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Look what I bought this weekend!
A number of local nurseries were having sales this weekend and I finished all my research/scouting of all the different dwarf conifers that are available in my area ( and for what price) so I went on a shopping spree!
Just the dwarf conifers & dogwood so you can see them better:
From left to right:
Tsuga canadensis 'Brandleyi', Canadian hemlock
Cornus alternifolia 'Golden Shadows', pagoda dogwood
Tsuga canadensis 'Cole's Prostrate' (in the front with the exposed branches)
Tsuga candensis 'Geneva' (big V-shaped guy in the back)
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Squarrosa Minima', Sawara Cypress (yellow one)
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Tsukumo' (mini one in the front)
Microbiota decussata 'Fuzzball', Russian Arborvitae (fuzzy green one in the back)
Thuja occidentalis 'Golden Tuffet', Arborvitae (orange one)
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Baby Blue'
DH & I shot a match all weekend but we managed to plant all of these at night after we got home even after the rain we had one night (I have some very muddy clothes to wash!). I took my first attempt at bare rooting the Geneva and Brandleyi because they were both in the 1/2 off clearance section and root bound. I was originally just going to get the Brandleyi because it looked the most promising (both roots and new growth) but I convinced the nursery worker to give me an even deeper discount if I took both off of there hands. I also got a discount on the Cole's Prostrate because it was incorrectly marked for sale. When I got to the checkout they pointed out the mistake but I haggled them down to splitting the difference with me. I know it sounds silly to argue about but these are very expensive plants!
Did anyone else do a lot of gardening this weekend?
Re: Look what I bought this weekend!
Looks awesome!
In between feedings and very short naps we managed to get the yard mowed, the backyard beds weeded, the garden tilled, fertilized, covered and planted.
We scaled back on the veggie garden this year. Only planted two of the three beds with tomatoes (5), red and white onions (2 each), shallots (1), eggplant (1), peppers (2 red, 2 green), jalapenos (2), carrots (2), beans (4), peas (2), lettuce (1), spinach (1), squash (1), zucchini (1), cucumbers (2). We'll fill in with garlic, herbs and annuals this coming weekend.
I need to follow up with some landscapers today. We're getting quotes for having a master plan for the backyard drawn up and I'm waiting on a few. If anyone has good "inspiration" websites, let me know. I've already trolled thru HGTV's gallery.
Some pics:
Oops how'd that get in there?
food blog | garden blog | curly dogs blog
I'm so jealous of your big vegetable gardens! The raised beds the original owners had used for veggies no longer get enough sunlight to grow them. Luckily my MIL has a huge vegetable garden and she's retiring this year so we get plenty of fresh veggies for free.
I can't wait to see what kind of plan they come up with. Are you going to post about it here or on your gardening blog? It would be so fun to have someone come to our house to do the same but we don't have nearly the blank slate you do. There are lots of existing structures and beds so it's more plant selection than hardscape design.
And your son is so stinkin' cute! He's been getting so big. You need to update your FB albums with more picture.
You could do some shade-loving veggies here and there. Then again, if I could get extra veggies at no cost and no effort, I'd be happy. LOL
Definitely blog about it. I may post here now and then. We've had two landscapers come out and give us quotes - both reasonable. I've got a couple more calls to make to see if I can get another two out.
We're not looking to hardscape, I don't think, mainly just cutting in more beds, make more functional use of the hardscaped/deck space we do have, add screening, etc. We do want to leave a good chunk of lawn for parties, since it lets people and kids have their own space to do stuff (last summer we had the kids playing soccer way back and the adults playing bocce ball and bean bag toss by the house).
The blank slate and space is great but I just do not have the ability to create an overall vision for it.
I can't wait to see what your plants look like in the ground!
food blog | garden blog | curly dogs blog
food blog | garden blog | curly dogs blog
Sorry I don't have any pictures yet because it was dark by the time we finished. Next weekend we hope to make some more progress on the brick edging and then we'll hopefully finish it off with compost and mulch the weekend after that. I'll post some pictures then.
Only 4 of them went in the new flowerbed though. The two clearance buys went along the edge of the woods where they can get nice and big but if they don't make it it's not a big deal. The spreaders (Fuzzball and Cole's Prostrate) went on the slope north of the house which is an unofficial flower bed because we can't mow it. Right now it's full of vinca minor, lily of the valley, and ostrich ferns I planted. I'll teach the Cole's Prostrate to spill over the edge of that big cement retaining wall you noticed in my pictures before NB. Eventually it should look really cool! They grow really slow so I'm starting to collect them now so that by the time I get around to filling or creating the beds I'll have some nice base conifers to work around.
OMG I'm kind of in love with that one! When I found him at a local nursery I was completely smitten but resisted the urge to buy it on the spot. I did some research and it's a relatively new variety that apparently doesn't grow as fast or as profusely as traditional pagoda dogwood but I loved the yellow variegated leaves enough to try it out anyway. It really brightens up the shady spot it's in. The area gets backlight by the evening sun and when I saw how it looked in that "golden hour" for the first time I knew it was the right place for it!