The area just south of the driveway is where our garden is going. It's screened off from the road at the left by the existing trees. We are planning on replacing the large evergreen in the front with a weeping willow located a little further left. It will not only make the garden a bit more private by screening off the road, but will give Collyn a better view out of the office than an evergreen mass of tree. We may put a fruit tree or two by the garden and we will likely put a low picket fence off some sort around it. We aren't going to do much else out front. We have a few shrubs to tend to as well as some weeding. We will plant some mint as well. The major work is tearing out the overgrown evergreen that blocks the windows and adding a brick runner to the sides of the concrete walk to better tie it to the front elevation as well as widen it.
Collyn checked out a bunch of landscaping books from the library and I've been messing around with designs in SketchUp. We decided on some elements such as a brick patio area extending out into the lawn, a fruit tree of some kind (probably an apricot or plum), berry bushes, and more privacy. Collyn is also demanding a pergola, that initially will just be cover for a bench in an away sitting area, but may eventually overhang a spa. You can see my most recent iteration below.
If you've got suggestions or ideas, tips, tricks, etc, please share them. I haven't done much landscaping or gardening before so I have much to learn. The goal is to get a place that we can maintain with not much more work than it would have been to just care for the lawn, but unlike a large lawn, will provide us with color, seasonal variation, and small, cozy spaces.
5 comments:
Before you plant your trees at the back of the lot beyond the fence, make sure that it isn't an easement that you can't plant on. I like your plans.
That looks very beautiful. I'll have yard envy for sure. Wish I had great ideas to share. My only would be to check out the square foot gardening book. Your library might have it. The idea behind it will save you a lot of work. Even in my "traditional style" garden plot, I've adopted some of the ideas, and Leah just changed her gardens to that plan last year. It is more expensive to start up but so much less work than a traditional garden to maintain.
I'm so excited for you guys. Landscaping is FUN! If you want easy maintanance you need to think about watering. Oh wait, you may not need to irrigate much. Well if you do, think drip systems and sprinkler systems. Watering can be the most time consuming part of gardening and lawn care. Also, craigslist is a great place to find pavers, etc. for much cheaper than purchasing. Be super careful of any dirt or mulch that you bring in. There are more and more problems popping up where people's garden's get wiped out because the materials that they bring in contain herbicides. Do some research online so you know what to avoid. Also, think about how your trees will shade your garden area in a few years as they grow. I also think that a subscription to Mother Earth News is valuable. They have been a great resource for me. Their articles and archives are also available online. The plans look great. Be sure to take lot's of pictures so we can see the before and afters. That's one thing I wish Bryan and I had done more of.
We plan on doing square foot gardening, although due to slope issues our beds are going to be more lie 3'X8'. We are hoping to reduce a lot of the start up expense by recycling dirt from the patio excavation, as well as making our own mulch and compost. We are well aware of the shade issues, so we are making sure that no trees shade the area, and with the amount of rainfall and the high summer humidity we won't have to water much. Remember, Kentucky is called the bluegrass state because all of that lovely colored grass that people out west have to water like crazy grows wild here.
3'x 8' works great. It makes weeding an even easier reach. If you look at the pictures in my last post and see my beds, they are 3' and strung together for a total of 10' and 13'. Do take lots of pictures so we can see the progress.
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