State of the Patch - Part Two

The Lilac Patch

Back in 2018, that first full Patch summer, we were gifted cuttings from my in-laws’ lilac bushes. They have a 10’ hedge row at the edge of their property made of purple lilac bushes. The lilacs are spindly enough to feel airy while still functioning as a privacy fence. Even now, our lilacs are not nearly so inspiring. The cuttings were planted in three small patches under our living room windows. Because of the slope of the lawn, these windows are about 7’ off the ground. Tim’s dream is for them to fill out and reach up to the windows sending lilac scent in to our springtime mornings. Having initially taken hold slowly, last summer they filled out quite a bit and made it to about 3’ tall. They also gave us our first blooms. Three in total. While they are still only 3’ tall, this winter they are positively covered in buds.

The lilacs are planted in a batch of very poor soil 18” wide which appears to be mostly construction debris. Each time we attempt to plant something we come up against an old chunk of concrete or rusty metal. As I wouldn’t eat anything from this patch of dirt, it has become a sort of dumping ground for experiments and end-of-season discount perennials. We have a patch of wooly thyme, one of creeping thyme, and a couple ragged phlox I picked up for a dollar. We had success one year with Dahlias, but the bulbs didn’t survive over wintering in the basement. It’s one of the warmer beds in the garden and dries out easily. Last summer a Beebalm that I threw in late the previous season came back unexpectedly, but the drought and distraction of 2020 probably did it in for good. Midseason 2020 I found some Dusty Miller on clearance and that seems to be doing quite well. Admittedly, it looks a little rough in January, but, it more than quadrupled in size in the half season it spent in the ground. I have high hopes that it might help keep the crab grass at bay.

Weeds do crop up in this bed, but as the soil is so poor, they are pretty easy to keep under control. That being said, it would be nice not to have to get down on my knees in the rubble to pull out the nightshade.

The current state of affairs. Ugh. Sigh.

Problems to Solve

What a difference a year makes! Early buds from 2020.

1) The concrete wall behind the bed is UGLY. If it were just unpainted, it would not be great, but there are bits of black paint from a project that predates us.

2) Instead of mulching this bed, I’d like to stick to ground cover, but that might be unrealistic. Waiting for the creeping thyme to cover everything will take another decade. Do I buy more? Can I take cuttings and do starts from what I have? Can I grow plants from seed that will be strong enough to survive the poor soil and direct sun? Eventually the lilacs will shade out most of the bed, but I don’t know how long that will take.

3) The edge of this bed has become a crab grass strong hold. I need to ruthlessly kill the crab grass and make a very clear edge. I’ve edged this bed with clam shells in the past and it’s very cute for about two months, but it needs something with more heft. Like stone.

4) Figure out what other random perennials have been planted in this bed over the past three years and if any of them have survived.