Update on Garden Project

[pinksand]

I received a lot of help and inspiration on this project from the forum and figured I'd share the progress.

A reminder of the before...
Front View


Side View


Last spring after the project was complete...
Front View


Side View


This spring as everything has filled in...
Front View


Side View


This is only the second spring in our house so we still have many years to evolve and figure out what works but I feel like we have a good start. Oh and I have absolutely no regrets about removing the front hedge (convinced by several forum members)!

Also, I had to move the trellis because it didn't make sense where it was in relation to the garden gate. The trumpet honeysuckle that had been growing on either side was cut back and transplanted and is actually now curling around the top portion but I took this photo back when the azaleas were peaking

[imafan26]

Looks like it is really shaping up and looks very inviting

[pinksand]

Some highlights...

My wooly thyme is filling in nicely and surprisingly has done best in my shadiest location here


The Mazus Reptans has also filled in from teeny tiny plugs I put in last spring. Unfortunately it's at the end of its blooms.


Anemone received from our neighborhood plant exchange last year... can't wait for it to bloom in the fall!


Fun Allium bulb that I had mixed success with


Any ID on this grass? It's another freebee I got from our neighborhood plant exchange last fall.


So these ended up being a bit too close so they may have to be moved in the fall. On the left is blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' and the golden leaves are agastache 'golden jubilee,' both of which I grew from seed last spring. Oh and I believe that should be blazing star (spiky guy in the background) that I also grew from seed last spring but it didn't do much of anything, which the others bloomed their first season.


My coral bell divided from a parent plant in the backyard. It was a tiny cluster of leaves last fall and I can't believe how it has grown this spring! I have pink muhly behind the solar light that I replaced after the harsh winter claimed my last ones and my variegated weigelia has doubled in size and bloomed this spring (golden leaves in the background).


My 'Endless Summer' hydrangea purchased at the end of the season had a rough winter but is looking very happy these days.


Turtlehead I got from the fall plant exchange and has grown in nicely so far this spring.


I'm going to have to transplant my hot poker plants into a sunnier location and replace them with more foxglove because I adore this plant!


I have a few of these fernleaf bleeding hearts in the mix from pathetic divisions I made from a parent plant in the backyard. They looked terrible last fall and I wasn't sure they'd survive, but they've done wonderfully this spring!


Yay for free plants!

[applestar]

Amazing transformation! You did a wonderful job.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, definitely. Your place looks so much more open and inviting without the wall of hedge closing it off and your side garden path is beautiful!.

Great job!

[pinksand]

Thank you all for your helpful advice and kind words!

It's kind of funny right now because a lot of the perennials are larger than the shrubs in there so it looks a bit out of balance, but that should change in time. It's also a bit hodge podgy compared to a lot of my neighbors organized mass plantings, but I like having variety It's funny how the path has invited a lot of people to enter our house through the side gate. Our friends and family always just show up at my back door... apparently it is inviting I love it!

[pinksand]

Oh btw, applestar and rbg that's the black locust tree on the left side that is half dead. The left half where it splits has no growth whatsoever and something is hollowing it out. That's where I'm planning to put the redbud. Do you think it would work there?

[ElizabethB]

PinkSand - I was scouring through some old post and came across this one. Your transformation is wonderful SO glad you got rid of that front hedge. Your yard looks lovely. I would like to see updated pictures. Bet you have moved plants in the interim to allow for mature growth. The joy of landscaping is the constant learning process. Great Job

[pinksand]

Thanks Elizabeth! This post is actually just from this week so they are the updated photos I haven't moved anything yet and at this point will probably wait until fall. I'll try to post photos again in the fall as some of my fall bloomers are in bloom.

[grwrn]

I love to hear "neighborhood plant exchange" . I wish my neighbors were open to that but I don't think I want anything they have.

[pinksand]

I love to hear "neighborhood plant exchange" . I wish my neighbors were open to that but I don't think I want anything they have.

We have one in the spring and fall. Sometimes its a gamble because not everyone knows what they've brought so I tend to be leary if I don't know what it is myself. I've only gone in the fall and there's a lot of liriope, black eyed susans, and obedient plant... all of which I already have plenty of! Every now and then someone brings something fun though!

