Whenever doing a design the biggest challenges for color in the garden is to choose something

• that has a long bloom period,
• that can get pounded by the sun,
• that can withstand dry conditions,
• that stands up on its own without needing to be dead headed
• And that is pretty!

The black and blue salvia and red maraschino salvia have never let me down.  They come back and bloom, enduring the greatest (yet unintentional) abuse.  The bumble bees and humming birds love them, but don’t bother you.

It’s always good to you to understand the process that we follow for aerations and seeding. Our philosophy is that it is most important to reintroduce new seed with aeration and seeding each year, just to keep the good stuff coming in.

Here is what Kevin and our crew will do.

• Spray lawns with selective herbicides and  round up as needed.

• The same day as aeration (unless it is a large territory) we do  “dirt work” by adding dirt to low spots in the lawn, or by sweetening up a dead spot with soil for better germination.

• We aerate on two different angles in your lawn so to penetrate the area with as many holes as we can.

• We fertilize and seed with a 2 types of seed blends specific to sun or shade.

• We use a seed starter for difficult areas. This looks like blue/ green fuzz balls but contains special fertilizer.  Seed starter also helps hold moisture in the soil.
• You water as instructed in the flyer we put in your mailbox.
• We reseed spots that have not done well about two weeks later.
• We mow after 2 weeks by selectively hitting the high spots.
• In coming months with leaf drop we blend mowing, blowing and overseeding as needed.

When I visited Annabella for the first time, I could tell she had a real artistic flair. Her inside art work and plants were large statements of color and texture which reminded me of Southwest art.

We were trying to add the same feel with new plantings in her back yard. As we talked, I kept feeling pressed for space while standing on her aggregate terrace.

That’s when we came up with the idea of mirroring the existing shape and curve. She selected a beautiful “Golden Sunset stone”.

Our stone masons widened the terrace by digging a concrete footer and cutting and placing block to mirror the existing curve.   Each stone was then cut and mortared on top of the block to fit perfectly.   It really “classed up” the aggregate to a one-of – a kind- stone feature.

We were able to expand her terrace and also have money also to buy the trees, shrubs and perennials for her surrounding beds.

We were asked to continue with the front yard of last month’s Church Hill garden by planting flowers within a picket fence.  The design gave the space a lovely English garden look with flowers in the front.  Their existing knock out roses stayed, but we added Russian sage, a “Sonora” rudebekia, and two “Pinky Winky” hydrangeas to give the garden color lasting into the late fall. Powerful tumbled blue stepping stones add weight and power to the small space.

Church Hill - Before

Church Hill - After

This month’s largest job occurred in a garden space just off Patterson Ave. in west end Richmond. After days of clearing trees, shrubs, poison ivy, ivy, plastic bags, leaves and guck, we decided on a design.  We started with the hardscape, of course.

This client chose 3 types of stone to blend into her new dry lay terrace, seat wall and sweeping stairway. The air of mystery is added by the existence of the multi trunked crape myrtle.  Little did we know before we began clearing the lot that the neglected tree would become such a key element in the design?

Garden beds will be defined and lawns graded for aeration, seeding and planting later this summer.

This Westover Hills terrace was designed by Christie and the client with a diamond shaped pattern in black slate.  The fountain is set off by the circular slate base. It is its own entity- half on and off the terrace, half in and out of the lawn.  We will show more pictures next month of the entire job.

The client is considering a coffee table that has a gas fire pit within it. A pergola may be added later.

This lovely home in Church Hill had all the elements we love in creating a new garden.  The clients, V and M, and I met on a Friday, painted lines in the dirt Saturday, and had the job done in 6 days before their big gala this past Sunday. O-lay!

Here were the challenges and fun parts!

Extending and matching the existing terrace

We had to match the existing aged mortar and bluestone so it looked authentic. We mixed red and white sand, yellow and tan mortar and added a touch a black paint.  We lay all the stone first, so we could do all the mortar work with one batch of color.  We worked in a few random pieces of yellow stone to the bluestone to mimic the original terrace.

