Another Hateful Area Gets its' Come Uppance

 In my crusade to deal with garden neglect I can claim a modest victory. I first posted about these sad areas here, a confession that exposed the passed over regions of my garden to public view. Last November I shared my renovation of the the bed that was closest to the entry from the house  to the back garden. There has been more work done on that spot and I will post an update soon.
 My approach to these spaces was to start with projects that would require no infrastructure/hardscape improvements i.e. things I could do by myself without having to hire in help. There were two tree removals involved but that would have happened whether or not these garden projects were on the agenda-there were safety issues.

 Here is what I started with in 2016,  a pathetic empty berm in the corner with too much shade . When we bought the house in the early 90's this corner sported a ghastly 1970 era  fountain and a listing olive tree . Through the years I managed to get rid of both (getting rid of a concrete fountain is no easy task) and foolishly planted a Japanese maple which in combination with the neighbors ever-expanding Locust tree created deep dry shade. As you can tell, I was not spending much time trying primp this spot -in fact averting my gaze seemed like the best course of action.

   Last summer when I had the Japanese Maple removed  things took a turn for the better.The amount of sunlight increased significantly; deep shade became morning sun and dappled afternoon light. 
  I took this photo in May 2017, a couple days after the Japanese Maple went away. By this time , all that was left of the 'landscaping' was a snail-hole ridden patch of Hellebores , a  sad couple of Carex and a partially reverted Brunnera 'Jack Frost' . My goal was to make sure the fence was less prominent and the planting was dense with plenty of color contrast.

 Here I staged a 5 gal variegated red-twig dogwood  as a back ground plant. This  plant had been languishing in its' pot for a couple of years by this time, and needed frequent watering. I had (and still have) reservations about putting it here-it's really a plant that needs back-lighting to provide the best interest, so this location does not serve it well. I'll leave it for this year but I am pondering options, and in reality it would be nice to have something evergreen in this corner.

 The next step was the shopping. I had a list that I carried with me everywhere and it took me a few months to accumulate all the plants there-in, along with a few impulse buys. This is what I had last fall. There is an aggregate stepping stone in the photo above just below the green valve box and the turquoise pot of Hakone grass is placed there.

   This was in April this year. The Euphorbia wulfenii are all volunteers; I left them for now but editing is on the horizon.

   The autumn fern-Dryopteris enthrosora - has performed way above my expectations.

 A wider view. 

 I planted this Lunaria annua 'Rosemary Verey' from Annies last fall and I hope to encourage re-seeding. The seed heads are great as fillers in flower arrangements. 

 

This is my most recent addition. I had a dark leaved Plectranthus here last year but more contrast was needed so when I was in Socal in March I bought this Plectranthus 'Sapphire Dream' (hope I got that name right) that I think will be an improvement. I'll take cuttings in fall in case it doesn't make it through  the winter.

 

  

 Heuchera with Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum).

This is a really crappy photo of Athyrium 'Ghost' (why didn't I move the plant stake ? ) which I was so happy to find locally.

 This project has been incredibly satisfying.The transformation from a dark plantless corner to a colorful shade garden has made me feel confident about a couple other renovations on the punch list.  I will post an update later this summer that will include the Fuchsias that were planted here-they are still a few weeks away from bloom.