Planting under the Birch

 Every year I replant this area under the birch tree in our front yard.  I have a swirling informal hedge of Indian Hawthorne in the back from this view and in the front I have a border of ornamental strawberries.  There is a tree in the center.  There was a huge Ash tree there when we first moved here.  We took it out and planted a smaller, more polite birch tree that was donated to us by a neighbor.  This year's planting doesn't look colorful yet, but I have high hopes.





This is the way it looked last year.  I planted pansies, johnny jump-ups, and snapdragons.  I also tried a few Ranunculus.  It looked great for a month or so, but then the flowers dropped.  I hoped they would come back this year, but it's been looking pretty empty except for the allysum.  Ogren rated the allysum as a 6, so I really shouldn't let it live here, but it's so pretty and it comes back every year.  I don't have the heart to kill it.  

I usually plant annuals here for their showy flowers, but they need to be replanted each year.  I've tried some perennials before and some have hung in. There is a dahlia my friend gave me.  It has appeared again this year, but it never seems to make it to the flowering stage.  A few snapdragons show up each year, but not enough to make much of a showing.


There are 3-4 of this mystery plant with the square stems and purple flowers.  I just tried to look it up and came up with Calamint.  I don't remember that name, so it may have been called something else when I bought it.  The search validated my thought that the square stems mean it's related to the mint family.  I really would like to find it again at a nursery.  I would happily buy more!


This year I decided to put in more perennials.  That's kind of the theme of my garden.  The perennials, as a rule, are not very showy with lots of big, bright flowers, but there is always something to look at all year.  I do want flowers here to greet my guests. 



This year I'm trying a border of Portulaca, Moss Rose.  I bought them at the suggestion of another shopper at the nursery.  She says you can't kill them.  They are a succulent, so I may kill them with too much water.  If they survive, they may try to take over.  I like their sweet showing flowers that come in many colors including this bright pink, as well as yellow, orange, and white.  It's got a 2 on Ogren's scale, so that works for me.  We'll see how they do.

I won this plant at the garden club meeting.  It's called Nemesia.  It's also a 2 on Ogren's scale and it has light lavender flowers.  Very pretty!  I'll buy more of these if I see them at a nursery.  They are an annual though, so if they don't reseed themselves I'll have to replace them again next year.


I also planted Delphiniums and Aquilegia, Columbine.  I really love both of these flowers.  The Delphiniums should grow nice and tall, about 36."  They're supposed to bloom in early summer and fall.  I bought 3 large ones that are all dark blue, called Magic Fountains.  I also bought 3 eight-packs of "Magic Fountains" that should have a mixture of pinks and light blue flowers.  I bought 3 eight-packs of Columbines called "McKana's Giant."  The tag says they should grow to 30" with flowers in white, yellow, red, and purple.  They should bloom April to May.  It's the middle of April now and there are no flowers yet.   Both Delphiniums and Columbine are poisonous, so I wouldn't put them in the back yard, but our dogs are never out in the front yard unsupervised.  They should be OK here.

If these new perennials do well in the conditions I'll give them, they may fill in this area with blooms through the summer.  I'm getting quite a variety.  Perhaps as I try various plants, a few of each will reappear.  After all, I have titled this blog Confessions of a Lazy Gardener.  Lazy gardeners do not replant every year!