Doublefile Viburnum

I have 7 of these Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii') on my hillside. They are looking spectacular now. The nice thing about them is that they look great for most of the year. I like how they change to a bronze color in the summer.

This is a great shrub to add to your landscape if you have room for a plant that grows to about 8 - 10 feet wide. Since Viburnums thrive on a clay hillside, I have several varieties. "The right plant for the right place!"

Color and texture in the garden

I especially enjoyed a class on color at a Landscape Design course I attended in April. I took a few photos in my garden showing some color and texture combinations. These photos show opposites on the color wheel: purple shades contrasted with yellow-green shades. They also show varying textures and sizes of foliage.

Ferns, astilbe, and hosta in shade garden

Here is a photo of my shade/frog garden that shows some fern fronds and astilbe and hosta opening up. Ah, the promise of spring!

Clearing brush and weeds from stream area

I have been doing a lot of heavy work in the yard - and having fun. On several occasions, I was splattered with mud from head to toe after a lot of clearing ivy and weeds from around the stream. One day as I was walking up the bank after another session of clearing brush, I thought to myself how much I enjoyed myself. It reminded me of using driftwood to build forts on the beach when I was growing up. Making something from nothing.
Here is a section of the stream area that I cleared and planted with mostly native plants, such as ninebark, red-twig dogwood, currant, and assorted ferns (also assorted hosta).

More spring garden work - planting annuals and dividing perennials

I divided creeping phlox from my front lawn perennial bed, as it was creeping vigorously in the wrong direction (actually in all directions). That left me with enough to plant in my hillside rock garden and give to my neighbor. Then I added a flat of small annual dahlias to the rock garden for some summer color.

I look forward to seeing the dahlia blooms along with other perennials that are coming along in this area.

A flurry of spring activities

I've been planting my pots. Every year I tell myself I will have fewer, and then I get carried away again. I've got more than 40 pots planted this year. Some of them only have a single plant (such as begonias and abutilon), but it will still be quite a few to water this summer. I will probably set up a little drip system in one area to handle nine pots, so that will help. These photos show a few of my pots.

Free Natural Yard Care Workshops in Federal Way

Register for free workshops in Federal Way by calling 253-835-2700

Thursday, May 3
Managing Stormwater in the Landscape

Rain Gardens and More: the Puget Sound region is struggling with increased flooding and other storm water problems, and your landscape can be part of the solution! Learn about installing a mini rain garden, rock-filled troughs, rain chains, and other garden features that are beautiful & functional.

Wednesday, May 9
Do-it-Yourself Rain Barrels

Come learn about water conservation, how to prevent polluted runoff, and the benefits of rain barrels. Water stored in your rain barrel can be used around the home and garden, it will absorb slowly into the ground replenishing groundwater supplies. A limited number of rain barrels will be available for purchase for $25 (cash only).

Thursday, May 17
Organic Weed & Pest Control

Natural Pest, Weed, and Disease Control: ways to create a healthy, beautiful garden that is resistant to the most common Pacific NW pests and disease problems. Learn ways to successfully manage any problem that arises without the use of pesticides. Learn steps to take when making the transition towards a natural approach to pest management.

All classes held at
Federal Way City Hall
33325 8th Ave. S.
Federal Way, WA 98003
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Register by calling 253-835-2700

Red-flowering currant

Here is a photo of one of my flowering currant plants. This one produces larger flower clusters than my other currant plants.

Pruning Berberis thunbergii "Rose Glow" (Japanese Barberry) bushes

I pruned the barberry plants in the parking strip. This is not a fun task because of the thorns, but I managed without too many scratches by using long-handled loppers to cut and to pick up pruned branch and place directly into the yard waste bin. I pruned the oldest cane-like branches to about one inch from the ground (as low as I could get). Many of these were in the center of the bush, so it eliminated crowding. I also pruned some branches that were getting too close to the sidewalk. I didn't want dense shrubs, so I only pruned branches to the ground. (Cutting part way would cause branching.)

Other cane-like plants I prune in a similar manner are Nandinas (Heavenly Bamboo) and Hydrangeas. Cutting branches (canes) to the ground will encourage strong new canes to come up from the base of the plant.

