{"id":5261,"date":"2025-11-24T22:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T06:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wrwofficial.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/24\/kathleens-meadow-garden-in-washington\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T22:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T06:37:17","slug":"kathleens-meadow-garden-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wrwofficial.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/24\/kathleens-meadow-garden-in-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Kathleen’s Meadow Garden in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi GPODers!<\/p>\n

As we barrel towards the holidays and another great gardening season is in our rearview mirror, it\u2019s a great time to go through our photos from this year and reflect on the successes and failures. One gardener who is doing just that is\u00a0Kathleen Shelman in Port Townsend, Washington. We\u2019ve seen favorite selections from Kathleen\u2019s garden a couple of times in the past (Kathleen\u2019s Favorite Gold Plants<\/a> and Blues from Kathleen\u2019s Garden<\/a>), but last year we were introduced to her brand new meadow garden (Check out that post here: Kathleen\u2019s New Meadow Garden in Washington<\/a>). After its second season of unbelievable growth, she has shared the changes that have taken place from the first blooms of early summer to the grasses and seed heads that keep interest going into fall. See what she loved about the garden this year, and the edits she is already planning for the next growing season.<\/p>\n

Hello! This is the second summer for my new garden in Port Townsend, Washington. A little over a year ago, we downsized from our 1 acre garden outside of Portland, Oregon and moved north to a quarter acre city lot. The back half was mine to landscape. The entire lot was covered with failing wild cherry trees, blackberries, and wild roses. We removed them all, tilled the sandy soil and added several truckloads of compost. I divided the garden into three sections, a vegetable garden, a meadow and a shade garden. I brought many plants with me from my previous garden so the garden was basically free to me. The first picture shows the meadow section, with my grid plan applied with spray paint. In the meadow, I planted the more informal perennials from my previous border and a variety of grasses.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>In the first summer, everything came up and was quite robust, but not everything flowered. The second summer, everybody showed up.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"meadow<\/a>In the early part of the summer, the perennials were the most visible, but as the season progressed the grasses began to make their presence felt.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"variegated<\/a>I particularly liked this combination of \u2018Loraine Sunshine\u2019 false sunflower<\/em> (<\/em>Heliopsis<\/a> \u2018Helhan\u2019<\/em>, Zone 3\u20139)<\/em> and \u2018Plant World Jewels\u2019 dierama<\/em> (<\/em>Dierama \u2018Plant World Jewels\u2019<\/em>, Zone 7\u201310)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"grasses<\/a>I had originally planned to allow only orange, yellow, and blue\/purple flowers in the meadow, but I have loved having the queen of the prairie (<\/em>Filipendula<\/a> rubra, Zone 3\u20138)<\/em>, particularly as the seed heads last long after the flowers are gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"golden<\/a>By summer\u2018s end, the grasses were the main feature. I had originally planned to leave all seed heads until February, but have found that I needed to remove some of the over-seeders.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"tall<\/a>The seed heads of the actaea<\/a> proved to be a delight, and the birds seem to love them.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"meadow<\/a>I have enjoyed this garden immensely, and look forward to seeing what it will do in the future. My original goal of staking nothing and editing nothing has already been shown to be unworkable. I will always need to cut back some of the earlier perennials to save the lives of those who come later, and I am also going to need to stake up some of the more robust plants and grasses so they don\u2019t overwhelm their neighbors. But overall, I\u2019m happy with the way this has worked out!<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you so much for this fabulous update on your garden, Kathleen! It\u2019s a great insight into these kinds of plantings to hear how your plan is working or not working, and seeing the gorgeous results.<\/p>\n

Did you make any major garden changes this year? Maybe you planted up some new beds this spring, or made some maintenance changes this summer that resulted in bigger blooms and happier plants. Let us know in the comments how your growing season went, or consider sharing a reflection on your 2025 garden with the blog! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We want to see YOUR garden!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Have photos to share? We\u2019d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!<\/p>\n

To submit, send 5\u201310 photos to\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We\u2019d love to hear where you are located, how long you\u2019ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.<\/p>\n

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on\u00a0Facebook,<\/a>\u00a0Instagram,<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0with #FineGardening!<\/p>\n

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet?\u00a0Sign up here<\/a><\/p>\n

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Fine Gardening Recommended Products<\/p>\n

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The New Organic Grower, 3rd Edition: A Master’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, 30th Anniversary Edition<\/p>\n

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.<\/p>\n

Since its original publication in 1989, The New Organic Grower<\/em> has been one of the most important farming books available, with pioneer Eliot Coleman leading the charge in the organic movement in the United States. Now fully illustrated and updated, this 30th Anniversary Edition is a must-have for any agricultural library.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Razor-Back Potato\/Refuse Hook<\/p>\n

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Berry & Bird Rabbiting Spade, Trenching Shovel<\/p>\n

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.<\/p>\n

Ideal Tool for All Gardeners Use: Our heavy duty trenching shovel is designed by a professional gardening tool designer. Lifetime Durability: This heavy duty drain spade is made of high-quality stainless steel, it is very strong and durable, even if it is used for high-strength work, it will not bend. Ergonomic Wood Handle: The handle of this planting spade is made of ash hardwood harvested from FSC-certified forests and has an ergonomically streamlined design, making it very suitable for everyone’s hands. Multi-Use: This digging shovel is generally used for digging trenches, digging holes, transplanting, edging, moving compost, cutting thick turf and furrowing. The sharp blade allows you to cut, scoop, dig, lift and dice in hard soil. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n