European beech. Some older specimens in this area over 100 feet high. See Van Pelt, CHAMPION TREES OF WASHINGTON STATE for dimensions and locations of sterling examples.

Common in garden centers here, as it can be grown in cold climates (large wholesale growers like to put out stuff they can ship to colder climates and get top dollar for). Also has various freak forms that can be grafted and gotten top dollar for, as do Japanese maples and conifers beloved of same kinds of operations.

There is a rare beech (and conifer) mailorder specialty nursery located in western Washington. Search wwwm for "coenosium".

Yep, beech. Beautiful trees. The nuts are edible but I've never tried them, never having had a mature beech tree.

Thanks, Ron. I tried to open the husks but the "nuts" inside seemed flat and empty. Perhaps they needed a pollinator or water or ? It is a very large tree, good for shade, but the leaves seemed a little diseased, or else they are just going downhill since it's almost fall.

Ground tends to be bare underneath beech trees. Good spot for hardy cyclamen.

Good idea. Some friends bought the house with the beech tree and a very mature orchard. There's lots of bare ground. I tend to overplant everything myself. My name is Nancy and I am a plant addict.:-)

Overplant or plant enough to acheive a fully furnished appearance? Most places here are like deserts, especially at this time of the year when the lawns dominating unpaved space are all dried out. A sere barren with a thin scattering of taller plants.

This evening I walked by a residence with two trucks parked on the street in front, three other vehicles in the driveway plus a camper. Didn't look like they were having a party. There were at most one or two shrubs in the front yard.

Overplanting is not an issue.

I dislike brown grass all summer too. Here is a bed I converted from lawn.

It does take a lot of work to weed and some to water, though, not to mention killing the grass with black plastic, newspapers, or grass clippings, making/maintaining chipped blackberry vine paths, planting.

In 12 years I have planted 1630 varieties of perennials (not all alive now) from nurseries, exchanges, club sales and exchanges, garage sales, and gifts, and 185 varieties of fruit and nut trees and shrubs. So, I feel like I qualify for the overplanter's award. In a bad year I always have fruit but in a good year it's hard to deal with it all. Having diversity encourages beneficial insects, and provides us with a healthier diet, though. But it's a lot to weed/water. That's why I have tried to find as many aggressive but no-care perennials as possible for those dry shade and bank situations. I'm also working on finding tough groundcovers to carpet beds so I don't have to weed them.

Except for wire looks very naturalistic, like a native wildflower meadow on a bedrock outcrop (bald).

Get photo website when clicking to enlarge, as usual.

The wire is necessary to protect the roses and Camellias from the deer. Some of the weaker plants are gone, but the tougher ones survive. I tried for interest in all seasons but right now not much is blooming. I view plant experiments as education, I just do it at home instead of a college.

You still have the foliage color and shape interest.

The Zebra grass, Miscanthus strictus will put on a show soon with inflorescences that look like strawberry blonde crimped hair, and my Muscari armeniacum sometimes start blooming in fall or by Christmas. The Eupatorium rugosum, Chocolate Snakeroot, which has nice burgundy foliage, should get tall and have small white flowers. I used to have a variegated Salvia with red blooms that set it off nicely, but died. Then I got Caryopteris "Snow Fairy" last year with wonderful variegated foliage but it didn't survive the winter. I'll have to try some other variegated plant there. Marie Pavie was covered with blooms last year at frost, too.

Hi Nancy and all,

I love your non-grass bed. Thanks for sharing it. I'm glad you and Ron and others support reduced brown-lawn-area. Some of my new neighbors keep commenting about me taking out more "lawn" for beds/borders. Your planting is really nice--thanks for sharing it.

Take care,
Grant