Isn't this exciting?!? Dirt. Lots of dirt. Here's a different view:
Still a lot of dirt. There's actually not much to recommend it at this stage except that it's grass-free dirt.Once the MulchMaid amends it and plants it, though, it's going to be the beginnings of a dining room screen from the sidewalk. The house is on a corner lot and seems to get twice as much pedestrian traffic. That's great, except when dinner is happening in the dining room. Then people seem compelled to stare straight in as they pass. So the MulchMaids just need a little visual diversion.
Here are a couple of the plants waiting in the wings to be put in. There's an Arbequina olive, and a big pot of Zagreb coreopsis. The MulchMaid might even let the montbretia out of its pot, if it promises not to be too rampant. The little loropetalum chinensis 'Sizzling Pink' is on its way elsewhere...Mr. Mulchmaid is not happy with the foliage color, which was supposed to be purple, not bronze.
Also coming right along and looking quite promising are some young cannas.
The Violette de Bordeaux fig is finally making some lovely long leaves.
The Meyer lemon has come outside for the summer. It lives in the south-facing breakfast room, and bloomed profusely from December to April. But it lost a significant number of leaves and formed no new ones in all that time. Mr. Mulchmaid was concerned that this was virtual suicide, so he took off all the resulting fruit except the two you can see below. Just last week, the first set of new leaves showed!
Last, a Pyracantha "Mojave", covered with white buds. The MulchMaid predicts the flowers will be open and attracting fat bumblebees by this coming weekend.
I just love a blank slate full of possibilities. Can't wait to see how it turns out, you have some good stuff to start with. Don't you hate when the foliage color doesn't come out like it's supposed to?
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! You've been busy, did you dig that all out yourself? Are you ever tempted to wave at them when they stare? I've done that, it really startles them! Can't wait to see the next step!
ReplyDeleteHey look, it's my two fav Portland bloggers here already visiting you! So, you have some of my most coveted trees there at your place - hardy olive, fig, and Meyer lemon. I haven't been brave enough to see if I can over-winter any of these in the ground (I know the lemon can't do it but we don't have a good indoor spot for it, alas). After this past winter, I am trying to be extra careful with zonal requirements but was still drooling over these in the Raintree catalog. Is that where you got them? Can't wait to see your new garden, and phooey on those gawkers on the street!
ReplyDeleteI meant to say my OTHER two fav Portland bloggers, by the way! Yeesh, sorry, tired early tonight!
ReplyDeleteMegan - I can finally plant this weekend since we got some cooling and rain. Now we'll see what this location is going to be good for.
ReplyDeletedanger garden - Yes, I've been known to wave. Sometimes they wave back and once it stopped them in their tracks! But it's usually a pretty friendly neighborhood.
Karen - Thanks for stopping in! You're in Seattle, right? I think you could do any of the marginally hardy trees we could, maybe even more because you don't have that extremely cold wind blast we sometimes get in winter from the Columbia gorge. Yes, I drool over the Raintree catalog, too. The lemon came directly from them, and the fig and olives (I now have two) were bought locally, though supplied by them. Check out One Green World's catalog too, if you like fruiting trees.