A LAVENDER-LINED PATH DREAMED FULFILLED

The long path that now extends all the way to the garage was originally a short path that cut through an existing garden when we first bought our house. At the time, I'd never planted anything in the ground, only containers. I don't even know where or when I first saw a lavender-lined path, but I knew I wanted one before I really knew how to garden.

Although it was pretty for much of the summer, when the Nepeta was overgrown it got a bit wild. So I'd cut it back and for a couple weeks it looked like the photo below.

I think back then I thought we couldn't grow lavender here (I can't tell you why I thought this, but it's not true), so I fashioned a lavender substitute: Nepeta. Nepeta has the same blue-gray foliage as lavender as well as blue-purple flowers. It also has scent that is released as you walk by, making it great for a path. But finding a low growing variety that wouldn't eat the path was a challenge. Over the years I tried several varieties, said to stay compact. I managed their rangy behavior by cutting it back after flowers, three times most summers, but that meant there were a lot of times when it looked shabby either because it was too big or had just been cut back.

This photo taken from the second floor gives the best overview of the path. The Nepeta is on the bottom of the picture, closest to the patio. 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it was a tough winter in the garden (and, as I've found out, for many other gardeners on the area). I lost almost all the Nepeta growing along the path (it now lines both sides of about a third of the path closest to the house). There were a couple of survivors that I moved elsewhere, but everything else was well and truly dead. Since I had to replace those plants with something, it felt like the right time to take the plunge and make the path planting I've always wanted.

This is the part where we get to question my sanity, because it's worth mentioning that in addition losing almost all of the Nepeta, I also lost five lavender plants. But hope springs eternal, particularly when it comes to gardening and hey, I'm willing to learn any lesson at least two or three times.

In the process of preparing the soil, I amended it with chicken grit, which is just small bits of gravel, at least where gardening is concerned, and I lined every planting hole with a handful of grit as well. This strategy worked pretty well in the past, so I'm hoping it will give the lavender the very sharp drainage it demands.

The plants are tiny right now, but with luck they'll grow quickly and fill in nicely.

The immediate effect, other than being delightfully weed-free, which it certainly was not before, is underwhelming. These were not large plants. But in my experience they grow quickly, so with luck they'll fill in nicely this summer. And from there, we'll just see how it goes.

Because when you want a lavender-lined path, you have to have a lavender-lined path.

PLANT DEATH HAPPENS; GARDENING GOES ON

Plant death happens.

But it sort of stinks when it happens to you. Every spring I check in with all my plants. It doesn't take but a minute: Dead or alive? Sometimes it takes some time so this is a question asked frequently. Sometimes all that remains is an empty spot in the garden where I could swear a plant used to be.

It seems like it was a rough winter in my garden. I'm surprised by this because it wasn't particularly cold save for a week here or there, and there wasn't a lot of snow. The latter may be the issue as snow offers a nice layer of insulation for plants. But a bunch of snow piled on top of a plant can be an issue too.

Since I'm dealing with this in my own garden right now, here's a few things to do when you think you might have to call in the plant coroner.

This should be a clematis ('Pamela') but so far it's just leftover stems. I am concerned but not greatly so. This plant has been a stalwart in my garden and a great performer and I can't think of why it may have failed. There's nothing to do about it other than sit tight and have faith.

1. DON'T PANIC

I have to remind myself of this all the time because the second I see a plant that might be dead, my first inclination is to dig out its remains and rid my garden and myself of the reminder of what was. Don't! If it's early in the season, there's still chance it may spring to life. It doesn't hurt anything to leave the plant in the ground for the time. I usually use this time to make some decisions about whether it needs to be replaced and with what.

2. LOOK FOR SIGNS OF LIFE

If I think a plant might have bit the dust, the first thing I do is really inspect it, looking for bits of green at the crown. I'll also look at other plants of the same variety to compare them too. The Nepeta I have planted along the path is looking terrible this year, and I have no idea why. At first I thought it was just slow to emerge, but when I looked closer I saw one very healthy plant with about 4 inches of growth, a couple with tiny sprouts and many with nothing.

