Plant Preview


Welcome to Plant Preview, a blog dedicated to helping gardeners learn about gardening techniques and preview new plant cultivars. Read about new plants here first and hear how your "comrades in compost" are making use of new plant introductions in their gardens and landscapes. Blog author Geri Laufer is a life-long dirt gardener, degreed horticulturist, author and former County Extension Agent. Plant Preview is copyrighted by Geri Laufer.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Shadyside Development


Lily is sunbathing. Note the marrow bone. 

Lily is sunbathing today, March 8, 2013 in the 63 degree F sunshine (17 degree C). Our backyard was formerly a "privet lawn." The former owner created this oxymoron by mowing common privet to 3-4 inches tall, with large root systems. We have been smothering, solarizing and digging it up within the 40 x 80 foot area adjacent to the house and surrounded by an existing 4 foot chain link fence (thus the plywood and woodchips). We have not begun the grading, low retaining walls, refencing or landscaping, but we did receive the Survey this week with 2 foot topo lines, large trees, residence, driveway, dry creekbed, etc. just this week. Next is the landscape master plan. 

The second photo shows the newly-surveyed way-back of our property outside the chainlink fence with the former "privet lawn". Trees are festooned with a jungle of Hedera helix, and Ligustrum sinensis, brambles, thorny wild roses, poison ivy and a mis-shapen native dogwood or two must be selectively removed (retaining some pines and hardwoods that actually have branches and were not smothered. 

October 2012
July 2012
The front (above) looked like that 17 months ago, shown here last October covered with pink daisy mums planted among the blueberries, native azaleas, gardenias and camellias. It's a good thing I love it.