The Driveway Made In the Shade Gardens

It's really hard to believe it has been a full two years since we made our driveway. Look back at this post to see the changes in just two years. Things are beginning to fill in and settle down after our messy house build in 2014. This is the driveway as you enter the gate. We put about 10 full trucks of gravel of varying sizes on the driveway. That was after we put down a geotextile fabric. I can say that fabric and the careful planning we did for the driveway has really paid off. There are maybe two tiny pot holes we have to work on and the rest is compact and flat and solid. I always get happy when driving on the driveway because I remember a mud road a few short years ago.

The red Japanese maples I transplanted here from Tiger Gardens are doing well. There are six and they are spaced 30 feet apart. They have finally settled in. This year we have noticed damage to the trees from the transplant shock from two years ago. Some of the branches and in one case part of the upper trunk have died. It's rather frustrating for me but to be expected when you dig up huge trees and move them to a new home.

Coming into the gate this beautiful 'Dreamcatcher' Kolkwitzia amabilis by Proven Winners. It is a winner! It is beginning is lovely bloom and I think I may just have to showcase this shrub a bit more in depth because it is indeed a winner. 

Fire pinks (Silene virginica) self seed themselves all over the place out here in the woods. I love the red. They also have a long bloom period.

Looking out toward the little road I have a bench for seating and tons of daffodils and hellebores. It is mighty tricky gardening out here because the deer love all the 'food' I have planted for them. Hellebore leaves get eaten but not the flowers, daffodils are never eaten and so far the gold spirea and red Japanese maples have not been eaten. A buck did decide to rub one of the Japanese maples but I think it will survive.

Japanese roof irises (Iris tectorum) are a great groundcover iris for part shade to shade. They are just beginning their lovely bloom.

Looking toward the road again we see a few textures. The left and right sides of the drive are completely different owing to the different growing conditions and elevations.


Solomon's seal is a keeper. Deer don't bother it and it looks good all season. The variegated kind really adds texture to the driveway.

I have a lot of wildflowers planted on one side of the driveway. Some I transplanted here like the above Green Dragon (Arisaema dracontium). I will have to move this one soon to a better garden closer to the house to join a friend I just purchased. These are lovely shade plants and quite unique. The bloom is just beginning and is covered by a hood. Can you see it tucked in there?


I transplanted a bunch of white trilliums to the driveway area. They are doing wonderfully. Of course the deer love these so I get to enjoy them for about a day. The stem to the left of this flower is evidence of deer nibbling.


One last picture looking toward the field. I never get tired of the play of sunshine on the forest and am fascinated by it each day. We are looking east and the sun is promising us a beautiful day....

in the driveway garden....

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

More Spring Bloomers In the Garden

Spring is the season when things happen really quickly. I can't even keep up with it all so in a valiant effort to capture some blooms I'm trying to post some pictures. Here are a few for today. Dutch? irises are blooming big time.

'Carolina Moonlight' baptisia. I purchased three of these at Wal-mart a few years ago for a small price. They have really begun to come into their own and all three have a good bloom this year. I am looking forward to when I can showcase the blue ones that grow here too.

Epimedium 'Niveum' foliage. It is finally coming into its own despite the drought we had last summer. This is a good plant I hope spreads.

Here is the bloom of the 'Niveum'.

Some kind of Solomon's Seal. I have quite a few of the variegated but this has a different bloom and foliage color. Any ideas on the cultivar? It is doing fantastically despite being moved early this spring.

Technically not a bloomer I suppose but I just can't resist showing my 'lady' in the Front Sidewalk Garden. She sure looks like a ballerina posing gracefully. This unknown J. maple cultivar was planted in the fall of 2003 as a two foot seedling. Despite being set back several feet in 2007 after the late freeze it has come back wonderfully and now stands at about nine feet tall. One foot of growth per year is a pretty good growth rate I think. Unfortunately it is leaning toward the sun (the west area which is toward the house due a large pine being on the east side). I have had to stake this tree and the staking actually reduced it's height by a few feet.

Some common purple irises blooming in the Front Center Garden. The Roadside Shrub border blooms behind this garden from this angle. Just on the other side of these shrubs is a very busy road but I am quite proud that I cannot see it. You can see the 'Snowball' bush blooming. Irises and the snowballs make a great pairing.

At one time I might have known this cultivar but not now. Does anyone recognize it? Here it blooms in front of an aucuba.





The first peony of the season is in full bloom. Unfortunately the rains have beat it up quite a bit. Nonetheless this Japanese style peony that was labeled 'Festiva Maxima' (NOT) on the package when I bought it at Wal-mart in 2004 has turned out to not be what I thought it was. I still love this peony though. Once this one is done there is another peony right behind it that will kick in.





May Night salvia can't be beat. I find this works great with azaleas and peonies.
Here it grows along the front of my house along the sidewalk.



More unknown irises in the Front Center Garden.





Irises seem to be in abundance here. I love them backlit. Here we are looking west toward the house at the Redbud Garden. The redbud is a special cultivar called 'Forest Pansy'. While it's blooms clashed with my red tulips its leaves go perfectly with the lavender irises.





Lastly a few backlit pictures of more irises in my garden. This view is looking east toward the road in front of my property. The irises are glowing here. I do so love irises when they are in bloom but I have a bad relationship with them due to the conditions in my garden-namely too much shade and woody mulch. Irises do not like that. So when they bloom I enjoy them fully....

in the garden....

These are not all of the spring bloomers in my garden but I just can't keep up. I've been so busy lately and have to apologize if I've not been around as much. Tis the season...

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