Almost A Clean Slate New Garden

[JudyB]

I’m fortunate to live where summers don’t get too hot. Even so, on warm sunny days, temps climb to low 100s F in there even with the vents open. One feature I have that I love are Dutch doors on each end. Really improves passive ventilation and cooling and I can close the bottom half and not worry about rabbits and other critters wandering in. @JudyB has set up a good greenhouse system in a hotter, muggier climate than I have. She can give you better advice on that aspect than I can.

I don't actually use my greenhouse in the summer at all, unless I have something that needs drying out if it's been too rainy. I use it for winter and spring primarily. If I want to keep developing something I'll put it in there in early fall, it will extend the growing season for me here as well.

 

[Arcto]

My benches next to the greenhouse. Mostly smaller early development stuff and accent plants. I built these benches in Colorado years ago. They have made 3 major moves with me. I just unscrew the deck screws, lay the boards and frames flat in the pickup bed. I can then carefully nestle plants and pots on top of them for the move.
Remember the 10’ Vine Maple I mentioned putting in a pot? Dug 2 out early spring. Everyone in their 60’s needs to dig something like this once in a while so they can remember why they really shouldn’t do it anymore. No slender graceful Vine Maple here. I call these 2 the chunk brothers.

 

[Arcto]

One element I wanted in the garden was color. I went in the direction of native, xeric wildflowers to continue the theme here. Penstemon and Agastache have been scattered through the berms around the Manzanita. In the back in an unused area, native wildflower seeds were sown this spring. A refuge for pollinators and other beneficial insects. The garden has also become a hummingbird magnet.

 

[Josh88]

After a mild January, we had wet, snow and wind for a couple of months. I also had two years of put off repotting scrunched into early spring this year. The garden work started late, but some progress. All the monkey poles and drip lines are now finished. View attachment 241023
The center berm has been planted and mulched. I wanted to keep a informal rustic feel that reflects the area here. Native plants for the most part. This area is xeric. I used a lot of (what else) Manzanita with penstemon for color. View attachment 241024
This little volunteer Grand Fir ended up getting new growth pinched. Some habits are hard to break. I’ll just call it an innocent bystander. View attachment 241025

I love the monkey poles with the stone slab tops. That's a great idea!

 

[Arcto]

I love the monkey poles with the stone slab tops. That's a great idea!

I have to give the credit on those to Michael Hagedorn. I saw what he had in his garden and really liked them too. When I found all the salvaged flagstone here I knew what I wanted to do. Michael attached his by drilling a hole thru the stone into the post and cranking a large lag screw down into the post. Mine are attached with landscape stone adhesive.

 

[Arcto]

I mentioned earlier that this is a multiple use garden area. Too cost prohibitive to throw up deer fences all over the place. I constructed several raised beds. The first 2 are for food production.


The last one here I call my fattening bed. It is dedicated to potential bonsai that I want to grow out for a while.


I brought up some large Red Cedar rounds to use as stands. This one is large enough that I can work with big trees on it outside the green house. This Birds Nest Spruce has a 7” base.

 

[Arcto]

Typically winters are pretty mild and wet here. Usually a few inches of snow a year. Last winter we had what the locals are calling snowmagedon. We had 17” here, several feet in higher elevations. Last week we had over 20”. I know it doesn’t compare to what other parts of N America gets. But the garden looked pretty cool. The mounds at ground level are my trees on the ground for winter. Biggest risk was accidentally stepping on one while moving around.

 

[leatherback]

Wow, great work. I already get jealous when I see the space you have. And I do not have a small garden, to our standards..

 

[0soyoung]

Typically winters are pretty mild and wet here. Usually a few inches of snow a year. Last winter we had what the locals are calling snowmagedon. We had 17” here, several feet in higher elevations. Last week we had over 20”. I know it doesn’t compare to what other parts of N America gets. But the garden looked pretty cool. The mounds at ground level are my trees on the ground for winter. Biggest risk was accidentally stepping on one while moving around.
View attachment 279556
View attachment 279557
View attachment 279558

Couple feet of snow here too.
But, as of today, it is gone!

 

[Arcto]

A new bench. Almost my last one... I swear .

Oh, starting another. I seem to choose to do my digging when the soils are most waterlogged. No, I can’t explain it.

Inside the greenhouse. Having these heat mats on the bench really extend the work I can do in the shoulder seasons. I started doing root work on my Pines in January here.

 

[eryk2kartman]

I like them, what did you use for the concrete/brick legs?

 

[Arcto]

I like them, what did you use for the concrete/brick legs?

Those blocks came from Home Depot where they sell them for making raised bed gardens. I have no idea where you would find them in Ireland

 

[Maloghurst]

I mentioned earlier that this is a multiple use garden area. Too cost prohibitive to throw up deer fences all over the place. I constructed several raised beds. The first 2 are for food production.
View attachment 265047

The last one here I call my fattening bed. It is dedicated to potential bonsai that I want to grow out for a while.
View attachment 265048

I brought up some large Red Cedar rounds to use as stands. This one is large enough that I can work with big trees on it outside the green house. This Birds Nest Spruce has a 7” base.
View attachment 265049

Question about this birds nest spruce. Did you collect it? How aggressive with pruning and root pruning can you be with this species?
I might collect one that is about 5’x5’ but would need to get it down to size if I’m going to collect it.

 

[Arcto]

Question about this birds nest spruce. Did you collect it? How aggressive with pruning and root pruning can you be with this species?
I might collect one that is about 5’x5’ but would need to get it down to size if I’m going to collect it.

They seem to be pretty tough. The one in the pic was a urbanadori that a nurseryman dug out of his landscape and dropped into a 30 gal pot. Looked like he dug/ripped it out with a mini excavator. Not something I would recommend, but the tree survived it. I did a further reduction to get it into that big mica pot last year. It just breezed thru it.

 

[Arcto]

This Kousa Dogwood was just starting to shade some monkey poles where I keep Pines and Junipers.

I was tempted to chop it and start training, but realized I would be buying grief doing that. My Better Half really likes it as a landscape tree, so it was moved to a new location outside the garden.

All the heavy work in the bonsai section is pretty much done. Just a few irrigation lines to finish. More time to just enjoy it now.

 

[Arcto]

Spring Is here to stay. Everything has been moved out of the greenhouse to the outdoors. Dammit, I thought I made enough benches!

 

[River's Edge]

Dammit, I thought I made enough benches!

Along with that thought is Dammit, I thought I fenced in enough space!

 

[leatherback]

Dammit, I thought I made enough benches!

Haha, same everywhen I think.
You measure and calculate in winter when all deciduous are bare. You bring the trees out. The start growing and within days everything mingles with everything.
Your benches are not corona proof.

 

[Arcto]

Another cool, rainy day here. But the garden is starting to show some color.


A sedum planted on a rock with my Southwest White Pine. It tries to take over the rock every winter.

Even my area of rural blight behind the greenhouse gets a little pop of color this time of year.

This should be the official animal for the Pacific Northwest region. A Banana Slug. They get a lot bigger than this one.

 

[Arcto]

Last night, Western Washington was hit by high winds. This 100’ plus Western Hemlock snapped off 10’ above ground and fell through garden. It took out several sections of the deer fence. Amazingly, not a single bonsai was hit. I’ll be cleaning up for a bit. Looks like the repotting season is on hold for a while.

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