Last time when my friend John
and I visited Neill’s Garden we completed the hardscape leading to the entrance of his
home.
This time we planted the remaining softscape and John created a
unique rock garden on the corner of the property.
To create the rock
garden John used three boulders, rock and four plants. For the foundation he mixed 3/4” clean crushed rock with the dirt to help drainage.
John then placed three
different sized boulders starting with the biggest first.
He then planted three small succulents and a rosemary.
Rosmarinus ‘Majorca Pink’
Sedum stenopetalum var.
douglasii
Ruschia pulvinaris
Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape
Blanco’
John added more 3/4" rock between the boulders and around the plants for texture.
While John worked on the
rock garden I planted the rest of the softscape. I placed this Taxus x Hicksii or
Hicks Yew on the side of the building opposite the side with the Cephalotaxus
H. ‘Fastigiata’ or Japanese Plum Yew, we planted in Neill’s Garden: Part II. They
both have needle-like foliage to compliment each other. The Hicks Yew will grow
to 12’ and cover the blank wall it sits in front of while the Japanese Plum Yew
will grow 6’ to 10’ tall and be a focal point by the entrance.
Hicks Yew
Japanese Plum Yew
I planted this Viburnum T.
‘Spring Boquet’ next to the Hicks Yew. It will be a nice compact shrub 4’ to 6’
high and wide with small pinkish-white flowers and a nice contrast to the Hicks Yew.
On the parkway I planted
two more Sedge grasses, Carex morrowii ‘Ice Dance’ to reflect the other parking
strip seen in Neill’s Garden: Part I. You can also see we added flagstone to match the flagstone in the established parking strip.
The established parking
strip holds flagstones and Sedge grass in front of the property.
Two new Sedge grasses planted with randomly placed flagstones.
I also placed the
pots we had selected earlier and set them up on the hardscape to see how they looked and determine the remaining plants needed. I planted this Euphorbia ‘Glacier Blue,’ in the big pot on the right, for height and
texture.
I also planted this Boxwood
and Pittosporum next to the entrance. The Boxwood was selected to compliment
those in Neill's next-door neighbor’s garden. John selected the Pittosporum to
soften the corner of the building and hide the gas meter on the side of the building.
Buxus sempervirens
Pittosporum ilicloides
var. angustifolia
Here you can see the gas
meter behind it.
Next time I’ll finish planting the three pots by the entrance and we'll see Neill’s garden completed!
