty and large this year so is Solar Eclipse. Planted both last year. I am with you on the lily of the valley. They are so hard to get rid of!!! gggrrrr. One of those things I planted and wished I never did! They smell wonderful. I have some planted along my driveway they smell heavenly. Ronna
I planted the 'striped' version of lily of the valley this year.
It was advertised as being less aggressive a spreader.
Does anyone know of it's spreading habit? Will I regret planting it?
The variegation is pretty.
I don't know....I somehow having stripes makes it less aggressive! My LOTV is a nightmare to remove because whoever put it there didn't really have a garden...they just stuck it in the ground. Well that ground has lots and lots and lots of rocks in the soil. So it's not like I can just stick a shovel in some nice garden soil and pull the stuff out. I have to use a pickaxe to loosen the compacted dirt and rocks to try to free the roots. But of course they are firmly entrenched, and deep. What I've done in this bed is dig as a deep a trench as I could around the LOTV, then buried a plastic garden edging to hopefully act as a barrier. So far it seems to keep it from inching over where I don't want it. It will always be a chore to manage it, but way more of a chore to get rid of it entirely.
Misty Lacy Aruncus is in full bloom right now....and really big this year!
I have an Aruncus that has to be cut back.Its over 5 feet tall and about to bloom.Its at least that wide too.Yours looks great in the shade,something wonderful about light colored flowers in shade.
noreaster - What a beautiful show! I planted a 'Misty Lace' last year and it put on a decent show this year. It still has a ways to go before reaching the size of your's. I had species Aruncus for years but had planted it in the wrong place. It languished year after year without blooming. I ended up losing 2 out of 3 plants and moved the survivor to a different bed that now contains 'Misty Lace'. The change in that survivor is encouraging since it bloomed this year although not as showy as 'Misty Lace'. I think Aruncus is one of those plants that does need to be sited correctly in half-way decent soil.
ge - I can't imagine mine getting that big. What's your secret?
I dont think mine is MistyLace,just GoatsBeard.They get huge.
I brought it from my old house.Sometimes I just fall into a good combo.We all get a thrill out of a casual mistake that turns out good.
I can rarely take credit for having actually "planned" a good combo. Some of the best ones in my gardens are "coincidentals". They turn out far better than the intentional ones. Campanula poscharskyana blooming blue right now with my "hak" grass behind it, backed up by columbine 'Yellow Star' with Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' with chartreuse buds opening in pale blue. Last week it was my only Japanese maple 'Atropupureum' underplanted with Geranium 'Spessart' - the pale pink of the Geranium accented by the burgundy maple leaves. My first "accident" was Monarda 'Mahogany' with daylily 'Raspberry Pixie' - both blooming the same color at the same time in my garden.
A visiter
from this week
stunning when you come uppon them.
Here is my favorite spot in the shadier part of the yard! Goats bear is huge, oakleaf hydrangea, perennial geraniums, cherry bells ground cover, a couple honeybelles... my favorite hostas and a unknown blue hosta. Much more I am sure. Ronna
very nice. I am waiting for caladiums to come up in my shade garden for annuals.Its in front of the woodpile so I didnt want SIL tramping on it all winter.
Calads were planted 3 weeks ago.Many in pots are up.
I love Goats Beard.Yours is really nice.
here is a shot of my shade garden,just got it done I had planted it last summer,finished the edging and mulched it,i have hostas ,bleeding hearts ,astilbes,fall crocus, goldie locks,dead nettle,archangel,veronica repens,sedum album,potentilla verna,I have a few annuals tossed in the upperbed,
astilbes blooming,they are soo pretty
I just love them backlit in early morning or late evening.
Good eye,late evening,thank you...
They are aglow. Beautiful!
At this angle the slope is scary. How do you mow that grass?
now this side is a challenge,we mow very carefully it is very steep,dH has only rolled the tractor 1 time ,I have never lost it yet !!!
Yikes! Must be scary flipping a tractor. My old house had a fairly steep front yard (although not as steep as yours) and I wouldn't let anyone else mow because I felt I was the only one who had the knack for mowing without killing myself or the John Deere. Plus, my husband always missed spots. ;)
Those astilbes are gorgeous. Mine are blooming, too, although I don't have a photo yet (and it's raining today, so that's not going to happen.) This is the first year I've ever been able to grow astilbes and get them to bloom. They've always died before, or the chipmunk has eaten them. (I can tell you that our chipmunks LOVE astilbes. They also love toad lily buds, so I haven't seen those in a couple of years, either.) This year, FINALLY, I have blooms. Yay!
Gorgeous, huggergirl. Love the garden, the plants, the porch and the property.
I got an astilbe at the last RU which is doing extremely well. The ones I bought before either died or struggling. I always thought that it was the oaks draining all the water out. Now I am suspecting that
it's a proven winner plants that do well. None of the plants I got at the RU struggle.
I will not be fooled by pictures anymore, I think ;)
hugger, from this angle the slope is even more intimidating, but the house setting is gorgeous!
Strever, I know I'm supposed to be focusing on the arisaema, but I still LOVE your podophyllums.
In full splendid bloom! I'm jealous! Mine are puny in comparison.
Mine are 4-5 years old now, so hopefully they'll start strutting their stuff pretty soon.
i have boat loads of stupid chipmunks,and they are eating all my sunflower seed that I have planted ,ive never had them bother my astilbes, and they better not !!!! looks like Ive got 1 sun flower coming up ,Have never had this happen before and ive always had chipmunks...AHH yes kayly we dont let anyone mow here either,way too dangerous.The dh Rolled the tractor the 1st yr he was retired,he was not used to mowing at all ,I always had mowed the lawn,he still scares me!!!!! I just dont watch anymore....And he actually does a nice job now ,boy when he first took over,it was awful,i kept saying yes it looks nice ,thank you for mowing,while inside Iwas ohhh you have no idea how to mow!!!! Much better now,I dont grit my teeth anymore...
This mornings pix
Backhouse martagon lilies
.Goats beard and Buff Pixi lilies
.Shade garden combo
Campanula Porch! Blue Falls
Fern,Tree Peony
GF's sculpture
huggergirl love the new garden! People love to squeeze in a shade garden where ever they can! Hostas growing in the smalllest amount of shade. My yard is almost all shade so I get kinda upset when I can not grow more sun perennials. But you got what you got right? Make the most of it. I am currently working on the front yard with a bunch of rocks and less plantings. So far so goo. Have some new swapping goats bears! Mini ones. Really like them alot.... Starting to blossom now. Have a great day everyone. Ronna
ge,love the martagon lilys,Iam thinking id better get me some ..!!! i have a bit of shade too,in different areas.We do get a lot more sun on the west now as we have cut down 2 trees in the past 2 yrs,sadly but really needed to,a black walnut,trunk measured 66 in around and 20 + long with no branches,couldnt even sell the log,because it was in a yard..But too close to the house hung over the 1st story and 2nd,filled the gutters ,the other was a wild black cherry,that also was a very dirty tree that hung heavy over the house,my veg.garden was getting no sun anymore,with woods on the east.Large trees on the west
ge, thank you for posting lovely plant paring pictures. I did not know tree peonies could grow in the shade.
The TP's like some sun. This area gets sun late afternoon