Landscaping around the she-shed

Winchester

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This picture was taken back in January, so there are no leaves or grass. I guess I should take a more recent one because now the trees are leafed-out, the lilies are up, and the grass is growing.

I've been devouring my Garden Gate issues and the internet, trying to come up with a decent landscaping plan for around the shed. And not coming up with anything that I like; I guess I'm just not very creative. We have azaleas for the southern end, which gets a lot of good morning sun, as well as a red twig dogwood for some winter color. A hydrangea for either side of the deck steps, which are already planted. I'm putting daffodils and probably some hosta around the trees with coral bells. Plenty of hosta at the northern end, which is pretty much shaded all the time. With a bit of coral bells and astilbe in front of the hosta.

The big problem for me is the 10 x 8 foot area at the western end of the shed, directly north of the deck. This gets dappled shade throughout the afternoon with a wee bit of direct sun in the very late afternoon and evening. I'm thinking of flowering shrubs, with just a few perennials and some annuals here and there. What kind? Haven't a clue. In the purple, pink, and white shades.

Next week, weather permitting, I'm staining the deck. It will be in a two-tone grey, with some of the deck a lighter shade and other areas a bit darker. I need to hit Lowes for some solar lighting for the steps to the deck. I already bought both stains. Rick will powerwash the deck, we'll let it dry, and then I can start. The big problem is all the droppings from the trees. I swear I can sweep the deck every morning, and, by lunch time, it's covered by a good inch of tree needles, pine cones, and the like. And bird poop.

I'm thinking flagstone for the path from the driveway over to the shed, with some grass and some creeping thyme planted around the stones. It's easy and we can mow it with the push mower, at least for now.

Deck furniture? Nothing exotic. Plantation rocking chairs or Adirondack chairs? I like them both. Not sure of the color. I was hoping to get out to some yard sales or public sales for some kind of small tables or something, but the virus screwed that up.

The people from Sheds Unlimited emailed me. They still want to do the video shoot and promise to use face masks and such while they're here. I need to get started! I didn't get much because we aren't really going out that often to buy much of anything. Guess I'd better get going!

Ideas are welcomed!
 

catapault

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If the 10 foot X 8 foot area under discussion is the space between the end of the deck and the end of the she shed - pave it with flagstones, like the path, and use potted plants. They can be switched around for the seasons. Think foliage rather than flowers for limited light situations - Japanese forest grass has a golden cultivar, excellent with golden or gold variegated hosta. Japanese painted fern is silver, pairs well with blue hosta. Heuchera have a zillion color foliage options including purple. Alberta spruce live through the winter in pots and when they get too big just plant them in the ground and get new ones.
 
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Winchester

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I am going to check on impatiens the next time we're at the nursery. For some reason, we cannot grow butterfly bushes. I know, they're supposed to be so easy to grow; a friend at work told me that his would reach a good 8 feet in one season and then he'd cut it pretty much down to the ground every fall. We've tried now several times and they don't grow well at all for us. We don't know why.

I actually thought about putting flagstone down as a patio with a nice small table and chairs and using potted plants. Rick doesn't like the idea. I do; I could use the same kinds of plants on the deck and on the patio. And I did look at jasmine (simply because I've wanted a jasmine now for decades and never bought one!) and the place I want to buy it from is sold out.

The azaleas are planted. They came on Thursday and Friday. Very well packed and the plants do look lovely. We were pleasantly surprised.

Thanks guys!
 

catapault

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Pam, if you have enough corrugated cardboard - cut it to approximate size / shape of flagstones and lay it down to give Dear Richard a visual of what it would look like. If you are compulsively over-the-top (I've done this) sponge paint a little color to make it look more realistic. Also, since there are so many straight edges - she shed, deck - rather than a rectangular 8' X 10' think about curving the outer edge to soften the look.
 
