A view of our gardens: the Low Garden

It's peak rhubarb season in our yard, right now. I have so much rhubarb that I have extra to freeze and dehydrate.

Last winter a couple of you indicated that you'd like to see a sketch of the layout of our gardens. I set out to do that yesterday morning. So, here's the first preliminary sketch. It's not to scale. (The lawn is not nearly so square -- oops!) But fairly representative of the layout. I have a set amount of time I can devote to working on my blog and reading other blogs, so sketching this out without a measuring tape was the quick way.

This is our backyard, from the deck on out. The back of our house faces south. Two-thirds of our yard is on one level. The last third (to the east -- left-hand side of page) sits about 3 feet lower at it's deepest point. We call this area the low garden or the sunken garden. It's where the small pond is. (There's a large natural pond just to the other side of the white garden.)

I like to think of the different sections of our yard as rooms, each with its own personality, use and decor.

view on the west side of the low garden

The west side of the low garden receives the most sun. I have 3 blueberry bushes and the 3 largest rhubarb plants at the north end of this section. I grow mints in the shade of one of the blueberries. I have large pots sunk into the ground for the mints, to control rampant spread. The stone path winds down to the pond and my tea garden, where my I have some lavender, chamomile, and lemon balm.

view on the east side of the low garden

From the other side of the cherry tree is a stone path (still under construction) that meets up with the other path, around the pond. This area is in the shade of large weeping willow, but still receives a few hours of afternoon sun. I have 1 blueberry bush here, and 5 rhubarb plants. Under the willow is where I have my spring garden. It's filled with spring-flowering bulbs and plants that do well in the weeks before the willow leafs out. In summer, the hostas and lilies take over for small specks of color.

The soil in the low garden has been beefed up with a lot of compost, and hence is very rich. It was the site of our first compost pile. For the first 4 years, we added and added material. Now, it's an excellent spot for rhubarb and blueberries. It also receives a good share of afternoon sun each day, for our yard that is (remember, we're in the pacific northwest where trees grow tall).

With the rhubarb, I began with 3 plants. I originally planted them near the house. They were quite unhappy there and never did much. When I moved them to the low garden, I also divided them, giving us 6 plants. And when I moved 1 of the plants one more time, I inadvertently divided that one into several small plants, giving us a total of 12 plants. I have since given away 4 of those plants, leaving us with 8 healthy plants. I've got another plant spoken for for the fall, when I can dig them again. I think 6 plants would eventually be an ideal number for our needs.


In addition to the rhubarb and blueberries, we have many perennials in the low garden, including day lilies, iris, oriental and asiatic lilies, spring-flowering bulbs, hostas, rhododendron, ferns, azalea, the mints, my tea garden, and an assortment of succulents. Our thought was more tropical looking plants for this area. Unfortunately, slugs like to dine on many of the tropicals, so it's a never ending battle between me and my flowers, and the slugs. I made an addition to the low garden on Tuesday. I added a water lily to the pond. It was on clearance at Home Depot, so we'll see if it grows at all.

I mentioned that I've been dehydrating rhubarb. I'll give details on how I do that and what I use this sweetened, dried rhubarb for, tomorrow.

My top 5 outdoor chores to make my lazy, hazy days of summer fabulous

I could think of over a dozen things that I'd like to get done or set up before summer begins. Couldn't you? But I'd make myself crazy if all those things became must-dos. So, to preserve my last speck of sanity, I settled on 5 must-dos. I can tackle one or two per week and be set for summer, by month's end.

Here they are.

My 5 (and only 5) Must-Do Outdoor Tasks for June 


1) Repair and/or install screens

There's nothing like fresh air in the house. Many of the window screens are still in place from last summer. But I still have a couple of bare windows. And the doors to the deck don't have screens. I've ordered some drop-down screens for the two sets of French doors. They hang on tension rods and velcro to the sides. Each has an opening in the middle that seals shut with magnets after passing through.

2) Plant some flowers in a spot that I see each and every day

The plain truth -- flowers make my heart sing. I have two pots that hold crocus and tulip bulbs for early spring. I'll plant some annuals over the bulbs and set the pots on the steps to the kitchen door. That should brighten that spot nicely.

3) Finish cleaning up the deck and patio

Nothing more embarrassing than wearing light-colored pants, sitting down on a dirty/mossy chair, only to be tagged with a "nature" print on your seat. With the help of one of my teens, I've been scrubbing the chairs and deck over the past month. This is a huge chore, as moss covers everything in our yard. I began with the table/chair set, and have been working my way around the furniture groupings. Getting the deck floor cleaned was essential to keeping the legs of all the newly-cleaned furniture nice-looking, as rain causes a splash-back effect on chair/table legs. I just have a couple of chairs and one patch of the deck left.

4) Fill the citronella/cedar torches with new oil to keep those pesky mosquitos at bay

I'm allergic, and those pests seem to know it. I am always the first one bitten in this household! After fixing my blunder with the torches from last year (they were left outside all winter and the wicks became waterlogged), I got them refilled and in working order.

5) Put a timer on the sprinklers/hoses and set up the seeping hoses

With a timer, I can just turn on the sprinkler or seeping hoses to water shrubs and flowers and forget it. If I have to run out for something, or have plans, I don't have to work my errands or schedule around watering. For this job, I'll need three more lengths of seeping hose for garden areas that I want to keep watered this summer.

That's it. These are my must-do jobs for this month, so that the rest of summer can be filled with fabulous, lazy, hazy days!

What are your top jobs to get done before the summer heat rolls in?