Going overboard: new planter creation

So I made myself a new planter recently. Here it's shown with some plants still in containers to try and figure out what to plant here (and what deer won't eat right at mouth level):

This project happened only because I've been storing our old kitchen sink in the garage for several years and have finally cleaned things up to make more workshop space. The sink had to go and I didn't want to just throw it away (even though somebody would probably have rescued it from the curb).

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Late emergence

It's almost summer (feels like it already at least in St. Louis) and most plants have already pushed out most of their new growth. Sure a few bamboos are still shooting, but pretty much everything else have finished their spring growth spurts.

Except for the tropicals that is, the plants that overwintered in my garage or basement or living area. Those are just getting started!

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Exciting, the deck

Actually, what's exciting is not the deck, but what is going on just past it -- and on it. First, the boxed bamboo (Phyllostachys virella) has had a big size up this year...

...and the tops of the new shoots are strikingly visible just past the deck railing. (This plant is in a box next to the stream.)

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Nightmare gets better without me

So nightmare area number two (aka my cactus bed) has gotten much better...

...without any help from me!

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Siblings

A quick look at some siblings of the wild variety in my garden right now.

Starting with chipmunks. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Hey, there's only one chipmunk in this photo!" You have a good point, but this is just a teaser.

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Nightmare area number two

Continuing the theme from yesterday, here's the second nightmare area in my garden right now. It's my "cactus bed".

There are so many things wrong here, I almost don't know where to start. The sad, sad yucca, the sweetgum sapling, but the main thing is the leaves. Yes, those have been there since the fall (if it's not obvious).

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Nightmare area number one

Emboldened by Peter's recent post about the less attractive parts of his garden, I'm going to share with you the three "nightmare" areas of my garden. Today's is actually the oldest part of my garden: the large raised planter box below the deck.

This was originally full of flowering perennials including shasta daisies and purple coneflowers. In recent years it's been the home to my main (and sometimes amazing) castor bean planting. Right now though it's just a bed full of weeds.

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Surprise return

I neglected my ribbon bush (Homalocladium platycladum) last winter. The previous winter I kept it in the garage and watered it a bit more than the other plants. This past year though it was in the garage again -- a bigger plant -- but I didn't water much.

The result was a dead ribbon bush come spring. Really a shame because I loved this unique foliage -- it will be missed for sure. But will it?

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Clematis, beauty and problem

I grow a few clematis, and for the most part they make me happy -- when the deer don't prune them that is. The one that I grow on my mailbox has performed quite well for me, especially considering how shady it is here.

I believe I purchased this as Clematis 'Piilu', but that's almost certainly not what it is. It looks so good with the variegated bamboo (Sasaella masamuneana 'Albostriata'), doesn't it?

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