Mary, Mary - the Losers

Sadly the weather has played a big role this year - a harder than normal winter (way more snowfall than normal and lots of rain, a hotter than normal spring (90's in May) and a dry, dry, dry summer  (cooler than usual, but no rain to speak of).  All have wreaked havoc with the garden.  The only thing that I could influence was the rain, which I tried to mimic with plenty of sprinklers.  But despite my best effort, there were problems. 

The biggest loser was definitely this 'Emerald' arborvitae.

I had such plans for it, but to no avail.  It was dead by early spring.  I still want one, so will try again later this month.  I have taken my tiller in for an overhaul and plan to till up the entire area and then add both webb-dirt and organic compost to try to provide a better environment this time.   And, perhaps a small surprise for groundcover around it. 

Two other shrubs that were badly damaged by the harsh conditions were this miniature Alberta spruce and the viburnum. 

 I think the latter will be fine once I trim out the dead.  The spruce will probably not produce new growth to fill in all that has died.

 Can you even see the hibiscus?  They are just right of the sprinkler - those spindly green things with the pretty red stems.  Not at all their glory days.

And, finally, the hibiscus has given up.   There were originally four - two red, one white and one purple - standing more than six feet tall.  They bloomed prolifically for six or seven years, but have fallen into decline the past few years.  This year we had almost no blooms at all.  Definitely need to dig out this whole area and start over next year.

Next week:  The Jury is Still Out ...