REdchic What are those gorgeous things? Or did I miss you saying what they are?
Shade Garden Inspiration - Show off your garden!
Thanks Noreaster, Katie, and Doss.
Doss, sorry that I didn't mention the name up above. I definitely meant to. They are Erythronium oregonum AKA Fawn Lilies.
This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 2:13 PM
Even the name is ethereal! You guys out there in the PNW have the coolest stuff!
lol, thanks. But, you have some pretty neat things over your way too! However, I do agree about the fawn lilies... I think that they're one of the best of our natives! I bet that they we grow over your way down to zone 6, not sure about zone 5 though. That's tough.
I tried growing them here and they didn't make it but they sure are pretty. From what I've seen on line that patch that you posted is pretty spectacular!
thanks. I don't think that they do so well in your heat Doss. :-( I just checked on their hardiness and it's zones 3 -9, but I've Never seen them growing in warm spots, only cool shady ones. However, maybe you would have luck with erythronium californicum instead of sp. oreganum????
Thanks for the idea. I'll go and look that up. I probably don't keep my garden moist enough for them though.
UPDATE:
just wanted to show you all my progress so far. It's been a long time coming & non-stop HARD work, but I did it!!
Here is the before for anyone who missed it above. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6222623
here is part of the pond & hosta bed. New zoysia sod was laid over the past few weeks. I have more coming friday.
This message was edited Jun 1, 2009 8:40 PM
a fuller view of one section
part of the other bed
a nice birdhouse dh brought me the other day. It holds a pot at the bottom.
Some happy hostas, ferns & moss live here now. I love the new residents. :D
I found this unique very old church pew all broken up on the side of the road in the country & put it all back together again this weekend.
A friend told me it was a pice of junk & a waste of time, but not anymore!! bet they are all jealous now. lol It's just fabulous back here!!
These old barrels were piled in a corner at my MIL's house doing nothing so I figured I'd add to the old-rustic charm the backyard has now.
I added a little faery garden to one of the old trees.
My youngest son thought it was so funny.
So here is me (dirty person on the left) & my friend on the right. She helped me lay a 'few' pieces of sod then decided it was too heavy. lol
It was a nice thought though.
So this is what I have been up to. Still MAJOR work going on here. More sod to lay this weekend, another HUGE bed to make & we are starting on the deck. Yay!!
Will post more progress pics again soon. Thanks to everyone for their shade garden inspiration!!! I'm almost there!! XD
Kristy
I'm loving these photos! Your beds look really wonderful, racingboys. :)
Here's how mine's looking these days. I found a couple of cute little twig chairs at a garage sale for $1 each. Here's one of them with hosta 'Pineapple Upside Down Cake.'
I built a central raised bed in the one shade area using field stones. I actually found an animal grave there, left by previous owners, and did not want to disturb it. But, since I couldn't dig in it either, I raised it up about a foot so I could plant. Here's what the result looks like now.
That was a great idea on how to deal with that situation Kayly
Kristy, what an awesome piece of work (or is it pieces?) I often see shade gardens under the canopy of trees and wonder how these gardeners manage to water them in such a way as to 1) keep the smaller plants sufficiently moist, and 2) avoid roots rising? My only tree experience is with Fruitless Mulberries and that has taught me about invasive larger roots, as well as a multitude of hair roots sucking all of the moisture out of the ground.
My solution to all of these problems on the opposite side of a concrete block fence was to cover the ground under the tree and beyond with concrete, as is shown here. I keep ground-planted vegetation to a bare minimum (no pun intended) and live with a variety of pots of all sizes, including 1/2 of an old iron ocean float about 4 1/2 feet across with a rose tree planted therein.
See some of it here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6026601
Linda (Bartlett in CA [chuckling]) ^_^
Great pics, gal!
{edited to add} BTW, the opposite side of this same stretch of fence is discussed above on March 27, at 10:55 p.m. of you're interested.
This message was edited Jun 1, 2009 11:05 PM
Kristy, nice to see this thread bumped and look at all your hard work! Impressive what you've done with the area and I love how you incorporated the pond into the slope with the Hostas. I really like all the extra little "touches" - watering can, potted plants on the bench and birdhouse - and the church pew is perfect :)
Wow is all I can say 2rb... Great job on the yard. You have been buying hostas and plants like crazy girl! Great job. I remember seeing the railroad ties back there and thats all. Now georgeous.
Kristy, what a change from the beginning! It's gorgeous.
Doug
Great job Kristy. When I first saw your garden I thought, 'what a huge job'. I'm so glad that you weren't intimidated by it and really took it in hand. Hat's off to you - and laying your own sod too, even with the "help" of a friend. :-)
Good solutions Twincol. I love the pansies.
Thanks everyone. It's been a lot of fun really. I did that one long bed on the left in one day, then planted the next. I was on a roll that week!! lol
And yes, I have been buying plants like crazy, but only because I needed to & that was soooo much fun!!! I got great deals though so that was nice.
