Planter Rehab

By SKEETER:
I am sick of being sick! Anyone else ever feel this way after dealing with sickness for two weeks? I decided I had been out of my Georgia Gardens long enough. I took a box of tissues and off I went with my runny nose to the yard.

Our first project was to rehab the planter where the Oak Tree was taken down last fall. This was a 90 foot (if not taller) tree and it was too close to the house for comfort. One similar was hit by lightening and I feared this one was next. So down she came along with 3 other trees in this area. You can see another stump in the background. With such a large tree to cut, it damaged the rotting timbers to the planter of Liriope below. New timbers and we are ready to rehab. Two piles of split wood waiting for the free taking! Our woodshed is full and our pile for backyard campfires is plenty so we are giving the remaining wood away.
We found the same type timbers and decided to go with that as it would make things easy. So we thought anyway. See the end of the old planter? It was jointed by a slice of a timber knocked into the ground.
Well, funny thing, when we replaced the timbers, they were shorter then the old timbers. Ha, consumer beware! Timbers are now a bit shorter probably to save money for the company manufacturing them. Grrrrrrrrrr... No problem, I had an idea and the Saint put it into motion. We made forms on each corner. Not pretty forms but doing this on the cheap and quick.
Each corner was a different size.
We had a bag of quikrete on hand and picked up an extra bag just in case we would need two. Of course both bags we had were small and the Saint had to make a quick run to town for one more bag to finish the last corner. We never calculate properly with bags of anything. Like gravel, sand and quikrete!
Amazing how adding water turns this power, sand, gravel mixture into concrete.
Once we had our oatmeal just right, we poured it into each form.
I had four tiles laying around and decided to top off each corner with one for a bit of interest.
The next day, we tapped off the forms and Bingo! Perfect corners for our new planter. They are just the rustic look I was hoping for!
We now have a new one of a kind planter! This is last years Liriope with a slight hair cut before we started placing the timbers. In no time at all, it will cover the sides of the planter. What is that on the stump and what is the Saint doing by the grill?The Stump has a beautiful black cat face on it. Thank you so much Lola for this wonderful gift. It took me a while but I finally found the perfect spot for it! I can see it from my sun-room windows. The birdbath is not staying there. It was just there for the meantime. Question, Should we try to cut the stump top even or leave it as this? The Saint likes it as is for some reason when I would prefer it level to hold a plant. Hum, I could put two plants and stagger them. Ha, I may have just answered my own question.
Ah, the Saint was grilling some awesome chickens! We have enough left overs so I don't have to worry about cooking dinner each evening this week. I can play in the garden and not have to worry about dinner as it is already there waiting for the heat up.

There you have it, a PLANTER REHAB, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Liriope

I have been trying to clean up my Georgia home lately while getting things a bit more organized. That includes the computer. I have found many things which do not relate to a winter topic but since we are all tired of winter, lets take a look back shall we?

When we purchased this house, there was a skimpy circle of Liriope or Monkey Grass surrounding a tree in the front yard. The Saint hated it as it got in the way of mowing. Since I did about 98% of the mowing back then, I told him to keep his hands off my Monkey Grass! It was located in an area that receives little attention to me so I decided it needed a new home.
I dug all the bulbs out of the ground and moved them into a planter in the backyard which surrounds a Willow Oak tree. I had put Shade loving impatience in this planter one year and it was beautiful. But anyone growing a planter full of Impatience will soon find out that it loves to drink water! During our hot steamy summers, I was finding myself slowly melting away each day with hose in hand keeping the impatiens happily fed. They were beautiful and filled the planter with color all summer long. But such work to keep alive in this hot climate. I vowed to never have impatiens in my garden again as long as I live in Georgia. I am happy with replacing the planter with this Monkey Grass. It does not require much attention and easily spreads. Look how full the planter is becoming only starting with a few skimpy sprigs. Some may consider this an invasive plant but it seems to stay contained in this planter. We have been living under drought conditions the past 3 years and the purple pretty continues to thrive. Here the grass is during the winter months with a blanket of leaves keeping it warm. Once the temps climb a bit such as in the past few weeks, I get my favorite combing tool to work.

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This little hand rake was purchased for a single dollar at a discount store. I love this tool as it is perfect for combing the Monkey's hair! Click the video to see how easily it removes the old leaf from within.

Here is the planter after a good combing with my trusty tool. Some people clip their Monkey grass back each spring before the new growth starts to pop up from the warm soil. But I have not clipped mine in the past few years and it does well. We are lucky with living in a warmer climate so the green stays fairly well all winter long.

I have a little problem with the Monkey grass though.

Okay, a BIG problem! The deer think this is a feeding trough I have filled for them!

