About all I accomplished in the early part of April was to dig out several large clumps of Nepeta 'Walker's Low,' divide them up and ship them off to a good home, to Frances of the blog Fairegarden, in Tennessee. Frances recently moved to a new home and is working to build an entirely new garden, an endeavor I'm quite familiar with, having moved here to Washington 6 years ago from a home we lived and gardened in for 25+ years.
 |
| The space on the right, now the home of one of my small Yucca rostrata, used to have a Nepeta 'Walker's Low' planted there |
I'm planning to put a "quilt" of Sempervivums in the gravel around the Yucca rostrata, Trachycarpus and Ceanothus, to keep the weeds out as much as possible. I dug up a few clumps already and separated them, pulling off all the old dead leaves from the rosettes and sorting them into piles. I need to get them back into the ground ASAP, but they'll probably be ok for a while.
 |
| A variety of Sempervivum, dug up and sorted, waiting to be replanted as a "quilt" under the Trachycarpus and Yucca rostrata |
I spent a good 6 hours on Thursday out in the Gravel Garden, digging and moving and re-arranging. I moved the grasses that were in the front of the bed into the back, and planted some of my newest acquisitions in their place.
 |
| The front of the gravel garden is no longer the home of various grasses, but rather a more sparse and simple look -- Agaves, Opuntia, Beschorneria and black mondo grass |
 |
| Agave parryi 'J.C. Raulston,' dug out of one of the culvert planters and rehomed in the soil, with a companion Pulsatilla vulgaris |
 |
| Opuntia, Beschorneria and a golden Sedum (possibly 'Angelina' but it doesn't resemble my other clumps of that) |
 |
| Agave bracteosa, Opuntia and black mondo grass |
The two nicely sized up Opuntia plants were a gift a few years ago from Loree of Danger Garden. I had originally planted them in the stock tank at the back of the bed with a Tetrapanax, but they've now survived 3 winters and have gotten nicely larger, so I'm trying them down in the soil.
 |
| I dug out a clump of Northern sea oats and one of my Yucca 'Bright Star' from this space, and filled it with a second Yucca rostrata |
On Thursday I also dug up and transplanted my Grevillea 'Marshall Olbricht.' It was being terribly crowded by the Ceanothus 'Dark Star.' At the same time I moved the Kniphofia caulescens that was hidden under the Ceanothus farther to the right, so it's now out in the open and getting plenty of sunlight. (Oh, my aching back!)
 |
| I'm sure the Grevillea will be happier in its new uncrowded spot, but now of course there is no tall plant there to act as a screen |
 |
| Perhaps the Kniphofia caulescens on the right next to the stock tank will now bulk up and provide lots of tall flowers. |
 |
| Kniphofia caulescens surrounded by Stipa tenuissima and Carex testacea against the concrete block wall |
I intend to plant some Agave americana pups between the clumps of Stipa and some Senecio mandraliscae (as an annual) amongst the Carex. The Agaves will grow in the ground just for the summer, and then I'll dig them up again and overwinter them in the greenhouse, because they haven't proved hardy here. The blue of the Senecio will work well with the orange grass. They're readily available every spring, so if that combo works, I'll just toss them at the end of the season and buy them new again next year.
 |
| Mexican feather grass and Kniphofia caulescens |
 |
| The orange Carex with the beautiful blue of Ceanothus 'Dark Star, and on the left, the scrambling Geranium 'Anne Folkard' |
At first I thought I might get rid of the grasses, but it occurred to me that they might make an effective barrier against the weed seeds that blow into the bed from my neighbor's yard, plus my neighbor's cats love playing in them.
 |
| My neighbor's ginger cat, exploring the Gravel Garden, on his way to get a good sniff of the Nepeta, and to scamper in the grasses |
On Thursday I also dug up all three of my 'Bright Star' Yuccas, intending to pot them up as an attempt to stave off the fungus that causes Yuccacne. I'm hoping maybe if I keep them dry under the roof of my front porch, it will help. But for that I needed 3 orange pots. I saw a Yucca "Bright Star' in an orange pot at the Portland Yard, Garden and Patio Show, and loved it. I decided to reuse 3 old fiberglass pots, but because they were a faded burgundy color, I would have to have a go at spray-painting them. I washed, scrubbed and sand-papered them, and then out came the orange spray paint!
 |
| Old pots, washed up in more ways than one |
 |
| "New" old orange pots -- not perfect, but they'll do for now |
 |
| Replanted Yucca 'Bright Star,' which I hope will save it from the Yuccacne fungus that spoils its beautiful strappy leaves |
I have a wide variety of pots, some fiberglass, some plastic, some ceramic. Some frost-proof, some not. Some were expensive, but most were quite cheap -- thrift store finds, in fact. Like me, there's not a lot of style to them. But they do the job.
 |
| A recent thrift store purchase -- a nice, heavy, footed pot for only $10.99 |
 |
| Lewisia in a colander, still blooming like mad |
While weeding the Gravel Garden, I discovered a Lewisia that I planted there a few years ago. I thought they had all died on me, but one remained, so I dug it up and intend to pot it in another old colander, which has proved ideal for my other Lewisia.
 |
| Lewisia waiting to be potted |
My goals for the month of April, as set forth in my last EoMV post, were:
1. Remove the Grevillea and replant it elsewhere -- Done
2. Finish weeding and cutting back -- Mostly done
3. Dig and pot up the two blemished Yucca 'Bright Star' -- All three done
Gravel Garden goals for May:
1. Plant Sempervivum quilt
2. Plant Agave americana between Mexican feather grass
3. Plant Senecio mandraliscae amongst Carex testacea
4. Start work on revamping the plants in the remainder of the Gravel Garden
The End of the Month View meme is hosted by Helen at The Patient Gardener's Weblog. You can read her current post here, and check out the links in the comments from other gardeners around the world who are sharing what's new in their gardens.