Our Japanese Maple tree collection is growing. We also have a new plan which involves more japanese maples, camellias, fern, hosta, moss and other shade loving plants.

We have a lot of property to take care of and creating more future work seems to be a trend. Behind our house is a shady stretch that we cleared of undergrowth and tried growing grass. We also planted some random items just to see if they would take. The Moso bamboo and assorted weeds do well. We have been talking about creating a larger scale japanese garden in this area and this weekend we started on this project. Yes we have a lot of other projects, but what’s one more on our list…

Japanese gardens tend to be a patchwork of charming plant tableaus. What if we just start creating random gardens that will eventually be the japanese garden? Seems easy enough. This weekend we experimented with two garden patches. Most of the plants are orphan plants, some might be removed to other patches, some might not thrive. They were not too difficult to execute since we have piles of dirt, compost and tractors to help with the work.

The left section is filled with a new maple acer palmatum ‘Villa Taranto’, camellia japonica ‘SeaFoam’, some random camellias that have struggled, some azaleas that were usually forgotten at watering time, and a quince bush just because.

The right section holds hosta, two azaleas moved from the southwest corner , camellia japonica ‘Tamo Vino’, and acer palmatum ‘Mikazuki’. I had to create a stone wall to hold the soil around the maple tree in place. I’d like to import some moss in between the stones.

Pond builder did not get any pond work done this weekend because he had to scrape the earth and plant trees for me. He does good work though.

On the front side of the house, four new maple trees were planted. The largest is called acer palmatum Lileeanne’s Jewel and it is your basic, beautiful pink tree. We also have one called acer palmatum Watnong, which has a S-shaped trunk. In the sun, the color of this tree will be more red than it is currently. I was going to wait to plant the acer palmatum Autumn Fire but decided to put it out front as well. The fall colors are supposed to be brilliant and I wanted it where I would see it everyday with ease. The hardest tree to decide upon was the one on the corner of the house. I needed a tree that was upright, not too tall, and spread out rather than droop – acer palmatum Seirya should work and will provide me with shade on the porch on the future. I purchased all my maples from Robbie Beem of Grove Creek Maple Farm. (Robbie also does koi.) The selection of trees that Robbie brings in from Oregon is fabulous and it’s hard to decide what you want. Thankfully, I don’t have to limit my selections due to space. Robbie also provides a lot of good advice on selection of maples. I really wanted an unusual cork bark maple but he told me it wouldn’t work in the spot I thought I wanted to place it. Sad face but I ‘m sure it will be right at home in my new garden area…

Where the Lileeanne Jewel tree was a garden of smaller maples and azaleas. Most of them have been relocated and we’re going to think about creating a stone terrace sitting area or a nobedan (mix materials, but mostly stone) path with small plants, maybe short hosta. Good thing most of our plants tolerate being moved around fairly well.

Meanwhile, the hay has been cut and we think we might be getting 250-300 large round bales. The chickens are enjoying picking through the field. Another busy weekend on the farm comes to an end.