do as I say, not as I do

This may be the first picture I've actually taken of the whole front yard!  That's because the right side is done (except for a few minor changes, there are always a few minor changes), but I haven't done anything to the left side at all yet (not even bothered to mow the lawn).

Today I planted a red-leafed rose and 3 cute little nest spruce shrubs on the left.  Did I remove the grass?  No.  Did I prepare the area at all?  No.  Would I recommend this to anyone who is planning to get rid of a little lawn?  No.

What can I say. You do what you have to do when you have 3 little kids and most of your gardening gets done in half-hour bursts before they wake up every morning.  Instead of removing the grass (I have discussed ways of doing this before), I just dug generous holes for each shrub, amended the soil within the holes, and planted.  My plan is to smother the grass starting next spring, then turn the soil, amend with compost, and hopefully by the end of next summer most of the rest of the left lawn will be garden.

I know, it looks like crap.  It helps when you envision a work-in-progress as what it will look in 2 or 3 years, rather than right now.  The neighbours probably think it looks terrible, and maybe my friends and family do too!  But I can picture how the mature shrubs will be large enough to touch each other, how the evergreens will divide the space between the sun-loving plants close to the sidewalk and the shade-loving plants close to the house, how the repeition of key plants on either side of the walkway will bring unity to the whole yard, yadda yadda yadda.  I know it's gonna look great, everyone else will just have to wait and see!!

Comments

[lacey]

I think this looks great. I may be a little biased though, because my garden looks just like it: one side done, the other side not so much. Well, anyway, good work!