Memorial Day 2012

I was on vacation last week so I took some time to tackle a few large projects that had been looming for some time. Not everything is camera ready just yet, but a here is one of my finished projects...

BEFORE:

2011

AFTER: 

2012

When we cut down the old chestnut tree that used to be in the center of the drive there was a big uneven spot that was difficult to grow anything in because the tree guys couldn't really grind out all of the stump due to the driveway being in the way. Last year I planted up some lavender in pots and placed those on concrete pavers. During the summer I had my solar fountain up in the center on a column built out of pavers and regular concrete block. Over the winter I pack up the fountain and put out a potted spruce tree. By this spring the lavender had overgrown the pots and was to the point where it needed to be watered every single day. I also decided that I wanted something a bit more substantial and I was tired of dealing with the grass/weed mess. 

I decided to use the last of my reclaimed wall block to build a circular planter around the block plinth so that I could create a raised bed. That would eliminate the issue with not being able to dig into the ground because of the tree roots, and also be visually a bit more appealing since this is one of the first areas that you see pulling into the driveway. I leveled out the area, filled with garden soil, and planted the lavender. It isn't quite full enough to fill in the circle just yet, so I also planted some beautiful blue delphiniums in between. Unfortunately the fountain pump was busted when I went to put the fountain out, so for now the spruce is staying out there. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

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Simple Beginings

Where to start? That's the question that's facing me at just about EVERY turn around here... The answer is never easy... it depends so much on the weather, my mood, the budget, the inspiration, and so many other factors. When it comes to the garden though it's pretty clear that the focus this year has to be on working through a decade or more of deferred maintenance and overgrown untended landscaping.

Using that as a jumping off point I'm starting at the very front of the property and working back from there. My initial project (posted last week) the pond was suspended temporarily due to the fact that I ended up with a NASTY case of poison ivy. Since there's poison almost EVERYWHERE I decided that I wouldn't press my luck and I'll wait until this clears up before I attempt more work over there. I shifted focus to restoring some of the damage done by the trucks and equipment used to remove the big trees. Part of that means rehabbing the front lawn and bringing some definition to the front planting beds.

Left side of the porch from the front walk.

The most immediate need was to create some definition between the planting beds where the ferns are popping up with a vengeance, and the lawn on the left side of the walk. The ferns were growing out way into the yard so those were cut back, but the lawn itself was pretty torn up by all of the traffic. I decided to install a mowing strip of concrete pavers salvaged from elsewhere on the property to create a break between the yard and planting beds. While the house is very boxy and square, I decided to go with a curved bed which will extend from the front walk around to the side walk.

View from east side.

I started from the east side installing the pavers and loosening and leveling the soil which had been very compacted and rutted out. I finished about the first quarter or so and managed to get grass planted back in the adjoining section of the yard.  Once the pavers are in and the yard is totally back in shape I'll work on cleaning out the beds. For this year all I may get done is getting rid of the ivy and mulching, but we'll see!

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