The utilities line the west side of the house and a bluestone walkway runs the length from the driveway toward the back yard.
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| May 13, 2007 |
Screening, using tall narrow grasses and small trees, was necessary to hide the utilities. It's amazing how well the plants hide the mess along the side of the house. This garden is facing west.
The climbing hydrangea right at the edge of the garage door is probably in too much sun in this exposure, but it is growing to reach to the top of the pergola over the garage door. The beautiful magenta redbud 'Oklahoma' is gone, toppled over in a freak snowstorm in fall, 2011.
Here is the west walk in winter, 2015:
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| 2/10/15 |
The winter was a harsh one, and the prettiest tree of all, a small orangebark (Stewartia monadelpha) which was part of the "allee" of trees lining the left side of the walk, did not make it. I had to take it out.
By spring, the walkway was inviting, especially at ground level where Japanese forest grass spill over and the pretty white dwarf deutzias bloom. I do miss the stewartia which had been in that empty spot where a couple irises are coming up.
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| 5/30/15 |
In summer the Hakonechloa gets full and looks like waterfalls.
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| 6/6/15 |
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| 7/6/15 |
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| 1010/15 10/30/15 |
Here is the history of the development of this garden:
2009
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| May 1, 2009 |
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September 6, 2009
This was the first time I liked the complexity of this strip of garden, and I was happy not to see any utilities |
2010
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| April 23, 2010 |
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August 20, 2010
One of my favorite shots after a rain -- the grasses were too floppy and unsuitable, but they looked so luscious here |
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| October 29, 2010 |
2011
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| May 14, 2011 |
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| August 8, 2012 |
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October 30, 2011
The end of the pretty 'Oklahoma' redbud. |
2012
How I missed the beautiful 'Oklahoma' redbud this year. It was such a pretty accent and was becoming a nice leafy tree, with glossy leaves. Sigh. It did not survive being split in two down the trunk in last October's snowstorm and I had to take it out.
'Northwind' panicum grasses do a great job screening the a/c units. Originally in 2010 there had been giant floppy miscanthus in front of the units but they completely ate the walkway. With the yellow Japanese forest grass and the golden sedum 'Angelina' below it was still billowy along the walkway, even though the panicums are much more upright and narrow.
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| June 18, 2012 |
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July 2, 2012
I'm going for an "allee" effect that draws you down the walk toward the distant maple |
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| September 2, 2012 |
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| October 16, 2012 |
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| October 16, 2012 |
2013
In spring of 2013 I took out the panicum grasses 'Northwind' that were screening the a/c units. They looked nice, but even these narrow, tidy upright grasses were too much in front of the units. Air circulation was cut off and we had repair problems mid summer.
So now nothing screens the uglies, but it really isn't so bad. The viburnum is taller, there is a better sense of things filling in, and although you see the units, they don't dominate the view along the walk.
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| May 16, 2013 From this angle the a/c units are not seen |
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| May 21, 2013 You see the a/c but it's ok |
I added a red buckeye tree, Aesculus pavia, at the outside curve of the walk, and eventually you will walk under it to enter the gravel garden. From the driveway end as you come down the "allee", the gravel garden side of the walk will have three trees in a line: paperbark maple, the stewartia monadelpha, and then the buckeye.
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| July 3, 2013 You can barely make out the skinny red buckeye |
It is really a fall garden with great color in autumn.
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| September 29, 2013 Bright caryopteris divaricata 'Snow Fairy' with wine colored geraniums |
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| October 30, 2013 The stewartia and the blackhaw viburnum are becoming real trees |
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| November 3, 2013 |
2014
This walkway, which I use multiple times a day, is now a beautiful small passage and a garden in its own right.
The three hakonechloa grasses have matured from clumpy things into real waterfalls along the edge. In low light they glow neon yellow and contrast with the blue flagstones and steely blue spruce, but in sunshine they are lighter colored and more variegated.
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| June 10, 2014 |
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| June 10, 2014 |
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| September 27, 2014 |
In fall the walkway is beautifully colored.
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| October 30, 2014 |
The little stewartia between the west walk and the gravel garden is brilliant red, a nice contrast with the pretty pink mums.
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| October 30, 2014 |
It really is this bright and vibrant in fall. My "allee" effect looking down the walk, ending in the red maple in the distance is working.
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| November 7, 2014 |
Even when fall colors have passed, the walkway looks good with the tawny hakonechloa grasses. Since the tall panicums were removed, the a/c units are visible now, but the plantings are so complex and the eye is drawn down the walk -- it doesn't bother me so much.
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| November 23, 2014 |
