Raided yucca anchors new bed
My first post of the new year shows me still raiding the garden of the Unsold House, this time for a statuesque softleaf yucca (Y. recurvifolia ), visible at back, to anchor a newly dug patch of dirt below the raised beds. How could I leave this exclamation point behind, I ask you, subject to the vagaries of future owners? No! It must—it did—come with me.
Here’s a “before” shot. After I replanted the raised bed above, I realized the triangular patch of grass below was just wasted space, so I unceremoniously dug it out and spread a few bags of Natural Gardener’s Hill Country Garden Soil across the bare dirt.
Here’s another “before” look.
And “after.” I’m gardening on a budget (aren’t we all?), so I’d half-heartedly poked around the nurseries looking for a softleaf yucca on sale. Finding none, I made a beeline for my old garden (still owned by me, mind you) and dug up this baby. I did find two ‘Adagio’ miscanthus grasses and another ‘Radrazz’ rose on sale and added them too. This should be a carefree and drought-tolerant bed once established, just like the raised bed above it. I do still need to add edging though. I can’t have the grass creeping in.
Here’s the view as you descend from the upper patio to the pool surround. I envision a hardscape path where the grass strip is, but that will have to wait for now.
Ah, garden dreams to start a new year.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Next I suppose you’ll be going back for that Tecoma stans after all, eh? 🙂
Any before/after where there’s useless lawn in the before and yuccas in the after is right on by me.
No, but I do have my eye on the ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate I left behind. I’m envisioning orange blossoms and fruit next to cool blue Arizona cypress. Hmmm. —Pam
I don’t blame you for taking some of the specimen plants from the old garden. You don’t know if the new owners will be gardeners and if they aren’t they might not appreciate those plants as much as you do. In fact, I’ve actually heard of people who decided not to buy a certain house because it had too much garden. Can you imagine?
If I whittle the old garden down far enough, we may put in some grass over there and see if that entices the anti-gardeners. —Pam
Oh, it just looks SO much better now! It looked kind of awkward before, didn’t it? Love it. And I’ve heard the same as Carol about grass. At my old house I took out several beds and put in grass to entice people, because we had looked at a house with a gorgeous garden and the owners said she had been struggling to sell because no one wanted to take care of the garden. Sigh! I completely pillaged my garden before I left. I think I brought 50-60 plants with me. Some of them big ones! Just leaves more room for the new people!
~Angela 🙂
I’m beginning to think of doing that too, Angela. Grass can give a clean, open look that some people prefer, and that leaves more plants for me to bring to my new garden. —Pam
Good job Pam. I think I have said it before, I don’t think any regular person would appreciate your old garden like you would hope that they would. So go ahead and raid until your new garden is full. Don’t leave any underapprciated or not appreciated treasures behind. You would hate to go back to your old garden and see it has been plowed under and seeded to lawn. That would be a waste.
I have often thought that most people would do that here if we sold our home because most people come here and say “oh it is pretty but all that work”. They see gardening as work. They just don’t know what they are missing.
They sure don’t, Lisa. But a garden isn’t for everyone, and my old one does require regular pruning to keep it in shape. I think more raids are in my future. Yippee! —Pam
The new spot looks great – you needed that yucca. I wish I had a garden to raid . . . . . . 🙂
I’m certainly appreciating my ready-made nursery, Kim. 😉 —Pam
A very nice solution. I do like the look of that beautiful Austin limestone–always have. I thought I might use some of it on my veggie garden border, but to my disappointment it was just too white for what I was going for, so I went with something with more tan in it (looks more like the brown Llano, I guess ;-)).
Anyway, the Austin chalk looks perfect bordering your raised beds.
I know what you mean, Susan. I’ve seen too-white limestone used on walls before, and it’s just blinding. I like mine with a little gold mixed in. Llano-colored stone sounds nice too. —Pam
I have a feeling that you are going to be getting rid of most of that grass. Did you have good soil under the grass or was it really stony? Have you invested in a pick axe yet?
Surprisingly, there’s a lot of good soil under the grass in the back yard. I think the new owners did a lot of filling when they put in the pool and terraced and resodded the back yard. In the front, however, there’s caliche lurking just under the soil, as we found out this weekend while digging a hole for a basketball goal. We’re using a San Angelo bar with a sharp point to pound the rock into diggable crumbles. Fun. —Pam
Your doing amazing things with your small budget. That’s one of the wonderful things about gardening — we can often divide, collect seeds, move — and conquer!
