The Dirt, as Promised

Yep, like I said. Though it's actually mulch/compost. Remember that we don't know what to call it. What's not pictured is the ginormous mountain of it that was piled in the driveway. Four yards of it (that's lots and lots), which Andy Paulson almost single-handedly dissemenated around the property, and on our neighbor's flower beds. My sister saw the pile before it was dissemenated. When she heard, the next day, that it was gone from the driveway, she apparently could not believe her ears. But I am here to tell you that four yards is about 479 wheelbarrows-worth, or at least that's how many times I think I watched Andy load and unload this thing. My job was just to spread it around stuff and even that was exhausting, so I can only imagine. Anyway, PHEW. Good job, babe.

These beds are the parkway, and they are a major problem for me. More dirt than plants. Space too big. The bed on the left is actually very dry, very clayey shade, presided over by the infamous plum tree (there is a better picture here). Almost no rainwater makes it onto this location in the summer. You can stand under this tree in a total downpour and barely get wet. When we first moved in, we vigorously amended the soil, but it reverts very quickly to a hard, dry layer of tree roots and dust. A raised bed might be a good alternative, though we can never decide on how to edge it, and worry that it, too, would turn into clay. Would it? Only the vinca seems not to care where it lives.

Gravelizing our backyard was truly one of the best things we ever did for our property.We have another enormous plum tree back there, too, and were having the same problem. Unfortunately, for the parkways, gravelizing is not really an option, though I see people do it. When you see it, it seems like such an act of desperation — but I can completely understand the impulse. But it just looks wrong to me, in such a public location, and our parkways are quite wide.

Xeriscape, naturally, is the right thing to consider. It has taken me quite a while to learn this. But look at this: a list, with pictures, and links. And THIS, which is just awesome and small and not overwhelming and you can make a little shopping list for yourself. And a thorough exploration of how to save money with xeriscaping, because these plants are expensive. My mother, who has the greenest thumb I've ever seen, did not pass this gene down to me, and gardening books seem to overwhelm me — I just want to be on a need-to-know basis, somehow, with this. So . . . whatever they've got that will make it easier for me to make it happen. It is times like this when I say THANK YOU Al Gore, for inventing the Internet!!! My goal for the summer is to befriend the dry shade garden.

Comments

[Chelsea D.]

Looks great Alicia! We have done the very same back breaking job before-well by "we" I mean dh. Gotta love that Willamette Valley clay soil!

[Lora]

Check to see if a local nursery has someone who can draw up landscape plans for you. A great little family-owned nursery near us has a landscape planner who will come to your house and for $40/hour, draw up detailed plans for you. We did this last fall for our numerous planting areas and it was probably the best $40 I spent all year. They know exactly what will work in which areas...all I gave him was a list of guidelines (I like a lot of color, don't like to spend hours every day maintaining the garden, etc.) We did all the work as far as buying, moving, planting everything but having that "road map" made it so easy I can't believe I didn't do it at other houses we've lived in.

[bethany]

We have the same issues... shade and hard soil... and I'm going to show your backyard pics to my husband. You may not need a lot of plants as groundcover tends to spread. My mom is a gardener but I didn't get that gene either. Thank goodness for books and posts like this!!!

[Christine]

My favorite plant for ANY difficult spot, and you may know this, is Sedum. They are a best friend of xeriscaping; they come in a million varieties of all sizes, leaf colors, etc.; and I have planted them in a huge array of locations and they never cease to thrive -- sun, shade, lots of water, no water, Sedum can take anything! Best of all, they flower in late fall, when things can look a little baked. Good luck!

[tweet herself]

you have your own personal and adorable "Burro" for the heavy lifting and that is essential if you want your beloved plants to be all tucked in nice and cool and cozy for the summer with mulch. Isn't it just the oddest irony that here we are in the wettest of wet places but by july it all ends and we can go weeks and weeks in the growing season with nary a drop rain what-so-ever?
sedums...yes are a good NW gardeners choice for the dry summer. Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose is one of my favorite places to go. they have a beautiful garden to walk through with all the plants labeled so that when it comes time to select your treasures you have an idea of what they may look like in your own garden.
your friend, bird tweet robin from down the road

[Lilli]

Thanks for bringing me some garden inspiration today. This new house we moved into has a huge back yard, esp by Vancouver standards, none of which I was planning on doing any gardening in. But maybe I should...

:)

[Elizabeth Mackey]

go to this web site http://www.gardentraveler.com/cities/Walnut_Creek-Ruth_Bancroft_Garden.htm
This lady is very famous in my town for dry gardens. Our soil in Walnut Creek is very dry and clay like. Even Martha Stewart had come to visit her,because she has done some fantastic gardening with this type of soil. I'm not a gardener at all,so I know how you feel.

