SE MI.
howdy y’all! i spent some time this year getting started on my native plant gardening experience! i have wanted to get at this since i bought my house, but other house things came up before then.
i took everyone’s advice and started small so please ignore all the crazy shit to the other side of the bed, i have a lot of invasive plants on this property (see: the grape hyacinth and the not pictured japanese wisteria behind my house, don’t even get me started on her)! i am doing my best!
this spot is pretty shady so i got some plants that i hope will do well! i have: wild strawberries, american bellflower, two american spikenards, wild columbine, zig zag goldenrod, jack in the pulpit, and big leaved aster.
i left a hell of a lot of room between everything because i know the aster and the bellflower are going to get wild, as well as the wild strawberry. so while my garden looks a little pitiful at the moment, i am optimistic that by next year things will be a little prettier 🙂
by Spirited_Memory3344
10 Comments
Great little bed! It should fill out very nicely.
Please post more pics as it fills in! I’d love to see it after it really gets going.
This is going to fill in beautifully.
Also, that stone edging is amazing.
Thats really nice! I love rock walls. I have a few also. I also used branches as borders with them. I use them mostly to hold in my wood chips. A lot of my beds are on sloped ground.
https://preview.redd.it/n5jtpg0pqx3f1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cea91a28c460c7203106bdc36bd7c864bdadd5f
Here’s one that is almost finished. I need to finish adding the 2nd row of sandstone. I have 2 red twig dogwoods in it and some volunteer fleabane and I think pannicle aster? Lol I’ll add some more plants until the dogwoods get bushier. I’m slowly trying to replace a forsythia hedge.
Please post updates of yours as it fills in!
I hate to rain on your parade, but…
I attended a Fire-Wise Gardening seminar the other day.
We were taught that there should be no plants in the 0 to 5 foot zone, and no combustibles, such as mulch (even rubber tire mulch, which surprised me) or woodpiles under the deck, etc. If fire ever came, these things are fuel to help the fire consume your house.
As an aside, I’m a Realtor, and I agree with this also from a “what’s best for the health of your structure” perspective. Plants, shrubs, trees, mulch – all can hold moisture against your house and siding, inviting molds and termites, and can cause conditions such as wood-destroying fungus in crawlspaces, softened floor joists, etc. Think of mulch as a big sponge, staying against your house.
So whether it’s dry or wet, having this tight to your house is inadvisable.
I stepped my flower and shrub plantings out past the 5 foot mark (that lets them get rained on, anyway, so they prefer it.) Against the house I have flagstone on a bed of crushed rock and rock dust, and rock dust between the flagstones. This is both the most defensible and the material least likely to keep moisture against the house. Also, I can prune from the back to keep the plants from touching the house.
Good work! I really like those flat stones. They make an attractive border. I have big-leaved aster and it’s very pretty. You are right; this will be lush and vibrant next year!
Looking good! I too mark my little plants with random bricks I found buried in the yard.
I look forward to seeing how this combination does
*first it sleeps, then it creeps, then it leaps* it’ll be so beautiful 🫶🏼
Very cool! Where’d you get your plants from? I’m a fan of Feral Flora but might be willing to try another nursery