It's been amazing to see all my neighbors & friends coming over to see what I am up to everyday. lol They are wondering what is going on everytime I back the truck in. I guess they know I have a load of something or another. lol
The fun is not over yet as we are starting the deck this week. Dh has some nice plans. Nothing fancy, but will be for us.
We are going to do a 'floating'/'low profile' style, maybe 1 step up, curved around the pond to have a slight 'overlooking' of it and squared off all the way to the wall. You can see the shaping in the pic. On the other side there is junky stuff to throw out. Jeep mudding tires, raggedy trailer, etc. That stuff has got to go!!
I still have to pressure wash the dirt/mud off the house & fill in a few holes where some bushes were I had just planted. (They were not happy in so much shade!!) I gave them to the girl that helped me lay the sod. She has full sun at her place.
Will post more pics as progress continues. Will be a busy weekend for us!! YAY!!
Kristy
That all looks wonderful, Kristy!
Kayly, that was a very considerate and creative solution to the pet grave. Very nice!
Great job!!! Will look forward to seeing the deck.
I love the idea of two girls getting dirty laying sod. That's not easy work. Nice job!!
The changes look great and I agree with Noreaster's comment about the pet grave. That is very respectful and sensitive of you to keep it intact.
Kathy
I am new at sending images, so please bear with me. I took a couple of pics this grey afternoon and will try to download them. I tried to download five, but only one is here. This is my garden next to the Merrimack river. I am particularly happy about my Canada lilies this year. Right now the garden is all yellow with the Stellas and the Happy Returns and Ennie Weenie, plus a yellow perennial digitalis and a rogue Rudbeckia.
I'm also happy that my baby Kousa dogwood is in 'bloom'; the bracts have lasted more than a month. I will see if I can download.
You can only do one photo per post, but you can string together posts with no problem.
I like it! I'm all for impact and lots of color (sometimes in the PNW, we need something to stand out from the year-round green and gray-blue), but in your case, I like the softness of the greens and yellows. It's soothing and natural looking, but not wild and untended natural. It definitely draws you in for a meander . . .
Wow quiltjean I love the garden. Really pretty. My kind of paths and flowers. Very relaxing. Ronna
HOw lovely. It must be great to take a stroll through that beauty. ANd is that water too?
Do you know that the sunflower bloom for me in dense shade. Who knew? Do Azaleas and Rhods and Camelias do well in the shade? I doubt it would bloom.
Camellias can almost grow and bloom in the dark and azaleas will bloom well in shade that is bright but no direct sun. I find that I have better luck in general with kurume azaleas and sasanqua camellias.
hellnzn11 - Now that you mention it, when I was a kid I planted some sunflowers in a concrete planter box outside my grandmother's house. I dug some seed out of the birdseed mix. The planter was shaded by a huge maple, plus it was under the eaves of the house. Thinking back, it may have gotten a teeny bit of morning or late afternoon sun, but I think it's pretty unlikely it got much at all. My grandma used to plant annual geraniums there, and I remember she was always disappointed that they didn't bloom much. (She wasn't much of a gardener, herself.)
Well, the little seeds I buried as a kid surprised us all by growing into enormous sunflowers. I remember them being so tall that they looked like they had to scrunch down to fit beneath the porch roof. But those sunflowers were the first plants I ever grew, and I think maybe I got my gardening bug right then and there. I was no more than 5 or 6 years old.
My shade garden is now three years old. With hostas, ferns, hellebores, azaleas, I've filled a small condo garden.......the drama has to come from focal points (like this lantern) and other objects to catch the eye.
What a beautiful and tranquil haven you've created, Pigweed! It's really lovely.
KaylyRed
Thanks for your kind remarks. It really cheers me up to see the beautiful gardens posted on this site. We are covered in snow in VA this winter.
Pigweed12
I meant to send you a Dmail Pigweed12 when I saw your name/location as a new subscriber - Welcome to DG! I see that you found your way to one of my favorite forums :) You'll have to visit us in the Mid-Atlantic forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/region_mida/all/. We used to have a few members from the Richmond area who posted there regularly - the more the merrier!
The photos of your garden are beautiful but I'd much rather look at without all the snow. Anxiously awaiting spring here :)
In a few weeks, hopefully, the shady parts of the garden will look like this (taken a couple years ago).
Oh Hoosier that is so pretty. What are the blueish grassy looking things? They probably don't grow here in the desert. I have some pretty dense shade on the north side of my house where the two Fruitless Mulberry trees are taken over and pretty dense, the morning sun is somewhat blocked by a cargo container that we use as a shed and a part of a wall for our yard. Like someone else in California said, the UV index here is so high that our dense shade is probably like your part shade.
Pigweed, your garden is lovely - so lush in just 3 years! I'm still trying to get the knack of getting my garden areas to look like that. I second Debbie's (rcn) warm welcome. You are not too far away, and some of us get together for seed and plant swaps, and trips to garden events if you are interested. Check out the Mid Atlantic forum for info about the next seed swap in Frederick, MD and a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show. Terri