KingstonRabbi
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the Rabbit Hole, a refuge for wayward plants and critters, including you.
This is where I garden above ground, which doesn't quite fit with the title, but just go with it.
My favorite part of my garden is the parking strip. I live on a corner double lot, so I have over 2500 sf that used to be lawn that is becoming a wildlife/native plant refuge. I started the first section 3 years ago before I was diagnosed with cancer. First year I just smothered half of the lawn and weeds by laying down cardboard and covering it with 10 yards of soil mix. Next summer I bought bare root shrubs and native perennials, plus plants I'd been keeping in pots for years looking for a place to plant them. I laid out some winding paths for people to explore once everything grew in.
For the last 2 years things have been growing out of control while I've been recovering from chemo treatments. This year I'm almost as healthy as when I started this project. So far this year I've smothered another quarter of lawn and planted it with more natives and perennial flowers that I started last summer. Goal for this summer is to keep that section weeded while the natives spread and to recover as much of first part of project that's now overgrown. That won't be all work though. I designed the garden so that I could discover new things every time I walk through. Pulling away weeds and overgrowth I've already rediscovered a few treasures.
First, some blue camas bulbs I planted last summer. Glad I put the stake to mark them because I'd never have found them in strawberries otherwise. They used to be so common in PNW that Native Americans ate them as a staple. I've only seen them growing wild once. I bought these at a native plant sale as bulblets and kept in pots the first summer. Last summer I got a couple blooms. This year I'm hoping they divide and I can start spreading them into more open areas (assuming I can clear some).
Another native is blue lupine. This one I started from seeds I collected. This is only one that survived last summer without water. Unlike it's hybrid relatives this one stayed green all winter so started spring with a foot of top growth. Like it's relatives it seems to attract aphids. You can see two stems down in front covered with grey aphids. They don't seem to be slowing it down any. From a distance it almost looks like it belongs in my other garden.
Not every flower in my garden is blue. Well, right now they're all blue. I've got wood hyacinths and cornflowers in bloom, also blue, didn't plan that. But I've got plenty of reds, pinks, whites, purples, oranges, even some green ones, and more blues on the way. I hope you make yourself comfortable and enjoy your stay. Wander around, eat as many strawberries as you like, then just lie back and watch the dragonflies and hummingbirds feeding on gnats overhead.
This is where I garden above ground, which doesn't quite fit with the title, but just go with it.
My favorite part of my garden is the parking strip. I live on a corner double lot, so I have over 2500 sf that used to be lawn that is becoming a wildlife/native plant refuge. I started the first section 3 years ago before I was diagnosed with cancer. First year I just smothered half of the lawn and weeds by laying down cardboard and covering it with 10 yards of soil mix. Next summer I bought bare root shrubs and native perennials, plus plants I'd been keeping in pots for years looking for a place to plant them. I laid out some winding paths for people to explore once everything grew in.
For the last 2 years things have been growing out of control while I've been recovering from chemo treatments. This year I'm almost as healthy as when I started this project. So far this year I've smothered another quarter of lawn and planted it with more natives and perennial flowers that I started last summer. Goal for this summer is to keep that section weeded while the natives spread and to recover as much of first part of project that's now overgrown. That won't be all work though. I designed the garden so that I could discover new things every time I walk through. Pulling away weeds and overgrowth I've already rediscovered a few treasures.
First, some blue camas bulbs I planted last summer. Glad I put the stake to mark them because I'd never have found them in strawberries otherwise. They used to be so common in PNW that Native Americans ate them as a staple. I've only seen them growing wild once. I bought these at a native plant sale as bulblets and kept in pots the first summer. Last summer I got a couple blooms. This year I'm hoping they divide and I can start spreading them into more open areas (assuming I can clear some).
Another native is blue lupine. This one I started from seeds I collected. This is only one that survived last summer without water. Unlike it's hybrid relatives this one stayed green all winter so started spring with a foot of top growth. Like it's relatives it seems to attract aphids. You can see two stems down in front covered with grey aphids. They don't seem to be slowing it down any. From a distance it almost looks like it belongs in my other garden.
Not every flower in my garden is blue. Well, right now they're all blue. I've got wood hyacinths and cornflowers in bloom, also blue, didn't plan that. But I've got plenty of reds, pinks, whites, purples, oranges, even some green ones, and more blues on the way. I hope you make yourself comfortable and enjoy your stay. Wander around, eat as many strawberries as you like, then just lie back and watch the dragonflies and hummingbirds feeding on gnats overhead.