soaphouse's Blog
soaphouse's posts about: nandina
Feb 2, 2008 | 5:13 PM PST
Tags: crepe myrtle , natchez , annabelle , hydrangea , mahonia , oak leaf , nandina , rake
I slowed down my pace a bit today in the garden...just did some routine housekeeping...
Edged the beds with the weedeater, trimmed back the wild onions and vinca with the weedeater, raked and started to cut back all the grasses. This is always such a messy job and I don't know that I have figured out the most efficient way of doing it. I figure this year, I will just do a bit at a time through the next couple of weeks and then it won't seem so bad. The yard is looking so tidy and is just ready for spring to burst through. I also took some time to play with the camera and capture some wonderful winter moments in the garden:
Dried Annabelle Hydrangea Bloom:
Exfoliating Bark of the Oakleaf Hydrangea:
Wax Mahonia Bloom/Berries:
Nice contrast of the Variegated Ivy against the bark of the tree trunk:
Lilac getting ready for spring:
Twisty Twigs of the Contorted Filbert:
Brilliant Color of the Nandina Fire Power:
And Finally...the beautiful bark of the Natchez Crepe Myrtle (the reason I chose this variety):
All of these picts were taken in my back yard. It was really nice to look closely at all the winter details. I see my garden different through the lense and its always a fun perspective!
Jan 25, 2008 | 1:48 PM PST
Tags: nandina , mahonia , willow , evergreen shade , shrub , bank , creek , gunnera , gunnerra , ideas , chainsaw
Today, I transplanted all the wax mahonias and nandinas that I found on the other side of the creek. Turns out there were more than I thought: about 27 mahonias and 2 nandinas!
Here is a picture of the area before:
And after:
I know out of the 27...a few are bound to grow in niceley :)
I put the two nandinas in a pot that lives in the front by the gate:
I think it looks pretty nice. Plus, can't beat free!!!
I am starting to think about what I might want to plant on the opposite side of the creek, where the bank is really high. Our property extends about 4 feet beyond that. I would like to just plant some dense, evergreen shade shrubs that will help ward off the privet. Any ideas would be great!
On the far right of this picture, I will plant a weeping willow. So I need some ideas for the area to the left of that. In the low part...near the creek, I will be putting my great Gunnera that I have on order. ITS STARTING TO COME TOGETHER!!!!
Tomorrow, hubby has promised to get back there with his chain saw and take down what I can't get with my loppers :)
Have a great gardening weekend everyone!
Jan 13, 2008 | 3:23 PM PST
Tags: fall , tree , clean up , planting beds , mulch , wood chips , pine straw , hydrangea , hosta , path , nandina , conifer , creek , hammock
I had another great weekend in the garden. Got LOTS done as I am taking advantage of the warm daytime temps we have been having lately. I spent so much time on the front yard this past growing season, that now I am excited to get more work done in the back. I have been doing things such as defining the beds and putting in paths. I ordered another load of the free woodchips from the city and got busy spreading it:
I laid down a path in between the beds leading to the back. The bed to the left contains hydrangeas and hostas. I just transplanted all the hydrangeas to a better layout and added 2 variegated hydrangeas on either side of the sweet gum tree - I am looking forward to seeing how it looks come spring.
Here is the same path, from the back view:
My husband cut down the remainder of the trunk of the tree we took out last weekend. He was excited, because this meant he got to buy an electric chain saw. He always loves getting new toys...as you can see it definately did the trick:
I also transplanted the nandinas that were in the front of this tree over to another space so that now I have room to put in a nice conifer garden :) I also finished spreading all the pine straw (this helped to define the beds and create some new planting areas in the back yard. Here is a good shot of the back yard as of today:
The creek area even got some attention this weekend. Once I finish dragging the brush to the curb, it will be all cleared and ready to plant up with ground covers and ferns. I also plan to put an arbor at the gate with a nice vine on it and an outdoor hammock so that the area can be fully enjoyed!
I am interested to see what survived out of my bargain fern purchases that I planted back here in late summer. Once the drought hit, they began to suffer...so we will see. The creeping euonymous is doing well, however :)
On the list for this week: finish spreading wood chip pile and dragging creek brush to curb!
