This will be a garden and nature journal. I'm a nature-watcher so expect lots of critter sightings as well.
According to the Hardiness Zone Maps , I'm in Zone 6, but it's so borderline to Zone 7 that I can push the zonal limits for many things, and I will try. Looking around the area, I see many things I wouldn't consider hardy, happily growing and multiplying. Cannas and gladiolias are 2 that come to mind. I'm still working at getting a stand of cannas established, and will try glads someday. I'm not much for digging and storing tender bulbs so don't really mess with them otherwise.
So what about the gardens? I'm an avid perennial gardener and a bit of a collector. If I don't have it, I want it. I've been doing this for over 20 years. When I moved from Michigan to Tennessee in the summer of 2004, I brought a lot of plants with me. Mostly daylilies. I can't stop myself from ordering a few new varieties every year from my favorite daylily catalogs. I'll talk more about the daylilies in another post.
My latest passion is ornamental grasses and that collection is growing yearly as well. I loved discovering all the new things I can grow in this milder climate zone.
My place is off the beaten track so curb appeal is not a consideration. I design gardens for MY views. There's something to see out of every window and from every porch. The gardens are constantly changing, expanding, and evolving. I love birds and butterflies, so many plants are included for them.
Most of the gardens also serve another purpose. Cutting the grass is my least favorite thing to do in the yard. I detest trimming even more. I don't even own a weedwhacker. If it's hard to mow, it becomes a garden. I design edges so the mower easily moves around them. No sharp inside corners here.
Some of the gardens have names.
The Bird Garden. This is a large semi-circle at the front the house on the south side. I can see it from 3 windows, 2 in the kitchen/dining, and 1 in the living room. I can watch it from my computer desk in the living room. It was designed for birds. There's several bird feeders and a bird bath. Flowering shrubs like Crape Myrtle, Althea, and Nandina around the outside edge give the birds some cover. Daylilies (of course) and other bushy and spreading perennials fill it in. 2 of the stars are large red and pink Hardy Hibiscus.
The White Room (with Black Curtains). An evolving garden seen out the back doorwall (north side) in the living room. It started out as a symetrical circle. It has a 3-sided gazebo-like trellis over it. Clematis grow on the trellis. The theme is mostly black & white. In MI, I had a similiar garden. White themed gardens glow in low light. I have a fascination for "black" flowers, and have included every black flower I come across. I've also included scent as a feature. There's a place to sit in the middle so I can enjoy the fragrance up close. Rosemary, lavender, and a few other high scents are included.
This garden now has an another feature. I can't dig anywhere without finding stones. I had seen dry stream beds and other uses for rock mulch so I added a moon-shaped space to the side of the original circle. It's basically a place to throw the stones I find as I dig. I planted large and small grasses, butterfly bushes, and other things around the edge to give the illusion of a pond. 2 metal crane sculptures and a gazing ball are highlights in the stone bed. Some day this might actually be a pond, but for now, it's low maintainance.
Speaking of ponds. Off the back deck (yes, garden all around it) is a little water garden. It's a round raised bed made of stacking pavers with a small 3' liner inside. A little fountain and some goldfish. The goldfish have been multiplying on their own. It's too small for plants in the water, so there is just a potted reed in there now. There's space around the edge for planting and I put short plants there so as not to block the view of the fountain.
Porch View. I like to sit on the covered porch (east side) and this garden gives something to look at. It's still in progress. It features some of the larger things like the big grasses and shrubs.
The Rabbitry. Yep, garden around it, too. I can see it from the porch as well. 2 of my favorite things in it are a "Little Gem" magnolia and a "Okame" cherry. These provide some shade for the barns. There's also Crape Myrtles, a little Korean Lilac, and more grasses, daylilies, hibisicus, hydrangeas, and other smaller perennials. This garden faces west, but the trees provide enough shade for the things like the hydrangeas. A very robust Passionflower vine grows on the chainlink of the outside part of the rabbitry.
So there you have an overview of what going on in my yard.
tnt
Natureschild
5 days ago
