Neill’s Garden: Part V

Last time my friend John and I worked on Neill's Garden we completed the rock garden and planted the rest of the softscape. This time I finished planting the pots that frame the entrance to Neill’s home, completing his new garden.

This is the entrance before the installed hardscape and planted pots.

The sun even came out on this day to light the subjects.

Neill requested hardy low-maintenance plants, but John and I wanted him to have the ability to plant seasonal color in them as well. The softscape planted around the property contains evergreens to last all year long, but Neill can choose seasonal annuals to add to his pots. 

For the medium-size pot, to the left of the entrance,  I planted an evergreen and a sedge grass that should survive the winter and two purple glacier pansies. For the smaller pot I planted all annuals with decorative cabbage and kale as well as a pansy.

Medium Pot

From clockwise top right: sedge grass, two purple pansies and a Vaccinium nummularia or Whortleberry.

Small Pot

From top: decorative kale, decorative cabbage and a pansy.

In the large pot, to the right of the entrance, I planted a variegated euphorbia for height and texture.

To the left of it I planted an evergreen, Rhodea japonica, both.

The annual pansy, known as glacier pansy for its cold hardiness, works as a seasonal item to tie all three pots together.

Looking down the street you can see the pittosporum (bottom right), boxwood (below the big pot), hardscape with pots and the Japanese yew and fatsia behind it. On the left you can see the already established sedge grasses with flagstones in the parking strip.

As we pass the entrance you can see the fatsia three acuba which round the house and end with the viburnum.

Before

These evergreens will grow and eventually fill in the space.

On the corner the new rock garden captures the light and makes a nice focal point.

Along the side street sit the viburnum and Hicks yew.

Before

The leaves on the maples have changed with the cool fall weather. John and I started this project in late August and worked on it during weekends when we both had time, which wasn't much. It took us in total over 12 hours to complete the project, but it spanned three months ending in late November.

Before

The acuba, viburnum and Hicks yew (close to the wall) will fill in the space with divergent texture.

Viburnum T. 'Spring Boquet'

Hicks Yew 

We planted these two sedge grasses and put down flagstones on the side street to reflect the established parking strip along the front of the property.

The parking strip which sits along the front of the property.

The total cost for the project was $598: plant materials $361.26; 3 pots $181.45; hardscape materials $41.73 and large rocks $13.56.

A special thanks to  John for sharing his great experience and hard work to make this project happen.

Join me next time as I make two stops on my way to Southwest Florida, including the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.