A Thrown-Together (Wildish) Flower Patch

There are very few (if any) adequate places for profusely flowering perennials that require a good dose of ample sunshine in my garden. The maximum amount on any one location is FIVE hours and that doesn't exclude the edible garden.

Last year we removed the remarkably broad drake elm located almost dead center in the back yard. The disappearance of its lengthy shade limbs created a drastically changed scenario in the perennial garden bed closest to the back patio. Unhindered rays from midday's hottest sun opened up a brand new set of considerations.

After that the Miss Muffet caladiums returned and the established Purple Lantana (montevidensis) were left on their own to live or die in their new climate. It turned out to be a less-than-stellar scramble with a tossed-in sweet potato vine sprawling over each other.

But I didn't care because there were so many other areas I was working on. Besides I wanted to observe it for a full summer season to judge accurately just how much light it received and moisture it retained.

Isn't that Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' brilliant with morning's first rays illuminating her airy blooms!
Purchasing a tray of 4" plants from the garden center in February and putting them in containers was well thought out. But placing the remainder of them in the ground around the drake elm tree stump was done on a whim.

I've always loved the 'Siskiyou Pink' variety but until now didn't have a suitable enough sunny place for them. They can withstand lots of heat and dry ground. That's great to know for some of you with sandy soil and full sun gardens.

Then without too much deliberation I dug up some gaillardia seedlings that were taking over the edible garden and moved them to cozy up as good neighbors to the guara. While I almost always over-think these types of actions ~~ doing this was quite nearly the most haphazard thrown-together planting bed I could say I've created. I use the term 'created' loosely.

It's a bit loud as a color combination, too. The deep pinks of the guara with red stems are bold all on their own. Mixed in with yellow, orange, and red gaillardia (blanket flower)blooms cranks up the bold factor a few notches.

Mix that in with trailing purple lantana (which by the way has been in that same spot ~~ same plant ~~ for 18 years) and it is hollering out loud.

But do you want to know something? The view is a straight visual shot from my kitchen window and my back lanai. All those bright colors waving in the breezes are bringing me gardening joy.

While I'll always love my foliage gardens it's been kind of fun (and very different) to enjoy this willy-nilly planting of bright colors as the entrance to the circle garden.

I'm Going to Miss that Bark!

Oak trees are the predominant variety of trees shading the gardens at Hoe and Shovel.

Among a few other varieties there is a deciduous sprawling tree with a canopy covering much of the center-back gardens.

Its limbs mingle into the outer edges of the oak trees and stands a solid 35 feet tall with at least an equal spread.

Naked winter branches reveal a large number of epiphytes making it their home.

The Ulmus parvifolia ‘Drake’ Elm or Chinese Elm was planted almost directly center in the back garden in 1991. At that planting its slender trunk was barely 1.5" thick and only about 5 feet tall. The original cost of only $9.95 indicates more than anything how small it was.

Poking around in the archives I found the above photo giving us perspective of its leafed-out summer foliage stage (from September 2009). Very different from the previous current photo in this, the bleakest of winters.

Over the years it has been a source of dappled light for the center gardens during the hottest months of the year. It was placed with thoughts of southward sunshine in winter offering more warmth to the plantings surrounding its feet and beyond as it loses its leaves.

Just as importantly, it has been a source of cover for the birds, a stop-off per se between the oaks in the front of the house and the oaks in the back. Not so importantly the pesky squirrels use it to traffic their stolen goods. The wildlife, whether invited or not, fortunately have plenty of other options close by for foraging and playful times.

With the decision to fell this tree I'm confident the creatures will make quick adjustments in their routines.

It's a decision we've been putting off for a couple of years. Cutting down a beloved tree is never an easy choice to make in any garden. We cherish our trees. We depend on them. We've nurtured many of them from tree-lings.

This tree has served its purpose well for many years. It has performed outstandingly in spite of the blight it developed in its center causing it to form a hole partially through the trunk. Naturally that pocket collects water, stays moist, and appears to have created an unhealthy environment for the tree.

If there is a good time to cut down a tree winter is the time. While the garden is least active and the understory hopefully sustains the least amount of damage by falling limbs and men trampling around with saws, ropes, ladders, and stump grinding machines.

The loss of this tree will change the environment somewhat of the planting beds built with protection of the shade it provided in mind.

The consequences of the loss have been well thought out prior to this inevitable decision.

Even so, it is difficult to know exactly how some of the existing plant life will be affected when summer's sun reaches its peak.

I know my fellow gardeners know the consternation a decision like this creates. There are so many considerations and even memories involved. Have you ever had to take down a tree you planted, hung baby swings in for grandchildren, planned picnics on the lawn underneath or took so many family photos around it?

There will likely be adjustments made to our familiar thinking when choosing new plants and designs for this area from now on.

In the meantime, the stump was ground into sawdust so eventually plants can take the place of the large space once occupied by this outstanding landscape tree.

I probably wouldn't replant the Drake Elm again in my garden. Mostly because of its tendency as it matured to sport brittle limbs that seem to break easier than expected during windy storms.

One of its most appreciated features in my view is undoubtedly its uniquely textural and showy bark.

The bark naturally exfoliates revealing a mottled tones of greyish-brown and even shades of peachy-oranges.

I'll miss the Drake Elm's shady, filtered light and graceful branches lingering far from its base. But the visual interest and great texture it provided standing in the midst of the garden will also be missed greatly.