If the plant in question is a woody shrub, you can scrape your fingernail on a branch and if you see green there's life left.

One of the Nepetas on the path is looking nice, with lots of fresh foliage (and some woodland violets—grrr—to boot). But the plant right next to it, below, is DOA. I should at least be seeing some signs of life on it if the same plant growing next to it has this much growth. All I see there is baby weeds that need to be dealt with.

3. MAKE A PLAN

OK, there is a chance your plant is dead. Keeping in mind tip No. 1, don't do anything drastic yet, but start thinking about what the backup plan is in case it is indeed DOA. That might meant replacing it with the same thing, which isn't a bad idea. Unless you suspect that the plant died because of a cultural problem—stressed from growing in too much shade or too much sun, or sitting in soggy soil or being grown in the wrong zone—in which case you're better off picking something more appropriate for that spot. Or not. Because maybe you were just hedging your bets on the condition requirements a little bit but you really love the plant. Sometimes it's worth giving a plant a second try. And of course, you may decide to go in a different direction all together.

I have planted—and dug up when it died—lavender at least three times. A few years ago I discovered a variety called 'Phenomenal' and heavily amended the soil to provide great drainage (lavender wants poor soil with sharp drainage). And it has been beautiful. So much so that I bought more plants. Guess what I'm pretty sure bit the dust this winter? Yep ... all of them. But I love them, so there's a good chance I'll be replanting them, because I love that plant.

4. DON'T BLAME YOURSELF

A plant may or may not have died in your garden. Big deal. Shake it off. It doesn't mean you're a bad gardener or have a brown thumb. Plants die. They die from old age, because they were a deer snack, because winter was cold, or not cold, or summer was too hot, or they were too wet, or too dry or because the soil was wrong. Instead of thinking about the plant that just died, think about how many plants are thriving and make up your beautiful garden.

Do you know how many plants have died under my care since I first planted something on my own the year I graduated from college? It has to be in the hundreds. Many have been no great loss. Some have really hurt. No surprise, I find the level of hurt involved in losing a plant is directly related to the price tag on it.

There is one great part about a plant death: New plants.

Longtime readers will know I have a serious clematis addiction, so the fact that there are several clematis in my garden that are being very slow to show their faces this spring is more than a little disturbing to me. And, even though I swore there would be no more clematis this year, I have ordered five that will be replacements if plants don't pop up, or they will find a different home if everything does come up, which I sincerely hope happens. There are worse things in the world for a gardener to face than having to buy some new plants (or to have a few spares to find homes for).

So take heart: Plant death happens, and yet gardening life goes on.

THREE PLANTS I'LL GROW THIS YEAR

Much of the past decade of gardening at my house has been an alternating pattern of creating new gardens and improving existing gardens. A couple years ago I realized that I probably have as much garden square footage as I can handle (and frankly probably too much) at this point in my life, so my focus has shifted to refining the existing gardens, some of which were installed in haste and not well thought out.

I don't regret just getting on with those gardens, because as we know, gardens are ever changing, one of many reasons why gardening never gets boring. I've made no secret of the fact that some of the first gardens I created were not really designed at all, but had random plants plunked in them. Now, as I revisit those areas, I'm taking a much more conscious and measured approach in my plan. My color and plant palette is more restrained (although still probably not restrained enough) and I give much more thought to plants selection.

Last fall I cleaned out a large section of what I call the patio garden, the most prominent garden we have. For years, much of that part was filled with rudbeckia and anemones that were allowed to spread out. Both are excellent plants that I wouldn't be without, but I struggled to make them work in that location and constantly struggled with plant combinations. I incorporated a fair amount of compost and leaf mold to refresh the soil there so a blank slate will await me in spring.

It looks like a complete mess in this photo that I took in fall, with overgrown annuals surrounding it. But I have a vision of a more refined space.

Although I've not worked up a complete planting plan for the area, I've selected three plants that will make up a bulk of the planting there (and that I'll repeat farther east in that garden).

