The beds are looking a little sparse since I thinned them heavily last month. They will have plenty of room to grow come spring time.

Thank you, I got it written down.

Cats and squirrels here we come. Wonder if this would work on gophers?

Lynn, your garden filled in so nice and all your plants look to happy! You're a good plant mommy!

My gardens are still struggling from the wet summer. The original one by the house is probably about 10 years old. I've had to remove most of the semps in that garden, amend the soil, and replant, so there aren't a lot of huge clumps anymore because I separated them. Will try to get some pictures soon.

When I look at the two pictures I am amazed at how much they have grown in less than a year. Can't wait to see what the other three beds will look like next summer. Right now they are really pitiful with the squirrel and cat digging them up all the time.

I know, I'm still having problems with critters digging up my one bed. Either I have a million toads or some other creature. I don't think the poor things will have time to root before winter sets in.....

That is my fear also Chris. They start making tiny roots and something comes along and up ends them.

Well it's that time of the year that some of you will start seeing your semp beds/pots/walls come out from under all that snow. Can't wait to see photos of how all of your beds/pots/walls are doing.

Here are photos of my four beds. Left bed was planted last spring, right bed was planted in 2009.


Left bed was planted late summer/fall and right bed was planted in Oct.


You can really see the difference between planting in spring and planting in summer or fall. The upper left photo is so far ahead of the bottom to beds started in summer and fall. However the sedum in the bottom right bed are doing very well.

Oh Lynn...your semp beds are awesome! I wish I had mine all planted like yours. Then I wouldn't be worrying about what to do with all the ones having babies and no where to go.

Where do you plan on planting them Linda? You will get it done, don't worry. The raised beds work for me because of all the rain we get in the winter and spring. This year we have had particularly heavy rains. I am thankful for the raised beds. I do have to put shade cloth over them for about a month during the really hot weather (90 to 100+) because they are in full sun all day.

I am going to have to move some of them this spring so they have room to make offsets this year. Only in bed 2. The other beds were all put in at different times last year so they will be okay this year. I'm just about finished cleaning up a fifth bed (weeds and amending the soil). That is were some of my new ones will go in the next week or two (if it stops raining long enough). I have a 6th bed to clean out and add more soil to, that should take care of all the new ones from this years purchases and trades.

That will leave me with on bed that is 24' x 4'. I want to do a garden in that one using larger rocks and some other alpine type plants in with the sedum and semps.

Lynn, your beds are looking fantastic! I got to see my semps for a few days, but now they're taking a nap again under a new blanket of snow.

More snow? I keep forgetting it will be awhile before you don't have to worry about more snow.

I'd like to forget!!!

I had thought about putting part of them in the area in the pic. I started working on this spot last year. It has a slope and is the highest point in our yard. It gets a full day of sun and there's 2 more tiers down from it that I can also use. I want to mix the soil and fix it better. It gets really hot there, which is my main concern.

It looks like it is getting some shade from an evergreen tree (pine?). What kind of soil is it? If clay add compost and chicken grit or pea gravel. They should love that area. Some of the sedum love full sun, as in Angelina, Blue Spruce and some of the lower ground covers. There are some that like afternoon shade. I have some semps that will take full sun, but do prefer to have some after noon shade so I use shade cloth in the hottest part of summer. Then after you plant the semps cover the ground with pea gravel as a top dressing, that will also help to retain some moisture in summer. That area will make an awesome alpine garden. Can't wait to see it when you get it all planted, the large rocks are awesome. : )

Here is a link for some really great ideas. http://www.google.com/search?q...

Thanks Lynn! It is pretty much clay soil. We have amended it several times, but it is still clay. I've got more rock and more area that I can expand to if needed.

Ok...I'm back to working on my plant beds. I posted a pic above last year and I'm still probably going to use part of that area for my semps. There is some sedum already planted on the slope. That area gets some shade, but it also gets extremely hot. I'm thinking the shade is the same as using a shade cloth. The area does get a lot of sun. It does drain quickly too, so maybe that area will work for some of the semps.

Here's a pic of the area that was worked on over the weekend. I'm not happy with it, so I need some suggestions about landscaping design. My yard slopes and my DH thought maybe we should try to level the area for the bed. Remember, this is not finished and still needs a lot of work. So what do you gals and guys think? It was cloudy and windy yesterday, so sorry if they look blurred.

Oooo me me me!! I can do some garden design!! Can you give me some measurements and photos from all 4 sides?

First thing I see is that if I were you I would consider building some sort of raised up area to create interest and help move the eye around. Not in the middle though!! Like a boulder pile, that you can plant into and cascade off of....

Terri...I'll have to measure it. I still have more rocks as big or bigger than the ones in it. You'll have to draw pics for me I'm a visual person.

Sounds good Terri. Linda I wouldn't level it, I love how it has some slope and contour. You are creating some nice micro climates for planting. Plants that need protection from afternoon sun can be on the back side of the rocks and so on.
I was just talking to Cynda (Perennial Obsession) today. She has such interesting landscaping with all the slopes and rocks. It is just beautiful. Here is a link to come of her gardens. http://cubits.org/sedumandsemp...
I wish I had done a better job of photographying.