Cameron
I just made a list in a new gardening journal of all the plants I divided or lifted to bring with me, and it was huge! I have even more seeds stashed away. It does make gardening on a budget much more fun. —Pam
Pam,
I just love watching your new garden unfold. And, I can really relate to your desire to have a nice, lush garden NOW! Perhaps the slow building of a garden makes us more appreciative of the treasures that are in it. And, at least for me, I feel a greater sense of accomplishment. At our last house, we had a landscape company come in with an insta-garden. This one I am doing myself. While it is a much slower process, and has tried my patience more than a few times, I love it that much more.
Liisa
Doing it yourself does create a real love for one’s garden. It also makes it harder to leave certain plants behind—hence, the garden raids. 🙂 —Pam
Well, you are coming right on along, Pam. Let me tell you, if we ever leave this house, there will be several things coming out of the garden and going with us. I don’t care how big a hole it leaves. 🙂
I can just imagine you digging and dividing like crazy, Randy. You’ve put so much into your garden in such a short time. You could make a new garden look wonderful in no time. —Pam
Hi Pam, Oh please please please do take as much as you can from your old house. I have left two gardens behind, that I built up from nothing, and both new owners did not keep them. The first pulled up everything and covered it in lawn, including ripping out the red maple and white pine I’d planted. I nearly cried when I saw that, and was only able to drive by the more recent garden once–it had not been razed down but it was NOT being taken care of. Logically I understand the home is no longer my home (and I have no feelings whatsoever about whatever they may have done inside)… but the garden is still mine in my heart and I can’t believe anyone would destroy a perennial garden for GRASS! (Of which there was still plenty, btw.) I get not wanting to plant it, but it really was easy care/long bloom. So, take what you can–chances are the new owners will not nurture it or love it the way you do.
Monica, I’m going to take your advice to heart and not feel guilty about taking any more plants. Last night I’d fairly decided to remove portions of the garden and install grass, so this gives me a good excuse to take any plants I still want. I’m sorry about the loss of your two gardens. That must indeed have been hard to watch. —Pam
And, P.S. are those gorgeous photos of your garden right now, or were they taken last year? (As a Michigander, I can’t believe your January garden could possibly be so… summery!!)
Right now, Monica. We enjoy very mild winters here in Austin. Yesterday it was 82 degrees, although today it’s in the 40s to 50s. —Pam
The new extension to the bed really ties the existing bed into the garden. Such a good idea – is there anything left at your old house!!!!
Oh yes, it is quite a packed-full little garden. There’s still plenty to spare. 😉 —Pam
Pam… I’ve just barely composed myself after remembering my garden destruction and now you send me into another sobbing fit by reporting your temperature of 82F!!! (HA HA!) Actually, it was about 50 here a few days after Xmas, but the ground is still frozen and it’s back to maybe 20-something today. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Austin… some compare it to Ann Arbor where I live, culturally. Is it humid there in summer, or arid? The only place in TX I’ve been is South Padre Island–in August. And I thought MI was humid!!! (Melt.)
Thanks also for your comment on my dream gardens post! I’m not sure how the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center slipped my mind–it is indeed somewhere I wanted to visit for a long, long time. I love native plants and wildflowers. And, believe it or not, I have never heard of Chanticleer, but I Googled it and it looks nice, especially if I’m in the area, anyway. LBJWC is a destination in itself, I think. 🙂
Sorry about that, Monica! Don’t hate us because it’s warm in Austin in winter. We pay for it in spades in summer. 😉 Our summers are extremely hot (upper 90s) and humid, though rainfall is scarce. So planting can be tricky. Those desert plants that thrive in the heat can’t always take the humidity, but the tropicals need more rainfall than we get. Luckily there are plenty of native and adapted plants that work beautifully.
If you ever come to Austin for a Wildflower Center visit, be sure to give me a ring. Meantime, click here for a virtual visit to Chanticleer, which my entire family, kids included, is still gaga over. I did a series of posts on it; you’ll find a link to the next post at the end of each page. —Pam
Bring it on over girl!
I’m working on it. 🙂 —Pam
I would not have left that soft-leaf yucca behind either. I’ve noticed that there are several varieties in the nurseries and not all are created equal. There are the perfect globe-shaped form with dark blue green spears and then there are the rattier poorly shaped ones in a not-so-great color. Yours looks like the better version. Did you see the Statesman’s annual weather chart? Ack and ack. I can’t believe I put my garden in at the beginning of this drought, so little growth. Everything is just stunted. Okay, enough complaining. Happy New Year! Libby
This yucca used to grow in full, west-baking sun. Now it’s in part shade. I know it will survive with less sun, but I do hope it will retain its lovely blue-green color. It’ll be an experiment.
What a dry year 2008 was. But remember how wet 2007 was? Maybe we’ll see plentiful rain again in 2009. Fingers crossed. —Pam
Hurray, I KNEW you’d find a way to get going with your garden! I don’t think you should feel guilty about taking more plants. They’re yours. Who knows what the new owners will like/want/need? They may welcome the opportunity to make their own mark on their new backyard without feeling they’ve got to plan around existing specimens.
