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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, April 11, 2014

The Naked Truth - Raw and Uncensored

Have you ever decided that you really hate a part of your garden but do nothing about it until it requires a huge effort?   Welcome to most of my garden right now.  Last summer I was unable to do much outside and a year of neglect has made things that much more overgrown!  

This bed is getting an overhaul but I don't want to get too shovel happy until everything has emerged.  The Schefflera taiwaniana that replaced the huge grass that had become quite a drama queen seems to be happy enough in it's new spot.  The rheum is still there - I'll give it one more year to prove itself.


I attended a seminar led by Sharon Lovejoy at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show  last year.  She said that we should boldly plant things because, "you can always dig it up."  That grass took an entire day to dig up and the bamboo that is now gone (I should take before pictures) will be allowed to grow back in a limited area while the rest of it will be covered with potted plants.  Ms Lovejoy is correct, we can dig things up but sometimes it's best to let sleeping bamboo roots lie.  For some reason I said her name quite a few times as I was digging up plants all day. 

This dinosaur egg used to be tucked back in a corner with a nice variegated bamboo on the left and inherited arborvitae & Hedera helix on the right. The pots were actually nesteled in the mess as well.  A Choisya ternata 'Sundance' grew over to where I've just put the phormium pot.  It had gotten way out of hand and needed a haircut. 

Did you know that there is a fence back there?  It is usually covered with inherited English Ivy.  Every couple of years, I rip it all off and pull up as much as I can.  This time, I really mean it and will replace it with Clematis armandii. 

The Choisya post haircut now has exposed the cinderblocks that the dinosaur head sits upon.  Oh well. it'll grow in and there's got to be something in a pot around here someplace that can sit around down there temporarily.
 Another area that needed a change had become a huge thicket of (again) ivy covered fence, lilac with rotted heart wood, climbing Cecil Bruner rose, a cool variegated leafed Buddleia 'Harlequin' that lost the variegation but still had raspberry colored, honey scented blooms,  and Kerria japonica. 

Here we are in progress.   I left a little of everything close to the fence but have gained a space ten feet deep by twenty five feet wide.  Hmm.  This will be the new home of the "Danger Gardenette" which lives mostly in pots.  Pots which can be moved to make space for a greenhouse perhaps?

So, there you have the uncensored naked truth.  No pretty pictures framed to eliminate the unfortunate views, no focusing on special plants, just ugly dirt work.  I'm so glad that I have spring break this week!   I filled three yard waste dumpsters and have huge piles of even more that we'll load the truck with and make many trips to the yard waste recycling place.  Actually, Tom's volunteered to do in while I'm at the HPSO sale! 


More piles along the alley will also get hauled away.  Yikes, that's a lot of biomass.

This view was not possible before the big dig but now I can see a lot more of the garden from this spot.  What will go in that blue pot to block the view? 
So, this year will be a reworking, editing, and all sorts of changes time  in my garden.  I've noticed way to many random pots all over the place.  There's a nice collection of blue, a few turquoise, lots of natural/terra cotta shades and  enough shiny red ones to make nice groupings by color.  And the annual spring migration will also need to begin soon.  I'll be outside working as you read this enjoying another sunny day and digging a bed out of scilla hispanica domination!  Have a great weekend all!

50 comments:

  1. Oh, I hated my entire garden when we lived in Massachusetts! I'd been gardening there for 20+ years and it seemed like nothing I did made it better. You've had such great weather this week for working in the garden! I think progress always looks scary and intimidating at the beginning. But your garden will once again look fabulous!

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    1. It's fun to shake things up every now and then. If none of this works, I'm thinking that napalm might be the answer.

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  2. I think it's sometimes best to start the big garden projects with one eye closed - just so you don't get overwhelmed. Once you get in and get started, momentum builds as the work takes over. You're already making progress! I can only imagine how many more plants this means you'll be buying...

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    1. I keep seeing more and more that needs to be be done but am remaining focused on this one rather large project for now. Because of my schedule, I've never been the kind of gardener who gets everything done January - March and then watches the unfolding of his plan but am usually digging and moving things through most of the summer. Fortunately, we don't get much hot weather that would make this impossible. It's a continuing process not a product, right?

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  3. You made a bold move, showing us the bald truth. All future shots will establish you as miracle worker. Be sure to keep these on hand as reminders.

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    1. It kills me to see so much valuable and limited garden real estate taken over by holly, ivy, and even things that I planted that have become overgrown! Seeing the courage of other garden bloggers to do major edits inspired me to finally do something about these areas. It'll take a while but eventually things will start looking better. Once that's under way, I'll take on the shady side garden where our native Oxalis oregano, whose fresh evergreen carpet I love, is threatening to take over the world.

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  4. I'm sure your garden will be fabulous after you've been working for a while. I'm waiting to see what you'll do and how everything will look like. Happy gardening, Peter!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. It will get even worse before it gets better but there will be progress.

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  5. I love the idea of grouping pots by color, or at least similar shades. Recently I lined up a rainbow on the back of my potting bench but that was a temporary caprice while I waited for spring.