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Winchester

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I'm going to Lowes tomorrow morning to get some pavers, stone, and sand for that area. And will use containers plants to decorate. I have a very old Adirondack chair that my dad made and gave to me. We take it outside for the summer, but we do keep it in the basement for the winter. It's white now and the plan is to strip it down and paint it Sonic Purple to match the front door of the shed. That will go in the center of the "patio". When the weather gets bad, I can either take the container plants in the shed or in the basement or simply dump them if they have annuals.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Four-cobbl...6-in-x-16-in-Actual-15-7-in-x-15-7-in/4686349

Rick is not particularly amused because he likes flower beds. I do, too, but I want something different. I've always wanted to put a patio along the back side of house and he didn't want to, so I'll put one at the shed.

Oh, and I was way off base with the size. It's a 5 x 8-foot area.

North of the shed does not get much in the way of sun at all in the summer because of the trees. We have tons of hostas in the yard that would benefit from being divided, so they'll go in that area. I'm thinking of planting astilbe and coral bells. The southern end has the azaleas and will have impatiens for color as well. The red twig dogwood will go there, too.

The area right in front of the deck will have striped hostas, planted around the trees with some daffodils (that are from other areas of the yard). I may continue the coral bells there, too; both Rick and I really like coral bells. They're kind of an old-fashioned plant. Our moms had them in their yards, too. We have some in both the back and the front flower beds.

We'll use the same kind of paver for the path. I also want to hit a local farm and home store for those paw-print stepping stones for along the way, too. I hope they still have them; if they don't, Rick told me to take the ones out of the flowerbed in the back yard (the plants cover them anyway and you can't see them).

We'll see how things go. Thanks for the ideas!
 
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catapault

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Japanese painted fern and blue hosta. Both winter hardy, winter-dormant.
NYBG-Azalea Garden II_2011-05_Japanese painted fern and hosta.jpg

Another possibility

Japanese painted fern and Begonia 'Escargot'
Five Vermont Gardens-Patsy Highberg_2019-06_Japanese painted fern and begonia.jpg
Begonia needs to come in for the winter. There are other silver begonias. This happens to be the one I have a picture of.
 
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Winchester

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That painted fern looks lovely. I'll see if the nursery has them. It's really pretty with the blue hosta. Thank you.
 
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Winchester

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The shed company called about the video shoot. It's scheduled for June 30, starting at 8:00 am and they'll try to get it wrapped up by noon. It will include an interview with Rick and me. I really don't want to appear on camera!
 

Kat0121

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The shed company called about the video shoot. It's scheduled for June 30, starting at 8:00 am and they'll try to get it wrapped up by noon. It will include an interview with Rick and me. I really don't want to appear on camera!
Have Rick do the talking and one of the girls can stand in for you. :thumbsup:
 

catapault

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Bake the film crew some cookies. That will mold them to your will. Say you don't want to appear on camera because of your hair. The guys will nod and agree, while thinking "just like a woman." Do the video as a voice-over. Ask them what questions they might ask so you can think about answers before they arrive. Also think about what you want to say before they arrive - make a list of bullet points. Are you willing to have them film your hand - holding one of the African violets or something?
 
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Winchester

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He said he is going to send us a list of questions and we are to send back our replies. And he'll go from there. I guess it's our 15 minutes of fame! He also asked about an aerial view (does he have a drone??), but honestly, it's so nestled in the trees that all anybody would see would be the roof. It should be interesting!

The shed deck is stained with the darker grey. Rick is going to put a second coat on the deck floor, simply because of rain and all the foot traffic it will get; he thinks it needs another coat. We're taking the deck spindles off and I'll stain them with the lighter grey. Once they're dry, we'll re-attach them. The plantation-type rocking chairs are supposed to come tomorrow; they're in, I think it's called, Rainforest Green. Once we get the excess dirt moved away from the patio, I'll start doing some plantings. Hosta to start, because we have a ton of hosta.

I need to bring the Adirondack chair out from the basement. I think I mentioned that Dad made this chair, so it's heavy and sturdy. I was going to paint it purple, but Rick wants to keep it white and then get chair cushions with purple. Either way, I have to clean it and re-paint, whichever color I use.
 
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