Newly Planted Shrubs

The photo above is NOT my yard. It is the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where I find inspiration and relaxation. We had a lovely trip when I finished teaching my summer class. Below is my addition of five honeysuckle 'Kodiak Orange' shrubs. That circle of dirt was a fire pit, which was too deep to be effective. We dug out a metal tractor tire insert and several bricks. Our plan is to have an above-ground fire pit area in the center. That's more digging, and I will wait for cooler weather since temps are in the 90s F this week. You can see that I water the shrubs (deeply, once a week) but not the grass. Not pictured are three serviceberry 'Regent.' The far left are native viburnum cranberry bush (five of them), the center is the honeysuckle, and the right is three hydrangea 'Limelight.' I know that the hydrangeas are not pollinator plants, but these are for myself. I have been consistently spraying the shrubs with repellent, so they haven't been eaten (yet). I'm trying to get a nice shady, naturalized area. It will never look like the Arboretum, but I'm hoping it will be a good place to relax. 

Rabbit Fence Update

After socializing (I know! so lovely after months of quarantining!), I learned that rabbits have been eating everything everywhere this year, even in areas where they haven't been a problem. Could it be a mild winter along with a drought? I'm not sure. In my yard, I have bunny food--a large patch of clover (which shows signs of being eaten) and grass (or had grass since it's looking dormant and perhaps dead). My lovely husband and I dug holes in dry, gritty, compacted soil for these U shaped stakes. Once in place, we hung poultry fence. This is flexible green vinyl with 3/4 inch openings. These baby bunnies are tiny, so I went for the smallest openings. At ground level, we bent the fencing out, which is supposed to prevent the rabbits from sneaking under. The "gate" (below) is the fence wrapped around a green garden pole. I align the pole with the U stake and attach it with a blue hair band. The bottom of the "gate" is attached with clothes pins. I don't want any gaps.  I bend the fencing when I go in and out. The result? No new nibbling!