Spring is for Work! 2008

My first new garden ornament - Mr. Frog

The spring of ’08 was our first chance to put in some landscaping other than trees and grass. I had spent all winter drawing out different garden plans for multiple areas in the yard and it was time to see if any of my artistic creations could make it in reality – still life becomes real life! We decided to focus on the region around the front entryway because it was the smallest area and would provide the biggest immediate impact to the overall landscape. Plus, this was all the square footage we could afford to makeover at the time. Since this area was the first thing visitors would see when they came to call, I decided that a more traditional suburban landscape would be appropriate as well as the safest bet. Let’s face it – this was my first big planting project, we were dumping extra money in for mature flora and frankly I was just a bit nervous that I might kill everything. J The first hurdle we had to tackle was building the retaining walls. Our front yard sloped drastically to the east and the last thing I wanted to do was build mini dams around each plant to keep the water near the roots - besides no outdoor design is complete without some sort of hardscape. So my husband and I set out to build our first retaining wall and boy what a treat! (Hopefully the sarcasm was evident in that last sentence – lol). It took two full weekends, a dump truck worth of dirt, various levels, mallets, and other assorted tools, and more than a few scraped knuckles to finish. The stone wall was dry stacked at a slight angle back towards the house. Then it was lined with weed material and filled halfway up the walls with pea gravel to provide good drainage. I chose not to include drainage pipes in the bottom of the wall because the dry stacking allows for excess water to weep between the individual stones. At the time I remember thinking to myself “Man I hope those ‘How to’ directions on the internet were reliable,” but I’m proud to say three years later that wall hasn’t budged. It may not last 50 years but it’s definitely looking like its going to make it a decade or longer (knock on wood). After the erection of the wall it was just a matter of filling the area with dirt, buying and planting my garden design choices, and covering them all with mulch. We also put in drip lines that tie into the sprinkler system which is very handy during the long, hot summers. Here are a few pictures of the finished project (circa 2008):

Looking back at these pictures, it is amazing to me how much things can change over just a few growing seasons. I have since moved the creeping phlox that was next to the garage wall (it did not like all that shade) and replaced it with another Green Velvet Boxwood. The other area of creeping phlox around the Coral Bark Maple has quadrupled in size and spills over the retaining wall. In fact, almost every plant has grown remarkably more than I remembered. I never could get the Sky Pencil Holly to last for more than a year (I replanted new ones in 2009) so in the fall of 2010 I gave up and planted two Fine Line Buckthorns (Rhamnus frangula) instead. Now before anyone throws a fit, I am aware that some varieties of buckthorns are invasive however the Fine Line is supposed to be a much better behaved variety with little to no seed or fruit production. With that said I have no intention of ever planting them out near the perimeter of my property and if the ones near my foundation begin to behave badly I will tear them out of the yard without a moment’s notice (so let them be forewarned). J All in all I consider this first spring a success. There are still things about this area that I want to change – add a plant here, move another plant there... but with less than a 10 percent death rate I would say it was a good first attempt…now if only the rest of my yard could follow in the same fashion.