Fall color: White Flower Farm photo

In flower: Grimms Gardens photo

The first is Amsonia hubrictii. This is not a new plant. In fact it was the perennial plant of the year in 2011, but for whatever reason I didn't take note of it then. Then last year, I kept running into it at various gardens and couldn't get it off my mind. It's the foliage that I love. Wispy, threadlike leaves create a cloudlike texture that I love. And it turns a brilliant yellow in fall, which will provide some much-needed color in that part of the garden.

Side note: The Chicago Botanic Garden did a plant evaluation of hardy amsonias. These are amazing resources so I always look for them when deciding what to plant.

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The second plant is Calamintha nepeta 'Montrose White'. Again, it's not a new plant, but was one I wasn't familiar with until last year when I attended a talk by designer Carrie Hennessy from Johnson's Nursery. It was named by Mike Yanny (who is responsible for developing some amazing trees and shrubs), whose wife got it from Montrose Nursery and saw how it thrived. It's deer resistant, doesn't flop, gets no more than 18 inches tall, and is said to bloom from June through frost. It's also sterile and is said to root incredibly easy from cuttings. What more can you ask for in a perennial? I've said it before and it still holds true: The bones of a practical garden need to be no-nonsense plants. That doesn't mean you can't have divas, but they can't all need coddling.

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And lastly, I think I'm going to put in some Hydrangea serrata Tiny Tuff Stuff. I was excited when this plant was introduced last year (or maybe the year before) and everything I've read about it seems positive. I felt like the amsonia and calamintha really needed something with a coarser texture in order to show off their finer texture attributes, and this hydrangea, which is small in stature, still has nice big, thick leaves.

This won't be it, of course. I'll need some taller elements and maybe something a bit spiky or strappier. I think Verbena bonariensis would look great dotted amongst them, and perhaps some  'Howard David' dahlias would work.  But these three will be the foundation for that area, one I'm comfortable with for their numerous traits and low-maintenance nature.

What's most important to you when it comes to choosing new plants to add to your garden?

FRIDAY FINDS

I'm on a really good streak with books. I'm reading Dear Friend and Gardener: Letters on Life and Gardening and although I'm only halfway through it (I'm taking my time with it, savoring every page), I just know this is going to be one of those books I go back to and may become one of my favorites. It is just letters between famous British gardeners Beth Chatto (who started the "Right plant in the right place" concept/movement) and Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter, but it is absolutely fascinating. It also makes me sad that such exchanges rarely happen. I'll tell you more about it in the future but I can't keep that one under my hat any longer.

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum I listened to Andy Weir's The Martian last weekend. This is not something that I'd normally gravitate to but this tale of an astronaut left behind on Mars and forced to survive was compelling and fascinating. There's a movie based on the book coming out in fall and I assume that's why the book, published in 2012, is having a revival. I haven't been so riveted by a book in a long time.

I'm also reviewing a great new coffee table gardening book right now, but I'll tell you about that soon once I've had a chance to really dig in. So far I love it.

In other places around the blogosphere:

New House New Home photo

Heather took a trip to the World Peace Rose Garden in Sacremento and it is gorgeous.

Remember those videos I worked on for Troy-Bilt? Here they are up.
Amend clay soil
Comfrey tea
Crop rotation

Linda has finished her amazing driveway project. Who would have thought a driveway could be this interesting?

I cut back the nepeta that lines the path for the second time this summer. It looks horrible now, but give it 10 days and there will be lovely little balls of new growth. 

Lynne is sharing a list of re-blooming perennials, using one of my favorite tricks. I'm on my second cutting of nepeta this summer and I may get it to bloom again!

Have a great weekend. I can't believe it's mid-August already. More savoring the summer on tap for me!

A FANTASTIC JUNE IN THE GARDEN

Last week I had to go to Newport, Rhode Island, for work, and although business travel isn't high on the list of things I want to be doing in summer, it was a pleasure to be in such a beautiful city.

Before I left I gardened like a mad woman to get all the major jobs in the garden finished before I left. This meant pulling out as many weeds as could, mulching, planting everything still left in pots (and then I found another handful of plants sitting around). 

