With two active young children, full time jobs and various trips to and fro while trying to enjoy the summer, we seem to spend most of our time getting into and out of our cars. Even though it always feels like we are in a rush to go somewhere, I make it a point to always sneak a peek at all of the plants in my driveway garden bed.
This bed is planted with mostly ornamental grasses, native perennials and a few deciduous shrubs. Right now, it is my favorite part of my landscape (and this is of course, subject to change) as it has been the most challenging to put together, yet by far the most rewarding. This bed stays wet longer than any other since the rain is routed off of the driveway and pools here. Also, this is the area where the deer feel most comfortable setting up shop. There are no windows on this side of the house so I can’t scan for them and scare them away like a wild man.
What I enjoy most as I get into my car each morning and out of each evening, is noticing the subtle changes that are passing right before my eyes. I feel like I have superpower-like vision and can spot the most minute of changes. A rough day at work can become a distant memory just by noticing that the viburnum berries are changing from green to purple.
Here is what I’ve observed of late in my driveway garden bed and while it may not jump out and grab you, it works fine for me:
Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’ is putting on major growth and it shines when back lit by the sun, but also stands out when the sun goes down with it’s light foliage. It is now starting to emerge from behind the taller perennials (Boltonia in the photo below):
And behind the Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’:
A very young Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Northwind’ is only about two feet tall, but a few blooms just snuck out this week:
The foliage on Itea (Virginia Sweetspire) ‘Henry’s Garnet’ has begun it’s autumn transformation as you can see on the underside of the leaves:
And even more so on the bottom of the shrub:
The “oats” on Chasmanthium Latifolium (Northern Sea Oats) are maturing to their brownish/tan shade:
The aforementioned Boltonia is just showing the first signs of bloom:
And last but not least, the Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ blooms are a sea of red and look fantastic en masse:
I am already looking forward to the next trip to my car!
John
