"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Breaking ground.

The digging has started and I've already gotten quite a bit accomplished on day one of the front yard overhaul.  The path cutting through the large front border is going to be about 4 feet wide and the bed is about 12 feet across so it's quite a bit of space to work on.  One good part of digging up so many plants is that this had been an area I wasn't all that happy with.  Many of the plants had gotten too large for the space or ended up in either too much or too little sun.  I'm already liking how the plantings are going to look, I'm paying much more attention to bloom time and size now than I did over the last 11 years of planting in this bed.  The only thing I really hated to move was a big peony, I'm guessing it won't bloom this year, although I tried to get a large root ball on it in hopes that it won't go too badly into shock.

Everything between the X's must go.  There are two rows of these edging stones, the first one is almost level with the grass.  Winter interest is about zero here, hopefully with a little more thought it will look better in all seasons.

From the front you can see it's the largest plants in the bed that need to moved.  The Mexican Orange (Choysia ternata) has grown huge in the few years it's been here but had a very small root ball for its size.  I never realized how good the foliage from this plant smelled until I started working around it.

 The Hydrangea 'Preziosa' (one of my favorite Hydrangeas) is now under the Dogwood tree.  I think it will be much happier there with a little afternoon shade.

 Somewhere in there are Allium bulbs and a Lupine, hopefully I can find them without doing any damage.  Most of the plants that were removed are in pots set in the flower bed, it shouldn't get too cold in the next few days and hopefully I'll get them planted by Friday.  I didn't realize I was being watched by Gracie while I was working until I uploaded the pictures, you can just see her face peeking out the window.

The plan for tomorrow will be to mark the area that will be the path with stakes and twine so that I can make it even, especially since it's right in front of our house.  My husband will never let me forget how I tried to make a path in our backyard, which I wasn't paying attention to as I worked, and it ended up being way too narrow and kind of silly looking. Tomorrow's weather looks like it should be another mild day with sun.
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33 comments:

  1. A four foot wide path should be perfect. Boy do I love your soil and I'm really envious that you can garden! None happening here for a while. I am very excited for your new project! Gracie misses her mama!

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  2. Hi Catherine, Wow - this is a great project and I cannot believe how much you've already done! (Are you doing this All by yourself?)

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  3. Your dog looks so sweet watching you from the window. My dog does that too when I'm out front ~ he needs to know where I am and what I'm doing. When I'm out back, he gets to be with me (it's fenced there) so that makes him happier. Gracie will have a lot to watch over the next few weeks (or maybe shorter ~ you are really getting with it). Keep up the great work.

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  4. Had to chuckle over the wee doggie in the window! My kitties watch me from the window too when I'm out working. So glad to see the great amount of progress you've made. We've got two more nice days of sun coming up, according to the weather.com site. That's a lot of hard digging. It's going to look wonderful.

    Phooey on the husband, I've been to a couple of beautiful gardens that had paths so narrow you could barely walk.

    If you really have lost your Lupine, I can give you one. The peony might be ok too, if it wasn't far up.

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  5. Love your soil and your peeking pooch! Hope your weather stays good for you. It's lookin' good!!

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  6. The soil looks especially nice because I had added a lot of new soil and compost to this area last year. It sure made the digging easier rather than the hard clay that's below.

    SG - I'm just doing this part myself, my husband will be working the sod cutter and digging post holes. I'll be supervising that part :)

    Alisosn - Thanks for the offer of the Lupine, hopefully I can find this one, it was a really pretty white one.

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  7. OOOO! How exciting, Catherine! This post makes it seem as though we're right there beside you, egging you on while you do all the digging & moving and grunting & puffing. BTW, I'm sitting over here, a little out of the way, as I don't want any of that soil ending up on me or in my cup... while I sip my coffee and nibble my rusk. This really is a lot of fun! My guess is that your dog feels the same and would absolutely love to get out there with you and help with the digging. That soil looks too good to resist!

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  8. Hi Catherine, wow you've been working hard already. I think it'l look great when you've finiched that path and the bed have had its make over / gittan

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  9. I am really enjoying reading about your garden Catherine. You need to plant your peony at exactly the same level as it was before, if you get that right there is a good chance it will flower as usual. Plant it a couple of inches deeper and it will take years to flower.

    Good luck, Sylvia

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  10. 4 feet is a good width...when the mason went to lay the brick here he tried to change it a bit...I made it curve, bit wider and it flares at the end as it meets the driveway welcoming people to the door...I am sure it will be lovely and wow that is a big job...wonderful progress...

