The weather past May was – in a word – awful. I had to steal a few moments here and there to get any work done in my gardens. Almost between raindrops. I don’t like to work in the garden when the soil is so wet because it tends to compact the ground and make it harder for the plants to get air and nutrients to their roots. But many days I have had no choice but to put on the rubber boots and get to weeding. If I waited for a truly nice spell of weather, the weeds would totally have outgrown the perennials and the vegetables.
But even when the weather is less than lovely, I still try to walk a bit in the garden every day, just to keep an eye on what is going on. Is that Hosta getting too large for the space? Is the clematis showing a decided failure to thrive? And what can be done about it?
As I wandered this past weekend, I realized I have a distinct pattern in the plants I have chosen for my yard. I like ones with variegated foliage that give interest even after flowers are done. Even my lettuce has burgundy leaves with “freckles” on them. Burgundy colored leaves are favored but I am finding plants with a chartreuse coloration give the more shaded areas of my garden some life. I do like plants with very dark, almost black foliage, too, but because so much of my garden is in summer shade, the black-leafed plants disappear into the background. I try to place these in a sunnier spot or at least in an area where a light green leaf points out the contrast.
I find I am partial to several types of plants: Hosta, Heuchera, Japanese maples and a certain Dutch iris called ‘Eye of the Tiger.’ I also like a variety of ornamental grasses. This is not really news to me or to my gardening friends who visit. They know my tastes almost as well as I do. But I find that even when I shop at a nursery and try to find something different, I still go back to the old favorites.
I have never been one to buy a new variety of plant just to be able to say “I have that”. I am practical, too, so there needs to be a proper place for it in my small garden; somewhere it will grow without too much effort and yet not get too large for the space. But, just as with fashion, we all get a bit bored with the same old thing all the time. And a good (smart) nursery will certainly be more than happy to cater to our need for something “new and exciting” just as the nursery growers do.
Hostas or Heucheras will fit nicely in most any shady garden. There are great varieties of each that will satisfy a collector’s craving. I like to plant my Heuchera in broad areas or use some of the smaller ones in long rows as front-of-the-border plants. The Hosta I prefer to spread in a variety of areas in the garden, partly because I am partial to the larger varieties, again with variegated leaves. There are lots of lovely small Hosta that could be used in the front of a border, too, they just aren’t as pleasing to my eye as the larger ones. Again, this is a matter of personal taste.
It’s one thing to be a collector of Hosta or Dutch iris. It is a totally different thing to be a collector of Japanese maples, especially in a garden as small as mine. But I am. The first thing I planted in my Barview garden was a Japanese maple called ‘Crimson Queen.’ And the second thing was a ‘Green Dragon.’ Since then we have added ‘Orido Nishiki’ and ‘Ueno Yama’ to name a few. (For me, part of the charm of these wonderful maples is their exotic names.) I have thirteen, although several are bonsai or bonsai-to-be. And, because 13 is an unlucky number, last year I found a stunningly beautiful Japanese maple called ‘Gwen’s Rose Delight’ at a nursery in the valley. I will fully admit I had no idea where I would put ‘Gwen’ when I bought her, but this was I plant I just could not bring myself to walk away from. Turns out the perfect place presented itself where I can see her from my living room window, and she is the little piece of drama that I pass by when I leave the house.
‘Gwen’ is very happy in her new home and since a dear friend was involved not only in the purchase but in the transportation, she makes me smile each time I see her. But therein lies a whole other story.
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