Before

After

Water feature

We decided to make a focal point out of the useless fire pit in their backyard. The client was great in meeting me at a moments notice at the stone yard to choose a grey millstone from China.  This worn grey stone contrasted well with the yellow and brown stone in the old fire pit.  We plugged one hole and drilled another to create a center point for the water to bubble forth.

The layers of the hidden mechanisms in the fountain to make it look like it had been there long before the house was built were the basin, pump, concrete pillar,  rebar, steel mesh, river rock, millstone and water! We had to get the millstone itself really level by using dimes and nickels under the edge of the millstone.  Water splashes quietly and evenly over the edge.

Plantings

The hydrangeas you see here are a lovely new variety called All Summer Beauty! We added to the drama of the green and blue with the chartreuse colored Stained Glass hosta.  A trumpet coral vine was planted along the hot side of the fence to climb up in a single column and then drool along the top of the fence. We may add narrow hornbeam trees on an unplanted fence for height and privacy this fall.

Pesticide treatment of the crape myrtle

Kevin our licensed pesticide talent, and my better half, diagnosed their crape myrtle as having aphids.  The honeydew sticky substance from the insect had covered their porch furniture and turned the leaves black with city soot. Kevin treated the tree with a granular systemic and spray.  A day later we hosed off the leaves. He will return in 2 weeks for another look and possible treatment.

Pots

V had a plethora of vegetable and flower pots that she had potted up herself.  It was great. We used her inventory of two Jap maples behind the fountain and other perennials in the beds.

Cleaning out beds and power washing.

It always amazes me the junk you find even in tiny yards like this. (No reflection on V and M!) We tore up ivy,  revealed lots of old fireplace wood, took out a few shrubs that were over powering the fence line, and  free pruned the crape myrtle and red bud trees.  Power washing the terrace was important to try and make the colors of the stone terraces the same hue of clean.

Here is an example of the depth of color you can have in mid June with perennials. In the foreground are the Annabelle hydrangeas, then purple phlox and in the far back purple coneflower. It takes about 3 years for these plants to mature and stand up on their own, but it is worth the wait, don’t you think?

Perennials this June

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are a few of the gardens we have collaborated on and developed with our clients.  They include improved drainage, stone details, hardy plantings and simple maintenance. Prices ranged on these from $2000.00 to $5000.00.

Parterre on Monument Avenue

Careful planning was the important aspect of making this garden pop. The owners and I poured hours of thought into the perfection of this small space. The center pot is the only thing that has to change for a new look.  Justin Brouwer boxwoods are pricey, but critical in easily maintaining the tight green hedge.

Before

After

Give Your House a Face Lift in Mechanicsville, Va.

After we finished designing and installing this job, the owners and I met to review perennials they could plant on their own. I also gave them some information on laying sod and watering sod.

This happy homeowner was gleefully contributing his labor of his new garden.  He stood up with muddy hands and smilingly said, “After 7 year of this  …

Before

My neighbors are so happy to look…at that.

After

Note the long footprint of mud below the sidewalk.  This is where we dug out a drain about 30 feet long and 4 feet wide to divert huge amounts of water that settled at the foundation of his house.

The drain started at the corner of his house, ran under the sidewalk and into a dry well we also created. The stone wall to the right of the front of the house played a role in setting the proper grade while adding a great accent of stone.

Build a Thin Stone Wall with Hidden Mortar

This wall is a great testament to the craftsmanship of our crew.  With this type stone it appears amazingly level.  The owner wanted us to keep her existing white stones in the bed for a clean look.  She chose the two pots and petunias for annual color and had us plant them for her.  I asked my guys to make a small pedestal on which to place the pots.  Nonetheless, I was blown away by the artistry of the end product.

Before

After

Let me take you down … to the sea side town of Anacortes in upper Washington State.

