JjJ I hope you get to see a hummingbird nest yourself. Here is one I took a pic of last year.

Planting Joe-pye weed in a former garden was a mistake. It grew and flowered well, but it also reseeded in multiple places where it was unwanted, and once they got a foothold, the resulting plants were hard to dig out.

Grief, even Wales is officially in drought - an occurrence I have never heard of in my life. At this stage, a coupla showers would be worse than useless - just a teaser which would get nowhere near the rootzone. It is a conundrum, how to proceed, as all my seed raised agaves and opuntias died during an unseasonally wet winter so it isn't like I can just devolve to growing pure Mediterranean plants. Annuals had often been my go-to plants as they are fast and easy from seed...but they are still a lot of work for a week or so of bloom before becoming scorched. Although it is a longer term prospect, I am beginning to think more about shrubs, since they still have a useful presence, even out of bloom. Carefully sited, they can provide a number of little micro-climates and will surely look better than the sad beige landscape on my (mostly perennial) allotment. With zero irrigation, in an unpredictable climate I suspect drainage is going to be my main issue, so trucking in a few tonnes of gravel might be doable...but it is probably not an entirely responsible solution on land I merely lease.

I also have not managed to find any sort of balance in my home pot garden. Daily watering is absolutely not optional and the intense sunlight has created a massively overgrown jungle, with a lot more foliage than flower. All in all, I have forgiven myself for all my garden fails and looking at the whole performance as something of an experiment...

O, just a small shout out for the tiny stars of my hypertufa troughs - lewisias. Unlike many of the little alpines I used to plant, the lewisias will keep on throwing out blooms for months...and can be raised from seed in a single year if one can get hold of strains such as the Elise group which seem to not require lengthy vernalisation and can be bedded out in autumn as decent sized plants from a late summer sowing. And as already mentioned, the indigoferas (and anisodonteas) have been blooming away since spring, with no sign of slowing down...although they are not terribly showy, they have an innate grace and elegance.

Yes gardenho, I think that's one reason why I stopped actively growing them from seed. They returned nicely for me, so I got to crossing new seed off my list (you know how it is, you go through a catalog, make a list of a "few' things, and before you know it, you're at $700 worth of seeds - just from one catalog! And you still have 4 more to go through!)

Anyway, I guess the reseeding petered out over the years, but I still kept crossing them off the list, since they were something I stuck out by the road - i.e not in my "garden proper".

But I really should grab another pack of seeds. It was nice to pull in my driveway to the beautiful little colorful blooms, and I think the walkers enjoyed them too, as I used to see them pointing to them. You gotta take - and spread! - joy wherever and however you can these days!

:)

Dee

Gorgeous! I have a few of them, but they don't make clumps. I did not plant them but do scatter the seeds when they are ripe.

I had no idea the seeds/fruit are edible!!! At what point of coloration do you eat them?

Wow is right! There are some lovely unexpected plantings in your area. I recall some others .

I planted three MN Strain about twenty years ago at my old place and they did well. As someone alluded to earlier, they are short-lived trees. I make a trip to the MN arb periodically and they are growing all over the place -- some planted and some spontaneous seedlings. Here's two planted Redbuds at the MN arb:

Babs so good to have you back!

pm here are some combos I like.

I really need to trim out the old stems on Salvia Caradonna to make it look great again but I like it with Coreopsis Moonbeam & Echinacea 'Prairie Splendour' compact white.

I rarely show the shade gardens here.

KW PNW ... very much appears you have the lovely very free flowering 'Pillu' ... your plant is stellar!

Rouge, your combination of 'Viva Polonia' and brunnera all backed by a supporting cast is lovely!

Hmmm , we need an exchange program, haha - I had no idea about starling decline in Europe, thanks for that info. Will try to send a few your way by saying 'fly home, you're lost, head east!'

I'm not a birder but I'll have to learn more about this, it seems like a crazy conundrum.

Edit: I mean I can't claim to be a birder, but I love the birds in my garden and can watch them with joy... I recently downloaded Merlin app, it's very fun

Certainly no problem Rouge :)

Newish to me is a liatris species of seed collected in Saskatchewan, the more established it becomes, the more I like it!

Oh I wasn’t suggesting it for you Rouge, just commenting I may put one on my obelisk. I know youre looking for a large bloomer😊 I’m hoping to find one also.

I have a brown thumb when it comes to Clematis. I need suggestions for a ’no fail’ one lol. Mine have never become ’Robust’ and need all the help I can get….

Here are the Obelisk. I couldn’t pass these up on Marketplace…such a great price! (Kind of hard to see) They will not be staying in this bed. I have found placement for one bit still trying to decide on the other.

They are brand new heavy wrought iron. Should last for years.

So far I have ordered ’Little duckling’ for one of my smaller obelisks. Its such a pretty little thing…

Web photo

No pic as I didn't have my phone with me, but I just spent a good 15 minutes trying to ease a skipper out of the garage. I had just hit the button to put the door down when I saw it. I opened the door, but it took a long time to get it headed in the right direction - I am pretty sure this group would understand, lol. ☺️

Porkchop, I have been experimenting with Culver's roots for the last couple of years. Mine are growing in at least half shade and they look normal to me. We've had similar weather to you for the last week. I do normally try to make sure they have enough water, but that hasn't been a problem this summer, haha. So I think you're right.

I don't think your bushes are a problem. I'd wait until you decide what to do with your trees, as right now, you have a lot of shade, but if you made significant changes, then your plants would need to be different.

I think living a year with your landscaping is a good idea. You'll figure out if your trees are making things too dark on dreary winter days or if you really want the shade on sunny summer days.

In the mean time, I'd plant shade-loving annuals to provide some color to your beds.

What is the destination? The driveway? Why not move the steps to the end of the deck and fill in the too narrow walkway, cover up the under side of the deck, with more plants.

More photos of the other end of deck, please.

Not enough info or pics to help. Take the pictures from further back or draw the whole area to scale. I agree if this just goes to the driveway move the steps seems to be the logical answer and then since you love plants obviously you can plant more

A hydrangea paniculata like Groundbreaker is perfectly happy in full sun IME, and will bloom less and be less full in just 4 hours of sun. The hydrangeas that really appreciate afternoon shade are selections of Hydrangea arborescens like Annabelle, Hydrangea serrota selections and Hydrangea macrophylla selections.

Also, 4’ deep is fairly shallow for a bed. i try to make my beds at least 6’ deep because I try to leave at least 2’ between the plant at its largest and the building. It will allow you to do maintenance more easily and also keep wet plants away from the building so less maintenance is needed.

See above about the myth that pine needles acidify soil. And we don't know that your native soil is not already sufficiently acidic. What grows naturally in your area? Blueberries? Kalmia? Regarding the growth habit of azaleas many are broad and short. Unless you have researched the cultivar you have bought it's not safe to assume it'll be tall and narrow. Also I would plant that azalea further forward.

Given the above info, maybe you can use pine needles for everything instead of buying shredded mulch? How fortunate to have such an abundance of pines! Where do you live?

@UpperBayGardener (zone 7) Yes. I loved that nursery!

Definitely bring the front entry forward, even curve it into the driveway, so you can see the entire front door.