Gardening fever strikes with new garden bed & path
I’ve got it bad. This new garden bed—which isn’t even mine but my neighbor’s—is calling my name. Today was beautiful, sunny, and 70 degrees, and I did make one run to the nursery, but I didn’t plant a thing. My book manuscript is due in 5 days, so I stayed indoors (with the windows open) at the computer and tried to tell myself that the weather will be beautiful for planting next week too. But oh, that gardening fever is raging!
This is my neighbor Donna’s corner, between her driveway and my front yard. She is letting me design and plant it for her, so we recently had the struggling grass ripped out, fluffy soil added, and limestone edging laid to echo my existing streetside bed. I’m planning to repeat some of the xeric, deer-resistant plants that have worked in my front beds, with the addition of more salvias and a lantana (to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds) and an agave since the bed is sunnier than mine. Tried-and-true plants arranged in generous swaths, with a focal point agave. What could be simpler or more effective?
From my driveway, the new decomposed-granite path runs behind the existing streetside bed, eating up more boring lawn. Ultimately I plan to take out the grass under the trees and grow a low-maintenance sedge lawn. Unless I decide I have to “garden it up.” (Low-maintenance versus indulging in plant lust—it’s a hard call sometimes.)
We have a circular driveway, so from the other entrance you can now look all the way down to Donna’s house and see the same limestone edging and parking strip. I just had this limestone edge installed along the driveway island bed and love how it dresses it up and sets off the plants like a picture frame.
I’ll have before-and-after images when all the new planting is done. By April the salvias will be in bloom. Fever!
Update: Click for images of one of the newly planted garden beds I’m sharing with a neighbor.
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Wish you lived next door to me! 70° here today too. I was supposed to be scraping paint but got side-tracked pulling 100’s of feet of Passion Vine out of my olive trees. (be careful what you plant! Seemed like a good idea at the time…)
Uh-oh, passionflower strikes again. Was it ‘Incense’? It’s beautiful but sooo aggressive. I find ‘Lavender Lady’ to be well-behaved here in Austin. Good luck with your paint scraping too! —Pam
Great post about how nice it is when neighbor’s gardens coordinate. Here in the West we are ripping out lawns with abandon but most homeowners are not comfortable with the next step, and we’re getting some pretty odd combos. Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision of unbroken turf across multiple properties had its benefits from a design standpoint, it just was never a realistic execution outside of places like England. So maybe you can get something started – gives a new twist to the idea of a ‘block party’!
Sara
ps are those Yucca ‘Bright Star’? Love them…and maybe Euphorbia ‘Portuguese Velvet’?
Sounds like there’s a post somewhere in your comment about odd combos! Still, even those are more interesting than wall-to-wall lawn carpet, aren’t they? The yellow yuccas are ‘Color Guard,’ and the euphorbia is E. rigida, commonly known as gopher plant. —Pam
Stunning. This fabulous weather combined with an empty bed would be calling my name as well. The only problem is the local nurseries are waiting until after the last frost date to get most of their inventory in stock. I can only plan my garden now:)
A nice, long planning phase is probably an excellent thing, even if it’s not what one would choose. I’m sure it’ll pay off for you come spring! —Pam
Hi Pam,
Nice to see gardeners outside in this gorgeous weather today….I was able to get home from school and work outside for an hour. It was glorious. Yes, I’ve got the same gardening fever as well. I love what you’re doing to your place in the front beds. It’s fun to see it in progress. The color guard adds a nice note! I think we both love gray plants, correct? I can’t get enough of them and I don’t know why. I think it’s the contrast with the greens.
And the STIPA…yes, I’m going with STIPA this year…the drought has left its mark on me in this regard and this ornamental native grass from WEST TEXAS can take it and still look wispy & wonderful. BTW: I was told by one of my friends that STIPA has an updated name that is not NEAR as fun to say. I’m still calling it Stipa until someone slaps me at a gardening center. :0)
David/ :0)
I love Nassella, David (I switched over to the new name a couple of years ago). It’s such a beauty and small enough to fit in just about anywhere. —Pam
Ha! Your fever is contagious. I need to stay away from your posts for awhile so I don’t catch that planting bug you have. 😉 Nice job on everything. It looks crisp, clean, and bright. Laura
Oh yes, I expect this fever is very contagious, Laura. (But it’s awfully fun to catch it.) —Pam
Seeing that bare dirt really stirs up the gardener in us, doesn’t it? I hope your writing goes smoothly. I look forward to seeing more photos. Your place looks great, and I like your ideas.
Thanks, Sue! I appreciate the good writing wishes too. —Pam
Every neighbor is going to be ringing your phone for garden design help!
That would be great, Darla. 🙂 —Pam
Your neighbor is lucky to have you next door and visa versa. You work well together so it seems. Just seeing that fluffy soil makes me want to get out and do something in the garden. A little too chilly here though.
But I bet it won’t be long, eh? By the way, I’m looking forward to seeing you again at the Garden Bloggers Fling in Asheville this May! —Pam
It’s all looking really good.
This weather has been calling all of us out. I’m trying to not get ahead of myself with planting. Just planning…
Good luck with the manuscript. That is so exciting!
Good luck holding back, Linda. I gave in and planted a few things today. 🙂 —Pam
Pam, you lucky thing! Getting to design a continuation of your garden next door is every gardener’s dream. Your ideas really work well, too. I can see a groundcover of wooly stemodia or culinary oregano under everything in that bed. We also had that good warm weather yesterday in Dallas, but it followed 5 inches of rain in a day and a half, so there was no question of planting anything in the ground. Total frustration!
We had four inches of rain here, but these beds are slightly bermed with good drainage, so the soil was good for digging today. Confession: I did plant a few things! Raw dirt is hard to resist. —Pam
I’m so jealous, Pam…what an extraordinary opportunity to beautiful your neighborhood. It’s pretty rare to have a unifying force behind multiple garden plantings…can’t wait to see how this ends up!
I can’t believe how lucky I am to have such trusting neighbors, Scott. And now I get a bit of sun to play in. —Pam
Pam – I’ve been a ‘frequent flyer’ to your blog recently and am inspired. You have such fluid design, with continuity and visual interest. The hardscape media and creative use of unusual items for planters & yard art keep me looking for your next project.
Why, thanks for such a nice compliment, Shyrlene! You made my day. —Pam
How wonderful is that! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Thanks, Candy. A new patch of dirt to play in is pure joy! —Pam
I SO know what you mean about ‘the fever’ hitting hard! We’re enjoying the same gorgeous weather here and I’ve had to stay inside to meet a writing deadline. Had I known you were in the same boat we could’ve emailed and felt sorry for each other!! 🙂 I can’t wait to see how your neighbor’s garden turns out. She’s so lucky to have you as a neighbor, and you’re so lucky to have her complete trust and faith in you to create something beautiful! It’s a win-win for everyone in the neighborhood!
Oh Rebecca, gardening fever is so hard to recover from when you have to stay indoors and work! I sympathize with you! My deadline is almost at hand, though, and I hope yours is too. —Pam
Pam, I’m loving your combo of Gopher plant with the Color Guard Yucca. That one might have to come to my home. And I never thought about adding a granite walkway alongside the driveway…one of my rants about my house is that when you walk out to the car in the driveway, you have to get your shoes dirty in the grass to get to the drivers door. Awesome!
Thanks, Robin. I love having extra room around the driveway or along the street for getting in and out of the car. If only we could add a few feet inside the garage too. —Pam