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Garden Planning

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What would you plant in this area?

We’re expecting over a foot of snow today into tomorrow. So what does a gardener do? I walked around the yard this morning and decided that this spring, ripping out the small garden near our back patio, the garden I call the fountain garden, is a good idea.
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I’ve never been very happy with this garden. We kind of threw it together, truth be told. We just dumped about two inches of compost onto the hard-packed clay and gravel from the house construction. Then we had the electrician into add more outlets outside and to run the wires for the lighting, and that dug it up some more.  My hubby added the phlox border, which looked nice for the first year or two, but now they’ve gone crazy and are growing everywhere. And somehow, the Buddleia about 20 feet away has managed to seed itself into the garden. I’ve got mums, hosta, and columbine all fighting with each other, along with a few salvia. It’s really a mess.
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So what do I want back there? That’s the question. It’s shady, and near the house, which means that plants that normally attract deer should be safer there than in other parts of the yard. It also has ready access to water, and in fact the hose spigot is right against the house. When I turn on the garden hose, water always drips into the garden, making it shady and moist. I’m sensing a buying spree of hostas….
I also love impatiens, and this is the only spot in the garden where they can grow. The other areas are too dry and hot for them.  The cool, moist shade here is perfect for them.
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I think I want a woodland shade garden. I want to move the mums, move the other plants around to give the garden some form and space. I definitely want impatiens there; and the phlox needs to be trimmed and moved. The butterfly bush seedlings will be potted up and sold at the Master Gardener plant fair in May, or planted elsewhere in the yard.
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The next step for me is to take a pencil and paper and make some sketches of the area. It’s not a lot of space to work with, but now that I know generally what I’d like to do, it’s best if I dream on paper for a while.
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What would you do with a moist, shady spot in an otherwise hot and sunny garden? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
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