I suspect most gardeners have a favorite season. Mine is autumn, specifically from the autumn equinox to Halloween.
But trailing it by just a nose would be this time of the year; from late spring to early summer. More specifically, from mid-May to about a week after the summer solstice has passed.
This period is when we enjoy the brightest days of the year. The sun is so bright it makes my eyes ache whenever I step outside. My mind is always pleasantly surprised at how everything has suddenly turned so green, seemingly overnight, even though I have been anxiously watching for the return of the growing season for weeks.
The temperatures have warmed up noticeably, but it’s a genial warmth that allows the gardener to tend to his garden in comfort. The brutal heat of July and August are still several weeks away. It truly is a glorious time of the gardening year.
Another big reason why I love this time of year is due to a very particular scent. Sometime in the first week of June a fragrance appears that triggers in me an incredibly strong sense of nostalgia. This scent doesn’t last long, maybe a week or so, and I’m not sure what plant is the source of this scent (I suspect it’s Russian olive). But because of when it occurs, ever since I was a small boy, I have equated this smell with the start of summer break. Even today, when I catch even the slightest whiff of this heady aroma, I am transported back in time and become suffused with the joy I used to feel when I was released from the State Center Housing Of Organized Learning (S.C.H.O.O.L) for the summer and into three months of sweet, sweet freedom.
Enough of the past; let’s get back to the present. There has been a lot going on in the Vintage garden since my last post that I am excited to share with you. The birdbath renovation is finished, and the side-yard has been completely overhauled.
First off, the side-yard:
MrsVintage spearheaded the overhaul of the side-yard garden, an overhaul that I have been viewing with some trepidation. A trepidation which has caused me to procrastinate on getting started for several years. So when MrsVintage volunteered to scrape out all the weeds and scraggly grass, I am not the least bit ashamed to admit that I didn’t even hesitate when I agreed!
Once MrsVintage got the hard part done, I put in edging to separate the area from the lawn. We laid down landscape fabric, put in several flagstones and finally covered the area in pea-gravel.
This area faces the southwest and receives next to no shade or water, so it gets very hot and dry in summer. So we decided on a desert theme to go with the flagstone and pea-gravel. The plants we picked out are from desert regions from around the world, thus they are quite heat and drought tolerant. We put in plants such as sedum, sunrose, ice plants, yuccas, prairie dropseed grasses and a dwarf lavender. Hopefully they will all enjoy their new homes.
We also put one of the indoor potted cacti in the area for a several reasons: to get sun after spending winter indoors, to provide additional desert garden flair for the area, and also to remind me to visit the area from occasionally. I may need to water it if it’s been exceptionally dry and this will ensure that I check in and enjoy our little desert nook.
Below are some before and after of the side-yard overhaul for your edification:
Ta-Dah! I present to you the finished side-yard:
Heck, some of the plants have already made themselves comfy and have begun to bloom as you can see below. The plant in the foreground with the purple flowers is an iceplant, and the one behind it with the orange blooms it is a sunrose.
Now let’s move to the backyard to see the completed renovation of the birdbath garden:
I put three Panicum “Northwind” ornamental grasses where the serviceberry used to be. I used them to help counter-balance the weight and size of the redbud tree at the other end of the section. These grasses should get to about 4-5 feet tall with plumes that will possibly reach 7 feet or more in height.
I also moved a couple of blue fescue grasses that were struggling elsewhere into what I hope is a more hospitable spot.
The wooden stakes mark where “Coronation Gold” yarrows are planted. I moved these yarrows here last year, and I put the stakes in when I was digging out the old serviceberry to keep me from stomping them to death. You’d be amazed at how much damage size 11E feet can do.
Other plants that went into this area include butterfly weeds, blazing stars, “Monch” asters, “Grand Mesa” penstemons, “Goldsturm” black-eyed susans, and one Baptisia (also known as False Indigo) named “Grape Taffy”. You can see in the photo above that there is a Brunnera hiding under the birdbath. This Brunnera was in this section from before the renovation, but it’s thriving so well in that spot that I decided to leave it.
This mix of plants should provide color from early summer all the way into autumn. My hope is that this area will become a magnet for butterflies and hawk moths.
Finally, I lined the part of the border nearest the walkway with Gaillardia “Arizona Sun”, otherwise known as blanket flower. I really like blanket flower because it’s such a cheerful little flower that blooms its ever-loving head off. I’ve planted many of these over the years, but they never seem to stick around for me. I assumed it was because I wasn’t situating them in a place where they could thrive. But this past winter I was listening to a podcast on Fine Gardening’s website, and the hosts mentioned that blanket flower is short lived because it is such a prolific bloomer. It literally blooms itself to death. I’m keeping my fingers crossed these new ones will reseed themselves in this area, thus providing free plants for years to come. If not, I will just have to replace them as they die off.
Anyway, here is the finished product:
You may remember I wrote about the brutal snowstorm that hit my area back in late April (see here: https://www.mrvintageman.com/this-week-in-the-garden-winter-strikes-back/) that zapped several of my plants. I am happy to report that most of the plants have bounced back quite nicely, as you can see by the lush Brunnera plants below.
I had a fairly decent tulip showing this year. I am (surprisingly) not much of a fan of the ephemeral spring bulbs. I find their display entirely too fleeting, and their fading foliage tends to leave holes in the borders. But I will grudgingly admit they do provide a quick pop of color before the main show gets going, and the bees do like them. So I will make an effort this fall (and every fall from here on out) to plant more tulips and other spring flowering bulbs in the borders to provide a little more pizzazz in early to mid-spring.
I will close out with a couple of photos of our Irises, the flowering harbinger that signals spring is drawing to a close and that summer is rapidly approaching, whether we are ready for it or not.
Now that the renovations are done, it’s mostly just maintenance (read: weeding) and mowing for awhile. When late summer rolls around, I’ll survey the borders and see if there are any improvements to be made and holes to fill. Late summer/early autumn is a good time for doing this because one: the plants have reached their potential and the gardener can actually see what areas need help, and two: most plants have gone on sale at the garden centers. I do love some discounts!
What has been the high points for far in your garden this year?
