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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The New Front Garden

The new front garden is as done as it's going to get for now. I transplanted everything from elsewhere in the yard, and most of the plants are happy. The magnolia looks dead, but I'm already scheming about replacing it with a tree peony (though there may not be space). Soon we will add some sunflowers and California poppies for quick-growing, inexpensive color. I think the broken concrete pieces work for now, though it's not my favorite look.

Umm...I also am not a fan of the cedar mulch. I completely forgot that I prefer aged hemlock when I bought this stuff. But it was soooo cheap. Ah well, it'll only be for one season - then I can justify covering it with something darker and prettier.

The layout ended up being very close to what I had planned out. There were a few additions, including some creeping Jenny, but the only purchased plant was a pansy. The kid saw the yellow and black pansy and declared it a "tiger face" plant and wanted it for the new garden. For $1.50, how could I say no?

Before
After
After after.
So we removed the cedar boards and added more garden on the house-side of the sidewalk. These are basically starter-gardens. Over time I hope to add soft flowy perennials. I like Scott's style over at Rhone Street Gardens.


*Pssst...this is my first scheduled post...I'm in Hawaii! 


14 comments:

  1. I'm so jealous of how wide your hell strip is. It's looking good!

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    1. Thanks - it is wide, and now that part of it is planted it already feels more private.

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  2. What a huge change. Definitely an improvement over the grass. Hope Haiwaii is beautiful and relaxing :)

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  3. Ha, you're not the only blogger in Hawaii right now! Another one I read is there too.

    Anyway, love the work you've done. And I adore how different it is from your neighbor's!

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    1. Thank you. We need to do the other side now. Maybe my energy will be refreshed after vacation!

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  4. So many bloggers in Hawaii recently, I'm jealous (it's where I'm from). I love how the hellstrip matches the garden on the house side, and hopefully those big concrete "rocks" keep the morons from trampling the garden! I think you have plenty of room for an ornamental tree too. Enjoy your trip!

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    1. We hoped the rubble would be a moron deterrent - haha! I'm glad there will be room for an ornamental - I'm obsessed with the tree peony for some reason.

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  5. It looks great! Enjoy Hawaii...it's one of my favorite places!

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    1. Thanks - it's my first time somewhere tropical. Florida doesn't count :)

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  6. We ripped out a huge chunk of Laurel along the N. side of the house last Sunday and I have been busting hump to get it cleaned up and planted these last two days, as usual with the baby strapped on my body. My body is very sore but I'm so excited, I can't stop. Like you, so far everything in the bed has from another place in the yard. I feel rich in plants! Your beds look great! Happy vacationing.

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    1. Thanks, and I do not envy you having to remove laurel. That's a big job even without a baby strapped to your back!

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  7. Hawaii, what!!?? Jealous! I've never been.
    The parking strip looks great. I cursed mine for years and finally got rid of the grass 3 (4?) years ago. I LOVE not having to drag the mower to the front just for that. I started out with just a few things, like you. Low maintenance, easy, bark it, call it good. Then you see one plant that you think you'll try in it. Then another. Then another. Ha! It's prime real estate down there! So needless to say, mine is definitely filling in. And I still only need to water very rarely in the summer, so it's great, considering the rest of the yard gets watered daily. FYI, I put an artichoke in ours the first year and that sucker loves it. We just ate our first two of this season two nights ago. Yay!
    Have fun on your trip!

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    1. We had never been before either. We had a great time - it's very family friendly. As far as the front yard, I HATE mowing and I refuse to water grass. This is so much better. I need to do the other side now...

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