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Duluth - Georgia - USA - Zone 7b |
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Front Yard Between 2002, when we first got here, and the end of 2005 I really hadn't done much to the front yard except mow a lot of lawn every week.
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 September 2003 There was Liriope and violets in the lawn around the tree which I started to kill with RoundUp, making the area look rather terrible. I then decided to turn the whole hill into a garden to prevent me from having to mow the hill and having to look at all the dead spots. The English Ivy was also slowly creeping and needed to be put in bounds |
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 November 2005 I removed the pavers around the tree and made a new bed on the hill, putting down a 2 inch layer of compost and then mulch. |
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 April 2006 Robert and I made two low retaining walls on the hill and I extended the bed another 5 feet into the grass. I planted a row of Loropetalum 'Burgundy' on the hill to form a screen and I filled the rest of the bed with native and French Hydrangeas, and native Azaleas in shades of yellow and orange. |
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 April 2006 I also removed half of the English Ivy and planted native wild plants like Coral Bells, Foam Flowers and several different kinds of ferns. Between the natives I added several Daylilies and Lenten Roses. |
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 May 2006 I removed the rest of the Ivy on the hill, an arduous task, made two low retaining walls and planted Ocala Anise (Illicium parviflorum) on the hill to eventually form an evergreen screen. The rest of the hill will get lots of ferns and native wild plants. I also put stepping stone steps to get up the hill to the road. |
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 July 2006 I dug a 14" deep pit to accommodate a bog garden, left a berm on one end and then dug a 20" hole on the other side for a small pond. After putting down a 1" bed of sand I lined the whole area with fishpond liner and secured it with flagstones. The bog area is filled with 50% red Georgia clay and 50% sphagnum peat moss. The top of the berm is about 4" lower than the pond edge. I then placed a row of bricks on the berm and topped it with flagstones to hide the brick. This allows water to pass from the pond to the bog. I placed a piece of landscape fabric between the bricks and the bog so that soil and peat does not migrate into the pond area. I then created a pebble beach on one side of the bog. Finally came the bog plants, such as pitcher plants, moss and rushes. I submerged a round ceramic pot into the pond and planted a lotus. To keep the mosquitoes at bay I added one goldfish, who seems to be enjoying his new environment. *** |
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Copyright Reserved - Created September 2005 - e-mail Jane |
