Georgia: Work in Progress

I am lucky to have a landscape gardener who comes highly recommended by my sister. Joe Graham and his workers from Graham Yard Makeovers, Dallas, Georgia, are the fellows in the bright shirts that you'll see in some of the following photos.

We  started out with a general plan. Placement of the new plants and trees was predicated on the view lines between the house and the houses to the right and behind the yard, most of which are two stories and peer down into the yard. Click the diagram to see a larger view, but if it is not readable, not to worry. All will be explained as we tour the garden. 

Joe and Tom with the auger. Not having any experience with the Georgia red clay, I was surprised to see the arrival of the auger. As Joe pointed out, digging holes with this machine was quicker than trying to hand dig, plus it turned the solid clay to a nice powdery texture, great for the new plant roots. This hole would be for the Japanese quince, seen at right.

They also used the auger to till the top few inches of clay where the iris and daylilies were to be transplanted. The loosened clay was mixed with a Miracle Gro product designed to amend the local dirt. The compost and fertilizer will make the transplants very happy.

Nearly all of the edger bricks were relocated to the island. Joe and crew put down a barrier mat and arranged three rows of bricks in a fluid oval. It appears to slant slightly to the left, which is good for drainage and not nearly so noticeable in person.. We didn't want it to turn into a wading pool after a hard rain.

The augering continued after the island was complete. The six Rose of Sharon bushes moved from along the fence to form a natural fence behind the island.

Here you can (barely) see the Rose of Sharon bushes behind the island. To the left you can see where some of the sod was removed to expand the planting area along the fence to accommodate the Japanese quince.

I had intended to take more photos of the work in progress, but I got so involved with the process that I forgot the camera. What followed this basic makeover was the relocation of the many iris and daylilies and the addition of more bushes and trees. In the next blog installment, I'll show you how that turned out.