The Rock Whisperer

 If it weren’t for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song.

~Carl Perkins

 

 

 I am told there is a rock whisperer here on the island. I believe it. I have seen examples of his work. His rock walls are a beautiful sight to behold, built to perfection, like they came out of a mold or something. Stunning.

 Well, I make no claims of being a rock whisperer, that’s for sure, but I do see beauty in rocks.  Rocks are unending in variation in color, shape, size, intricate patterns and composition. I am fascinated when I really take the time to quietly examine rocks.

 Some gardeners view rocks with rancor, as if the presence of rocks somehow spoils the garden. They toss them into an ever-growing heap somewhere out of sight, never to be seen again or enjoyed, never to be utilized.

 One or more previous keepers of this yard had such an opinion of rocks. Waaayyy back in the furthest, darkest corner of the property I found the gathering of the rocks.

  

 It was about 4 feet wide by 10 feet long until a massive maple trunk ended it. Then it grew taller, as more rocks had been tossed on top. And it went deeeep. A privacy screen of lilac and forsythia was there too. Trunks, weeds, dead branches, dried leaves and the rocks all snarled into a congested, unattractive muddle.

  

  I don’t know which came first the rocks or the shrubs but both were vying for space. Since it is the darkest corner of the yard, the forsythia and lilac didn’t bloom. They need sun, after all. So, picture a dark corner with overgrown yet leggy shrubbery and piles of rocks. Not a pretty sight. True enough, it is where I located my composting operations, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be gardenly.

 Where others saw a place for discarded rocks, I see a deeply shaded corner space that would grow 4 lovely Fatsia japonica for the privacy screen, anchored by a green skirt of billowy ferns and heleborus underneath. 

The variegated Fatsia “Camouflage” variety will be perfect here. Its light green variegation on the leaf will brighten the dark area. It is a shade plant that will grow  about 8 feet tall under the maple’s canopy and wide enough to provide the privacy between neighboring yards. The ferns too will love this shady space. It is fairly dry, being under a huge maple, so I will choose ferns that like their roots a little on the drier side. It would not make sense to plant fern species here that need constantly moist soil. Right plant, right place makes a gardener’s life easier.

 Rocks have their purpose and I like to find attractive ways to use them. Their uses depend on their size. So, I cleared out a lot of the rocks and sorted them somewhat by size. Afterall, I can think of lots of interesting things to do with rocks. I bet you can too.

 

  

 

 

   

 

This narrow row hugging the steps (above) stops water runoff from washing away a lot of soil on a steep slope.

  

 In bloom in my garden today: helianthus Lemon Queen, salvia, coreopsis, sedum, lobelia, rose, nepeta, kirengeshoma, penstemon, hesperaloe, asclepias, hardy geranium, fuchsia, aster, oregano, calendula, verbena bonariensis, thyme, hydrangea

 Authors photos

In the Hot Bed

 

Gardening requires lots of water – most of it in the form of perspiration. 

~Lou Erickson

There is a set of stairs at the back of the house dividing the sloped south facing yard into two terraced levels. This is how the beds on both sides of the stairs looked in April when we moved in. The post today is only about the left side, which is up against the foundation of the house and south facing, so it is hot and dry.

 

My first thoughts were that lavender and sedums would be perfect plants for this area. Once established (after next year) they wouldn’t require a lot of watering as both thrive in hot dryish areas with all day sun, and they would provide food for bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators.

 

The only plants in that bed, aside from weeds, was a vinca tangled up with a Euonymus. The bed is just shy of 3 feet wide and 10 feet long.

Vinca is a vining, far reaching ground cover that is very ineffective at smothering out weeds and it will have to be constantly cut back if it isn’t to interfere with the walkway. It’s out.

The Euonymus is, to my taste, an uninteresting shrub that can reach out 4-6 feet wide and even taller. In this location it too would have to be pruned annually once it reached its mature size. And it would block the view of the garden I planned to create on the other side of the walk. Out it goes too.

The bed was bordered with rocks on the stair edge, presumably to stop the dirt from spilling out onto the stairs. As you can see over time the lower rocks became buried and weren’t doing the job. Lastly, there was a makeshift retaining wall made of mis-matched blocks at the bottom of the bed which had collapsed. Sorry, I didn't get a good photo of that.

 

All cleared away, now I have a blank slate to work with. First in goes 3 lavenders. “Goodwin Creek” to be specific. I have grown this one before and it is a favorite of mine. I love the indented leaf shape and it puts up long willowy wands of blooms which create lovely movement in the breeze. It also had a longer bloom time in my previous garden than other lavenders. It is a lovely variety. 

Along with the lavender, I added a broken portion of a Mexican pottery pot. I like using broken pots as a little interest, or whole pots turned on their side and angled just so. A little eye candy if you will.

