New hosta beds are nearly done

16 years ago

Ever since we bought this property and I saw the wonderful shady spot, I knew I would have a shade garden here someday. It took years to clear the forest of undergrowth(by hand). I have been collecting hostas and other shade plants, just waiting for the day when these beds would be ready. The rocks were all collected and brought home one load at a time. The beds are filled with composted horse stall clean-out, free for the hauling. Many of the hostas came from GW trades. This is a shade garden done on the cheap but I LOVE it! I have plans for the rest of the surrounding area, but that will take time.

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Comments (16)

lindac
16 years ago
beauitiful!....look at those rocks!...Did you buy them or just find them?
There are no rocks where I live...if you want rocks you have to buy them at so much a pound.
In 3 years it'll be amazing.
Linda C
ccoombs1
Original Author
16 years ago
thankie! The rocks were all found. A guy we know was logging some property and he let us go in and take all the rocks from the fireplaces of the old cabins that used to be in the woods (the cabins rotted away years ago). Many still have soot on them. They are really cool rocks!
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Oh my Sam ! Those tree roots are going to be a nightmare !!! The lighting however looks splendid. :) My vote is still to put the kai-bash on the lawn and turn it into a giant perennial garden. We need someone to link the info for spin-out bags. I haven't had to plant next to any trees yet. In fact, after Sandy came through we had some removed from our property. Never saw wind nearly bend a spruce in half before. Scary stuff. Di, Hello !!! and thank you for all the info. :) I have been meaning to do more research on local societies but I can't pry myself away from my own garden to figure out a plan. It is hard to balance everything, and with my recent commitment to my own personal garden it has taken up most of what was left of my 'free' time. I have heard amazing things about the DVHS. Philadelphia is such a great botanical hub. I have been to Longwood more times than I can count. Never made it early enough to see the Wisteria gardens in bloom. Meadowbrook is about 20 min from my house, which was recently bought out by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society. I frequent them for more of my indoor exotics. They get their orchids from Waldor's so I have a nice access to quality plants there. Primex suits my needs mostly for the big garden stuff. I think I paid some of the summer workers salaries last year with plants and soil amendments alone. :) I will keep those organizations in mind for future years, and who knows, maybe bump into you. Hahaaaa . . . look for the pasty Irish boy who talks with his hands :p Ludi Sandy's Wrath
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Wow, Paula, I did not think you could transform a perfect front garden but you kicked it up a big notch there!. Where in the world do you find all that driftwood and such up there in Canada? Are you on a lake or something? I remember your driveway beds from last year I think, maybe 2012, and they were awesome, you mentioned then something about doing a bit near that tree at the corner of your property, but honey mah DEAR, what you did is rebuild the whole place. I guess you kept the TREE? :) hehehehe The builder's sand is a nice touch. Beautiful hosta too. And just enough lawn easy to keep manicured.
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i used to walk the driveway and sidewalks after a good rain.. and hunt for worms.. and drop them in my beds ... if the soil is getting hard.. you are NOT watering properly .. which would be less frequent DEEP waterings .. as compared to frequent sprays .... take a sprinkler.. run it for 4 hours .. take your trowel.. move the mulch aside.. and see how far the water penetrated your soil ... if it isn't into the root zone of the hosta.. say 4 to 6 inches down .. then water for 8 hours and check again .. we can NOT tell you how to or how long to water.. in your soil.. in your garden.. with your mulch ... you have to figure it all out ... GOOD LUCK ... ken PS: i have pure yellow sand .... in drought .. in august .. it is like cement .... under my drip irrigation lines.. it is like a marshmallow ... i can tell just by the touch of my shoe as to how hard the sand is .... and if it is hard near the hosta .... i water until it softens ... sometimes 24/7 for a week ... yikes... but i don't have mulch .... so get it damp ... whatever it takes.. and maintain said dampness ... which with mulch.. will not be 24/7 ....
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i_dig_it
16 years ago
Your hard work has paid off!
You have a beautiful place there to plant and enjoy for years to come.
I noticed the crock sitting there. Anything in it?
Lol, I love old crocks and have a few of my own. Have never planted in them, but have been thinking about trying it with one that has several cracks in it.
I wonder if hubby could drill a hole in the bottom for good drainage without shattering the whole thing. Do you think a concrete bit would work?

