Perimeter work

 I've taken down the fence around the vegetable garden and started putting up an all-encompassing fence around it, the shade garden, and the perennial holding beds.  I'm hoping to deter future woodchucks from ravaging my plants.  So far I've been able to get the front fence up, using the sections of wrought iron fence, old deck railing, and a set of vintage gates I picked up last summer.

Since that section of ground is nothing but stones and ledge, I decided to use grade stakes as posts.  Also, I couldn't afford the iron stakes that would match the iron fence...yankee ingenuity strikes again.  We'll see how long the grade stakes last.

I had some sections of old picket fence that I wanted to use up the sides of the gardens, but they don't follow the slope very well.  I've decided to go with three foot tall chicken wire fence and metal posts for the remainder of the garden.  I'll have to run it behind the front fence to keep the vermin out, so when it's done it should look pretty gnarly...which is fine by me.

I've also put out Jack and Tawanda for Halloween, along with some witches I was recently gifted.  I had wanted Jack & T to be in the cauldron, getting cooked by the coven, but no matter how I arranged them it looked absolutely obscene.  I settled for this display:

I'm calling it, "Witches?!?!?  In OUR town?!?!? *gasp!*"

Losing pea stone

I managed to lose some pea stone on the path connecting the upper area to the lower area.  The slope is a little steep, so I made some hand rails out of sumac saplings I had on hand.  The railings are offset on each side, but from a distance they create an illusion of one railing.  I'm planning to plant coneflowers and beebalm under them.

Oh, that little blaze of color at the end?  Well, I noticed this lonely Tiger Eye sumac at a local plant sale, and couldn't just leave it there. 😁 

This 'n That

 My ambition is waning at this point in the year.  There is much I didn't accomplish, much I can still work on, and much that I did (surprisingly) get done.  I've decided the cat fencing will wait until next year, so the only thing I'm concentrating on as far as the back yard now is...all that pea stone.  I've decided to extend the path from the lower patio to the upper pea stone path, so that should take care of my excess aggregate.  I've been doing a little planting, too; some perennials I'd ordered over summer have come in and I'm popping them in around the holding beds and in the back yard here and there.  I planted six Miscanthus plants (giant grasses); 3 Huron Sunrise and 3 Oktoberfest.  Looking at them side by side, it's impossible to tell them apart.  These grasses should grow up to 6 feet tall or more, and they spread into massive 2-4 foot clumps, depending on how you manage them.  I already have 2 Miscanthus; Porcupine Grass and Maiden Hair.  All of these grasses have a common trait as far as their seed heads.  They are stringy plumes, mostly burgandy, that dance over the grasses on tall spikes.

As the seed heads mature, they take on a soft, silvery glow.  They are absolutely beautiful swaying in the wind, which is why I wanted them.  The six new grass clumps will form a backdrop for my wildflowers in summer, and add interest to the garden in winter.  

I dug up my curly willow tree that had been temporarily housed in one of my mother's gardens and planted it near the bog garden.  I'm hoping it will shade the garden enough to help it retain moisture, because during summer the afternoon sun beats down on that spot and will dry it right up.  I also managed to add more humus, compost, and garden soil to the bog garden so it's finally able to accept plants.  I've started with a few small swamp milkweeds, a few primrose, and a turtlehead plant (Chelone lyonii 'Hot Lips').  I hope to transplant a few more perennials in there before it's too late.

I realize the bank is a hot mess of grass, weeds, and native wildflowers, but I hate cutting down plants before winter.  Even though they die, they still provide shelter and food for many insects, rodents, and birds.  I'm just going to leave it for now and deal with it in the spring.

The hyacinth vine is really outdoing itself.  I honestly didn't think it would have enough time to grow and produce flowers, since I purchased the seedlings so late in the year.  

I think I'll use the same planting there next year, too.

My big push, other than the back yard, is my mess of a hill garden.  

Not having water the past few months and the ridiculous number of ground hornets really bummed me out, and I've basically neglected it.  Some things have thrived despite that - my herbs, the corn, carrots, onions, and most of the perennials are very healthy given the lack of care.  I have a vision, though, to revamp this area.  I'm taking down the fence around the vegetable garden and am going to reset it to include the shade beds to the left and the entire perennial holding bed area.  I don't have any matching fence, so it's going to be pretty eclectic to say the least.  I just dragged home an old metal round bale feeder ring, and I'm going to try to set it in the middle path halfway up the garden and use it as a squash trellis.  I need lots of chicken wire to keep out woodchucks, and I need to keep the grass mowed to discourage the hornets from nesting.  I also need to set up a better rain water collection system, so I'm prepared for a dry well again.  Maybe next year will be the year I finally don't give up on my garden.