Friday, June 17, 2011

The New Non-Pool Garden One Year Later

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You may remember that last summer we decided to get rid of our above ground swimming pool. The new large area left many possibilities for me to garden in and wow, has it ever come a long way. I thought I'd update you all today with some pictures from the new space and tell you of some successes and failures in this garden. The above picture shows a ground level view of the two gardens and path down the center to the storage shed. It also shows my beloved BJ who passed away the day after this picture was taken. I love this picture of him and it is how I remember him-happy days.
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This is how the same area looked two years ago when we still had the pool (I for some reason can't find a picture of it from last year). Now look at the shed and you can compare the two photos as to how I had to shape the new areas. The garden on the right was seriously extended and evened out to form a long sloping line down to the shed. The garden on the left-well, there was no garden on the left when we had the pool. There was a garden actually but it only contained a red cedar and two oak trees.

From In the Garden

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The left side of the pathway now contains an extended garden with lots of hostas, Solomon's seal, smilacina, wildflowers like dog tooth violets and bloodroot, a few Annabelle hydrangeas, three 'Limelight' hydrangeas, 3 Mount St. Helens azaleas, a variegated deutzia, daylilies, spireas, a Japanese kerria and the crown jewel-a sourwood tree. Other than the 'Limelight' hydrangeas most of the plants are small and are kind of hard to see but they are coming along fine. Soon the daylilies and hydrangeas will be blooming and they will stand out nicely.
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The right side of the garden area needs no blooms to look great-but we do have a few. The Tango 4 U lilies are just going by but now the 'Annabelle' and oak leaf hydrangeas are taking center stage-right behind some orange daylilies and deep purple hollyhocks.


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Here is a close up of the hollyhocks. These are some old fashioned hollyhocks and I've waited not less than three years for the blooms. The deep purple looks fantastic with the orange of the daylilies and purple leaves of the 'Burgundy Flame' Japanese maple.


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Back to the garden. Here is a close up of some of the plants. I garden mainly with shrubs and trees and use perennials for tapestries and blooms-fleeting though they may be we must have blooms right? The 'Golden Jubiliee' (yellow leaved perennial in the center front of this garden) is a perennial that you really don't need to have blooms to enjoy. This perennial was newly planted last fall and wow. It shines in the garden. This is even before it has bloomed! I can't wait to see what they look like.


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Here we are looking down the right side of the garden area. I call this garden my 'Greenhouse Garden' since the greenhouse forms the eastern boundary of this long garden. These gardens are viewed from the deck so I like to keep color going all year long. Here I show you my border of annuals. Here in Tennessee we can plant pansies in late September and expect them to still be blooming in June and sometimes in July. The hot weather does tend to fade them away though so in April I interplant impatiens in and among the pansies. By the time the pansies fade away the impatiens will have taken over.
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One last picture of the textures. I chose to go big with this garden and planted in mass. Some of the plants I planted last fall did not return this year but most of them did, or at least one or two of the masses I planted returned. This is good. They include: little blue stem (one of three returned and I'll be moving it soon) and most of the 'Red Riding Hood' penstemons (one of five returned). Most likely this garden does not have enough sun or I planted the plants too late. Some people have the challenge of having too much sun whereas I have too little. Fortunately enough for me there are many perennials and shrubs that tolerate part sun and I think I have discovered them all.



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One last long shot from the south looking north at the new Non Pool Garden....
 
in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

29 comments:

  1. Tina, It's wonderful! I can see the work you've put into reshaping your "Non Pool Garden".

    I'm going to go set out the 2 new blue bottles I picked up at a garage sale last week. I was saving them for a new bottle tree, but might as well put them on a few rebars until the tree actually "happens"...

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  2. With our 100 degrees temps already this year, I am for the Pool. LOL, wow, you have done a great job of making the pool seem as though it were never there! Looks beautiful....

    We are waiting for our neighbor to meet us at 8:00 this morning. We are headed to McCorkles Nursery annual sale to the public! Hopefully, we will come back with lots of goodies.....

    Have a great weekend!

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  3. I cannot believe how much you've planted in the new beds already. It all looks good. That purple hollyhock is very majestic. I thought of you and your million impatien cuttings in the greenhouse as soon as I saw the edge of the right garden. They will be great all along the border.

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  4. Your labor has paid off for sure. It looks as if your gardens have been there longer than they have. Great job! And that hollyhock bloom was so worth the wait.