Just look at Miss Doe getting into the planter!

And teaching her babies to follow suit! I was shocked to see such young fawns during the middle of September as they are usually much larger and with few spots by that time of year. Mommy Doe had already lost her red color and was a grayish brown for Fall and Winter.

The second of the twins was trying to decide if it wanted to join in on the fun...

"Na, I think I will just give my back a little lick instead" says the baby fawn.

"Oh, what the heck, you make it look like so much fun, I will join you"

Being the animal lover I am, all I can do is sit quietly in my sun-room and watch these beautiful creatures eat the LIRIOPE, In the Garden...

What to grow in a front lawn with only 2 hours of sun?

From In the Garden

Hi there clks ant. You asked a question in storychat and the editor forwarded it me. I hope this answer reaches you. You said you get about two hours of sun in your front yard as the house is blocking the yard and what can you grow there for color? An easy and obvious choice for the green color to replace the grass is Lirope spicata also known as Creeping Lilyturf. (A picture of mine is above) You can buy creeping lilyturf at any nursery though I don't think it is commonly available in big box stores. You must be sure to buy liriope spicata and NOT liriope muscari if you want it to spread and replace the grass. Liriope is typically known as monkey grass and does extremely well in shade, dry or wet. The muscari type will not move around and forms a clump whereas the spicata type spreads fairly quickly and is an excellent substitute for grass. It will bloom with small purple flowers and usually forms small black berries and grows only about 6-8 inches tall. If you do not want to replace the grass and do not want the liriope to spread then by all means buy the muscari. Spicata should be mowed only one time per year in the spring BEFORE new growth is tall enough to be mowed off. Spicata and muscari are evergreen and no maintenance once they are established. I have both spicata and muscari growing in my garden. I planted the spicata under a silver maple tree where the maple roots prevented mowing of the weeds since no grass would grow there. I put only one sprout every foot or so apart and it completely filled in within two years. It does spread but not like ivy or vinca. If you dig edging in at least 3 inches where you do not want it to grow then you should be fine. That takes care of the grass substitute.

As far as color it is hard to beat hostas, heucheras and pulmonarias-all of which I grow in my garden. There is a tremendous variety of hostas and therefore, no shortage of color. Some of my favorites are: Sun Power (gold in color), Sum and Substance (Lime green and the bloom is fragrant), and Albo-Marginata (a variagated variety). Hostas look best grouped together.

Heucheras, also known as coral bells are commonly available. Heucheras are evergreen and come in a variety of colors. I grow about a dozen varieties in my garden and have found some do better than others. Peach Melba is a peachy colored coral bell but did not do well in my garden. The purple heucheras do much better. Purple varieties include: Palace Purple, Cathedral Bells and Silver Haze. I purchased all of these at a big box store. Heucheras can be divided in the fall but it is best to always start with at least three of any one variety for the most impact. Heucheras do great in shade and are not too picky about soil moisture requiring only the regular moisture rain would provide. Heucheras bloom in the spring by holding dainty flowers well above the foiliage. They do make a big impact and my favorite blooming heuchera is the plain old red one.

You did not say what type of moisture other than the soil is on brick and clay. If the moisture content is average and not too dry then pulmonaria is a great plant. This plant is evergreen and I grow the variety 'Trevi Fountain' which is silver leaved with spots on the leaves. In February or March it will bloom with a multitude of small pink, purple and blue flowers. It is a show stopper and everyone who sees mine loves it. I purchased it mail order about three years ago where it is not too expensive and readily available.

If your soil is dry then Epimediums are supposed to be great. I do not personally grow them but am looking to find some! Epimediums do bloom and are supposed to be versatile. Another plant to try for dry soil which is a green with white varigation low ground cover is Aegopodium podagraria also known as Bishops Weed. I do grow this in my garden. Sometimes people have a terrible time with it spreading but I have not had this problem. It would prefer a moist soil but I have it in dry soil and it does well-sometimes dies back in a drought but always reappears after a rain. I am hesitant to recommend it because it is not always present but does work out well if you don't mind missing it sometimes. It is not evergreen.

Hope these suggestions help with the shady front yard. Some shrubs that do well in the shade are azaleas and hollies. There is a wide variety of hollies and one will surely suit your needs if you are looking for shrubs. I especially like the Helleri Holly. It is low growing, does well in the shade and never needs to be trimmed-my kind of shrub. Azaleas can be picky and I would not recommend them for you if your soil is brick and clay, stick with the hollies.

Please let me know if these work out and I loved it when you said, "Please do not suggest silk flowers!" Too cute and brought a smile to my face. Silk flowers have their place but in a garden in Tennessee is probably not one of them!

in the garden......