Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Contrast Makes a Garden

Every now and then I like to look at a black and white photo of my garden to see where I need  more contrast.  As I look up toward the main arbor, I think the contrast here is  pretty good.

Here is the same picture in color:
I see a good amount of like/dark. I am fairly happy.

As I go just a few feet further down the path,  I notice the top left side needs contrast--it all looks the same color in black/white. I have never been happy with this area.  It does not get much sun and it's all rock so I can't dig down very deep.  So far I have been content to let any plant that survives the winter to remain here.
 Here is the color version:
I wonder if I could dig deep enough to get a Ninebark back there. Hmmmm.....DH can dig deeper than I can, but he HATES to do it...If I talk sweetly maybe, just maybe he will try. It's a terrible job. You have to  chip away at the rock. If you are lucky you will hit a decent-sized boulder and after chipping away around it, you will be able to remove it and the hole left will be big enough to put a gallon-size shrub in.   I am alwalys amazed that any plant will grow in such poor conditions.  I bet a nice patch of Lamb's Ear would work there. That silver color is great in so many areas.

This path is the new one we put in a few weeks ago.  I am so happy with the Cardinal flower (the red one). It has been blooming for nearly two months. What a great perennial. I hope it survives the winter.  Please ignore the hose. I was lugging it around in the ealry morning hours to get the new path plantings watered.

Here I stepped back to get the coleus in the shot.
I really like that splotchy coleus. It had no name when I bought it. There are so many great coleus varieties now.   If you have not grown them in the past few years, you really should try a few of the new ones. Who needs flowers when the foliage is that gorgeous?

7 comments:

  1. Rocks in Michigan? Surely you jest. LOL!!!!

    I've never thought of looking at the garden in this way--with dark and light contrasts. You're such a good source of info.
    Have a great week, Zoey. And watch out for rocks.
    :)

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  2. Zoey your yard is so beautiful. You know it's funny you bring this up. I was just removing a few flowering shrubs yesterday and adding others. I was going to move my Viburnum Autumn Jazz elsewhere because my Weeping Picea is in front of it and both being green you don't notice the Picea like I wanted. Bought a yellow shrub for back there. Well I dug down on two sides and talk about dry. So I stopped and thought I am not watering here everyday and this shrub does great in this horrible dry spot, the new one won't do as well, I am leaving it. :) So just food for thought for a dry spot, that Viburnum looks great and even flowered in the spring. My yellow looks great in another spot I had wanted it in anyway.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  3. What a clever idea to change a photo to B&W to check out the garden....your garden is beautiful in color AND in B&W!!! I don't have rocks down here in metro-D, I have sand. And it's not even "sandy loam", it's sand. But it's easy to dig through, unlike your rocks. =(

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  4. your garden is beautiful....even in black and white...

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  5. Zoey, Your gardens are always beautiful. Would you come and help me with mine? lol
    Barb

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  6. I've heard that black/white trick before...but never tried it...guess I'm chicken to see if my garden is up to snuff!

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  7. Zoey, if I had such a beautiful garden I would be very happy. Too bad about those rocks..I'm thinking that digging in your garden results in some great muscles:)

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