    It's just the beginning of spring. You have plenty of time for making it spectacular. A written plan helps.

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    1. I remember your pot rainbow from your post! The visual impact of a group of similar - colored pots of various shapes should be interesting. Now they're just grouped by what plant fit in the pot at the time and how the plants work with each other. Sometimes the pots clash horribly with each other. Lots of fun ahead. I always say that my garden looks its best for fifteen minutes on August 24th usually when it's dark outside. The rest of the time it's pretty much crap, but it makes me happy.

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  6. I love it when garden bloggers just show it all. It makes their blog more relatable and honest. Even though we are different climates and I can't make a single plant recommendation, here's what I've done when I've needed to redo big chunks of my garden (again and again and again...) I take 2 opposite approaches on different days. First, I identify all the parts of the area that I like and don't like in a very unemotional, Spock kind of way with no emotional bashing of "Why isn't my garden perfect crap". Then I flip and ask myself what I want/need the garden to provide emotionally/physically. Do I need privacy, softness, brightness in a boring area, low maintenance, etc. It helps me clarify what I want so I can create a plan for my redo. It's not the perfect approach but it works well for me. I'm on Spring Break next week, too. I am crispy fried and need a break!

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    1. We were all ready for a break. It's funny, many of my colleagues were talking bout their spring break plans to travel to Las Vegas, Mexico, and various fun destinations. When they asked me what I was doing and I cheerfully said that I'd be able to work in the garden all day long, I got strange looks. Silly non-gardeners. Because I also have a Sunday Job, and try to take pictures for a week worth of posts on Saturdays and because we've had far too many rainy Saturdays, I can't remember the last time I've had a whole day to do nothing but garden. I feel so fortunate but I also wish that I had another week to work. Now it's the long haul until June 13.

      I like your approach but I know much of what I'll be moving into the space created. It'll either work or not - we'll see. Because I'm a plant hoarder.... oops I mean collector, there are many potted specimens all over the place waiting to find homes so I can move plants around in pots, stand back, look, and rearrange many times before I commit.

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  7. Well... From now on, I'll never call my garden messy...
    Saying that, I should notice that you have lots of very interesting plants and beautiful pots. It's better than having an orderly, clean garden with boring plants and dull accessories. I believe in you, Peter! You'll turn this part of your garden to a very special place! The weather is certainly helping!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement Tatyana. Things were more orderly before I started ripping out plants, pulling pots away from their places, and cutting things back. I'm making quite a mess but hopefully it will be for the best over time as I redo these areas of my garden.

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  8. What a wonderful view opening up in your last photo of the topiary, palm, and reddish leaves. I am looking forward to see what develops. I also have a lot of overgrown vegetation I am paying the price for in removing it, but I am going to plant grass so my husband can mow more ground and save me all the work and blackberry vine fighting. But it's so hard getting those woody roots cut and out of the ground! And I'm not in shape (yet!).

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    1. After this first week of working in the garden all day, I'm sore and covered with scratches. I even have slivers in my hands which I don't understand because I wore gloves most of the time. It feels good and I'd like to work some more tomorrow but Portland calls. Added benefit - Tom will mow the lawn and haul the piles of yard waste while I'm away.

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  9. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you....cutting out! I hope some fun is involved as you rescue your garden.

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    1. It feels good to be moving again without pain and these gorgeous sunny but cool days are perfect for hauling stuff around. Once the garden begins to shape up, there's a garage that needs organization. This is going to be a busy summer!

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  10. Tom is good people.
    It's exciting to be redoing the garden. Hard work but so darn rewording! Looking forward to updates on your progress.

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    1. I'm so lucky to have soil that's relatively rock free and easy to dig! It makes this reworking process a lot less stressful than it would be if I had clay, hard pan, rocks, etc. I was actually able to just pull things out in many spots.

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  11. Once all your hard work is done you'll actually enjoy looking back at this post, seeing how much has changed and what great improvements you have achieved :)

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    1. It will be nice to look back at this post. I'd tried making things better by cramming more and more plants in and letting them play survival of the fittest. It became a jumble of foliage that I would punctuate with pots that the foliage would cover leaving interesting plants emerging. It was time to start again!

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  12. 10 x 25? That's no longer going to be a "Danger Gardenette" but a full fledged Danger Garden Annex! Actually with the privet removal and the rethinking of that space I think it know exactly how your feeling. Even if it isn't want we'd choose that enclosed mess can become very comforting. You take it away and BAM everything is different.

    Tom needs a big hug, please give home one from me.

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    1. I don't even need to add any more dangerous plants. They'd started to spread over the walk and got placed in other areas around the garden for their sculptural appeal. They'll be happy to be together again.

      Your various big removal projects crossed my mind as I was working. Pieris, Camellia, Hydrangea, Privet to name a few. It was time to stop attaching sentiment to every single plant (Oh, I remember where I was or in what book I first saw this!) and just get rid of what wasn't working. There will still be mistakes to correct but your example has given me courage to just change things! WWLD?

