south alley modified to be less maintenance - but now PLAIN and BORING

2 years ago

Earlier this year there was a thread about modifying gardens to be less work as we age. I thought maybe some of you might be interested in my 'be careful what you wish for...' experience in the south alley here. Last spring we ripped out all the shrubs and clematis vines in the south alley and replaced them with 'Biokovo' perennial geranium on the house side, moved the clematises to the arbour over the gate, and added more hostas on the shady, fence side. We left the ferns that were growing along the fence. This spring and early summer (April, May, June) were cool and dry; July was wet; August was HOT and HUMID with extended dry periods alternating with brief heavy rains. The new hostas all died and the existing variegated one is almost dead; the existing ferns are doing poorly; only one clematis has put out a bit of growth and a few flowers, so I hope it might survive and do better next year; the 'Biokovo' geraniums seem to be doing OK but the low planting is very boring! A couple of Bleeding Hearts have popped up from the neighbour's garden.

We were doing a bit of work in the garden this afternoon and I took some pictures of this now-disappointing space!

Before:

Today:

looking in from the gate:

The surviving clematis:

Definitely easier maintenance but booooring :-(

Has anyone else had this sort of experience with aiming for lower maintenance?

Featured Answer

gdinieontarioz5

2 years ago

Oh, Woody, that is disappointing. I do hope that maybe later in the fall, or maybe next year, you can plant some more hostas or whatever else. Too bad about the ferns too, they were so nice there. I hope they survive to do better next year.

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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I'm surprised that your new Hostas died out. I wonder if you have rabbits? I divided some of my Hostas and moved small divisions around the yard and the rabbits ate them down to the ground and I lost some of the divisions. Are you trying to get through periods of drought without watering? Do you use mulch? Is that area full shade?

I have Biokovo Cranesbill as well, but I have it paired with 'Karmina' which is a deep rose. They bloom together, are about the same height and look good together. But, out of bloom, they are definitely boring. [g] Maybe your best bet is for different colors and forms of Hosta if it is shady there. Just a question of getting them established.

What about some Plumbago that turns great colors in the Fall? Or i that too aggressive? Or some dark leaved ajuga?

I have a large bed of vinca, which is pretty boring too, under my Maple. But it is 100% no maintenance where I have it - bordered by street, driveway and fenceline, with a rock edging on the only side where it travels. Well it does travel under the fence, but the neighbor likes it. All I have to do is cut any new shoots along the open rock edge side in the spring and that's it. But, like the cranesbill, boring. It does have a good stand of crocus coming up through it in the spring and I've added epimediums that have no problem coming up through the vinca. They bloom in the spring but then in the fall, some of them get a very pretty red color.

edit: Ferns - I forgot. I have ferns that are very low maintenance and look good and make things more interesting. I grow a lot of Japanese Painted Ferns - 'Ghost' is a variety that really does well for me too. What I appreciate about them is they stay neat, they clump and don't travel, they are pretty drought tolerant for a fern and they seem to tolerate a lot of light conditions. I have some that have volunteered under my spigot that faces West that gets about 3-4 hrs of sun late in the day. And they have plenty of color and add a different texture. I am looking for a taller one that doesn't travel, but haven't found one I want yet. They are doing well on the north side of my garage up against the wall too. They do get a little late sun from an unobstructed West direction and have been slower to establish there, but this year with all the rain we've had, they have put on some size. I have them there with epimedium and european ginger. I have them under a Japanese Maple with Labrador Violet, small size hostas, dwarf solomon's seal, epimedium and some Hellebores. It looks pretty good most of the time with a good application of mulch in the spring when it needs it.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
i dont know if i am buying the premise ... after a winter of full snow dreams ... i would bet my shiny loonie that the space will be filled with new potential.. more attuned to your new vision of your future ...

ken
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Yes, pm2, we do have rabbits so that could be an explanation. But there has always been rabbits in the backyard garden and they have never done this degree of damage before. We water new plantings the first year and then they are on their own. These hostas just never came back after the winter. Leaves from the red oak collect along the fence over the winter and get chopped in Spring and relaid there as mulch. We use woodchip mulch on paths every three years or so and some of that gets washed into the bed along the fence when it rains. That’s all the mulch that area has ever got. The bed along the fence gets morning sun and afternoon shade. The bed on the house side gets morning shade and afternoon sun, plus that bed is under the roof overhang so is very dry. Biokovo doesn’t seem bothered by that.

I have tried Plumbago in the past in a different bed - they are not winter-hardy here and always died out quickly! I find ajuga grows too densely and it is too difficult to remove weeds from it so I don’t grow it now.

What I find most boring is the lack of height/variability in height of the plantings in the beds. I hope the clematis survives and covers the gate arbour. I think that will help balance the low plantings along the path. I do hope to try more hostas and ferns on the fence side next year, weather permitting.

