No Grass Whatsoever: many a gardener’s dream and one realized with the excision of the weedy strip out front in favor of trees, shrubs and a few tough perennials.
You are looking down the hill from my driveway – the rocks in the right foreground are to hold soil around the culvert running underneath. To me, there is nothing duller than a newly planted landscape. In my imagination, though, I can see the magnolias, burkwood viburnums, native witch hazels and calycanthus blending with the yellows of barberry in the foreground and spirea ‘Ogon’ in the distance. Some of the perennials thrown in are verbena ‘Homestead Purple’ in bloom, hibiscus mutabilis and a silvery cardoon. Out here too, the easy-from-seed agastache ‘Blue Liquorice’ has begun blooming.
Out back, between the Standing Stones and Machu Piedmont, the wide swath of Mulch Hill is planted with three kinds of lawn substitute.
We started at the top with native local moss. My neighbors around the corner were happy to donate the moss growing on driveways and pavement, so gradually the green is spreading.
Just below are plugs of variegated pachysandra ‘Silver Edge.’
Mazus reptans is down at the bottom, just above a wall that curves around a huge stump that couldn’t be removed, so shallow-rooted plantings are required. Eventually the hope is to cover the hill with three wide bands to create a harmonious whole. I think all three plants are tough enough to stand up to that most damaging kind of traffic, the running dog.
Mixed Blessing
Dogs will keep the deer away and love you with abandon. They’ll also trample your columbines and gobble your ampelaster.
The perfect pets don’t bark, work tirelessly to enrich your garden and don’t mind if you leave for a few days. I refer of course to the earthworm, and specifically to the best worm for creating compost, the red wiggler, eisenia foetida. A presentation by Greg Morris to the Gardeners of Wake County opened my eyes to the world of vermicomposting and convinced me the project was well worth the minimal effort and expense. Even the worms, 1000 to the pound, can be found online. Right now, my new BFF’s toil in darkness, composting food scraps for the greater good. Aren’t they cute?
That’s the view inside: here’s what the worm farm looks like in the garage.
No smell, easy setup, taking up little space and requiring minimal attention. As trays are filled with compost, you add additional perforated trays on top.
stackable trays
The worms will work their way upward toward the new food you add, leaving the composted material ready to use on the lower level. Red wiggler compost makes the best compost tea. There’s a lot of technical info out there, but it’s easy to get started without a lot of knowledge. I should have a full tray of compost for tea or spreading in the garden every three weeks.
Finally, down at Froggy Bottom, here’s a slug -resistant hosta of lovely form, ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ next to some woodland poppies, stylophorum diphyllum, just finishing, leaving behind sweet silvery seedpods.
