Socks and Shoes
Many of the plants on Poison Ivy Acres have bare feet. The gardens are new, after all, and things haven’t filled in much. The shrubs and perennials are, I think, placed so that they can grow to their natural size and shape, and this means that there is empty space around them. I’m currently shopping for “socks and shoes” plants that can fill the areas in between.
Mother Nature, after all, does not tolerate bare soil. I hear her muttering as she passes through our property. “Look at all of this empty ground…what a waste!” She is, I know, not content with mere complaints. In an effort to rectify things she’ll be dropping weed seeds as she passes through. “If the Garden Lady isn’t going to plant here, well, someone has to do it!”
What my garden needs is some community organizing. Plants grow in groups, after all, from the tiny forest floor mosses to the tall oaks above, with dozens of species in between. There will be neighborhoods of exotic plants on Poison Ivy Acres, and areas where the indigenous rule. I just need to establish more planned boroughs before Mother Nature decides that my attempts at development and zoning aren’t proceeding fast enough.
There are small Stepables - sedum and thyme - in between the paving stones, but the garden itself has lots of bare feet!
February 19th, 2009 at 11:36 am
I love your stone walkway to meander through your beds. Your beds look like they have a good variety in them.
Lona
February 20th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
My current favourite for underplanting shrubs is Campanula poscharskyan ‘Camgood’. The little blue stars look pretty under and around shrubs, and they don’t mind the shade or competition. I also like to use rivers of the annual light blue lobelia between groups of new perennials that might take a few years to fill in. I’ve squeezed groups of Brummera macropylla in the pockets between roots under my trees. They seem to thrive there, and don’t mind the shade or root competition. I have some Pulmonaria under the mockorange shrubs that do well too.
February 20th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I’ll look for that Campanula – that is one of my favorite species of Campanula, but I haven’t grown ‘Camgood’, so thanks for the suggestion! Brunnera is also on my list…. I just have to win the lottery in order to pay for all of the plants I am lusting after.