shady sideyard progress

Looking at the uphill end of it- there's the new stinking hellebores, lady's mantle and nandina. Around the tree, seriously wilted salvia and turtlehead- it's still very dry here.

Looking across the side- there's the row of nandina, now three, on the property line (my neighbor's leaf pile and tall crepe myrtles in the background)

On the lower end of the hillside, flanking the other maple tree- newest plant is the lady's mantle here lower left of photo

A view of the whole thing from the lower deck. Still tons of bare space.

More of these blue-green weeds have sprung up again since the heat started to lessen.

While out in the yard, I found three holly seedlings- two very small

one slightly larger:

 I'm leaving them where they are for now. I think if I let them grow a full season or two, they'll survive better when I move them? Last time I moved one it died.

Just about to walk inside when a bird flitted from under the deck into lower branches of a maple. I was quick enough to catch a photo- it's the wren. Pretty sure it's a carolina wren.

different rose of sharons and . . .

Um, I should not have been so delighted to get all those rose of sharon seedlings. I did a bit more reading to make sure I had them spaced far enough apart- and learned pretty quick why that lady had so many to give away. It seeds into the wind prolifically, and is considered an invasive plant in my state. I promptly went outside and pulled all those little seedlings, feeling frustrated.

There are several cultivars developed specifically to either be sterile, or set very few seed. I noted a few names- 'Minerva' and 'Aphrodite'. I was talking about all this with my husband and we decided on a plant budget for fall- it was rather generous because I think last year I only put two shrubs in the ground- one rhodie and the camellia- and I spontaneously went out to do some shopping (the only kind I love- in a greenhouse)! Visited another local nursery I hadn't been to before. On the highway between us and the next town.

I couldn't find those two varieties, but got one sterile 'Pink Chiffon'

and a 'Purple Satin'. The fence length I want to shield has room for four or five, but I left space in case I can find the other two cultivars later on.

Here's the pink one planted:

and the purple:

I was a bit dismayed to see the purple one is twisted at base- like it was root bound. I bought it anyway against my better judgement, because it was the only purple one left. All the others at the nursery where white column shaped plants, which I don't want.

It does have a healthier-looking sucker growing up- I suppose I could always encourage that and trim other parts of the plant out?

It has healthy enough feeder roots all through, and no signs of japanese beetle grubs (which I once found in a rhodie pot). But about a third of the leaves look sickly- dried, pale, mottled.

I asked about this at the counter and was told "well, they're dropping leaves for winter" but it looks slightly ill as my lilac has before. I would feel worse about this except that rose of sharon are such vigorous plants I feel I can pull it through. I gave it a soap spray a few hours before rain (it did rain last night!) and then trimmed off all the sick-looking foliage and cut it back slightly.

I also got an Inkberry (Ilex glabra 'densa')! Native shrub, grows in understory, does well in poor or damp areas. I am not sure yet where to plant this one- I think on the slope in front of the rhodies. It might spread gradually by suckers and make a small thicket back there, which I wouldn't mind at all. I need some erosion control. Also can sport dark berries in winter that feed the birds- except I'm not sure if I need a male and female plant for it to produce, or which gender I have.

And I bought a Northern Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica). This one also does well in tough spots, likes the damp (so I am going to put it at the bottom slope of the yard) and can spread nine to twelve feet! I've kind of got it situated in front of the summersweet- which looks great every spring but then falters by late summer. I'm planning to move that one anyway- maybe in spring..

Next was a small mountain laurel- Kalmia latifolia 'Little Linda' which stays small and blooms pink.

Only caveat is it needs acidic soil. Maybe I will split the loads of coffee grounds from our kitchen between this and the camellia. Planted:

It's mature size is supposed to be four feet across- just up against the space the lovage needs:

Situated alongside the steps my husband built to go from the sunny sideyard up to driveway. My plans for this sideyard are slowly filling in! On the left there is the patch of gladiolas- in spring I'm going to plant in front of the glads a few rudbeckia or a row of the osteospermum. Other side against the house wall is the milkweed spot. Going to sow more seed there, see what takes. Fill in with another line of osteospermum. Leaving hopefully, just a walking path down the center.

I also bought- another nandina. This one is supposed to flower very little, and have a nice blue-green summer leaf color. Yeah I know not a native but I've already got a row of them hopefully to create a good screen between us and the neighbor's yard, and I do like the foliage color and texture a lot. This one- 'Gulfstream' is small and compact- I thought it might work okay to have a short one in front of the row. Supposed to get max three feet.

Planted:

So that's six new young shrubs- and all were on sale!

fed compost

to the plants: 'big boy' hosta

Solomon's seal. So sad, these are the only ones left. Something has been eating them.

Rhododendrons. Looking droopy- it's been so dry.

Heucherella and turtlehead by the garden

Yellow salvia and blue hosta just upslope of that. I don't know why this yellow salvia always looks great,

while the two groups out front wilt severely if I don't water them in this heat. Is the ground damper on the west sideyard? or it gets fuller shade so doesn't suffer as much. Here's salvia on top of the east sideyard, next to smaller patch of turtlehead that does a little better:

and yellow salvia in the back, where particolored hosta I moved this spring also fares better in the heat:

Speaking of hostas, I thought they'd do well under the holly shrub-

but only three have survived and one of those looks pretty bad right now. Here's the better ones:

Newer, narrow-leaved hosta

That shady east sideyard is slowly getting filled in. One view of it:

and the other:

slightly better photo of the joe pye-weed 'chocolate' (it only got a sprinkling of compost):

I was generous with compost to the young oakleaf hydrangea

Less so with the two nandina, which look pretty established now. Still feel ambivalent about this plant, though I like its foliage.

the big, light-green hostas against the house wall. I need something taller behind them...

Hellebores:

Volunteer viburnum I moved out of the back perennial bed, also just got a scattering of compost.

Coleus in the front yard. They're still doing okay as long as I remember to water every other day.

Alstroemeria on the front edge:

The hyssop kind of looks like rosemary, but with longer leaves, and a very different scent

I was generous to the peonies, too. They are starting to look dusty and pale with a bit of mildew...

Younger 'sorbet' one. Looks very different from when I first got it.

Chrysanthemum. I'm so pleased how these turned out with two pinchings. Just the right height and fullness. And not too much work.

Last of all, the rue. It got the leftovers when the wheelbarrow was almost empty- just a scraping of compost off the bottom. Doesn't need as rich of feeding as other plants, though I will mulch it thicker with dry leaves when cold really hits.

There's brown drips on its edging on one side. Almost oily-looking. I have been searching for an insect, but now wonder if it might be rue oil or sap dripping from a broken stem? can't figure

That's not even every plant I fed, just the ones I felt like taking pictures of. So you see why I was so tired yesterday!