When I came home, I was rewarded by a garden that is looking as good as it ever has. Even though there isn't much blooming right now—lady's mantle, nepeta, a few clematis and a handful of other things—the foliage on all the plants is looking healthy comes in the widest variety of greens a person could imagine. 

I took advantage of the garden looking good last weekend to run and take a bunch of photos. It's such a pleasure to be in a garden that doesn't appear to be crying out for maintenance, even though we know there always weeds to be pulled, plants to be moved and planning to be done.

I'm so happy with the new garden area that I created last year. Here's the view of it from near the garage.

The east side of the property has three arrowwood virburnums that I planted three or four years ago. Two winters ago they were decimated by deer, but I fenced them off last winter and now they are really flourishing and providing the screening we were looking. Sadly, I've just read that the viburnum leaf beetle has been spotted just 20 miles from us and their favorite thing to munch on (and usually kill within two to three year) is arrowwood viburnum. There's not much to be done about it other than cross your fingers.

On the far end of that bed is a shadier area where 'Tilt-a-whirl' hosta and ligularia rule the roost.

I'm growing a climbing hydrangea up the north side of the garage and even that is looking healthy although they are notoriously slow growers. I'm happy to see a few flowers even. I should add here, that you should think very carefully about growing a climbing hydrangea up your house or garage because they can really damage wood siding. Since our garage is pretty basic, I'm not worried.

The other side of the circle of grass in the side/back yard was modified a little last year and that too is looking pretty good. 

This patch of nepeta is kiddy corner to the patch I showed you above and it creates a great color echo in the yard.

This clematis (whose name I have forgotten but it has a label that I will check) is growing up the skirting on the deck.

I picked up some begonias on sale and planted them under the serviceberry tree and I couldn't be happier with how that worked out.

Over the years I've come to learn just how adaptable most hostas are. I stuck this 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' in on the back side of the main garden and I love the contrast in texture.

Nearby there were a few holes in the garden so I stuck in some petunias. Because there are taller plants around them, you can't really see them until you get close to them an it's a nice surprise. There's also one of several caster bean plants in there that I put around the garden. I hope they take off soon, but we'll need much warmer weather for that to happen.

Along the path to the garage this garden of blues, chartreuse and purple foliage plants is starting to come together.

On the other side of the house, the shade gardens have some filling out to so but so far they are looking OK.

In the distance you can see my first climbing hydrangea.

 Here's a better view. It is nowhere near as impressive as my mom's (which I showed you on Facebook the other day) but hopefully someday it will be.

This is the plant of the year, 'Biokovo' geranium.

 My little stone crane amongst the Egyptian walking onions.

 The annuals in the front patio bed are starting to come together.

And one last shot of my new Aralia 'Silver Umbrella.' The hosta ('Elegans', I think) keeps trying to eat it so I keep trimming off leaves.

 How's your garden looking?

FIVE PERENNIALS I'D NEVER BE WITHOUT

I have had a lot of favorite/top posts in the works and was planning to run them over the course of a week, but this is my 600th post on this blog so I thought it should be something a bit meatier, and today I'm bringing you five perennials I wouldn't be without.

These are plants that are complete no-brainers for me and I can't fathom having a garden without them. Most of them are low maintenance and therefore play an important role in my zone 5b garden.

1. LADY'S MANTLE (ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS)
My adoration for this plant know no bounds. It has a lovely scalloped round leaf and a very clumpy habit, so even when it has put on a lot of growth it tends to stay in a tight ball. The leaves are slightly fuzzy so critters don't bother it. In early summer it sends up shoots of tiny chartreuse flowers that last for months, although they tend to flop over. The flowers are wonderful in flower arrangements but equally as nice in the garden where they add an ethereal shot of light.

In my garden, Lady's Mantle grows equally well in full sun and part shade, although the flowers seem to last a little longer in shadier spots. It couldn't be easier to divide, something I have done at almost any time of the spring and summer. It will also seed itself sometimes, but in my garden it does this only in the nicest possible way and is not at all overbearing.