Good point, Victoria. The most fun I’ve ever had in making a garden was when I worked with a blank slate, at my former home. Ambitious gardeners like to make their own mark, don’t they? —Pam
I feel sad too when I drive by my former home in Alabama and see how they have let things go. The back shade garden that I labored so much over with the path lined with hostas is now a weed patch.
I think as long as the house has been on the market, take what you want and see if less is more to someone else.
“See if less is more to someone else.” A practical philosophy, Robin. Plus it gives me a reason to take/rescue more plants. 😉 —Pam
Pam, HOW do you do it? Adding that Soft Leaf Yucca totally changed the look of that part of the garden, and yet it looks as if has been there forever. I guess it does help that it was a “raid” from your other house, so it isn’t a tiny plant. But you have this amazing eye for perspective and scale and for what works together that I try to mimic and just can’t seem to. I say, go get all of it you want! You paid for it with blood, sweat, tears, money and lots of love. The new owners won’t even notice it missing, and it will give them room to make it their own. If it were me, I’d be thinking up a way to bring that wonderful Garden Shed over…
Robin
Robin, if only I could bring the shed over! Believe me, I’ve given it some thought. As for the yucca, yes, a large specimen or two makes a big difference when starting a new garden. That’s partly why I’m tempted to go back and get some more plants that have already attained a respectable size. —Pam
Pam, I know I could not possibly have been able to resist doing the very same thing. After all, our plants become like old friends. How can we leave them behind?
Brenda
I thought it was pretty easy to leave the garden behind, but that was before I knew it might take a while to sell. Now that a few months have passed, I find it hard to resist going back and cherry picking. —Pam
I’d love to move often – creating new gardens are my passion and raiding an old makes it all the more fun 🙂
You’re doing the future owners a favor by opening up space so they can play. (or learn to play in the dirt) And if they don’t you’ve saved plants that don’t deserve to be neglected.
I like the stone planter and wall. I can’t say great minds think alike since I’m mindless but I’d have done the same thing with the triangle. The ‘whole’ looks like something I would have done myself. (only dry stacked because of the frost heaving here)
It’s nice to know that a stone craftsman likes the stone wall and raised bed we inherited. I really like it too. Thanks for the encouragement and practical advice about raiding the old garden. —Pam
Pam, Thanks for visiting my blog. I think the last time I was here you had just decided to move and were lamenting the loss of your beautiful garden. It looks like you have made an excellent start on your new garden. We moved about 5 years ago, and at the time I had just started gardening in earnest. Before we put the house on the market, though, I moved all the new perennials I had purchased that summer to our new house. I’m so glad I did. Keep “raiding” your old garden–it will give the new owners a chance to choose some new plants of their own:)
I’d been thinking of the raids in terms of negative impact on my old garden, but I like how you and other commenters are pointing out the upside for the future owners. Thanks for visiting again, Rose. —Pam
Pam, it looks great. You are so good at what you do. I say raid the entire garden of everything and just stick some Radrazz roses in the empty spots. They’re inexpensive, and the new owners won’t know or care about all of your expensive beautiful plants. No contract. No plants.
You asked me about your Japanese maple. Mine get the same amount of water as the rest of the garden, about an inch a week. Planted in shade, they do just fine if I forget to water them too. HTH.~~Dee
Thanks for the advice on the Japanese maple, Dee. I’ll try to be vigilant about keeping it watered in the summer. —Pam
Hi Pam!
Your new garden looks fabulous! Sorry I didn’t make it up to Austin. I hope to be there in the spring, so I’m sure that’s a better time to see your garden anyway. Happy 2009!
Also, you’ve been tagged! I’ve never played this blogger game but since I just got tagged, you were one of my six people to tag back. See my posting here: http://cindydyer.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
Hi, Cindy. A spring visit would be lovely if you make it to Austin. Thanks for thinking of me. —Pam
Pam, I love all the blue-gray shades you have going on in this area. They play nicely with the color of the ‘Radrazz’ rose I think. They also lend some coolness to the garden in the summer, which is always welcome. It looks terrific.
With regard to the conversation above about the whiteness of our local limestone, here is a tip I got from Bob Pool (http://DracoGardens.blogspot.com/) – “If you do decide you want a little color in the rocks you can take ironite [the same as for fruit trees], wet the rocks down and sprinkle it on and leave over night. Depending on how much you put on you can get colors from dark brown to red and it looks like natural limestone. I’ve done it to some of ours and it looks quite nice and seems to last a long time.” I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m seriously considering it.
