I planted a few things over the past two years

12 years ago

I found some pics from 2009 back when I had about a dozen varieties of hosta and started getting the bug again and had decided to plant a few things in the front yard. I am up to 195 varieties now. I don't have much space to work with but I am stuffing it full. My two huge trees are the ever dreaded Silver Maples. At the rate they are going I will probably lose them within the next ten years so I have their replacements already planted. I have planted about 60 new hostas so far this year with another 15 in pots ready to go in. Since my Maples lost branches between the house and trees I use shade cloth all the way across the front of the house temporarily until the branches grow back. I plan on the entire yard being solid hostas with a very narrow path thru the middle. The path is about 2' wide now but I will probably narrow that down a bit to add more minis. :)

Before. Early mormning sun. Notice the little tree seedling in front of the Maple. It is something I put in just to see if it would grow. It is supposed to be hardy to zone 6. I live in zone 5. It is a paulownia tree that supposedly can grow up to 18' in one year. The leaves get 16" wide.

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After. Early mormning sun. The little tree seedling has grown a bit after dying back to the ground over the first winter.

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Before. Early morning sun.

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After. Early morning sun.

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Before. Overcast day.

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After. Morning sun.

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Before. Mid afternoon sun without the shade cloth. The shade cloth extends the shade out farther into the yard until the branches grow back.

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After. Early morning sun.

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Comments (11)

robin1916
12 years ago
What a transformation! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. You took a blank canvas and painted a Van Gogh! Oh, I so hope I can achieve something like that!

Robin in NC
ademink
12 years ago
that's hilarious! not in a "funny" way but in an awesome kick-butt project way...you have done SO much!!! just wonderful!

what kind of tree is that? at the rate it's growing, you're going to have dueling trees in a very short amount of time.
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i moved from suburbia.. to 5 acres ... 500 feet on a side ... 4 sides.. if that need be said.. lol ... in suburbia... you need to mess at the lot line.. because you dont have anywhere else to do this... it took me a few years out here in Gods country to understand that isnt so on a large space ... let me be very clear ... THERE IS NO REASON FOR YOU TO BE WORKING AT THE LOT LINE ... 300 feet from the house ... you can probably do the whole job.. with 4 or 5 well spaced and sized trees/conifers... about 50 feet from the house ... working off 'views' from decks.. windows.. etc ... those are the first plants to put in ... then you go mess around 300 feet from the house ... i dont know about canada ... but what you are building.. is a soil conservation tree line.. which in your world.. is a sight block line... my county soil conservation office ... offers small.. CHEAP trees.. conifers.. and shrubs ... at proper planting times... for next to nothing ... say 25 plants in the one to two foot range for $15 .... this is how you plant 400 feet ... you dont go buying potted stock.. unless you win the lotto ... of which.. you already said.. your budget is limited ... but you might invest in the larger stock.. for the first mentioned plants ... you should have a lot of local or provincial resources.. find them .. unfortunately .... i dont know the key words to help you ... call an agricultural office ... sooo.. in other words.. you are sitting in a box.. at the lot line.. lets get out of the box.. and widen our options ... i am a 'see it with my eyes' sort of guy.. your words fail to trigger any ideas in my head ... how about some pix???? spend some time at the link ... to learn about buying forestry sized.. and priced stock ... you of course.. would have to find a canadian equivalent .... i have no clue what you think your budget is.. but if you are working on 400 feet.. let me suggest.. this is the type of resource you need.. rather than bigboxstore etc ... perhaps it is within your budget ... to do it all now ???? ken Here is a link that might be useful: link
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franknjim
Original Author
12 years ago
The little tree is a Paulowina aka Royal Empress. They are used in China as erosion control and to make furniture. They are listed as invasive in warmer climates. They are supposed to be the fastest growing tree of all. There are three of them in the yard. I also planted a Weeping Cherry in the sunniest spot at the south end of the yard after taking out another Silver Maple that had a 12" thick trunk. There is also a Redbud, Chanticleer Pear and a small Japanese Maple. I have a fungus in the soil that kills Dogwoods so I have to replace that one. The big Maples are dying slowly so I am getting ready for it now. The Chanticleer doesn't care for all of the shade but it gets enough sun to grow very slowly. There is also a Low-Gro Sumac and a Linden. lol The Linden will be coming out. I bought it because it was on clearance. It is only about 4' tall now.
tomahawkclaim
12 years ago
I don't think I saw any of your incredible flower nametags. But what I saw was wonderful! I, too, have about 195 hostas, but I can't grow minis. I'm sorry, too, because yours look so nice. Nance
franknjim
Original Author
12 years ago
I have over 45 minis now with more in the works. Since I am pretty much out of room for giants, large and mediums I am reworking my want list by adding all sizes from the hosta registry so I know what I can squeeze in. I have a lot of Giants and Large that are spaced out for maturity which has taken up a lot of room. I have a few around my Empress Wu that will have to be moved out within the next couple of years but pretty much everything else has its own space to grow. As I watch certain hostas develop I am finding a few that I do not like and will have to get rid of like Whirlwind, Carnival and Twilight. My mature Frances Williams will probably go too. I already gave away a mature Love Pat because I don't like how the leaves hold all dirt and debris. I did keep a start from it since I have had the plant for 20 years. Someone gave me Abiqua Drinking Gourd as a gift so I can't get rid of that one.
coralb
12 years ago
What a wonderful transformation. You are very wise to plant your tree replacements now. I have seen my silver maples dwindle from 5 to 3 on my property.
jroot
12 years ago
Very nice. Your garden is an inspiration . THanks for posting.
hostaLes
12 years ago
I have seen mature Royal Empress in Arkansas and they are truly fascinating trees, with clusters of flowers that look like small Christmas trees that set cascading seed pods in the fall. Has yours bloomed yet?

Great gardens. You don't waste money on Chem-Lawn.

Les
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
where is the big ugly shade screen.. i always thought that was the front of the house.. is it out back.. if so.. then i am not as worried about you.. as i was ... lol

otherwise.. God's work.. congrats.. keep up the good work

ken
franknjim
Original Author
12 years ago
The shade cloth is there across the front of the house. Antique wood tent poles hold up the front of it. I will be using it every year for a few more years until the lost branches grow back.
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nesstaurus
12 years ago
Thank you so much for posting this. I recently purchased a couple Paulownia trees and planted them in the backyard. I was worried that they were going to die off this winter. I'm glad to see that yours made it. My neighbors are going to love them (sarcasm). They just put in a pool last year. Hahaha!

I planted a few things over the past two years

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I planted a few things over the past two years

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