04.18.15
Adelaide’s Playground
I’m writing more about gardening today, so if plants aren’t your thing, you might not enjoy this post. But Adelaide and Aissa love their yard.
It has been raining for 9 days and we finally got a break in the rain, for at least the morning. The girls and I took an opportunity to enjoy the back yard a bit. Aissa May was thirsty, so she figured the bird bath would work just fine. Monkey see, monkey do, Adelaide had to check it out too.
Our Leatherleaf Mahonia’s are doing great this year. They have really enjoyed all the rain. And the birds haven’t gotten to the berries yet.
And our grove of Carolina Allspice is thriving. This is a native plant and occasionally it smells so sweet, I can smell it from the back patio which is 50 yards away.
With rain for 9 days straight, the mushrooms are everywhere. That will do great for when the box turtles come back. They love to eat the mushrooms.
Last year, our yard guy cut down a few trees… this is the first year in the 12 years this azalea has been in this spot that it has bloomed. And bloomed it did. It’s a very pretty coral pink. Even Adelaide was surprised by the new flowers.
With a large wooded yard and a more frugal approach to landscaping, each Spring I just get a few fill in plants and keep adding to what will hopefully someday look like a botanical garden. This morning’s haul…
Once I laid all the plants out, it didn’t seem like that much. These three plants (little yellow guys) I figure will help add some color to the front shrub bed. I might go back and get two more. Need to evenly space them out across the width and between the lorepetalums in the back and the nandinas in the front. Don’t mind the decaying retention wall. That will be fixed this year.
And I am forever working on my hosta bed. It is really misleading how large these two new ones are. The ones that are planted already in front of them have leaves that are the size of a large dinner plate. I saw these huge ones at the nursery and knew they would add a ton to the bed. I’ll also probably make another trip tomorrow to pick up a few more smaller varieties to keep filling in. By the way, that large plant behind them is my 12 foot Oakleaf Hydrangea. I love that plant. It blooms large 8″-12″ cream blooms. And with it so tall, I get to fully enjoy the blooms sitting on the patio that is 4 feet above the ground.
For some new added spark, I saw these white Astilbes that once planted along the wooded edge over here, will add a pop of color.
Another favorite in the yard are these Cast Iron plants. We have a whole bed of them on the other side of the walkway, so I picked up a couple more to fill in some space between the Leatherleaf Mahonias and Acubas. Adds some variety to the foliage patterns since the Cast Iron plants are so upright.
That pretty little azalea that is finally blooming? We decided it needed some friends. I picked up two lighter pink azaleas to plant near it.
Addy and Aissa never use the dog house. They are so spoiled that they are never stuck outside. But this is what the yard looks like behind the house as we walk up the walkway towards the patio.
And then, lastly, I love peonies. I am not sure it will grow well in my yard, but I saw some at the nursery and grabbed one little one to test it out. Just need to find the perfect spot for it.
Hope you all enjoyed our little tour of Adelaide’s playground.
April 18, 2015 at 6:26 pm
Beautiful Karma! I wish I shared your love of gardening! For me, it’s a form of torture, but I love the outcome. I have many peonies, all colors – at least they just come up with no help from me! Is that a tree house in one of the pictures? I wish I could import you here to help me with my yard.
Paula
April 19, 2015 at 2:51 am
Thanks Paula. I can’t say I’m a great gardner. I’m really quite a lazy gardner. I plant plants that like the environment I have and sun/soil/water they’ll get where I put them. If they don’t like it and die, well then, they don’t belong in my garden. 😉 Your peonies sound awesome. Love them. And you spotted a sort of play house in the yard. It was here when I moved in 12 years ago. The dogs like to go up in the main floor and check out the yard from that vantage point.
April 18, 2015 at 11:24 pm
Karma, as an ex-landscaper and botanist I just loved this tour of Addie’s playground! You are fortunate to have all that space to play with. I love the woodland garden concept and I am sure yours will develop beautifully in the years to come. I am visiting a friend in Eugene, OR and we went to visit a nursery yesterday (they specialize in Hellebores) that also has a beautifully planted garden that ranged from a woodland section to a bonsai section and even a succulent garden. It was so lovely and peaceful.
Thanks for sharing your other passion with us!
xoxo,
Martha
April 19, 2015 at 2:55 am
I sure hope it will kick in on developing. I’ve already been working on it for 12 years. Along the way, I have found some great plants that love my woods. Hellebores are one such plant. I have some very happy cream colored ones and some younger but just as happy purple ones spread among the back. They are starting to propagate on their own which I love. Little surprises each year. My Leatherleaf Mahonias are self propagating too (or at least with help from the birds). And I adore the natural Carolina Allspice and Sweet Betsy trilliums that pop up.
April 19, 2015 at 12:43 am
Gorgeous! I just love hosta’s and now I think I’m going to need to go get some to plant now. Your yard looks so peaceful…. love it!
April 19, 2015 at 12:49 am
Your garden is beautiful Karma!
And Addy and Aissa are lucky to have this piece of paradise to enjoy with you.
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
April 19, 2015 at 3:14 pm
I love it. Thank you for sharing your flowers with us. I think they look great. 🙂 I am glad the girls & you got to enjoy a little of the day. Planting looks fun 🙂
Of course there is your swing where you can enjoy everything.
Hugs
Michelle & Angel Sassy
April 19, 2015 at 4:38 pm
Karma I am SO impressed! Dang you have a green thumb, your yard is beautiful!
These new plants are really gonna perk you up when you recuperate from surgery. Good idea to get them in the ground now.
April 20, 2015 at 12:27 am
It has been deliciously delightful to walk through your Woodland Garden with you and Addy, Assia and Spirit Brendol. I really could feel her presence as my feet touched the nutrient rich soil and skipped from shadey to sunny spots sprinkled throughout this Garden of Serenity. Yeah, I kicked off my shoes with wild abandon and went barefoot!!!
And of course I grinned ear to ear as Aissa showed Addy how to drink from the birdbath!
You really have created a little Paradise for yourself. I can only imagine the joy and the peace nurturing thes living little beings gives you. And thank you fkr slreading the joy with js.
I wish somehow we could post this permanently on the site when we all need a “quiet place to meditate”.
You are such a beautiful Soul Karma. Grandma and Brendol are right by your side in that garden…guaranteed!!
Much love…and thank you.
Sally and My Eternal Light Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
April 20, 2015 at 1:22 am
Sally,
I always look so forward to hearing your comments. You make me smile.
Now, your comment about being barefoot worried me… it’s a dog friendly yard. 😉 There are random dog bombs in the yard. So you might want to keep your flip flops on while dancing around in the Garden of Serenity.
April 20, 2015 at 12:29 am
So pretty! I need you to come plant stuff in my wooded yard. I have found Hostas to be pretty maintenance free. So much stuff rots because it is shady and damp. Thanks for the tour, gave me inspiration. Lori, Ty & gang
April 20, 2015 at 12:31 am
AISSA!!!!! Don’t know who Assia is!!! Maybe that’s a little gnome who sleeps in the garden under a cool shade tree!
April 20, 2015 at 2:49 am
Karma,
Love the gardening post. I’m not a great gardener but a persistent one. I planted 3 hydrangeas and they all died so I gave up. My climate is the complete opposite of yours. Mostly sunny, hot areas and clay soil. But I have a lot of horse and chicken poo to improve the soil. So we can grow roses, lilacs, evergreens, quince and we have 3 vegetable beds. Gardening for me (like horseback riding) is therapy and saves me a ton of $ on psychotherapy. Thanks for the post.
Penny and her Gang