Transforming my yard wth natives.
6 years ago
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- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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My hopeless front yard
Comments (34)Having fence sections on each side would work...I was always told there should be an opening to make your home welcoming. Later a curved walkway leading to your front door could be added. This would help direct attention to your front entrance even if the walkway is seldom used. The lamp post could be incorporated into the planting bed beautifully, even used for a flowering clematis perhaps. I would only use taller anchoring shrubs on the outside ends so the fence itself does not become disconnected from each other. You could use lower evergreens in the planting beds for winter interest. If you do put in a path to the front door I think a grey PA flagstone randomly placed would be beautiful with your blue house. At some point a small sitting area under the large tree near your front porch could be amazing. You could use the same flagstones, along large planters rather than trying to deal with tree roots, groundcovers, fountain....ahhh, the beautiful things you can do! I can't wait to see in-progress pictures. I think starting with the fence will make everthing else fall into place. This project should keep you busy until you are ready to tackle the porch area...See MoreGarden transformation
Comments (19)All right, Susan/thyme and the rest of you cottagers. If imitation is the truest form of flattery, I owe so much to Susan for first inspiration, and then some very helpful emails. She even went out and measured her bed for me! So thanks Susan. Wheras Susans front slope is large, mine is quite small. There was a back door into the mud room when we bought the house, but no path or anything to reach it. From Pictures So in the fall of 2008, we put in the bluestone stairs so we didnt have to toil up the slope. Theyre gorgeous. Here is what the contractor dug out and piled up to make them. It was the beginning of my front slope bed. From Pictures Pictures He has worked on various projects in our antique (1856) cottage for the last five years. He thinks my projects axeing out stumps ("This is your vacation?"), unearthing rocks, digging (!) are a riot. This is the way it started about 4 feet deep x 9 feet wide. From I started with some of the same shrubs as Susan as basic grounding: barberry, boxwood , hydrangea,and shrub roses, of course, in a kind of W pattern fairy roses near the bottom, and I have to admit, Knockout Blush near the top. They are as advertised. Absolutely trouble free no black spot, continuous blooms even if youre careless about deadheading, full and bushy. I love boxwood too, so Ive used those, in addition to sedum (just beginning to turn pink this weekend), creeping phlox (was beautiful in the early spring), a juniper, rudbeckia to fill in, and a layer of mixed perennials at the top (phlox, penstemon, agastache, foxglove). Plus some peonies and dark heuchera and penstemon Huskers red in the middle. I love how the dark red leaves and stems pick up the barberry. This year I had some extra basil seedlings so a couple of weeks ago I dug out another six inches at the top and planted the basil. A row of bright yellow daylilies grows in front of the rocks at the bottom. (tho they look kind of droopy by this point.) Let me tell you about Connecticut earth. When I bought the house someone who lives nearby asked me if I knew the Connecticut state flower its the rock. Stone walls mark and cut across property lines everywhere in my area, and any new-bed creation involves rock excavation. Which makes it not only time consuming but back breaking. I thought I had a picture of the biggest one from the slope. I couldnt get it out even with a pry bar I needed the neighbor to help. But you can see it below at the lower left. All the rocks at the bottom come from this bed; many others dug out are in the back thrown up on the stone walls. This is how it looked in the spring (fairy roses in bloom). This summer I enlarged the bed in both directions it is about 6 x 11 now. In the spring I added an oakleaf hydrangea and I stuck in a butterfly bush that I snagged at Home Depot for $5 last fall because it looked to be on its last legs (or branches). It did weather the winter. With the great soil I've added as the rocks have been subtracted and watering, it is huge. I will have to move it over when fall comes. So here is what the slope looks like now -- at the end of its second summer. Next year I'll add more roses and a flowering almond and spirea gold mound and Anthony Wetterer at the top. And Ill divide more perennials too I have a hydrangea that can be split that will fill in with nice greenery. For me $$ are really an issue so I have to proceed with slowness. Plus the rock digging. Good