Dwarf Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla enthropoda) is truly petite, but its scalloped foliage is so charming.

The past couple of years, I have added a dwarf version of the plant to my garden (Alchemilla enrthropoda). It doesn't flower nearly as well, but its leaves are utterly charming and perfect for the very front of a border.

2. NEPETA

Nepeta, aka Catmint, is a true workhorse in the garden, especially for someone like me who can't get enough of anything with a blue(ish) flower. There are oodles of varieties out there and my preference is for those that don't seed themselves everywhere. Walker's Low became quite popular a few years ago and I quite like it, although it is not a small version as the name would suggest.

Nepeta 'Walker's Low' loosens things up by the meatball boxwood.

I line my path with Nepeta, sort of a poor man's substitute for lavender (which I've had no luck with in the past). When it gets too floppy I cut it all back to about 6 inches off the ground and it regrows and reblooms in about a month. Last summer I got three full rounds of blooming.

It's another plant that no critter will eat and the bees adore it. I also love the smell of it, making it an even better selection for the path, where you may brush against it. I've also dotted it liberally around the garden where it has a tendency to flop a bit and intermingle with its neighbors, usually creating a lovely look.

3. HOSTA

Given my recent complaining about how I have almost no intact hostas left this year, thanks to an aggressive deer and slug population, you might be surprised to find this stalwart on my list. Unlike the previous two plants, I'll admit, hostas have some drawbacks. But there's a reason that there are people out there who call themselves hostaholics; who have thousands of different cultivars in their back yards. Hostas provide an important texture that few other hardy plants can. With all the bitsy plants with minute leaves, there are precious few that can juxtapose them, and hosta does it better than almost any other. They can have an almost tropical feel to them.

Elegans and Paradigm hostas play well together. In the photo below, you can see a little 'Silver Moon' clematis growing up the lattice in bright shade.

Of course hostas come in just about every shape, size and color (white, yellow, green and blue and everything in between) you can imagine, so it's easy to understand how you could quickly fill a garden with them.

In my zone, you can find a hosta to grow almost anywhere, including full sun. Some (usually yellows) do better than others in sunnier spots and you probably need to water them more, but I'm always amazed at how tough hostas can be.

4. CLEMATIS

I'm throwing this vine in this group purely because I have become somewhat obsessed with them. These are nowhere near as carefree as the other plants on this list, but I don't think they are as high maintenance as most people think they are. If you plant them right to begin with—deeply in a hole filled with good stuff including compost, well-rotted manure and a touch of bone meal—water it well and mulch them to keep the roots from frying, all you really have to do the rest of the year is a little pruning and throw on a bit of fertilizer (I use Espoma's Rosetone).

Etoile Violette, a group 3 clematis, climbs up the deck railing.

Although I love, and have fallen for over and over again, the large group 2 clematis with their showy flowers, these require more work than the others. The smaller flowers in group 3 are utterly charming when they work their way through a shrub or tree and and are so easy to care for: just cut them back to one or two buds in very early spring.

This one is just crudely tied to a stake amid a forest of monarda.

Awhile ago, I figured out that you don't need a trellis to grow clematis. I now grow them up shrubs and trees, on standalone obelisk-type things (sometimes just a group of skinny tree branches), sprawling on the ground, and up the deck railings. I like it when they go a little wild.

5. HAKONECHLOA

Originally I thought I would choose ornamental grasses for this last slot, but that is a pretty broad category, so to narrow it down I'm going with Hakonechloa (Japenese forest grass). It grows in shady spots where most other grasses won't even think about going, but it will tolerate a fair bit of sun as well. With a lovely arching habit it has a way of softening the edge of a border. And it looks great with hostas because of the contrast in foliage types.

'All Gold'

My favorite is 'All Gold', but I also grow 'Stripe it Rich', 'Beni Kaze', and 'Aureola' (all of which look very similar to me).

'All Gold' mixes well with black heuchera.

'Aureola'

What perennials would you never be without? Did any of mine make your list?