Wednesday, October 10, 2018

New front hillside update, part 2



I only managed to cover the bottom edge of the new front slope in part 1. Then I got busy adding plants to the rest of the area - so I need to post this quickly before I add more!

Continuing uphill is the main slope, here's the view up toward the front lawn:



In the middle of the slope, I planted a dogwood that will eventually be the centerpoint of the slope:
  • Dogwood, cornus 'Venus'
  • Kalmia 'Minuet'
  • Enkianthus campanulatus 'Red Bells'
  • Lonicera crassifolia, groundcover honeysuckle
  • Alchemilla mollis



Above the dogwood where there is hot afternoon sun, more drought tolerant plants:
  • Weigela florida 'Morcolzam'
  • Pennisetum 'Karley Rose'
  • Agastache 'Blue Boa' and one 'Black Adder transplanted from the rose garden where it was buried by catmint
  • Marrubium supinum, aka horehound - I've never seen this grown here, but was tempted by a plant catalog, it should be drought tolerant
  • Geranium harveyi
  • Ceanothus 'Diamond Heights' - a low groundcover variety
  • Phlox 'Spring Purple'

The dogwood will eventually provide shade but the uphill side will be full sun for a long time.


Continuing up the slope to the edge of the front lawn, this area is full sun most of the day. I'm thinking of it as an extension of the rose garden, a semi-circle around the front lawn:
  • Cornus baileyi, red twig dogwood
  • Hamamelis x 'Birgit'
  • Hacquetia epipactis, early spring blooms under the hamamelis
  • Daylillies, hemorocallis "Evil Gnome Murphy' and Watership Down'
  • Gladiolus, remainder of the bag of bulbs
  • Bearded irises, moved from other locations around the yard
  • Peony 'Red Grace'
  • Crocus Sativus, fall blooming saffron crocus - haven't come up yet so may not survive

I have plans to plant two more peonies here, and one or two roses moved from the slope along the fence. The red twig dogwoods may need to move, they were the first plants I put in here and my vision is already shifting - but I know where I can move them to. 



This is the view looking down down the slope from the front lawn:



The other side of the path (the right side in the pictures above) is shadier, it's partly under the lilacs and maple tree, and the sun is blocked by the house in the morning. Down at the bottom under the lilacs has the most shade, which I hope is enough for these plants to thrive:

  • Hosta 'Golden Tiara'
  • Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue'
  • Podophylum pleianthum
  • Lysmachia congestifolium 'Persian Chocolate' - experimental groundcover
  • Dicentra formosa, bleeding heart
  • Adiantum pedatum, native maidenhair fern - transplanted from my woodland border which had too much sun still
  • Blue 'Belarina' primroses
  • Brunnera macrophylla
  • Primula 'Tortoise Shell'
  • Heuchera 'Lime Marmalade'
  • Sword ferns - these are large ferns that my brother rescued from an excavation he was working on, I planted them right under the lilacs and have some new growth
  • Hakonechloa macra 'Aureloa' - mixed in with the sword ferns

I added a bench here so I can enjoy the view up the slope. We get some nice sunset views here too, which I never really noticed because I didn't like to look at the railroad ties.



Around the existing maple tree are plants that I hope can handle a little more sun. It seems like under a maple tree should be full shade, and it is in the morning but then afternoon sun comes right down the slope. I planted the azalea at the top of the slope, which will eventually add more shade in the summer.
  • Astrantia major 'Star of Beauty' (purple) and 'Star of Royals' (pink)
  • Athyrium 'Ghost'
  • Fatsia japonica 'Spider Web'
  • Podophylum pleianthum
  • Oxals oregana, the evergreen version
  • Cyclamen coum, transplanted from below the old retaining wall
  • Cyclamen hederifolium
  • Maianthemum dilatatum, false lily of the valley
  • Maianthemum stellatum, star flowered false solomon's seal
  • Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' - along the side path
  • Impatiens omeiana - hardy impatiens, hopefully will not take over too much
  • Foxglove, digitalis purpurea 'Foxy' - along the main path
  • Hellebore 'Cinnamon Snow'
  • Ceratostigma plumbaginoides - dwarf plumbago
  • Heucherella 'Buttered Rum'
  • Heuchera 'Fire Alarm'
  • Heuchera 'Carnival Watermelon'
  • Colchicum 'Giant'
  • Rhododendron 'Mandarin Lights' - an early blooming azalea



The bright colored heucheras are really catching my eye this fall, hopefully they will look good through most of the year.



That's all for now, but you may have spotted a few more plants sitting on the bench! There are a lot of good fall plant if you're not worried about what the plants look like going into winter - they'll grow good roots and thrive in the spring.