Upcoming Oklahoman Birthday

Doesn't that look like somewhere else... as in, "not Connecticut"? As previously reported, we had the dead and dying trees cut off at around 10 feet as we have a PLAN. (Oh just you wait...) Anyway, I have taken to calling our backyard "Oklahoma" (as in: "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOk-lahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...") because the ground is flat and parched and there are no trees on the left hand side. I expect to see oil derricks sprouting. It's pretty bleak, especially as  it's been so god-awful hot and dry.
Here's a really hard to decipher close up of the (above) blue walkway:

Those are all ants, swarming on the mosaic. It was kind of gross, but really interesting. I don't know exactly what they were up to, but there is still a good deal of saw dust on the walkway from the tree removal episode so maybe they were eating sawdust. It's hard to describe how many there were.
But returning to the subject of flat, parched, barren landscapes, I am interested to see what happens with all the available space I now have in the backyard. While I was at work on Friday, industrious Bob picked up/rolled off and carted away the remaining giant logs that littered our lawn. There is a clear path through to the horse fence (and large heaps of attendant brush). As mentioned, the upside is more room for planting things! I am contemplating a sort of mini-conifer border. Sort of like this, but on a more modest scale:

A screen shot from the Iseli Nursery website. They're in Oregon and grow some pretty spectacular things. It's the stuff of my dreams...

I should probably make a field trip there some day, like visiting Mecca if you're a believer. Well, I'm a believer in Nature and plants!
So I have been starting my coniferous adventures recently. Here's a "De Groots' Spire" that Bob and I purchased at (of all places) Home Depot. You know how I like those tall pointy things!

This puppy grows only a foot wide but eight feet tall. Ooooooooooooooooh! I like that! We also bought a half-price juniper plumosa aurea in Vermont when we were there last weekend. (I hijacked Bob and made him go to the Home Depot in Bennington. They had a great selection- all 1/2 price! I wish we'd had a trailer!) And a word to all family members who may be getting me "living things" for my rapidly approaching birthday: I did NOT purchase anything on the lists of plants I provided. Rest assured, any and all birthday offerings are welcome!!

Welcome to New Members!

 

A hearty welcome to new members of the plant kingdom who will now reside in our garden! Yes, it's the time of year that has me drooling and slobbering over all the pretty leafy, scaly, flowering and otherwise exciting plant offerings to be had at nurseries, garden centers and giant box stores. As Bob carefully punned yesterday, "Whore-to-culture". That's me! Just call me a plant slut!
So above, we have a Salix Helvetica (sounds like a typeface to me). That's a lousy picture because you can't see how truly silvery and delightful the foliage is (but it's been rainy and overcast for days so I'm surprise anything is showing up.) It's a "demure selection" (their words, not mine) topping out ultimately at about three feet high and wide.
Next on our list is a shrub that I could not for the life of me figure whether it was lovely and interesting or just an awful color:

Well, I bought one so I guess I came down on the side of interesting and it will provide a jolt of color to a kind of monotonous area. (But it is a bit garish). It's Thuja plicata "Forever Goldy" and was a real deal at Home Depot.
Probably somehow related is the next beast to follow me home:

Yes, I do love a good Dr. Suess tree! This is a Cupressocyparus leylandii "David's Blue" (which I'm pretty sure is synonymous with "Naylor's Blue"). Look at the contrapposto on that baby! Going one way and another a swaying to it's own internal rhythm! He's going to live next door to the Blue Garden, acting as an important punctuation mark across the mosaic walkway from the Blue Atlas Cedar. The Blue Garden is getting quite blue! But it needs weeding...
And to top off our tour, here's my favorite garden twizzle:

Robin the Good's tail! Developing a modest fringe and the end of her tail still sports that dynamic and endearing twizzle. Fits right in with the rest of the garden denizens, all adorned with volutes, curlicues and arabesques!