My main point - and surprise - is changing a bed to lower maintenance is harder than I expected!

pm2 - I just saw your edit.... I have lots of ferns, including ’Ghost’ and Japanese painted ferns, in various places in the garden, including just beyond the end of the fence bed in the picture. So I hope I will have more success with adding ferns next year.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
2 years ago
ken - the winter, spring and summer here have all had odd weather so, you may be right that next year will not make a difference in my success - or lack of it - with the planting in this area but I am willing to give it one more try before giving up!
gdinieontarioz5
2 years ago
Would you like hellebores there? I can give you some next year, plus any number of seedlings.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
2 years ago
gdinie - As long as you don’t mind if I kill them :-) Hellebores might indeed be a good option there. I have several different hellbores elsewhere in the garden, but have never had seedlings...
mxk3 z5b_MI
2 years ago
"My main point - and surprise - is changing a bed to lower maintenance is harder than I expected!"

I think it depends on your definition of "low maintenance". For me, that means not much in the way of supplemental watering needed, doesn't need constant fiddling to look good, not too burdensome to cut down in the fall/clean up in the spring, and if I'm unable or don't want to do anything out there, stuff will still look fairly decent.

I have found that larger, taller plants are much less maintenance for me. This really surprised me. I've incorporated lots of taller, beefier plants at this house because of the visual weight of my house. Guess what? Need a lot fewer big plants than small plants to have an impact. And, I find them much easier to tend to (if needed) and cut down in the fall because I don't have to get down to ground level to do it. Faster and easier. Of course there's some maintenance, as with anything, but honestly I've hardly had to fiddle around out there at all this year and stuff looks pretty darn good. I'm looking into power tools for fall clean-up to make it even easier on me, but haven't purchased anything yet -- but that's another thread.

So point is, "low maintenance" does not have to mean boring! Figure out what you don't want to or can't do anymore, and base your plant choices on that.
gdinieontarioz5
2 years ago
I will put it on the calendar, so I don't forget. You can kill them to your heart's content ;-).
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
2 years ago
mxk3 - we’re still figuring out what ’low maintenance’ means to us :-) It’s clearly different in different spaces in the garden! Because I have been physically disabled for the last 25 years, the whole garden was created with ease of maintenance in mind. So it was easy to see what sections need to be changed now but not so easy to figure out what to plant - especially in narrow spaces like this where taller/bigger plants are now undesirable. We have hired a garden maintenance service to help with spring and fall maintenance in the past two years. They work under our direction to do specific things that are now more challenging for us. That has been helpful and we may use them more in the future - although they are aging too so I’m not sure how long the business will opeate! Much of the garden remains fairly easy to maintain (those big plants...!) but routine chores like deadheading and weeding are increasingly a problem. So trial and error is a big part of reality when considering what to change now and how. That is surprising - and depressing!

LOL gdinie :-)
mxk3 z5b_MI
2 years ago
Is it an area that you see much of? If not, can you just leave it be? You don't have to landscape/plant every part of the property, especially if its difficult to maintain. Perhaps just hire someone to clean it all out, put in a decorative walkway, line the sides with decorative river rock and some artfully arranged landscape boulders and put out a few large potted plants in front of the lower windows to give you something to look out the window.
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Hellebores work for me in those kind of conditions, but when I start with a young plant, sometimes it takes a long time to reach blooming size in my clay soil. And it's early spring bloom with pretty boring the rest of the season. But, still worth it to me. Carefree really, except for cutting the dead foliage off. I did just buy one this year with very pretty variegated foliage.

I started 20 years ago with the aim of low maintenance and it has surprised me how hard that is and there's really very little that you enjoy growing that ends up being low maintenance. [g] Well, I guess I have high expectations too. I want continuous bloom and interest at least 3 seasons. April through October, now is that too much to ask?! lol
FrozeBudd_z3/4
2 years ago
I'm attempting to make my acreage less maintenance, where possible some beds being downsized and contoured to give a more appealing appearance. Funny, though, removing some just took the "WOW" factor away and in some cases I'm putting back what I had taken away, sigh! lol. BUT, overall am making the place less work and adding back a few little bits here and there isn't of huge significance.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
2 years ago
mxk3 - that is an issue I’m still grappling with i.e. which beds can essentially be abandomed. That path is used less often now - but it is in view from indoors through a window we often look out of. The basement is rarely used so the vew from those windows is irrelevant. We did have help removing the prior shrubs and vines and planting the new stuff and they did help with spring and fall clean-up. Paver walkways can be hazards if frost heave etc. makes the surface uneven as time goes by. Decorative rock can become a weedy mess, so neither of those two options are on my list - packed earth with a not-too-deep layer of wood mulch seems to work best on paths - as long as someone else now does the physical work of putting down/spreading the mulch! Pots are a PITA to plant, move, water and we now only grow a few large pots of veggies on the driveway where they are close to the garden hose to make watering easier. *sigh* it's all more complicated than we thought it would be!
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
2 years ago
I’m a slow typist and my iPad is also acting strange... I just realized that I missed seeing some posts... pm2 and Frozebudd - yes, low maintenance is a tricky goal and doesn’t always turn out as you expect! I’m trying to avoid having to replace something I removed. I think hellebores are worth trying even with the show largely being a spring one. With a good mix of ferns and hostas - if I can get them to grow - it should work. Frozebudd - we only have 1/4 acre suburban garden, so an acreage would be a big challenge! Keep posting pictures of your garden to show the changes you’re making...There should be lots of inspiration for me there

south alley modified to be less maintenance - but now PLAIN and BORING

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