Phase 1
Last Tuesday night, I checked my email and saw that the 20 rose bushes I had ordered would be arriving in the next few days. I wanted to order 40, but Hubster said it would be too difficult to get them all in this year. So we decided to focus on where I wanted the roses in the front. We have a few garden beds lining the front walk and I wanted to add another one at the top of the first bank.
Last Summer – Before
Our Spring Break started on Wednesday and we decided that we better get ready for the rose delivery. We removed the barberry bushes that were crowding the front walk and transplanted (and mulched) them on the lower bank, four on each side. In the fall we transplanted two and only one survived the move, so we hope they have a better chance this time. I used Hubster’s sawsall to prune the holly into a nicely shaped tree. Why the previous owners wouldn’t want to see the fantastic mountain view from their front porch is beyond me. We carefully weeded and tilled the soil in the two beds that line the front walk and removed any traces of weeds.
Thursday wasn’t really a work day, I made a trip to the garden center and bought some Blue Star Juniper. I really like the texture on this plant and the fact that we’ll have evergreen color in the winter. I also picked up some thick black plastic to use as a weed barrier in the beds (of all the gardening techniques we used at our previous residence, this was the best!).
Friday morning we were back to work, with Poppy (my dad) and Pumpkin helping with the day’s chores. We removed the straggly daffodil bulbs, mint and the pathetic hostas that were formerly hidden under the barberry bushes and set them aside, hoping to give them new life once we plant them in the right conditions. We cut the plastic to fit the garden beds. To add the 6 junipers and 6 rose bushes we cut an x in the plastic, made a hole in the soil, planted them, repositioned the plastic, covered with mulch and watered. Hubster removed the two overgrown arborvitaes, and now I can see the mountains from my living room and dining room!
The outside of the driveway is lined with mountain stone, right where our lawn drops down to the first bank. We laid down the plastic and mulch and added the 14 remaining rose bushes. It was finally time to call it a night!
Saturday, my father and I made another trip to the garden center where I got 6 more junipers and 7 boxwoods. We alternated planting them between the roses which lined the top of the front slope.
Phase 1 – In Progress
With Monday being so too windy to work, we stopped the job there. We need a good solid rain to settle the mulch before we top it off and then trim the excess plastic. However, this break we got done way more than we thought we would.
Top Slope Garden
Hubster and I plan to add more mountain stone (at our first house it was river rock) to completely line each bed. This will be essential to the bed at the top of the hill to keep the mulch from sliding… Phase 1 complete… Phase 2 planned…
Were you able to get any yardwork/landscaping done?
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