 

After the lavenders are placed as the “bones” of the space, I filled in with sedums of many varieties from trailing types to hen’s and chicks types, all of which came with me from my previous garden. Sedums are incredibly easy to propagate. They will spread and fill in quickly.

As for the lost rocks edging the lowest steps, I pulled them up and re positioned them. I don’t really like rocks used that way but for now they will stay.

 

If all that isn’t exciting enough, now the icing on the cake happens! This is where my better half comes into his own. He is so creative and talented when it comes to hardscaping our garden spaces. He set about making a beautiful retaining wall to support the end of this bed. He used concrete blocks and capped them with flat stones. The blocks and stones had been left, stashed and buried in different places in this yard, by past owners.

 

First, he carved out the shape, and poured a footing in concrete.

 

Then cemented together blocks.

 

Then he ‘faced’ the blocks with a rough smear of mortar. 

He adds color powder to the mortar to give an aged look to his stucco finish. New concrete dries bright whitish and isn’t particularly lovely. The new brightness can be distracting in the garden, I think. Concrete does darken over time but it takes years. He ‘ages’ it by darkening it with coloring agents so the new wall looks like it’s been there for a long time and it blends better in the garden. I love the rough look of a stucco finish. It transports me to Tuscany or south of the border.

 

Then he capped it all off with some slate or what ever this stone is. There were several pieces of this stone laying around, apparently left-overs from the construction of the patio some years ago. I am so glad to have them as they are just perfect to finish this wall.

 

So… what do you think? Coming along nicely, I think. In a year or two you won’t see much, if any, soil after these plants fill in. Covered soil means less weeds. Win Win.

Cheers!

In Bloom in my Garden Today: Rose, Sedum, Agastache, Geum, Fuchsia, Salvia, Verbena, Gladiolus, Mullen, Thyme, Oregano, Calendula, Yarrow, Dianthus, Germander, Cuphea,

Author’s photos

Eye Candy

Despite the gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise. 

~Michael P. Garafalo

I walk around my urban neighborhoods, alot. It is my favorite form of exercise, aside from gardening. Most of the photos in my posts, not of my garden, have come from those walks.

I have loved watching this tree slowly swallow up the fence over the years, and thought you might enjoy seeing it too.

In bloom in my garden today: Geranium Lily Lovell and the double white daisy are still eeking out a few blooms, but the pyracantha is the show stopper of the garden now.

Author's photo

Eye Candy

Delicious autumn! 
My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird, 
I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

- George Eliot

The pyracantha berries are at their peak now in my garden. They are beautiful, bright, and full of goodness that the birds and squirrels are feasting on.

Plant pyracantha in full sun and prune before flowering in late winter or early, early spring and you and the birds will be rewarded year after year.

In bloom in my garden today: Cuphea vermillionaire, Double white daisy, Fuchsia, Hardy Geranium “Lily Lovell”, Knifophia, Lavender, Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria Formosa), Pachysandra axillaris 'Windcliff Fragrant', Salvia, Solanum crispum

Author’s photo

Winter Beauty

Every gardener knows under the cloak of winter lies a miracle -- a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.
-- Barbara Winkler, American writer and editor

Never underestimate the power of a microclimate. Here in the temperate USDA zone 7 it’s not unusual to have some blooms in November and even a rose may send out a single bloom in December. We can get quite cold by our standards, the last couple of nights have dipped down into the 20’s F (-6C) but still I garden in what one friend calls “the place of magical gardens because we seem to be able to grow anything”.  Yes, being only a mile or less from the waters of Commencement Bay does have its advantages as bodies of water mellow temperature extremes.

Micro-climates can be small spaces of protection from the open air and winds just outside of them, those little warm pockets that are created by fencing and closely built houses. Hills and valleys create them too. Some can be warm and protective, others can be cold and ravaging. My back yard is a warm and protective micro clime. The photos below were taken just hours ago. Even though we are in the freezing temperatures of winter, for many of us there is still beauty to be found in our gardens, be it berries, blooms or beautiful leaves.

Blooms of Pachysandra 'Windcliff'

 Cyclamen hederifolium

Pyracantha Victory

 

 Fuchsia 'June Bride'

 

Hyssopus officinalis

Mustard Red Dragon Tongue

 

Fuchsia 'Aurea'

 

Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Glow'

 

Geranium Lily Lovell

Heucherella 'Sweet Tea'

 

  Dryopteris erythrosora 'Radiance'

Geum 'Lady Stratheden'

 

On this eve of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the beauty that surrounds us in the garden, the sunny day and the blessing of friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Erysimum, Fuchsia, Geum, Geranium, hyssop, Pachysandra, Pansies, Salvia

Author’s photos