Native plants

Whew! I planted 10 Noble Fir, 10 Grand Fir, 5 Black Hawthorn, 20 Red Flowering Currant, 5 Red Osier Dogwood, and 5 Bunchberry plants this weekend. They were small, procured through Pierce Conservation Society, but it still was a lot to plant over the weekend. Here are a few of the plants:

Also, here are photos of early spring bulbs - Tête-à-Tête Daffodil and Dwarf Iris. They are planted in a highly visible spot by the walkway to my front door.

 

Added some bark to new Japanese-inspired area

Now I'm eager to see how it looks when the dwarf ginkgo and pomegranate leaf out, and the tatting ferns send up new fronds.

 

Winter entry vignette

I bought three pots of Tête-à-Tête Daffodil and shoved into a nice pot to add to my entry porch. Along with the Cypress 'Wilma' in pots and the Camellia Sasanqua and primroses, the pots form a nice vignette on the porch.

Later, I will plant the daffodil bulbs in the ground, adding to a growing cluster that will be blooming soon and every year thereafter.

Pacific tree frog in winter

I rescued a little frog who had hopped into the garage. He is brown to blend in with his surroundings.
I heard some frogs in the lower gardens yesterday - happy sounds!

Winter clean-up

When we get a couple dry days, it feels great to get out and do some yard clean-up. In addition to trimming up dead branches and raking up fallen leaves and branches, we had some broken branches to prune from winter storms. Here are photos from my hillside landscape area. I am about to go outside and plant some Viburnum tinus -I love to be outdoors!

Viburnum tinus

I have a lot of Viburnum tinus 'Spring bouquet' throughout my hillside garden areas. They are solid performing plants that are easy-care. They are evergreen and bloom reliably in the winter and early spring. Some of mine are in areas that get very little watering, and they all do well. Mine are planted in poor soil and get no fertilizer. Cut branches do well inside in arrangements.
I found a lot of these for sale at two different Lowes (so assume they are at several places) for under $6. I planted 8 of them and just went back to get 8 more! They make a great plant for along the property edge.

Here is a link about the plant:  KingCountyNativePlants. This is a photo of one of mine.

 

Bare root roses available now

If any of your roses need replacing, or if you want some new roses, this is the time to buy and plant bare root roses. Remember to buy #1 quality roses and follow the instructions for planting them (such as trimming a bit of the roots).

Take a copy of a listing of disease-resistant roses for your area when you make your selection. By planting roses that are disease-resistant, we can avoid most or all spraying. I didn't need to spray anything in my yard last year, and I plan to continue 'green' yard care practices.

Red twig dogwood

Our native red twig dogwood is the Red Osier dogwood - Cornus sericea. I have these in several areas of my garden where I feature native plants. Here is a photo of a row of red twig dogwood that are just about ready for a major pruning. This year I will prune back all the older twigs to a couple inches from the ground. I will also prune back other branches that get in the way of walking through the yard. I will post a photo after I do the pruning to show the results. New bright red branches will grow up from the roots.

Angel Memory Gardens Facebook Page

I've created a Facebook page for my Angel Memory Gardens business. To get started, I need a certain number of 'likes' to set up a better username (page name). So if you are on Facebook, please 'like' Angel Memory Gardens -  Facebook Angel Memory Gardens
Thanks!

"Wildlife" visiting the stream

My son's dog appreciates our little stream.

Windmill Palm

My palm seems to have survived the snow and ice storms. I swept the snow off the fronds before the freezing rain came, and they bounced right back.

Angel Memory Gardens

I've published my new business web site: www.angelmemorygardens.com

I'd appreciate your referrals for my design services for special garden areas, memory gardens, and garden art.

Camellia Sasanqua

Here is a photo of my Camellia Sasanqua that is blooming on my front porch. I had the pot in an open spot last year, and all the buds froze, turned brown and fell off after the deep freeze in November. So I moved it to my porch for more protection this year.

The primroses are blooming again, with just enough protection to overwinter.

