Life is always better when you have a partner who always says “we can do it” and is a big thinker. I was originally thinking about a small 300 square feet Japanese maple garden near the bamboo grove. Pond builder points out the 2500+ square feet cleared area and comments, “we should turn the entire area into a large japanese maple garden.” Three and a half years ago, we couldn’t even see this area. Much of the undergrowth was cleared through our first winter and since then, we had other projects to work on and no real ideas for this area.

A few weekends ago we created two small garden islands and this past weekend we put more maples into the ground. I have covered some of the area with weed barrier and we will be adding more rocks, path material, more mulch, etc. Most of the trees planted in this area demand shade. I had them in pots and used the game camera to take interval photos to check when the sun might hit the trees. The amount of sun or protection from the sun affects the coloring and variegation of leaves. Our maples are purchased from Robbie Beams (whom the pond builder affectionately refers to as the crack dealer), Grove Creek Maple Farm. I have a running wish list of maples and I’m sure we’ll see him delivering a few trees every year.

Japanese maple varieties are characterized by seasonal color, tree shape, leaves – and the combinations are endless. As I learn more about maples, I found a new Japanese word – momijigari – red leaves hunting. In the fall, appreciating the autumn maple colors is just as big of a deal as the spring cherry blossom viewings. With maples, you get twice the fun because many unfurl in the springtime with outrageous colors and then exit the year in bright tones of yellow, orange, red and bronze. My nondescript tones have some small hints to color changes I may see this fall and next spring. Villa Taranto happens to enjoy the sun and is thriving at one of the garden entrances. The tree is pushing out new leaves that are bright red and transform into green leaves with a dark, purplish edging.

On the other side is a small island with maikujaku, “dancing peacock” that has fern like leaves and a small kiyohime maple that starts out with leaves edged in coral and yellow. We planted some companions like camellias, hosta, coleus, mondo grass, and hakone grass. The chickens spend a lot of time screwing up our plantings by scratching through the mulch.

We had originally planted a mikazuki maple where the kiyohime is located. It wasn’t very happy, got a little too much sun, leaf scorching and then a few Japanese beetles found it. We decided to put it back in a pot and temporarily place it in a shadier area. It will be replanted somewhere, maybe not until next year. Good thing the pond builder is patient and doesn’t mind plant re-dos. I’m trying to be thoughtful about initial placement so we don’t have a lot of re-dos. The mikazuki looks much happier already.

The beni schichihenge was not on my list for this year but a medium size was available so we went ahead and purchased. Lovely pink and cream edging on the leaves. Not all of my trees have the variegated look. Some of the trees have two tone green and others are a single vivid color of green. The shape and texture of the leaves make some trees impossible to pass without reaching out to feel the leaves.

Sunday morning we had nothing in the ground and several maples were delivered at 7:00 am. Pond builder placed all the trees in and then my task was to move rocks and start creating the garden island. Rocks were imported from other areas on the farm. I placed the weed barrier down and went to bed exhausted by 7:30 pm.

The area is still very unfinished but it’s nice to sit outside during the day. The temperature can be about 90 degrees outside but it’s much cooler (and comfortable) in the shade. Pond builder and the young hens already love the garden area. I saw a few of the hens pecking at the little viridis next to the rocks. Let’s hope that was a one time activity.

The center rocks are being moved from the front side of the house and the hilly side garden next to the garage. The hilly side garden was quite attractive when we moved in August 2020. It was professionally landscaped with artful placement of large rocks, native plants, and a drip irrigation system. It has never looked as nice as it did in 2020. It was always on my list to “get around to weeding next weekend” and other projects pushed it lower down the priority list. I added some plants along the way, neglected weeding, then the chickens went to town scratching – the end result being I botched up this garden. So our new plan is to slowly remove rocks, move plants and gradually change the hillside back to grass with some trees. We will retackle this hillside another year. Somewhere along this hill we will need steps up to the pond area. The large rocks are perfect for placement in the new maple garden.

We also took out some large rocks from the front river bed. We are cleaning up and redoing the river bed which has also suffered from neglect since we moved in. I am currently pulling up rocks and we will put down new liner that can potentially support a pond-less running water feature. Gathering rocks seems like an easy task but the layers of rocks and collected dirt make it slow work. Some of the plants from the hillside garden will find a new home in this area.

Some plants from the hillside are going into plant hospital. Even with little wire fencing, the chickens have managed to damage several plants.

My greenhouse is on the chopping block. It’s not an attractive lead-in to the garden and I have not been able to use it properly for the last three winters. Seed starting in the garage is much more practical and easy. We thought about moving it next to the vegetable garden but Mr. Big Thinker commented that if we want a greenhouse, let’s get a 20’ hoop house near the vegetable garden. We’ll be taking this greenhouse down this summer, keeping some of the panels for something, and transforming this spot into a peony garden. If it looks too sunny, we can create a peony garden deeper in the shade and make a dahlia garden. Maybe this is a good spot for a koshikake , “waiting bench” feature found in many traditional Japanese garden. The idea is you wait in a semi enclosed structure until you are called into the next area. I’m sure some idea will stick and if it doesn’t work, we can always re-do. 😂

Pond progress has been slow because we have been distracted with other projects. The framework for the facade pieces is up and next week the contractor returns. His tasks include building a permanent roof over the pond, reshingling the pump house to match, extend the concrete skirt of the pond, and create a concrete/stone terrace in the southwest corner of the house. Thankfully these will be done in about two weeks. After that we can start thinking about finishing the facade and re-landscaping around the pond area. We have grass down just to hold the soil in place for now. The koi are pretty boring – eat, swim around lazily. Boring is good though. I see lots of postings on Facebook of koi keepers with sick koi and pond problems – we really are too busy that. The little koi in our quarantine tank will still need to stay there for a few more weeks, too small to go into the large pond. Of course we could put them in the pond but they might find their way into the filtration system.

Meanwhile the spring hay cut has yielded a lot of hay bales. Not sure of the final bale count but it’s probably over 200. There’s always a new project or two being thought about for the farm. Big thinking in progress!