And the addiction continues!

[ogrefcf]

Well, after the garden tours I decided I needed more room for planting! So I decided to enlarge the beds under several of my trees. I have a couple plum trees, a Walnut, Catalpa, and ugh, a couple Maples. I figure around the maples I will just do ground cover. I'm not going to mess with growing Hosta's by them. I do have two by one already, but they were from a friend and before I knew about maples. They have been there most the year so I will leave em alone. Here's a couple pictures of the beds before.





The ground here is horrible. It's really compact and tough. Seems to be pretty sandy. I decided this year to not plant much here and just work on the ground. The grass in the area I dug up and just flipped it over. Figure it could compost for next year. On top of it I put quite a bit of compost. Our compost yard also sells rough mulch/compost for $5 a yard so going to grab a couple yards of that when the have it and pile it on. When the leaves fall I am going to grind them and put it over the top of everything. My leaf blower doubles as a leaf grinder and shreds em into a nice mulch. Let it stew till next year and give it a good tilling. Talking to my neighbor he's surprised I can get anything to grow. From what he tells me the people that lived here before me basically used the back yard as a junkyard.

Moving the RR ties added about 3', and as you can see I have a helper. Also added some sprinklers in.


Trench for sprinklers dug and most the grass turned,

[ogrefcf]

Jasmine showing how much help she really is,


Dragon fly that landed on a leaf while I was working,


And pretty much all done. Sprinklers work great and got quite a bit of compost on.




The Hosta's there are troopers. They get full sun till about 1400 hours. I really don't give them extra water or anything and they are looking pretty good other than some color fading, but no real burning. With the sprinklers though they might freshen up a bit now. All that's left now if the rest of the compost and planting next spring! Thanks for looking!

Owen

[wendys_garden]

Oh yeah, that bed needed to be enlarged!

Owen you did a great job. It sure looks nice, and adding sprinklers was a great idea. Thanks for taking photos as you go, I love to see projects come together like that. I just never think to even take a "before" picture, let alone taking pix as I go along. I have to remember to do that.

Can't wait to see what it looks like in spring after you plant!

[Linda P]

Wow, when you get an idea you really run with it! It looks great! I agree with Wendy; that bed was just crying out to be expanded.
The weather here is supposed to cool down this week, and I'm really hoping that I will be able to get a package headed your way early
next week.

Linda P

[ogrefcf]

Wendy, I usually forget to take before pictures also. I get so excited I just start going! Wish I would have taken them when I bought our home it's come along way. I'm really excited for spring also, patience isn't my strong point at times lol!

Linda, thanks again I'm excited for them to come! Early Christmas for me . Just a couple more plants and fillers and I will have my other bed I did in the Spring finished!

[Chris_W]

Great job! So often people come to me with garden projects, want large plants, and then show me that they have a strip about 1 to 2 feet wide to put everything... That just isn't enough space to really do a "garden". Maybe a single row of something is all that really works.

Let's hope that the tree roots from those maples stay out of it for a long time

[eastwood2007]

That looks very nice! I always agree that more room for hostas is a good thing!

[thy]

This is going to be good

But...

Why does there always have to be a .. ,but

You have to accept the roots will tease you, the roots from a tree go out as far as the crown and is 11 times more dense (sp)
After some years they will be a problem. Planting ground cowers arounf´d them will not help.

Planting in a pot inside a pot and turn it once a month, have been sugested here on the forum
Planting in cupper grids/ baskets too
Re moving them every 3 years too

Builduing up a 60 cm/25 inch tall lasagna bed over fabric . keeping the trunk free, might work too

Honestly I do not have a clue
I have no marples
Just a good memory

The darn thing is... the more you give water and the better you make the soil, the more the roots will go for it

Pia

[R. Rock]

Wowser!!!

I extend alot of respect and admiration for the amount of physical labor you have accomplished; be proud.

It has been an "oven on broil" around here for some time w/ the weather. I am worn thin from this kind of work in the blast furnace. I can't imagine the determination behind your will. Keep up the great work.

[ogrefcf]

The maples are on the outside so the middle should be okay. I might just cut the down and leave the Plum, Walnut, and Catalpa tree. Just don't quite know what it would do to the shade at this time. I've also thought of getting a good spade and cutting straight into the ground in a circle around the Hosta's I have close. Try severing the smaller tree roots.

Weather here has been pretty mild. We have no humidity and it's been low 90's high 80's almost all the time. I think it's been pretty mild for us and kept me from cooking. And most the work was in the shade so that's helped. Want to try to get everything done and the beds ready for next year. My guess is in 3-5 years when I have it mostly done and Hosta's getting mature my wife will want to move and we will be in a position to do so lol .

[irawon]

Congratulations on a great job and thanks for sharing. It's always exciting to choose new plant material,isn't it.If I understand things correctly, you are concerned that hostas might not fare well under your Maples and have opted to use ground cover underneath instead.I've planted hostas under Maples and they do grow but not to their reported mature size.Isn't this a chance to use larger hostas that won't grow to potential?

Regarding the suggestion to create a lasagna bed, I tried this in an area where I had thick spruce roots. I used newspaper as suggested. because I was concerned about aeration I didn't add compost more than 2 inches and pierced the newspaper with a spading fork, so that water could seep through to the roots.

I'm looking forward to pictures of your finishe product.

[ogrefcf]

I've decided I am going to cut the maples down. Just need to get my hands on a chainsaw!