Monday, July 19, 2010

Maltby Shade Garden


Several years ago, I cleared away debris from the corner of our pasture and dug out a nice area for a shade garden (the 'clearing away debris' phase lasted about a year, as all lawn clippings, branches and stray rocks had been deposited there by the previous owner for over 15 years). It's a lovely part of the yard, and I could always envision a nice place to rest in the shade on a summer day.


We brought in some topsoil from the soil compound across the road, and started raking and working the soil. There is a medium-sized birch tree in the middle of the area, which made a nice focal point. I found an old antique plow, and placed it in front of the tree. I added two birdhouses, and over several years, I tried various plants in that area. All of them could not survive with the lack of sun in that area.


We started reading up on shade plants and shade gardens, and went to Flower World and bought two Heuchera (Coral Bells) plants. They thrived, and in two years, they doubled in size. We added a Wiegela bush, which is beatiful, and I recently transplanted a small lilac bush and a small Honey Locust tree, and they have also done well. A begonia basket hung on the fence at the beginning of summer completed the project, and the area looks lovely on these warm and sunny summer days.

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