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  13. When all is green and grass is tall the garden seems nice and lovely, Peter. Just wait a bit! Love the view of pruned (bonsai?) tree!

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    1. Thank you, Nadezda! The garden was all green before I started and will be again. The topiary tree is a nice focal point in that part of the garden.

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  14. We all have to redo borders after a while. All of a sudden a garden matures and cutting back is needed, I try to redo at least one area each year now otherwise things just get out of hand when plants outgrow their alloted space.
    You have done the hardest bit, the best bit for me is the planning and planting, so you have the best bit to come, it will look wonderful when finished, but then, is a garden ever finished?

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    1. You're right, most of the hard work is done and now I can just move pots around to see what looks good. Planting is a breeze! I vote for never finished. That's part of what keeps us interested and working outside.

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  15. Somehow I feel much better having read your post! Honesty & transparency are favorite traits of mine in AND out of the garden :)

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    1. Transparency and honesty might have been a better title for this post but it does feel like being exposed to show the work in progress. Glad that you feel better as it always thrills me to see posts about the garden struggles of others!

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  16. A lot of space for new experiments! The Clematis armandii will make that a very classy fence.

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    1. When I first arrived from zone 3, hedera helix, a former house plant, seemed magical to me here. Who knew that it's handsome evergreen foliage hid such damage-causing tendencies? You're right, there's a lot of space to play with now!

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  17. Totally off-topic comment here, but yours is the only sculpted shrub I've ever seen that I like. Actually, I LOVE yours. The segments are nicely rounded, fat and happy; not strangely elongated, naked and tortured looking. More on-topic: You have inspired me. I go forth now to gouge out and make compost. I am sick of making excuses for and murmuring encouragements to the blasted things.

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    1. Thanks Sandy! I have a love/hate relationship with that sculpted tree. Love the sculptural focal point in the midst of the cacophony of foliage, love the total surprise factor of walking through a quiet shade garden then a crazy timber bamboo grove, feeling increasingly shaggy and wild and then boom, a formal element. Hate having to trim it nearly every other month!

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  18. When the before shots look great you know you are in for a treat! Can't wait to see the result.

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    1. Oh Debra, you're far too kind. These pictures were taken mid process after much of the cutting down, pulling up, and hauling away had taken place and pots are scattered willy nilly all around. I look forward to seeing how it might all get put back together again!

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  19. Oh I love that, you should boldly plant things, because you can always dig it up. And that you have. You have some beautiful plants and pots in the garden, I can't wait to see what you do with it. Love the topiary and palm as well.

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    1. I'll try to remember to post pictures of these areas after they've been reworked. I usually just let things go but these areas needed some attention! Lots of other areas to rethink as well! Should be fun.

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  20. That was a lot of work! Makes me tired justing seeing it.

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    1. It was a lot of work but I'm glad that it's cleaned out a bit now.

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  21. Ah, the rites of spring! Stay in good shape for all that work -I managed to bang up my knee during first clean-up. You're an amazing and ambitious gardener!

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    1. Smart gardeners here do this sort of work in the winter so that there's a clean slate in spring to decorate and enjoy. I, on the other hand, do things when the mood and free time hit. Staying in shape is very important and I'm in great shape. A circle IS a shape, right? Sorry to hear that you banged up your knee! Hope it's healing quickly so that you can get right back out there and play in the dirt! Thanks for the kind words, it's nice to be motivated to garden again!

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  22. Nice dinosaur egg - and great view at the end. You are a brave man. Good luck with getting rid of that English ivy. And give Sharon Lovejoy a break - you were going to plant those things anyway, right?

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    1. Thanks, I made the dinosaur egg a few years ago. You're right, I would have planted them anyway and I agree with Sharon but it's nice to have someone to blame!

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  23. I know how you feel. Most of my parents' garden needs an overhaul. It's not as jungle-esque as your garden, but definitely more dilapidated and weedy. (Not that I want to start a "my garden is worse than your garden" contest, but I think I'd win.) I'm going to be very busy this spring and summer.

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    1. Fortunately, my garden is smaller than your garden! I can't imagine the work you have ahead of you with all of that glorious space!

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  24. Every gardener can relate, Outlaw! It only takes a year or two of not being able to tend and keep up and a garden can really get away from you. I'm battling a few invasive plants in one section of my garden that are driving me bonkers. I always give up in summer and wait for the cool of fall to get going again. Anyway, you were smart to take pics of the areas that are driving YOU bonkers, because one day you are going to have incredible "after" shots to compare them with.

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    1. Thanks for the vote of confidence! The funny thing is that now that I can see the fence, I miss the green wall that the ivy created. Never fear, it will grow back in no time!

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  25. I´m afraid I lost this and many other posts because I had no internet on Easter. The good thing about gardens is that they look so nice after all the work has been done that you will fast forget all the hard work you´ve done cleaning and changing everything.
    I still think your garden look nice compared with the areas of my garden I don't show ;)

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    1. I hope that I'll be wiser with my plant placement once things are cleaned out a bit. Oh well, it'll make me happy having fun with it!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.