Monday, June 4, 2012

Rhody be gone: process

I know ya’ll want me to skip right to the after shots don’t you? (two of you do at least) Well I’m going to ask that you indulge me a bit as I post a few before and process shots. You see I find myself using these project posts as a sort of record of the gardens progress. So you get to see a few pictures as the Rhody came out, not as many as I would have liked as I seem to have forgotten to take pictures as I hacked back the foliage for a couple of weeks to get to the stumps. During this time I was working on finishing up the Bishops Weed project and would just take a few quick moments to fill our yard waste bin (and the neighbors) each week.

Above is a photo from last summer, when the Rhody was happy and healthy. Below, the photo I took the day I realized something was wrong (mid March)…

And these were taken April 2nd after I cut back all the small branches, and was ready for the husband’s assistance.

Originally I thought there was only a single Rhododendron, but discovered there was actually a pair, as well as a couple of Laurel starts and a good sized bit of Holly. Oh and Ivy, lots of Ivy.

My other discovery...from the patio you can now see the dual paint job on the neighbor’s garage. I painted the side we see a sort of earthy tan color back in 2010, then the house sold and the new owners painted the house and the sides they see a light charcoal. Now we can see both colors as well as a small strip neither of us painted (but I will sometime soon…).


I thought the stumps had a simple kind of beauty and briefly considered leaving them and trying to grow something over them. Then I realized that was a stupid idea as they weren’t actually dead and most likely would sprout new growth eventually.

Fast forward to the day of the HPSO sale (April 7th)...I returned from the sale to discover my husband had been inspired. While I was plant shopping he was hard at work removing the stumps and the other plants.

Oh and breaking the shovel in the process.

Because I’m not one to miss an opportunity I took advantage of his willingness to sweat a little and we also thinned out some of the low branches on the Priviet. All the better to let light into the new planting area.

You might recall that was also the day I bought lil’ Sanford. He was quickly placed in his new home, but not planted, that took awhile as I needed pull the Ivy, dig roots and find a few wheelbarrows full of fill to build up the soil and replace what was lost when the big roots came out.

Finally it was time to place the plants and a attractive and fairly large rock we’d unearthed years ago in the front garden but had never really put it to use. Photos taken April 29th

My problem quickly became evident…this was a HUGE space to fill (8 ft by 17 ft) and very visible. This is the first thing you see when you walk into our back yard and is right next to the patio. So I wasn’t planting for interest from just one side but two. Plus we could now see into the neighbor’s back yard…not ideal. The former Rhody wall had performed its job in a way that was going to be difficult to replicate immediately.

In addition to becoming the “catch all” for all of the plants I had purchased the last few months, this area also became a great place to put things I’d bought previously and were in containers or spots that weren’t the best. Like this Trachycarpus wagnerianus.

I guess that’s my way of saying very few of the plants that went here were bought with this space in mind; it was not a “designed” planting. I made do with what was available, things I had been accumulating. Sure I bought a couple of things especially for this space (like lil’ Sanford) but if I had made the decision to remove the Rhody and plant up the space (rather than just being faced with its demise) this area would have ended up looking entirely different. So that’s my intro, tomorrow what I ended up with…

30 comments:

  1. I can't believe Andrew removed that rhody stump by himself! Lucky girl.

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    1. I know huh? Of course what I didn't mention was that I got to fill up my VW Beetle and haul it all away...(I know I got off easy...)

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  2. Looking forward to seeing more! I love these kind of posts. What a good husband you have.

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    1. Indeed...encourages me to buy plants and helps with the labor. It doesn't get any better does it?

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    1. I wonder if you'll still feel that way after you see all the plants I crammed in there?

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  4. Seriously...so jealous...do you rent him out...I DO have that awful Laurel I want to be rid of ;-)

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    1. Not on your life. I've got a long long list for when moments like this occur.

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  5. Wow, wow, wow! what courage! That is definitely a massive undertaking. Good call on not leaving any rhody stumps... in a few short years they would be towering trees (they're a menace I tell you). The exciting part now is the process of watching things grow, taking out, adding, and so on. I see you have your palm tree going in!! NICE - it looks super healthy.

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    1. Your're exactly right, that's the best part. Learning what does well, seeing what doesn't...etc.

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  6. Wow what a great planting space you have there. Our yard is so large that there isn't a contained area that could just be filled in. Ive had to make areas for flower beds. It isn't easy either living in a heavily wooded area to grow brightly colored flowers. Guess I better get used to Hostas!

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    1. Big wide open spaces are definitely a design challenge. To create a sense of intimacy where none exists is very difficult!

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  7. I know it was a LOT of work, but I'm quite jealous of the new planting space you made for yourself. I'll look forward to seeing the T. wagneriensis develop: my very young one kicked the bucket the winter before last, and I caved and went with a second T. fortunei in its place.

    Yay for big rocks!

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    1. Funny I was considering tearing out more lawn this year to create a bit more space to plant, not needed! Maybe next year...

      Why do you think your wagneriensis died? I planted this one in spring of 2010 and it had gotten buried behind other things...I hope it wasn't living on because it was so sheltered and now it's out in the open and at risk?

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  8. This is a great post because it illustrates a problem everyone of us has to deal with at one point or another.

    Like you, I always have plenty of plants on hand but they're often not ideal for that hole you need to fill. So what do you do? Use them anyway or go out and buy new plants that would work better?

    I'm curious to find out what you ended up doing.

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    1. I did a little of both. I bought a few things once I realized what a huge space I had, but mostly I used what I had around or had already bought. It's a mish mash of things I like...which will hopefully be happy!

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  9. No final after picture?

    The two-toned garage was amusing.

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    1. You must have missed that part...tomorrow I'll post "after" pictures.

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  10. I think my husband is relieved that we ( he!) removed , I think anyway , all the big unwanted shrubs. So much nicer without those big Rhodies , so much extra space !

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    1. I've still got one in the front garden, up against the house (typical). I think he's eyeing that one now, but it stays!

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  11. We're getting really good at repairing broken shovels. Maybe we should go into business.

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    1. We repaired ours too, of course that took awhile so I had to buy a interim model. I can't believe we only had one shovel!

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  12. That's a great assortment of plants to replace that one rhody....long live biodiversity!
    David/:0)

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    1. It is kind of funny that where there was one (or rather two) there are now so many. I should do a count!

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  13. Changes are always fun and an opportunity for creativity and improvement. I look forward to seeing what you come up with and how it fills in over time.

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  14. Two words ... Fiskars Shovel! Solid steel from end to end, and you can pry anything with it. Got mine online, but I saw them at Tractor Supply the other day. This shovel will change your life ... trust me. :)

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    1. Interesting! Sounds heavy though, is it?

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  15. You are so right Hartwood Roses! After breaking my 300th "lifetime guaranteed" yellow fiberglass-handled shovel, (gave up on wood handles long ago)the Tom bought me a Fiskars shovel at Fred Meyer. It is a little heavier but it has a great wide lip to step on and it plunges into the ground as if one were cutting through butter with a warm knife. An amazing tool that cuts digging time in half. It's like the difference between hitch-hiking across the country and flying. And since the whole thing is one piece of steel, there is no bending of the handle when trying to root out established shrubs. LOVE this shovel.

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  16. AnonymousJune 06, 2012

    Isn't it a hoot! Your passion is plants that would do great in Texas while I keep trying to grow hostas and clematis and hydrangas with mixed results!

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