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A long narrow bed of peach, yellow and pink glads,
accompanied by a lower planting of marigolds and dusty
miller runs
along the fence between the driveway and yard, just to
the right of the entrance gate. My son Stephen
did most of the work on this flower bed. The glad bulbs
were a gift from one of my son Matthew's friends, in
memory of his Grandmother, who passed away this
spring. Glads' were one of her favorite
flowers. Next year, we plan to replace the wire
fence with a scalloped picket fence.
There is a small but fast growing silver maple tree
half way back along the fence. The combination
of its shade and chemistry, stunts the growth of
everything growing beneath its crown. We have
found that placing each individual plant, unfortunate
enough to be selected to live beneath the maple in a
plug of rich potting soil greatly improves the health
of plant and reduces the dwarfing that occurs if the
plants are planted in the soil beneath the tree.
This flower bed is mulched with shredded pine
bark. It is bordered with an edged grass
boundary. (Weed whacker to the rescue!). The
back end of the bed is beneath a nice sized Pink
Dogwood Tree. Just around the corner from it are
four ancient Peony colonies, one white and three pink.
Narrow, strip, border gardens and container displays
create an attractive environment that eases
maintenance tasks. There is only one formal
bed that is large enough to require one to step off
the grass and into the tilled soil to maintain it.
The walk turns to the left, as it enters the garden
gate. To the left, is a perennial garden, with
roses, Sweet Williams, bleeding heart, status and
Clingman's Hedge Nettle. There are three roses,
red, yellow and lavender. Clingman's Hedge, is
generally considered a noxious weed, but after years
of fighting with it, we have adopted it as a beautiful
ground-cover for our tall perrenials. This
flower bed is also mulched with shredded pine bark,
but you wouldn't know that if I didn't tell you, as
the ground-cover has hidden it from view with a lush
lacey carpet of silver green. It is important to
maintain a space between the Clingman's Hedge and
small plants, as it will smother them..
As you look toward the porch, you will notice a
"Wagon Wheel" planter of Begonias and
Portulaca. I do not know why, but the
combination seems to thrive in the box planter.
To the left of the back porch steps, is a small hidden
reservoir fountain. An alabaster (Plastic)
little girl continuously sprinkles white river pebbles
with water from her sprinkling can. Behind her,
Rose flowered impatiens form an attractive backdrop
that thrives in the humid environment created by the
fountain.
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Gladiolias Border
Garden
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