Garden Enhancement

I spent my Friday digging in the dirt to get all my new plants in the ground instead of updating my blog.  Sorry about that, if it makes you feel any better my hips are killing me after kneeling all morning bent over to get the plant holes dug.  This has it's roots in me wanting to not have to pull weeds anymore and grew to a pathway from the sidewalk to the top of the driveway with a new planter.  I just think it make for a much nicer approach to the house to walk up a path rather than up the driveway, I think it's called "curb appeal."  So my loving and sweet Mister Vonkysmeed spent a few weeks digging out sod to make room for this grand idea of mine.

To start with I had asked him to help me out with the grass weediness by our water spigot by the front door.  I just couldn't keep up with the damn weeds so asked if he could help me out with digging out some dirt, putting down some plastic and then lay pavers and river stones on top.  I liked it, a lot, and the project grew.  Next I asked for the evil vinca from heck on the other side of the front steps to be ripped out and the pavers and rocks put over there too.  With that change I would have a place for some pretty potted plants and a seating area, what fun!  Then I dropped the bomb on the poor man, I wanted a walkway, a new planting bed, and an arbor cut into the front lawn.  He sighed but agreed to the project.

After lots of measuring and figuring out the project on paper, and using his construction calculator he was off to the home improvement store to get the supplies and wow what a lot of supplies!  Who know we would need so much sand, or mulch, or an entire pallet of pavers, really!?  He really wanted the pavers set right next to each other but I just didn't like that look, I was going for a very specific feel, I wanted a little bit of the Mediterranean in my yard.  I have a couple of books on Mediterranean gardening and all the patios shown are either gravel surfaced, or a mix of pavers and gravel or stones.  Since solid gravel just doesn't do it for me a mix of the pavers and rocks it is.

Need I say the man worked his ash off?  He even managed to get his part of the project done before I had my wisdom teeth removed so he could devote his time to watching the ankle biters for me while I recovered.  So for about 3 weeks we have had about an acre and a half of mulch staring at us daring me to do something with it.  I already had an idea of what to plant as I have another planter nearby that was all finished, I just needed to settle on the arrangement.  Sometimes that seems to be the hardest for me, I like the instant jungle look so I tend to over-plant.  I learned this lesson the had way after having to remove 3 lavender, 2 rosemary, and a Mexican sage form my backyard that ended up in the pots by the front door.  Once I had finally settled on a layout we went out got the plants and put them in the ground the next day (I have finally learned about planting quickly too, after a few dead plants).

In case you are wondering the plants we ended up with are French lavender, dusty miller, English thyme, santolina, and two grapes, a Flame seedless and a Thompson seedless.  In the pots are roses, a Sunset Celebration and a Black Magic.  The big concrete pavers in the middle of the planter will eventually have a pot with a geranium and a large pot with a fruitless olive tree.  The geranium will go in within the next week or two but the olive will be awhile, those suckers are expensive, not to mention the pot to put it in!