Another Memorial Weekend comes around and I love to see all the plants that remember to come up again! We have been at this location since the fall of 1986 and soon began our love of landscaping and gardening. There was no master plan; just bring in the river bottom dirt and build some structures. The plants grew and so did we with ideas and skills as the years went on. This is what we do best together and never thought of it as a chore or hard work even though that's exactly what it was to most people. It's the joy of doing what you love that makes all the difference! 2022 marks the 10th year of my being a Missouri Master Gardener for Hickory County which means I have earned the Emeritus status which basically means I followed all the membership rules and don't have to follow them any more while still retaining all the benefits for the rest of my life. Keith will be in the same status in a couple years.
I try to post what is looking good in our yard on the three major holidays - Memorial Weekend, Fourth of July, and Labor Day or end of season before frost. It is the best way for me to journal what was there in the past, present, and what changes I might like to make. Most of the plants at this time have returned from the previous year as self-seeders, perennials, natives, bulbs, vines, or bushes. Come join me as I take a walk through our gardens...
The front yard begins at this point of a pie-shaped two lots fronting a cul-de-sac in the city limits of Hermitage, Missouri. It is near the top of a hill with the Pomme de Terre River below. It is a steep sloping two lots with corrections made by terracing and bringing in about 25 loads of good river-bottom soil shortly after we moved here in 1986. This photo is the highest point. It is dry and rocky so it is planted with a variety of succulents and prickly pear cactus, a Missouri native. The evergreen bushes to the left are over 30 years old and have seen better days. They have been a great public screen from the city street. We have lost the middle of 5-6 bushes in the past year. I have added a couple tall pots to fill in for now but a plan to replant or replace this great privacy hedge is in the future. The shallow topsoil is also great for iris bulbs on the right side.
This clematis trellis loves this showy location as we can enjoy it's blooms throughout the season and its blooms peak out for the street side. I have more succulants that like growing in the smooth creek rock which has some debris and dirt collected over the years. All these plants like it dry and sunny! The clemates needs water but doesn't like wet roots so this location works well and it in a good viewpoint from the house.
Overview of the top level terraced garden. The peonies are about 30 years old and have been moved over to one side from the original location covering the top tier. I have added shorter plants to this prime view including sedum at the edges, coneflowers, mums, salvia, phlox, and a couple oak-leaf hydrangea behind the bluebird box. Lirope is planted below this wallto help edge the grass lawn.
This oakleaf hydrangea is called "Alice" and is about 5 years old now. This time of year, the sun rises just over the top. A newer hydrangea next to it on the left is called Pinky Winky. It blooms after Alice is done. Both these hydrangea add to the public screen from the city street.
The Japanese maple is over 30 years old as it was in this location when we moved here in 1986. I know the house was built in 1978 so it could be that old. The base is 30" with the main trunk at 20" this year. I keep it trimmed all around and looks like a bonsai tree when all the leaves are off! It is the only location for Christmas lights in recent years so we can view from our picture window. This is also our front brick patio area below a second terraced area. The entrance to our house is level with only one step up.
View of the second terraced area from the front patio. The English ivy was brought here from my childhood home in Virginia and I must keep it trimmed a couple times a season to hug the rocks. The hostas used to be under several large oak trees that were removed about 20 years ago from the front yard because their location threatened the house and they grew very big! Now the hostas have too much sun and need trimmed by late summer for a fresh regrowth. The pink dogwood is my 3rd attempt and now in its 3rd year looking good and strong now. We also planted a row of native redbuds along the north side of the house and they are casting a nice amount of shade finally after about 25 years growth. We started them from 6" saplings. I love the creeping thyme inbetween the patio bricks which self-seeds and blooms. It is made to walk on by staying low and has a emits a frangrance when doing so!
The north side of the house has a nice sidewalk between the terraced plant area against the concrete foundation of the walk-out lower level of the house and the narrow edge of the property line. This area has lily-of-the-valley, native wild hydrangea, sedum, hostas, and vinca. The redbuds continue along to the bottom of the property line to the city street. The sidewalk is planned as a path for rain water to go and ends in a rain garden below keeping water away from the building and used by the plants. On the right, the sidewalk leads to the back patio and continuesa the length of the house into the main terraced gardens.
Part of the rain garden has daylilies and Solomen Seal plants between a metal half cattle feed ring which is used for plant muclh collection and use. The other side is a hammock area under a grove of redbuds. There is a variety of shade plants here that I likely will show in mid-summer as it is just starting to come up now.
Here you can see the redbud grove hammock area at the edge of the sidewalk to the center top of the photo. The rain garden is below the corner of the sidewalk as it turns along the back side of the house. There are lovely flower boxes built for herbs, annual petunias, gladiolas, coleus, and creeping Jenny to enjoy along the path. The other side has bordering lirope which makes it easy to mow the lawn keeping grass clipping where they belong. There is a nice concrete patio and steps along this area and a new graveled fire chiminea area that goes to the edge of the carport above.