[topdad]

The allium in your photo is a Nectariscordium it's a strange plant and seeds freely, probably carried by birds as I have it in my mothers garden and was never planted. The grass looks like gardeners garters (British common name) Phalaris arundinacea, it's a real thug if I is that, if you control the spread and it makes a good ground cover.

[Gardener_Wes]

You really have a nice garden/landscape.

[AngelicaGray3409]

pinksand, I love what you did with your home and garden! Everything looks amazing! The colours of the house paint a traditional, yet modern picture. And the garden is just astonishing! I would like to do something like this in my backyard. I bought this new house, and the garden looks quite abandoned, so it would be nice to do something about it.

[imafan26]

Very lovely. Actually, it looks more natural than having mass plantings and more interesting with all the textures.

If you want to add a little Feng Shui Paint the door Red with black handles to make it pop. In Hawaii, people will paint the stairs and sidewalk red or green.

Red is an important color in Feng Shui. You want to guide your guest to the door by planting soft red plants along the path to the door. Red near the driveway to announce the entrance. You don't need a lot and it does not have to be solid. More like beacons to draw them in. Make the sidewalk more inviting by adding curves. Just pour more concrete extensions at the driveway side to make it wider. Instead of making the side walk straight, you can add more concrete to make it curve out into the garden and also round the corner as you come to the door so people are "turned" at the corner. Widening the sidewalk will be less like crossing a narrow bridge and relieve the tension of the hard space as you approach the door. You want to avoid spikey or thorny plants at the entrance to the walkway or the door. Sharp edges and spikes say not welcome. A small fountain near the door with the water facing the house is good luck. Water flowing toward the house keeps good chi in, water flowing away, drains chi.

I did not realize how color drew people in. I have thorny roses, some of them are red and a red geranium planted on one side of my driveway near my front gate and a green rose next to my front gate. On the other side I have an Euphorbia cotonifolia (Caribbean Coppler plant) shaped into a ball on the other with firetails replacing the blue daze ground cover. The copper plant has red leaves and firetails have red flowers. I frequently find people leaving flyers on my garage door because they are drawn to the side of the driveway with the red and soft plants and away from the tall thorny roses.

After our feng shui class our carpool went over to one person's house and we did a feng shui analysis of her yard. She had her cactus and succulent collection at the back of her carport (spikey thorny plants) that was next to the sidewalk. The sidewalk was narrow and very close to the house and you had to go around to the other side of the house to get to the front door. The corner where the sidewalk followed the sharp corner of the house, made you walk away from it like not wanting to get impaled on it. And she commented that when the movers brought in the furniture they walked on the grass and avoided that corner of the sidewalk.

[pinksand]

Thank you all for your kind feeback and suggestions!

imafan26 - Thanks for the tips for Feng Shui. I've considered painting the door red. I'll have to readdress the idea.

I'll take some updated photos this weekend. Since the garden and path were planned out and installed before we got the dog/fence, I've made some adjustments so that the space is more functional. I built a little dry river bed to assist in directing water away from the house and widened the garden path on either side of the gate so that people have more space to step without treading in the garden. We also had the black locust removed this spring and I'm planning to plant a saucer magnolia in its place.

I have to say, I don't think I could be any happier with the decision to get rid of the yew hedge. The path to our house is so much more fun and inviting! The mountain laurels I put there are starting to bud

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks for sharing the update. You have done a great job and everything is looking beautiful.

Imafan and I have had this discussion about front doors before. https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... or#p351661 The idea of the red door is to make the door/ entrance stand out to be more welcoming and inviting. But I think the tradition of making it red was developed some place where they didn't have red brick houses. With a red brick building, I don't think painting the door red makes it stand out more, I think it blends it in. I would think about a nice blue or something else contrasty....

[pinksand]

Very interesting RBG! The reason I've been hesitant about the red is because honestly, I'm not huge fan of the color and there is just soooo much of it like you said The previous owners went with red everything. It's funny you mentioned blue because my favorite pots on our patio are aqua/turquoise because I love the contrast against the brick. I've considered going with a similar color for the door but wasn't sure if it would look too random. I don't know, it's something that I'll probably think about forever and it will just stay white.

Here are some photos I took of the dry river bed



I'll take more photos this weekend!