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A Gardener's Notebook: The latest incarnation of my column detailing the trails and tribulations of my garden. Join the list and ask your own questions about gardening Subscribe

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For a variety of reasons, improvements in the garden have been on hold for much too long. My motivation has been lacking to attack major improvements and even the day-to-day maintenance has suffered. The weather has been so hot the last week that you aren't even inclined to go outside to sit in the garden, let alone weed the flower beds. Finally, though, something seems to have broken through the doldrums and created a pleasant change to all this.

Regular readers will know that we are hosting a friend's baby shower in August. (See Deadlines, AGN, July 9, 2000) The thought of 20-30 people eating, drinking and ooooing and aaaaahing over baby gifts in my garden has spurred me into action. So much so that I actually feel quite a sense of accomplishment this week, at least as far as the garden is concerned.

Around the town and into the ground

We spent quite a bit of time at the local nurseries this weekend visiting 4 on Sunday while Joseph's Nonna entertained him at home. Nearby we found a very nice nursery with an especially good selection of shade plants. These are often difficult to find here in perpetually sunny Southern California. Most nurseries here lean toward the sun-loving and tropical plants. I have quite a mature garden, over-planted with trees, that is quite forest-like at times. Fortunately, we found a collection of plants to help fill out the circular bed that sits right in the middle of the garden and should be a focal point. Instead it is looking a bit rundown.

The most pressing issue with this bed is water. I use soaker hose and drip irrigation for my rose beds and the iris bed by the patio. But I had never found a way to easily reach this bed since I would have to route a hose or piping under a path. This project, though, finally provided enough impetus to get it done. I put a "Y" at a faucet that was already equipped with a soaker and a timer, allowing both to be run automatically without adding any more cost. I used a hose remnant to go under the path, burying it just slightly below the gravel path. One 25' soaker was enough to weave through the bed, providing water to a wildflower bed, miscanthus grass, and all the larger, individual plantings.

This same area contained a short pathway where a small, Japanese-style bridge once sat. we have been wanting to stop using this path, but it naturally seemed to draw people across the top part of the flower bed. So, in this effort, I arranged several of the new plants in the old path. Of course, this meant a lot more work than I had planned . The pathway hadn't been used as a planting area for a long time and was quite compacted. I had to practically double-dig the entire area to insure that the new plants didn't get stuck in their holes, roots never reaching into the surrounding soil. At least the other plants were easier to place since they were going into established bedding areas. I have included a complete list and diagram detailing my new plantings below.

Next week, I will continue with news of another bed I updated and possibly information on the tree trimmers who are coming to remove a some large specimens in a few days.

Keep Digging!

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New Plantings

2 Mauve Dancing Girls (globa wintii)

2 New Guinea Impatiens

1 Aralia