I hope you post more pics as the garden matures. It would be interesting to watch how the plants grow and change. Where is the Maple tree? I'm not seeing it in the pic.
Cj

It's in the middle of the bed. Very small still.

Steve

Nice plant choices, Steve. Both hosta and non-hosta. Picea Orientalis 'Skylands' and Thuja Plicata '4Ever' are real eye-catchers. How close is that Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' to the house?

tj

tj

It's about 3 feet from the house. I assumed that it's growth habit would be effected by that, but I didn't think it was a problem. It should give a little shade protection as it grows.

Steve

Great plant choices and nice bed. Where is the Skylands? Beautiful conifer. That's a big boy some day and I don't see it anywhere.
Cher

Picea Orientalis 'Skylands'

Steve

Steve, I notice that your plantings are all raised with irrigation around the plant. Do you flood the trenches for watering or is this just for drainage? How much settling do you expect (your soil looks nice and loose)? I really like what you are doing, and your pics all show great plants. Thanks for sharing.

Les

Les,
I just create these little dikes at planting time. I learned this from Crocket's Victory Garden (I still have the companion book). That's how old I am. I use these to collect the water for the roots of a new plant. By next Spring that dike will be washed away, but the plant won't need it any longer. The soil in this area was unusually loose for my property. In NE we have mostly glacial till. Hence the rocks and rock walls that line farmers fields in this area.
You will notice in the first picture that I started in the spring by putting down a newspaper/cardboard barrier. I then added layers of organic material (grass clippings, woodchips, compost and some bagged garden soil). I was pleased with the result.

Steve

Nice job Steve. As usual, you are so disciplined in spacing your hostas.

Reminds me that I have a Royal Flush somewhere that I haven't planted yet.

We just got our last yard of top soil delivered and will be finishing up our last bed next week.

Gesila

Steve, I have a 6 ft Skylands, and it will grow 1 ft a year in the future. It is now 3-4 ft wide, so it will have a lot of width too in a few years. You can look at the American Conifer Society data base for Picea orientalis 'Skylands' and see their pictures. It will bleach a little in the first years, will need a shade if planted in full sun.
Bernd