Yard Update

Now that summer has come to an end, I thought it would be helpful to do a quick review of what worked and what didn't in the yard.

If you remember from my landscape post - I tried really hard to plan out the yard perfectly, so that everything would thrive and something would always be blooming. All plants are defined as being preferring full sun (more than 6 hours of direct sun), partial sun (4 -6 hours of direct), partial shade (2-4 hours) or shade (less than 2). So I watched the sun, and mapped out how much light each area was getting. I picked only plants that are meant for our zone, and bought nice ones at a local nursery so they would start out healthy. Then I paired the plants with the right parts of the yard according to how much light they get.


I learned two very important lessons here:

1. Assume there will be more sunlight than you think. As the seasons progress, an area will get more sunlight in the summer than it does in the winter and spring. Therefore, if you measure how much light an area gets in the spring, remember that it will get more in the summer.
2. All hours of sunlight are not equal. If a plant says it wants partial shade or partial sun, it really means it wants morning sun, not afternoon sun.

Because I was not aware or remembering these important rules, quite a few of my plants are total toast. I tried to move the hydrangeas out front to save them, but all that did was prolong their death and move it to a location where everyone could watch. (Sorry plants- I meant well.). I lost all but one of the abelias, (notice the toast to the left of the one healthy-looking green blob below). Next year I will only put in things that demand full, baking sun.

The azaleas and rhododendrons did fine- and doubled in size. They were a little more protected from the sun than the others. I'm hoping they and the new crepe myrtle tree are through the danger zone and will be strong and happy from here on out.




The quarter circle did great and completely filled in. It played a fun game where the yellow portulaca flowers would open in the morning, then they would close so the red flowers could open in the afternoon.




The kitchen yard also did really well. Midway into the summer, things were looking good, but the squash plant started overtaking the yard and walkway. I tried to move it, which of course killed it, but allowed the remaining tomato plants to explode. The after picture below is just one tomato and eggplant plant- both still going strong. [Sidenote on kitchen yards, while it's awesome to have a fresh and constant supply of homegrown veggies- kitchen yards are kind of horrible looking. Need a plan B next year so that I don't have to stare at this scraggly mess.]

I just put in some nice fall things to stay pretty through the winter, and lots and lots of bulbs that should be spectacular when spring rolls around!

new pansies around my scorched mountain laurel. 

Until I get new shrubs, I put some annuals to fill in the scorched earth. [cat photo bomb.] 

pansies, mums and cabbage!

And- a fun discovery. this is a pirate pansy that got free and decided to grow in a crack. It makes me feel like an excellent gardener when I pay good money for plants, put them in good soil and water them carefully but they die, while other plants grow like weeds and flower in the cracks of my sidewalk.