You can see the steepness of the two pie-shaped lots from this view taken in from of the garden shed at the low point of the concrete steps. It does go lower! These are our main vegetable gardens, all terraced. I don't know how many separate gaardens to count but there are four large 6'x20' gardens, a couple 10'x10' areas, a 6'x14' raised bed along the carport, and many smaller terraces in between. The carport is to the left at the top with a lower driveway to the right. In between and much lower is my "Happy Place" trellis swing area where I can view the large part of the backyard. On the south property edge, not shown, is a 22 year old lilac hedge that I planted from 6" saplings. The frangrance is wonderful throughout the yard when the south breeze catches the abundant blooms this time of year!
I have a Native Garden. The slender mountain mist, blue mist, yarrow, rose verbena, New England aster, smooth aster, dwarf larkspur, houry puccoon, wild hyacinth, cone flowers, aromic aster, and poppy mallow come back every year. The nigela aka Love in a Mist and chicory come back to join the natives even though not Missouri natives. Haney's poppies just show up where they want. They are all certainly welcome!
The view from my garden swing aka My Happy Place.
With my garden swing on the right and the carport on the left, you can see again how the yard slopes down from the city street up by the electric pole. Between the swing and the carport makes a great location for more terraced garden areas with a useful drainway in between that directs rainwater away from the house into the gardens. On the left is a good place for my exotic lilies. I had tried many other plants for this area but finally decided it is the best place where deer cannot easily get to my favorite lilies. They can eat the common daylilies aka orange or ditch lilies that are located in the areas at the edge of the yard. On the right are my two newest raised beds for strawberries.
A closer view of my Garden Swing. There are coral oneysuckle growing on the left side of the trellis. I had wild honeysuckle growing on the right side for many years but removed it a couple years ago as it is too invasive and dominated the much desired native coral homeysuckle. On the right is a steep sloped hill filled with the common orange daylilies. A few surprize lilies and some allium pop up randomly very early in the spring in this bed. On the lower right are several lemon balm plants that edge the "daylily hill." On the right is our cat's garden with a large catnip plant and a small rocky slope of cat grass that he loves! To the immediate left of the swing is another tree stump that has been made into a Gnome Home. The area has a variety of succulants in between the rocks. There is a nice pink hardy hibiscus that is a special surprise because I planted it from some free seeds I got from a garden show and didn't expect much. It comes back every year and is very showy! It is in the far upper left of the photo below and just starting. That prickly pear cactus on the right has recently been replanted with the others in the front yard as it grew too large here and makes it hard to play in this area with its threatening needles!
Closer view of the Gnome Home next to my Garden Swing with the variety of succulants, the hardy hibiscus, and an Autumn sedum to the left of the tree stump.
Some of my Garden Friends around the Gnome Home.
Closeup of a coral honeysuckle bloom that is abundantly growing on my Garden Swing trellis.
View of the front patio area of our house where I enjoy my first coffee or tea of the day from the bistro chairs and table every morning with Bobi Kitty on my lap. From here I can see the bird feeder areas and front yard view before I walk around the yard, usually in my PJ's, to make garden plans for the day.
This is a Dutchman's Pipe vine bloom located in the backyard along the edge of the yard by the city street growing on an old cedar tree stump. It is the host plant to the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. It grows abundantly here surrounded by a ditch filled with Joe Pye plants which are all Missouri natives that the butterflies love. I do throw a lot of discarded plants in this long city ditch so I am pleased to see many of them take over the less desireable weeds. They are all mostly welcome but we do some maintenence a couple times a year to remove tree saplings, thistle, and crown vetch just trying to keep these problems out of the yard.
This is the tree stump we left from a too large cedar tree that was removed years ago on our property line. The Dutchman's Pipe vine likes it here. I have a bunch of native spiderwort that I encourage at the lawn's edge. I have several other natives I enocourage along this edge mixed with the original iris that came with the house and were transplanted to help hold up the very steep ditch along with the appropriatly named ditch daylilies. There are also smooth asters, speedwell, shasta daisies, monarda, and a large amount of lamb's ear between the ditch and the yard lawn. We also plantsed a row of Stella De Ora daylilies along with more lirope to edge the lawn up to the sidewalk where the only large oak tree we have kept shades much of the backyard lawn.
There are dozens of the Dutchman's Pipevine Swallowtail catepillars on the vine by Memorial Weekend!
Another view of the Native Garden which shows the reason why I keep the chicory at this prominent corner...because the deer love to munch on it and seem to be satisfied to stay away from my exotic lillies and strawberries that are harder to get to that you can see in the upper right side of the photo. They also like some of my other native plants along this easy sidewalk path and I cover with cages for a month or so until they grow bigger. The chicory seem to do very well with the deers' trimming as it gets bushier and has more blooms later. I like to think that the deer know not to take too much so they can come back for more! You see this plant a lot along the highways that have right-of-ways mowed with its beautiful light blue flowers. It would grow over 5' tall if not trimmed!
One of the four front yard trees that didn't get cut all the way down but was left for the woodpeckers. A few years later I decided to add some whimsey to the landscape to make me smile and enjoy. This was the first Fairy Tree area. It is on the path to the bird feeders so I can walk by it everyday.
The Fairy Tree friends close up
This year I started a new whimsical area under my favorite pink dogwood tree several feet from my front patio to enjoy. It is a Winery with some new Gnomes taking advantage of the spirits. At this location I can keep a close eye on them from my bistro area so the rascals don't hassle the fairies at the nearby Fairy Tree! I may also join them of an evening and have a glass or two of wine my self!