There my daughter and I took a small plane excursion with our cousin Mark, a fully licensed captain, who flies for a major air line.

We met him at the small runway; crawled into the single engine, four seater Cessna prop plane; put on our radio headphones; whispered a few Hail Mary’s; and were off!

We took off over the ocean then did a U turn back toward land. We flew over one of the largest eddies in the country underneath this bridge where the Pacific narrows between two landmasses, then saw these squares of yellow ahead and below.

They were fields of daffodils. Washington State is a big area for bulbs…daffodils being a major type grown.   In a few weeks the Tulip Festival would begins where fields of tulip fill up 100’s of acres of land.

After the daffodil fields we climbed up to 11,000 feet to the summit of Mt. Baker.  This is an active volcano due for an explosion.  We could see multiple glaciers and indentations where the lava had run.

We headed back toward the sea over the Cascade Mounting range did an angled tilt about 20 feet from a line of mountains (yikes!) and then headed to the San Juan Islands about 30 minutes away.    This area of Washington is one of the few places in the world where you can fly over snow and then warm oceans within less than an hour of each other.

At the San Juan Islands, we flew so low over the water that we were level to the second story windows of the houses.  Mark made two touch and go landings before we settled down on a larger island. We parked the plane on an empty short ‘runway’, and walked to dinner.

The next day, my daughter and I drove past row after row of the yellow flowers.  We talked, giggled and shook our heads remembering all of our views from above as well as these …daffodil fields forever.

Color is emerging this time of year quickly.  It is fun to know what you are seeing at times.

Yellow

• Winter jasmine- A clear yellow flower on masses of evergreen leaves. The first yellow you see!
• Forsythia has a larger growth habit with no evergreen leaf at all.
• Bulbs like crocuses (also white and purple) and daffodils.

Crocus

Pink/Purple

• Purple plum trees usually come first with a small tight bloom.
• Cherry trees get confused and bloom sporadically with the warm days.
• Redbud trees are usually found along wood lines.  With the emergence of the forest pansy redbud, however, these are found more prominent in the formal garden.
  
• Camellias bushes with broad shiny evergreen leaves and a variety of flower shape and color will be here by the end of the month.
  

  Camellia

Redbud

White

• Star Magnolias- Clear white flowers on pale gray barked trees, which often get frozen off if we have any freezing after the buds come forth.
• Pear trees –Bradford, Chanticleer, Cleveland multiple flowers in a cluster

Star Magnolia

“Cutting an Edge” is a term I use daily in maintenance and installation to describe how we give definition to garden beds. It is the task with the biggest return on making a garden look well tended. Architecturally, cutting an edge is also what leads the eye through the garden. The clear line of the green lawn next to the bed line creates a strong contrast in color and allows the eye to easily follow the bed line.

You can rent or buy mechanical edgers from the hardware store.  With this approach I put money on the chance that you will either cut an irrigation line, cable, lighting wire, dog fence or (Heaven Forbid!)  A Fios!

We prefer to make slow deliberate cuts by hand with a flat edge shovel. That way you can sometimes feel resistance and stop, if you hit an obstacle.

How To

1. Use a straight edge shovel.
2. Cut the earth at a 45 degree angle toward the plants.
3. Throw the dirt up into the bed just few inches away.
4. Keep checking behind and in front of you to be sure the line is not crooked or silly with too many bumps and twists.  The eye likes it simple.
5. Go back to the beginning and clean out the upturned weed and bits of lawn.
6. Flatten the dirt with a hard rake or your hand so it curves nicely up the mulch side of the bed.

When mulch is put in the bed it should lay flat to the lawn in the end- not dip way down in the cut edge. The edge is to hold the mulch away form the lawn not create a ditch.

A good tip is to get a straight edge shovel with a long handle that doesn’t break your back.  You don’t have to cut down more that 2” to get the effect. Do it when the dirt is not too wet.