Before we get to the wall, let me share some photos of the Grand Entrance in its current incarnation. My friend Norma Jeane came over today with a bag of pachysandra from her garden and shovel in hand. It's so much more fun to have a kindred spirit in the garden, and as an experienced gardener, she helped a lot. She gave me a certificate for a day's work for my birthday last January; today I cashed it in. When we were finished, the front entrance had been reworked. The square tubs with the hibiscus are now on the ground instead of hanging over the lower step. When they start blooming, their red blossoms will really pop against the black shutters.
Here's a closer view of the left side, part of NJ's planting. The red lines are pointing to hollyhocks. I'm going to plant hollyhock seeds behind them, so next year there ought to be a grand display of hollyhocks there. The blue lines point to some to some lavender grass. The orange arrow is pointing to pink pampas grass that is hiding behind the planter. The brown arrows indicate the chocolate chip ajuga that she planted all along the front walk. When it starts to fill in, it will be better than mulch and won't have to be replaced. It's a good place for it, as it doesn't mind being stepped on once in a while. I just wonder how it will fare when we put deicer on the walk next winter.
Here are the pachysandra plants under the magnolia. You can maybe make out the half dozen variegated plants that I put in a few days ago. All the rest are from NJ's yard. They'll make a nice neat carpet when they spread. This bed is ready for edging now.
While NJ was working in the front yard, I was busy in the back. I planted the three reblooming azaleas; I love their delicate light green leaves. I also planted the three witch hazel bushes. That stick with the white tag on it is one of them. I put an arrow on it so you can find it! [Remember, you can make these pictures bigger if you click on them.]
Continuing along the back fence, I also planted the Lenten Roses (hellebores). I've never seen them in bloom, but the pictures are lovely. They bloom in early spring. The arrow in the upper right is pointing to another witch hazel. I'm having a hard time imaging these sticks growing into real bushes -- they look like willow switches.
Besides the planting, which was almost incidental, I managed to complete two major projects. Below you're looking at the backside of an L-shaped wall. Yesterday I built the stone part, and today I made a wall of bricks along the patio side of this island. It took six trips to the front yard to dig dirt for the backfill. It's a big wheelbarrow, and I can only roll it when it's 2/3 full. I did take a good sized chunk out of the berm in the front yard that needs to be removed anyway. The flowers in the foreground are primroses bought on sale at Walmart yesterday. The little tag identified them as annuals, but I know they are perennials, as I've grown them before.
Here's the front of the wall. The bricks, like the stones, are dry stacked. I turned some of them at a 90-degree angle to sort of anchor them into the dirt. If the little wall (it's only 4 courses high) starts to wobble, I'll take it apart and add some Liquid Nails for stability. I don't want to mess with mortar. The lilies in front of the wall were half price at Walmart. I like sales.
I did say two major projects. The other one was clearing out one end of the rock-bordered garden. This is what it looked like early this morning. The holes were left when I lifted the mums and moved them to the front. In the course of clearing out the weeds, I found two more mums, very tiny. I moved them up front, too. If they make it, fine. If not ... well, they can always be replaced. Note the rocks in the lower left corner. They were messed up with the fence installers rolled over them with the mini Bobcat and had to be reset.
After several hours of labor, the bed was cleared of weeds and six bags of topsoil and a bag and a half of peat moss had been spread. The topsoil bags leaked, so the soil was very wet and weighed more than the 40 pounds marked on the bags. I broke it up with a hoe as best I could and then spread the peat moss over the top. Tomorrow I'll get in there with a spade and do some mixing. Some of the rocks are still a bit cattywampus, but at least they're lined up again. I got some herbs and tomatoes at Walmart yesterday. This is where they'll go. I may put a couple of flagstones in the middle, a continuation of the center line in the next bed for easier access to the inside of the square.
Here are the pachysandra plants under the magnolia. You can maybe make out the half dozen variegated plants that I put in a few days ago. All the rest are from NJ's yard. They'll make a nice neat carpet when they spread. This bed is ready for edging now.
While NJ was working in the front yard, I was busy in the back. I planted the three reblooming azaleas; I love their delicate light green leaves. I also planted the three witch hazel bushes. That stick with the white tag on it is one of them. I put an arrow on it so you can find it! [Remember, you can make these pictures bigger if you click on them.]
Continuing along the back fence, I also planted the Lenten Roses (hellebores). I've never seen them in bloom, but the pictures are lovely. They bloom in early spring. The arrow in the upper right is pointing to another witch hazel. I'm having a hard time imaging these sticks growing into real bushes -- they look like willow switches.
Besides the planting, which was almost incidental, I managed to complete two major projects. Below you're looking at the backside of an L-shaped wall. Yesterday I built the stone part, and today I made a wall of bricks along the patio side of this island. It took six trips to the front yard to dig dirt for the backfill. It's a big wheelbarrow, and I can only roll it when it's 2/3 full. I did take a good sized chunk out of the berm in the front yard that needs to be removed anyway. The flowers in the foreground are primroses bought on sale at Walmart yesterday. The little tag identified them as annuals, but I know they are perennials, as I've grown them before.
Here's the front of the wall. The bricks, like the stones, are dry stacked. I turned some of them at a 90-degree angle to sort of anchor them into the dirt. If the little wall (it's only 4 courses high) starts to wobble, I'll take it apart and add some Liquid Nails for stability. I don't want to mess with mortar. The lilies in front of the wall were half price at Walmart. I like sales.
I did say two major projects. The other one was clearing out one end of the rock-bordered garden. This is what it looked like early this morning. The holes were left when I lifted the mums and moved them to the front. In the course of clearing out the weeds, I found two more mums, very tiny. I moved them up front, too. If they make it, fine. If not ... well, they can always be replaced. Note the rocks in the lower left corner. They were messed up with the fence installers rolled over them with the mini Bobcat and had to be reset.
After several hours of labor, the bed was cleared of weeds and six bags of topsoil and a bag and a half of peat moss had been spread. The topsoil bags leaked, so the soil was very wet and weighed more than the 40 pounds marked on the bags. I broke it up with a hoe as best I could and then spread the peat moss over the top. Tomorrow I'll get in there with a spade and do some mixing. Some of the rocks are still a bit cattywampus, but at least they're lined up again. I got some herbs and tomatoes at Walmart yesterday. This is where they'll go. I may put a couple of flagstones in the middle, a continuation of the center line in the next bed for easier access to the inside of the square.
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