[Amy G.]

That's a lot of dirt! Something else you might consider in tough soil/shade conditions is a bed of groundcover plants, like the vinca, that can take some dry weather and don't need lots of sun to thrive. There are lots of choices and no mowing! Ask your garden center for what does well. We have liriope, ivy, and vinca serving as shady groundcover here and there in our garden.

[michelle]

I love how fresh and clean newly mulched flower beds look!

[holly]

I just finished a residential landscape design class so that I can rework our yard - extending the xeriscaping and making it more inviting. These look like some great resources for plants. I really like the list that has them by size. It is one thing to plan from an aerial view, but it sure helps me to be able to think about how the plants will work together head-on as well. Thanks for sharing!

[meg]

We just mulched our yards (which is to say: hired someone else to do it, because our yard had us completely overwhelmed mentally) and it looks so much better. This is a lovely time of year. I cannot wait to gravel a huge portion of our backyard, and I have you guys to thank for the inspiration. Thank you! :)

[Jaime]

I love your joke about Al Gore. What a narcisistic weirdo!

[Stephanie J.]

You can never go wrong with sedum. They come in so many varieties, some bloom, and they are so low-maintenance for those hard-to-irrigate spots. I use them in my window-boxes because they dry out so fast hardly anything else survives.

My coworker is a master-gardener who specializes in 'water-wise' gardens--something else you might want to research. You might want to look into some of the many lovely Oregon natives that require little attention during the summer.

[Stephanie J.]

You can never go wrong with sedum. They come in so many varieties, some bloom, and they are so low-maintenance for those hard-to-irrigate spots. I use them in my window-boxes because they dry out so fast hardly anything else survives. And they're easy to propagate too, just pinch a piece off and stick it in the dirt somewhere else.

My coworker is a master-gardener who specializes in 'water-wise' gardens--something else you might want to research. You might want to look into some of the many lovely Oregon natives that require little attention during the summer.

[kendra Spencer]

Thank you for the links to the dry shady plant lists! The back of our yard has two huge cedar trees and underneath is exactly that, dry and shady. I haven't had much luck growing anything there because I *hate* dragging the hose all the way back there. Oh, and your gravelized backyard looks great too!

[Andrea]

I have to agree with Lora. Getting someone to come in to draw up a plan for you is well worth the money. They have seen all of the growing conditions in your area and know all about how plants will react to those conditions. Plus they can recommend plants that are locally grown and acclimated to Portland. Big box stores truck a lot of their plants hundreds of miles and while they grew great where they are from, they may not in your yard. I can not believe that Andy move 4 yards!!! of soil amendments in one day. What a man!

[Shannon B.]

Is that what kind of tree that is? A plum tree? The kind that produce those beautiful pink confetti petals? I've always wondered! Is there any drawback to owning a tree like that? Does it attract rodents or bees?

Our yard was vary arid as well. We got that pet grass stuff. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! We have a very small yard so it wasn't too expensive and oh so nice with small children. No mud to track in, no lawn to mow. It photographs beautifully too. We just saved a little patch of land to make ourselves a garden so we could still experience the joy of getting our hands dirty and watching things grow. : )

[Susan Ramey Cleveland]

Great dirt. Can't wait to see the flowers that are going into it.

[April]

Only you could make "dirt" look so lovely. A

[Suzanne]

WEll your dirt looks good! How bout the different varieties of sedum. That is what we have in our spots like that and they love it, but I am on the east coast and don't know if that plays into it.

[Kimberly]

Sedum is very pretty and easy to grow. In my spring post I have pictures of some of them from my front yard (it's the green stuff, lol)http://daisymomtomy3.blogspot.com/I love flowers but ones that thrive on neglect are definately my cup of tea, lol. Herbs are super easy to grow and we also have lots of wildflowers that are very drought resistant and look great even during the dog days of summer with little to no care. My kind of gardening. :)

Kim

[Kimberly]

Oops typed the link incorrectly, sorry. ;)
http://daisymomtomy3.blogspot.com/

[kayla_d]

Thanks for the xeriscape links! We've got some dry spots caused by too much sun. Installing rain barrels has helped, but I'm just tired of the struggle. Time to plant something other than grass!

[sarah]

that Andy, what a guy!

You know, Alicia, Martha's special Outdoor Living issue this year had a special on difficult growing situations. Looking at it, clay and dry soil are separate categories, but I feel that some things - like the foxglove - could do double duty? Anyway, just an idea! =)

[Alison Gibbs]

I am so glad you had the link back to that beautiful plum tree - it is gorgeous.
Great work both of you with moving that mountain of soil.
Alison