It's a pretty sad picture out there right now, since so much of the "bones" of my garden rely on the foilage of the ornamental grasses, and with those gone, everything seems boring and a bit unbalanced. I'm thinking that next fall I need to put in a whole bunch of oxalis and spring-blooming bulbs so that this whole cutting-back routine isn't quite so depressing.
In other non-depressing news, I finally caved and bought this ornamental stone head that I've been admiring for over a year. I love it:
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the succulents root and fill in without any problems. The planting pocket on the top of the head was smaller than I thought. Either way, I love how this stone face catches the light.
Before the haircut:
After the haircut:
And for comparison purposes, last February. In retrospect, I really could not have gotten any luckier than starting my garden when I did. I don't think I even watered until October!
Tomorrow's plan...exciting trench-digging. It's time to de-uglify the other side yard.
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9 comments:
Lori - I love your garden head. Did you see mine a few posts back? We must have been inspired by the same Greek gods or something! I thought I would put sedum in mine to trail down her head, but I had this geranium and stuck it in there and while i didn't like it much at first, it's growing on me. I kind of like the color. Have you named her? Annie helped me name mine Artemis.
Diana - Yes, I saw your sculpture, and I really like it. I can't wait to see how it looks once the plants fill in. There was a very similar sculpture that I desperately wanted at The Great Outdoors the summer before last, but the next time I was there, it was gone.
As for naming him, I've named him Antinous as a sort of private joke. I took far too much art history in college and the style of the head reminded me of statues of Antinous. Not to mention that my persistent coveting of the thing reminded me of this passage from the Wilde poem 'The Sphinx':
You heard from Hadrian's gilded barge
the laughter of Antinous... and
watched with hot and hungry stare
the ivory body of that rare young slave with
his pomegranate mouth!
I ended up an English major. ;)
Oh, and by the way, thanks for the advice about the aralia. I'm definitely going to give it a try!
The stone head is very elegant. I like this time of year in the garden because it is so tidy and fresh looking. I enjoy the air of expection.
mss - Thanks! There's one creepy thing about that head, though, in that that particular shade of stone lights up with the slightest light, so on a moonlit night, suddenly you see something staring at you in the dark.
It's been interesting, since I cut things back, how much more freely I'm able to think of moving things around. I think it's too easy for me, when the plants are lush and green, to stick with combinations that aren't working together as well as I'd like.
I spent last week cutting back too. It took three days, and my back was paying for it. Thank goodness that's done. I was sad to cut back my ornamental grasses too, but like MSS says, now there's a sense of expectation. In fact, my spiderworts have already filled in where the Turk's cap branches were tangled before the cut-back.
Well, when you get right down to it, the whole idea of putting a lopped-off stone HEAD in your garden, and then sticking plants in the brain to grow really is pretty weird! Maybe Antinous won't be so creepy when he's a little weather worn and doesn't glow in the dark!
Hi Lori,
I looked at this post the other day but couldn't see all the photos and then forgot to comment. For some reason I can see them today- you sure have done a lot of cutting back.
Antinous' head is pretty cool looking - but 'English major' made me think of the continuing saga of the English major on "A Prairie Home Companion". The resultant laughter kind of overshadowed the hot quote from the Wilde poem.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Pam - I'm surprised how fast the grasses are coming back. I cut nearly down to the ground, and they've at least doubled in height in the space of a week.
Diana - Now that you've pointed that out, I'm tempted to re-name him John the Baptist! Which would be especially appropriate considering that I dump water over his head several times a week. ;)
Annie - I don't follow The Prairie Home Companion, though I'm familiar with the setup. This English Major saga sounds like something I could appreciate. ;) Do tell!
Great reeading your blog post
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