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  11. Catherine, it looks like you have a great start. It is encouraging that at least somewhere there is gardening going on.

    Eileen

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  12. Catherine, didn't it feel good to get dirty!!?

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  13. Look at you go! It's good to see someone digging in the soil. What a great plan.
    Love little Gracie in the window.

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  14. It's a lovely feeling, isn't it, to re-do and dig a bed over - an exciting new start! I love the smell of the earth, and the feel of the sun on my back as I dig.

    Looking forward to seeing the new growth through the seasons!

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  15. I like how Lantana has a fragrance in the leaves...so when you are working around them you get the citrusy fragrance.
    Your front yard is really going to have such a transformation. Good for you. The thought of moving so many mature plants would make me think twice (hi, I am lazy!)
    Looking forward to more updates.

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  16. Dear Catherine, It is always so exciting when one starts to make changes in the garden and one can see the plans taking shape. I always think that a good rule of thumb for main paths is that they should accommodate two people walking side by side. Companiable and comfortable.

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  17. I love to see that I'm not the only one out working hard this early. That's what I love most about living in the PNW. I'm from NY and I probably wouldn't even be thinking about the garden just yet. Now I feel as though it has creeped up on me so quickly and there is so much to be done. I envy that you seem so organized. I have many plants that need to be moved and rearranged, so I'm taking a cue from you and am just going to dig in!

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  18. with `patience and stay beautiful, these are sacrifices to love the garden ha ha
    I really like your blog, go very often to visit
    kisses, mely

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  19. Nice...and I agree, four feet should be plenty wide...generously so! Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

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  20. Oh Catherine I'm so bad... I was looking so lustfully at all that pretty dirt there and can't wait to get my hands dirty. It will look so nice when you're done. I love Gracie watching you work.

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  21. It is fun to see someone else do all that back jarring work. LOL!Sounds like the perfect opportunity to redo the beds. I will enjoy watching your Garden in Progress. ;-)

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  22. This is what I love about gardens, change. They're never really done. You've made a lot of progress in a day, I'm excited to see how it will all transform!

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  23. What a wonderful new reno you are working on, can't wait to see it finished. Your photos and words make us feel like we are just dropping by and you are explaining it all to us in person.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

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  24. Oh my my my--that is a ton of work and I am super proud of you. I have to confess that I'm still in the overplanted mode. I need to get in the groove to thin it out as you did.

    Really looking forward to seeing this progress.

    I didn't know you were going to this asap.

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  25. Great reading about your project, keep up the good work!

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  26. OOPS! I went down to read the post before this and got carried away with your Hellebore 'Mardi Gras Double' and then commented about this post and how busy you are so early this year. It's going to be great when you get it all done. Hopefully I'll get to come see it for real! Gracie looks like she wants to be outside with her 'Mom' watching everything you do.

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  27. Wow Catherine, The garden is starting to look great. I hope the weather stays sunny so you can more done. Good luck and happy gardening. I am so envious, you can dig in the dirt. I cannot find mine yet.

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  28. You are amazing Catherine. I had to giggle when I saw your precious pooch sneaking a peek at you! A lot of hard work but I know you are enjoying your time outdoors.

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  29. So glad you've had the weather for it, Catherine. It's going to look great! I'm not sure about this, but was it you, a long while ago, that admitted to being a chronic plant mover? If so, now you're doing it with a plan and a lot of style (not to mention a whole bed!) I can't wait to see the outcome!

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  30. You're doing really well with your project, we have lovely gardening weather here in Italy too. I'm busy moving a compost heap to make space for the new greenhouse; not very exciting work but it will be worth it. I'm surprised you like the smell of Choysia, I think it smells like cat's pee!

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  31. Tessa - I'm definitely a chronic plant mover, and had wanted to change this bed around but knew it would be a lot of work.

    Christina - It's funny how people are with Choysia. I think they either really like the smell or hate it, I've heard both. It definitely has it's own smell, kind of reminds me a little of eucalyptus.

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  32. It's so satisfying to make the big changes that eat away at you when you look at a bed and think, "Shovel time!". I once dug up a bunch of peonies and gave them to a friend. We both thought they wouldn't bloom for a few years but they bloomed the next spring!! Yours might pull the same trick! :o)

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  33. I just LOVE breaking soil. It's so exciting.

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