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  5. Rebecca, The effect of the bottles on the rebar is different but I actually like it better than my bottle trees. They do fit in well in the garden so why not?

    Skeeter, I don't miss that pool at all. I'm sooooooo glad it is gone. No maintenance, no cost, no nothing but gardens but yes, if I could have a no cost no maintenance pool-I'd do it gardens or not. You go girl! Have fun at the sale. I used to be a vendor for McCorkles up here at Home Depot. They are a BIG outfit so I'm sure you'll get tons!

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  6. GOSS, Right you are! Those are the cuttings from my greenhouse. I love this technique and am still doing it-outside now.

    Darla, It took a lot of work last year but sure paid off. I can't wait until the hydrangeas bloom in another month. I was wanting to ask you how your onions are doing? Mine are not bulbing:(

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  7. That is a massive garden, and it really has filled in nicely over the past year Tina. Glad you have that pic of your beloved BJ, so hard losing a loved pet. Thanks for sharing the before & after shots, so fun seeing the changes. :)

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  8. Everything looks great!
    Sorry to hear about bj

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  9. The garden has come a long way, and you've created a place of loveliness. That pool looked so inviting though. It is so dang hot and humid down here.

    You can tell that a lot of love and hard work went into this new area and you've done a great job.

    FlowerLady

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  10. Wow in just a year your garden looks like many years on shaping a garden. A very fine job. I am getting worried. Do I have to wait another 2 years for our hollyhock to bloom?

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  11. This is my kind of garden, Tina. A little bit of everything! I can appreciate how much work you must put in to get it looking so nice.

    Our hollyhocks, which we have everywhere it seems are just starting to put out buds. We have all kinds, but I'm hoping my black (actually a deep, deep purple) will come back and bloom this year. My dog likes to use it for his hydrant sometimes. Bad dog! :)

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  12. Mom! It looks awesome!!! Can't wait for mine to come together like this...maybe in the next ten years!!!

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  13. What vision you must have to take out the pool and replace it with this paradise. So sorry to hear about your BJ. He looks like a sweet dog. Your garden is so colorful. Love the way you've lined everything in rock.

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  14. It sure does look wonderful and much more than I would expect for the time it has had to grow.

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  15. I am a sucker for pools but a bigger sucker for gardens. You would never know there was a pool there. I look at the photo and can't figure out how you managed it. Nice job!

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  16. Hello all.
    Tina that sure does look good. You sure have put a lot of work into it. A person couldn't tell that a pool use to be there.

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  17. Hi Tina, Wow, what a transformation!! I can't believe how mature the new beds look given their age. I am so impressed. You have done a remarkable job!!

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  18. The new garden looks great. I love your use of accents and art in the garden.

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  19. Wow - that is really spectacular, Tina! It's so lush now.

    I can't tell you how much I look forward to the day when we can take our pool out. I did get lucky with the swingset a year or so ago -- the pool is the next to go!

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  20. A whole lotta work! Your results are fabulous (as we all knew when you first mentioned this project). Great to see the photos of the progress and explanation of your design.

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  21. What a difference with the pool gone. Do you miss having a chance to jump in the cool water? I am all for gardens....but given the heat, I wouldn't be against having a pool to cool off in.....
    Love the first pic with BJ. Very sweet.
    Would you believe I still had a pansy blooming last week in the full sun?? amazing.

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  22. It is all looking wonderful. I think there is nothing quite so wonderful as creating a new garden space. I am working on, and have been for three years, a new shade garden.

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  23. Terrific Tina. I do think we have similar idea with the mixing of trees, shrubs, native wilflowers and perennials. Also defining the garden with surplus rocks (mine are limestone though) Ok and your are much neater and well organized looking. :)

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  24. Big changes, and it's only when you see the before and after photos you realize just how much has grown. The garden's looking great. Enjoy the summer.

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  25. I forgot to say so sorry for the loss of BJ.

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  26. Really enjoyed seeing the transition from pool to no pool--quite an improvement but no water to jump in when it's hot!

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  27. Looks great, Tina. It is amazing what you have done with the area in a year. Carla

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  28. I love before and after photos, Tina--this garden has really taken off in such a short time. You have such a nice combination of shrubs and perennials. We have 'Golden Jubilee' in the Idea Garden, too, and I agree it really stands out.

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  29. It looks wonderful Tina Yu've done a great job. I agree, plant shrubs, use perennial flowers for accent .

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