thing I like to dig! Tight finances are the main deterrent to rapid expansion; most all of the perennials are divisions from other beds. Plus I cant afford big, full shrubs. I have to buy small and wait for them to grow. Now at the end of its second season, its filling in nicely. It was -- and is -- a fun project. Plus it is such a sunny spot it seemed a shame there was nothing blooming there. Please forgive the weird sizing and the font and alignment switch midway. This is my first attempt at posting pics -- it was a bit of a challenge. Hope you enjoy! lucia RE: Garden transformation Posted by: thyme2dig NH 5 (My Page) on Thu, Aug 26, 10 at 21:46 Hey Lucia! I'm so glad you posted some photos!! Your slope looks fantastic! Those bluestone steps are seriously drop-dead gorgeous! You did a great job with the plant material and have some nice tried and true easy-care plants. I find that to be most important on a slope. If you ever want to take a ride up to NH, I've been known to fill fellow gardeners cars/trucks with plants!! And I have to laugh because as in CT, the most important garden tool in NH (the granite state) is the pick axe! But we do have such an advantage with having all that rock to use in the garden. Nice job!!! RE: Garden transformation Posted by: rosefolly 9-sunset 16 (My Page) on Sun, Aug 29, 10 at 0:44 Nice to see all these transformations. You folks are doing a serious amount of work. R RE: Garden transformation Posted by: prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Sun, Aug 29, 10 at 8:47 Just discovered this thread, what a treat! Really enjoyed seeing all the work being done on all your gardens. I'm tired just reading how many plants you planted this summer thyme2. [g] I can't wait to see what it looks like next year. I would love to see a photo of your front yard, since it was mentioned. I think I've seen it before, but another look would be nice. Nice to have a brand new garden space, dawiff. You must be really enjoying the creative process. Very smart that you used cement interlocking pavers for vegetable beds, so you won't have to replace them when wood rots. Much prettier than cement blocks too. Did you build your own compost bins and are there two or three there? Silver girl, nice bluestone steps! CMK, like your new bed around the base of the tree. Looks great! A lot of, lot of work! Post a Follow-Up Your Name: Your Email Address: Zone (optional): Subject of Posting: Message: Optional Link URL: Name of the Link: Return to the Cottage Garden Forum...See MoreBackyard challenge...has begun transformation!
Comments (16)On the dogwoods, it really depends on how far south in Zone 9 you are. Felix, you are in Zone 9a I believe, and I am in Zone 9b. You can grow things I can't, including dogwood. It will SURVIVE here, barely. It normally doesn't thrive here, though. I have on rare occasion seen one doing fairly well, if in enough shade from taller trees, but nothing like dogwoods SHOULD look like. So, Kim, on the dogwood thing...if you are in the southern part of Zone 9, I'd say stay away from them. If they are already planted in your yard and you are moving them (not sure what you meant by "transplanting" them), I'd say leave them alone if they are doing okay. Moving them might finish them off. Most of the other things you mention in your list will probably be fine, except I've had no luck at all with love in a mist. It grows for awhile, but seldom blooms for me, and as soon as it gets hot, it dies. Maybe if you grow it as a winter annual. Good luck! Your plan sounds ambitious but doable, and it also sounds like it will be very pretty. Marcia...See MoreMy neighbors just did the 'drought-resistant' yard thing
Comments (66)I definitely wouldn't want to capture *ALL* the rainwater falling on the property, as I understand about the need for replenishing not only our groundwater tables but also for the immediate watering of my big, mature trees. I'm just thinking that with a 10,000 sq ft property, there's a lot of space to put a few additional barrels. I have this big, basically unused area behind my garage where X number of barrels could sit and do their thing without being an eyesore for me or the neighbors. BTW, and this is purely a guess, but I think about 2/3 of the property is earth vs some man-made material. Also, my patio and the walkway from it to the driveway slope at, I believe, 9 degrees toward the driveway. The driveway slopes down to the street naturally, following the slope of the property. I could theoretically reroute the runoff from the patio somehow to save it, although it doesn't really get much water of its own during a rain, because it's covered and its cover is also fully guttered....See More- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoJay 6a Chicago thanked Iris S (SC, Zone 7b)
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Iris S (SC, Zone 7b)