Take care – Carol
That’s an interesting idea—tinting (staining?) the rocks to eliminate glaring whiteness. Thanks for sharing Bob’s tip, Carol. —Pam
When we sold our house 14 years ago, the whole property was a garden in full bloom on Father’s Day weekend. We sold the house in 48 hours, partly because it looked so spectacular. The new owners wanted to have a garden and learn to be gardeners. I thought they were in over their heads, but sometimes that’s how you learn.
That garden was child’s play compared to the one we’ve been working on at this house for over a dozen years. I’ve decided not to worry about what happens when we sell. I figure the next owners can toss all the rocks into the pond and fill it in and pull out what they don’t want and then they’ve got the property they want. Heck, we may fill in the pond someday if it’s too much for us. (You can read about these gardens here.
We took some plants with us but were cautioned by our realtor about what was legal to take. Also since the garden was a selling point, we could not leave empty holes. I think if the house had not sold it might have made it more difficult not to go back and cherry pick. I will always regret not taking a cutting of the best — the only — rose I managed to grow well.
Linda, I am so glad you left a comment so that I could find your delightful series about the creation of your garden. Your “child’s play” garden is just marvelous, as are your educational posts, and I can’t wait to see the grown-up garden you’re still creating. —Pam
That looks lovely Pam. No sense having a lawn there, that’s for sure. What do you plan to edge the bed with?
Leftover steel edging for a short-term, and free, solution. Eventually, I’ll edge it with cut stone, I think. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I love the changes in your new garden, especially the ‘exclamation point’ – it’s wonderful. And of course, the ‘Radrazz’ rose is lovely with the blue grey colors.
It’s good that you are taking plants with you – it brings a bit of ‘home’ to your new place.
It sure does, Chloe. Even though my new garden conditions are quite different, there are many plants that still work, and they do help me to feel at home. —Pam
Chloe M.
Looking good! At this rate, the unsold house will have a bare landscape.
Aiyana
Ha—I won’t go that far, Aiyana. I’m probably going to put in some lawn over there instead. —Pam
The evolution of your garden continues! Love the new/old yucca in its current spot. The new bed looks divine and much better than grass. That spot would be hard to mow wouldn’t it. I can’t believe you are currently gardening. I guess this is the time for it in Austin. Here, cold, white, hard landscape. I guess I’ll read a book which I remember you posting about during July and August.
Hi, Layanee. Now is your reading and dreaming time of year. For me, it’s in July and August. Sometimes we seem to be worlds apart, don’t we? —Pam
Pam, this article from the LA Times made me think of your two gardens…
http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-revisit3-2009jan03,0,5812086.story
E.
What a timely article for me. Thanks for sharing it, Eleanor. —Pam
Hi Pam, I skipped down all the comments to add that I have had entire gardens ripped and replaced with grass also after selling the property. Take everything you want and go ahead and add the grass now. It might really help the sale, believe it or not!
Frances
Thanks for the advice, Frances. I know you’ve been there and done that, many times. —Pam
Pam, I don’t know how you stop yourself from raiding your old garden more than you do! The yucca looks great there. But you know what I am drooling over in your photos, don’t you? Yes, I thought you did. LOL.
Ha—Drool away, Kylee. Just watch out for your computer. 😉 —Pam
When we needed to sell our home a few years ago we had a realtor come by in February to talk about what we needed to do to get ready(carpet,paint etc).The garden was quite extensive, one I had inherited from a previous owner who had neglected it due to ill health.The realtor took one look at the garden and all the bare spots in Feb and was dismayed over how it looked. My husband wanted to get it on the market in early March, but I said to wait a few more weeks and we put it on in late March. By then the garden was in full bloom with spring flowers,roses etc and the house sold in a week to some people moving in from up north.One of them was from Texas and they asked if I would go over the garden with them before they moved in. We met one afternoon and I spent an hour going around with them telling them the names,care and what plants were not visible at the time but would pop up later. I left a book on Texas natives that the previous owner had given me.I recently went back to Austin and drove by.They’ve done a great job of keeping it up and have made some changes that look good too.It made me feel good that they’ve taken the garden and made it their own.
That’s wonderful that they are maintaining your old garden. It must make you happy to know it’s in good hands. Thanks for commenting, Nancy. —Pam
I am in the same situation as you, with an unsold house an hour away, and have zero compunction about raiding it of anything even slightly useful to me or unusual. In fact, the sun-loving plants which I can’t use in my new, shaded garden, I am donating to a church garden on the new corner so I can see them when I drive by!
I am keeping the old garden in plants (I am anti-grass), but vastly simplifying with ground covers and easy-care shrubs. In our Washington D.C. suburb, one almost never sees people come out of their houses, much less actually garden. My yard would break my heart if I saw it neglected. So raid away and enjoy it!
I think I shall, Bev. Good luck to you on selling your house soon. Perhaps a spring buyer will be in both our futures. —Pam