“Sometimes I would open my eyes and see the summer landscape passing through the dusty windows, so full and ripe at that time of year that it seemed impossible that it could ever be broken down and turned to winter.” ~Rachel Cusk
I can see my native garden from where I sit in our Great Room, and out the side windows too. Dusty as my windows may be, it is such a heart-warming sight every time I glance over imagining this garden fully grown through the seasons.
And I am loving how the native garden is shaping up. It is a small, sometimes narrow space I am reclaiming, between the grass and the woods to the right of the patio. From the top of the picture (the newest plantings), the garden slopes down toward the bottom of the picture.
Here’s another view looking from the side of the house toward the woods. I added a light covering of mulch to help keep the roots warm and wet, and the weeds down. I am still adding a few more plants here and there. Favorites I miss that I want to ensure are part of this amazing space.
The last phase is finished (ok is it ever really finished). Planted and awaiting the warm weather to get the roots going more so they fill out a bit. I know next year many of the plants will grow bigger and be in bloom. And by year three they will expand, and start to naturalize in. Natives take hold quickly if they have space to spread, no weeds to compete, water, and some sun.
The final phase was planted with these plants…Ohio spiderwort or Tradescantia ohiensis, White Snakeroot or Ageratina altissima, Tiarella cordifolia or Foamflower, Black-eyed susans or Rudbeckia, perennial Woodland Sunflower or Helianthus divaricatus, New England Aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, Amsonia, Spotted Joe Pye Weed or Eutrochium maculatum, Liatris spicata, Swamp Milkweed or Asclepias incarnata, Common Boneset or Eupatorium perfoliatum and a native white yarrow Achillea millefolium. No hybrids here just the species.
And look who came to visit as soon as I was finished….an Eastern Comma butterfly or Polygonia comma. I think it is a sign we are moving in the right direction.
Here is native Ohio Spiderwort blooming despite the rabbits gnawing on it.
Next to the new section, in the middle, we have native orange milkweed called Butterfly Weed or Asclepias tuberosa, Anise hyssop Agastache foeniculum, Virginia Bluebells, wild Geranium maculatum, more native Tiarellas, Echinacea, Eutrochium purpureum or Sweet Joe-pye weed, red twig dogwood, Liatris spicata and Blue Vervain or Verbena hastata.
The original 2 sections are growing smooth hydrangea or Hydrangea arborescens, Blue-eyed Grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Lanceleaf Coreopsis or Coreopsis lanceolata, Christmas ferns, Tiarellas, wild geraniums, Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris, Echinacea, New Jersey tea shrub Ceanothus americanus, Solomon’s seal, and Anise hyssop.
And against a backdrop of goldenrod I am trying to keep at bay, native red Monarda didyma, Swamp Milkweed, wild violets, Bloodroot, Virginia Bluebells, Tiarellas, Jack-in-the-Pulpit and native Red Columbine Aquilegia canadensis (flowering at the top of the post). And I am adding in Trout Lily and more Jack-the-the-Pulpit in a couple of areas, but that should be it for this year.
Every time I look I see tweaks I want to make, but I think I will wait until next spring to see what is crowded and needs a bit more room. Of course that means a new area. You can see it here. Full of weedy invasives, and native Goldenrod Solidago speciosa and Eastern Daisy Fleabane Erigeron annuus to the left of the patio. We will dig it out a little at a time leaving a little of the Fleabane and a backdrop of goldenrod as I dream of adding Baptisia australis or Blue Wild Indigo, Zizia aurea or Golden Alexanders, Common Milkweed, another red twig dogwood bush, and who knows what else. I am sure I will think of a few more plants I want to include.
The vase this week is a mix of late spring bulbs and summer annuals. A resilient allium that found a crack in the landscape fabric, and has been blooming with at least 5 flowers. And this gorgeous unnamed petunia, pink with a purple throat. I love it as it grows and spills down my antique containers. I was so surprised at how beautiful it is in the vase too. And it has lasted since the weekend with more blooms opening daily.
With this fun vase, I am linking in to the wonderful meme, In A Vase On Monday, at Rambling in the Garden.
All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma. You can follow my progress with #the100dayproject in my Instagram and Facebook feed.
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