I’ve been over-inspired, it’s clear. There is always something that must be updated in this thirty-six year old garden, but after the bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) was felled in a late June storm my creative thinking has gotten a bit out of hand.

I suppose the day could come when the gardener just sits back and enjoys, and I’ve been doing some version of this for quite a while with short intervals when the lower rear lawn was turned to garden, two rock gardens were added, and a renovation was necessary for space to construct the sunroom (above). I’m happy to say these turned out for the best and in recent weeks I’ve been planting to fill weedy gaps in the damp drainage areas in the lower rear garden (below). I hope to cover every inch, which might slow drainage, but it will help considerably with controlling weeds in this soil that seems particularly fertile.

I’ve been adding a few plants and transplanting a few to fill the gap left by the fallen magnolia. Today, I’ve planted a Flamethrower redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Flamethrower’, below) that should quickly fill the void, and walking down the front path I was again bothered by the sad sight beneath the old dogwood.

The dogwood has partially recovered from defoliating branches that greatly concerned me in the spring. I’ve pruned a number of dead branches, but there’s vigorous growth so I expect I won’t have to replace the dogwood this year, and hopefully ever.

In any case, I’ve always discounted the annual defoliation of the Lysimachia by moth larvae to one side of the dogwood. It’s not a highly visible area, but today, I’ve had enough. I tugged out a majority of the spreading Lysimachia to replace it with plants that don’t go bare by midsummer. A transplanted carex, a few ferns, and a large leaf hosta were planned before I went shopping, but I ended up with a slightly boring combination of Allegheny viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum, below) and a feather reed grass (Calamagrostis). I’m happy, though only because the space was planted inexpensively with sturdy fillers and it’s likely I’ll never have to think about it again.

Of course, I enjoy digging and new plantings, but with much of the garden well into maturity, the gaps between young plants bother me. I’m unwilling to wait until next year or the next, but I must try to resist the impulse to jam plants together. Probably unsuccessfully. Almost certainly, I’ll be adding more as this wave of inspiration continues and I ignore my tiny shred of good sense.