Planting in the Tenant House Garden
The gardens at my Bedford, New York farm continue to evolve and thrive.
The area behind my Tenant House, where my daughter and grandchildren stay when they visit, is filled with shade-loving plants. If you follow my blog regularly, you may recall our giant tree removal project earlier this year when I had several trees taken down from the area - six 125-foot trees were leaning dangerously close to the structure and had to be removed for safety reasons. The garden looked very pretty without the trees, but the plantings below still needed adequate shade to thrive. Last spring, we planted two 10 to 12-foot Japanese maples in the space, which will grow beautifully in time. And this week, my gardeners added and moved various plants to this space including alchemilla, columbine, hellebores, and thalictrum. I am so pleased with how this garden is developing.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- This is my garden behind the Tenant House. In spring, the area is filled with daffodils. During summer and early fall – beautiful shade-loving specimens. On the right are the two Japanese maples we planted in January. With more than a thousand varieties and cultivars, the iconic Japanese maple tree is among the most versatile small trees for use in the landscape. They look so pretty with all the green foliage surrounding them.
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- This is my tree peony bed located up the carriage road near my Summer House. I decided to remove all the Lady’s Mantle from this area and move them to the Tenant House garden – I am always thinking about how I can improve my beds. This bed now has more room for tree peonies.
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- Carlos carefully removes the Lady’s Mantle plants from the ground and gathers them for transport. Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla mollis, is an herbaceous perennial. The plant is fairly low-maintenance, blends well with other spring bloomers, and does well as a ground cover under small trees. they will be perfect at the Tenant House.
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- Next, the plants are moved in our Polaris Ranger down to the Tenant House garden for replanting.
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- Lady’s Mantle is easy to transplant. Ryan and Gavin carefully unload the plants – many are clumped together. Lady’s Mantle plants form nice sized clumps, although they will also self-seed.
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- When selecting locations for any plant, always consider the plant’s growth pattern, space needs, and appearance. Ryan carefully positions the plants before actually planting. This is always a good idea before digging the holes, so they can be placed where they look best.
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- Gavin begins digging for the first plant. Lady’s Mantle isn’t terribly particular about soil, but it does best in a soil that is slightly acidic to neutral, with a soil pH of 5.5 to 7.5.
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- These plants have short roots and are drought-tolerant once established.
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- The hole is not too deep. Always allow plenty of growing room for this plant and space them about eight to 12 inches from the edge of the garden bed.
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- Here’s a closer look at the Lady’s Mantle leaves. It grows easily in full sun to part shade. It will do very nicely in this location.
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- After Gavin plants several specimens, the plants begin to form a nice border. A mass planting of Lady’s Mantle is very eye-catching when in bloom. In late spring and early summer, the plant produces chartreuse-colored flowers. When planting, always tamp down the soil surrounding the plant after it is in the ground – this ensures good contact between the soil and the plant itself.
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- Nearby, Phurba transplants a few other shade garden favorites – always making a hole twice the size of the plant’s root ball. A plant’s roots grow out more easily into loosened, enriched soil.
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- This is thalictrum. Plants in this genus are native to stream banks, shaded mountains, and moist meadows. It grows best in moist, humus-rich soil in partial shade.
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- Thalictrum has some of the most beautifully textured foliage. The name Thalictrum means “to flourish,” and it does, with elegant, finely cut and rounded compound leaves. When blooming, it produces foam-like sprays that resemble Baby’s Breath in shades of lilac and purple.
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- The columbine plant, Aquilegia, is an easy-to-grow perennial that offers seasonal interest throughout the year. Columbine plants aren’t particular about soil as long it’s well-draining and not too dry.
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- The two plants can look similar to the untrained eye. Here is thalictrum on the left and columbine on the right.
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- I also have epimediums in this garden. Epimediums are long-lived, easy to grow, and have such attractive and varying foliage. Epimedium, also known as barrenwort, bishop’s hat, and horny goat weed, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Berberidaceae.
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- And this plant is a hellebore. I have many hellebores in my gardens. When planting them, position them under deciduous trees if possible and make sure they are protected from winter winds. Hellebores are widely grown for decorative purposes because of their love for shady locations and resistance to frost.
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- The new border is done – these plants will fill in so nicely. I love how this area is evolving.
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- After planting the border, Gavin rakes the surrounding grass to remove any leftover soil or fallen leaves and then gives the bed a good watering.
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- This garden is coming along so beautifully – I am looking forward to watching it flourish for many years. I hope this blog inspires you to do some planting in your garden – there is still lots of time left in the season.
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