Recent Garden Acquisitions

[Opsa]

Thanks! The Mazus was in bloom when I bought it, and very pretty. I wonder if it isn't one of the groundcovers that Aggie was looking for in another thread (about groundcover as art). They are still in their pots, which I set into the tops  of two terra cotta strawberry planters that are set to free range around the garden, and are filled on the sides with hens-and-chicks.

The Salix has an attractive round shape. It seems to be settling in well, what with all the rain we've been having. I'm guessing it gets purplish catkins in the early spring?

[pieces o nine]

Very nice pics, all!

Here's how the irises looked a couple weeks ago...
         

...and a couple other little blooming spots...
   

[Opsa]

So beautiful and so well kept! Makes my garden look like a jungle (which it is).

[Aggie]

So's mine.  My irises are just starting to bloom, here.  I suppose it shows that even the warm regions of Canuckistan are behind the frozen parts of Amrika (Pieces gets nasty winter weather like Alberta does; the Okanagan is much warmer in the winter).

[Swatopluk]

The only stuff fully to bloom in our garden is lilac but even that must have disappeared between my last wo looks into it.
Grass has been replaced by moss almost completely but even the latter holds on to the 'soil' only barely.
I fear, for a proper garden, we'd have to replace the top half meter (at least) with soil that deserves the name.
At any time  there is renovation on the block (3 entrances á 6 families) as a whole, all the material is stored in our garden (closest to the street). It was crappy to begin with and never recovered from even one of those events.

[Opsa]

How about a moss garden?

[Swatopluk]

As I said, even the moss has difficulty to cling.

[Opsa]

A Zen garden, then?

[Swatopluk]

I somehow doubt that that would suit my parents.

[Aggie]

Soil-building, perhaps.  Instead of dodgy material, encourage the neighbours to dump lawn clippings there.  Requires some turning and some tolerance of the smell of decaying plant matter. I've taken on some side work cutting lawns and am playing around with how feasible it is to compost straight lawn clippings.

Somehow, I suspect this would suit your parents, either.  How about bindweed?  It's an effective, flowering groundcover.  I'll send you 50 lbs of roots gratis if you pay the shipping.  

Seriously, there are a few plants that tolerate crap soil, have deep taproots that can access water supply (i.e. don't need watering) and are good soil-builders.  I'm thinking about things like perennial sweet peas / everlasting peas or alfalfa.  Even white and/or red clover looks attractive, is very fragrant and will gradually improve the soil.  Many of the legumes will grow on poor soil, and most are nitrifying.

[Swatopluk]

For certain reasons I doubt that lack of nitrogen is the problem.

[Opsa]

Okay, how about a beer garden, then?

[Swatopluk]

And where to get the licence?

[Opsa]

There's only one thing you can do, Swato. You'll have to make an art garden.

There's a really neat garden about 20 miles from here, which is famous because it's main flower is bicycles that are painted white. I looked for an online photo, but couldn't find one. Neighbors either loved it or hated it, but several years ago some hoodlum stole some of the bikes from the guy's yard, and a whole bunch of people from the area showed up and donated bicycles so that he could rebuild it. I think it's a treasure.

Now, I'm thinking, maybe a big Swato head, like your avatar, maybe made of found objects...

[Swatopluk]

Remember, it's not MY garden.
I also doubt that the company owning the building would allow too much deviation from the normal