We Just Have to Focus on Spring

On this cold dreary day I just want to think about Spring and my garden.
If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that I've already written about my Sweet Woodruff ground cover and shady area garden solutions. It's one of my most pinned garden posts, so I thought I'd share again.  I've included some new photos so it's not a total repeat.

If you're looking for an easy-care, fragrant, and beautiful ground cover for your shady spots, 

Sweet Woodruff is my favorite.  A friend divided some of her Sweet Woodruff and shared it with me.  She told me that it was perfect at the base of a tree where nothing seems to grow.
  I used to plant impatiens in those spots, but the deer have convinced me to find something else.
Besides, Sweet Woodruff is a perennial and it spreads quickly.
 It also completely covers an area and keeps down the weeds too.

Flowering Sweet Woodruff

At first I planted it around tree bases.  Then I discovered that I loved mixing it in with the rocks and flowers in my garden along the walk way from my porch to my patio.

Walk Way From My Screened Porch to My Lower Level Patio

Beginning of Walk Way From Porch to Lower Level Patio

It's so easy to divide.  I can't believe that all these plants came from several small ones.  All I did was dig up a clump of the plant, then tear it apart into smaller pieces.  I re-planted the smaller plants in their new spot with some spacing in between.  They quickly filled in.

 This path is on the other side of my house and goes from my kitchen door to the patio below.

Path From Kitchen to Patio

Path From Kitchen to Patio, Looking Up

They really keep down the weeds around my ferns, nandina, lamb's ear and hosta.

What's your favorite ground cover?

Kathy

If you're looking for more ground cover information, go here. 
Ground cover really helps control your weed population.

University of Illinois

An Unexpected Surpise Under the Sun Room

When we added the sun room to the back of the house, we not only created my favorite space in my home, but we also gained an unexpected living area on the patio below.  Before the addition, we hardly used the brick patio.  It was very sunny and it seemed that I did nothing but sweat and pull weeds that sprouted up overnight in the cracks between the bricks.   I have to confess that the patio was the place where I'd paint my furniture in the warm months.  Those paint spot speckles on the bricks prove it is my workshop.  Eventually my sweet friend, Nancy, found some chinoiserie furniture for me and I decided to clean up that area. 

My Unexpected Space Under the Sun Room

 

The photos in this post were taken by C.M. Glover, the photojournalist who did my photo shoot for Houzz.  She kindly came back to my house at a later date and took some more photos.  These photos were taken at dusk.  Below is a view from another angle.

Another Angle of the Area

This is the before picture, complete with my son's sports net pitch back and a trash can.

Before Back Yard

To give you some perspective about the space, you can access the back yard and patio from either side of the house.  If you come down the driveway, there's a path to the patio between the garage and the screened porch.

Path From Driveway to Patio

Or, you can enter from the kitchen side of the house and follow a different path to the back yard.

Path From Kitchen Porch to Patio

 C.M. suggested that before she returned, I should style the area as if I were hosting a party.  
I couldn't believe it when I went to Trader Joe's looking for flowers and found some in the exact colors of my cushions.

Styled Table

 

 Here's a closer look at the flowers.  Did you notice that I found a spot for those orange shutters?  I just couldn't part with them after I purchased them.  They hung around for a while in the garage, with everything else in my secret stash, but I knew I'd use them.  Their orange color was my inspiration for the space.  I still have a few more hanging around.  I'm hoping to pry them from my greedy little pack rat fingers and put them up for sale.

Table Setting With Chippy Shutter in Background

 You know how I love clocks and demijohns.  They were perfect on the bar cart with some ferns from my garden.

Clock and Ferns in My Demijohn on the Bar Cart

I put candles in the candelabra I suspended from the pergola.  I even did place settings on my 

clock face table.  You can see that I really got into this styling. 

Under the Pergola

I had some faux cabbage leaf place mats to go under my cabbage dishes.  I paired them with some leopard print flatware and glasses--gotta get that animal print in somewhere.

All Ready to Eat---Where's the Food?

I thought the flowers looked especially nice as the sun was setting.

Building Fragment, Sphere, and Lambs Ear

Sweet Woodruff, Hosta, Lamb's Ear, Nandina, Ferns

 

Hosta, Dracena, Impatiens Along the Path

       I'm very happy with my surprise living space and guess what??   
The shade from the sun room also took care of the weed problem.  I still paint on the patio and the sun room offers me shade and protection from raindrops too. 

Kathy

I have to show you the "before" of the Chinoiserie settee and chairs.

 

Before the New Upholstery

If you missed my Home Tour Feature on Houzz, go here.

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Shady Solution

If you're looking for an easy-care, fragrant, and beautiful ground cover for your shady spots, 

Sweet Woodruff is my favorite.  A friend divided some of her Sweet Woodruff and shared them with me .  She told me it was perfect at the base of a tree where nothing seems to grow.    I used to plant impatiens in those spots but the deer have convinced me to find something else.  Besides, Sweet Woodruff is a perennial and it spreads quickly.  It also completely covers an area and keeps down the weeds too.   And, I just found out that it keeps pests away from roses and peonies. 

Sweet Woodruff in the Spring

At first I planted it around tree bases.  Then I discovered that I loved mixing it in with the rocks and flowers in my garden too.

It's so easy to divide.  I can't believe that all these plants came from several small ones.

They really keep down the weeds around my ferns, nandina, lamb's ear and hosta.

What do you plant in your barren shady spots?
You can purchase the plants but I always like to share with a friend.
If you live nearby, come visit and I'll be happy to divide my Sweet Woodruff for your shade garden.

Kathy


To see more of my garden in an updated post go here.

If you're looking for more ground cover information, go here.  Ground cover in your plantings is the perfect way to keep down the weed population.

University of Illinois Extension

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