My garden tour has been delayed by lots of time in the car this week. Time to catch up.
Today, I’m sharing the area behind our house. With several oak trees in the bed and nearby, about half of the area remains shaded most of the day. The other half gets the afternoon sun. While fernery may be a super fancy word for this area, it IS my goal.
Original to the bed are a few ferns, rhododendrons, Lenten roses, and a path made with pieces of slate. I brought with me a few ferns, a cranesbill geranium, a few lilies, and a trillium. This year, I added more ferns and some hostas along the wall in the back. Next year, I’d like to put pots of annuals on the back wall to add some color.
I decided to experiment with four o’clocks and elephant ears this year. The four o’clocks at the front of the bed did well, however, I think I would mix them in with other plants. They would be a good mid-level plant. I’m not sure I would put elephant ears in this area again. As you can see, they’re facing the west looking for the sun. They also need to be mixed in with other plants to work well.
This part of the bed receives the afternoon sun. I’ve fertilized the rhododendron for several years which I think has contributed to its growth. The Lenten Rose to the right has become overgrown. This summer, I dug up one section and transplanted it elsewhere. I’ve also dug up the baby Lenten roses and transplanted them in other shady spots. While I’m not wildly enthusiastic about the basic green leaves, I do like having flowers in the spring.
For me, this is an extension of the fernery on the other side of the walkway. I have 3 clearance ferns which are doing well. Originally, I thought they would be plain green, however, the leaves appear to be variegated. I transplanted a few irises from my fountain which may need to be moved to a sunnier spot.
Given the poor quality of the grass in this area, I decided to extend this bed. For now, I extended the left side of the bed with a layer of cardboard and compost and did the same behind the tree. I’d like to extend into the dirt area behind the tree. As you can see in the bottom left of the picture, moss does well next to this bed. I’d love to do a moss garden in this area, maybe using smaller stones to create a low wall next to the bed and a walkway. I love the look of the moss garden in the first photo of this article on Fine Gardening.
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2 dogs and a house 