This is just a before-and-after. In the first photo, you probably cannot fully appreciate the completely leaf-free Japanese maple, the moribund chinaberry, and the molting philodendron which were pitched into the volcano, so to speak, as part of the garden renovation.
The maple was a mistake: I did not realize the one I got was completely deciduous. I do not have so much potential green space that I can devote any of it to a plant that is naked for six months of the year. Sorry, little tree.
Shortly to join those discards: three coral bells. They are nice enough plants, but my hummingbirds like fuschias more, so my new plants for the year will be fuschias. I will also be re-potting my big spider plant and transferring that to my office, where it can (I hope) contribute to better quality of office air, at least in my immediate vicinity.
This gets the total number of plants to roughly half what it was last summer, a density that was suitable for a time when I couldn't really enjoy being outside on the patio (due to upstairs noisy neighbors) so it had to really look like something from the inside. It's fair to call this a decluttering project.
I would say fair, and even bravo. I enjoy your green space all the more for the editing and limitations. Fingers crossed for new hummingbirds.
Posted by: byLorili | February 01, 2013 at 04:15 PM