Monday, March 22, 2010

Reworking the Sunny Corner



This corner in the backyard adjoins the bed along the chainlink fence.  It is an area that receives mid-day to afternoon sun.  There was a golden dewdrop, duranta repens planted in the back corner with a multi-color lantana, lantana camara, across the front.  The golden dewdrop was killed to the ground in January just as it was last winter.  It was decided that another butterfly and hummingbird attractor that could make it through cold weather was needed instead of the golden dewdrop which was relocated to a less prominent spot. 

 
A three feet tall red bottlebrush tree callistemon citrinus was planted where the dewdrop had been.  This specimen will be full of bristly red blooms very soon.  Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds all love them.  Since this small tree will be green during winter as well as summer, it will provide some privacy screen to the chainlink fence area.  When it achieves its full height it will be around 12 feet tall.

 
Beautiful blooms are imminent.

Blue-eyed grass is a native plant that grows in damp open fields.  This corner should be a perfect spot for it.  Placed as a border grass in front of the bottlebrush its sweet little blue flowers add interest to its lush greenness.


The lantana was also killed to the ground but it was left to come back between the border of blue-eyed grass and the bottlebrush.  Should it not make it back to the land of living plants it will be replaced most likely with a mixture of red and white pentas. 



The sunny corner package.

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7 comments:

  1. I like your plant choices. The bottlebrushes are always a great choice, as they shine in winter. I have had the red blooms somewhere in the garden all winter long. I have two dewdrops that have frozen to the ground five winters in a row, but all sins are forgiven by June every year.

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  2. Great minds think alike indeed! LOL
    Love the bottle brush tree, only I don't have big space to plant it. It will look beautiful in your garden when it grows and is full of bloom. That blue-eyed grass is very cute and sweet. I think the pentas would be a good idea if the lantana does not come back (I hope it will). They will add lots of colors to this corner. Keep us posted with some summer pictures! BTW, I only got time to post because my son is sick at home today, and I stayed with him at home.

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  3. The bottlebrush tree is a great "cold-hardy" choice. I love the bright red flowers. I just planted 3 blue-eyed grass plants, too. The tiny flowers are just adorable. I had the perfect damp spot for them. Your garden bed should be lovely this summer with the pentas.

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  4. Looking good! And I,too,love Blue-eyed grass.The flowers are so sweet.And it divides up so easily.
    ChrisC

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  5. NanaK,
    I'm glad you gave that bottlebrush plenty of room... they can get lots bigger than a narrow 12 feet. The critters are going to love you for it.

    Just planted dew drops last year for the first time. I bought them mid-summer in full bloom when all remembrance of last year's freeze was far behind. LOL They froze to the ground but are already coming back nicely.

    I've been dividing my blue-eyed grass like a mad woman this week. It has become a ground cover in several of my beds since it hugs the ground, spreads to a nice clump, and stays that pretty green all year long... oh, and I forgot to mention those sweet blue flowers.

    You are going to love your new sunny bed... as are all the critters you want to attract.
    Meems

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  6. Floridagirl - Your bottlebrush pics are part of what got me to wanting one for that spot:) I agree about the dewdrop, it is beautiful from June to Dec. That's why I relocated it.

    Ami - Hope your son is feeling better. Glad you were able to blog though! I'm hoping for some pretty summer pictures. I'm not seeing many blooms in my garden yet, too many plants are just emerging from the ground.

    Susan - I love the blue-eyed grass. I have been looking for it for a long while. I guess native plants are more popular now. If it loves damp areas I've got more perfect spots for it.

    Wall - Good to hear that the blue-eyes divide up easily. I love plants that keep producing more of themselves.

    Meems - Yes, I did give the bottlebrush quite a bit of room even though it is now small. I figured I could fill in with the lantana and perhaps some pentas until it grows up.

    Thanks for mentioning that the blue-eyed grass keeps its green color during the winter. I wasn't sure about that.

    I love having birds and butterflies in the garden and am hoping this will be an area to attract them AND not disappear in the winter.

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  7. I can't think of enough great things to say about bottlebrush. Even if everyone grows them, the more the better!

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Thank you for travelling down My Garden Path with me. I love hearing from you. Please leave a comment and share what is going on in your gardens.

NanaK