Added stepping stones to finish Japanese-inspired bed

Now I can get into the bed to maintain it without getting as dirty. The compost we spread this fall is really dark and messy. I think I will add a light layer of bark to some areas - like this one.

Cleaning up garden beds and adding evergreen plants

Found some time in between rain showers to do some garden clean-up. Raked and picked up fallen leaves and did a little pruning. This is a good time to examine trees and shrubs for dead, damaged, or diseased branches - and to cut them off.

I also cut out some of the larger hydrangea branches (to the ground). For cane-type plants, this stimulates new growth from the ground. Heavenly bamboo (Nandina) is a good plant to prune this way. Cut down the oldest canes. New ones will form near the base of the plant.

You can see some of the evergreen plants I've added to this garden bed: Ilex crenata 'Convexa' and 'Sky Sentry' (nice Japanese holly varieties), Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Fastigiata' (Japanese Plum Yew), Choisya ternata 'Aztec Pearl', and windmill palm. It doesn't look as bare this winter.

Fall color

These photos were taken in the middle of October, but I want to show you the fall color of some of my favorite plants. The winds in the last couple storms have blown all the leaves off now, so we have been busy cleaning up the garden beds, blowing and raking leaves and trimming up spent perennials.

Here are the Stewartia Pseudocamellia in the parking strip:

And here are the DoublefileViburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii') and burning bush:

Japanese-inspired garden bed

I redid my "coral bed" into a more serene and balanced garden. The Burien Master Gardeners clinic group had a great presentation about Japanese garden design, and I was inspired to show some restraint! I dug out (and transplanted elsewhere) six hardy fuchsias that were too large for this garden. I also moved out an astilbe and some columbines.

I moved in two dwarf plants that are well-suited to Japanese gardens: Ginkgo biloba 'Mariken' and a dwarf Pomegranite (Punica granatum 'Nana'). I also added several ferns.

I changed out a bronze statue for a Japanese lantern. I want to add some small stepping stones, so I can circle through the garden on the big stones and the stepping stones. (I also had to move some of the other plants a little to make room to walk through.)

It looks pretty good for late November. You can see a 'before' picture in my October 19 post.

Flicker feasting outside the window

four yards compost!

We finished spreading compost as top-dressing for the lawn and around plants in all the garden beds. That was a lot of compost and a messy job.
I also made several trips to Starbucks for used coffee grounds and spread around the acid-loving plants before applying compost. The plants getting coffee included rhododendron, azalea, camellia, blueberry, and choisya.

Angel's Trumpet mishap

The wind blew over my largest Angel's Trumpet, and the pot broke. What a mess! So I spent a couple hours this morning cleaning it up. The plant got a good root pruning before moving into a new pot. I usually prune in the spring before bringing outside, but this plant got its roots pruned early. I cut the branches back about halfway (a little more than usual) and moved the plants into the storage room.

I'm going to think about a creative way to use the large broken pieces of pot. I've seen some interesting uses in other gardens, but I want to think of what might work well in my yard.

I'm moving things into storage. I've moved my tuberous begonias in, after letting them dry out. I will cover them with vermiculite to store for the winter.

I am going to clean the leaves of one of my elephant ears plants and replace the top layer of soil, then will move them inside the house for the winter. Hopefully, they won't bring many insects in. I will store another plant in the storage shed to see how it does over the winter.

I repotted some abutilon plants into smaller pots for overwintering. Almost time to bring them in too.

John changed the tubes in one light fixture in my storage room to full-spectrum lights. I will try to remember to turn on and off regularly to give the plants a boost.

Lawn aerated and overseeded

Hooray! John did a very thorough job aerating the lawn Saturday afternoon. He went over it several times. Then he spread a mix of perennial rye and fine fescue seed and organic fertilizer. Then he top dressed with compost.

We had four yards of compost delivered. It is much less expensive than buying bags, but it sure is messy! I think we got a batch of good quality compost. I now have more than two yards left to spread around my plants throughout the yard.

Here is a photo of the lawn. It sure looks messy, so we hope the rains wash most of the compost down into the grass in the next couple weeks.