OK, I'm rambling here.
Loved your photos!

Janet
lindac
16 years ago
Janet do not drill a hole in your crock....you will destroy any value it has....and a cracked crock drains pretty well on it's own.
I planted in 5 and 8 and 10 gallon crocks for years...put upside down plastic flower pots in the botton for drainage...then I had a couple stolen...plants and all and I changed to flower pots.
Linda C
janetpetiole
16 years ago
You may have done it on the cheap but it doesn't look cheap at all. You did a fantastic job!

Now, grow hosta, grow! lol
FlowersForMyFarm
16 years ago
Oh my, it's simply gorgeous!!! Your hard work has definitely been worth it.
mary52zn8tx
16 years ago
Your rock border is much prettier than what I have in my garden. I love what you have done. It will be such a joy to watch grow.
Mary
maidofshade
16 years ago
That's beautiful! It will be a great display in a couple of years. (By then you will need more space) LOL
applebrowndebbie
16 years ago
That is just beautiful and the swing in the first picture would be where I would be spending my down time.
Debbie
hosta_freak
16 years ago
Good job Cindy! Like you,all my rocks come from my property. Every time I dig a hole for a new hosta,I find one or more rocks! Phil
anitamo
16 years ago
That is just beautiful!
ccoombs1
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks everyone. I am so happy with this garden. Long term plans are to expand on it. I am also going to build a large gazebo that has a rock foundation. There is not a native rock on my whole property. I live in an area where there is nothing but sand....but I know several people who have lots of rocks in their woods, free for the hauling. I can't even imagine how many pick-up truck loads of rocks we have hauled home. The rocks around my koi pond were all free too.

{{gwi:213185}}
iee41
16 years ago
Your new hosta beds are wonderful already, can't imagine how great when they have grown and spread more. Your Koi pond is just beautiful. Brenda
arleneb
16 years ago
Oh, my! You don't need to apologize for "on the cheap" -- it's beautiful!! That's a lot of rock-lugging -- well worth the work! I hope we'll see these same views in future years as the garden fills in. Just lovely!

Your pond is also gorgeous . . . would love to see the pond in your sunroom. Could you park a potted hosta in there for a photo op -- just so it will qualify for this forum??
Janice
16 years ago
I think you have *earned* those rocks, having hauled so many!!! Enjoy, enjoy--I LOVE rocks
just about as much as hosta! They *go together* so well don't you think!

Your koi-pond is really so lovely!! I bet you really relax sitting around that one!
ccoombs1
Original Author
16 years ago
Rocks and hostas DO go together!! I love rocks. They are horribly expensive around here too. The place where we found the nice flat fireplace rocks had a large amount of quartz based rocks too. They are odd shaped and harder to work with, but make wonderful walls once you get them fit together. Anyway, they were logging this large tract of land and the landowner said we could get any rocks we wanted, but had to do it fairly quickly. Once they got thru logging, the land would be turned into a hunt club and we couldn't get in there anymore. So last summer, we spent the next 6 weeks hauling rocks home. Now we have a nice stock-pile of rocks for up-coming projects. Here's a picture of the stock-pile, and also a stone wall we buiilt 2 summers ago when I was building the koi pond.

I abandoned the idea of a koi pond in the sunroom. We tore it back out. I decided I already had 3 ponds in the yard, right outside the sunroom windows and that was enough. It would have been pretty cool though!! We spend a lot of time sitting by that koi pond watching the fish. The really After about noon, the sun shines straight down into that yard for a few hours and it's too hot to sit out there. Now I have a lovely shade garden where we can go sit and watch the birds. It is heaven!!

New hosta beds are nearly done

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lindac

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New hosta beds are nearly done

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